Vintage ADs

 

Back in the day everyone wanted one of these.

Vintage ADs

We love a vintage AD here at the Archive.

This was part of an anti-smoking campaign that ran in UK comic books and magazines during the 1980's.
 

Vintage AD

 

This AD for Hubba Bubba chewing gum ran in UK comic books during the 1980s

No Work for Daniel Craig lookabitalike.

 

This week the East Anglian Times reported about the worries of a professional Daniel Craig lookalike who actually looks nothing like Daniel Craig. For the last 14 years, Steve Wright has been making a fortune as a Craig lookalike but now that Craig has left the Bond role, the lookalike who doesn't really lookalike fears his work will dry up.

'Inevitably I'm not going to be as popular. People obviously want the current Bond, but I've been been 007 for the last 14 years so I'm happy to pass on the mantle.The same thing has happened to the Sean Connery and Pierce Brosnan lookalikes after all."

Mr Wright lost dozens of Bond jobs during the pandemic due to cancellations and it now looks as if it's going to get worse, as a new actor steps into 007's shoes. Maybe he can continue as a lookalike who looks nothing alike whoever the new Bond turns out to be.

The one thing Mr Wright won't miss is being chased at high speed by blokes who look vaguely like Blofeld.

Mr Wright is considered the world's best Daniel Craig lookalike....Here, at the Archive we are just not seeing it.

 ....

Those FAB 1970's comic books

The 1970's were the decade that I did most of my comic book reading - I was five years old at the start of the decade and when it ended I was mid-way through my teenage years. This was the age to be reading comic books and although I have kept reading comics into middle age and seen some amazing use of the medium, nothing can compare to the total immersion I felt during my childhood years.

The 1970s are famous for bell-bottoms and the rise of disco, but it was also an era of economic struggle, cultural change and technological innovation.

The 1970's was an extremely active decade for British comics and many of the most fondly remembered titles came from these years - 2000AD was launched mid way through the decade, Battle Picture Weekly came a little earlier, as did Action. The latter not to be confused with the American title of the same name which showcased Superman. The UK Action was a totally different beast. In other parts of pop culture the 70's saw the birth and demise of British Punk and there was a new attitude that swept the old aside. This new attitude was reflected in UK comics, particularly in the more edgier titles published by IPC/Fleetway. Titles such as 2000AD and Action.

Top 10 Bestselling singles UK 1970s

Mull Of Kintyre 

Rivers of Babylon

You're the one that I want

Mary's Boy Child

Summer Nights

YMCA

Bohemian Rhapsody

Heart of Glass

Bright Eyes

Don't Give on us baby

In the 1970's you could walk into any newsagents and the range of titles available were staggering - Whizzer and Chips, Cor, 2000AD, Battle, Whoopie, Tiger, Roy of the Rovers, Shiver and Shake, Action, Warlord, Bullet, Victor, The Beano, The Dandy and Look- in, are just some of the titles I can recall off hand but there were many many more, including titles aimed squarely at girls - but differing totally to the girl's comics published today. Misty, for instance, was so cool that boys would often sneak a read of their sister's copy. For 10p you could usually get two comic books as well as change to spend on a mixture of Black Jacks and Fruit Salad chews - I seem to remember getting five of these for a penny. There was no political correctness back then and anyone who suggested Black Jacks were racist sweets would have been looked at blankly, that kind of thinking wasn't in the culture then. These days Black Jack sweets have a different label, which is an example of how we are more thoughtful but I really don't think those sweeties caused any offence back then. Never would we have thought that the innocent sweets were perpetuating a  racist stereotype. Of course we know different now.

Black Jack is a type of "aniseed flavour chew" according to its packaging. It is a chewy, gelatin-based confectionery. Black Jack is manufactured under the Tangerine Confectionery Barratt brand in Spain and the UK. In the 1920s Trebor Bassett manufactured them, and the wrapper showed gollywogs on it.

If anyone had made a case against the black jack sweets back then   they would have been  tied to one of those new fangled skateboards and sent whizzing down Thomas Street - man, that was one steep street. Walking up it on a warm summer's afternoon was a bitch, even for young legs.

From the first mobile phone to the Rubik's Cube to barcodes, some of the world's greatest inventions emerged during the '70s.

The decade also saw the emergence of new comic talent that are these days big names in Brit Comics - Pat Mills, John Wagner to name but two . The 1970's was certainly a vibrant decade for Brit comics, with sales very healthy indeed - perhaps the reasons for this was that children growing up in this decade were the last not to have computer games and 24hour television to steal their attention, from the delights of comic book reading. We had no X-Box's. Playstations or DVD players . We would never have believed the Internet and we only had three TV channels and BBC2 was filled with hippie shit in any case - least, that was how it seemed at the time.

The 1970 was the age when the unions were on the march and the socialist revolution seemed at hand, but also when feminism, permissiveness, pornography and environmentalism were transforming the lives of millions. It was an age of miners’ strikes, tower blocks and IRA atrocities, but it also gave us celebrity footballers and high-street curry houses, organic foods and package holidays, gay rights and glam rock. These were  the days when you could buy a new colour television but power cuts stopped you from watching it.

This is the dawning of the age of Aquarius, the theme of some TV show told us (and for the life of me I can't remember what that show was) and at least in terms of comic books we were entering a brave new world.


Everything seemed to be changing - the cinema had changed forever, some would say for the worse, when Jaws heralded in the age of the blockbuster and then a little, dare I say overrated movie called Star Wars changed everything. And like the rest of the world UK comics looked towards science fiction as the genre of choice.

The Seventies saw massive inflation world wide much of it caused by the Oil Crisis in the Middle East, Digital Technology is seen for the first time in consumer products including the first calculator, as technology advanced the range and function of home appliances improved.

 2000AD was launched mid decade - billed as the galaxy's greatest comic the title was seemingly edited by an alien whose Spaceship had landed on earth and disguised itself as King's Reach Towers. His name was Tharg and he was a hip cat and you know he's still editing the comic now. Not real? What do you mean Tharg is not real? Get out of here.

Top 10 rated UK British TV programmes of 1970

• Miss World 1970 (BBC) 10.6 million.
• Benny Hill Show (ITV) 9.3 million.
• Eurovision Song Contest (BBC) 9.2 million.
• This Is Your Life (ITV) 8.9 million.
• Coronation Street (ITV) 8.9 million.
• News At Ten (ITV) 8.7 million.
• Steptoe and Son (BBC) 8.7 million.

When the decade ended and we moved towards the 1980's, a kid of the time would have been left feeling things had improved. Video Recorders were just making an appearance, Betamax and VHS, and we had the first home computer games - that these games consisted of a square pixel hitting a smaller square pixel around the screen with only two sound effects didn't matter. These were cutting edge and we marvelled at the graphics. How things would change - the two colour world of the Sinclair Spectrum was just around the corner.

The Walkman is introduced by Sony.

During the 70's it had been a cool time to be a kid and life for us imitated art or at least Star Wars and we ended the decade by seeing a female version of Darth Vader become Prime Minister. From then on it wasn't such a cool world....Even today it remains not such a cool world.

During the 1970's  Britain was mocked as the "Sick Man of Europe", a byword for decline and self-destruction. In 1976 alone, race riots disrupted the Notting Hill Carnival, the retirement of Prime Minister Harold Wilson was overshadowed by allegations of corruption, the Sex Pistols made their shocking debut on national television, and Britain had to go cap in hand to the IMF.

To commemorate the 70's in comics we present a scan of Jack Adrian's Kid's Rule OK from the controversial comic, Action. Remember click on any image for a larger version and find a full history of the UK Action comic HERE

NO TIME TO DIE - THE BOND REVIEWS ARE IN.

 Last night, Daniel Craig's final outing as Bond finally premiered to mixed reviews, though most reviews are hugely positive.

The Times critic said: "Craig is a towering charismatic presence from opening frame to closing shot, and he bows out in terrific, soulful, style."

The Guardian reported: "It is of course a festival of absurdity and complication, a head-spinning world of giant plot mechanisms, but the film as a whole is very enjoyable and gleefully spectacular".

Time Magazine said: "At two hours and 43 minutes, it's too long and too overstuffed with plot - more isn't always better. And it features one of the dullest villains in the series' history, played by Rami Malek in mottled skin and dumb silky PJs.But forget all that. No Time To Die, its flaws notwithstanding, is perfectly tailored to the actor who is, to me, the best Bond of all."

Screen Daily said: "It's certainly a film that breaks many of the canonical rules of the series, though not entirely to dazzling effect. There's plenty to gawk at, and to argue over, in this episode, yet No Time To Die is oddly lacking in pleasure or real wit."

The Hollywood Reporter wrote: "It may not rank up there with Skyfall, but it's a moving valedictory salute to the actor who has left arguably the most indelible mark on the character since Connery,"

Empire Magazine wrote: This is a Bond films that ticks all the boxes - but brilliantly, often doesn't feel like a Bond film at all. For a 007 who strived to bring humanity to a larger than life hero, it's a fitting end to the Craig era.

eBook market expected to Boom

 A recent report suggests that the global eBook market is to boom over the next few years - A complete research offering of comprehensive analysis of the market share, size, recent developments, and trends can be availed in this latest report by Big Market Research.

As per the report, the Global eBook Readers Market is anticipated to witness significant growth during the forecast period from 2020 to 2025.

The report provides brief summary and detailed insights of the market by collecting data from the industry experts and several prevalent in the market. Besides this, the report offers a detailed analysis of geographical areas and describes the competitive scenario to assist investor, prominent players, and new entrants to obtain a major share of the global eBook Readers market.

Our analysis involves the study of the market taking into consideration the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Please get in touch with us to get your hands on an exhaustive coverage of the impact of the current situation on the market. Our expert team of analysts will provide as per report customized to your requirement.

Key highlights from COVID-19 impact analysis:

A summary of the COVID-19 pandemic on the global economy.
Fluctuations in the demand and supply chain of the industry.
Pre and post-COVID-19 impact on the revenue matrix.

You can request a sample of the report HERE

Writers' Market News

Following a successful funding application to the Arts Council England, Indie publisher Peninsula Press are looking for submissions from new original writers. Find details HERE

Galley Beggar Press are inviting writers to submit original short stories or poems for its competition which holds high cash prizes in several categories. Find the dirt HERE

Metro UK are looking for articles from writers of colour for an ongoing series that goes under the title, The State of Racism. The series of articles asks what it means today to be a person of colour in the UK. You can get an idea of what the newspaper wants by reading previous articles in the series HERE . Contact the editor with your pitch by contacting natalie.morris@metro.co.uk 

Black Cat Magazine are looking for speculative fiction and poetry - find details HERE

What is historical crime fiction

 "After writing some thirty books or more I find writing historical mysteries to be the greatest challenge of all, especially those set in the early medieval period, such as my John Crowner series." Bernard Knight.

Most periods of history have been tackled at one time or another by the scores of historical crime writers out there - From ancient Rome in the entertaining Lindsey Davies novels, to ancient Greece in the works of Margaret Doody. There are crime novels set during the American Civil War and some set in prehistoric times. Roman Britain has been explored in the works of Rosemary Row and the streets of Victorian London brought to life by countless writers.

Perhaps the best known of all historical crime writers is the late Ellis Peters with her hugely entertaining Cadfael series. The character of Cadfael himself is a Welsh Benedictine monk living at Shrewsbury Abbey, in western England, in the first half of the 12th century. The historically accurate stories are set between about 1135 and about 1145, during "The Anarchy", the destructive contest for the crown of England between King Stephen and Empress Maud.

Historical Crime  is a sub-genre of historical fiction which bears elements of the classical mystery novel, in which the central plot involves a crime (almost always a murder) and the setting has some historical significance. One of the big areas of debate within the community of fans is what makes a given setting historical. Most (but not all) agree that it should involve a time before the book was published. But how much before? 25 years? 50 years? 100 years? All have their proponents. Others think the setting should be X number of years before the author's lifetime, or before the readers' lifetime. There's also a lot of debate over how much historical accuracy is required to make a given setting historical rather than fantasy or alternate history or really just a modern story in fancy dress. While there has to be some elements of real life history to the setting under most definitions, the "detective" may be a real-life historical figure, eg. Socrates, Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, Mozart, or a wholly imaginary character.


"Writing historical fiction is a lot of fun. The research involved in producing medieval mysteries is exciting and absorbing and it seems that however much I do there is always more to learn." Susanna Gregory

I myself have dipped my toes into the historical fiction pond - My novel, Down Among the Dead is set during World War Two and I intend to continue this series just as soon as time allows. The book is on a special FREE promotion at Amazon for the next three days....GO CHECK IT OUT



Possibly the first full-length historical whodunnit. was written by Agatha Christie, the Queen of Crime herself when she set Death Comes to an End in ancient Egypt. So what is the appeal of historical crime fiction? Well I'll counter the question with another question, what is the appeal of any genre?

Five highly enjoyable historical mysteries

The Face of a Stranger (Monk series) by Anne Perry

Anne Perry’s much-loved series of novels featuring William Monk explore the richly-described streets and alleys of Victorian London, populated with intriguing and engaging characters. In the first of the series, The Face of a Stranger, William Monk must rediscover his own identity after losing his memory after an accident, at the same as solving a murder in his role as a police detective. This amnesia remains a thread through the following novels, as Monk investigates brutal murders among the elite of London’s glittering, yet deadly, social scene.

The Ashes of London (Marwood and Lovett series) by Andrew Taylor

Set quite literally in the ashes of London following the Great Fire, the first novel in Andrew Taylor’s series introduces readers to James Marwood, who is working, somewhat reluctantly, for Whitehall. As he investigates the discovery of a mutilated body in the ruins of St Paul’s, he meets Cat Lovett, a fugitive with a keen interest in architecture yet constrained by the restrictions of the time on what a woman could do. The geography of London as it rebuilds is key to the novels, with a wealth of period detail against which the intensely thrilling plots unfold. You can almost smell the smoke.

Down Among the Dead by Gary M. Dobbs

It's 1940 - France has fallen, and Britain stands alone against the might of the German war machine; a fierce battle for supremacy of the air rages in the skies as the Battle of Britain hits full stride.

For Chief Inspector Frank Parade and his much-depleted team, there are many challenges to policing the small Welsh mining village of Gilfach Goch, for while miles away from the theatres of war, the home front faces unique challenges of its own. The wartime demands thrown on the country mean that each officer in Parade’s team must do the work of two men - three even.

Soon, the already overwhelming workload is increased when not one, but two bodies turn up, and Parade finds himself having to investigate two murders as well as cope with everything else thrown his way.

The Alienist by Caleb Carr

Caleb Carr’s novel, which promises to be the start of a series, is set in 1890s New York City. In 1919, the narrator, a crime reporter, is reminiscing with Dr Laszlo Kreizler, the ‘alienist’ of the title and early criminal profiler, about working with police commissioner Theodore Roosevelt to solve a number of grisly murders on the Lower East Side. The novel weaves together a diverse cast of characters with recognisable historical figures. The sequel, The Angel of Darkness, features the same team investigating the kidnap of the infant daughter of a visiting Spanish dignitary.

A Gentleman’s Murder by Christopher Huang

Set in 1924, Christopher Huang’s novel offers a locked-room mystery, a cast of upper-class characters, an element of the psychological and more, but also addresses issues of race, addiction and the after-effects of the First World War. Mixed-race protagonist Lieutenant Eric Peterkin joins The Britannia, London’s finest and most prestigious club, but finds himself investigating the mystery of a man found dead in the club’s vault. The mystery takes him well beyond the club to the heroin dens of Limehouse, yet all the clues point towards the officers of the club and of Scotland Yard.

Official UK Charts

 

1. 1.

   The Man Who Died Twice

   by Richard Osman

2. 2.

   The Thursday Murder Club

   by Richard Osman

3. 3.

   And Away...

   by Bob Mortimer

4. 4.

   Beautiful World, Where Are You

   by Sally Rooney

5. 5.

   Turn a Blind Eye

   by Jeffrey Archer

6. 6.

   Together

   by Jamie Oliver

7. 7.

   An Innocent Baby

   by Cathy Glass

8. 8.

   The Midnight Library

   by Matt Haig

9. 9.

   This Much is True

   by Miriam Margolyes

10. 10.

    Guinness World Records 2022

    by Records, Guinness World

It's time for No Time to Die

 The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) passed the long-awaited new 007 outing for release uncut, after finding that its scenes of “moderate violence” and “infrequent strong language” were suitable for children aged 12 and above.

No Time to Die will premier this week, and it looks as if Daniel Craig's swansong will be less brutal than previous outings.

The number of 18 and 15-rated films had dropped over the past decade with studios increasingly targeting family audiences to maximise box office returns

How many books can we possibly read

 Laura Vanderkam, author of time management titles recently offered up a sobering thought on Twitter.

One day, she tweeted, you realise that you are only going to read so many books. Fifty a year for fifty years is 2,500 titles.

So many books out there...so little time.

NO TIME TO DIE - THE LONGEST BOND FILM OF THEM ALL

 The 163-minute runtime confirms the rumor that “No Time To Die” is the longest Bond film in the franchise’s history. The 2015 “Spectre” was 148 minutes, with “Skyfall” and “Casino Royale” both over 140 minutes

The Witcher Season 2: New details

 Netflix have announced that the long awaited second season of, The Witcher will drop on December 17th and news is that the showrunners have ditched the often confusing multiple timelines for a more linear style of storytelling.

"We won’t play with time as much, but still not tell completely linear stories. For example, Ciri’s story moves back and forth in her head.” Showrunner, Lauren Hissrich.

Netflix has kindly provided the Archive some details about what we can expect from season two, with Geralt set to bring Princess Cirilla to his childhood home of Kaer Morhen after believing that Yennefer has lost her life at the Battle of Sodden.While the Continent's kings, elves, humans and demons strive for supremacy outside its walls, he must protect the girl from something far more dangerous: the mysterious power she possesses inside.

The Netflix synopsis also tells us that four new Witchers will be introduced this season.

See the teaser trailer embedded below:

Remember brush, floss and read your comic books

 

What does toothpaste have to do with comics? A link seems hard to imagine, but back in the mid 1960s, comics were eagerly devoured by the kids of the day. So what better medium than a comic to ram home the oral hygiene message, and sell more of your brand's product along the way?

The proprietors of Gibbs toothpaste, through their advertising agency, Lintas, knew their business when it came to advertising and promotion, so you can be sure that their reasoning to run a children's comic was sound. In September 1955, when the UK's first commercial television channel went to air, ending the 18-year monopoly of the BBC, the first advertisement shown was for Gibbs SR Toothpaste.

No expense was spared on Gibbs Ivory Castle Arrow. The comic was produced by the photogravure process used by the million-seller women's magazines of the time. Top comic artists were commissioned. John Ryan, of Captain Pugwash fame, Phil Mendoza. Gordon Hogg, and John Burns were among them.

The editor of the comic was called "The Keeper of the Keys" and his editorial would appear on page 2, alongside readers' letters and jokes, and lists of competition prizewinners that ran to more than a hundred, split into age groups: Over Tens, Seven- to Ten-Year Olds, and Under Sevens. See the clip of "Super Prizes!"

The Keeper of the Keys told his readers: "It seems that you all like the new Arrow because we are printing more and more copies all the time
and we send it to dentists now so that you can read it when you go to visit them. If your dentist doesn't have Arrow, let us know his name and address and we can send him some copies."

The real editor of Ivory Castle Arrow was Odhams Press managing editor George Beal, who also had a hand in producing stories and scripts. Most of the comics had "toothy" themes, but the cover story, Steve and Susan, and some other features were free of messages, unless they were too subliminal for even their creators to recognize!

Below we have the cover feature from Number 11 of the comic, published in 1966. The art is by the great John Burns, whose career we have outlined on a previous Sunday, and the script is by Keith Chapman (who needs no introduction as Archive friend and western novelist Chap O'Keefe).    

Keith tells us, "For this oddity among comics, I also wrote the text for illustrated, factual articles and short text stories along Enid Blyton lines. One of the stories was The Face at the Window, featured in the same edition as this Steve and Susan strip. Another I remember had the title The Secret of Abbey Towers, which seems very unoriginal today. All you need is the title, memories of a few Famous Five yarns, and the job's good as done!"

What's that? You still think teeth and dentists are no laughing matters? Well, we'll throw in for you an Ivory Castle funny by Gordon Hogg, drawn  in the Beano/Wham style. Think on it as the drill bites in to make way for your new filling!

Below are the comic strips for your delight - remember double clicking on each image will bring up a larger more readable version. Enjoy but remember, brush those pearly whites.