WALDORF advert

 

...splinters? 😲

WORLD OF TOMORROW book art

 

Cheerful optimism about the future did manage to keep up into the eighties, though The World of Tomorrow - from Usbourne's School, Work and Play - postulated that crime might well take a different form. A computer cassette containing details of computer crime indeed.

HEART THROBS #121 Comic Cover

 

The title of "Most Turdish Guy on a Romance Comic Cover" is hotly contested due to the gigantic number of contenders but this chap has to be in the discussion for sure.

GENTLEMEN MARRY BRUNETTES film poster

 

The little-known quasi-sequel to Gentlemen Prefer Blondes sadly omitted the novel's "But..." from the start of the Anita Loos book's title, which was presumably the final straw for Marilyn Monroe, who was clashing with Fox over typecasting and had decided that after 9 years in films it was time to get some acting lessons in. Instead Jeanne Crain was parachuted in to join Jane Russell for the musical racktacular, though it was nowhere near as successful as its' spiritual predecessor.

SCARY MONSTERS promotional advert

 

What a splendidly odd advert. There's no harm in plugging the back catalogue while promoting the new album when it's as good as Bowie's but 137 is touted like it's somehow a significant number and contains numerous doubles. And Peter and the Wolf.

NORTHROP YB-49 photograph

 

Designed initially during World War II as the XB-35 in order to bomb mainland Japan from Hawaii before losing out to the absurdly gigantic Convair B-36, the YB-49 was basically the same aircraft but with jet power. Sadly the flying wing design was as far ahead of its' time as it looked, as the design couldn't be made stable enough with the control technology of the period and the programme was finally scrapped in 1950.

PERSPECTIVE book cover

 

Illustrator Victor Perard couldn't be accused of not practicing what he preached, producing this magnificent image for a tutorial book about drawing perspective correctly.

TARGET DESTROYED poster

 

A striking poster extolling the virtue of aircrew working together from the early days of war in the Pacific.

BATGIRL poster art

 

Thanks to the success of the ABC TV series, Bat-Mania gripped America in 1966. However, what's interesting about this Batgirl art piece from Playboy - beyond the legendary Alberto Vargas not really giving her the support necessary for crime-fighting - is who it's of. It's not the best-ignored original Bette Kane, nor is it Barbara Gordon, who would only debut in the show and comics the following year. Instead it appears to be simply a gender-flipped Batman.

CRIME SUSPENSTORIES #22 comic cover

 

While no comics fan should ever seek to justify Frederic Wertham's attempts to cover his shame over the Phantom Lady giving him an erection there's no doubt that EC Comics seriously pushed the envelope with some of its' covers. Indeed perhaps the only surprise over this Johnny Craig cover is that it crops off before the actual point where the dead-eyed blonde's neck has been severed.

DIANA DORS publicity photograph

 

Despite her phenomenal looks and no small amount of acting talent Diana Dors was unable to successfully transition from being a huge star in her native Britain to making it big at Hollywood. This was partly due to the promotional tactics used by her then-husband Desmond Hamilton to such success with the British tabloids going down less well in Hollywood, partly due to bad luck and partly due to Dors herself. The actress was frequently torn between the need to keep her profile and commercial appeal high and her desire to show off her underrated thespian abilities and as a result her filmography is a car-crash of the wrong films at the wrong time.