Here come The Stan Lee Eagle Awards!

The latest press release.....

The launch of The Stan Lee Eagle Awards 2014

COMICBOOK legend Stan Lee is providing fans around the world with

a fresh opportunity to honour their favourite writers, artists and titles of the previous 

year.

In collaboration with awards director Cassandra Conroy, the co-founder of the Marvel 

Universe is set to officially open The Stan Lee Eagle Awards for nominations on 

April 23rd 2014 at www.stanleeeagleawards.com.

Conroy took over as chair of the original 'Eagle Awards' in 2008 from their founder – her 

father, Mike Conroy – and has spearheaded the awards evolution. 

"My dad's intention was always to give the fans a voice and I'm delighted that this latest 

initiative will take his vision to an entirely new plane." she said.

Dubbed the People's Choice Awards, The Stan Lee Eagle Awards are unique in that they 

offer the only worldwide platform for professionals and non-professionals alike to voice their 

opinions of the work being done in the medium. 

"It'd be great to see more non-English language titles and creators being recognised and 

having such a household name as Stan Lee attached makes virtually anything possible," 

stated Mike Conroy.

"Many view Stan as a comicbook god," he added. "That Stan was the very first inductee on 

to Eagle Awards Roll of Honour back in 1976 just makes Cassandra's coup that much more 

of a personal pleasure for me."

The Stan Lee Eagle Awards will be held annually in July at 

the London Film and Comic Con.

"The original Eagle Awards had a coveted reputation that was well earned and respected. 

But to have Stan 'The Man' Lee offer his brand and patronage to champion The Stan 

Lee Eagle Awards is just incredible," proclaimed Cassandra Conroy, who added. "There 

has been a Conroy behind the Eagle Awards since their inception in 1976. I'm delighted 

that such a legendary creator as Stan has been willing to help me build on my father's 

legacy."

The 2014 prizes will be handed out as part of this year's London Film & Comic Con with the 

inaugural ceremony being held at Earls Court on Saturday, July 12th.

STAN LEE

It is almost impossible to summarise Stan Lee's contributions to the US comic book 

industry. A writer and editor who began his career in 1939 at the age of 16, he almost 

single-handedly ran Timely and Atlas – the precursors to Marvel Comics – writing a 

significant percentage of the stories for a line that consisted primarily of war, western, 

romance and fantasy/monster anthologies from 1941 until 1961 when he partnered with 

artist Jack Kirby to create Marvel's first superheroes in almost a decade. The Fantastic 

Four revived the fortunes of what had been a moribund company, and the collaboration 

between Lee and the legendary King of Comics continued as they followed that runaway

success with a wave of other well-receivedcharacters: Ant-Man (in Tales to Astonish), The 

Incredible Hulk, Thor (in Journey into Mystery), Iron Man (in Tales of Suspense), Sgt 

Fury and his Howling Commandos, The Avengers and X-Men among them.

Stan Lee's attendance at London Film and Comic Con, July 11th - 13th 2014 will be his last 

ever official European convention appearance.

CASSANDRA CONROY

GROWING UP surrounded by comics and immersed in the British comics scene thanks to 

her father, Mike Conroy, it was all but inevitable that Conroy would develop her own love for 

the medium. A face on the UK convention circuit since her early teens, Conroy took over 

the running of the original Eagle Awards from her father in 2008 when she was only 16. 

Determined to reinvent for the 21st century what were originally envisaged as fan awards, 

in 2014 she teamed up with legendary Marvel Universe co-creator Stan Lee to create a new 

worldwide brand in The Stan Lee Eagle Awards. Since 2012, Conroy has been coproducing 

the Comic Zone element of Showmasters' various UK-based multimedia events 

with her father.

MIKE CONROY

ONE OF the UK’s leading comics journalists, Mike Conroy is currently publisher/editor of 

Multiverse, Britain’s leading comics news magazine. He writes the bonus features for all 

the titles in Hachette’s hugely successful Ultimate Marvel Graphic Novel Collection line, 

as well as co-producing Comics Zone, the event-within-an-event at Showmasters’ massive 

nationwide multimedia extravaganzas, with his daughter Cassandra. A veteran comics

journalist, historian, author and biographer, Mike Conroy is also the founder of the Eagle 

Awards. Established in 1976, the Eagle Awards are one of the comics industry’s oldest and 

most coveted international prizes.

More detailed bios at www.stanleeeagleawards.com

London Film and Comic Con (www.londonfilmandcomiccon.com) will run from Friday 11th 

July to Sunday 13th July 2014 in Earls Court 2. The Stan Lee Eagle Awards takes place 

during the evening of the event on Saturday 12th July, doors open from 7pm.

1969: Final flight of the EAGLE

Final issue of EAGLE, April 1969.

Exactly 45 years ago today, the most famous adventure comic in Britain ended its 19 year run. The final issue of Eagle bowed out on Wednesday April 23rd 1969 (cover dated April 26th) with Vol.20 No.17.

When the publishing giant IPC took control of the Odhams and Fleetway comics they ruthlessly cut through the poorer selling titles. The period from late 1968 to early 1969 saw the end of Fantastic, Pow!, Jag, and Eagle, and Smash! was revamped beyond recognition. (IPC had their own ideas for adventure comics, as the following years would prove... but few had longevity.)

Eagle had been on the decline for years, and ended in a poorer state than its high quality beginnings. Yet even its final edition still contained good artwork. Let's take a look...

I'm sure the cover above must have raised a wry smile with older readers. "The  modern paper for the modern boy" led with a 1950s Dan Dare reprint! Having treated Dare's creator Frank Hampson disgracefully (see Alistair Crompton's book Tomorrow Revisited for the full story) and replaced him on the strip years earlier, the publishers had then added more insult by replacing the new artists with reprints of Hampson's work (without paying him of course).

The first strip inside the issue was The Waxer. A creepy serial about living waxworks, it was illustrated by Reg Bunn, famed for his work on The Spider for Lion. 

The wheelchair-bound crimebuster Lightning Stormm was clearly inspired by TV's Ironside. Art by Barrie Mitchell.

By 1969 Western strips were nowhere near as popular than in their 1950s heyday, and this was the final bow for Blackbow the Cheyanne. Art by Frank Humphries.

Ancient gladiators vs Nazis! Only in comics...

The Circus Wanderers had been given the full colour centrespread for some reason. A somewhat silly strip of circus performers becoming footballers, it never made the leap to the merged comic.

What's that? Merged comic? Yes, the next page explained it all, with a typical "Great News, Pals!" announcement. Eagle was merging with Lion! Ironic, considering they were originally by rival publishers, and that Lion was the younger upstart, initially a poor imitation of Eagle. 

Over the page, The Day the World Forgot, with art by Tom Kerr, may have been a reprint from somewhere. 

Wild of the West was certainly a reprint. (Perhaps from Top Spot?) I think the art was by Ted Kearon but I'm unsure.

Finally, The Iron Man's last adventure. Yes, Eagle had its own Iron Man superhero, although this version was a robot and bore no similarity to Marvel's character. The strip had originated in Boy's World in 1963 before moving over to Eagle. Art by Martin Salvador.

The following week, readers were greeted with Lion and Eagle, with poorer paper quality and less colour than they were used to. Admittedly the title was revived with much publicity in 1982 and ran for several years, but the true original Eagle ended in 1969. 

Mono version of the cover by Geoff Campion.

Spaceship Away 32

A new issue of Spaceship Away has recently been published and contains a good mixture of material. Firstly it boasts a cover, centrespread, and back cover newly drawn by veteran Dan Dare artist Don Harley, reproducing memorable scenes from the original Eagle weekly. It's pleasing to know that Don is still drawing and can produce such excellent pieces of work. 

Inside, the 40 page issue kicks off with episode 13 of Parsecular Tales, a brand new classic style Dan Dare strip written and drawn by Tim Booth. As always, the first page is designed in a nice homage to the 1950s Eagle, - fourpence ha'penny price and all. The six page story has impressively detailed artwork but I felt it needed a resumé caption at the start to clue readers in on the story so far. Spaceship Away is only published three times a year and it's asking a lot for readers to remember the plot of a serial at such infrequency. I've missed a few issues and I found myself struggling to understand all the whys and wherefores of the story.

The same applies sadly to Shadow Over Britain, a reprint of a 1950s serial from (I think) Express Weekly. It's episode ten, but no resumé, so again a big drawback. Considering the price of each issue is £8.50 it would take the sting off a bit just to help new readers along. 

I would also question the use of Comic Sans as a lettering font. Notorious in the comics industry for being a poor font. There are many far better comic lettering fonts available. 

OK, that's the downside of the comic. There are many positives which easily outweigh those negatives. It was great to see an early Ron Embleton science fiction strip from the 1950s. (Original source not given.) Newly coloured by Martin Baines (and lettered with a better font that Comic Sans) it's a cracking 8 page story with a great twist. 

There are also three well researched articles in the issue. The first looks at the 2000AD version of Dan Dare from the 1970s, which is often unfairly dismissed by Dare purists. The strip had a lot going for it, particularly the strong artwork by Massimo Belardinelli and Dave Gibbons, so it's good to see it being given its due.

There's also an article on the later years of the Garth comic strip and the various attempts to revive it over the years. (It's currently being reprinted in the Daily Mirror, but will new stories ever appear?)

Rounding out the issue is a great feature on Norman Light's comic strip work of the 1950s. This is very welcome, as independent comics from this era are sometimes overlooked by comic enthusiasts. 

In addition there are photo features on the Dan Dare Rocket Gun and a superb Phant model. 

As mentioned earlier Spaceship Away is not cheap, but remember that the more limited a print run is, the higher the unit cost is to produce each issue. Also, the printing standards are top notch, with a laminated cover and full colour glossy interior stock. Although a fan publication, it actually looks better quality than many High Street magazines. 

Spaceship Away is not available in newsagents. To order your copy, visit the official website here: http://spaceshipaway.org.uk/
  

Have an Eggs-cellent Easter!

No time to research old comics for an Easter theme this weekend I'm afraid but here's a few links to blog posts I did a few years ago, all of which contain lots of Easter strips from the pages of Smash!, Pow!, Radio Fun and more! A trip down memory lane for regular readers of Blimey! and a treat for those of you who are new to this blog. Happy Easter!

http://comiconline24h.blogspot.co.uk/2010/04/easter-comics-of-past.html?showComment=1270499838812

http://comiconline24h.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/ha-ha-happy-easter-readers.html

http://comiconline24h.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/easter-funday.html

The TOXIC ANNUAL is coming!

After 12 years of continuous publication, Toxic magazine finally gets its own annual this summer! Toxic Annual 2015 is scheduled for publication on July 31st 2014, with 72 pages for a R.R.P. of £7.99. 

(UPDATE 7/5/14: A revised version of the cover has been uploaded to Amazon):

I've known about this for a while but I kept quiet until the publishers Egmont made it public. Now that the book is advertised on Amazon, I guess it's ok to mention it. I've written/drawn a brand new 4 page Team Toxic strip for the book, with the Team encountering two of their regular bad guys plus a giant snot monster! 

It's unusual for a modern comic/mag to take so long to have an annual spin off book, but I would imagine the healthy sales of the magazine over the last few years have encouraged Egmont to try it. Toxic has been around since 2002, so it's become a recognised title in its own right now. 

By the way, although the logo on the cover above looks unusually pale, it'll most likely be enhanced on the actual book with a fifth ink such as dayglo green, like on the regular magazine.

Here are the details of the book from the publisher's info:

The Toxic Annual 2015 is a celebration of all the biggest and best boys brands. From Skylanders to Lego, Minions to Mario and FIFA to Nerf amongst others, it brings together great stories, activities, posters, facts and fun in one action-packed annual. As with the highly popular Toxic Magazine, the Toxic Annual features all the top news and info about gaming, films, TV shows and toys together with additional fun and engaging content to really get boys reading and laughing.

All in all, the Toxic Annual 2015 is a jam-packed end-of-year compendium of all the coolest brands. It's filled with jokes, stories, and all the top things to know, all delivered with the humorous attitude which makes Toxic so popular!

Hardcover: 72 pages

Publisher: Egmont (31 July 2014)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 1405272112

ISBN-13: 978-1405272117

Product Dimensions: 19.8 x 12.8 x 2.1 cm

You can pre-order a copy from Amazon.

This week in 1969: TIGER AND JAG

It's been a while since I featured Tiger on this blog so here's a quick look at the issue that was on sale from 19th to 25th April 1969. This was the 4th combined issue of Tiger and Jag, with IPC having taken over the Fleetway comics and trimming back the weaker selling titles. The Roy of the Rovers cover is by Yvonne Hutton, whose linework still looks fresh and modern even today. Tragically, Yvonne died in a car accident in the early 1990s. 

The following Skid Solo story is drawn by John Vernon. It's a significant episode because it introduces 'Sparrow' Smith, who became a regular supporting character. (Click on all pages to see them much larger.)

The Nosey half-pager at the end of the Skid Solo story was drawn by Alf Saporito, who a year later became the regular cover artist on Gus Gorilla for Cor!! 

Since its merger with Jag, Tiger had inherited that comic's web offset printing process which was a higher standard of printing, and allowed artists to paint their colour pages instead of relying on the flat colour overlays that the newsprint comics used. Just look at the quality of this full colour Football Family Robinson centrespread by Joe Colquhoun...

Tiger later became an all-sports comic, but in 1969 it still featured a variety of subjects. One such strip was Saber, King of the Jungle, illustrated by the excellent Denis McLoughlin...

Here's a few snippets of some of the other strips in Tiger and Jag that week, starting with Typhoon Tracy drawn by Graham Allen using a less cartoony style than that which he'd used on The Nervs for Smash!

Custer by David Sque...

Black Patch the Wonder Horse by Sandy James...

...and the long-running Johnny Cougar by John Gillatt.

Finally, to add to the flavour of the year 1969, here's a few of the adverts that appeared in that issue, including one of the legendary "Great News, Pals!" announcements for two comics joining forces...

By the way, - you can see more classic ads from other comics in previous posts on this blog. Here's a few links:

http://comiconline24h.blogspot.co.uk/2007/03/junk-food-and-comics.html

http://comiconline24h.blogspot.co.uk/2007/03/seventies-nostalgia-adverts-in-comics.html

http://comiconline24h.blogspot.co.uk/2010/01/seventies-nostalgia-more-adverts-from.html

http://comiconline24h.blogspot.co.uk/2010/01/more-ads-from-1970s-comics.html

http://comiconline24h.blogspot.co.uk/2010/01/ads-from-comics-of-1960s.html

http://comiconline24h.blogspot.co.uk/2010/01/advertisements-for-comics-of-past.html

http://comiconline24h.blogspot.co.uk/2007/03/anti-smoking-strips-of-sixties.html

Classic British comics up for auction

On 29th April at 10.30 a.m. Mullock's Specialist Antiques and Valuers will be giving comic enthusiasts a chance to win some classic British comics. The auction includes a wide range of titles from across the rich history of UK comics. I've taken a look at the lots online and there seems to be something there for everyone who's interested in British comics and story papers, whatever your age.

Here's just a handful of the many items in the auction...

There are some American comics too, including this early issue of Action Comics from June 1945...

If you can't make it to the auction, it seems you can place an absentee bid via the website. To find out more info, and to see all the lots on offer, visit this website:
http://www.the-saleroom.com/en-gb/auction-catalogues/mullocks-specialist-auctioneers-and-valuers/catalogue-id-2901933/lot-21876797

If you can make it to the auction, here's the address:

• The Clive Pavilion
• Ludlow Racecourse
• Bromfield Ludlow
• Shropshire
• SY8 2BT
• United Kingdom

10.30am. Tuesday 29th April.