The Tenth Doctor Archives (Titan Comics) #01 (2016)
Power Rangers: Samurai (Panini Magazines) #01 (19 Apr 2012-16 May 2012)
Tottering Hall: Family Life at Tottering-By-Gently (Orion Media; 2001) ISBN-13: 978-0752841076.
Him off the Viz: The Comic Stripped Bare by Simon Donald (Go Faster Stripe; 2015)
First Appearances:
Private Tom Green (Green's Grudge War) in Action (IPC Magazines Ltd.) #[11] (24 Apr 1976).
Births:
Mervyn Suart (1908); Camillo Zuffi (1912); Trevor Francis (1954); Phil Hall
Notable Events:
Dan Dare, Pilot of The Future radio adaptation began on BBC Radio Four in 1990.
The May un Mar Lady Dave Follows exhibition began in The Potteries Museum in 2008.
Showing posts with label Dave Follows. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dave Follows. Show all posts
Friday, April 19, 2019
Friday, November 30, 2018
Eagle [Vol.21] #2
03 Apr 1982. Cover price 20p.
32 pages. Colour & B&W contents.
IPC Magazines Ltd.
Edited by David Hunt.
Photo cover by Gary Compton.
Free Golden Eagle badge.
Contents:
Eagle says a special thank you to the following for their help this issue... The Magna Carta School, Staines. Epic Records.
There's still an educational element to Eagle's remit, with surprising success. One such fact is that penguins can catch colds, as the Antarctic is so cold it is germ free, thus penguins have no immunity to the sniffles. Non-fiction highlight of the issue, and I can't get the image of penguins sneezing out of my head - smiling each time I imagine them wiping their beaks on their wings, grumbling away. This is the Eagle of old shining through the new paint job. Barely visible, but still there.
Alan Grant is a great writer, but here panders to a degree of clichéd writing which doesn't feel real. In only two installments of the story, Harvey has lost all credibility as a reporter. Tailing the police officer, Harvey loses him at a train station, though sees a vaguely-familiar man get on the train - a closer look reveals that he is wearing the same distinctive alien ring. Arriving at King's Cross Station, he finally remembers the man's name, Sir Matthew Hodges, Cranbridge's member of Parliament.
While the photographic standards are, admittedly, better than average, there is still no discernible advantage to presenting Doomlord in such a manner. Artistic quibbles aside, it is to the strip's credit that the casual murder of bystanders isn't shied away from - with one such unfortunate shown to be disintegrated when the alien's disguise begins to falter.
The Adventures of Fred is a precursor to Mr. Bean, or Matt Lucas' Pompidou, perhaps. Utilising signs to tell its story, with the Inspector Clouseau-like character oblivious to their warnings, the single-page introduction is, however, merely adequate. Comedy is difficult, and when there is the added complication of creating scripts achievable through photography, it makes necessary exaggeration almost impossible. It is impossible to capture crazy antics in photo strips with the same anarchy present in drawn strips.
Pell's next hit is Tony Lombardo, a man who spends his free time on the shooting range. Deciding on an appropriate method with which to dispose of Lombardo, Pell breaks into the man's office and sets up a pistol to fire the next time someone speaks into the 'phone. Having seemingly set up the perfect murder, he is interrupted by an opportunistic thief who sees the office door open. Tied to the chair, in line with the pistol, Pell is forced to wait on Lombardo returning to his office to release him, hoping that nobody uses the 'phone...
A taut story, with a clever set-up, handled in a clunky manner through the photo strip format. The character of Pell would be revisited in Accident Man, proving that no good idea goes to waste, though here the conceit is badly squandered. With Lombardo's pistol so prominent in the photographs, it is likely he would move it back to its proper location before going anywhere near his 'phone.
The Unexplained!, a text feature which covers supernatural dogs, is suitably placed at the end of The Collector, though is far from an in-depth account of such beasts. Such a small feature was never going to be satisfying, or include the best (i.e. downright creepiest) stories, yet the complete absence of credible (and documented) reports make this a brief note that, yes, such things might exist. Maybe. Possibly. If you squint hard, and don't try to rationalise away such things. More gravity would have helped, but the main problem is with the length.
As the nature of the articles are not usually of interest, I normally give Daley's Diary a brief glance, note the contents, then move on. But this issue's contents has an intriguing comment regarding the fate of the Grand National.
The Kármán line, sixty-two miles above Earth, is generally accepted as the point at which Earth's atmosphere gives way to outer space, which itself is far higher than the flying ship is portrayed as being. It is a curious statement to make - one hundred miles places the parliament in space, though far, far too low to be in a stable orbit. Comic-book science, however, cocks a snook at such details.
At only two pages it is difficult to imagine how this is going to play out without an increase in space for the strip, though the art more than makes up for such brevity. While robots masquerading as humans is an overplayed device, the final panel is a surprising reversal of conventional depictions of the security of Earth space.
An extremely stiffly posed shot in the first panel of Sgt. Streetwise is enough to turn me off reading the strip immediately, and I honestly don't care what happens. Already, two issues in, the photo strips have outstayed their welcome.
Lord Spencer's men arrive via train, and is told he will be ruler of the Tower of London within the hour. Mick Tempest, the Tower King, has other ideas, and charges into the battle, though must retreat due to overwhelming forces. At Tower Bridge a small group of Tempest's men prepare to hold off the invaders until the bridge can be raised.
Beautiful, engaging, and utterly compelling, The Tower King continues to impress.
The Money Page, for which read "readers' mail" (with additional quirks), poses two problems, the first of which is the more troublesome - Glamorous Teacher, which praises attractive teachers, and showers gifts upon them, is annoying. Summing up a person's career with a statement of how good they look? Not cool. It would have been more appropriate to reward teachers who provided real, solid life-changing classes. The kind of teachers who are remembered long after their pupils have left school. They may not be the most photogenic, but their value to society is incalculable.
The second issue with the letters page is the poor formatting, wasting much of the page. When readers have spent time writing to a publication their comments should be presented in a respectful manner, and with enough variation in content that the page isn't fragmented snippets. As a new title the number of suitable letters might have been low, though this is where thoughtful, and erudite, responses come into play. By padding the page with an ugly border, then boxing off each section, there's so little presented that the title might as well have not bothered including it.
32 pages. Colour & B&W contents.
IPC Magazines Ltd.
Edited by David Hunt.
Photo cover by Gary Compton.
Free Golden Eagle badge.
Contents:
2 Eagle Hotline The Eagle Has Really Landed! text introduction by David Hunt. / Your Free Gift / Get Ready For... Roar film preview / Eagle Book of Records reader feedback requested. / New This Week introduction to The Money Page and The Adventures of Fred. / Odd Spot photograph (uncredited). / Happy Birthday / Last Minute Department reader feedback requested.
3 Doomlord UNTITLED [No Trace of the Spaceship], part two, w: Alan Grant; photography by Gary Compton.
7 Wellie of the Week Terry Wogan photograph (uncredited). / Eagle Sweet Talk Scarey Sticks / Things that Go Chomp in the Night! / Rocky Horror! / Caught by the Camera Boeing 727 photograph by Hans Wendt. / Ernie UNTITLED [Being a Star Comes Naturally] w:/a: Dave Follows.
8 Squadron Leaders advertisement for Humbrol 1/48 and 1/72 scale models.
9 Eagle Data File Sea King Har 3 fact file; illustration (uncredited).
10 The Adventures of Fred UNTITLED [Read the Signs] w: UNKNOWN (uncredited); photographs (uncredited).
11 The Collector Assassin w: Brian Burrell; a: Pat Wright, photography by Sven Arnstein.
14 The Unexplained! Demon Guard (one third page) text feature by UNKNOWN (uncredited); a: UNKNOWN (uncredited). / The Symbol of Excellence (one sixth page) newsagent order form.
26 Daley's Diary It's Best by Boat! / Forgotten Losers / Lauda's Crown? / The Dutch Master / The Last National? text features by Daley Thompson.
16 Dan Dare Return of the Mekon, part two, w: John Wagner & Pat Mills; a: Gerry Embleton.
18 Sgt. Streetwise UNTITLED [The Thames Gang], part two, w: Gerry Finley-Day; photographs by Dave Watts.
21 The Tower King UNTITLED [Lord Spencer's Arrival], part two, w: Alan Hebden; a: Jose Ortiz.
24 Free with Battle in-house advertisement for Battle and Strike Force sticker album; a: UNKNOWN (uncredited).
25 Eagle Interview Bob Champion (three fifths of page) interview by UNKNOWN (uncredited); photograph by UNKNOWN (uncredited). / Kids are Tough! Michael Goes on Parade (two fifths of page) text feature about Michael Webb by UNKNOWN (uncredited); photograph (uncredited).
26 The Money Page: Glamorous Teacher Miss Palmer, Magna Carta School, Staines; photograph (uncredited). / Big Mouth Belt Up, Jim! / School Uniform readers' mail. / Superdad! Nick and Matt Oakley photograph (uncredited). / Brothers & Sisters Get it Taped! / Super Sis readers' mail.
27 Thunderbolt and Smokey! UNTITLED [West Against North], part two, w: Tom Tully; photographs by John Powell.
31 Read Mike Read UNTITLED [The big mistake that I've always made with any sport I've participated in...] (half page) text feature by Mike Read; photographs (uncredited); illustration (uncredited). / Shopwatch It's Looking Good for Spring [Wrangler; Palitoy Pocketeers games] shopping feature (uncredited). / Next Week
9 Personality Plus Clare Grogan pin-up and mini-bio (uncredited). / 10 'Happy Birthday' LP's Up for Grabs! competition.
Eagle says a special thank you to the following for their help this issue... The Magna Carta School, Staines. Epic Records.
There's still an educational element to Eagle's remit, with surprising success. One such fact is that penguins can catch colds, as the Antarctic is so cold it is germ free, thus penguins have no immunity to the sniffles. Non-fiction highlight of the issue, and I can't get the image of penguins sneezing out of my head - smiling each time I imagine them wiping their beaks on their wings, grumbling away. This is the Eagle of old shining through the new paint job. Barely visible, but still there.
At the offices of the Cranberry Argus, reporter Howard Harvey - the only witness to Doomlord's arrival on Earth - tried to convince his editor that his story was true.If you are even minimally aware of series such as The Invaders you will know that attempting to convince superiors, or authorities, of alien activity is likely to end in failure. Worse, it might be seen as an eccentricity which points to instability, losing the character their safety nets of regular income and credibility. It is never a good sign when a character jumps straight to his "They're coming... They're coming..." act, rather than patiently investigating and collecting evidence.
Alan Grant is a great writer, but here panders to a degree of clichéd writing which doesn't feel real. In only two installments of the story, Harvey has lost all credibility as a reporter. Tailing the police officer, Harvey loses him at a train station, though sees a vaguely-familiar man get on the train - a closer look reveals that he is wearing the same distinctive alien ring. Arriving at King's Cross Station, he finally remembers the man's name, Sir Matthew Hodges, Cranbridge's member of Parliament.
While the photographic standards are, admittedly, better than average, there is still no discernible advantage to presenting Doomlord in such a manner. Artistic quibbles aside, it is to the strip's credit that the casual murder of bystanders isn't shied away from - with one such unfortunate shown to be disintegrated when the alien's disguise begins to falter.
The Adventures of Fred is a precursor to Mr. Bean, or Matt Lucas' Pompidou, perhaps. Utilising signs to tell its story, with the Inspector Clouseau-like character oblivious to their warnings, the single-page introduction is, however, merely adequate. Comedy is difficult, and when there is the added complication of creating scripts achievable through photography, it makes necessary exaggeration almost impossible. It is impossible to capture crazy antics in photo strips with the same anarchy present in drawn strips.
"Welcome. I see you have returned to sample another weird and bizarre tale from my museum of extraordinary exhibits.Rivalries in London's gangland sees numerous unlikely and odd "accidents" claim the lives of various people. Edward Rogan, a food connoisseur is poisoned at his own dinner table, the Gray brothers - driving enthusiasts - were involved in a fatal smash when their brakes failed, and Charley "Birdy" Burdett, fell from an office block while birdwatching. Accidents they are not, for they are the work of an assassin whose modus operandi has earned him the moniker "Heartless" Harvey Pell.
The story behind this charm bracelet is unusual. A romance, perhaps? Alas, no, let me tell you about the person who used to wear this... Harvey Pell, the man who had no heart!
Pell's next hit is Tony Lombardo, a man who spends his free time on the shooting range. Deciding on an appropriate method with which to dispose of Lombardo, Pell breaks into the man's office and sets up a pistol to fire the next time someone speaks into the 'phone. Having seemingly set up the perfect murder, he is interrupted by an opportunistic thief who sees the office door open. Tied to the chair, in line with the pistol, Pell is forced to wait on Lombardo returning to his office to release him, hoping that nobody uses the 'phone...
A taut story, with a clever set-up, handled in a clunky manner through the photo strip format. The character of Pell would be revisited in Accident Man, proving that no good idea goes to waste, though here the conceit is badly squandered. With Lombardo's pistol so prominent in the photographs, it is likely he would move it back to its proper location before going anywhere near his 'phone.
The Unexplained!, a text feature which covers supernatural dogs, is suitably placed at the end of The Collector, though is far from an in-depth account of such beasts. Such a small feature was never going to be satisfying, or include the best (i.e. downright creepiest) stories, yet the complete absence of credible (and documented) reports make this a brief note that, yes, such things might exist. Maybe. Possibly. If you squint hard, and don't try to rationalise away such things. More gravity would have helped, but the main problem is with the length.
As the nature of the articles are not usually of interest, I normally give Daley's Diary a brief glance, note the contents, then move on. But this issue's contents has an intriguing comment regarding the fate of the Grand National.
I shall be very sorry, like all lovers of sport, if this year's Grand National is the last to be run. It's become part of the British way of life.While various attempts, over the years, to have the race brought to an end due to animal welfare concerns, there has never really been a sense that such concerns might actually come to anything. What was different in the early eighties? I kinda want to know how close the race came to ending, but I'm not interested - or invested - enough to go looking. Context in the reporting of current events is appreciated, especially when texts are analysed at such a remove. Approaching the commentary now, without immediate access to material of the period covering the event in detail, makes for a frustrating and tantalising read.
The year was 2210, one mile above the Earth, in the parliament of the Terran Federation, delegates sit in emergency session. . . .Dan Dare begins strong, with an armada of eight thousand ships approaching Earth. The president reveals that he is a robot, exploding with enough force to destroy the satellite upon which the parliament are aboard. Luna Base, HQ of the Terran Defence Fleet, launch a force to repel the invasion, though possibly not in time.
The Kármán line, sixty-two miles above Earth, is generally accepted as the point at which Earth's atmosphere gives way to outer space, which itself is far higher than the flying ship is portrayed as being. It is a curious statement to make - one hundred miles places the parliament in space, though far, far too low to be in a stable orbit. Comic-book science, however, cocks a snook at such details.
At only two pages it is difficult to imagine how this is going to play out without an increase in space for the strip, though the art more than makes up for such brevity. While robots masquerading as humans is an overplayed device, the final panel is a surprising reversal of conventional depictions of the security of Earth space.
An extremely stiffly posed shot in the first panel of Sgt. Streetwise is enough to turn me off reading the strip immediately, and I honestly don't care what happens. Already, two issues in, the photo strips have outstayed their welcome.
Lord Spencer's men arrive via train, and is told he will be ruler of the Tower of London within the hour. Mick Tempest, the Tower King, has other ideas, and charges into the battle, though must retreat due to overwhelming forces. At Tower Bridge a small group of Tempest's men prepare to hold off the invaders until the bridge can be raised.
Beautiful, engaging, and utterly compelling, The Tower King continues to impress.
The Money Page, for which read "readers' mail" (with additional quirks), poses two problems, the first of which is the more troublesome - Glamorous Teacher, which praises attractive teachers, and showers gifts upon them, is annoying. Summing up a person's career with a statement of how good they look? Not cool. It would have been more appropriate to reward teachers who provided real, solid life-changing classes. The kind of teachers who are remembered long after their pupils have left school. They may not be the most photogenic, but their value to society is incalculable.
The second issue with the letters page is the poor formatting, wasting much of the page. When readers have spent time writing to a publication their comments should be presented in a respectful manner, and with enough variation in content that the page isn't fragmented snippets. As a new title the number of suitable letters might have been low, though this is where thoughtful, and erudite, responses come into play. By padding the page with an ugly border, then boxing off each section, there's so little presented that the title might as well have not bothered including it.
Eagle [Vol.21]
#03
Monday, November 26, 2018
Eagle [Vol.21] #1
27 Mar 1982. Cover price 20p.
32 pages. Colour & B&W contents.
IPC Magazines Ltd.
Edited by David Hunt.
Cover by Gerry Embleton.
Free Space Spinner.
Contents:
A messy cover, with Embleton's art covered by redundant lines of text, half of the space given over to promoting a free gift... which would have covered the announcement that there was a free gift. Sheer genius. The messy appearance is continued inside, with Eagle Hotline, a catch-all editorial page appearing to have taken some design hints from early eighties magazines. It is nice to see Eagle's past remembered, with Dan Dare and Digby, Harris Tweed, and Jeff Arnold represented, though this, for the moment, is all the Eagle relaunch has to say about its illustrious original incarnation.
How do you compete with one of the most celebrated and beloved titles to bear the Eagle name? By changing everything which made the original so compelling, and to promote photo strips over traditional comic strips.
Doomlord, the first of this issue's photo strips, attempts to present a dramatic SF tale with all the limitations of its photography undermining any credibility. Doomlord's introduction, it must be admitted, is fairly impressive given that he appears to be wearing a discarded duvet, with a mask which is far more convincing that that used in photos of Tharg. It isn't a perfect introduction to Doomlord, but it isn't anywhere near as bad as some complaints about the revived series would have you believe.
The world really wasn't calling for a mix of Invasion of the Bodysnatchers and The Day the Earth Stood Still, but Alan Grant provides enough interest to keep things moving along without getting caught up in extraneous detail.
A mandatory sports strip for Eagle, Thunderbolt and Smokey!, is a run-of-the-mill school-based photo strip.
That the only black character is named Smokey should tell you all you need to know.
On a more positive note, the strip presents a problem, shows a partial solution, and throws a few wrenches in the works. From a purely storytelling standpoint, this is a fairly strong opening, though presented in dreary grey, page after page of photographs, this can't quite overcome its appearance. If this had been a traditional comic strip its plot might have been enough to make a success of the concept, yet there is nothing here worth getting excited about.
Sgt. Streetwise is slightly better, being the adventures of Detective-Sergeant Wise of Special Undercover Operations. Wise operates on his own, without a radio, cuffs, or weapon, even going so far as to forgo identity papers, and after his homeless disguise is blown has to take on a new identity to continue his work.
Snow-covered streets add slightly to the feel of the strip, though this is a pale imitation of detective television shows, and requires a great deal of suspended disbelief at the frankly ludicrous set-up. As with all the photo strips, the reproduction isn't sharp enough to justify such an elaborate means of creation, and there's no real sense of drama despite a well-staged opening.
Splitting the strip, so that Dan Dare could take the colour centre-pages is annoying, and completely unnecessary, displaying a lack of
The return of Dan Dare comes in Return of the Mekon.
Another strip split to take advantage of colour pages, this time continuing on the back page, Dan Dare is a decidedly odd return. Focusing on the Mekon rather than the titular hero, the story goes so far as to kill off Dare on the final panel. This can be taken as a statement of intent for the revived title - don't expect things to remain as they were. It is only partially successful in bringing back Dan Dare's world, feeling slightly too rushed to properly establish a timeline of events.
Its primary selling point, a modern world deprived of power, had already been visited in the television series The Changes, based on Peter Dickinson's books, though in a slightly different form.
The strip's introductory text is slightly over-playing the reality of such a situation - heat can be provided from fires, and printing presses of old did fine without electricity. Regardless, one has to hand it to Hebden - the text boxes prefacing the story is very dramatic and attention-grabbing manner in which to begin the story. The close of the story proves that there are forms of transport in the new landscape of London, though given that the strip had already shown us horses...
Eye of the Fish, a complete story, is introduced by The Collector.
Yes, it is a slight, and incredibly silly, variant on a well-worn theme, but it doesn't really need to be brilliant. A complete story, however well crafted, is essential to giving readers of an anthology value for money - you never know if they are going to purchase the next issue, so as long as they get one full story then their purchase has been validated.
With a superb beginning from The Tower King, an intriguing question (or two) lingering in Dan Dare, and Doomlord's inherent possibilities, this is a solid, if unexceptional, beginning. Or, if you prefer, it is a rather subdued revival with much potential.
32 pages. Colour & B&W contents.
IPC Magazines Ltd.
Edited by David Hunt.
Cover by Gerry Embleton.
Free Space Spinner.
Contents:
2 Eagle Hotline Eagle is Back! text introduction by David Hunt. / A Welcome from the Stars comments from John Craven, Peter Davison, Roy Castle, Ian Botham, Lenny Henry, and John Bond; photographs (uncredited). / How Times Change the new artists - the men who capture the action on film for our exciting photo-stories! Introduction to John Powell, Dave Watts, and Gary Compton. / Wanted! reader feedback requested. / Ernie UNTITLED [Eagle's Official Eagle Mascot] w:/a: Dave Follows.
3 Doomlord An Alien Stalks the Earth, part one, w: Alan Grant; photography by Gary Compton.
7 Kids are Tough! Darren Defies Thugs! text feature about Darren Daly by UNKNOWN (uncredited); photograph (uncredited). / Big Mouth readers' mail. / Eagle Interview Peter Davison by UNKNOWN (uncredited); photographs (uncredited), illustration by Dave Follows.
8 The Whole Town's Popping! advertisement for Waddingtons Pop-Aways.
9 Personality Plus Bryan Robson pin-up and mini-bio (uncredited). / Fifty Freebie Man. United Books Up for Grabs! competition.
10 Thunderbolt and Smokey! UNTITLED [Two players don't make a football team], part one, w: Tom Tully; photographs by John Powell.
14 Sgt. Streetwise The Police Had Need of Men Like Him... Men Who Stayed Streetwise!, part one, w: Gerry Finley-Day; photographs by Dave Watts.
16 Dan Dare Return of the Mekon, part one, w: Barrie Tomlinson; a: Gerry Embleton.
18 Sgt. Streetwise The Police Had Need of Men Like Him... Men Who Stayed Streetwise! cont.
19 Eagle Fun Spot School Report - Jim Davidson; photograph (uncredited), illustration by Dave Follows.
20 The Tower King UNTITLED [A Gutted City, Haunted by Crazies], part one, w: Alan Hebden; a: Jose Ortiz.
24 Squadron Leaders advertisement for Humbrol 1/48 and 1/72 scale models.
25 Eagle Data File F-15 Eagle fact file; illustration (uncredited).
26 Daley's Diary Strange Names! / Arnold's Dilemma / Great Mates / 'Picca-Dilley'! / A marathon a day... text features by Daley Thompson.
27 The Collector Eye of the Fish w: Roy Preston; a: Pat Wright & Ron Smith, photography by Gary Compton.
31 Read Mike Read UNTITLED [I'm the strange character who struggles in to London at the crack of dawn] (half page) text feature by Mike Read; photographs (uncredited). / Shopwatch UNTITLED [Kensington board game; The Puffin Adventure Sports Series] shopping feature (uncredited); illustration by Dave Follows.
32 Dan Dare Return of the Mekon, cont.
A messy cover, with Embleton's art covered by redundant lines of text, half of the space given over to promoting a free gift... which would have covered the announcement that there was a free gift. Sheer genius. The messy appearance is continued inside, with Eagle Hotline, a catch-all editorial page appearing to have taken some design hints from early eighties magazines. It is nice to see Eagle's past remembered, with Dan Dare and Digby, Harris Tweed, and Jeff Arnold represented, though this, for the moment, is all the Eagle relaunch has to say about its illustrious original incarnation.
How do you compete with one of the most celebrated and beloved titles to bear the Eagle name? By changing everything which made the original so compelling, and to promote photo strips over traditional comic strips.
Midnight. A fireball streaked down over the sleeping town of Cranbridge -Officer Murton is immediately killed by Doomlord, having his knowledge absorbed, and is soon disintegrated with a beam from the alien's ring. Howard Harvey is rendered unconscious, before Doomlord takes the physical appearance of Murton. When Harvey awakens, he travels to the police station to report Murton's death, but is brought face-to-face with Murton, very much alive, and wearing the alien's ring.
The only witnesses were P.C. Bob Murton and Howard Harvey, a reporter from the Cranbridge Argus -
Doomlord, the first of this issue's photo strips, attempts to present a dramatic SF tale with all the limitations of its photography undermining any credibility. Doomlord's introduction, it must be admitted, is fairly impressive given that he appears to be wearing a discarded duvet, with a mask which is far more convincing that that used in photos of Tharg. It isn't a perfect introduction to Doomlord, but it isn't anywhere near as bad as some complaints about the revived series would have you believe.
The world really wasn't calling for a mix of Invasion of the Bodysnatchers and The Day the Earth Stood Still, but Alan Grant provides enough interest to keep things moving along without getting caught up in extraneous detail.
A mandatory sports strip for Eagle, Thunderbolt and Smokey!, is a run-of-the-mill school-based photo strip.
The educational record of Dedfield School was second-to-none! But when it came to getting results on the sports field, it was a very different story...Losing seven-nil, Dedfield - nicknamed 'Dead-Loss' - are a football team without support from their teachers, though Colin Dexter (Thunderbolt) is determined to turn the team's fortunes around. When he learns that Smokey Beckles, recently transfered to the school, isn't going to play for a losing team, his hopes seem dashed.
That the only black character is named Smokey should tell you all you need to know.
On a more positive note, the strip presents a problem, shows a partial solution, and throws a few wrenches in the works. From a purely storytelling standpoint, this is a fairly strong opening, though presented in dreary grey, page after page of photographs, this can't quite overcome its appearance. If this had been a traditional comic strip its plot might have been enough to make a success of the concept, yet there is nothing here worth getting excited about.
Sgt. Streetwise is slightly better, being the adventures of Detective-Sergeant Wise of Special Undercover Operations. Wise operates on his own, without a radio, cuffs, or weapon, even going so far as to forgo identity papers, and after his homeless disguise is blown has to take on a new identity to continue his work.
Snow-covered streets add slightly to the feel of the strip, though this is a pale imitation of detective television shows, and requires a great deal of suspended disbelief at the frankly ludicrous set-up. As with all the photo strips, the reproduction isn't sharp enough to justify such an elaborate means of creation, and there's no real sense of drama despite a well-staged opening.
Splitting the strip, so that Dan Dare could take the colour centre-pages is annoying, and completely unnecessary, displaying a lack of
The return of Dan Dare comes in Return of the Mekon.
It appeared to be the final confrontation between two beings whose adventures had thrilled a generation. Colonel Dan Dare, valiantly fighting to save Earth from the sworn for of mankind... the cold, merciless mastermind of Venus - the Mekon!The Mekon surrenders after an intense battle, vowing that one day he will get his revenge on Dare. The World Supreme Court, highest judicial body on Earth, passes judgement, sentencing the Mekon to be placed in a life support capsule, enclosed in a meteor, then set adrift in space. Forever. Because a slap on the wrist and a fine isn't going to deter such a heinous villain as the Mekon. Preparations are duly made, and a meteor, with the Mekon imprisoned inside, is sent off into space.
In such a prison, time became meaningless. Was it a month, a year, or a century before other beings approached the meteor?Aliens pick up the meteor hoping that valuable ore will be discovered within it, and cut it open - despite getting a life-reading from within.
The inhabitants of the planet Korzak were a meek race... and the sight of the green-skinned being terrified them!Informed that Treens have lived in peace for many years, leaderless and abandoned, becoming farmers and traders, the Mekon is outraged. Deciding to exact his revenge on Dare, he orders his rescuers to take him to the location of his enemy, beaming down to the planet to continue his battle - only to discover that Dan Dare died hundreds of years before. A gravestone states that he died before his battles with the Treen Empire, puzzling the Mekon, and though he cannot defeat a dead man, he can take his revenge on the planet Earth.
Another strip split to take advantage of colour pages, this time continuing on the back page, Dan Dare is a decidedly odd return. Focusing on the Mekon rather than the titular hero, the story goes so far as to kill off Dare on the final panel. This can be taken as a statement of intent for the revived title - don't expect things to remain as they were. It is only partially successful in bringing back Dan Dare's world, feeling slightly too rushed to properly establish a timeline of events.
The solar power satellite was the most important result of the American space programme of the 1980's. A vast array of solar panels had been placed in stationary orbit above the equator...There's a lot to like in The Tower King, and much back-story to deliver, which it does as rapidly as possible. The extended sequence of reported information, which builds up to the appearance of the titular character, may take up two whole pages, but as it is essential to everything which follows it is a justifiable journey. The city of London, seen only partially in the vignettes, may not be the most original choice of location to place the series in, though the concepts are interesting enough to overcome this lack of imagination.
Solar energy from the sun was converted into microwaves and beamed down to a huge receiving station on the ground, where the microwaves were reconverted into electric power and fed into a grid.
It should have been the start of a new era.
Instead, it was the beginning of a disaster!
The microwaves had disrupted the balance of the Earth's atmosphere, making the generation of electricity in any form impossible. Without it, aircraft fell out of the sky... Ships drifted helplessly... Road traffic ground to a halt...
...and nuclear power stations melted down!
Without electricity there was no radio or TV... No telephones or newspapers... No form of transport... Nor was there heat or light.
In the days that followed, panic swept the world as nobody knew what was happening.
Without electricity food production and distribution broke down, forcing starving mobs out to the countryside in a desperate bid to find some.
Finally, after panic and starvation, came disease and death on a scale unknown since the black death.
Small bands of survivors formed tightly-knit groups to defend themselves and continue life in the ruins of civilisation. In London, within the walls of the Tower of London, such a group was led by a man named Mick Tempest.
Its primary selling point, a modern world deprived of power, had already been visited in the television series The Changes, based on Peter Dickinson's books, though in a slightly different form.
The strip's introductory text is slightly over-playing the reality of such a situation - heat can be provided from fires, and printing presses of old did fine without electricity. Regardless, one has to hand it to Hebden - the text boxes prefacing the story is very dramatic and attention-grabbing manner in which to begin the story. The close of the story proves that there are forms of transport in the new landscape of London, though given that the strip had already shown us horses...
Eye of the Fish, a complete story, is introduced by The Collector.
"Welcome. I am known as The Collector! Some of my exhibits may seem a little out of the ordinary to you. But then so, too, are the reasons why I keep them!"Terry Lansberry and his father go fishing near a sign which prohibits such activity, but their illicit sport is soon brought to a halt by darkening skies. Terry disappears in a flash of light, swiftly followed by his father, thereafter learning an important lesson...
Yes, it is a slight, and incredibly silly, variant on a well-worn theme, but it doesn't really need to be brilliant. A complete story, however well crafted, is essential to giving readers of an anthology value for money - you never know if they are going to purchase the next issue, so as long as they get one full story then their purchase has been validated.
With a superb beginning from The Tower King, an intriguing question (or two) lingering in Dan Dare, and Doomlord's inherent possibilities, this is a solid, if unexceptional, beginning. Or, if you prefer, it is a rather subdued revival with much potential.
Eagle [Vol.21]
#02
Wednesday, October 17, 2018
On This Day: 17 Oct
Cheeky Weekly (IPC Magazines Ltd.) #01 (22 Oct 1977).
Wildcat preview comic in 2000 A.D. (Fleetway Publications) Prog 597 (22 Oct 1988).
White Trash (Atomeka / Tundra UK) #01 (1992).
Treasury of British Comics Scream & Misty Special
First Appearances:
Mustapha Million in Cheeky Weekly #01 (22 Oct 1977).
Joe Alien in Wildcat preview comic [1988].
Turbo Jones in Wildcat preview comic [1988].
Loner in Wildcat preview comic [1988].
Kitten Magee in Wildcat preview comic [1988].
Births:
Harry Guy Bartholomew (1884); Jerry Siegel (1914); Thomas Williams (1940); Mark Gatiss (1966); Henry Flint
Deaths:
Dave Follows (2003)
Notable Events:
Nicolas Bentley married Barbara Hastings in 1934.
Belinda newspaper strip ended in 1959.
In 1971, Members of the NUJ (National Union of Journalists) objected so strongly to a cartoon in The Daily Express (Father O'Brezhnev, Missionary to Ulster) by Michael Cummings that they stopped the presses, losing 350,000 copies of the paper.
Space Family Robinson two-page strip began in in Cheeky Weekly #01 (22 Oct 1977).
David Britton and Michael Butterworth interviewed by Detective Inspector Malcolm Wood at Greater Manchester Police Headquarters in 1989.
Gollancz launched a line of graphic novels in 1991.
Rebellion's Judge Dredd: Dredd Vs. Death computer game released in 2003.
Under Water Colours, a Jamie Hewlett exhibition sponsored by Oxfam, opened in Trueman Brewrey in East London in 2009.
The Lakes International Comic Art Festival began in the town of Kendal in 2014.
Wildcat preview comic in 2000 A.D. (Fleetway Publications) Prog 597 (22 Oct 1988).
White Trash (Atomeka / Tundra UK) #01 (1992).
Treasury of British Comics Scream & Misty Special
First Appearances:
Mustapha Million in Cheeky Weekly #01 (22 Oct 1977).
Joe Alien in Wildcat preview comic [1988].
Turbo Jones in Wildcat preview comic [1988].
Loner in Wildcat preview comic [1988].
Kitten Magee in Wildcat preview comic [1988].
Births:
Harry Guy Bartholomew (1884); Jerry Siegel (1914); Thomas Williams (1940); Mark Gatiss (1966); Henry Flint
Deaths:
Dave Follows (2003)
Notable Events:
Nicolas Bentley married Barbara Hastings in 1934.
Belinda newspaper strip ended in 1959.
In 1971, Members of the NUJ (National Union of Journalists) objected so strongly to a cartoon in The Daily Express (Father O'Brezhnev, Missionary to Ulster) by Michael Cummings that they stopped the presses, losing 350,000 copies of the paper.
Space Family Robinson two-page strip began in in Cheeky Weekly #01 (22 Oct 1977).
David Britton and Michael Butterworth interviewed by Detective Inspector Malcolm Wood at Greater Manchester Police Headquarters in 1989.
Gollancz launched a line of graphic novels in 1991.
Rebellion's Judge Dredd: Dredd Vs. Death computer game released in 2003.
Under Water Colours, a Jamie Hewlett exhibition sponsored by Oxfam, opened in Trueman Brewrey in East London in 2009.
The Lakes International Comic Art Festival began in the town of Kendal in 2014.
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