Comics Week: After our look at German, Dutch, and Spanish comics based on Danger Man (Secret Agent), Spy Vibe continues with cool comic treasures from the world of Patrick McGoohan's John Drake. Today we feature a larger collection of covers from the 1965-1966 French comics (where the series was called Destination Danger) printed for the French, Belgian, Swiss, Canadian, and Moroccan markets. Some of the scenarios look like they could have been adapted from older comics and updated with Drake as the hero. The design was less dynamic this time around (though fun!), with a simple red banner, white typeface, and the Tele Serie Bleue logo. Most covers listed stories as "Une adventure de John Drake", but some did not. Tele Serie Bleue/O.Z Odez published similar series under the same graphics scheme, most notably Les Hommes Volants. What they lacked in graphic design was countered by some very cool illustrations of McGoohan-as-Drake in action. My favorite? How can anything beat Drake in skinny suit and tie controlling a retro-futuristic robot on a rampage? Don't make this guy angry! I love the pulp vibe. Images sourced from the internet, but many came from ComicBDFrance and bedetheque. Enjoy!
Selected Spy Vibe posts: John Drake Comics, Der Mann Von UNCLE, Golden Margaret Nolan, Man From UNCLE Rocksteady, Pussy Galore Calypso, Cynthia Lennon R.I.P., Edward Mann Fashion, Leonard Nimoy Tribute, Shatner at 84, Bob Morane series, New Saint Publications, The Saint Complete box set, Gerry Anderson Box Sets, Music For Spies, Thai Bond Design, Brian Clemens RIP, Bond vs Modernism, Imitation Game, New Avengers Books, Ringo Does Goldfinger, Sixties Beat Wear, Popular Skullture, Art of Modesty, Avengers Blu-ray update, Tokyo Beat 1964, Polaroid Spy, Feraud Mod Fashion, Flint Scores!, Bond Danish, New Richard Sala Book, New 007 Comics, Designing Bond Books, Green Hornet Manga, Margaret Nolan Art, No 6 Festival, Barbarella Returns, Designer: Gene Winfield, Avengers Interview: Michael Richardson, Ian Fleming: Wicked Grin, Jane Bond Hong Kong Records, Ryan Heshka Interview, Comics Week: Man From R.I.V.E.R.D.A.L.E., Comics Week: Archie, Comics Week: Robots, Comics Week: Cold War Atomic, Comics Week: SPYMAN, Comics Week: Jimmy Olsen, Rare Avengers Scripts, Man From Uncle UK Comics, Thunderbirds Comics, Shakespeare Spies: Diana Rigg, Shakespeare Spies I, Rodney Marshall Avengers Interview, Avengers Book: Bowler Hats & Kinky Boots, George Lois Design & Mad Men, Richard Sala: Super-Enigmatix, Cold War Archie, Playboy Bunny Interview, The 10th Victim Japanese and Kindle, U.N.C.L.E. Japanese Books, The Saint books return, Trina Robbins Interview, Catsuits, Batman '66 Green Hornet Interview: Ralph Garman Ty Templeton.
Happy Thanksgiving from Spy Vibe! Open Channel D to send a toast to all Spy Vibers around the globe with this original card ala The Man From U.N.C.L.E. Also on the web today, I launched a new blog called Art Pioneers, which includes the vintage holiday image below- but with a very different twist! Check it out. I hope everyone is having a great week. And to those agents racing away from diabolical masterminds in the snow, please do drive carefully!
Selected Spy Vibe posts: Popular Skullture, New Gerry Anderson Sets, New SECRET AGENT set, Art of Modesty, Avengers Blu-ray update, Tokyo Beat 1964, Polaroid Spy, Modesty Monday, Feraud Mod Fashion, Flint Scores!, Bond Danish, Home Movies, New Richard Sala Book, New 007 Comics, Designing Bond Books, Green Hornet Manga, Margaret Nolan Art, No 6 Festival, Barbarella Returns, 007 Audio Books Return, Designer: Gene Winfield, Avengers Interview: Michael Richardson, Ian Fleming: Wicked Grin, Jane Bond Hong Kong Records, Ryan Heshka Interview, Comics Week: Man From R.I.V.E.R.D.A.L.E., Comics Week: Archie, Comics Week: Robots, Comics Week: Cold War Atomic, Comics Week: SPYMAN, Comics Week: Jimmy Olsen, Rare Avengers Scripts, Man From Uncle UK Comics, Mattel X-15, Thunderbirds Comics, Shakespeare Spies: Diana Rigg, Shakespeare Spies I, Rodney Marshall Avengers Interview, Avengers Book: Bowler Hats & Kinky Boots, George Lois Design & Mad Men, Richard Sala: Super-Enigmatix, Danger Diabolik Soundtrack, Cold War Archie, Playboy Bunny Interview, The 10th Victim Japanese and Kindle, U.N.C.L.E. Japanese Books, The 10th Victim German Edition, The Saint books return, Trina Robbins Interview, Catsuits, Batman '66 Green Hornet Interview: Ralph Garman Ty Templeton.
Space-age Saturday: Spy Vibers who were born during the Space-Age may remember a Mattel tricycle with special features called the X-15. This super trike was patterned after the original X-15, which was built by a joint program between NASA, the Air Force, and the Navy. The X-15 had its first unpowered flight in 1959, and then launched from B-52s in a number of hypersonic test flights through the mid-1960s. The data it recorded contributed to the Mercury, Gemini, Apollo and Space Shuttle missions. Mattel produced their X-15 in metallic blue and blue-green, and outfitted it with cool gadgets like a seatbelt with metal buckle, jet-style navigation stick, articulated back wheels for sharp turns, and Mattel's own V-Rroom engine effect with dash activation and a side speaker. I was one of the lucky kids who had this when I was little- probably a tag-sale find, but I don't remember the details. What I do recall is flipping the V-Rroom! switch and feeling the rush as I imagined my X-15 taking off into the outer atmosphere! Mattel also produced a Batman version of the X-15 in 1966. Vintage ads and images below. Learn more: Nasa history, Eric Mack, Tricycle Fetish. Happy weekend, Spy Vibers!
Recent Spy Vibe posts: Thunderbirds Comics, Shakespeare Spies: Diana Rigg, Shakespeare Spies I, Batman News, Monty Python Fathom Spies, Monty Python Returns!, Rodney Marshall Avengers Interview, Avengers Book: Bowler Hats & Kinky Boots, George Lois Design & Mad Men, Richard Sala: Super-Enigmatix, The Spotnicks, Model Secret Agents, Remo Williams Blu-ray, Bunny Yeager and Ursula Andress, Danger Mouse, Lost Avengers Episodes, Big Fun Toys, Danger Diabolik Soundtrack, Mother's Day (Avengers), Mod Fashion Dolls, Cold War Archie, New Avengers Comic, Ipcress File Blu-ray, Playboy Bunny Interview, The 10th Victim Japanese and Kindle, U.N.C.L.E. Japanese Books, The 10th Victim German Edition, UNCLE Gun, The Saint books return, Trina Robbins Interview, Catsuits, Batman '66 Green Hornet Interview: Ralph Garman Ty Templeton.
Spy Vibe celebrates the great secret agent model kits. The spy boom of the 1960s generated enough merchandising to keep us collectors busy for the rest of our lives. The famous James Bond cars by Corgi were perhaps the most familiar toys, but a recent trip to a local model shop peaked my interest in looking at spy-kits from the era. Below are some cool Bond and U.N.C.L.E. figure models produced by Aurora and Airfix. I'll post images of some of the vehicle kits tomorrow. From what I understand, many of these vintage models were reissued (with the exception of U.N.C.L.E.) and can still be found at affordable prices. You can also find reproduction boxes and box-art posters. I was more of an airplane builder as a kid, but I may have to try my hand at one of these in the future. Have any Spy Vibers built a classic secret agent model? Main images from Markssuperblog and Model Museum here. Inexpensive Oddjob model reissue by Polar Lights on Amazon here.
Recent Ian Fleming posts on Spy Vibe: new Fleming books, SE Asian 007, Cumberbatch as Ian Fleming, Fleming Jamaica Book, Bond Japanese Editions, Fleming Chinese Edition, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang 50th, Ian Fleming: Mt. Demon Hell Japan, Collecting Fleming, Live and Let Die 60th, new poster announced, 007 Audio Books Update, Appropriating Bond Exhibit, Fleming Letters Mystery, The Goldfinger Variations, Double 007 Book Designs, Double 007 designs II, rare Ian Fleming edition, Book Design Dopplegangers, Turkish Bond design, Ian Fleming Letters, Erno Goldfinger, Noel Coward, Whispering Jack Smith, Hawaiian Guitar, Joe Fingers Carr, new Ian Fleming Catalog, Jon Gilbert interview, Double 007 Designs, Bond audio book reissues, discovery of one of Ian Fleming's WWII Commandos, James Bond book covers, Ian Fleming's Playboy interview for Kindle, Spy Vibe's discovery of a rare Ian Fleming serialization, rare View to a Kill, Fleming's Royal gold typewriter, Ian Fleming's memorial address, Spy Vibe's Ian Fleming image archive.
Recent Spy Vibe posts: Remo Williams Blu-ray, Bunny Yeager and Ursula Andress, Danger Mouse, Lost Avengers Episodes, Big Fun Toys, Danger Diabolik Soundtrack, Bruno Nicolai CD, Mother's Day (Avengers), Mod Fashion Dolls, Wild Wild West Blu-ray, Cold War Archie, New Avengers Comic, Ipcress File Blu-ray, Honor Blackman Tour, Playboy Bunny Interview, The 10th Victim Japanese and Kindle, U.N.C.L.E. Japanese Books, The 10th Victim German Edition, UNCLE Gun, The Saint books return, Spy exhibit at the Pacific Science Center, Trina Robbins Interview, Catsuits, Batman '66 Green Hornet Interview: Ralph Garman Ty Templeton.
Spy Vibe is spotlighting rare book covers this week, and there's no better place to start than Ian Fleming's For Your Eyes Only. As I mentioned in my recent interview with Artistic License Renewed, this volume of James Bond short stories holds a special place in my heart- and on my collection shelf. The book starts with From a View to a Kill, one of my favorite 007 stories. In this thrilling opening passage, Fleming introduces an assassin on a motorcycle: "The eyes behind the wide black rubber goggles were cold as flint. In the howling speed-turmoil of a BSA M20 doing seventy, they were the only quiet things in the hurtling flesh and metal. Protected by the glass of the goggles, they stared fixedly ahead from just above the centre of the handlebars, and their dark unwavering focus was that of gun muzzles." Are you hooked? Here is a Chinese edition from 1993 with strong graphics and a retro vibe. I particularly like the bold colors, dynamic composition, and the stylized figures. The added shadow behind the illustrated gun reminds me of mystery paperbacks from the 1950s. Enjoy!
Recent Ian Fleming posts on Spy Vibe: Chitty Chitty Bang Bang 50th, Ian Fleming: Mt. Demon Hell Japan, Collecting Fleming, Live and Let Die 60th, new poster announced, 007 Audio Books Update, Appropriating Bond Exhibit, Fleming Letters Mystery, The Goldfinger Variations, Double 007 Book Designs, Double 007 designs II, rare Ian Fleming edition, Book Design Dopplegangers, Turkish Bond design, Ian Fleming Letters, Erno Goldfinger, Noel Coward, Whispering Jack Smith, Hawaiian Guitar, Joe Fingers Carr, new Ian Fleming Catalog, Jon Gilbert interview, Double 007 Designs, Bond audio book reissues, discovery of one of Ian Fleming's WWII Commandos, James Bond book covers, Ian Fleming's Playboy interview for Kindle, Spy Vibe's discovery of a rare Ian Fleming serialization, rare View to a Kill, Fleming's Royal gold typewriter, Ian Fleming's memorial address, Spy Vibe's Ian Fleming image archive.
Recent Spy Vibe posts: UNCLE Gun, The Saint books return, Spy exhibit at the Pacific Science Center, Trina Robbins Interview, Catsuits, Batman '66 Green Hornet Interview: Ralph Garman Ty Templeton, DC Fontana Prisoner Video, Edward Gorey's 1960s, Ipcress File cinematography, 007 SOLO cover designs, Gloria Steinem and Denny O'Neil on MOD Wonder Woman, Win Scott Eckert interview, Siegel and Shuster's SPY, David McCallum: Son of Batman, Wonderwall comes to Blu-ray, Kevin Dart talks Ringo & Powerpuff Girls, Fu Manchu history panel, Mod Tales Interview, Atomic Art, Shane Glines Batman.
Amazon imprint Thomas and Mercer will publish a whopping forty-nine Saint novels by Leslie Charteris this summer. The new Amazon Saint library will arrive in two waves, releasing books on June 24th and July 29th in paperback. Kindle editions already came out on March 18th. The jacket designs are quite cool, sporting an early 1960s vibe with simple black-and-white imagery radiating from a dynamic ellipse motif, muted color palette, retro typeface, and the original Saint stick figure by Charteris. Click cover images below for a closer look. In addition, Mulholland recently published thirty-five of the Saint titles in the UK with more modern cover designs. It's a great time to be a Saint fan! Charteris wrote fifty novels and collections about his character Simon Templar. The Saint also appeared in many continuation stories, films, radio shows, comic strips, and notably a 1960s TV series starring Roger Moore. As I've mentioned, I loved reading these novels as a kid. And the Moore series imprinted a wonderful image in my mind of the ideal jet-setter- a well-dressed adventurer with a Volvo, plane tickets to anywhere, and that perfect hair. Imagine my disappointment when I learned that "Jet-Setter" wasn't a possible career choice! I was also intrigued to learn there were Saint Clubs for boys during the mid-century. In my imagination, groups of good-hearted Bowery Boys met in cellar gymnasiums to read the exploits of Simon Templar and to practice boxing, archery, and billiards. I was never one to join clubs as a kid, but this image of brotherly Saint fans really appealed to me. Learn about the real Saint Club at the Leslie Charteris website. I'm excited to see this library of novels return to bookshelves and win over new readers. Learn about The Saint: Leslie Charteris, The Saint: A Complete History, George Sanders Saint Collection, The Saint seasons 5 and 6 streaming on Amazon, The Saint radio show starring Vincent Price, and The Saint.org website. Are you a book collector? Check out our recent posts: Chitty Chitty Bang Bang 50th anniversary, my interview about collecting Ian Fleming, and other links below.
Spy Vibe is having a spring sale on eBay. New items added very few days and include rare Beatles autographs, James Bond, rare books, music, and comics. Details here.
Recent Ian Fleming posts on Spy Vibe: Ian Fleming: Mt. Demon Hell Japan, Collecting Fleming, Live and Let Die 60th, new poster announced, 007 Audio Books Update, Appropriating Bond Exhibit, Fleming Letters Mystery, Double 007 Book Designs, Double 007 designs II, rare Ian Fleming edition, Book Design Dopplegangers, Turkish Bond design, Ian Fleming Letters, Erno Goldfinger, Noel Coward, Whispering Jack Smith, Hawaiian Guitar, Joe Fingers Carr, new Ian Fleming Catalog, Jon Gilbert interview, Double 007 Designs, Bond audio book reissues, discovery of one of Ian Fleming's WWII Commandos, James Bond book covers, Ian Fleming's Playboy interview for Kindle, Spy Vibe's discovery of a rare Ian Fleming serialization, rare View to a Kill, Fleming's Royal gold typewriter, Ian Fleming's memorial address, Spy Vibe's Ian Fleming image archive.
Recent Spy Vibe posts: Jason interviewed here, Spy exhibit at the Pacific Science Center, Ian Fleming: Mt. Demon Hell Japan, 007 Audio Books Update, Sylvia Anderson, Appropriating Bond Exhibit, Trina Robbins Interview, Catsuits, Batman '66 Green Hornet Interview: Ralph Garman Ty Templeton, Solar & Bionic Man Return, The Saint Library Released, DC Fontana Prisoner Video, James Bond Comic Event, Turkish James Bond Design, Edward Gorey's 1960s, Ipcress File cinematography, 007 SOLO cover designs, Gloria Steinem and Denny O'Neil on MOD Wonder Woman, Win Scott Eckert interview, Siegel and Shuster's SPY, David McCallum: Son of Batman, Wonderwall comes to Blu-ray, Kevin Dart talks Ringo & Powerpuff Girls, Sherlock Exhibit, Fu Manchu history panel, Striped Light Nude, Buckminster Fuller, Jane and Serge, The Goldfinger Variations, Mod Tales Interview, David Tennant's Ian Fleming audio books, Atomic Art, Shane Glines Batman.
