1985: SFTV MAGAZINE Issue 4

From March 1985: At last, after three duffers, a decent cover adorns the fourth issue of SFTV magazine.

Of course, the predictable demise of V: THE SERIES after one bargain-basement season turned out to be far from the end of small screen science fiction.  The likes of STAR TREK THE NEXT GENERATION and MAX HEADROOM (the drama rather than the talk show or pop videos) were all just around the corner.  And they, in turn, spawned others (like Paramount's WAR OF THE WORLDS) before the end of the decade.  

The magazine itself apparently notched up another three issues but this is the last one that resides in the STARLOGGED vaults. 

1979: STARBURST Issue 10 (Marvel UK)

From June 1979: Tom baker (him again) adorns the cover of the tenth issue of MARVEL UK's STARBURST magazine.

1981: BLOCKBUSTER PART 2: ISSUE 1 (Marvel UK)

From June 1981:  Probably the most improbably titled series from the entire MARVEL UK oeuvre: the launch issue of BLOCKBUSTER monthly.

The Annex of Ideas tested the title (with a line-up of Thor and Omega) the previous Winter but cobbled together different contents for the ongoing version.  Omega returned, now accompanied by the b-list line-up of Iron Fist (last seen in the previous year's MARVEL SUPER ADVENTURE WINTER SPECIAL) and the Inhumans.  Three perfectly serviceable strips but hardly a combo worthy of the title.

Interestingly, Marvel adopted the US Marvel Magazine Group house style for Blockbuster's cover design.  As far as I recall, this was the only place it was rolled out here... adding to the impression that this was an outsider even within the ranks of the British Bullpen.  

Blockbuster eventually ran for nine issues before succumbing, in the traditional turn-of-the-year cull of under performing titles, the following January.  The last issue was dated February 1982. 

1985: SFTV MAGAZINE Issue 3

From February 1985: The cover of SFTV magazine issue 3, boasting a ludicrous looking Faye Grant publicity still from "V".

 Grant hit the headlines again recently when she leaked a recording, made covertly several years earlier in a therapy session, of her then husband Stephen Collins confessing to inappropriate sexual activity with children.  As recounted on the documentary that's part of the DVD set, she met Collins whilst appearing as a guest star on an episode of the really rather good TALES OF THE GOLD MONKEY which mustered a single solitary season in 1982-83. 

1986: THE EQUALIZER BOOK 1 by DAVID DEUTSCH (Target Books)

From 1986: Another entry in the Target/ Star TV tie-in stakes: the first of two novelizations derived from Universal's THE EQUALIZER, starring the late Edward Woodward.

This one adapts the show's standard-length opener and The Children's Song, the seventh episode aired during the first season.

I think this show is, without doubt, one of the best action shows to emerge from the Eighties.  And I think it is a tribute to both the studio and CBS that they were willing to rework the DEATH WISH formula for the small screen... and make the star a ready-for-retirement Brit rather than (as the not-too-bad almost-in-name-only movie proved) a dashing young actor in his action-ready prime.  

Of course, CBS' audience at this time did skew older (and more rural) so this was appealing the net's core audience.  This was probably an older audience, sitting and watching the evening news every day, convinced that America's cities had slipped into urban anarchy... and wishing someone (with a nice wardrobe or sensible cardigans) would do something about it.  

In the UK, ITV (once the home of Woodward's CALLEN) was the obvious home for the show.  Although their predilection for heavy editing and erratic scheduling hardly treated the show with respect.  At one point it was possible to watch several episodes per week thanks to the show enjoying both a prime time network slot AND a berth in the overnight schedules if you lived in the right regions.  Nowadays, with wall-to-wall sitcom repeats cluttering the digital schedules, this doesn't sound odd but... at the time... it was unusual.   

1994: THE MAKING OF BABYLON FIVE SEASON ONE in CINEFANTASTIQUE

From April 1994: CINEFANTASTIQUE (Volume 25, Number 2) devotes its typically in depth coverage to the making of BABYLON FIVE's flawed-but-very-promising first season.

I really miss this sort of one-stop-shop devil-in-the-detail coverage that CFQ and, to a lesser extent (they lack the behind-the-scenes access) SPECTRUM used to do back at the tail end of the Star Age. 

1980: BLOCKBUSTER PART 1: BLOCKBUSTER WINTER SPECIAL (Marvel UK)

From late 1980: MARVEL UK's BLOCKBUSTER WINTER SPECIAL starring Thor and Omega the Unknown... and precursor for a new blink-and-you-missed-it monthly the following year.

- To Be Continued -

1979: STARBURST Issue 9 (Marvel UK)

From May 1979: The 9th issue of MARVEL UK's STARBURST Magazine. 

1981: MARVEL SUPER ADVENTURE PART 6 (Marvel UK)

From October 1981: the end is nigh... the final weeks of MARVEL SUPER ADVENTURE.

Although it managed to outlive its companion MARVEL ACTION by sixteen issues, MSA didn't really fare much better and followed it into the pages of CAPTAIN AMERICA before the end of the year.  

The merger, which saw Daredevil survive but the MSA brand immediately vanish without trace (the first 'merged' issue conspicuously didn't mention MSA anywhere on the cover), coincided with the return of glossy covers (banished from the superhero weeklies since the Marvel Revolution of early 1979) and it's possible that the Bullpen deemed MSA unworthy of the upgrade... or they believed that marginal sales wouldn't survive the increased cover price (a 5p jump to 20p a copy).

The CAPTAIN AMERICA weekly, which also included Thor from the Marvel Action merger, was also on borrowed time.  This second merger, combined with the relaunch, pushed it into the following year but it was still cancelled in April.  

The Black Panther didn't fare quite so well and the end of MSA marked the last regular outing of the character in the UK line.  

Note the use of the word "newstand" in the half-page ad for the merger.  It might have been common parlance in the States but barely used here in the UK.  

BTW, for some reason I didn't scan the cover of issue 23.  I'll add it next time I have a scanning sesh. 

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.