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BEAR ALLEY BOOKS
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About Me
- Steve
- Freelance author and editor for the past 30 years. My interests are old British comics, books and magazines... and that's what you'll find here.
YOU CAN CONTACT ME DIRECTLY AT...
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BEAR ALLEY BOOKS
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The Bill Kellaway Quartet by Gwyn Evans
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"The narrative is packed with action and I think readers will have a lot of fun with [Hercules, Esq.] and there are some genuine moments of laugh out loud humour. I can understand why the film rights for this book were snapped up and even today I could envisage it being a very enjoyable one-off TV series." — Cross Examining Crime.
"Although there’s some criminous stuff going on and Bill often finds himself vying against or working with various lawbreakers, the stakes are never really life and death in this book ... There is some slam-bang action, though, as well as a smart, really likable protagonist and a lot of really clever plot twists, but what really makes HERCULES ESQ. work is Evans’s style, which is consistently breezy, fast-paced, and funny." — James Reasoner, Rough Edges.
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Private Detective / Secret Service / The Female Detective by Andrew Forrester Jun.
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"Forrester's The Female Detective (1864) was reprinted in 2012 as part of the British Library's Crime Classics series, cementing the notion that it heroine, Miss Gladden, was "the first female detective", although whether that is the case is challenged in the essay on Ware and his career published in this new edition of the collection — published now in a uniform edition with Forrester's two earlier collections, The Revelations of a Private Detective (1863) and Secret Service; or, Recollections of a City Detective (1864), reprinted for the first time in 150 years."
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Shortlisted for the CWA's Golden Dagger Award
The Trials of Hank Janson
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COMIC INDEXES
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Countdown to TV Action
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"The perfect compliment to my set of Countdown/TV Action" - Graham Bleathman.
"A wonderful trip down memory lane. Recommended" - Paul Simpson, Sci-Fi Bulletin
"If you read Countdown as a child, you'll be fascinated by this account of its making ... indispensable." - John Freeman, Down the Tubes
"The definitive history of the title" - Lew Stringer, Blimey!
"I urge you to grab a copy and give Steve Holland a tip of the hat for the amount of hard work, research and love he's poured into making a book of information become an interesting story" - Barnaby Eaton-Jones, The Cult Den
Lion King of Picture Story Papers
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"It's a great read in itself and has sent me back to the Lion comic to re-read some of my childhood favourites. The pictures are reproduced crystal clearly and even this old man can read the original art ... It's a gorgeous book and if we are snow-bound as the media has been saying for weeks, I have plenty to keep me amused this chilly January weekend!" - Norman Boyd.
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Hurricane & Champion: The Companion Papers to Valiant
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COMIC STRIP REPRINTS
Worlds of Adventure
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"Superb production and a treasured addition to the groaning bookshelf!" - Dave Gibbons.
Peter Jackson's London Is Stranger Than Fiction
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"The original books have been highly collectable for many years now, but finally they’ve been republished in a single volume from Bear Alley Books ... for the ridiculously reasonable price of £14.99. Do yourself a favour. " Christopher Fowler.
Longbow Volume 1
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"Offering intense, fast-paced action adventure throughout, this strip is surely classic British weekly comics at its best." -- John Freeman, Down the Tubes
NON-FICTION
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Forgotten Authors Vol.1
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"This is utterly fascinating: what a terrific accomplishment! It has held and engaged me. Authors who are only names have been documented and recorded, from the pathetic to the successful, and everywhere in between. This is incredible research, and I cannot begin to thank you enough for sharing it. I’m dipping into it with absolutely enormous pleasure."—Richard Bleiler
"Recommended for anyone with an interest in the history of books, book publishing, obscure authors or even researching family history. Looking forward to Volume 2"—Amazon review.
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Iron Mask: The Story of Harry Bensley's "Walking Round the World" Hoax
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"The story sounds like an implausible Hollywood film but it was true! Who was the Man in the Iron Mask (no, not the French novel by Dumas!)? He set off from Trafalgar Square to push a pram around the world in January 1908 to win a £20,000 bet! he seems to have been a lovable rogue and this was not the first time he had hoodwinked people! I won't say more so I don't spoil the story as it's wilder than even this! Steve Holland has preserved a wonderful British eccentric's story for us all to enjoy. Give it as a Birthday or Christmas present to anyone who's curious about people in any way!" Amazon - 5 stars
"The whole unearthing of this incident from the early 20th century is one of brilliant detective work on behalf of Steve Holland -whose research skills in tying up characters and authors and their works is next to none!" Goodreads - 5 stars
The Men Behind the Flying Saucer Review
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"Beginning in 1955, the Flying Saucer Review has been key to chronicling the appearance of Unidentified Flying Objects and the latest theories of why they have been appearing in our skies. A dedicated group of enthusiasts - amongst them an accountant, a publisher's editor, a test pilot, a novelist and a member of the House of Lords - were amongst those who helped put together this remarkable magazine. Who they were and how they came to work together makes for a fascinating tale, some of it as curious as the phenomena the magazine studied."
"Interesting account of the people who founded the Flying Saucer Review which at its peak was arguably the foremost UFO journal in the world." - Nigel Parkinson, Amazon
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"I thoroughly enjoyed this book and read it again straight away. Never having followed sidecar racing, I had reservations before I started reading. Well it’s only 150 pages I thought, let’s get it over and done with! How wrong I was; I couldn’t put it down. This is one of the best motorcycling books I’ve ever read and John and his partner Tony Davis have done a cracking job. The pictures are great too and capture the changing face of Britain over the past fifty or so years. I urge you to get hold of a copy now." - Jim Plant, Velocette Owners Club
SEXTON BLAKE ANNUALS
Sexton Blake Annual 1941
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"If you've been meaning to give Sexton Blake's adventures a try, this would be a great place to start. I've seen the actual annuals go on Ebay for three or four hundred bucks, so this is definitely a bargain too." - Singular Points.
OUT OF PRINT
OUT OF PRINT!
Not Forgotten 2009-10
OUT OF PRINT!
Arena
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"This book goes straight to the top of my large reading pile" - Graeme Neil Reid
"With reality TV overload and the rise of the risque and the brutality of today’s society, this story still has a pertinent message for those of us who are willing to listen to it. In fact, I think the story is more relevant today than it was in 1979." - Colin Noble, Down the Tubes
"The story is a fun read, but the star of the show is the art. Alcatena is a class act." - Hibernia Comics
Two questions for you, Steve, if you feel like addressing them in a future post. First involves copyright. Dez Skinn renamed some IPC strips back in the mid-'80s to avoid copyright problems - for example, Cursitor Doom was renamed Amadeus Wolf and The Steel Claw's Louis Crandell was renamed Lewis Randell - similar, I suppose, to what you're doing with the strip you mention.
ReplyDeleteMy question is - how does this sidestep copyright problems? Lewis Randell was still called The Steel Claw, and surely the artwork is copyright as well as the names? Perhaps you could enlighten me, if you can be bothered.
Second question is about Johnny Future. Was his change from Hulk knockoff to superhero planned from the beginning, or did Marvel complain about his similarity to The Hulk? Early episodes were resized, so was it originally intended for another UK comic of more traditional dimensions, before being put into Fantastic? Also, there seems to be a date of '64 after Bermejo's signature on a couple of pages, so could it have been an earlier (unpublished) strip that was dusted down for Fantastic? Any light you can cast on these matters would be much appreciated.
I can't speak for Dez and why he changed the name of the Steel Claw, but I'm doing it simply to avoid even the slightest hint of a question of who owns what character names. The artwork itself does not grant you copyright over a character, or there would be a rush to reprint the contents of Look-In. While I'm not talking about a TV series, the character I have in mind appeared in more than one title, only one of which I have permission to reprint from. So to avoid any problems, I'm falling back on the age old tradition of renaming the character.
ReplyDeleteAs for The Missing Link, I suspect he was inspired by the Hulk but different enough to avoid copyright infringement. I don't think a change was planned from the outset, but maybe, after a dozen or so issues, maybe Wallace - who was managing editor of Fantastic as well as the writer of the strip - was reacting to feedback from the readers in turning Link into Johnny Future.
Forgot to say that Bermejo's signature has a little squiggle in it after the big 'O' (sometimes in a line underneath) which I've seen in other strips. It isn't a date.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the info. I spoke to Dez about his reprinted strips years ago and he said the name changes were to avoid copyright problems, but I couldn't see how that would get around potential problems concerning The Steel Claw name as he still used it. I'd have thought he'd have changed it to The Iron Hand (or Gauntlet) or something. Thanks again for your help.
ReplyDeleteDear Steve, Sixty years ago this month the Air Ace Picture Library series was raised to the level of great Art in my opinion by the publication of No. 10 in the series, Objective Destroyed, by Ian Kennedy, who would go on to even greater heights of superlative artistry by adding a further 30 titles over the following eight years. As a fan of the great man yourself, would you do his many other admirers a great favour by celebrating this in one of your forthcoming columns [which have been my first port of call every morning since as long as I can remember]? Yours with thanks, Malcolm.
ReplyDelete