First Comics

I've been struggling to keep up with this blog - things have been very busy at the moment and the fact that I've been a bit sick hasn't helped. An old conditition - I know that sounds a bit suspect - has resurfaced. I suffer from a condition whih is a bit like Menier's Disease and arose out of an illness not unrelated to maleria. Things start whirling round and I have to sit down and rest for long periods which isn't like me at all. Gives me a chance to read some comics though and I managed to get my hands on a copy of Marvel Firsts from the 1960s. I had really forgotten how good these comics were and it has prompted me to order up the next collection from the 1970s which should be with me this week. A lot of these comics seem much better than the material which is tossed out today and I keep wondering why this is. I think it is because they tried to tell a strightforward story without all the gimicks which are about today I have a couple of the modern modern Marvel and DC sitting in front of me as I write this and I'm not impressed at all. It's all artwork and no real story. And there's little imagination I think. That's my opinion anyway and doubtless others will have theirs. I also got a collection of 1950s stories entitled Out of the Night which is also terrific and full of story twists. But once again somebody has taken the time to sit down, use their imaginations and come up with a genuine story. I wouldn't even mind if some of the tales were in  story-arcs as long as they were good, I'd buy them. But I have a number of story arcs here and they seem to go nowhere - they're over a number of different comics and they seem to go nowhere. They're simply marketing ploys to get you to buy about half a dozen comics that you wouldn't usually buy. So it all seems very commerical and very cynical. But recently I've seen nothing that I'd really like to go out and get buying. And to some extent I've lost a lot of the interest in new comics - not in producing them, but simply buying them. I was talking to Adrian a little while ago and he was saying exactly the same. Many of the comics that he used to order, he's cancelled because there is nothing happening in them and no real story or adventure to any of them. He was saying that the imagination seems to be just samey. So maybe there is a place for Space 1949 yet - we're still thinking about what we're going to do with it. I'll let you know as soon as we've decided. Anyway, the football will soon be on so I'll go and grab a bath and see what's hoing on with England vs Italy. I will keep this blog up - that's a promise. Stay tuned.