The Real Ghostbusters Annual 1990

[1989] Annual. Original price £3.99.
64 pages. Full colour contents.
Marvel Comics Ltd.

Cover by Andy Lanning, Dave Harwood & John Burns.

Contents:

 2 Endpaper a: Bambos & John Burns.

 4 "This Book Belongs To" a: Bambos & John Burns.

 5 Contents Page

 6 Ghostbusters: The Fact Behind the Fantasy! text feature by 'Cal Hacker'.

 9 Bustman's Holiday! w: John Carnell; a: Anthony Larcombe, lettering by Glib, colouring by Steve White.

11 The Dexter's Chainsaw Massacre! text story by Ian Rimmer; illustrations by Martin Griffiths, colouring by Stuart Place.

16 Roller Ghoster! w: John Carnell; a: Brian Williamson & Dave Harwood, lettering by Hel, colouring by Lynn White.

20 The Classification of Spooks text feature.

24 The Green Ghosts! text story by Richard Alan; illustrations by Anthony Williams, colouring by Steve White.

29 'Phone Phantom! w: John Carnell; a: Anthony Lancombe, lettering and colouring by Zed.

30 Spengler's Spirit Guide text feature by Dan Abnett.

31 Stonehenge Revenge! w: John Carnell; a: Phil Elliott & Bambos, lettering by Bambos, colouring by Stuart Place.

36 Winston's Diary! A Day in the Life of Winston Zeddmore text story by Dan Abnett; illustrations by Tony O'Donnell & Dave Harwood, colouring by Steve White.

40 Dear Janine

42 Spengler's Spirit Guide text feature by Dan Abnett.

43 Dead and Breakfast! w: John Carnell; a: Dougie Braithwaite & Dave Harwood, lettering by Hel, colouring by Chris Matthews.

46 The Demon Bowler! text story by John Freeman; a: Andy Wildman & Dave Harwood, colouring by Steve White.

50 Make Your Own Slimer cut-out feature.

52 Blimey! It's Slimer! w:/a: Bambos, colouring by Hel.

53 The Loch Ness Monster! w: John Carnell; a: John Geering & Dave Harwood, lettering by Hel, colouring by Euan Peters.

58 Sloop That Spook! 'snakes and ladders' board game.

60 Equal Frights! w: John Carnell; a: Anthony Larcombe, lettering by Glib, colouring by Steve White.

1989

The Real Ghostbusters Annual

1991

Action Force #2

14 Mar 1987. Cover price NA.
24 pages. Full colour contents.
Marvel Comics

Edited by Richard Starkings.

Cover by Geoff Senior (uncredited).

Presented free with Action Force #01

Contents:

 2 Contents / Mission Control editorial; a: Geoff Senior (uncredited). Indicia

 3 Cut and Run, part two, w: Simon Furman; p: Kev Hopgood, i: Dave Harwood, lettering by Richard Starkings, colouring by Steve White.

 8 You Must Not Miss Next Issue in-house advertisement; a: Geoff Senior (uncredited).

 9 Best Defence, part two, w: Larry Hama, a: Herb Trimpe, lettering by Phil Felix, colouring by Bob Sharen.

r: G.I. Joe, A Real American Hero (Marvel) #50 (Aug 1986).

20 My Brother's Keeper w:/a: Ken Steacy.

r: Amazing High Adventure (Marvel) #05 (Dec 1986).

Mr. R. Trent.
Ministry of Defence.
Whitehall.                           6/3/87

Sir,
   In response to your request for a written account of the events of the 5th of this month, I submit the following:

An epistolary, with appropriate visual accompaniment, is a very brave move for Furman to employ in what is only the second issue of the series, though there are several breaks where the action is presented in a traditional manner.

At approximately 1100 hours, our station cameras recorded the entry into access port one of the Action Force operatives code named Snae Eyes and Scarlett.

Their palm print configurations checked out with our computer records and admitted them to our London headquarters...

Entry port one, as it happens, is accessed via the London Underground track at Westminster, which is why the story carries the following:

WARNING: Scarlett and Snae Eyes are highly trained Action Force personnel - on NO account should you play on London Underground tracks.

All other Action Force antics are, apparently, fine to mimic.

The Eel captured by Footloose manages to overpower an Action Force agent, and makes his way to the SIMCOM room, where operatives can train against simulated enemy forces. Scarlett and Snake Eyes make use of the facility in order to maintain their combat skills, where the Eel hits Snake Eyes with a speargun, then shoots Scarlett before escaping through the inlet to the Thames.

While it is difficult to imagine, given the superior facilities often depicted, that a lowly Eel could manage to escape, the story is told in a manner which downplays the more worrying aspects of this. A few simple changes in dialogue, to indicate that the escape had been set up by a mole, for instance, would have made this extraordinary feat more acceptable.

Best Defence continues, with Beach-Head, Lady Jaye, and Flint sneaking onto the hijacked plane as it is refueled. Lady Jaye disguises herself as a stewardess, and learns from Hawk (via a relayed message) that the flight is a suicide run, with the hijackers intending to crash into a top secret Soviet chemical warfare depot in Beringovskiy - the resultant gas cloud could kill millions.

I wonder if Flint's comment, upon cutting open a suitable access point, that it is "a size 42 regular hole" is a sneaky Hitchhiker's reference. The final panel joke about Lady Jaye getting stuck in the toilet is a bit too silly for what has preceded the panel, and the rescue attempt itself seems rather too easy, though I'll give the story some leeway as there's advanced tech in play.

There's some voyeuristic tendencies in the depiction of Lady Jaye - the only character to be depicted changing clothes - and the sensibilities are very much in line with action-adventure cinema of the era. The story itself contains echoes of numerous hijackings, which plagued airlines in the seventies and eighties, but is remarkably restrained in showing the human cost of such actions.

Edwards Airforce Base: Spring, 1955

Investigations into the possibility of carrying parasite fighter planes within the awesome Atom bombers led to the fighter-conveyor or FICON programme. Numerous combinations were tested and one showed great promise: the fighter was the F-85 Goblin, the bomber, the fabulous B-49 Flying Wing!

A historical military tale (the first part of a longer story) rounds out the issue. It is written in a style which doesn't really grasp me, though the fact that it was intended to be read as a complete story explains why there isn't more of a hook to maintain interest.

#01

Action Force

#03

Swiftsure Vol.1 #1

May 1985; Cover price 70p.
32 pages. B&W.
Harrier Publishing.

Edited by Martin Lock.

Cover by Bryan Talbot.

Contents:

.2 Swift but Sure Introduction by Martin Lock. / Contents / Indicia / The Twenty Year Party text feature by Alan Moore.

.3 Lieutenant Fl'ff Arrival w: Martin Lock; p: Dave Harwood, i: Mark Farmer.

.9 Dandy in the Underworld 1: A Fall from Grace w:/a: Stephen Bakersville.

16 Ram, Assassin The Assassin w: Martin Lock; p: R.F. O'Roake, lettering by Richard Starkings. Logo by Nina Y. Sutcliffe.

22 Rock Solid, Space Hero Brazen Invasion, part one, w:/a: Lew Stringer.

25 Codename: Andromeda, part one, w: Bill W. Ryan; a: Dave Harwood.

32 People are Talking! advertisement.

A very detailed (though non-indicative) cover by Bryan Talbot graces the first issue of Swiftsure, an alternative title with mainstream aspirations. Alan Moore provides commentary on the state of comics c.1985, and is in fine form. Martin's editorial is very cheerful and optimistic, which is so refreshing that I'm willing to forgive the punny title.

Arrival begins with a large image of H.M.S. Repulse and rather a lot of text. It is a nice enough opening, but the name of the lead character bothers me: Fl'ff. Go on and say it out loud. Yeah. It really helps a strip if the protagonist doesn't have a name which immediately inspires a dozen jokes. Anyway, the uniform designs are functional and thought through (without tacky fanservice), the setting is intelligent (it is refreshing to see direction indicators on elevators), and the background detail is quite busy.

This should be a top-notch strip. And yet... nothing much happens. Fl'ff and Kale board the Repulse for their new assignments, settle in, and are sent on an away mision (on the last page) to investigate why the H.M.S Bromsgrove hasn't been in radio contact. The general feeling is that of the pre-credits sequence for the pilot of an SF series which is still testing the ground to see how solid the foundations are - more aggressive storytelling, with some incident of note, on the first page would have kept it from seeming so slow and tentative.

Definitely a story which needs to be read in one sitting rather than in bite-size installments.

There is a humerous opening narration, accompanying some beautiful illustrations, to begin Dandy in the Underworld. Set on the planet Orpho, where humanity lives in domed cities atop stilts to protect them from the natives. James Daniel Delaney has been found guilty on all counts, and sentenced to unarmed combat with an underworlder. If he emerges victorious his full rights will be restored, but if he loses he will be exiled to the underworld. It is a foregone conclusion that he will not be victorious.

Approached by Biddle (of Biddle, Biddle, Biddle and Grout), Delaney is tasked with conducting an investigation into the underworld. If successful he will be given his freedom, and one of Orpho's top agents has been tasked with assisting him in order to make sure he succeeds. Her name is A, and she is not the most sociable companion for such an exuberant individual.

A very impressive introduction to the characters and setting, with a great sense of humour running through the script. The visual assuredness is impressive, as is the world-building. This is a place I want to know more about, and Delaney and A are extremely well-defined considering how brief the strip is.

Set in 2584, on a colony-world of Safe Haven, far from Earth, Ram: Assassin is the story of Ramel Kerina. Having a female assassin come as a surprise to the characters is somewhat odd. The scratchy art suits the story, but there is a persistent sense that this is set in a nebulous time in the past rather than the far future. O'Roake's art reminds me especially of Dungeons and Dragons illustrations from the period.

Rock Solid is funny strip about an inept space hero, though the artwork is not as detailed as in the similar Dash Decent. There's a certain roughness here, which shows how long ago this appeared, but it is a fine start to the story.

Who doesn't love a story which begins with a scientific experiment gone awry? Codename: Andromeda opens with the Orgill Drive being tested aboard the spacecraft Newton, when a meteor punches through the delicate heart of the device under observation. Project Manager Gribbins and researcher Canning die immediately, along with twelve others, Kris Prescott also died, and her remains - seared by heat, then shrivelled and frozen by the vacuum of space - floats onward, many light-years from Earth.

Her corpse is recovered by Captain Brown, an alien responding to the energy flash, and placed in a robo-doc where she is restored to life. Transported to Earth by the alien technology, Kris is somehow restored, her new body formed from Stonehenge's stones and soil by force of will. It is a remarkably dark beginning, with aliens which never quite manage the ability to communicate, some gruesome implications inherent in their technology, and a central character who is remarkably composed given all that has befallen her.

Solid strips, with intelligent writing and great art. There are rough edges, but nothing serious enough to raise concerns.

If only all first issues were this good.

Action Force Monthly #1

Jun 1988; Cover price 50p.
32 pages. Full colour.
Marvel Comics Ltd.

Edited by John Tomlinson.

Cover by Dougie Braithwaite.

Free Battle Ribbons.

Contents:

.2 Mission Control Introduction text by John Tomlinson. / Contents / Indicia

.3 Double Bluff w: Ford Alan; p: Dougie Braithwaite, i: Cam Smith, lettering by Annie H., colouring by Stuart Place.

15 Action Force Skystriker Strikes Back toy advertisement.

16 Mini-Poster r. cover art by Dougie Braithwaite.

18 Earth, 8162. Not a nice place to live... in-house advertisement for Dragon's Teeth.

22 Double Cross w: Ian Rimmer; p: Dougie Braithwaite, i: Cam Smith, lettering by Bryan Hitch, colouring by Stuart Place.

27 Ancient Relics!, part one, w: Simon Furman; p: Geoff Senior, i: Dave Harwood, lettering by Annie H., colouring by Steve White.

r: Transformers (Marvel Comics Ltd.) #125 (08 Aug 1987).

Decreasing the page size in order to appear more American might have made some commercial sense, but it makes Action Force Monthly appear to offer less value for money. Braithwaite's cover (featuring Roadblock, Flint, Footloose, Lady Jaye, Leatherneck and Sci-Fi) has the right amount of celebratory joy to herald the return of the characters to print, though it also, unfortunately, makes this appear to be aimed at a younger audience. A great mini-poster, despite my reservations.

Double Bluff opens with Cobra's Crimson Guard holding an ambassador hostage in his embassy, interrupted in their evil machinations by Roadblock, kicks the door in and reminds readers to watch the last few episodes of Call My Bluff's twenty-fourth series. Or maybe not. Still, this fun little story continues with Sci-Fi executing a Crimson Guard holding the ambassador hostage, before Roadblock guns down the rest of their number. Xamot and Tomax are taking notes, and figure that using Battle Android Troopers will be less trouble than hiring replacements for dead Crimson Guards.

Or Battle Android Troopers were on sale at all good toy stores, and they really needed to be highlighted in the title.

Action Force are debriefed by Trent, who tells Footloose that he needs a holiday. He doesn't say, but I would like to think he's booked a room in Bomont, Oklahoma. It is, naturally, a bluff, and he is soon accosted by Troopers. Sci-Fi explains to the others that a Cobra Location Tracker is broadcasting their location, which (for reasons which remain unexplained) was part of the plan, and they prepare for an imminent attack on their base. Xamot and Tomax arrive with Footloose (using him to gain access), and bring a bunch of Troopers with them.

Every time I have to write Xamot and Tomax I am reminded of how much their names make me think of pharmaceuticals.

Internal defences are activated, destroying the Troopers, but the brothers escape mysteriously before they can be apprehended. In fleeing for their lives, they manage to snag a photograph of Trent with his daughter, and announce that they will kidnap her - because bugging them, with technology available to Action Force, wasn't even a remote possibility. If any two characters deserve to take a head-shot it is this pair.

A few pages feel rather empty, with backgrounds sketched in - it feels rushed and half-hearted rather than a stylistic choice, but the story moves so quickly that these shortcuts doesn't detract from the energy. There are also issues with likenesses in some places, with an extremely off-model Lady Jaye being the most noticeable. This is a good start, but an important franchise really needs an excellent start.

Shipwreck observes a German WWII bomber being raised from the depths, utilizing a new balloon-based system of deep-sea retrieval system, in Double Cross. If it can minimise damage to old or delicate structures, then it can be employed to raise any Action Force vehicle lost at sea. The test is interrupted by Cobra forces led by Thornton, whose father shot the plane down - and when Shipwreck takes refuge in the plane he finds the reason for their interest: crates of gold bars.

A very brief five pages, with some interesting art choices. It's better than Double Bluff, mainly for the ending, and really cements the violent streak of the title. The bleak ending feels much more mature than anything preceding it, and it is almost a shame that such a fun tale as Ancient Relics! is placed after it. There's nothing to dislike in the crossover with Transformers, which bravely pits the Autobots against each other as a threat surfaces deep beneath the streets of London.