1984: THE EAGLE COLLECTION: THE BROTHERS (IPC)

From 1984: I've not run one of these for a very long time... one of the occasional (just like these posts) full-page pin-ups that appeared in the EAGLE under the banner of THE EAGLE COLLECTION.  

These appeared sporadically in the weekly from October 1983 onwards.  I get the impression that their scheduling was entirely dependent on whether the IPC sales team had been able to flog the (very finite) number of colour pages to an advertiser.  No-sale meant one of these was more likely to appear. 

The Brothers was an EAGLE strip (that landed the comic in a big of hot water... leading to a clarification of the mutating powers of radioactive waste.  See here for the offending installment and subsequent clarification) about - yup you guessed it - siblings.  Except one, after exposure to nuclear waste, turns into monkey-boy.

This appeared in the issue cover-dated 7 April 1984.

Follow the EAGLE COLLECTION link below for previous posts. 

1984: EAGLE COLLECTION: MANIX (IPC)

Here's the next in the occasional outings from the EAGLE COLLECTION: MANIX, the Eagle's (in-no-way-inspired-by-a-popular-TV-franchise) character that dated back to the photo-story era.

This full-page pin-up appeared in the issue cover-dated 17 March 1984.

1984: EAGLE COLLECTION: DOOMLORD (IPC)

I've been holding back this next entry in the EAGLE COLLECTION (a series of occasionally scheduled full-page pin-ups featuring assorted Eagle characters) specifically for Halloween.

This DOOMLORD piece appeared in the issue dated 25 February 1984.

A reminder that I've previously posted photographic evidence of DL's entire first attempt to bump off humanity on STARLOGGED, starting way back here.

1984: EAGLE COLLECTION: CROWE STREET COMP. (IPC)

This is the next entry in the EAGLE'S sporadic series of full-page pin-ups published between October 1983 and May 1984.

This one, based on their (rather obvious) GRANGE HILL knock-off CROWE STREET COMP, appeared in the issue cover-dated 4 February 1984.

1984: THE EAGLE COLLECTION: DAN DARE (IPC)

My occasional EAGLE COLLECTION (full-page pin-ups occasionally published in the weekly during 83-84) posts make a comeback with this really nice DAN DARE page from the issue cover-dated 21 January 1984.

1983: THE EAGLE COLLECTION: ONE-EYED JACK (IPC)

Here's the second of the EAGLE COLLECTION full-page pin-ups that occasionally graced the pages of the EAGLE between October 1983 and May 1984.  This particular one appeared in the issue dated 22 October 1983.

One Eyed Jack was a Dirty Harry - ahem - knockoff (tough cop.  big gun) that had appeared in VALIANT the previous decade and dusted-off, to reduce costs, in the Eagle.  At the time, I had no idea who the character was (something I guess the Eagle powers-that-be would apply to most of their readership) but I could tell that the strip was curiously dated.  Maybe it was the flares!

1983: THE EAGLE COLLECTION: THE FISTS OF DANNY PYKE (IPC)

I'd previously assumed that the occasionally-scheduled THE EAGLE COLLECTION full-page pin-ups had started in January 1984.  I got that spectacularly wrong and - as a result - I'm not posting these in chronological order.  Whoops.

This IS the first in the series and appeared in EAGLE cover-dated 15 October 1983.

- To Be Continued - 

1984: EAGLE COLLECTION: WALK OR DIE (IPC) ++UPDATE++

This is the first of a new recurring feature at STARLOGGED: THE EAGLE COLLECTION.

These were a series of full-page colour pin-ups, each spotlighting a different strip, that appeared sporadically in the weekly beginning with THE FISTS OF DANNY PYKE published in October 1983.  Walk or Die was the third in the (very) occasional series.

These only appeared when one of the limited number of colour pages wasn't sold as advertising space which meant - in reality - they didn't appear very often.  A total of seven appeared between January and May that year before the feature was quietly dropped.

The WALK OR DIE strip was an ambitious holdover from the photo-story era.  Basically, a group of kids, Lord of the Flies style, get stranded in the Canadian wilderness and have to overcome assorted adversity (injuries, wildlife, loony locals) as they trudge to civilisation.  Basically, one of those strips that lasts as long as readers remain interested and the writers could concoct plausible survival scenarios. Switching to art work, and jettisoning the human cast, must have made things a little easier although - as I've said before - I'm something or a heretic and actually see the virtues of the photo-based format.

++UPDATE: WHOOPS!  This wasn't the first outing of the EAGLE COLLECTION at all.  Not even the second.  Walk Or Die was the third.  Sorry!  I've just been back into my records and found two earlier pages.  The first being The Fists of Danny Pyke published the previous October.  I'll post the "missing" ones so follow the link below++

- TO BE CONTINUED -