From October 1987: One of the forgotten toy/ comics combos of the decade: SUPERNATURALS.
I never owned any of these action figures or vehicles myself but - if my memory serves - they used glow-in-the-dark technology as their USP.
Tonka didn't have the wherewithal to launch an animated series (and, even if they did, the market was pretty crowded by this point) so formed a marketing partnership with Fleetway (nee IPC) in the UK to get the premise into a comic.
Following the tried-and-tested M.A.S.K business model, Fleetway kickstarted interest in the new launch by giving away a preview edition with their other weeklies. This, of course, doubled as an ambitious plug for the toys themselves on the assumption that far more people would read the preview (and possibly buy the toys) than would actually start buying the new title.
The preview was bagged free with 2000AD 546 and EAGLE 263.
In addition to the one-shot, the polybag also included a double-sided card insert with a rundown of the various characters featured in the stories.
The regular fortnightly comic lasted a mere nine issues before Fleetway pulled the plug. A Holiday Special (possibly published purely to meet any outstanding contractual obligations and to burn-up any existing commissioned inventory) and Adventure Book (reprints from the fortnightly) also appeared.
The strips never reached it to the States (although they may have been syndicated to other territories) and it's unlikely any copies of the comic ever crossed the Atlantic either.
The freebie tie-in was given away with Eagle 293.
ReplyDeleteI don't recall The Supernaturals actually being much good, though the art was usually of a high standard and I remember liking the non-SN-branded one-offs like The Doll and thought it a pity it didn't fold into Eagle to up the horror content a little, as that book was more toy/war oriented around the time.
slow robot previously covered this comic here:
ReplyDeletehttp://starlogged.blogspot.ie/2012/12/1987-supernaturals-preview-issue.html
Grrr... The time has come... I'm starting to repeat myself.
DeleteIt's getting hard to keep track of what I've already posted. Old age has arrived.
occasional repetition is inevitable given the sheer volume of material on this blog but just think of all the cool items you have yet to cover....would love to see more posts on magazines like epi-log or dreamwatch...
ReplyDeleteLooked up Supernaturals in the British Library last month; I’d forgotten how execrable it was.
ReplyDelete