"Oh Dear Again" Said My Brain

Conrad Had A Line From An ELP Song In Mind
"Welcome back, my friends, to the show that never ends -" because that would  probably be one of the better descriptions of the 24/7 party going on in my head, which can make it problematic to know what a hastily-scribbled note means.
     More of that later.  And we have Michael Rennie to accost, too.  In the meantime, we have another comic-related memory of Your Humble Scribe's to research, validate and qualify.
     O - before we manage that, we mentioned Bill Cowher in today's earlier post.  Art?

That's Bill to port, looking all <ahem> steely-eyed

     He has a brief cameo in "The Dark Knight Rises" as the team coach of the Gotham City Football Team*.  Bet you didn't know that!
     Where were we ?
     O yes.  Conrad has a distinct memory of reading what he thinks was a newly-launched comic back in the early Seventies, during his latter years at Lea County Primary.  One strip definitely stuck with me, and given that it was a serious adventure strip with realistic art, I suspect the comic was not one of the comedy ones, like "The Sparky".  Art?

Before men actually landed on the Moon, I hasten to add

     The strip was one of those "Quest" types, where our barbarian heroes had to traverse the roiling lands by virtue of a map, which was thoughtfully printed at the beginning.  This was before "Lord of the Rings" had made it big, so it's not like they were pinching JRR's intellectual property.  I remember one particular episode addressing a picture on the map which was, in retrospect, annoyingly vague.  "The Sleeping Terror - Wake It Not" was the legend, midway between a cave and a volcano.

Conrad unsure how puny humans awaken a volcano

     As I recall, the Sleeping Terror was actually a dozy monster living in the cave, which our clueless heroes managed to awaken, not that you can blame them.  I mean, how hard would it have been to add an arrow to that map, hmmm?
     I have rather less distinct recollections about a later episode, where Hero's Dad looks into the Mysterious Something, and is transformed into a homicidal Hero-Hacking hater, though retaining enough intellect to warn his son.

No, Art, no.  Not that kind of - O never mind.

     Of course I cannot recall the name of the comic, the title of the strip or the artist, who may have been one of the Spanish ones that British comics resorted to when they were on a deadline and their own staff couldn't cope.  British comics of the time never credited their artists, anyway, a situation that wouldn't be remedied until the arrival of "2000AD".
     Yes yes yes, I could go on Google and try searching, which would probably take ages, and I have a conceptual deadline here, you know.
     Motley!  You don't need to do anything, gravity and the grease on the bottom of the tea-tray will do all the work.  Yes, I know it's a long fall from the roof, that's why I put cardboard boxes at the bottom.  One, two - GO!

"What could possibly go wrong?" asked Steve.

"From Alamein To Zem Zem" By Keith Douglas
Imagine that, I found this in my book cavern the instant I climbed up the ladder, resigned to having to shift two or three hundred other books out of the way to find it.  Art?

The edition I have

     For those of you who have only just joined BOOJUM! I shall explicate a little.  Keith had joined the Sherwood Rangers Yeomanry, then in Palestine, before being seriously ill and only physically joining in November 1941.  He was not an easy subordinate for more senior officers to deal with, and the Regiment dealt with him as it did with those it thought "unsuitable" for whatever reason; it transferred him to a staff post.  Art?

Keith, absent glasses.

     There he was, sitting behind a desk at GHQ in Cairo, loathing it.  When he heard the barrage that began the third battle of Alamein, he deserted his nice, safe, cushy post and drove out to the SRY to try and see some action.  Like all sabre squadrons, they were short of tank commanders thanks to casualties, and they took him in.  Keith's narrative covers the rest of the war in North Africa, with a long period of recuperation after he was badly injured at the battle of Wadi Zem Zem, which was a bad day for the SRY.
    One interesting difference about this work and the diaries of Colonel Stanley Christopherson ("An Englishman At War") is that Keith's was published whilst the war was still going on.  Conscious of this, he gave everyone he mentioned a pseudonym, and asked Stanley, then a Major and his squadron commander, to read and judge the manuscript.  Thus I know that "Edward" is actually Stan.  "Picadilly Jim" is actually the regiment's CO, Colonel 'Flash' Kellett.

Very flash

     I shall endeavour to discern who is whom, and may even commit any revelations to the blog.  
     In Stanley's diaries, he makes no bones about naming officers he dislikes or disapproves of, most especially Captain Henry Trotter.  Stan simply detested the man, and is copious in his execration.  On the other hand, it simply wasn't the done thing to name the other ranks if they messed up or couldn't cope.  Stan mentions one sergeant who refused an order to get in a diving chamber to practice entering and exiting a submerged tank; he had a traumatic childhood accident with water as a reason.  He was reduced to Private.  Once ashore in Normandy he conducted himself with such courage and skill that he was made Sergeant again within weeks.  At no point does Stan name him, not even with a pseudonym.

A Duplex Drive Valentine

     Sorry, can't find a picture of one submerged in a test chamber.  Use your imagination!

     I've done it again, haven't I?  Two really long articles.  I do apologise, I didn't realise talking about ATZZ would take up so much time.  

Finally -
Nothing to do with comics or tanks, just one of those things that Your Humble Scribe thinks of whilst waiting for the kettle to boil.
     Do herbs and mushrooms count towards being one of your Five A Day?  I ask because I had a fair bit of fresh coriander last night, and I have a lot of garlic mushrooms to consume tonight.
     One to ponder, hmmm?

Dammit.  I'm making me feel hungry.

*  I don't describe it as "the ballfoot game" because it is obviously more rugby than soccer.  Just so you know.