Black Tower: Runestone -The Beast of Exmoor

 

From BT Presents 2, 1987, Philip Horton (who also worked on The Raider strip) inked and lettered over my pencils. To be honest it was a huge improvement on my self drawn strip from no. 1 which...well, the less said the better.

Horton's style was improving but, again, he just  no longer communicated so mkaybe comics were not for him -who knows!

Ben Dilworth redrew the origin in Adventure vol. 2 nos. 6-10

Black Tower -We Got The Books!

 

Black Tower: Pete Forrest and Geni -Original

 I previously posted the redrawn Pete Forrest and Geni strip by "Anon" so here is the original from Adventure vol. 1 no. 1 (reprinted again in July 1987)

One of those other "lost artists" that I had so much faith in back in the early days of Black Tower was Robert Perris.

I liked his style.  It was a bit raw but showed a lot of promise.  Robert had gotten in touch as he had a strip titled Hanley's Garage.  It was a series so I published the first part.  It could be called "typical slice-of-life" but I could see the potential.

I wanted to re-present certain strips I had drawn and Robert re-drew the origin of Prentiss aka The Mummy (you have read D-Gruppe?) and I liked it and then he drew the second part of Pete Forrest & Geni and I loved it.  In fact key characters to later stories were introduced -though back in 1987 they were merely one-offs.

One is Simon LeCorbeau -a French multi-millionaire at that time and just about to become the multi-billionaire philanthropist who financed the Special Globe Guard, Task Force Europe, South Asian Task Force, Task Force Deutschland and much more.  Of course, back then he was younger and a good few pounds lighter.  A little piece of Black Tower history.

Now, the crimson Guardian.  Well, he later pops up in Krakos: Sands Of Terror though I was never asked about his inclusion.  I was drawing the book and it came to a poinbt where a villain with Egyptian connections was needed and I just drew in old CG.  In fact, I had to check WHY I had included him. Yes, he was acceptable.  I'm glad my subconscious keeps track of these things because I don't!

Though the character's origins are not gone into they will (I hope) as the last time he was seen (at the end of The Cross Earths Caper) he was confronting a much older Pete Forrest.

Robert Perris then simply vanished.  No response to letters and Hanley's never got past issue 1....I know, it gets to look worse and worse for me-artists appear. Work for me and then vanish.  I will not be defending myself in court on this matter!

But, as part of Black Tower's 40th Anniversary celebration here is that Pete Forrest & Geni story but you can see a better quality version when it appears in Black Tower Super Heroes No. 2....whenever that appears.

Enjoy!

Forty Years Went By TOO Quickly -Can I Get Them Back?

 

It is very scary to think that Black Tower started over 40 years ago as a Small Press publisher. It is interesting how many people went on to write or draw comics professionally (mainly through the effort of Previews Comic which a former Fleetway editor told people he kept in a side drawer and often flicked through).

At one time as an Artists and Writers Agent I was receiving between 60-80 packages a week and at one point 100-120.  Out of all of those people I think perhaps six went on to draw or write comics.

There was some gratitude along the way but I learnt pretty early on that once you had gotten an artist paying comic  work you were nothing any more.  One actually walked straight past me at a comic event even though I said hello -he later denied to someone knowing me and yet I had the comic with his work and an interview with him and as one editor put it "You got him the job with us, though!"

Meh.

Anyway, to celebrate the humble beginnings of the UKs largest Independent publisher I thought it would be nice to post a few of those early contributors -who I hope are all alive, well and drawing still if only for fun!

So, here is to the next 40 (see -I'm a fantasist!)

Black Tower: Dru Drew 'Em

Dru was, if I remember correctly, based at David Lloyd's Portobello Project as we had a very quick chat on a visit there.  Dru sent in a lot of cartoon work and  I was more than happy to publish them.

Adventure vol. 1  no. 2  November 1985

 

Black Tower: Rendevous

Another strip by Adrian Wood and I know that there was a second story with the female law officer but danged if I can find it (so many issues like Previews Comic went up in smoke).

This appeared in Adventure vol. 1 no. 5, October, 1987

 

Black Tower: Garbage World

 I actually got quite a few contributions from Mark Stafford and one was the series Garbage World which he never, sadly, concluded but it all started in Adventure vol. 1 no.5 October, 1987

I did bump into Mark years later at one of the old Bristol Comic Cons and we had a good chat and I found out he was still producing art.

Black Tower: The Legendary Wrecking Crew

This strip came from Henry Flint (yep. the 2000 AD artist) who at the time may (I write "may" as I used to get 60-100 packages a week back in the 1980s) have been at David Lloyd's Portobello Project.

It was just a brief letter (more a note) he sent and noted that he had no luck getting anyone to publish his strip so was I interested?   

His later "Thank You" note promised more but....he vanished into the wind. Or to be more accurate, into a comic career.

Adventure vol. 1 no. 5 October, 1987

Black Tower: Business A Pleasure

I have no idea what happened to Adrian Wood, The last I heard from him was a letter along with some partial inked and pencilled pages for a story he was working on. I sent out a couple letters but nothing.

It was a pity as he was developing a nice art style of his own and more than a few people noted his work in reviews.  My hope is that, even if he gave up on trying to get comic work he is at least still drawing for pleasure.

Adventure vol. 1 no.6, February, 1988

 

The Complete Guide To Dene Vernon at Black Tower

Let's start off with a story that bridges old and new Vernon cases -Dene Vernon in The Green Skies.

I've taken a deep breath and clenched my teeth.

I really, really hate to give glimpses at a project.  But I've been asked several times to do so for The Green Skies.

NOT scans but digital photos -yah! Boo! Sucks!  You'll note dialogue pasted on scraps of papers.  These are just the rough unedited pages.  Much more in the way of solid black and cross-hatching is to be done. But WHAT is going on in 1942 London?

That last panel shows why, in The Thing Below, Vernon is recovering from injuries. Not that anyone will see that since the book was withdrawn due to "creator differences" (that story will be told one day. In the meantime here is a post on said book,

Dene Vernon From The Burning Heart To The Thing From Below

If any of you out there has purchased Black Tower Golden Age Collection vol.1 you would have found the strip Dene Vernon -The Burning Heart”.  But who is Dene Vernon and why is he important to British comics history?

Firstly,his proper credit was “Dene Vernon. Ghost Investigator”.  In the 1930s and 1940s the work of ghost investigators such as Harry Price [despite what people write about his work at Borley Rectory] and the great Elliott O’Donnell could be found reported on in national newspapers as well as on radio.

If they could inspire me as a teen to get involved in this type of work imagine the effect on everyday folk in the pre-TV era and before all the faking of Most Haunted and Ghost Hunters, Ghost Adventures as well as others.

But Amalgamated Press and D.C. Thomson were too “clean” to touch this type of subject unless it was a “real hoot” in a humour strip.

Gerald Swan changed all that.  His comics introduced a whole group of paranormal/occult types fromKrakos The Egyptian to Robert Lovett:Back From The Dead [all subjects of Black Tower collections].    Vernon’s appearance in Thrill Comics No.1,April,1940,marked the very first truly supernatural strip series in British Comics.

Tall,lean with a high forehead and thinning hair,Vernon bore a resemblance to the young Harry Price in a way.  However,his cases seem to have been pure O’Donnell and in case you are asking who O’Donnell is I give you Wikipedia's somewhat weak entry on the man:

Elliott O’Donnell (February 27, 1872 – May 8, 1965) was an Irish author known primarily for his books about ghosts. He claimed to have seen a ghost, described as an elemental figured covered with spots, when he was five years old. He also claimed to have been strangled by a mysterious phantom in Dublin.

He claimed descent from Irish chieftains of ancient times, including Niall of the Nine Hostages (the King Arthur of Irish folklore) and Red Hugh, who fought the English in the sixteenth century. O’Donnell was educated at Clifton College, Bristol, England, and Queen’s Service Academy, Dublin, Ireland.
In later life he became a ghost hunter, but first he traveled in America, working on a range in Oregon and becoming a policeman during the Chicago Railway Strike of 1894. Returning to England, he worked as a schoolmaster and trained for the theater. He served in the British army in World War I, and later acted on stage and in movies.

His first book, written in his spare time, was a psychic thriller titled For Satan’s Sake (1904). From this point onward, he became a writer. He wrote several popular novels but specialized in what were claimed as true stories of ghosts and hauntings. These were immensely popular, but his flamboyant style and amazing stories suggest that he embroidered fact with a romantic flair for fiction.

As he became known as an authority on the supernatural, he was called upon as a ghost hunter. He also lectured and broadcast (radio and television) on the paranormal in Britain and the United States. In addition to his more than 50 books, he wrote scores of articles and stories for national newspapers and magazines. He claimed “I have investigated, sometimes alone, and sometimes with other people and the press, many cases of reputed hauntings. I believe in ghosts but am not a spiritualist.”

Remember that bit about being strangled by a ghost [not unique in the lore itself]. This is what Denis Gifford wrote about Vernon’s first adventure:

“..Vernon spends the night in a haunted bedroom where a weary wanderer was found on the floor. ‘A gasp of horror came as they gazed on the terror-distorted features of the dead traveller!’  Vernon saves Dick from being throttled by a grinning black monster,chained by its neck since 1785.  But he had to burn the house down to do it.”

You know, I am quite sure that there is a similar O’Donnell story -though he never burns places down!

The creator of the strip was Jock McCail who also drew oriental detective Ah Wong for Swan’s New Funnies [1940-1949], Darrell King Of The Secret Service in Thrill Comics [1940-48],New Funnies [1949] and Slick Fun [1950].  McCail also drew Get-Your-Man-Gilligan, a Western strip for the Amalgamated Press title Jolly between 1938-39.

Dene Vernon ran as a strip between 1940-1946 so must have been popular -as many of the Swan horror strips were.

It would be nice to put together a complete Dene Vernon book at some point but these old British comics are very rare to get hold of either as printed items or scans!

But, in 2011, Vernon featured in his first adventure since 1946.  Yes, post-war Britain was the setting for…

DENE VERNON -THE THING FROM BELOW!

A4

B&W

54 pages

I think over 60 years was a long enough rest for him -and THE THING FROM BELOW was enough of atough task for him but...well, his final fate in The Green Skies is really ...."gutting"
hehehehehe er, Sorry.

But maybe an appearance in Black Tower Super Heroes before that?  I can't really say -I don't want to spoil the fun!!
Remember the name, though: Dene Vernon!

And Ben Dilworth enjoyed the character so much that he decided to produce a three issue mini series:

Dene Vernon (The A-Z Files) 1 - 3

 

A4

B&w

28pp

£8.00

https://www.lulu.com/en/en/shop/terry-hooper/dene-vernon-1-of-3/paperback/product-9w7wen.html?page=1&pageSize=4

“The Ghost Hunter” “The Demon Stalker” “The Walker Amongst The Dead” “The Man of Dark Mystery” -he was called many things by journalists in his time. If he heeded a call for help then that person was saved...or doomed.  Whether in the East End slums, Corridors of Power or mansions of the Blue Blooded: if the preternatural was at work no one stopped him.

                        Until that one night.

During periods of dark melancholy, Dick uses the A-Z Case files to try to revive Vernon’s spirits (no pun intended). For the first time ever read about -

 

   E –The Case of the End Room

              V –The Rescue of Verity Brown

                               I –The Horror of Inglenook Hall

                                    P—The Paddington Sewer Incident

                  

 

Writer-Artist Benjamin R. Dilworth

28pp

A4

B&W

£8.00

https://www.lulu.com/en/en/shop/terry-hooper/dene-vernon-the-a-z-case-files-no-2-of-3/paperback/product-vwd989.html?page=1&pageSize=4

They tried to get him with daggers and gunbs and fast loose succubi but they ain't got him....yet!

Dene Vernon thefirst UK comic book investigator of the weird, occult and other worldly (in every sense of the phrase)  is back as his companion Dick opens up more old cases including:

The Mystery of the Red House

The Sharktopus Murders

The Case of the Hiulkingthorpe Dead

and the inevitable had to happen...

The Son of Bong Encounter

 Ben Dilworth, now covered by Pax occultae, can safely reveal some of the most incredible adventures that Jock McCail could not. Are you ready for Son of Bong?

Has Dene Vernon bitten off more than he can chew?

Will HE be chewed?

Want to find out? Then.......

BUY THE COMIC!         

Writer-Artist Benjamin R Dilworth

A4

B&W

28pp

£8.00

https://www.lulu.com/en/en/shop/terry-hooper/dene-vernon-the-a-z-case-files-no-3-of-3/paperback/product-7wm9g2.html?page=1&pageSize=4

Elliott O’Donnell? Amateur.

Harry Price? Playing at it.

Dene Vernon? Dedicated professional putting his life (and probably soul) on the line in his search for knowledge and to defend the “innocents”

From the things lurking in the shadows and blackness of the night.

Things hiding and waiting in stately homes and council estates.

Waiting to consume or corrupt.

In the final part of the A-Z Case Files we find:

 

*The Knight of Knowle Manor

*The Graveney Wood Abduction Case

*The Threat of the Underwood Circle

 

Accounts that can only be presented now!

 

And don't forget....

Dene Vernon -Ghost and Mystery Detective

A4
B&W
24pp
£7.00
https://www.lulu.com/en/en/shop/terry-hooper/dene-vernon-mystery-detective/paperback/product-124edpvm.html

After more than 70 years John McCail's ghost and mystery detective, Dene Vernon is back. In this ClassicComic Fun reprint four of Vernon's terrifying cases -The Burning Heart! -The Terror of Steinlitz Castle! -The Evil From The East! and The Silent Pool Mystery.

Dene Vernon and The Mystery of Black John is awaiting publication so....