STARLOGGED - GEEK MEDIA AGAIN: GODZILLA

Showing posts with label GODZILLA. Show all posts

Tuesday, 18 October 2016

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.

Tuesday, 28 July 2015

1993: MANGA MANIA Issue 1 (Dark Horse International)

From July 1993: A hefty new launch from London-based Dark Horse International: The 128-page beast that was MANGA MANIA.

There's something of an unplanned MARVEL UK reunion happening in this first outing. GODZILLA (albeit Marvel's controversy-attracting take on the city-stomper) had previously enjoyed a 1979 Marvel Revolution era run in MARVEL COMIC and, latterly, SPIDER-MAN whilst AKIRA (in colour, courtesy of Epic reprints) had graced the six-issue experiment that was MELTDOWN (1991-92).

DHI, which burned bright briefly by following the tried-and-tested old British Bullpen formula of reprinting (mostly licensed) characters from the US line-up, didn't last long (the mid-decade slump forced Dark Horse to retrench back to the States) but MM itself soldiered on under two further owners: Manga (who probably saw it as a handy outlet to plug their own VHS offerings) and then Titan Magazines.

I'm indebted to STARLOGGED reader "Jon T" who, back in 2013, posted the following excellent potted history of the title after I noted the first issue of Titan's eventually successor: 1998's MANGA MAX (see: here). I hope he doesn't mind me running it again here.

In summary, Dark Horse UK wanted to capitalise on the rising crest of UK anime video releases in 1993 by putting a magazine together around manga strips they had the rights to (including nabbing Akira from Marvel).

The following year Dark Horse closed their UK operation, at which point Manga Video got into publishing and continued the magazine themselves (around the same time they semi-controversially tried to copyright the word "Manga"). The magazine was much the same as before, and eventually even became squarebound, although noted writer Helen McCarthy was forced out due to friction with Manga Video.

Real trouble on the horizon began towards the end of 1996 when the magazine finished their serialization of Akira in issue 37. The next issue saw the magazine branch into live-action Asian movies, which didn't go down too well with some readers at the time. Issue 39 was the last squarebound issue and the last one published by Manga, who shut down their publishing division shortly thereafter.

Manga Mania was next picked up by third publisher Titan Books, with issue 40 appearing three months later, although issue 41 would appear a staggering five months after that. The last few issues appeared some two-three months apart until issue 46 in mid-1998, which was the final issue.

A second volume of Manga Mania with a more international bent was promised, but ultimately appeared as Manga Max, apparently due to a trademark issue in the U.S. Although Manga Max stuck back to a monthly schedule, it had a much smaller page count and, in their effort to appeal to U.S. readers, often annoyingly featured reviews of anime video releases that would never see the light of day in the U.K.

Ultimately, the effort to appeal to the U.S. is what finally killed it, as Titan was shipping copies out to the U.S. by sea. Consequently, by the time it hit the stands over there, most of the breaking news featured within was wildly out of date. Manga Max's final issue was #20 in mid-2000. Another comeback was promised, but never materialized.

Wednesday, 12 June 2013

1979: GODZILLA in MARVEL COMIC HOUSE AD (Marvel UK)

COMING SOON TO STARLOGGED...

MARVEL COMIC

This is a House Ad, from MARVEL COMIC 332 (7 March 1979), announcing the imminent arrival of GODZILLA in the just (re)launched weekly.

The text below the add is - I assume - a production error. It relates to the about-to-launch HULK COMIC but doesn't correspond to anything else in the issue.

I'll be doing much more on the short-lived successor to THE MIGHTY WORLD OF MARVEL in the near future.

Friday, 14 December 2012

1978: NBC'S FALL SATURDAY MORNING SCHEDULE AD

Have you got the "Saturday morning fever"?

Here's a one-page ad, published in US comics dated December 1978 (hence the timelessly topical reference) hyping NBC's Fall Saturday morning schedule.

For British viewers, of a certain age, there's several familiar 'toons on show here. Most notably the infamous FANTASTIC FOUR animated series which, notoriously, dispensed with the Human Torch in favour of H.E.R.B.I.E, Jack Kirby's specifically-created appeasement to the Star Wars Generation. To set the record straight, Johnny Storm wasn't dumped because Saturday Morning Mandarins feared a nationwide craze for self-immolation imitation. Marvel had already done a big TV deal with Universal (which spawned TV interpretations of THE INCREDIBLE HULK, DOCTOR STRANGE and CAPTAIN AMERICA) which placed the Torch off-limits (gawd knows how they would have pulled the human fireball off with creaky seventies telly technology).

Telly's tame reinterpretation of GODZILLA became a BBC ONE fave over here.

I think Hanna Barbera's YOGI'S SPACE RACE also crossed the Atlantic although I can't recall any details. This was clearly the year of Star Wars if even Jellystone Park's most famous resident was suddenly improbably propelled into the void.

JAMA OF THE JUNGLE, paired with the great green stomper, rings no bells.

Thursday, 9 February 2012

1977: GODZILLA: THE MARVEL COMICS YEARS

Between 1977 and '79, Marvel teamed with Japan's Toho to allow Godzilla to stomp all over the Marvel Earth.

As with other licensing deals of the period (SHOGUN WARRIORS, THE MICRONAUTS, ROM and even, briefly, THE TRANSFORMERS), these adventures were firmly planted in the mainstream Marvel universe. Godzilla was regularly pitched against S.H.I.E.L.D and various other Marvel heroes and villains joined the fray (THE CHAMPIONS, THE AVENGERS and THE FANTASTIC FOUR).

Marvel saw GODZILLA KING OF THE MONSTERS as an entry-level title which could attract younger fans and introduce them to the wider delights of the Marvel Universe.

Sales were apparently healthy but Toho asked for a bigger wedge of cash when the license came up for renewal and, being a non-Marvel property, management declined to re-ink the deal, closing the book after 24 issues.

The Godzilla strip didn't make its Marvel UK debut until 1979, suitably replacing the departing (for his own weekly) INCREDIBLE HULK as resident green goliath in the just-revamped MARVEL COMIC (previously THE MIGHTY WORLD OF MARVEL).

Other than featuring the same character, the Marvel version was completely unrelated to the Hanna-Barbera produced GODZILLA animated series which debuted on 9 September 1978 on NBC (and later on BBC ONE in the UK), although presumably Marvel's title benefited from the extra media exposure.