Thunder's Merge With Lion

[Raven]

I'm getting the heebie-jeebies as I write. When I've stopped shaking I'll get back to you about the Action book. I'm just opening a bottle of red. It might help.

I fear that phoe's still shaking six days on as we still haven't had his thoughts on the sevenpenny nightmare!

[Phoenix]

I fear that phoe's still shaking six days on as we still haven't had his thoughts on the sevenpenny nightmare!

What's with all this pressure, Raven? A promise is a promise, I'll let you know. In the meantime a little anecdote that contains the germ of part of my philosophy of life, just so you'll understand me that little bit better.

In 1939, just before the war, a young soldier took a pair of boots to his local shoemaker to be soled and heeled. The next day he was called up to serve his country and was unable to return to his home town until late 1945. He then remembered his boots, so he trotted down to the shoemakers to collect them. After the usual greetings and congratulations the shoemaker consulted his notebook. He then looked up at the soldier and said, ''They'll be ready Wednesday''.

I am a bit like that shoemaker.

[Raven]

Ah, I thought you might have forgotten. The red wine and that. In your own time! I shall return in six years.

[alanultron5]

I always found "Lion & Thunder" a far more enjoyable read than "Valiant & Smash" L&T really produced some great stories in my view, whereas V&S had the execreble "Captain Hurricane" which is my contender for the all-time worst ever UK comic strip-by far! (apart from Sparky's "Invisible Dick")

[Raven]

I always found "Lion & Thunder" a far more enjoyable read than "Valiant & Smash" L&T really produced some great stories in my view, whereas V&S had the execreble "Captain Hurricane" which is my contender for the all-time worst ever UK comic strip-by far! (apart from Sparky's "Invisible Dick")

I think Valiant and TV21 was more concurrent with Lion and Thunder, but as well as Captain Hurricane, the title also had Kelly's Eye, The Steel Claw, Raven on the Wing, Janus Stark, The Ghostly Guardian, The Wild Wonders, double page Leo Baxendale Swots and Blots, and Ken Reid's Banger and Masher, etc. possibly the best line up of any adventure weekly everrrrrrrr! All the top talent there.

I've never thought L&T came close - it had so many appealingly oddball in retrospect but very crudely drawn second division strips: The Shadow of the Snake, Secrets of the Demon Dwarf, Last of the Harkers, Carson's Cubs, etc. I thought Adam Eterno and Spellbinder really stood out in L&T for being so much better than the surrounding material and carried the comic. But some of the strips do have an appealing weirdness.

Which strips do you especially recommend in L&T?

[alanultron5]

What about "Watch Out For The White-Eyes!" ? That was a beauty-especially the early episodes where it was a mystery! Ezra Creech (the villian in "White-Eyes") and Professor Krait (his counterpart in "Shadow of the Snake") later teamed up in "Masters of Evil"

"Raven On The Wing" Sorry-but I fould that pure bilge! "Kelly's Eye" Little better! Part of it was the art style! I really disliked the artwork on those-intensly!

[Raven]

"Raven On The Wing" Sorry-but I fould that pure bilge! "Kelly's Eye" Little better! Part of it was the art style! I really disliked the artwork on those-intensly!

Ah - well, Solano Lopez is probably my all-time favourite IPC adventure artist and that macabre, shadowy, Gothic Solano Lopez/Eric Bradbury feel permeates the Valiant of that period - both Raven and Kelly's are Lopez strips - so that may well explain your aversion! For me it's the style I most associate with - and absolutely love about - IPC adventure.

I think Raven, Kelly's Eye and Janus Stark were all Tom Tully scripted during that period too, and I think he was probably IPC's strongest serial scripter of the day.

I'll have another look at 'White Eyes.'

[alanultron5]

Sorry Raven! but we all have differing tastes! I really recommend those early "White Eyes" episodes before it became a more `routine` thriller! The early ones are so eeirie!

[felneymike]

White eyes? Any relation to the villain Judge Dredd is going up against at the moment?

[alanultron5]

No idea as I don't follow Judge Dredd! The L&T "White Eyes" story was SUPERB! in its early days! It started with a carton falling off the back of a lorry! (No! Don't laugh-its serious!) The carton split open distributing small glass balls all across the roads and surrounding area!

The globes were filled with a white substance! A blackbird broke one open and a white gas emenated from the container. Suddenly the birds eyes turned white and it flew at an electric pylon and brought it down! Any creature or human breaking the `phials` and inhaling the released gas would gain extroadinary strength and turn `evil` their eyes would become white too!

Humans affected, could `turn-off` the `white-eyed` effect so as to hide their new powers, but they could revert at will to the `white-eyed` state. The early episodes had a really good and creepy athmosphere!

[steelclaw]

Here's 'Watchout for the White Eyes' First appearance in 'Lion & Thunder' January 29th 1972, the first story finished 15th April 1972, It came back 2 weeks later with
'The White Eyes Strike again' and 'The War Of The White Eyes' which ran throughout 1972.
Great art work and story, it was also one of my favourites.

(My Scanners On it's last legs that's why the lightness varies)

The First strip




The Last strip of the first story




Hookjaw

[steelclaw]

Adventrue strips in 'Lion & Thunder' from March 20th 1971 to May 18th 1974 a total of 161 Issues.

Adam Eterno(1971)
Black Max(1971)
The Camelot Clan)(1972)
The Can-Do-Kids(1971)
Carson's Cubs(1971)
Dr.Mesmer's Revenge(1971)
The Flying Fortress(1973)
Fury's Family(1971)
The Jet- Skaters(1971)
The Jigsaw Journey(1971)
The Last Of The Harkers(1971)
Lost In Limbo Land(1973)
Marty Wayne(He's Heading For Fame)(1973)
Masters Of Menace(1973)
Noah's Ark
paddy Payne(Warrior Of The Skies)(1971)
Phil The Fluter(1971)
Robot Archie(1973)
Sark The Sleeper(1973)
Secrets Of The Demon Dwarf(1972)
Shadow Of The Snake(1972)
Spellbinder(1971)
The Return Of The Spider(1972)
Steel Commando(1971)
Stitch In Time(1973)
The Team Terry Kept In A BOX(1973)
The 10,000 Disasters Of Dork(1973)
The Treasure Hunt Twins(1973)
Watch Out For The White Eyes(1972)
Zip Nolan(1971)

P.S Don't blame me for my spelling blame 'Lion & Thunder'

[alanultron5]

Ah! The bird brought down a plane! I havn't seen that bit since 72" It really was a superb strip early on. Sadly, it all became a bit formulated when arch villian Ezra Creech popped up etc! I think they gave away the secret of the chemical away a bit too early, but it did have to be explained sometime!

"Masters of Menace" sadly, was one series too many in my view as so many storylines by then became re-hashed of previous ones!

[dreamticket]

Who is the artist in the third strip down, anyone? Reminds me of David Lloyd a little bit, but much to early for him, I presume.

[philcom55]

According to the Lion Index John Catchpole became the artist from 19th Feb 72 and continued thereafter for all three series, with the excellent Angus Allan providing the scripts. Personally I was never a great fan of Catchpole's rather stiff artwork but the initial three episodes seem to have been drawn by a much more capable hand - anybody prepared to hazard a guess as to his identity based upon the first strip shown above?

- Phil Rushton