Load Runner #1

23 Jun 1983 - 06 Jul 1983; Cover price 40p.
40 pages. B&W contents.
ECC Publications.

The Galaxy's First Computer Comic

Edited by Bill Scolding.

Contents:

 1 Load Runner UNTITLED [Rogue Robots in Derridges] w: Bill Scolding; a: Peter Dennis, lettering by Steve Potter.

 5 Spectrum Goes Forth (half page) advertisement for Abersoft. / Don't Miss this Incredible Offer! (half page) advertisement for Cascade Software.

 6 Welcome to Lead Runner (three quarter page) Editorial by 'The Controller.' [Bill Scolding] / Bugsy Malone Competition (one and a quarter pages).

 8 This is the Classic! advertisement for The Good Computing Book for Beginners.

 9 Time Plan 9 UNTITLED w: Frank Hopkins; photos: Henry Arden, lettering by Steve Craddock.

13 Exclusive Load Runner Offer (half page) advertisement for Mr. Micro. / Fabulous Sinclair Add-On Offer for ZX81 Owners (quarter page). / R & R Software (quarter page) advertisement.

14 Andy Roid - the Dominators' Rogue Star UNTITLED [The Replacement Player] w: Chris Winch; a: John Stokes, lettering by Steve Craddock.

17 Attention Vic 20 Owners (advertisement).

18 Computafax The Astounding World of Computafax text feature (uncredited). / The Computer Story In the Beginning w: UNKNOWN; a: UNKNOWN.

19 Buzzwords Abort text feature (uncredited).

20 Load Stars Ultravox poster.

22 Count Down to Chaos, part one, text serial by Philip Steele; illustrated by (uncredited).

24 South London's Largest Micro Computer Centre advertisement for Vision Store.

25 The Adventures of Rom and Ram UNTITLED [Disturbing Reports from Earth] w:/a: Andy Robb.

27 Brain's Brainbox Choosing a Computer text feature (uncredited).

28 A-Z of Computers Acorn Atom fact feature.

29 Trumbull's World UNTITLED [The Equation is Completed] w: Rob Beattie; a: Malcolm Stokes, lettering by Steve Potter.

33 Data Update Pop Goes the Micro text feature (uncredited).

34 The Invasion of the Arcadians UNTITLED [Mind Warp Arrives] w: Les Cookman; a: John Stokes, lettering by Steve Craddock.

37 A.D.1983 Formula One micro driving text feature (uncredited); photographs by UNKNOWN (uncredited).

38 The Latest for Sinclair, Vic-20 and TI99/4a owners advertisement for The Software Workshop.

40 Computations puzzle page.

While it lays claim to being the world's first computer comic, Load Runner isn't quite being accurate. It isn't, unfortunately, wholly inaccurate either, which adds to the confusion. 2000 A.D. had prior computer-related material, as did Look-In and other titles, though none to the extent shown here. Despite not being the first comic to feature computers, they dominate the pages of the title, thus earning it a special - if minor - place in the history of comics.

Mike Roman's time as 'Byte Killer' is finishing - the Load Runner is about to be born!

It all began one morning in late June, when Mike Roman, micro mechanic and trouble shooter for London repairmen, was drinking his last cup of coffee.

Mike Roman is contacted when rogue robots run amok in Derridges Department Store, and - despite them being banned under the Mankind Protection Act - they have weapons of some kind. Arriving at the store, Roman destroys one of the robots, though the second flees. Chasing the white robot, he finds himself somehow transported inside of a computer system. In his shock at events, the white robot manages to shoot him.

The plot may ask too much of the reader, though it also has much to be admired. Featuring teleconferencing, a smart car (which automatically reduced speed, and informs the driver of this) slightly predates Knight Rider's popular depiction of this type of vehicle (although actually seems to predict modern vehicles more than it reflects pop cultural perception of same), and although the profession of the main character is too close to Sam Slade, Robo-Hunter, the twist of being inserted into a computer takes the strip in a different enough direction to clearly separate the strips.

Yes, it is a plot ripped straight from Tron, but there's a very attractive look to the art which provides enough interest to prevent immediate comparisons. Very detailed, Peter Dennis' art is never crowded, crafting a solid reality to the opening segment before things get strange. The world in which Roman operates is interesting, and the mention of a Mankind Protection Act raises a lot of questions about the history of the characters which isn't addressed.

If the material was sufficiently elaborated upon then there wouldn't be such a sense of having seen all this before, but the basic concepts are played out painfully straight.

An introduction to the title immediately sets the language and style of Load Runner apart from competitors, with issues referred to as printouts, and creators referred to as programmers and operators. It may reflect what Tharg was doing, but has a pleasing idiosyncrasy of its own.

The high level of quality is dented slightly by the inclusion of Time Plan 9, a photo strip, in which three school students discuss computers for two pages before anything happens. Paul returns home after school to be told his Akron 90 has been making clicking noises throughout the day - even though it was switched off. He switches it on, and Time Plan, a program the likes of which he hasn't seen before, comes up on screen again. Reading through the instruction manual, Paul wonders what is wrong with the computer.

Sssssooooo ssssslllllooooowwwww. There's decompressed storytelling, then there's waffling - this, sadly, feels like a comic strip written without the benefit of the creator having read a comic. Its pacing is so lethargic that by its conclusion I had given up wondering what the mystery behind events was, and this, in a launch issue, is something which should never be allowed to happen - readers ought to be pulled through a first issue in a rush of excitement and energy, with any drawbacks minimised.

The photographs are good enough, though often unimaginative, with a wonderful image of the Akron 90 - set against a patterned background - being the highlight. Should a photograph of a computer really be the best thing about a comic strip? The answer to that question should be clear.

It's the last match of the 1993 season - and relegation looms for "Davy's Dominators!"

This isn't your average team, as the players are robots, and the manager has complete control over their actions - a computer console keeping him in constant contact with his "men" on the field. Davy's opponent, the flamboyant Harry Hartford, is confident of his victory in the match, and even the Dominators' support crew are unsure of whether their equipment will withstand the duration of the match. When one of the Dominators' players is damaged it appears the match is over, as there are no spares, but a substitute roboplayer walks on to the pitch regardless.

Scoring a goal with four minutes remaining, the spare player proves its worth, and even manages to secure a second goal, saving the team.

There's no real reason for a computer-based title to feature a football strip. With the strip aiming at a completely different reader to the Load Runner's core audience, the only explanation for its inclusion is that IPC were so fond of including such strips no matter the appropriateness of the title, and following the format of established titles was to be expected.

But, despite these concerns, the strip actually works.

Ignoring derivative elements (robot faces resembling C-3PO, and Daredevil's logo making an appearance), the main thrust of the story - a man in a sport which is no longer intended to be played by humans - has much appeal. The notion of a challenge where the opponents are far greater in every regard (save for human ingenuity) has been covered in various aspects, with 2009's Surrogates being the closest parallel to subjects raised here. That it doesn't address how vastly faster, stronger, and precise a robot opponent would be is the only drawback in this opening installment.

Anyone familiar with 1990s football will smile at its portrayal of players as robotic automatons.

Computerfax is one of the highlights, being a feature on history and news surrounding computers, providing more information on contemporary computers in two pages than most comics delivered in a year. This is what the title ought to have concentrated on, and is a fascinating glimpse into the theories about Stonehenge's original purpose which were circulating. The Disney story is, perhaps, of most value, displaying a fine sense of humour in relaying the opening of EPCOT.

Count Down to Chaos makes for a change of pace, though continues the trend for continuing material, which is perhaps a little too optimistic, relying on readers to stick with the title in order to get a complete story. Rom and Ram, which performs comedic duties, isn't as amusing as it is intended to be, and likely would have worked better as a single page strip.

The title has a serious misstep with Brainy's Soapbox, which irritates me needlessly. Brainy, the page's fictional host, is depicted as a tie-wearing, bespectacled child of the most annoying order - coupled with the name, he is an extremely unappealing character, and no matter the good intentions of the page, it is difficult to disassociate the visual with the text. Paired with the information on which 1983 computer to pick there is a fact file on the Acorn Atom, noting that it was soon to be discontinued.

This is a world. It is a world of beauty and wonder... A world of light. It is called...

Trumbull's World

It is Not the real world.

As overcrowded billions struggle to survive, programmer Trumbull has discovered a means to jump to another galaxy. The Hall of Innocents breaks news of his work, and surveillance of the programmer is stepped up - having finally completed the equation, he retreats into his favourite adventure game, and when men arrive to take the equation he refuses to divulge its location.

This is a strip which raises a great many questions while refusing to state matters clearly, though is compromised by a lack of clarity. Had colour or better rendering been used to differentiate what appears to be two realities, then there might have been a clearer understanding of the events of the story. It is always difficult to deal with two separate realities in a single narrative, but there are no clear signifiers to any switches in setting.

In any big city, anywhere, there are the arcades: full of kids playing the machines that take them into the incredible world of video games. Harmless fun, well, until...

The Invasion of the Arcadians

A new game is suddenly delivered to every arcade from a new company no one has ever heard of before!

Playing on the popularity of arcades, urban legends (though Polybius, specifically, only came to attention nearly twenty years later), and the arcade scene written about in books such as Martin Amis' Invasion of the Space Invaders: An Addict’s Guide to Battle Tactics, Big Scores and the Best Machines, Invasion of the Arcadians begins with the arrival of the cabinets, and we get to see the odd control layout, quite unlike many of the popular machines which were widely distributed.

Mind Warp is a smash everywhere! Though a hard game to beat at first, soon it was just another game, until...

...A boy playing Mind Warp on his own becomes aware of something strange!

A weird light flickers from deep within the machine...

A high pitched note fills his ears - and his mind!

The screen flashes up "closer"... and he hears it speak!

Returning home, he writes to a box number in the city to order a personal stereo, which he receives at no charge, and obeys the strange signals from his headphones. Those affected, called dazers, hunt in packs, and convert others to their kind. In an alleyway, somewhere in the city, a figure materialises.

Okay, so it isn't anywhere near as culturally aware as The Last Starfighter, but it is a fine horror-tinged story which holds great promise. I'm not sure that "Dazers" is anywhere near creepy enough for the wild-eyed teens running around, yet that aspect really doesn't impinge on the strip's enjoyment factor, nor matter to the narrative.

A feature on F1's use of computers rounds out the issue, and shows how advanced the technology in the sport has always been in comparison with streetcars. We don't, naturally, get more than the most basic information on how the computers were employed in races, but it is interesting nevertheless.

As I want to focus on the things the title did right, there's a great amount of educational work at play - this is one area in which the title stands head and shoulders above similar enterprises. Having computers as a theme was always going to make this badly dated, but as a snapshot of technology in the summer of 1983 it is an exceptional resource. It might have the look of a knock-off, in many regards, but it is picking through the best scraps at the table. Containing attractive artwork and intelligent writing, this is somehow less than the sum of its components.

A decidedly strange, and hesitant, beginning.

Load Runner

#02