From December 1994: The celebrations continue... Another THIRTEENTH TRIBE Christmas cover (issue 55) from the UK's BATTLESTAR GALACTICA Fan Club.
Showing posts with label THE THIRTEENTH TRIBE FAN CLUB. Show all posts
Showing posts with label THE THIRTEENTH TRIBE FAN CLUB. Show all posts
Friday, 19 December 2014
1991: CYLONS CELEBRATE CHRISTMAS (BATTLESTAR GALACTICA)
From December 1991: a Christmas cover for the 43rd issue of THE THIRTEENTH TRIBE newsletter, published by the UK's unofficial BATTLESTAR GALACTICA Fan Club.
By Your Command...
Friday, 12 July 2013
1995: BATTLESTAR GALACTICA COVER GALLERY (Maximum Press)
It's safe to say, for Sagan's sake, that by the nineties the BATTLESTAR GALACTICA franchise had pretty much run out of Energon. Remarkably, the novels had continued well into the previous decade (take note Buck Rogers!) but had finally expired in 1987. All of the show's other merchandising had been relegated to the discount racks years earlier and even the long-standing BATTLE FOR GALACTICA attraction on the Universal Studio Tour had shuttered in 1992. A small fandom, notably the UK's own THE THIRTEENTH TRIBE, was keeping the Colonial dream alive but - really - the chances of any sort of revival was next-to-none.
Ironically, the BBC had done their bit to keep the show alive (and - certainly - revived my long-dormant interest) by rerunning the show in 1987-88, Wednesdays at 6pm on BBC TWO. Although it had done the regional rounds of the ITV network from 1980 (followed by GALACTICA 1980 in 1984), the BBC run was the first time the show had been networked*. Titan Books spotted an opportunity and re-released the first three novelisations in redesigned jacket designs. The BBC reran both series again a decade later and - in the intervening years - the show became a fixture of satellite TV with runs on (I think) the Sci-Fi Channel and Sky One.
But - suddenly - mid-decade, BATTLESTAR started to show signs of life. Spearheading this mini-merchandising boom was the new Battlestar comic (the first since Marvel's shuttered in the wake of the show's cancellation) from Maximum Press. However, this being the so-called 'Dark Decade", as well as being under the auspices of comicdom's controversial Rob Liefeld, the new Battlestar - as you'll see from the cover gallery below - bore little resemblance to the show. Set twenty yahrns after the last sighting of the Colonial Fleet on TV (and ignoring G'80), everything - and everyone - looked very different. Take a peek at the first cover below, clockwise that's Baltar, Athena, Apollo, Starbuck and (of course) a Centurion. Really.
Long-term fans were underwhelmed to say the least but it was at least fun to see new comic books being published. As was the industry way at the time, Maximum favoured a run of interconnected limited series to a regular book. That opened-up the possibility of more trade paperback collections (although only the first series was reprinted in book form, behind the eye-catching cover first used for issue 2) and - of course - more sure-to-be-collectable first issues.
The run eventually petered out in early 1997, a combination of indifferent sales and the imminent implosion of Maximum Press itself (Liefeld was running the line as a side-line to his existing Image Comics commitments, a situation that so pissed-off the co-founders that they united against him and turfed him out of the alliance). There were also plans to revive another Universal property - THE SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN - but the whole shebang spluttered to a halt before that could materialise.
Accompanying the comic book was a new series of Battlestar toys, loosely based on the designs from the comic books, from Trendmaster Toys. Once again, the updating ensured that traditional fans were indifferent and new recruits were too few in number to make the line a raging success. Another new piece was a new set of trading cards using images from the show.
* The BBC didn't - however - run the whole series. The rights to the movie version of Saga of a Star World as well as MISSION GALACTICA: THE CYLON ATTACK (and the feature-length opener of BUCK ROGERS IN THE 25th CENTURY) were still held by ITV as part of a movie package (all three later transferred to the BBC as well) placing the three-part pilot and The Living Legend off-limits. I think Fire in Space (the other constituent part of MISSION) was scheduled to run (getting a listing in the RADIO TIMES and - possibly - the national press TV listings) but - if memory serves - it was pulled at the last moment because of a real life fire disaster. It was never rescheduled and the BBC ploughed ahead (with the usual preemptions for sports, holiday periods etc.) with the second half of Battlestar and then onto GALACTICA 1980 (which - despite CONQUEST OF THE EARTH - aired intact).
Ironically, the BBC had done their bit to keep the show alive (and - certainly - revived my long-dormant interest) by rerunning the show in 1987-88, Wednesdays at 6pm on BBC TWO. Although it had done the regional rounds of the ITV network from 1980 (followed by GALACTICA 1980 in 1984), the BBC run was the first time the show had been networked*. Titan Books spotted an opportunity and re-released the first three novelisations in redesigned jacket designs. The BBC reran both series again a decade later and - in the intervening years - the show became a fixture of satellite TV with runs on (I think) the Sci-Fi Channel and Sky One.
But - suddenly - mid-decade, BATTLESTAR started to show signs of life. Spearheading this mini-merchandising boom was the new Battlestar comic (the first since Marvel's shuttered in the wake of the show's cancellation) from Maximum Press. However, this being the so-called 'Dark Decade", as well as being under the auspices of comicdom's controversial Rob Liefeld, the new Battlestar - as you'll see from the cover gallery below - bore little resemblance to the show. Set twenty yahrns after the last sighting of the Colonial Fleet on TV (and ignoring G'80), everything - and everyone - looked very different. Take a peek at the first cover below, clockwise that's Baltar, Athena, Apollo, Starbuck and (of course) a Centurion. Really.
Long-term fans were underwhelmed to say the least but it was at least fun to see new comic books being published. As was the industry way at the time, Maximum favoured a run of interconnected limited series to a regular book. That opened-up the possibility of more trade paperback collections (although only the first series was reprinted in book form, behind the eye-catching cover first used for issue 2) and - of course - more sure-to-be-collectable first issues.
The run eventually petered out in early 1997, a combination of indifferent sales and the imminent implosion of Maximum Press itself (Liefeld was running the line as a side-line to his existing Image Comics commitments, a situation that so pissed-off the co-founders that they united against him and turfed him out of the alliance). There were also plans to revive another Universal property - THE SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN - but the whole shebang spluttered to a halt before that could materialise.
Accompanying the comic book was a new series of Battlestar toys, loosely based on the designs from the comic books, from Trendmaster Toys. Once again, the updating ensured that traditional fans were indifferent and new recruits were too few in number to make the line a raging success. Another new piece was a new set of trading cards using images from the show.
* The BBC didn't - however - run the whole series. The rights to the movie version of Saga of a Star World as well as MISSION GALACTICA: THE CYLON ATTACK (and the feature-length opener of BUCK ROGERS IN THE 25th CENTURY) were still held by ITV as part of a movie package (all three later transferred to the BBC as well) placing the three-part pilot and The Living Legend off-limits. I think Fire in Space (the other constituent part of MISSION) was scheduled to run (getting a listing in the RADIO TIMES and - possibly - the national press TV listings) but - if memory serves - it was pulled at the last moment because of a real life fire disaster. It was never rescheduled and the BBC ploughed ahead (with the usual preemptions for sports, holiday periods etc.) with the second half of Battlestar and then onto GALACTICA 1980 (which - despite CONQUEST OF THE EARTH - aired intact).
BATTLESTAR GALACTICA - 4 ISSUES
APOLLO'S JOURNEY - 3 ISSUES
JOURNEY'S END - 4 ISSUES
STARBUCK - 3 ISSUES
Looking at this gallery, I've realised that I'm missing a few items. Maximum also published an anthology called ASYLUM which, amongst other unrelated properties, ran a multi-part "young Adama" strip (in issues 1-3) set in the period before the TV series (shades of BLOOD AND CHROME) which was subsequently collected in a one-shot (BATTLESTAR GALACTICA: THE COMPENDIUM). An Athena solo story followed in issues 4,5 & 7 (collected as BATTLESTAR GALACTICA: SPECIAL EDITION). Issue eight featured the short First Date and 10 started The Rebirth of Cy although readers had to buy the SPECIAL EDITION to find out how the story wrapped. Asylum shuttered after 11 issues but Battlestar didn't appear in the final outing. Most issues didn't feature Battlestar on the cover so casual readers and fans would have been none-the-wiser.
Someone really needs to reprint the entire Battlestar comic book back-catalogue (Marvel, Maximum Press, Realm Press, Dynamite Press and - of course - the British LOOK-IN strips).
Tuesday, 2 October 2012
1979: BATTLESTAR GALACTICA COLONIAL WARRIORS' JACKET AD
It's amazing how they got away with this. Maybe Universal's lawyers didn't read "this sort of magazine" (This ad is from FAMOUS MONSTERS but the same - or similar - also appeared in the likes of STARLOG).
A casual glance at the ad, which neatly apes the key art extensively used on the show's merchandising, suggests this is an official BATTLESTAR GALACTICA product. The jacket design and Colonial insignia look authentic. The Vipers in the artwork are (fairly) accurate looking (and a lot of universal's official merchandising seemed to struggle with some of the show's designs... presumably the result of the compressed timescales of a TV project compared with a more generously timetabled feature film). What's to worry about?
Well - on closer inspection - there's no mention of the show's name. Just "some of your favourite TV characters". Nor do they credit Universal MCA or even attribute copyright ownership to the studio.
I vaguely recall reading, possibly in a copy of THE THIRTEENTH TRIBE Battlestar Galactica fan club newsletter, that these jackets were not exactly as pictured. The colour scheme and fabrics were apparently inaccurate and the manufacturing poor.
But - best of all - I love the Ad Man's dream that Geeks across America would be donning their Battle Jackets and keeping the Colonial flames burning... at their local disco!
Friday, 27 April 2012
THE THIRTEENTH TRIBE: BRITAIN'S BATTLESTAR GALACTICA FAN CLUB
THE THIRTEENTH TRIBE was Britain's premiere BATTLESTAR GALACTICA fan club, flying the Colonial flag for some two decades. No mean feat for a TV show that only lasted a single season (1978-79).
I don't know the origins of the club but, I assume, it was established sometime in the early 1980s, sometime around the UK premiere of the TV show. It might have been earlier than that, coinciding with the late-seventies faux feature film release.
Its testament to the show's ability to build and retain a fan following despite (or perhaps because of) ITV's erratic regional screenings of the show. The club would have, I'm sure, received a boost after BBC TWO gave the series its first networked airing in the late eighties. That's when I joined, my first membership year covering newsletters 32-35. I think I found the club thanks to a classified advert in STARBURST magazine.
The newsletters were A4 photocopied affairs, initially typeset with a typewriter before the ubiquitous word processor must have made life much easier for the editors. Each issue (page count was dictated by the level of contributions) and stapled by a single staple top-right. I added extra staples to the issues below to ensure the pages remained secure and, eventually, filed them away in a lever arch folder. Hence the hole punch holes.
The cover artwork on each issue was supplied by members. The range of ability speaks for itself.
One thing that was immediately obvious in most issues of the newsletter: there wasn't much actual news. BG was dead and the occasional rumours of a revival always amounted to nothing. News amounted to the occasional convention report, review or article, all submitted by the readership. Each issue also included fiction (the club also published separate fiction fanzines) but this was always something of an acquired taste.
Each issue also featured details of former BG cast members sighted in various other films and TV shows doing the rounds of British TV, actually quite useful in the pre-IMDB era and also a fascinating insight into how much schedules changed from region-to-region across the ITV system.
The club's golden rule was that deservedly unloved sequel GALACTICA 1980 was most definitely NOT part of Battlestar lore. Dirk Benedict's reprise of Starbuck in the final episode was considered a separate appearance by the actor!
Membership of the club ensured four issues of the newsletter (issued, roughly, on a quarterly basis) as well as a membership pack which, if memory served, consisted of a membership card, keyring with club logo and a photo (mine was Apollo, Starbuck and Sheba on the surface of the unnamed planet in War of the Gods).
The club also produced a range of merchandise. Items included more photos and a range of t-shirts (artwork printed on, frankly, not very high-quality t-shirts). As already mentioned, the club also produced fiction fanzines as well as acting as agents for other publishers and running classified adverts in each newsletter for other fanzines and fan clubs.
Latterly, the club found itself in competition with the new-fangled internet. But, ironically, this period also generated the most 'news' in many years. Resurgent interest in the TV show led to a new wave of merchandising for the club to review and report: toys from Trendmaster, trading cards, the controversial Maximum Press comic books and actor Richard Hatch's new novels.
I don't know the origins of the club but, I assume, it was established sometime in the early 1980s, sometime around the UK premiere of the TV show. It might have been earlier than that, coinciding with the late-seventies faux feature film release.
Its testament to the show's ability to build and retain a fan following despite (or perhaps because of) ITV's erratic regional screenings of the show. The club would have, I'm sure, received a boost after BBC TWO gave the series its first networked airing in the late eighties. That's when I joined, my first membership year covering newsletters 32-35. I think I found the club thanks to a classified advert in STARBURST magazine.
The newsletters were A4 photocopied affairs, initially typeset with a typewriter before the ubiquitous word processor must have made life much easier for the editors. Each issue (page count was dictated by the level of contributions) and stapled by a single staple top-right. I added extra staples to the issues below to ensure the pages remained secure and, eventually, filed them away in a lever arch folder. Hence the hole punch holes.
The cover artwork on each issue was supplied by members. The range of ability speaks for itself.
One thing that was immediately obvious in most issues of the newsletter: there wasn't much actual news. BG was dead and the occasional rumours of a revival always amounted to nothing. News amounted to the occasional convention report, review or article, all submitted by the readership. Each issue also included fiction (the club also published separate fiction fanzines) but this was always something of an acquired taste.
Each issue also featured details of former BG cast members sighted in various other films and TV shows doing the rounds of British TV, actually quite useful in the pre-IMDB era and also a fascinating insight into how much schedules changed from region-to-region across the ITV system.
The club's golden rule was that deservedly unloved sequel GALACTICA 1980 was most definitely NOT part of Battlestar lore. Dirk Benedict's reprise of Starbuck in the final episode was considered a separate appearance by the actor!
Membership of the club ensured four issues of the newsletter (issued, roughly, on a quarterly basis) as well as a membership pack which, if memory served, consisted of a membership card, keyring with club logo and a photo (mine was Apollo, Starbuck and Sheba on the surface of the unnamed planet in War of the Gods).
The club also produced a range of merchandise. Items included more photos and a range of t-shirts (artwork printed on, frankly, not very high-quality t-shirts). As already mentioned, the club also produced fiction fanzines as well as acting as agents for other publishers and running classified adverts in each newsletter for other fanzines and fan clubs.
Latterly, the club found itself in competition with the new-fangled internet. But, ironically, this period also generated the most 'news' in many years. Resurgent interest in the TV show led to a new wave of merchandising for the club to review and report: toys from Trendmaster, trading cards, the controversial Maximum Press comic books and actor Richard Hatch's new novels.
ISSUE 30
September 1988
Special 10th anniversary of the TV series issue.
Although thin on behind-the-scenes information, this remains the most comprehensive guide to the Battlestar Galactica universe.
ISSUE 32
ISSUE 33
ISSUE 34
ISSUE 35
December 1989
I then allowed my membership to lapse until 1991, returning to the fold with newsletter 43 (December 1991). That time I was more faithful, sticking around until December 1998.
ISSUE 43
December 1991
ISSUE 44
January 1992
ISSUE 45
June 1992
ISSUE 46
September 1992
ISSUE 47
December 1992
ISSUE 48
March 1993
ISSUE 49
ISSUE 50
ISSUE 51
December 1993
ISSUE 52
March 1994
ISSUE 53
June 1994
ISSUE 54
September 1994
ISSUE 55
December 1994
ISSUE 56
ISSUE 57
June 1995
ISSUE 58
September 1995
ISSUE 59
December 1995
ISSUE 60
March 1996
ISSUE 61
June 1996
ISSUE 62
September 1996
ISSUE 63
December 1996
ISSUE 64
March 1997
ISSUE 65
June 1997
ISSUE 66
September 1997
ISSUE 67
December 1997
ISSUE 68
March 1998
ISSUE 69
June 1998
ISSUE 70
September 1998
ISSUE 71
December 1998
At which point my membership lapsed again and, for whatever reason (money probably) I didn't renew. What happened to the Tribe after that is unknown, presumably the onset of new technology finally killed the allure of a quarterly photocopied newsletter. Or maybe too many people, like me, drifted away.
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