Friday, 9 December 2016
1998: TOONS MAGAZINE (WIZARD)
From the autumn/ fall of 1998: an issue of WIZARD spin-off TOONS MAGAZINE, with animated SPAWN cover.
1983: MAD MAGAZINE UK ISSUE 252 SPOOFS STAR TREK II: THE WRATH OF KHAN
From April 1983: the UK edition of MAD MAGAZINE finally gets around to spoofing STAR TREK II: THE WRATH OF KHAN.
Presumably the yellow uniforms are part of the gag rather than evidence of a Gold Key-alike lack of useful colour reference shots and/or collective lack of familiarity with the sequel's redesigned uniforms.
Presumably the yellow uniforms are part of the gag rather than evidence of a Gold Key-alike lack of useful colour reference shots and/or collective lack of familiarity with the sequel's redesigned uniforms.
1979: THE BLACK HOLE UK VHS COVER
From December 1979 (although this hails from much later): Disney's Star Age would-be blockbuster THE BLACK HOLE.
Despite the numerous - and sometimes obvious shortcomings - I rate this as one of the icons of the era. Both because it's an entertaining - and spectacular - movie in its own right but also because of the ubiquitous merchandising it spawned.
This is the UK sell-through VHS cover. I think this is one movie thst really demands a bells-whistles-and-B.O.Bs BR release.
Despite the numerous - and sometimes obvious shortcomings - I rate this as one of the icons of the era. Both because it's an entertaining - and spectacular - movie in its own right but also because of the ubiquitous merchandising it spawned.
This is the UK sell-through VHS cover. I think this is one movie thst really demands a bells-whistles-and-B.O.Bs BR release.
Thursday, 8 December 2016
1997: SCI-FI INVASION (WIZARD MAGAZINE)
From 1997: Another WIZARD spin-off from the boom years... an out-of-the-bag copy of SCI-FI INVASION.
Five issues were published circa 97-98, the consistent themes across the run being STAR WARS, BABYLON FIVE and - of course - THE X-FILES.
Five issues were published circa 97-98, the consistent themes across the run being STAR WARS, BABYLON FIVE and - of course - THE X-FILES.
1978: COMIC MEDIA NEWS INTERNATIONAL ISSUE 36
From June/ July 1978: the 36th issue of British fanzine COMIC MEDIA NEWS INTERNATIONAL, edited and published by Richard Burton.
Wednesday, 7 December 2016
1991: PERSONALITY PRESENTS STAR TREK LEONARD NIMOY
From August 1991: Leonard Nimoy is the subject of the second issue of Personality Comics' unofficial biography comic book STAR TREK THE ORIGINAL CREW.
Monday, 5 December 2016
1990: BAYWATCH: PANIC AT MALIBU PIER UK VHS RELEASE
From 1990 (although it aired on NBC the previous year) the original BAYWATCH pilot movie PANIC AT MALIBU PIER.
This release was unusual because, as the cover suggests, this contains some scenes trimmed from the telecast. I'd assumed these were just scenes that ITV had snipped to fit the timeslot allocated to the movie (not an uncommon practice for broadcasters at the time) but its actually a couple of mildly racy topless female scenes (not involving any of the show's regular actresses) presumably shot by the production company to give the one-off a little more spice in the all-important overseas market. Neither scene is critical to the plot... and I doubt they were part of the original NBC outing.
This additional material was somewhat at odds with the family friendly flavour of the show itself, airing around 6pm Saturday nights on ITV, and must have come as a surprise to buyers who expected to leave their kids unsupervised and entertained for ninety-odd minutes.
I vaguely recall seeing this released again later with a PG certification, suggesting the 'rude bits' had been snipped.
This release was unusual because, as the cover suggests, this contains some scenes trimmed from the telecast. I'd assumed these were just scenes that ITV had snipped to fit the timeslot allocated to the movie (not an uncommon practice for broadcasters at the time) but its actually a couple of mildly racy topless female scenes (not involving any of the show's regular actresses) presumably shot by the production company to give the one-off a little more spice in the all-important overseas market. Neither scene is critical to the plot... and I doubt they were part of the original NBC outing.
This additional material was somewhat at odds with the family friendly flavour of the show itself, airing around 6pm Saturday nights on ITV, and must have come as a surprise to buyers who expected to leave their kids unsupervised and entertained for ninety-odd minutes.
I vaguely recall seeing this released again later with a PG certification, suggesting the 'rude bits' had been snipped.
1994: THERMAL LANCE ISSUE 17
From May 1994: THERMAL LANCE, the British DOCTOR WHO fanzine, issue 17.
1979: STARBLAZER ISSUE 1 (DC THOMSON)
From April 1979: the first issue of DCT's Star Age pocket library STARBLAZER.
The Dundee publisher wisely decided to avoid trying to lauch a me-too anthology into a market where 2000AD and STAR WARS WEEKLY were already slugging it out (with DWW, STARHEROES and FUTURE TENSE all still to hit within the next year-or-so) and opted to bolster their successful line of black & white digest pocket libraries instead (a market Marvel was also about to enter... albeit without much longevity) with this done-in-one single story title.
SB started on a one-a-month frequency before swiftly upgrading to two issues - released simultaneously - each month. It ultimately staggered on until (barely) January 1991, clocking up an impressive 281 issues.
Despite some top industry contributors (Morrison, McMahon, Ridgway, Kennedy and more), DC Thomson have been slow to exploit the Starblazer inventory. Maybe they should consider a sale to Rebellion...
The Dundee publisher wisely decided to avoid trying to lauch a me-too anthology into a market where 2000AD and STAR WARS WEEKLY were already slugging it out (with DWW, STARHEROES and FUTURE TENSE all still to hit within the next year-or-so) and opted to bolster their successful line of black & white digest pocket libraries instead (a market Marvel was also about to enter... albeit without much longevity) with this done-in-one single story title.
SB started on a one-a-month frequency before swiftly upgrading to two issues - released simultaneously - each month. It ultimately staggered on until (barely) January 1991, clocking up an impressive 281 issues.
Despite some top industry contributors (Morrison, McMahon, Ridgway, Kennedy and more), DC Thomson have been slow to exploit the Starblazer inventory. Maybe they should consider a sale to Rebellion...
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