Future Tense #1

Future Tense #1

05 Nov 1980; Cover price 14p.
32 pages. B&W.
Marvel Comics Ltd.

Edited by Paul Neary.

Cover by Jim Steranko. r: Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. (Marvel Comics) #06 (Nov 1968).

Contents:

.2 Future Tense Welcome You to its 1st Issue text introduction by Paul Neary.

.3 The Micronauts Child Eyes! w: Bill Mantlo; p: Howard Chaykin, i: Al Milgrom, lettering by Irving Watanabe.

r: Micronauts (Marvel Comics) #18 (Jun 1980).

11 Seeker 3000! The Dying Sun! w: Doug Moench; a: Tom Sutton, lettering by Denise Wohl.

r: Marvel Premiere (Marvel Comics) #41 (Apr 1978).

16 The Concise History of the Galaxy In the Beginning Was... w: Tim Quinn; a: Dicky Howett.

17 Paladin In Manhattan, They Play for Keeps w: Don McGregor; a: Tom Sutton, lettering by Gaspar Saladino & Bruce Patterson.

r: Marvel Premiere (Marvel Comics) #43 (Aug 1978).

23 Warlock And Men Shall Call Him... Warlock! w: Roy Thomas; p: Gil Kane, i: Dan Adkins, lettering by Sam Rosen.

r: Marvel Premiere (Marvel Comics) #01 (Apr 1972).

27 Star-Lord Windhölme w: Chris Claremont; p: John Byrne, i: Terry Austin, lettering by Tom Orzechowski.

r: Marvel Preview (Marvel Comics) #11 (Summer 1977).

32 Savage Action in-house advertisement.

Nick Fury's cover cameo promised so much. Unfortunately, and annoyingly, he doesn't reappear by way of an explanation for the image. Was it picked because the covers of the comics reprinted were so awful? That is a strong possibility.

It is nice to see Marvel giving a shout-out to John Brosnan's book, which shared a title with Future Tense, in Paul Neary's introduction. It is a shame they didn't manage to snag the rights to reprint small portions of the book in each issue, as attempting to compete with 2000 A.D. with a bunch of reprints was never going to work in the long term. Familiar strips are duly dusted off, checked for suitability, and presented as if nobody had seen them in years.

The presence of Micronauts as the lead strip really doesn't do the issue any favours, and although the printing is better than in the Pocket Books, the strip doesn't have an immediate appeal. It was never clear why people seemed to be of the impression that the characters were popular, but from the various reprints they aren't immediately appealing or interesting enough to sustain interest. Maybe it is a cultural gap which no amount of explaining is ever going to bridge.

It is odd that Paladin receive a place among the more obvious reprints when there was more appropriate material available (Machine Man, Deathlok, or even Iron Man would have been more palatable), and once more it is Tim Quinn and Dicky Howett who come to the rescue of the comic with a full-page strip which raises the issue's interest, and provides real value for money.