Tuesday, 17 June 2025
No, British Golden Age Reprints Do NOT Make Me Money
There seems to be a belief in certain very small circles that I make money out of the British Golden Age reprints. Let me set the record straight (again).
There is only a small amount of interest in British Platinum, Golden and Silver ages comics. As two You Tubers in the US pointed out in videos I watched last night: "Old don't mean they are worth a lot of money.; There is limited interest." There is this online inspire money grab craze going on where a comic dated 1989 is "vintage"/"rare" but I was involved in comics and looked into comic production and the books would only be rare if many thousands of other copies were all suddenly destroyed. The same applies to toys -Ebayers and dealers are literally making a very (VERY) profitable living buying things cheap at car boot sales or charity shops then adding £20-40 on top to sell (Americans £20-40 would $26-53).
I bought a lot of vintage annuals/albums and comics and have never spent over £10 ($13). That written I can still state that the books I have are worth a few thousand BUT no one wants to buy at a reasonable price but then, I am not intending getting rid of them. I now see these annuals with price tags of £20-100 (which is ludicrous).
I have the books and then I decide what needs to be scanned and put into the next album or book. Cleaning and resizing scans takes a long time and even the print on Demand uploading and publishing can be a pain and one 48 pages album can take a couple weeks of daily work and then I price as low as I can (the POD company and printers take a big cut and as the POD company is in the US I get hit with US taxes and when the exchange rate is favourable to the POD!).
Basically, the books are "giveaways" as I am lucky to get £4-5 ($5-6 dollars back, usually less.) -you need to sell 50+ books to get some money back and even then it is not compensation for all the time and effort. The Golden age books are a "vanity project"/work of love to save characters, publishers and even creators from obscurity and I have been doing that since 1984. It sounds weird but I open up an old comic or annual and turn a page and -there is a character I have never heard of or even a chance purchase and I find the origin of TNT Tom which I will tell you now I NEVER ever expected to see! Apparently I was flapping around like a real weirdo all day!
No money making (I am not against that!) but it's a bit of a passion so as long as I keep finding the old strips I will keep making sure they do not fade into obscurity!
Sunday, 15 June 2025
That Year I decided to take over the world...but the fuse blew in my death ray
Share A Bad Memory They Said....well, it is Sunday
We had four long phone chats. I was happy with what was on offer and he was after all also in the printing business.
One day he writes and says his pal has done the front cover (which had NOTHING to do with contents) and the one I'd put together was dumped. I thought I'd let him have that one. THEN he tells me that he and his pal have put together several articles -including an interview with his pal (a wannabe comic artist). I pointed out that I was the editor and had to take responsibility for the contents.
Ineeded to see the articles.
"No" he told me over the phone. "I am the PUBLISHER".
I tried to explain what editors did and how they were morally and legally responsible for a magazines content.
Response "You don't need to see it" I was told. I was also told about all the features -FEATURES mind- he and his pal put together for issue 2.
I VERY politely said I could not be editor if I was not responsible for the content. He wrote a snotty letter telling me that all the comic line I had put together would now NOT be published. I tried to phone to find out why but he was always out. That is why Creature Features and about five comic titles never saw print.
I tried but if I have to take responsibility (a couple things I heard were going on COULD have ended in lawsuits) for contents but cannot see contents before printing I'm out.
Saturday, 14 June 2025
Comic Bits: THE British Golden Age of Comics magazine!
A4
B&W
80pp
Text, comic strips and some rare photographs!
£8.00
The return of THE British Golden Age of Comics magazine!
Interviews with Mike Western, John Cooper and Jon Haward plus a look at Ally Sloper on film, Defining the Ages of British Comics, William McCail plus a lot of art and stripwork.
"Gods" by B. R. Dilworth
First published on the Black Tower Comics and Books blog; a pre Return of the Gods strip.
Friday, 13 June 2025
Thursday, 12 June 2025
Over 30 Years in the Making: The Green Skies
A4
B&W
124pp
£10.00
It all began in 1987 and the Black Tower Universe has seen alien attacks, heroes kidnapped to be put into the middle of a war of the gods.
Despite the deaths and losses the heroes -crime fighters, super powered and members of the magical union have come back but now unaware that alien races are escaping through the Sol system and that a mysterious space fleet is heading towards the inner planets, they find themselves trapped or distracted.
The Many Eyed One is finally coming.
The Multiversal Council has quarantined Earth and forbidden any to help.
The evil has spread and there is treachery striking at the very core of Earth's defenders
A4
B&W
126pp
£10.00
Following on from events in Green Skies V. 3 Part I the Clone Zone Boyz are increasing in number while those who created them, the Vampirons, continue to plot and await the arrival of their 'God' -The Many Eyed One.
The Druid finds that his physical and mental state are deteriorating and even the Rev. Merriwether cannot help him.
Shockingly, the Clone Zone Boyz claims someone close to Merriwether and this leads him to team up with two 'unsavoury' characters.
In space Krii and Tyn hrrn face a seemingly unstoppable enemy.
On The Moon the Selenites and representatives of other worlds meet and decide that Johnny Apollo, the Z-Man, is the only one who can lead the counter invasion fleet.
With the enemy striking Mars and then the Moon things look grim for Earth
A4
B&W
208pp
£10.00
The gathered Sol Defence fleet is prepared to make its final stand led by Johnny Apollo the Z Man. If it fails to halt the invaders then the doomsday weapon will be detonated and destroy the entire Sol System.
Meanwhile, unaware of the threat in space, Jack Flash, the Avenger and others prepare for a final show down with the Many Eyed One; a final confrontation they know they do not have the power to win.
Is this Humanity...the Earths...final day?
And woven into The Green Skies is the story of the harbinger of destruction: the story of Varik Dann -The Man Who Walked Through a Door and Into Another World
