Black Tower Books

Dilworth’s Japanese YokaiDilworth’s Japanese Yokai (book) Print: £5.00 Download: £5.00 The follow-up to the hugely successful Dilworth’s Western Yokai is here! Text accompanied by some superb illustrations by Ben Dilworth of supernatural beings interwoven in Japanese culture such as “Kappa” the Water Monster; “Azuki Arai”;”Kuchi Saki Onna” (the Big Mouth Woman) and others. Into ghost stories or ghost comics then this will suit you to a terror!

Black Tower Adventure 4Black Tower Adventure 4 (book) Print: £5.00 Download: £5.00 Krakos takes care of some burglars! The Purple Hood deals with a suicide banker! Kotar & Sabuta rescue a young woman in Antarctica,the action gathers pace in Return Of The Gods. Thaddeus Twatt and nephew Tomas land on The Jungle Planet -and it looks as though this could be their deaths! The Thinker decides that thinking alone can get a little boring while one of China’s Phoenix Team has to deal with..well,you’ll see! What more could you ask for?!

BLACK TOWER ADVENTURE 3BLACK TOWER ADVENTURE 3 (book) Print: £5.00 Download: £5.00 Things get grim as heroes begin to fall and the truth is realised in Return Of The Gods:Twilight Of The Super Heroes part 3. Lady Sivana and Tarot help Kotar & Sabuta tackle a nasty lycanthrope problem. Will Thaddeus Twatt and Tomas escape The Fearful Fate Of Friggia? Ben Dilworth provides not one -not two -THREE Purple Hood strips. Is there more? Can there possibly be more? YES!!!!!

black tower adventure 2black tower adventure 2 (book) Print: £5.00 Download: £5.00 Things begin to pick up apace as Thaddeus Twatt and Tomas go on foot to explore Friggia. The mystery and action continue in Return Of The Gods:Twilight Of The Super Heroes. We learn why using reptilean DNA to replace human limbs might not be a good idea. The Crimson Cowl packs a punchline. Kotar & Sabuta confront…the Ghost We learn the deadly secret of Yucca Plants. And there is much,much more -at a bargain price!

Black Tower Adventure 1Black Tower Adventure 1 (book) Print: £5.00 Download: £5.00 It’s back! Twenty-five years ago the digest sized Black Tower Adventure first appeared featuring some later-to-be top UK talents and the title was put on hiatus in 2007. Now it’s back,bigger and better than ever! Part 1 of the mega Return Of The Gods:Twilight Of The Super Heroes comes in at 43 pages! Thaddeus Twatt In The Twatt-Verse -first part of a truly microscopic titanic tales [which makes sense if you read it!]. Kotar & Sabuta race to face The Deadly Dilemma Of Sigismund Benfriggisund! The cold war between China and Russia couldn’t get any hotter as The Phoenix Team stumble into the evil Salamander’s plan. And more? Of course. Comics ARE Fun!

The Iron Warrior Vs Big BongThe Iron Warrior Vs Big Bong (book) Print: £3.50 Download: £3.90 In the 1940s, deep in the South American jungles, Rodney Dearth,inventor and adventurer, is searching for the lost explorer Percy H. Fawcett and City Z. Then he hears the stories that terrify his native bearers. There is a city -guarded by Big Bong! But Dearth is not afraid -he has his own creation to protect him -THE IRON WARRIOR! Ben Dilworth continues the adventures of the Iron Warrior, created by William A. Ward,presenting an action romp featuring one of the UKs most violent characters -tongue firmly in cheek. We think!

Chung Ling Soo 1Chung Ling Soo 1 (book) Print: £5.00 Download: £5.00 Chung Ling Soo. World’s greatest conjurer and said to be an American stage magician in disguise. Or was he? In this story,Chung Ling Soo is called in by Scotland Yard to investigate a gruesome series of deaths -all amongst a party who discovered a Jade Dragon statuette in China. Is the statuette cursed -and can Chung stop any other deaths? Story by Terry Hooper-Scharf Art by Gavin Ross Let the Deception Begin!

DILWORTH WESTERN YOKAIDILWORTH WESTERN YOKAI (book) Print: £5.00 Download: £5.00 Ben Dilworth is back! And in this one-off he recounts his favourite stories of ghosts,demons and other Western Yokai -all accompanied by Dilworth’s stylish illustrations! This is fun and quirky at the same time.

GoBoGoBo (book) Print: £3.50 Download: £3.50 GoBo -He’s Pink! He’s Pan-dimensional. As he’d/it would say: Go toho jo ko li lo yo to-po! The Small Press best seller of 2009 is resized and reprinted along with a whole new Go Bo as he explains Einstein’s Universe in Sub-Dogonian! Be part of the Go Bo craze!

The Ultimate Centaur CollectionThe Ultimate Centaur Collection (book) Print: £8.00 Download: £8.00 Previously available as two seperate volumes and now collected into one 146 pages volume! Vol 1 Centaur -the short-lived publishing house of some of the first and most unique Golden Age heroes that still live on in legend today! The Eye Sees! Truly weird and bizarre! The Clock! Airman! The Sparkler! The Blue Lady! Plymo! The Arrow! And others. Volume 1 is a treat for all Golden Age comic fans and a must have! Volume 2 The Skull,The Shark,The Blue Lady and Amazing Man! These were part of the First Wave of US Golden Age comics that also includes Mini Midget and Mighty Man. This book also reprints the one and only appearance of the very first comic book Owl from 1940! A must for comic fans and Golden Age buffs!

Tower Tales Of TerrorTower Tales Of Terror (book) Print: £7.00 Download: £7.00 The main feature,”The Curse Of The McQuilligans”, starring Xendragon,leads off this collection of horror,ghostly and twist-in-the-tail stories. The classic Torch Of Vengeance is a tale of a wife’s rather Gothic vengeance while Graveyard is a cautionary tale for those curious to look into graves! Demons,time travel and much more.

Tales Of Terror 2Tales Of Terror 2 (book) Print: £5.00 Download: £5.00 Meet Finlands own mystical hero -Kapteeni Kuolio or,if you prefer English:Captain Gangren! Learn about the terror of The Machine! “What is the meaning of This?” Find out. The Thinker..thinks! David Gordon brings us the first appearance of Callex -and she’s on a quest. And what happens if you Marry A Monster From Outer Space? Terror and fun the Black Tower way!

Merriwether:God’s Demon-ThumperMerriwether:God’s Demon-Thumper (book) Print: £7.00 Download: £7.00 The complete Merriwether series,originally published in Black Tower Adventure and A Little Midnight Horror–but with three strips never before published:including the Reverend’s battle with the ultimate Evil! From The Horror Of Hob Street to The Village Of Demons and Varney the Vampyre to The Fallen Angel himself,see how one Church of England vicar deals hard-fisted [and various spiked objects] justice to the ungodly…and the ultimate price!!! If you were into Charlton Horror Comics or any horror comic then this one is for you!

Merriwether:The Test Of SatanMerriwether:The Test Of Satan (book) Print: £5.00 Download: £5.00 At the end of Merriwether:Go’d Demon-Thumper,the reverend had been confronted by Satan and lay fatally injured. Star of 1980s comics,Benjamin R. dilworth,takes us through the fleeting seconds before death as Merriwether has flash backs showing just why he took on the career he did. Be prepared for horror and a little tongue-in-cheek humour. Horror fans will love this.

Black Tower Presents 1Black Tower Presents 1 (book) Print: £7.00 Download: £7.00 Tom Elmes,one of the most under-rated British comic creators began drawing comics back in the 1980s and earned the title “King of the Zine Nasty”! This book contains a whole new True Stories feature and a rare Elmes interview from 1990. Like good art,good story and a bit of violence -here you go!

Black Tower Presents 2:DESCENTBlack Tower Presents 2:DESCENT (book) Print: £8.00 Download: £8.00 Tom Elmes,one of the UKs most under-rated comic artists has produced a must buy for fans of horror,zombies or the two combined with science fiction! Only one prisoner aboard a space craft awakes from stasis alive. All the others are dead..well,the living dead! Can the lone surviving prisoner and the guards survive the zombie onslaught? Who knows -but we can tell you this is the most zombie fun you’ll get outside of the Resident Evil movies!!

Black Tower British Gold Collection 1Black Tower British Gold Collection 1 (book) Print: £7.00 Download: £7.00 For the first time in 60 years some of the lost gems of the British Golden Age of Comics are reprinted! Scanned and cleaned to the best standard possible -see The Phantom Raider,Ace Hart,Secrets Of The Super Sargasso Sea,Phantom Maid,Electrogirl,Skybolt Kid,Wonder Boy,Dene Vernon,Professor Atom and many,many others! Its fun and action all the way -The British Golden Age shines through!

Black Tower British Gold Collection 2Black Tower British Gold Collection 2 (book) Print: £7.00 Download: £7.00 The second collection of British 1940s comic strips featuring Maxwell The Mighty,Slicksure,Iron Boy,Alfie,Ace Hart and more. Featuring the work of Alf Farningham and Harry Banger. Specifically designed to feature more humour than the previous volume this should be a treat for all comic collectors. Reprinting the full content of The Meteor and The Rocket Comics from 1948.

Black Tower British Gold Collection 3Black Tower British Gold Collection 3 (book) Print: £7.00 Download: £7.00 This is the third volume in Black Tower Comics’ collection of Golden Age British comic strips that have not seen print for 50-60 years! Included in this volume is a bumper crop of Ace Hart:The Atom Man strips and an article on the character. A complete 1949 comic in Smugglers Creek;Denis Gifford’s Search For The Secret City and science fiction legend Bryan Berry’s rendition of Kid Carter -Teenage Tec! A must for all comic collectors and historians.

UK GOLD COLLECTION 4UK GOLD COLLECTION 4 (book) Print: £7.00 Download: £7.00 The fourth volume of this series features some great finds of the lost era of British comics: Ace Hart The Atom Man Captain Comet -Space Ranger TNT Tom Clive Lynn -Space Reporter Superstooge “The White Gorilla” Atomic Tuffy Cast Iron Chris Sigord and many others!

Black Tower Gold 5:Back From The DeadBlack Tower Gold 5:Back From The Dead (book) Print: £7.00 Download: £7.00 William McCail’s 1940 classic is reprinted for the first time in 60 years. If you are into British Golden Age comics or early comics in general this is for you. Robert Lovett rises from the dead and finds he has some startling powers:deaths follow,as does a determined Scotland Yard detective determined to track down the mysterious killer!

THE BAT TRIUMPHANT!THE BAT TRIUMPHANT! (book) Print: £7.00 Download: £7.00 In 1941,The Bat sets about modernising the backward Duchy of Stahl,over which his dynasty has ruled since 1410 A.D.. The Bat is soon involved in experiments with the infamous Count Cogliostro. One of these experiments involves suspended animation;The Bat deciding he will be the test subject. When he wakes,The Bat finds that not days have gone by but 51 years! Worse,his kingdom is in ruins and an enclave of Kamora. The Bat tries politics to win back his homeland and when that fails he decides to fight for it! However,he is unaware that some old,and new,enemies are lying in wait to stop him and all of them want one thing:The Bat dead! Originally a back up strip in Black Tower Adventure in 1994,The Bat proved very popular as an anti-hero. The story was never completed. It is now. New edition -added art pages

Krakos -Sands Of Terror!Krakos -Sands Of Terror! (book) Print: £7.00 Download: £7.00 Created by William A. Ward for Swan Comics in the 1940s,Krakos was one of Ward’s supernatural anti-hero types. Used,with Swan’s permission,in Black Tower Adventure strips in the 1980s/1990s,this is the character’s first solo outing. But will Krakos fulfill the Goddess Isis’ dream and become the new pharoah of a New Egyptian Kingdom that will encompass all of the Middle East? Did anyone actually ask Krakos? The book contains information on Ward and his work plus sample pages rescued after 60 years of neglect!

Journey Of The ID:The Dr Morg TrilogyJourney Of The ID:The Dr Morg Trilogy (book) Print: £7.00 Download: £7.00 Metapsychophysics meets comics. Its the next natural evolutionary step in comic books! For the first time all three parts of the highly acclaimed Dr. Morg Trilogy are combined into one volume:WORDS WITHIN WORLDS,AFTER ORWELL and the final explosive THE DEATH OF DR. MORG!

The Adventures Of Mark Tyme CollectionThe Adventures Of Mark Tyme Collection (book) Print: £8.00 Download: £8.00 Only two issues were published of The Adventures of Mark Tyme. As with the companion title,The Purple Hood,the artist was Michael Jay who has since faded into obscurity. Join Mark Tyme on his time travelling adventures to Roman Britain,the Stone Age,a pirate island,9th century Britain,outer space and other destinations.

The Purple Hood CollectionThe Purple Hood Collection (book) Print: £8.00 Download: £8.00 It was the Swinging Sixties! Britain was hip as hip could be -The Beatles ruled Pop! And everyone was looking toward a bright future…if there wasn’t a nuclear war! Middle Eastern threats,Eastern European fascists,flying saucer flying megalomaniacs and super mole machines and others threatened our little island. But we had the ultimate answer to these:The Purple Hood -International crime-smasher! Michael Jay’s Purple Hood now collected into over a hundred pages of action and text back-up. This is THE ultimate collection!

The Hooper InterviewsThe Hooper Interviews (book) Print: £10.00 Download: £10.00 From a huge selection of interviews covering the Small Press,Independent Comics from the UK,Europe and US,here are a few of the best from over 25 years.

Some Things Strange & SinisterSome Things Strange & Sinister (book) Print: £15.00 After more than 30 years as an investigator and more than forty as a naturalist,the author has opened some of the many files he has accumulated dealing with such things as.. The Terrifying EventsAt The Lamb Inn,The Ghosts Of All Saints Church,Dead Aquatic Creatures of Canvey Island,captured bigfoot like creatures in India -all exclusively presented for the first time and with new added research previously unseen. PLUS a vastly expanded section on Spring-heeled Jack! Photographs,maps,line drawings and up-dated to make 358 pages looking at Things truly Strange and Sinister. Cryptozoologist,Ghost Hunter,Ufologist or Fortean:this book has something for everyone -including the just plain inquisitive!

Some More Things Strange & SinisterSome More Things Strange & Sinister (book) Print: £15.00 Follow-up to the hugely successful Some Things Strange & Sinister. For those interested in Ufology,cryptozoology,hominology,unusual natural history,ghosts and mysteries in general. The secret history of gorillas -before they were ‘discovered’. Wild men of Europe, the UK and US. Hominology. Giant snakes. Amazons. The Giant serpent of Carthage. Girt Dog of Ennerdale. The Beast of Gevaudan. Crocodiles in the UK. Silent City of Alaska. And much more. Updated with extra pages and photographs.

Cruisers In The CloudsCruisers In The Clouds (book) Print: £6.00 Download: £6.00 If you have any interest in history or the development by the pioneers of hot-air ballooning,including the first use of parachutes in the 1800s,then this collection of articles by John Lea from 1905 and illustrated by H. J. Hodges,is for you.

The Red Paper:CANINES vol.1The Red Paper:CANINES vol.1 (book) Print: £12.00 By the 1700s the British fox was on the verge of extinction and about to follow the bear and wolf having been hunted for sport for centuries. The answer was to import thousands of foxes per year for sport. But foxes kept dying out so jackals were tried. Some were caught, some escaped. Even wolves and coyote were released for hunting. The summation of over 30 years research reveals the damnable lie of “pest control” hunting but also reveals the cruelty the animals were subject to and how private menageries as well as travelling shows helped provide the British and Irish countryside with some incredible events. The Girt Dog of Ennerdale is also dealt with in detail.

Black Tower Adventure 5Black Tower Adventure 5 (book) Print: £5.00 Download: £5.00 It’s the penultimate part of RETURN OF THE GODS:TWILIGHT OF THE SUPER HEROES and on Earth and in space heroes confront the invading Boarmen! Kotar and Sabuta try to have a quiet night in but..well… Xendragon (see Tales of Terror 1)investigates the Legacy of Frankenstein. Thaddeus Twatt and Tomas are held by the Crystallids and we hear of their origins. Lord of the Flies teaches a very naughty boy a lesson. The Iron Warrior rushes to the rescue down the Amazon way whiile The Bat (II) and Reverend Merriwether, God’s Demon Thumper put in an appearance. Its 60 pages of Black Tower Action!

The Amazing World Of Alan ClassThe Amazing World Of Alan Class (book) Print: £5.00 Download: £5.00 Marvel, Timely, Atlas, Charlton, ACG, MLJ/Archie Dennis the Menace (US) -one man published them all. Alan Class. Who? Class is legendary for bringing black and white reprints of US comics to a country starved of the medium thanks to a certain war! From 1959-1989 Suspence, Sinister, Astounding and Uncanny gave us a comic fix for a few pennies. Learn more about the man and how Class Comics came about in the long awaited print version of Terry Hooper’s exclusive interview!

Liz & JenLiz & Jen (book) Print: £5.00 Download: £5.00 Originally drawn back in the 1980s, this story of the coming out of two life long friends has never been properly published. Up-dated for 2011 with story and pencils by Terry Hooper and inks by Ben R. Dilworth

Mikros, Mitton, Mustang and Me

You see, for me it all began on a visit from Dalborn to Lemgo (both in Lippe, Germany). I was looking around the hypermarket there and saw some comic albums and a few comics.

This was still the day of Bastei before Egmont bought them out and really screwed up things.  There were a few of the ghost comics Spuk Geschichten and Geister Geschichten.  Grabbed those. Then, behind a copy of an Ehapa Batman And The Outsiders I spotted a bit of purple coloured costume.  There were two issues so I pulled them out.   Mikros.  And the back-up strip –Photonik. I had seen neither before but suddenly I was hooked!

I read and re-read the comics and I even wondered whether the comic shop in Lemgo might have copies.  However, the shop had really odd opening hours so I never go to find out.

I have already published something on the subject on CBO so, in case you cannot find it:
haracter called Photonik.

Firstly,Cool French Comics on Mikros:

“Created & Written by: Malcolm Naughton (pseudonym of Marcel Navarro) (1919- )
Artist: John Milton (pseudonym of Jean-Yves Mitton) (1945- )

Mikros features three Harvard entomologists and Olympic athletes, Mike Ross (Mikros), Priscilla Conway (Saltarella) and Bobby Crabb (Crabb), who are unwillingly mutated into insect-sized humanoids by the alien insectoid race called the Svizz.  The Svizz plan to use armies of insect-sized slaves to conquer Earth, but Mikros and his friends defeat their plans and overthrow their ruler, Super-Termitor.   Later in the series, the heroic trio is forced to move to France, where they encounrer their arch-eneny, Raoul de Roquemaure, Count of Monsegur, a.k.a. Psi, who turns Saltarella into her queen.

Mikros was the creation of Marcel Navarro, Publisher-Editor of Editions Lug, who later entrusted the character to writer-artist Jean-Yves Mitton, with whom he had previously collaborated on a Silver Surfer story.   Sixteen episodes of Mikros were originally serialized in “Mustang”.



FOR MORE BACKGROUND INFORMATION ABOUT “MUSTANG”, .
After “Mustang”‘s cancellation in 1981, the series was continued in “Titans”, which also published French versions of “Star Wars”,  “Dazzler”, “Iron Fist”, “New Mutants”, etc.  At Mitton’s behest, the series, which had originally taken place in the United States, moved to Southern Europe, in particular Venice (“Titans” ep. 1) and France (“Titans” ep. 7).  Mitton also introduced the heroes’ arch-nemesis, a power-mad mentalist named Psi.

Mitton eventually gave a sequel to the saga of Mikros in Epsilon (a.k.a. Moi, Epsilon, 15 Ans, Fils du Néant) [I, Epsilon, 15-Years Old, Son Of No One], which also featured the return of the nefarious Psi.
Mikros was recently reprinted Editions Sang d’Encre.  Two volumes have been published so far.”

Rather than meander through this myself,I’ve lifted further information from the above excellent Cool French Comics site.

“After the success of the Marvel Comics translations launched by Editions Lug in 1969, Publisher-Editor Marcel Navarro decided to create his own brand of French super-powered characters.  The first of these was Wampus (1969).

Then, in 1972, Lug launched the magazine “Futura“, which featured several characters such as Jaleb the Telepath, Homicron, The Time Brigade, The Other, Larry Cannon, Jeff Sullivan, etc. and ran for 33 issues until 1975.  “Futura” was followed by the short-lived “Waki” (1974), about a prehistoric hero whose colorful adventures took place in a post-cataclysmic world, “Kabur” (1975), about a mythical warrior hero and Lug‘s answer to Marvel’s Conan, and finally “Mustang” (Series II) in 1980.

While the above series had all been worthy efforts, none had met with the success Navarro had been hoping for.  Certainly, none rivaled the success of the Marvel material. Navarro then decided to call on writer-artists with a better understanding of the super-hero genre, and try them in a new magazine and a new format.

That magazine was originally going to be entitled “Sup’Heros” but, for business reasons, at the last minute, Navarro decided instead to revamp one of Lug‘s existing western magazine “Mustang“.  With No. 54, “Mustang” therefore became a full-fledged super-hero comic.

Unfortunately, the new “Mustang” was not profitable enough -– at least compared to the relatively inexpensive purchase of American material -– and was cancelled with issue 70 in 1981.  Nevertheless, it had revealed two new, native stars to the French readers: Cyrus Tota with Photonik, and Jean-Yves Mitton with Mikros.

Seventeen episodes of Photonik were originally serialized in “Mustang“.  (The last one was produced by Mitton.)   After “Mustang“‘s cancellation, Photonik returned in the Marvel-based magazine “Spidey“, starting with No. 22 in 1982.  In 1987, four episodes were again written and drawn by Mitton.

In 1999, “Spidey” eps. 21-24 and 25-28 were reprinted in two hardcover editions by publisher Delcourt.”
For far more info on stories/issues check out:

http://www.coolfrenchcomics.com/photonik.htm

Mitton’s Mykros is superb and I feel are long overdue a translation into English.
According to Lambiek:

“Jean-Yves was born in Toulouse and studied Fine Arts in Lyon. After completing his studies, he found employment in the retouching studio of Lug publishers. Here, he discovered American and Italian comics. His first series, ‘Sammy Sam’, was published from 1965 in magazine Pim, Pam, Poum, Pipo. For this series, he took on the penname Jym. Next, he took over the series ‘Pugacioff’ from the Italian artist Giorgio Rebuffi in Maxi Pipo, which was later illustrated by Amouriq and Yves Chantereau. He also created the little indian ‘Plume’.

With scenario writer Navarro, he made series like ‘Oum le Dauphin’, based on the television series, and ‘Blek le Roc’ (‘Il Grande Blek’). For this last series, he changed from a humorous to a realistic style. He was additionally a productive cover artist for the Lug publications. Under the pseudonym John Milton, he worked for Nova, where he made several comics with superheroes like ‘The Silver Surfer’, ‘The Fantastic Four’ and ‘Spider-man’.

In 1980, he started the saga ‘Mikros’ in Mustang and Titans, and made a comic adaptation of the television series ‘Blackstar’. Continuing his work on superheroes, he illustrated stories with ‘Cosmo’ and ‘Photonik’, and created ‘Epsilon’ and ‘Kronos’.

Starting in 1987, he associated himself with François François Corteggiani, with whom he made ‘l’Archer Blanc’ and ‘Noël et Marie’. In 1989, Mitton took over ‘De Silence et de Sang’ from Marc Malès. Next, he began a series about the Gaulish-Roman time: ‘Vae Victis’ and a comic about pirates, ‘Les survivants de l’Atlantique’. In 1994, he produced his series ‘Chroniques Barbares’, a saga about a tribe of vikings. Additionally, he made ‘Quetzalcoatl’ for Glénat and several comics for the Scandinavian magazine Fantomen, such as ‘Herman Storm’ with text by Eirik Ildahl.

As a scriptwriter, he has worked with Frank Bonnet (‘Attila… mon amour’) and Michel Rodrigue (‘Les Truculentes Aventures de Rabelais’). For the advertising agency Jet Stream, Mitton produced ‘Papoose’ with scriptwriter Chantelouve in 2002. His series ‘Colorado’ was published by Carpe Diem.”

Regarding Cyrus Tota,my favourite source -Lambiek- has this very short entry:

“Cyrus Tota started working for the publisher Lug in the 1970s, mostly retouching comics and making cover illustrations. He contributed to the ‘Blek’ series of the Italian Essegesse studios from 1977 to 1980. In 1980, he started his own series, ‘Photonik’. Later on, he also created ‘Fuzz et Fizzbi’ for Glénat and three volumes of the ‘Aquablue’ series for Delcourt.”


The thing was that,at that time in the 1980s,I had no idea these were super heroes created by French men. Initially I assumed they were German but the style and colour of both strips is so eye-catching and the stories were full of fun and enjoyable -I loved Mykros in Vienna for the Carnival totally unaware that the Black Gondolier was on his way to Earth.

Yes,the “Black Gondolier”.  Imagine a black Silver Surfer with gondoliers straw hat steering a..gondola.  Beautiful.

There were epic story lines -this wasn’t just junk comics.

Talk of an animated Photonik tv series was brief so,sadly,I’ve no idea whether it happened or not.
While Cinebook The 9th Art publish an incredible line of books of all genres for all ages I think there is room for the publishing of Photonik,Mikros and other French characters including Wampus.   Wampus,of course,has been collected into a book by Hexagon Comics and you can find details here:

http://www.blackcoatpress.com/hexagon.htm

I would encourage anyone with a love of comics to check out Cool French Comics and to discover some of these gems.  Publishers -there’s an opportunity here somewhere! So,please,don’t think Cinebook are the start and end of French comics and with the number of BD published each year…well,I wish I was rich and read better French!

That’s what I wrote back then. Mitton should be working for Marvel US, though that doesn’t mean to say he wants to! Europe offers creators far more freedom and I really must start saving the pennies because I want those two L’Archer Blanc books…I want to Photonik and Mikros books.  I just plain want!

To me, Mitton shows true style -blending European style and flair into whatever he draws.

 

Want some links ?-THANKS to Sebchoq!

 

http://www.bleus-et-originaux.fr/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=213%3Amitton&catid=18&Itemid=105&lang=fr

And

http://translate.google.fr/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.saintrapt.com%2Fimaginer%2Findex.php%3F2011%2F04%2F24%2F87-lee-falk-1911-1999&sl=fr&tl=en&hl=&ie=UTF-8

Below: fans have been waiting a long time to see Mitton’s Phantom work for Egmont (Scandinavia as Egmont does not publish comics in the UK just those adverts with some ‘comic’ work).


The White Archer was another fan favourite and two new volumes appeared a few years back.


Below: For the last couple years, Mitton has been drawing Ben Hur for Delcourt and his work is incredible.

Until Mitton’s work is published in English…
MAKE MINE MITTON

Black Tower -The Amazing World Of Alan Class

24pp
Black and white (illustrated)
Paperback
£5.00

http://www.lulu.com/product/paperback/the-amazing-world-of-alan-class/15549408

Marvel, Timely, Atlas, Charlton, ACG, MLJ/Archie Dennis the Menace (US) -one man published them all.
Alan Class.

Who?

Class is legendary for bringing black and white reprints of US comics to a country starved of the medium thanks to a certain war!

From 1959-1989 Suspense, Sinister, Astounding and Uncanny gave us a comic fix for a few pennies.
Learn more about the man and how Class Comics came about in the long awaited print version of Terry Hooper’s exclusive interview!

Green Lantern -Secret Origins

Green Lantern: Secret Origins
Geoff Johns and Ivan Reis
Titan Books New Edition -Hardcover 25th March (9780857682802) £14.99
New Edition Paperback 27th May, 2011 (9780857682819) £10.99
Size: 258 x 170 mm
192pp
Full Colour

Witness the beginning of the career of the bravest Green Lantern who’s ever lived as the secret origin of Hal Jordan is revealed. Discover how and why Hal received the power ring. Uncover the mystery of Abin Sur’s death. Find out why Jordan’s teacher and mentor, Sinestro, became obsessed with the prophecy of the apocalyptic end of the universe “the Blackest Night”.

I know that Green Lantern is hot at the moment and the comics have been doing great.  And now a movie.  I’ve heard lots of moans about the movie but, perhaps, people ought to wait until its release!

You’ll notice that the cover is very movie-based.  And why not -tie-ins with movies sells books and there is an exclusive movie feature item in this book.

Geoff Johns is a brilliant writer.  He can tell a story and pace it just right, so I have no quibbles here.  We see what inspired Hal Jordan to want to become a fly-boy and the family rifts that caused.  But, if you decide that you really want to let your siblings know you are the Green Lantern how do you go about it?  Buy the book and see!

Ivan Reis is also a top man and Oclair Albert does a great inking job.  As for colour, well Randy Mayor does a brilliant job and Rob Leigh’s lettering is spot on.  From the every-day trials and tribulations to taking on the Green Lantern mantle and all that entails this is a great book.

All comics should be this good.

As a present or to add to your comic collection this is a great book and I’ve already gone through it three times!

And, come on, don’t tell me you’ve never pretended to create a big green power-ring fist to bop your boss or some idiot over the head?  Ever played Power-Ring “Rocks, Paper, Scissors”? Fuuun!

This is it, folks -the first bona fide mainstream comic to be reviewed on CBO II.  Remember this day!

Collected:The Fighting American

The Fighting American
Joe Simon and Jack Kirby
Titan Books
Dimensions: 258 x 170mm
Paperback: 200 pp
ISBN: 9780857681157
£14.99/$19.95
Publication date: 27 May 2011

The complete adventures of the quirky Cold War superhero, launched in 1954 by the creators of Captain America, are presented here in an affordable graphic novel format, with weird and wonderful characters like Yucha Liffso, Jiseppi the Jungle Boy, and Poison Ivan! This volume boasts a new introduction by co-creator Joe Simon as well as previously unpublished stories and covers!

A good few years back I purchased a hard cover edition of The Fighting American.  Slightly damaged but a real gem.  When I opened this package from Titan Books I thought “Oh, at least I have an undamaged book now!”  However, I then thought that it seemed a lot thicker.

I’m very clever.  I checked the Titan press release and found that this book had far more pages than the hard cover edition.  Some two hundred pages of pure Simon and Kirby.

But better still: this collection contains every Fighting American strip that Simon and Kirby produced…with one exception.  As Joe Simon points out:
 
“The volume you hold in your hands contains every Fighting American story we ever produced, with the exception of one page from “The Mad Inker” that to this day is missing…”

This is a bloody gold-mine for any comic collector with taste!

Deadly serious adventures but with tongues firmly in their cheeks –as with “Super-Khakalovitch..Boy Has-Been!” and the lovely “Sneak of Araby”.  Then you have the almost sci-fi “Home Coming 3000”, a strip I love!  But then you have the villains that range from the normal to the strange and the completely off-the-wall!

If anyone doubts Simon & Kirby as a team they need to buy this.  If they ever doubted the work of Kirby then buy this.  No wonder he could never be bothered with the mundane every day things in life; Kirby’s mind was so far out there that I sit sometimes and wonder just what he might have come up with were he still around!

As a birthday or Christmas present for a comic fan you know this is spot on.  Unless you read it first and decide to keep it!

Brilliant stories, brilliant art and wonderful colour.  A book to treasure and read whenever you need inspiration or a smile.

A. O. Potter And The Comics Dream!

Comics, as far as I am concerned, is a mixture of the good and the bad. The rough and the smooth.  The- you get the point?

I remember that the best review I think I’ve given was published when I was working (and having to chase after payment) for the UKs Comics World magazine back in the nineties.  Story wasn’t good. Art was lousy. but the actual fun the person had writing and drawing it just seeped off of the page and to the reader.
In 1988, Alpha Omega Potter (seriously, his real name)  was based in a little place called Wolverhampton, in the West Midlands.

In The Alpha Omega Collection editorial (cover date August, 1988), Potter writes:

“I remember the day exactly when I discovered “Superheroes”.  It was the last day of term in my Junior School.  Those children who had a perfect track record for attending school, with few days off, were rewarded with the magnificent sum of 30p (in those days a lot of money, for me anyway).  I walked into a newsagents not knowing exactly what to buy, and there he was.  A big green man, who fascinated me. I picked up the comic and read his name. “The Incredible Hulk.” I was captivated with the monster, and my enthusiasm to learn more of the world of Superheroes grew.  So you can see my childhood favourite was the Hulk.  But, my true ultimate, mega-favourite has always been (ever since I was four years of age) the Dark Knight…Batman.  I’ve had my set backs in building my collection of comics in the early days, especially by my sisters.  They’d burn them out (sic) of revenge for arguements which they had lost.
“Then, in 1977, a friend of mine told me he’d made his own comic book.  I asked to see. He showed me.  It was in the ine of the Beano, with his own characters. So I did the same.  The  thing is though, most of my stories ended with a cliff-hanger. I only did one issue: comedy back then was not my strong point.  In comic book form thatis.  It wasn’t until a year later, 1978, that I started doing proper superhero material.  The story goes, I had…er…borrowed some drawing paper from school and was sitting in my room wondering what to do with it all, then it hit me. Marvel Matchstick Heroes.  Yep.  I started drawing my favourite Marvel Superheroes in my own matchstick form.  They started looking like the conventional form: I did over fifty different stories simply for my own pleasure.  The stories were my own, and I gained one reader, mt former teacher, who found my work very interesting.

“Then one day I picked up my pencil in order to doodle, but what I drew was the front cover of The Ace, who back then was in his own comic magazine.  It was not a matchstick form, but in a professional manner, or so I thought at the time.  The story was crude and saimple, nothing like it is today.  The art work, well the word I used to describe it can’t be printed, so rubbish will have to do.  I’d completed three issues plus one annual.  Many of my main characters were created in the summer of that year, and their stories are still strong in my memory.  It was then I started to dream about running my own comic magazine company.  From this dream grew a determined and firm ambition to make this a reality.

“Over the years since leaving school, I have developed my talent.  Often, I’d create and complete a full length adventure with a new Superhero on the spur of the moment.  I’ve been on various Training Schemes and had spells of unemployment and this has made me more determined to see my dream through to reality.  Even though at times I have met many people who have tried to discourage me from this.
“Over the years I have become my own worst critic: after I had sent one of my creations to 2000 AD’s Editor.  He told me to study the figures more.  Then I looked and saw I needed a lot of improvement.  So off to college I went and studied the human body.  There I started to develope my own style, which I’m still developing.  But this depends on the mood of the character.

“Well the dream has become a reality.  I have faith in the fact that my Superheroes will be to your liking.  The collection will introduce all these Superheroes to you, and you will meet the characters again in future issues.  But, for the time being, I’ll just stick with the four stories I’ve put in this comic.  Now “You” will get to choose who you want to see in a regular series. ”

The introductory Alpha Omega Collection.

When you read that introductory editorial you are reading the story of countless others, not just in the UK, but around the world.  And you are also reading how many of those youngsters set about making their dreams come true (Hey -my literary potential was noted and encouraged by my English teacher at Greenway Boys School).

But did A. O. Potter achieve what he hoped was a style of his own good enough to compete with other comics on retailers shelves?  Judge yourself:

 

from the Alpha Omega Collection no.1

No. But, and it is a major “but”, the one thing Potter achieved was the spread his enthusiasm and fun from the printed page to the reader.  One fan was the now vanished Lee Davies of the Mondo zine.  Another fan was yours truly and via my collection one Benjamin R. Dilworth.

Ben was on one of his visits to Bristol when he pointed at my copy of the Alpha Omega Collection -”Ah-ha! You’ve bought it, too!”  I think we bought copies of all three books and we even individually sent in designs for Potter’s “design a costume for Dragona competition”; not to win the competition but to show that maybe he needed two budding comic hacks to help him draw future issues!

One move after another and I’m sorry to say I no longer have half my Dilworth correspondence and not the Dragona costume design that was quite cool.

But, how exactly did Potter get the money to print a 60 pager in 1988?  I knew how expensive printing was and Ben said “I think he’s got onto some Government scheme?”  As it turned out, like one Paul Ashley Brown, Mr. Potter had gotten onto the Prince’s Trust which, in the 1980s, awarded grants.
A. O. Potter had gotten himself an offset printer.

 
Crude but fun!

Now, I ordered a copy of issue 2 of the Alpha Omega Collection (below) and before you think I’ve really treated the comic badly -that’s how it arrived.  Same stick label used to address the envelope stuck on the cover and partly torn off.  Oh, and a cigarette burn hole!  I wrote back and got an apology and was told a new copy was on its way.  I never got that copy.

That was it.

It was the last I, Dilworth or anyone else ever heard of Alpha Omega Potter.  He vanished it seems.
Alright, the art was not great but it was fun -as were the stories- and I can only assume the grant ran out.  Today we have print on demand so buying in printing ink, paper and the other printing odds and sods aren’t needed.

What happened to Potter? Has he continued to draw? Did he just decide that it was a pipe-dream and quit?  I hope not.  I’d like to think that somewhere in the West Midlands A. O. Potter is still drawing comic strips and developing his style but it has been over twenty years.

I take each Small Press or Independent comic that comes to me individually. I never say “this isn’t as slick as a Marvel or DC comic.”   I try to look at each book as an individual item created by a writer and artist or writer-artist.  I try to look past flaws, though I do note them and offer any suggestion to help overcome them.
There are many, many A. O. Potters out there all dreaming the dream.  Very few, perhaps, 2% make it into published comics.  Many work in the Small Press for fun. It doesn’t matter if they do not become big comic stars.  What matters is that they enjoy what they are writing and drawing.  If they say “Hey, I’m never gonna work for Marvel or DC but what the hey!” but continue because they love the medium then I say “Go for it, baby!”

Very, very few people in comics get rich -I had my days of no food for five days or just surviving on toast or boiled cabbage (!).  I had my faqir share of “red letter bills” and trotting around to publishers in all sorts of weather.  I’m not the only one.

I like to think that out there, in Cardiff, Newcastle, Birmingham, London, New York, Los Angeles, Topeka, Greenville, Berlin, Bonn, Paris, Brussels -all over the world, there are plenty of A. O. Potters working away and dreaming the dream.

Bless you all and I really hope that, even if you do not become a comic star,, you at least enjoy what you do.

Never lose the dream

Hugs