Do you have this book? Please read on...
The second chaotic week in a row. Part of it was my own fault as I was following the US election quite obsessively. Dozed off around 2 o'clock in the morning and woke up a few hours later and it was all over and I'd missed the victory speech. I've also had to spend some time in the garden, which has the side effect of making my back ache like crazy. Add scanning some odds and ends to the list and the myriad distractions offered by the internet and you can understand why my output has been so slow over the past two weeks.
And things aren't likely to improve. I'm writing this Thursday morning rather than last thing at night as I'm waiting on the arrival of a company who are checking the house over to see if we qualify for free insulation. The house is freezing cold in winter and, with bills on the rise again, we need to do something about it, especially as my earnings are pretty feeble at the moment. I'm trying to persuade our landlady to install a new, more efficient boiler, but try talking anyone into spending money at the moment and you may as well be banging your head against a brick wall.
The good news is that I'm slowly getting somewhere with Lion: King of Picture Story Papers now. The introduction is revised – I've added a couple of thousand words to it, bringing it up to around 18,500 words, probably the longest piece I've ever written about a single comic. I also spent some time working on the actual index (which is why working on the introduction has taken so long), revising the layout slightly and writing up bits of additional information. A great many of the contributors listed as unknown when I produced the original Lion Index back in 1995 have now been identified and I'm hoping that I can fill many more gaps before going to print with the new version. I should also be including all the annuals. At least all the regular annuals as I still have to track down a number of spin-off annuals, so if you have The Lion Book of Speed or The Lion Book of How It Works, both pictured, I'd be grateful if you could get in touch – my e-mail address can be found below the photograph at the top-left of this blog.
If I can locate all of these I should be able to include them in the book. If I only have partial information, I will probably run what I have on Bear Alley (as I did with the Hurricane Annual last year) and, with luck, the gaps will be filled over time.
But if you have the relevant specials or you know someone who might, get in touch as I like to make these books as complete as I can.
Random scans. Following on from the recent little known artists columns, how about some anonymous artists. The following covers were supplied by agencies to Fleetway but the actual artist remains unknown. The agencies, incidentally, are World Presse, W. Partridge, Time Press, A.L.I., plus two more for whom I have no information. Mind you, I wouldn't be surprised if the last picture (#69) was by the same Time Press artist as #60.
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