From July 1987: the launch of Essex-based comics fanzine AFTER IMAGE. And I was there.
After Image started out as a little A5 affair published (or, at the very least, published in association with) Colchester's Ace (American Comics Enterprises) Comics and sold through their little Museum Street store (virtually in the shadow of the town's castle... the store is still going but has relocated several times since). I'm not sure whether copies were also sold further afield or by mail order.
The launch was pegged, as you'll see below, to a signing by the creative team (Wagner and Grant) behind DC's new OUTCASTS limited series. They were signing (in a loading bay/ delivery area at the back of the store) copies of the first issue of their series... And copies of the first issue of this series.
AI itself was a nice mix of comics and media news, interviews and articles. This was the first place that Teen Me had ever heard of the movie PLAN NINE FROM OUTER SPACE... and it sounded such fun.
The zine continued in the A5 format for several more issues and then adopted a more traditional A4 format with better paper and print quality. But still with the same alt-ink "colour" covers and black & white interiors. I'm not sure how long it ran and I don't think I kept any other issues. Grrr.
according to this page, it must have run to at least 7 and possibly more issues :
ReplyDeletehttp://whatisahero.over-blog.com/article-aditional-material-1988-68753158.html
That's interesting. Neither cover rings a bell so, for whatever reason, they passed me by compleatly at the time. Which is a shame as it was a nice little (and - later - bigger) 'zine.
DeletePicked up six and seven great reads.
ReplyDelete