1993: GHOST RIDER AND THE MIDNIGHT SONS MAGAZINE: A MARVEL AGE SPECIAL (MARVEL COMICS)

From December 1993: More Halloween scarefare... GHOST RIDER AND THE MIDNIGHT SONS MAGAZINE, a behind-the-scenes/ promotional one-shot mag spun off from the pages of MARVEL AGE.

It's a reminder of a time when Marvel's horror and supernatural books were briefly in the ascendance in the early 1990s boom times. The Bullpen, on a mission to flood the market, quickly built a family of horror books to max out reader interest in the genre sparked by the initial success of the Ghost Rider revival. Once interest waned, the line was once again slimmed down to the core books.

1986: FOREST J. ACKERMAN'S MONSTER LAND ISSUE 8

From March 1986: The 8th issue of FOREST J. ACKERMAN'S MONSTER LAND, published by NMP.

Launched in February 1985, the successor to FAMOUS MONSTERS ran for 17 regular issues (the last appearing in late 1997) followed by two annuals (a 'Fearbook' in 1988 and a NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET special) and an ALIENS special.

I found this random issue in a dealer's table and grabbed it as a random example of a magazine that seems to have been all but forgotten. Copies may be plentiful in the States but this Fango wannabe seems rare in the UK.

Happy Halloween!

1994: THE UK STAR WARS FAN CLUB MAGAZINE ISSUE 10

From the summer of 1994: the tenth issue of the newsletter/ magazine published by
THE (unofficial) UK STAR WARS FAN CLUB.

 Q

2000: SCIENCE FICTION WORLD PAPERBACK 3: HORROR BOX OFFICE HITS

From 2000: Free with issue 3 of SCIENCE FICTION WORLD magazine: HORR0R BOX OFFICE HITS paperback.

1992: LOST IN SPACE ISSUE 4 (INNOVATION COMICS)

From February 1992: the Robinson's get menaced again in the 4th issue of Innovation's LOST IN SPACE comic.

Anyone familiar with the 1960s CBS series (this title was published before any of the periodic screen revivals) will know that this sort of thing just didn't gappen on the altogether more wholesome show. Blame the Nineties.

THE FIVE TIMES ISSUE 6 (THE UK BABYLON FIVE FAN CLUB)

From Summer 1995: the sixth issue of THE 5 TIMES, the newsletter of the unofficial BABYLON FIVE FAN CLUB.

From memory, I think the "missing" fifth issue was a 'bonus' issue which included a few pages of original content and a newly drawn (and rather nice) cover and binding for the first season episode guide published across the first four newsletters. 

The impressive-for-a-fanzine number of original interviews in the newsletter can partly be attributed to the club's semi-official status and the frequency of appearances by assorted cast members in the UK. In retrospect, has there ever been another US genre show with a cast and crew quite so accessible to British fans and fandom? 

1995: DOCTOR WHO POSTER MAGAZINE ISSUE 7 (MARVEL UK)

From December 1995: the penultimate issue of MARVEL UK's DOCTOR WHO POSTER MAGAZINE.

This issue abandoned the original monster-of-the-month format in favour of a new formula that shone the spotlight on one particular story. The Pryramids of Mars followed in the 8th and final issue... but that one is missing from the collection I purchased a while ago.

The change was probably prompted by soft sales in the context of internal changes within the British Bullpen prompted by the financial crisis at the parent company and restructuring within the expanded European operation.

Maybe Marvel might have had more joy if they had devoted issues to members of the supporting cast (in particular the more attractive ones) rather than the diminishing number of memorable rubber monsters.

It's unlikely that the sales figures for the reboot would have come in before the title was canned.

1992: LAUGH: THE COMEDY MAGAZINE ISSUE 1

From 1992... and Australia... the first issue of LAUGH: THE COMEDY MAGAZINE.

I found this random copy in a store. I don't know much else about it and a quick spot of Googling reveals nothing more. But I've posted it here for posterity.

1995: G-FAN SPECIAL COLLECTION ISSUE 1

From December 1995: the first issue of G-FAN SPECIAL COLLECTION ISSUE 1,

The main magazine, dedicated to Godzilla and giant stomping monsters, launched in 1993 and is still going strong.

1996: STARLOG MAGAZINE ISSUE 228 celebrates twenty years in business.

From July 1996: STARLOG MAGAZINE celebrates twenty years in print.

Ironically, it obviously wasn't a vintage year for summer blockbusters.

1989: THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN: THE GREAT RAIN ROBBERY (MARVEL UK)

From 1989: an oddity from the vaults of MARVEL UK: THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN in THE GREAT RAIN ROBBERY.

Published under the Marvel Books banner, this was an easy reading outing for a younger audience. It's a reworked version of the material that first appeared in SPIDEY SUPER STORIES issue 15, published back in early 1976.

As you'll see from the back cover below, this was part of a range of similar softcover books issued by the British Bullpen at the time. They would have been sold in book departments and stores rather than with the comics and magazines.

I particularly like that this one - which i found a couple of years ago in a secondhand store - still has the Woolworths reduction sticker attached. A double whammy of nostalgia.

I don't recall seeing these promoted in the regular comics of the time although it's entirely possible that house ads were restricted to titles I wasn't reading... like THE REAL GHOSTBUSTERS.

Ironically, this appeared during the extended hiatus between the end of SPIDER-MAN AND ZOIDS and the launch of THE COMPLETE SPIDER-MAN.

2000: SCIENCE FICTION WORLD MAGAZINE PAPERBACK 2: CULT TV

From 2000: Another cover-mounted freebie paperback from SCIENCE FICTION WORLD MAGAZINE. This time: CULT TV, presented with the second issue.

All this series of books are well worth grabbing if copies surface in a secondhand store.

1997: WISEGUY PILOT UK VHS RELEASE

From circa 1987 (when the show debuted on CBS) THE UK VHS rental release of WISEGUY's pilot episode.

It's interesting because - as far as I know - this TV movie opener was never granted a follow-up sell through edition.

The Stephen J, Cannell show clocked up an impressive 75 episodes across four well recieved, but mostly low rated, seasons. It ended in December 1990. The cast reunited for a one-time-only teleflick in 1996.

The show aired on Sky One in the UK and - I think - may also have briefly graced ITV's overnight schedules. It never gained the same cultural traction as its Vancouver stablemate 21 JUMP STREET.

It's notable for getting a homage to TWIN PEAKS on air before the show itself debuted.

The show is available on R1 DVD but the all-in-one release entirely omits the pop music arc because the rights proved too expensive to clear for a budget release.

I picked this VHS up from an ex-rental dump bin way-back-when.

1991: LOST IN SPACE ISSUE 3 (INNOVATION COMICS)

From December 1991: the third issue of Innovation's LOST IN SPACE TV tie-in comic book.

1995: THE 5 TIMES ISSUE 4 (THE UK BABYLON FIVE FAN CLUB)

From Spring 1995: the fourth issue of British fanzine THE 5 TIMES, published by the BABYLON FIVE UK FAN CLUB.

Copies of the b&w newsletter were only (as far as I know) available to members of the club.

1977: LOGAN'S RUN ISSUE 1 (MARVEL COMICS)

From January 1977 (but published late the previous year): the first issue of Marvel's brief dalliance with the LOGAN'S RUN franchise.

The MGM movie tie-in proved short-lived... canned after only seven months on the stands. The swift end was apparently down to licensing issues surrounding the creation of new material and the launch of the TV incarnation (the rights to which weren't covered in the Marvel deal... restricting comic strip versions to the British annual and the weekly LOOK-IN strip). Sales probably looked pretty puny once the STAR WARS juggernaut blasted into town a few months later.

Marvel UK didn't run these strips, possibly for the self-same licensing reasons, but - as the 10p cover price tells - copies were shipped to the UK as part of the bundle that went to British newsagents.

1995: DOCTOR WHO POSTER MAGAZINE ISSUE 6 (MARVEL UK)

From September 1995: The Sontarans are the pin-up of the month in the sixth issue of MARVEL UK's DOCTOR WHO POSTER MAGAZINE.

1994: THE UK STAR WARS FAN CLUB MAGAZINE ISSUE 9

From the spring of 1994: THE UK STAR WARS FAN CLUB (all unofficial you understand) gets to grips with the contunuity of the early days of the Expanded Universe in the ninth issue of the mailed-to-members magazine.

GOBOTS IN STARLOG MAGAZINE ISSUE 106

From May 1986: the OTHER giant robot animated movie of the year - GOBOTS: WAR OF THE ROCK LORDS gets some coverage in the pages of STARLOG issue 106.

This is the joy of picking up cheap back issues of 'the log' when they occasionally surface (yup, I know they are all online but it's not the same somehow)... finding articles on long-forgotten projects which haven't been elevated into the cultural zeitgeist.

2000: SCIENCE FICTION WORLD MAGAZINE ISSUE 1

From 2000: SCIENCE FICTION WORLD Issue 1.

Yesterday I published the paperback that accompanied it, so - today - here is the magazine itself. This was similar to the already-defunct COMICS WORLD:  a mixture of editorial and copious dealer advertising from a time just before retail shifted online.

I wasn't a massive fan of the magazine itself but I did like the paperbacks that were gifted with the first four monthly issues.

1991: FILM THREAT VIDEO GUIDE ISSUE 1

From 1991: the first issue of FILM THREAT VIDEO GUIDE,  a 14-issue (ending in 1995) spin-off from the main US magazine.

1981: VIDEO ADVENTURES IN THE 60s FANZINE ISSUE 2

From 1981: the second issue of the A5 British telly fanzine VIDEO ADVENTURE IN THE 60's.

It's weird to think that an equivalent fanzine todsy would probably be looking back at the 1990s... which still seems like yesterday to me.

2000: SCIENCE FICTION WORLD MAGAZINE PAPERBACK 1: SCIENCE FICTION BOX OFFICE HITS

From 2000: the first of four paperback books (similar to the ones periodically given away with SFX magazine) that appeared as freebies with the first four issues of SCIENCE FICTIIN WORLD magazine, a shortlived successor to COMICS WORLD magazine from earlier in the decade.

Each of the books (the rest of the run were CULT TV, HORROR and FANTASY) featured summaries/ reviews from their chosen genre/ medium and make for a concise and substantial read.

They are great reads and copies of the magazines seldom surface with the books still attached.

1986: LABYRINTH MOVIE ADAPTATION ISSUE 1 (MARVEL COMICS)

From November 1986: the first (of three) instalement of Marvel's adaptation of the Mighty Jim Henson's LABYRINTH.

The adaptation also appeared as a done-in-one edition of the glossy MARVEL SUPER SPECIAL magazine.

There was no British edition.

I was reminded of this because I spotted the new Titan Books coffee table book dedicated to the making of the movie in Forbidden Planet last week.

All hail the Goblin King.

1997: TARDIS VOLUME 15, ISSUE 2

From August 1997: something for the weekend sir?

Sophie Aldred turns kick ass space babe (was this to promote something? Possibly Ace's appearances in the New Adventures novels?) on the cover of DOCTOR WHO
fanzine (published by the DOCTOR WHO APPRECIATION SOCIETY) TARDIS.

This is Volume 15, Issue 2.

1991: LOST IN SPACE ISSUE 2 (INNOVATION COMICS)

From 1991: the second issue of Innovation's LOST IN SPACE ongoing series.

1998: THE NIGHT STRANGLER UK VHS SLEEVE

From 1998: the UK sell-through tape release of the second KOLCHAK TVM, THE NIGHT STRANGLER, originally aired on ABC in 1973.

It's not as fondly remembered as its predecessor, or certain episodes of the uneven weekly series that followed, but it's still worth a look. Unfortunately, rights issues mean the movies aren't bundled in with the DVD release of the weekly series but they are available on a single release from MGM in the States.

This was released under the SFX MAGAZINE banner.

1996: INDEPENDENCE DAY MOVIE ADAPTATION ISSUES 0-2 (MARVEL COMICS)

From June and July 1996: issues 0 (an original pre-movie teaser) - 2 of Marvel's INDEPENDENCE DAY movie adaptation. Issues 1 & 2 adapted the movie proper.

There wss also a British edition from MARVEL UK which - from memory - only included the adaptation itself.

I saw the sequel (a film surely no one was clamoring for) a couple of weekends ago and it really was something of a stinker. It looked amazing but the plotting and scripting were really poor: a succession of sequences linked together (or, occasionally, not linked at all) by some remarkable leaps of faith and logic. I have nothing against dumb movies... but ID4 II was just poor.

1993: UK STAR WARS FAN CLUB MAGAZINE ISSUE 8

From Autumn 1993: the 8th issue of THE UK STAR WARS FAN CLUB magazine, available to club members.

This issue marked the 10th anniversary of the release of RETURN OF THE JEDI.

1991: LOST IN SPACE ISSUE 1 (INNOVATION COMICS)

From August 1991: the first issue of Innovation's ongoing (at least until the publisher went bust) LOST IN SPACE comic book.

This series attracted some (not undeserved) early criticism for sexing up the shenanigans and making the Robinson gals (pretty much paragons of virtue in the family-friendly CBS crowd pleaser) into cheesecake victims of lusty alien life forms. That didn't sit well with fans who probably wanted something a bit more mature than The Great Vegetable Rebellion... but not THAT mature.

Things settled down after Innovation took the feedback on board and the title, along with its other TV tie-ins (notably the 1990s DARK SHADOWS, BEAUTY AND THE BEAST and QUANTUM LEAP), became solid reads. Unfortunately Innovation fell foul of the industry contraction of 1993 and went out of business.

LiS returned to comics in 2016... but good luck finding copies as many UK stores didnt seem to keen to stock it. The hardback compilation hit shelves this week.

2000: STAR WARS GAMER MAGAZINE ISSUE 1 (WIZARDS OF THE COAST)

From 2000: the very definition of niche publishing... STAR WARS GAMER, a magazine devoted to... hmmm... Star Wars gaming.

It was published by gaming outfit Wizards of the Coast and ran for ten issues (plus a pre-launch one-shot) between 2000 and 2002.

Why did I buy this one? Because it has a lengthy article on assorted characters from the Marvel Comics Star Wars run. At the time, that 107 issue run (plus annuals and assorted spin-offs) was still somewhat banished to the Wars wilderness... so it was good to see the assorted supporting cast members back in the spotlight.

1996: NEON MAGAZINE ISSUE 1

From December 1996: the first issue of NEON, another British film magazine with a slightly more edgy style (despite having the obligatory LOST IN SPACE, GODZILLA and X-FILES covers) that - eventually - got squeezed between the twin heavyweights of EMPIRE and TOTAL FILM.

The most memorable cover was definately the STAR WARS/ FATHER TED mash-up that graced the second issue. I found a copy in my files recently and I'll add it to STARLOGGED when I can.

26 issues appeared through to December 1999.

1995: DOCTOR WHO POSTER MAGAZINE ISSUE 5 (MARVEL UK)

From August 1995: the Time Lords come under the spotlight in the fifth issue of Marvel UK's DOCTOR WHO POSTER MAGAZINE.