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

Toxic! #1

28 Mar 1991. Cover price 99p.
36 pages. Full colour contents.
Apocalypse Ltd.

The Comic Throws Up!

Edited by

Cover by Kevin O'Neill.

Contents:

 2 Welcome to Our Dump! editorial by (uncredited); illustrations by Kevin O'Neill. / Indicia

 3 Marshal Law The Hateful Dead!, part one, Rise of the Zombies w: Pat Mills; a: Kevin O'Neill, lettering by Steve Potter.

12 Aliens - The Comic Magazine advertisement.

13 Accident Man UNTITLED [Money for a Bimota] w: Pat Mills & Tony Skinner; a: Martin Edmond.

21 Mutomaniac Space Cannibals w: Pat Mills; a: Mike McMahon.

27 Coming Soon... Sex Warrior preview; a: Will Simpson.

28 Once Upon a Time in the West w: Alan Grant; a: Simon Bisley.

35 Burning Rubber in Hell! The Driver pin-up; a: David Leach.

36 Do Your Friends Have Mad Comic Disease? pin-up; a: Kevin O'Neill.

Punning on Strip's boast with its line "The Comic Throws Up!" may be immature, but little regarding this title which could be considered mature. To compound matters, in opening the first issue with Strip's lead character, Marshal Law, there is a sense of Toxic! engaging in one-upmanship, while providing a counter-point to the much more staid and respectable title. Make no mistake though, this is a minor masterpiece of comic-book creation, ticking every box as it unfolds.

Kevin O'Neill's cover is a fantastic, powerfully dramatic image of Law, carrying the type of immense weapons which would dominate 90s superhero titles, and several imaginatively-designed 'capes' - one of which is modelled after a dinosaur. Mirrored in the line of dialogue is an echo of the exclamation mark from Toxic!'s logo, which adds to the title's interconnected imagery, and even the barcode is slanted at an angle. Details, seemingly insignificant, build into style.

There's no respite in the opening introduction, which is signed 'Doc. Tox' - an unseen Tharg-like figure who is ostensibly in charge of the title. Personally connecting to readers, in however manufactured a manner is essential in presenting possibly-difficult material - and as this title is a determined assault on the senses, every bit of assistance is required. A wonderful sense of anarchy is created through O'Neill's imagery, and the issue's preface adds in one further minor example of brilliance:

No cash prizes for the best bile!

Readers, pop in the bile box and trash any one or anything you hate.

Providing an outlet for readers to vent their frustrations is a masterstroke, guaranteeing that those who send in suggestions will hang around to see if their choice is published. While I have reservations about the use of the word 'hate' in such a prominent position, it is a notion which has previously provided a deal of entertainment in other forms.

It's the war of the future.

With Shocc Troopers - genetically altered warriors - fighting battles of such savagery as to resemble a Halloween night in Hell.

It's otherwise known as The Zone".

Now the conflict's over... And men with superpowers designed for war...

Have to find a peacetime use for their talents.

Peacetime uses are less noble than fighting in apocalyptic wars, with locales such as the "Foul Play" club having sprung up, where heroes fight each other for the entertainment of wild crowds. Other heroes have taken to working in stress relief parlours, where regular citizens pay for the pleasure of beating them up. It is in one of these establishments, the Cobweb Palace, that Marshal Law discovers the badly-mangled corpse of a man who had paid for the pleasure of beating on Razorhead, though after uncovering a Kalinga big game knife the case appears to be justifiable homicide.

While the story pauses on the revelation that Law was once just such a hero, leaving the murder unsolved, there is a solid introduction to the world, brimming with ridiculously attired characters possessing absurd powers. Far more interesting than the abilities of the characters is their status in a place which has changed drastically around them, leaving them behind as society has moved on.

He should be home soon.

A man shouldn't be late for his own death.

10 millimetre climbing rope. 1,100 lb breaking strain.

I'm the best. I only use the best.

When I'm going to hit someone, I always make it look like an "accident"...

...or a suicide.

Accident Man is a contract killer with a knack for disguising his hits, though the murder seen in the opening installment appears to be rather less than perfect. We get a fight sequence with random people, then are introduced to other hit-men, in a story which isn't quite as polished as the rest of the issue's contents, though has potential. Introducing so many characters in the first part of a story, and in rapid succession, makes it difficult to care about them, and the main character is quite unlikeable - even the slightly amusing incidental jokes don't play as well as those in Marshal Law.

Prisoner Edward Ross has been diagnosed as suffering from mutomania, a condition which makes him prone to an irresistible urge to disobey. Attempts have, of course, been attempted to cure him of this by Edutechs, though his condition is terminal - expelled from the penotech, he is to be expelled into space. The door, alas, doesn't work. Ordered to shoot Ross by the governor, a guard finds that his gun has jammed. Escaping, Ross is warned that he won't get far...

McMahon's art is, in its own way, gorgeous, and the story is packed with interesting concepts which cry out or development - of the material in the first issue, this is the strip which - at first blush - appears to hold the most promise. A penal colony in space, a man blessed with luck, and on the run. This is high concept storytelling with its tongue firmly in cheek, and delightfully mad.

Once Upon a Time in the West is notable for some wonderful Bisley art, though the case of mistaken identity here has, I'm afraid, been rather overdone. While not a top-tier story, it doesn't take up too much room in the telling.

With only two immediately engaging strips, this is a title which doesn't provide a wholly positive first impression, but a strong visual identity for the title, and the promise of forthcoming strips, gives hope that things will improve in future issues.

Toxic! (Apocalypse Ltd.)

#02

Dice Man #1

Mar 1986. £1.45.
68 pages. B&W contents.
IPC Magazines Ltd.

Fantasy Game Special

Edited by Simon Geller.

Painted cover by Glenn Fabry.

Contents:

 2 There are worlds beyond our own... text introduction by Steve Geller; illustrated by Kevin O'Neill.

 4 You Are Judge Dredd House of Death w: T.B. Grover, game design by Pat Mills; a: Bryan Talbot, lettering by Tom Frame.

25 Play in two new world-beating Play-by-Mail games from Mitregames. advertisement.

26 You Are Nemesis the Warlock Torture Tube w:/game design by Pat Mills; a: Kevin O'Neill, lettering by Steve Potter.

45 From the legendary co-creator of THE DUNGEONS & DRAGONS GAME (half page) advertisement for Sagard the Barbarian Gamebook / Alchemy Metal-Wear (half page) advertisement.

46 You Are Slaine Cauldron of Blood w:/game design by Pat Mills; a: David Lloyd, lettering by Gordon Robson.

65 Odyssey (half page) advertisement. / Grenadier Models UK Ltd. (quarter page) advertisement. / Axle says: WHY NOT VISIT THE GUARDROOM (quarter page) advertisement.

66 Rolling Soon next issue information.

67 Forbidden Planet advertisement.

68 Know Then, O Prince.... advertisement.

Fabry's deliciously odd cover, a fantasy melange entirely disconnected from the actual contents, is the perfect way to introduce the concept of a game-based comic title - the yellow background really stands out, especially in this large format. While there is probably a good argument to be made for featuring bankable 2000 A.D. characters for the launch, this speaks to a slightly different audience - one, hopefully, familiar with titles such as Imagine or the Game Master module-magazine-thingamajig.

There are worlds beyond our own... The worlds of if...

If Judge Dredd had been a second slower drawing and firing his gun...
If Slaine had failed to prise open the doorway to doom...
If Nemesis the Warlock had taken that turning too fast in his Blitzspear...

Their worlds - their lives - would have been different. There is only one key to those alternative realities. YOU hold the key... THE DICE. For they control the worlds of IF... the savage, phantom worlds of Dice Man.

Dredd (or the reader/player) drives down Dock Street to Croglin Mansion, parking his Lawmaster to survey the building. A scream from within urges him on to investigate... There are choices to pick from, and here is where the title has an edge over similar choose your adventure publications - unlike the Masters of the Universe book (taking a well known example) this is completely told in comic strip format. It may be a small step, moving from a full-page illustration and a block of text to comic panels, but this provides an important shift in tone. There's more immediacy in the journey.

The point-of-view illustrations are extremely effective, and one has to wonder if the imagery herein played any part in the development of visually similar computer games. There's even a panel (37) which will cause anyone familiar with the Doom franchise to smile, so familiar is it, alongside callbacks to 2000 A.D. strips ("Gaze into the face of fear!" makes an appearance). This is groundbreaking work which has been largely ignored in the intervening years, and it is well worth revisiting.

There is no let-up in pace with Nemesis the Warlock, as Torquemada has captured Purity Brown and is enacting his Edgar Allan Poe fantasies with her. Well, the PG-rated ones, at any rate. With Torquemada threatening to kill Purity at the stroke of midnight, there is an urgency to the story which feels more essential than in Dredd's adventure - this isn't merely a job to be undertaken, but a mission to save a character we like. O'Neill gives this strip everything he's got, and the level of detail worked into the main characters is astonishing.

This strip, unfortunately, encourages players to mark their speed on the images, so... Yeah. There's an unholy amount of blue and black ink in my copy, along with (for some reason) three highlighter colours.

Thank you, Mr. Mills.

The view from inside the Blitzspear is phenomenally cool, and makes me hunger for a racing game based on this story, especially if we are treated to scenes like panel 42, which may be the ickiest thing O'Neill has ever drawn. What the hell is that coming out of Nemesis' eye? Actually, scratch that. I probably don't want to know.

I'm not sure what, exactly, I was expecting from Sláine's story, but Cauldron of Blood is far, far better than anything I could have imagined.

You are the legendary Warped Warrior - a Celtic Berserker who fights with the strength of ten men. YOU are about to begin a new and dangerous quest...

To steal the mystic CAULDRON OF BLOOD from the Tower of Glass.

The evil Drune Lord SLOUGH GRUNSGUL rules the Tower, which is guarded by hideous monsters like the MAGACH - the Beast with a Hundred Heads.

The cauldron is the source of Grunsgul's power.

There's plenty of humour, horror, and genuine drama in the journey through the tower, with certain panels (16, in particular - a photograph) instantly familiar despite not having looked at the issue in nearly twenty years.

Quality paperstock make this infinitely better looking than the parent publication, though the contents were, perhaps, a tad ahead of their time. Worth seeking out for the artwork alone, yet by investing a little time in the games you will appreciate how good the contributors are. Brilliant and a little bit mad.

One of the best comic launches of the 80s.