Alan Class interviewed!
The legendary British publisher Alan Class was interviewed by Will Morgan at 30th Century Comics this week and it's now on You Tube. Mr.Class talks about his start in the business and the story behind the issue of Creepy Worlds shown above. Enjoy!
http://youtu.be/2_WCZguOmcg
You can also read more about Alan Class comics (and other publishers who reprinted early Marvel comics) at this earlier post of mine from a few years ago:
http://lewstringer.blogspot.co.uk/2008/01/road-to-marvel-uk-part-1.html
8 comments:
Another great bit of (good) news Lew - I loved the old Alan Class comics as they always remind me of fun family holiday’s to Blackpool etc in the 60s early 70s where they had 100’s of these comics on display (plus some were really great comics) . Alan Class comics were my first introduction to characters like the THUNDER agents, Judo Master, the Black Hood, Herbie (the Fat Fury) Captain Atom and so many more. I look forward to watching this interview later, good to see Mr Class is still going strong after all these years, for me ( until recently) he has been a very underrated comics influence.
Funny you should mention Blackpool as I was there today. Sadly most of the newsagents don't stock comics now. A big difference from 45 years ago.
Strangely enough, I don't recall seeing Alan Class comics in Blsckpool. I'm sure they were there as you say but I do remember lots of American comics everywhere. Even a cafe had a pile on the counter. Great days.
That’s right I remember a cafe called the “Americano” that sold comics (we used to go there at night for tea and toast and listen to the jukebox and have a chat with my mum, dad and brother…...and of course get a comic or two). In the early 70s comics were for sale (in Blackpool) also in most general shops that sold holiday trinkets, postcards food etc as well as on the piers and of course newsagents and folk selling from huts/caravan type places - comics were everywhere then (and so many different titles and companies) - great days indeed Lew.
Just watched the interview was very interesting, Mr Class seems a really nice man.
Bridlington in the mid 1960s to the early 1970s was the place for me to stock up on Alan Class comics. Several newsagents in the town sold them and had them on those revolving rther than the super-hero one's. When I later first saw 'The Twilight Zone' on TV, I was immediately reminded of these comics.
Being a frequent visitor with my parents to our caravan in Bridlington, these comics were perfect for caravan holidays and the British weather. They were great days for comic books, witacks that stood outside the shops, along with other American comic books.
I loved those comics (still do) but I preferred the one's with quirky, strange stories, rah even the shop on the caravan site (Marton Road camp) having a revolving racks of comics outside (loved it when they had the DC 80 pg giants in).
Never saw the Alan Class comics for sale anywhere else, so I only really got any new ones during the spring / Summer months while on visits to Bridlington. I wonder if there was a deliberate marketing strategy to sell out of seaside towns, where bored kids like me could pass time reading them in the caravan while it was raining? Well it's a theory!
My local town had plenty of Alan Class comics and for some reason I'd ignore them for months then 'binge buy' all of them for a couple of months, then ignore them again for a while.
Paul, I don't know if it's the cafe you remember but the one I'm thinking about was in the corner of St.Chad's Road, near the Prom. It's had several changes of ownership over the years and is currently a fish and chip shop (nice food). I can't remember its old name but it hay be the same one you went in. Back in 1969 it had a pinball table or two, which I used to play on while my mum and dad were having a cup of tea. Comics on the counter included Anthro (which I didn't buy) and the two I did buy were Strange Adventures (with the classic Neal Adams Adam Strange cover) and short lived UK comic The Purple Hood.
Edit on my post due to gremlins - should have read: 'Several newsagents in the town sold them and had them on those revolving racks that stood outside the shops. I preferred the strange fantasy stories rather than the super-hero one's'.
I tended to only pick up Alan Class comics when they had super heroes on the cover like the Thunder Agents and of course the Marvel characters (Daredevil ,Spider man, Avengers being the ones I have most of). Most of his books seemed to have those quirky stories Gary mentioned and I loved the Steve Ditko ones from MARVEL (or was it Atlas) and Charlton. I never managed to see all his titles at one time on sale there would usually be a bundle of any 3 from Sinister Tales, Suspense, Creepy Worlds and Astounding stories available but I rarely saw Secrets of the Unknown, and never saw titles like Out of this World (although that could have been discontinued by the time I was reading them),
The Americano was indeed on a corner but not on St Chads road. I do know that street and recall a large cafe being there that sold comics ( think its the Regency now) but not been ion Backpool for many a year (last time to see Hamilton Accies play a friendly football game in the 80s)
That's right, Paul. Out of this World ceased publication in the early sixties. There were only six Alan Class comics after then, which were always advertised on the back cover:
Creepy Worlds,
Sinister Tales,
Suspense,
Secrets of the Unknown,
Astounding,
Uncanny Tales.
As for the cafe on St.Chad's Road, as I said, it's now a chip shop. I passed by there on Wednesday.
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