The Forbidden Planet International Blog Log

One of the best things about this hobby is the sheer joy and excitement of finding something new – maybe not new to a lot of other people but new to me anyway. We recently had a couple of meetings with the men from DC Thomson. Indeed, the next issue of Crikey! (on sale next month) is dedicated to everybody’s favourite DCT characters and comics.

Through our efforts with Crikey! we also had some access to the DCT archive and have used that privilege to produce a rather ‘menacing’ cover for Crikey! We figure there can’t be anybody out there who doesn’t know who Dennis the Menace is and what he’s about. Well, he’s finally gracing the cover of Crikey! You’ll see him in all his ‘glory’ next month on the cover of Crikey! 6. And there was other artwork for our use…

Hopefully, you’ve seen Crikey!’s sister magazine Superspies and Secret Agents by now (and if not, why not?). The first issue is still on sale and features some great articles on The Man from UNCLE, X-20, The Champions and of course Mr Bond himself. We also had to have The Avengers. You have to have The Avengers!

Because of this we have an extra special Avengers article in our second issue featuring a little known strip published a long time ago in the pages of Diana. I didn’t remember it until I opened the disk with the artwork we received from DCT. I was astounded by the quality of the Avengers artwork therein. It is incredible. Full pages in full-colour. From the moment I saw it, I knew I had to write the feature about this work. I even had to wrestle with editor Brian for the job of writing the article about this fantastic strip (a strange wrestling match which involved skin-tight leather catsuits and bowler hats from what I hear – Joe). He finally bowed out saying he was too busy to tackle it himself – yeah, right! I suspect he knew this was my gig from the outset!

During the course of producing the article, I learned that the artist’s name was Emilio Frejo. Where he was from I still have no idea and I don’t even know if he’s still with us (if any readers know then please let us know in the comments – Steve Holland, we’re looking at you, here! – Joe) but his illustrations are right up there with Bellamy and Embleton – well, maybe not Bellamy. But it’s certainly good. Very good.

Producing this article and seeing this artwork has opened a new door for me. I’ve already developed a real interest in Emilio Frejo – his real story: where he was born, if he’s still alive and where he lives if he is. I plan further articles on this great artist in the future. Any additional information I could use would be gratefully received. I’ve reproduced some of his Avengers artwork here (in glorious colour!) just as a taster. I’m sure you’ll love it as much as we do and hopefully you’ll check out Superspies 2 next month and take a look.

That said, the burning question is: what other goodies, lost in the mists of time, are hiding in the DCT vault? Open the gates and let me in!

Issue #5 of Crikey! is out now and can be ordered from the official website or found in your friendly, neighbourhood FPI store. All the artwork is © DC Thomson & Co., Ltd. and is used by kind permission.