Thanks to Charlie Horse 47 and Killdumpster for their sponsorship of this post, via the magic of Patreon.
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Who loves water?
We all love water!
And this day in 1982 was a better day than any to get some because it saw the official opening of the Kielder Water reservoir in Northumberland, England, which, thanks to its 200 billion litre capacity, instantly became UK's largest artificial lake.
As if that wasn't enough, it was also surrounded by the brand new Kielder Forest - the largest planted woodland in Europe!
That news is so thrilling that I've no doubt the excitement from it was what motivated the players of Aston Villa to win the European Cup, that self-same evening, by defeating Bayern Munich 1–0, thanks to a 69-minute goal by Peter Withe.
The UK singles chart, that week, had seen some degree of change, with Madness's House of Fun hitting Number One by defeating a challenge from Adam Ant's Goody Two Shoes.
And it was good news for the band when it came to the album chart because that week saw their LP Complete Madness retain the top spot by surviving the threat of Duran Duran's Rio.
And that's not all. There's also a free poster of Spidey vs the Black Cat.
And there's the chance to win 10 Corgi Kaleidoform kits!
Not that I have a clue what those are but I'm sure they're super, cool and groovy and that, if I get my hands on one, I'll be the envy of all my neighbours.
I do believe he does this by escaping from a table that uses his own strength against him. Such is the awesome power of the Hulk that even his own strength can't resist him. It may defy logic and science but it's certainly impressive
Meanwhile, Nick Fury and his men are on hand to mop up whatever's left of the Mandarin.
Plus, there's an interview with Bill Bixby, and a free colour poster!
At least, I think they do. That cover doesn't actually name them but they look like the Jetsons. So, I'll assume that's who they are.
We also get action involving Snagglepuss and his friend Yogi Bear. And there's a feature that invites us to draw the Grape Ape.
But surely the highlight of the issue has to be a feature which shows us how to have fun with clothes pegs!
You won't get that in the Hulk and Spider-Man comics!
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21 comments:
Never mind water, Steve - I was in Tesco this morning and I discovered that Kylie Minogue has her own brand of wine called...er, Kylie Minogue. Whatever next - Boris Johnson gin?
And Adam Ant's 'Goody Two Shoes' does reach No.1 in 2 weeks, hurrah!
A few glasses of Kylie juice will go down well in my liquid diet, aka Adam Ant diet.
Don't chew ever, don't chew ever,…
Charlie has surely asked this or written this before...
- Were you UK / Euro / Aussie gents familiar with all the cartoon characters in Scooby e.g., Jetsons and Grape Ape?
- I have the sense Atom Adam Ant was got much more airplay in the UK than here in the USA? I mean, until I discovered this venerable blog, my extent of Adam Ant was strictly "Goody Goody Two Shoes."
Lastly - Adam has the greatest quote ever regarding the transition from being a punk rocker to a new wave cat: "Well it was pretty obvious there were only so many novel ways you could cut yourself or pierce yourself. And spitting on the crowd was surely going to run its course soon enough. So I switched to New Wave."
Scooby gets my vote for "best cover." Perhaps because Charlie actually had bought a few Jetsons comics back in the day because the nostalgia kick is feeling good!
Charlie, I vaguely remember watching The Great Grape Ape but I don't think The Jetsons was ever broadcast in the UK even though I know what the cartoon is about. I remember the Harlem Globetrotters appearing on Scooby Doo but at the time (in the early '70s) I didn't know who they were.
By the way, Charlie, are you excited about the Queen's Platinum Jubilee next week? Do you even know about it? Thursday 2nd June and Friday 3rd June will be public holidays and the Jubilee events continue until Sunday 5th June so get your Union Jack flags out and start waving them.
Are they marking the jubilee in Oz too? After all, she's still their head of state, which makes them subjects of the British crown too. In the twenty-first century. Bizarre isn't it?
Anyway DW (when you turn up) congrats on getting rid of ScoMo.
Now the ALP can p*ss you all off ;)
I'd never heard of Grape Ape til M.P. mentioned it here a while ago, and I had to look it up online. And got some useful tips on er... indoor horticulture as a result.
Another iffy Steve Dillon Hulk there. But if the alternative was another terrible cover like that one last week I suppose I shouldn't complain.
-sean
Just for the record, I never liked Madness. Or any of that Two Tone/ska revival type stuff (except The Beat - ie The English Beat - they were alright).
No doubt you'll all be interested to know that.
-sean
Yes, the man who seemingly never got tired of being wrong got a bruising in the election. Australia's voting system differs from most in that voting is compulsory, with fines for non compliance, and consequently close to 100% attendance. However, candidates are ranked by preference and once a candidate cannot win an electorate, the next preference receives the votes. This election saw the main two parties receive very low primary votes and Labour won with preference voting. The Labour party look like they'll get a parliamentary majority but actually recovered less than 33% of the primary vote (7 out of 10 did not vote for them). The Libs (conservatives) received 37% primary vote but obviously were lowly ranked by Green and Independent voters.
Back to the real world, in the Thames region we got most of the HB/Warner Bros cartoons. We definitely got The Jetsons in the early/mid 70s. Frustratingly, for me, while we got Spidey and the FF, we never got the other 1960s Marvel Super Hero cartoons, which I believe other British TV regions did. I suspect Australian TV likewise broadcast those cartoons. Warner Bros Movie World is a huge theme park on The Gold Coast (about an hour south for me) and they have rides based on most of the popular cartoons and DC characters. I think out opened in the early 90s and presumably had an existing profile. Worth a visit if you're in the area.
There was a bit of local PR when Kylie launched her wine range, which is ironic because none are Australian. For someone with no discernible talent she has done quite well, though. I suspect her wine will follow that pattern.
I don't mind the Steve Dillon cover, but I've always been a fan of is style.
I'm also calling out Sean's reticence towards Two Tone. He'd have been all over Ghost Town ;-)
DW
*it opened*
Australia is celebrating the Queen's jubilee but I don't believe we're getting a public holiday (boo hiss). They're renaming Aspen Island, on Lake Burley Griffin (the site of Australian Parliament House), as Queen Elizabeth II island. The last Republic referendum was in 1999, and there's currently calls for another (for some reason led, again, by our Irish friends ;-). I reckon they still have a fair chance of holding on, depending on the monarch at the time, and whether The Crown is still produced by Netflix.
DW
Why am I not surprised that Sean didn't like Madness?
I didn't buy the Kylie wine but I did buy a bottle of Jam Shed, a chardonnay from Australia. This BrexiTory government makes such a big deal about their trade deal with Australia but we've had Australian wine on sale here for donkey's years.
Colin, The Jetsons were televised in The UK (Scotland at least) as I recall watching it as a kid.
Have to say I really enjoyed some two tone music myself.
Different people like different things Colin. Madness are way too 'music hall' for me.
Yes, the UK traded with Australia beforehand, but now without the EU interfering they can make MORE money out of the Brits.
Honestly, don't you understand the opportunities of Brexit? I don't know why you're so sceptical - not only has the British government set up trade agreements with Mongolia and Albania, now they have a memorandum of understanding with Indiana.
Thats the hoosier state! (I don't know what that actually means, but Charlie keeps calling it that, so it seems like it must be important)
-sean
DW, I was surprised the Greens did well in Queensland, but I entirely accept that might well say more about my (possibly quite dated) view of the deep north than current Australian reality.
Call me out all you want, but 'Ghost Town' is over-rated. Although to be fair, by then the Specials had at least moved on from just reworking old Prince Buster records.
Thats probably what put me off them really - the late 70s/early 80s were an interesting time in popular music with lots of new stuff going on, particularly wrt reggae, so reviving old Jamaican music from the 60s seemed a bit boring.
I like Steve Dillon's work too, which is why the recent run of covers has been noticeably disappointing. I mean, its not like original Marvel UK covers were ever any good, but they hadn't previously been done by someone you'd expect would do better.
Er, hopefully that makes some sort of sense.
-sean
54% of farmers voted for Brexit but the Australian trade deal (and a possible American one) will see the UK flooded with cheap agricultural produce and lower food standards so I hope those farmers are happy when they get driven out of business!
Sean, I've never thought of Madness as "music hall"!
Apparently the opening night of ABBA's digital "Abbatar" concert was spectacular but the songs performed didn't include such classics as Super Trouper, Take A Chance On Me or The Name Of The Game.
Now every ageing rocker will want the same!
Sean, are you saying there's some kinda type of weed variety called "Grape Ape"?
Well, that is appropriate, I guess. Is it a kind bud? I hope so.
Watching some of those cartoons from the 70's/early 80's now, decades later, is a surreal experience.
I'm appalled to read here that The Jetsons (his boy Elroy!) were not available in the U.K. I blame Thatcher.
Did anybody ever notice George Jetson has a "muzzle"?
Y'know, a muzzle is a line, and maybe some shading that indicates the character has some facial hair growth. Like a day or two beard. Like Fred and Barney and Homer Simpson.
It indicates primitivism. Perhaps the presence of Neanderthal DNA.
Why does George have one? He's from the future.
M.P.
Was it not you that bought up Great Ape here before then, M.P.?
It is the name of a strain of designer ganja in the land of the free.
Colin, I don't really get the media excitement about the Abba thing - isn't it basically just an IMAX film?
Each to their own obviously, but last week I went to see George Clinton and very much doubt a glorified video screening of the younger Dr Funkenstein would have been an improvement. He was pretty impressive for an old codger.
-sean
Holey Moley! George Clinton is still performing??? Well mates, time to turn on the Monaco Grand Prix!!! Howd Monaco do in Eurovision this year???
Sean, I can't really see the point either but how long till a digital Beatles reunion?
You're probably right Colin - the reanimation of dead stars is the inevitable next step.
Anon (Charlie?), yes, George Clinton is in his early 80s (!) and still crazy after all these years.
He does have to sit down occasionally during the set, but thats ok, as he has a sizeable band with quite a few youngsters and they were pretty good.
Le P-fonque - douze points!
It was the delayed end of his farewell tour, put back because of the pandemic. So I think that might be it for George live now ):
-sean
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