THROWBACK THURSDAY: To Bournemouth And Back

Paul and I outside our alma mater

For my 50th birthday, back in 2016, Paul arranged with Rachel for the three of us to make a flying visit back to Bournemouth, where Paul and I had gone to university, studying Scriptwriting for Film and TV.

Alice was dropped off with Rachel's parents, the neighbours agreed to look after Barney, and we were off.

We rendezvoused with Paul (who'd travelled down from London by train, while we drove from Tonbridge) at our wonderful seafront hotel, then went round the corner to an old Beatles-themed café where we had lunch.

After that we headed to Poole, so I could I could pick up my latest shipment of comics from Andy at Paradox Comics, before heading back towards Bournemouth.

We dropped in to the main university campus, to have a drink at the student union (Dylan's) and a wander round, to show Rachel where we'd been "educated".

Not only were we slightly baffled by the lack of the students (or the fact that nobody asked us who we were and why we were wandering round) but also by the ease with which we wandered in and out of several lecture theatres!

Paul had phoned ahead to clear our visit, but neither the security guards nor the bar staff at Dylan's batted an eyelid as we sauntered in, or asked to see any ID.

Our next stop was the town centre Wetherspoon's The Moon In The Square - for drinks and a meal - that we had frequented often as students, before ending the evening with a beverage at O'Neills (another favourite haunt from our days on the south coast).

In O'Neills there appeared to be a band setting up, so - although there was nowhere to sit - I said I was quite keen to stay and see a live show.

However, the band spent, what felt like, about an hour going through their sound check, played half a song and walked off. It was most peculiar. Whether they actually got round to ever playing a full song, or even a set, we'll never know as we'd finished our drinks and decided to head back to the hotel.

On Sunday, it was an all-you-eat fry-up at the hotel before we drove out to the "suburbs" to see where we'd lived all those years ago.

We then dropped Paul off at the railway station and headed home ourselves (stopping off to pick up Alice on the way).

Although there had been a lot of improvements made to Bournemouth in the 20 years since we lived there, what was really noticeable on the Saturday evening and night was the paucity of obvious students.

There were stag parties, locals and tourists, but we didn't see more than a handful of students (even at Dylan's) until we passed a mammoth queue on Sunday morning outside the town centre student union venue (The Old Fire Station) which was hosting a vintage clothes sale!

It was a great weekend, full of some incredible reminiscing and the usual mix of anecdotes and BS. Instead of making me feel like an old man (even though the phrase "well, that was 20 years ago" got a lot of airings), it actually, for a moment, made me feel young again.

I have great friends!

Childish conversations in The Moon In The Square

Rachel enjoying her wine in The Moon In The Square

Comic Book Collecting Isn't Just A Hobby, It's A Lifestyle

Latest comic book mail call: a pair of vintage issues of The Mighty Marvel Western

A combination of factors has necessitated constant revisions to my monthly comic book pull-list at Paradox Comics in Poole in recent years.

Not only do I find shelf space increasingly limited (despite dedicating most of the wall space in our office to my comic book collection, coupled with numerous short boxes under the bed and stacks of "to be read" books), but the cost of a single, new, comic book continues to rise while my pool of disposable income shrinks.

Yet while my list of new titles contracts, I can't help myself but seek out vintage back issues, either to fill holes in my collection or latch onto new (to me) titles that I decide I want to collect.

The latest arrival in this category is a pair of 1970's The Mighty Marvel Western (which, in turn, reprinted tales from the '50s and '60s), creating a fresh category on my list of titles to look out for.

There are 46 issues in that title, so that's going to take some work to fill up. But the joy is in the hunt.

Other comic book runs I'm gradually tracking down include Shang-Chi, Master of Kung-Fu (which I'm nearly there on); Blue Devil (I'm only a handful issues away from finishing the original run of this title); and Jonah Hex (which I have a long way to go on).

Jonah Hex #40, from 1980: one of my recent acquisitions

While I collected the modern Jonah Hex run as they were published (well, at least, until he got zapped forward in time - again - to contemporary Gotham City) and the gorgeous Joe Lansdale and Tim Truman horror mini-series from the '90s, I'm currently on the hunt for the Bronze Age books.

I'm aiming for the first volume of Jonah Hex, the 92 issues published between 1977 and 1985, with the idea that I'll then look further back in time and try to collect his appearances in All-Star Western and Weird Western Tales (1972 - 1977).

Ultimately, I can see my pull-list of new titles shrinking down to, primarily:

• Superman Family books, 
• Fantastic Four titles, 
• and Titan's Robert E Howard books (currently Conan The Barbarian, Savage Sword of Conan magazine, and my top comic of the year so far Solomon Kane)

Hopefully, there'll be a bit of wiggle-room to still embrace the Justice Society and Justice League, Green Lantern and Daredevil. I'd like to also be able to squeeze some Archie in there too.

Sadly, top indie publisher Mad Cave's excellent books aren't getting distributed over here at the moment (because of the collapse of Diamond), which makes it easier to drop those titles and the first wave of EC horror books are coming to an end soon, so that'll make a convenient point to jump off.

Even though I've loved those books.

This month's Summer of Superman Special

TOP OF THE PILE: Marvel Mutts #1

My fortnightly pull-list is usually planned out weeks, if not months, in advance as I try to stay abreast of forthcoming releases from The Big Two and my favourite indies of the moment.

However, every so often something slips through the net and I don't spot it until Andy (from Paradox Comics) sends out his weekly list of what's due in that Wednesday.

Marvel Mutts #1 was one such title that had totally escaped my notice, but a quick Google suggested it would be something I might enjoy... and my initial feelings were proved 100 per cent correct once I got the comic in hand.

A print collation of several online Infinity Comics, this gorgeous - and near dialogue-free - anthology of short stories opens with Ms Marvel's adoption of a young cockapoo called Mittens from the Best Buds Shelter in New York City (after she crashes into it during a fight with Kraven the Hunter). 

The subsequent short tales are Mittens' "adventures" with a pack of other Avenger-adjacent dogs that hang out at the Avengers' Mansion, including Lockjaw (of The Inhumans), Lucky The Pizza Dog (Hawkeye's friend), Cosmo (from The Guardians of The Galaxy), and Bats (Dr Strange's ghost dog).

To anyone who is a dog owner there are so many relatable moments in this comic, even if exaggerated through the lens of superheroes, from dogs being afraid of the sound of fireworks to canine expressions of loyalty and love. Even something as simple as playing fetch becomes a global odyssey with the involvement of America Chavez and her portal travel. 

Beautifully written by Mackenzie Cadenhead, with gorgeous art by Takeshi Miyazawa (coloured by Raúl Angulo), Marvel Mutts #1 gets you in the feels with every story, always delivering an upbeat ending perfectly capturing the joy of having a dog in your life.

An uplifting one-shot that contrasts with the general association of violence with the superhero genre, this book is the perfect all-ages title for those wishing to experience the majesty of the medium, grounding the weird science and way-out magic of the superhero genre with the relatability - and responsibility - of pet ownership.

THROWBACK THURSDAY: Paradox Comics

My "friendly local comic book store" is over 100 miles away (103 to be exact, according to Google Maps).

Like a great many things in my later life, I'm sure it was Paul who first drew attention to the existence of Paradox Comics in Poole, Dorset, while we were at university just down the road in Bournemouth in the late '90s.

In many ways finding Paradox was a life-changing moment.

Honestly, I can't remember exactly how "into" comics I was at that time.

Although I had boxes and boxes of back issues stored in parents' loft, I know I wasn't still getting the massive monthly shipments I had when the combination of my first regular salary met the concept of mail-ordering regular comic books in the mid-'80s.

But since discovering Paradox, comics have now taken their rightful place as a firm cornerstone of my geeky existence.

Not only have I remained a loyal customer for the intervening 20 years (currently receiving parcels of new releases every fortnight, with the most recent dropping on my doormat this very morning), but store owner Andy Hine has become a firm friend (Rachel and I even paid the shop a visit during our honeymoon on the south coast).

When I was initially hospitalised after my aneurysm a decade ago, Andy and Rachel made sure I didn't miss any of the titles I was following at the time (this was a whole new world for Rachel, and she said Andy was enormously helpful as she didn't really know what she was doing).

This was a welcome fillip once I felt able to read again and I haven't stopped since then.

Although my reading of novels has taken a bit of a hammering of late, I still like to dip daily into the enormous "to be read" pile of comics that sits by my side of the bed (much to Rachel's horror).

Even if I only manage one issue in an evening I feel as though I'm still keeping the faith, and lowering the stack slightly before the next welcome shipment arrives from Poole.