Mandy Picture Library cover mystery

This is a recent acquisition and is a bit of a mystery to me. It appears to be the cover for a Mandy picture library. BUT I've looked at all 277 covers of Mandy picture library and this isn't one of them. Perhaps it was an idea for a cover that never got used??

I also notice the 4 girls and instinctively wonder if they are supposed to be 'The 4 Mary's except that they appeared in Bunty not Mandy. There are 10 Bunty picture library issues that feature 'The 4 Mary's' and this isn't the cover for any of them.

Like I say, it's a mystery. Further hypotheses welcome!

Rip Kirby - Super Detective Library

I've long wanted to catalogue the issues of Super Detective Library that contained Rip Kirby strips and a recent listing on ebay gives me a chance to do just that...

These are the issues of Super Detective Library you're looking for...

#120 - Rip Kirby and the man who stole a million dollars

#122 - Rip Kirby in duel with danger

#124 - Rip Kirby in desert fury

#126 - Rip Kirby and the runaway lady

#128 - Rip Kirby and the fatal target

#130 - Rip Kirby and the race of death

#132 - Rip Kirby on terror island

#134 - Rip Kirby and the clue of the vanishing gun

#136 - Rip Kirby's dangerous manhunt

#138 - Rip Kirby and the trail of terror

#140 - Rip Kirby and the mystery of the prisoner of Doom castle

#142 - Rip Kirby and the case of the man from nowhere

#144 - Rip Kirby's invitation to danger

#146 - Rip Kirby in design for murder

#148 - Rip Kirby and the devil's henchman

#150 - Rip Kirby and the case of the crooked mile

#152 - Rip Kirby and the playground of fear

#154 - Rip Kirby and the case of the phantom film star

More Book Palace publications coming soon

Back in November (here) I posted about some upcoming projects from the Book Palace, well the Ron Embleton special is out (you can buy it here), and I've just noticed some other updates from them....

Coming in May 2019 is this beauty, limited to 500 copies this is (it says here) ...Wonderful collection of four complete 64 page stories by Ron Turner and Kurt Caesar featuring the classic SF strips Jet Ace Logan.

Reprints Thriller Picture Library #383, #410, #418 and #442 from 1962/63; plus comprehensive artist checklist and introduction.

Also in May we have this

As it says here...
Stirring collection of four complete 64 page stories by Del Castillo featuring the classic Western strip Larrigan.

Reprints Lone Rider Picture Library #1, #4, #9 and Cowboy Picture Library #463 from 1961/62; plus comprehensive artist checklist and introduction.

Both titles are already available to pre-order for £25 each and contain 268 pages.

Joe Colquhoun - Flash Point

Just back from France where I picked up a couple of Commando reprints, here's the story behind the first reprint (the 2nd one will come in a later blog).

The issue was this...

What stood out for me was that the art was that the art was clearly by Joe 'Charley's War' Colquhoun. An advert in the back for a reprint volume dated 1963 gave me my first clue for helping identify where the story came from originally.

Back in the UK and some chatting with Commando fan Colin Noble and we narrowed it down to, basically, one possible picture library. We narrowed it down so quickly because Joe didn't do much work for the picture libraries in the early 1960s. 

The only fly in the ointment was the French title, Point d'appui, which means 'fulcrum' rather than Flashpoint.

Colin helped identify that the Flashpoint story had been reprinted a few times over the years...

Here's the original Air Ace Picture Library #35

Which was then reprinted as Battle Picture Library #814

and then reprinted again as War Picture Library #1639

Colin's info. was coming via the Fleetway Picture Library index volume 1 (the war libraries) by Steve Holland and David Roach.

This excellent volume also credits War Picture Library #1342 as being a reprint of Air Ace #35

but the cover makes it look more like a naval story than the desert based story that Joe had illustrated. Instead, War Picture Library #1342 (interior art below)...

 ...is a reprint of Battle Picture Library #611 (see below)

(original art for sale here)

...which is itself a reprint of War Picture Library #95 with art by Gino D'Antonio, script by RP Clegg and cover by Nino Caroselli -  image below taken from the War Libraries index

So, basically the only bit that's wrong in the War Libraries index is the entry on page 164 where War Picture Library #1342 is credited as being a reprint of Air Ace #35 [a story entitled Flash Point] when really it's a reprint of War Picture Library #95 [a story entitled Flash Point]. I think that's about as clear as I can make it and it's pretty obvious how the mistake has arisen.

Interestingly the cover for Rapaces #45 is actually from...

...War Picture Library #/868...which reprints Air Ace 62...

Interior art by Solano Lopez and a cover by Nino Caroselli.

And all that from just one comic.