Wildcat #8

28 Jan 1989 - 10 Feb 1989; Cover price 40p.
32 pages. Colour & B&W.
Fleetway Publications.

Edited by Barrie Tomlinson.

Cover by Ron Smith (signed).

Contents:

 2 Turbo Jones UNTITLED [Robo - Traitor!] w: UNKNOWN (uncredited); a: UNKNOWN (uncredited).

 7 Great Ark pin-up; illustrated by UNKNOWN (uncredited).

 8 Joe Alien UNTITLED [Caterpillar] w: UNKNOWN (uncredited); a: Ron Smith (signed).

11 Kitten Magee UNTITLED [Cave of Death] w: UNKNOWN (uncredited); a: Jose Ortiz (uncredited).

16 Joe Alien UNTITLED (cont.)

18 Time-Warp Data Link feature page (uncredited). / Robojoke UNTITLED ["Ever had the feeling you're being watched"] (pocket cartoon) w:/a James Neil. / Alien readers' art; Dworb by Mark Plastow, Robotic Forest Creature by Brian Peter Lisle, Grin by David Minish, Alien by Thomas Clancy.

20 Loner UNTITLED [Seringar Shape-Changer] w: UNKNOWN (uncredited); a: David Pugh (uncredited).

25 In Space, Some Things Are More Important Than Others subscription coupon.

26 Gliz w: UNKNOWN (uncredited); a: Joan Boix (signed).

31 What Has 10 Legs, 10 Eyes and a Big Appetite? next issue information; illustrated by David Pugh (uncredited).

32 The Weetabix Workout advertisement; a: UNKNOWN (uncredited).

Its cover is pure space opera, which - given the contents throughout the series thus far - is entirely appropriate.

Turbo refuses to assist the Arglon forces defeat the Burroids - told by the Council of Elders that their nation needs more land to survive, and that he has until the seventh moon (one day) to contemplate his fate, Turbo is taken to the sacrificial temple, where the Arglon gods will either change his mind or receive him in sacrifice. Robo awakens to discover his master missing, and is quickly captured by Burroid forces as a traitor. As the remnants of the Burroid forces face losing the city, evacuation procedures are put in place to protect the remainder of the inhabitants.

Robo's batteries register zero when a confession Burroids attempt to force a confession from him, and, technically dead, it is thought best to throw him onto a rubbish pile outside. Once free of his captors, Robo recharges with his reserve battery and journeys out. Overhearing reports of Turbo defecting to the Arglon side, Robo ventures to Arglon territory to learn the truth.

Although not explicitly referencing Lebensraum, the Arglon logic for its war, and the appearance of the Council of Elders, makes clear that this is, in essence, a reprise of World War II. Neither adequately developed nor consistent in tone, the strip fails to convince as military spectacle precisely because of the obvious elements which are dusted off and presented here with an SF twist. We aren't privy to the tactics, so must infer strategy behind maneouvers. Random damage? Nope, that's all part of some greater plan. Showing the intelligence behind what has appeared to be one desperate, last-ditch plan after another would have given the strip more authority.

Joe Alien arms his men with lasers to fend off against the encircling trees, and they begins a desperate run through the forest to freedom. Seeing a giant caterpillar under attack from the trees, Joe watches it get thrown around, though holding its own against the superior forces of the plants. Hitching a ride on its back, the team manage to make their way to the location of their shuttle, though find it has disappeared.

There is so little accomplished with the caterpillar that it is difficult to come up with a reason for its inclusion - aside from encouraging Eric Carle jokes, that is. Yet another oversized creature, in the manner of a cut-price Mighty Samson strip, points at the lack of care in establishing the rules of the planet. From Turbo to Loner, immense creatures have been a recurring element irrespective of where the presence doesn't make sense. Is this planet, perhaps, excluded from the square-cube law somehow?

It is also a shame that within three panels the small unit manages to run three miles, completely ignoring the terror which could have been ramped up had the journey back to the shuttle been presented - something which might have challenged The Evil Dead for achievements in making people afraid of foliage.

Unit leader Kitten Magee, robotic companion Crud and all female back-up team have met a seemingly friendly alien called Hobos. In reality, however, the massively fat being is an evil killer who means to cause the deaths of all the humans. After several failed attempts on their lives, Hobos has an idea how to guarantee their destruction...

Leading the women to a cave, they discover the remains of dozens of bones, the remains of victims of the beast which used to live there, aiding Doc in her survey of the planet's wildlife. She is captured by the alien still inhabiting the cave while the others are busy fetching firewood, and Cassandra is soon in its clutches - Kitten rushes back to assist her teammates, Crud leading their rescue mission. They finally discover it, after battling through a colony of bats, and are awed at its immensity.

Let down, somewhat, by a hint of the monster in the second panel, the strip nevertheless manages to maintain its style. Utilising horror movie techniques, Doc is snatched right behind an unaware Cassandra, although the following sequence makes it clear that the captured women were not immediately murdered. As for the monster, which has a see-through chest and stomach, I have to state that this is likely the single dumbest visual in the title's short history - it is almost an invitation for a clever opponent to deliver a fatal blow.

Loner sucks in fresh air, glad to be free of his subterranean nightmare, and discovers that communications with Wildcat are unavailable. Seeing a large sphere on the ground, he decides to get in some impromptu football practice. It turns out to be a gelatinous life-form, and he is soon encased within its mass while permitting him breath. It identifies itself as a Seringar Shape-Changer - shrinking Loner is reprisal for the unwarranted attack, it leaves him a fraction of his original size. As the blob departs, Loner is immediately attacked by two-headed ants.

Although he's hardly the most fleshed-out individual in the title, the kick comes as a surprising act which seems out of character. As a means of transitioning to the next story act it is a clumsy and awkward moment, more appropriate for a less mature character. The blob is a shameless appropriation of, naturally, the recently-released remake of The Blob, while shrinking Loner down is likely in reaction to pre-publicity for Honey, I Shrunk the Kids. Originality is in short supply here, though, as a means of spurring on the story, these inspirations are grafted into the existing world with panache, if not subtlety.

Gliz is a humanoid alien in possession of two tentacle-like protrusions on its chest. One would imagine this enables him to be more efficient than mere humans, though his clumsiness merely prompts insults and jokes from his co-workers. He tells Grenzel, his sole friend aboard Wildcat, that he is so clumsy because the others make him nervous. That night Grenzel's mother chastises him for consorting with an alien, telling him to stay away from Gliz. After more abuse at the hands of his human colleagues Gliz attempts to talk to Grenzel, but is rebuffed.

One of the pilots, Chadwick, has damaged his hands, and is unable to fly a mini-ship down to the far side of the planet's first moon, and it seems as if the mission will be cancelled until Gliz states that he is a qualified pilot. Things go well at first, with a perfect landing, but the expedition soon encounters hideous aliens who demand to know the identity of the group's pilot - vaporising the rest of the crew. They order Gliz to fly them to Wildcat, where they intend to kill the occupants. Faced with a desperate problem, Gliz has to find a way to protect Wildcat.

After everything else which has appeared, I shouldn't be so surprised to find myself typing the words "space pirates" here, but it still comes as a shock to see something so utterly unimaginative turn up. The notion of a completely disregarded character laying down their life for the benefit of the greater good, even though they do so without recognition, is one which has a fine history, but here the use is troublesome - is the technology aboard Wildcat so poor as not to have some indication of what is happening aboard their shuttles? Even if a real-time "black box" transmission is not in place, there is a more fundamental problem - this is the same moon upon which four crewmembers have already been lost.

Questions are being piled atop one another, as if the writers were playing Jenga with the plots, and - as much as I like the basic premise - it feels as if any attempt at a cohesive overriding plot has already been abandoned.

#07

Wildcat

#09

Wildcat #7

14 Jan 1989 - 27 Jan 1989; Cover price 40p.
32 pages. Colour & B&W.
Fleetway Publications.

Edited by Barrie Tomlinson.

Cover by David Pugh (signed).

Contents:

 2 Kitten Magee UNTITLED [The Other Path] w: UNKNOWN (uncredited); a: Jose Ortiz (uncredited).

 7 Crud pin-up; illustrated by UNKNOWN (uncredited).

 8 Joe Alien UNTITLED [Death of the Gardener] w: UNKNOWN (uncredited); a: Ron Smith (signed).

11 Loner UNTITLED [Loner's Ascent] w: UNKNOWN (uncredited); a: David Pugh (uncredited).

16 Joe Alien UNTITLED (cont.)

18 Time-Warp Data Link feature page (uncredited). / Robojoke UNTITLED ["A man walked into a bar"] (pocket cartoon) w:/a Gideon Dewhirst. / Alien readers' art; Fangs by Neil McCambridge, Alien by Jim McNamara, Blaster by Matthew John Pullen.

20 Turbo Jones UNTITLED [Hijacked Terrosauron] w: UNKNOWN (uncredited); a: UNKNOWN (uncredited).

25 A Perfect Crime w: UNKNOWN (uncredited); a: UNKNOWN (uncredited).

31 Another Monster Issue! next issue information; illustrated by UNKNOWN (uncredited).

32 The Weetabix Workout advertisement; a: UNKNOWN (uncredited).

Mixing up the running order of strips to highlight a particularly good story in an interesting attempt at keeping the title fresh, this merely staves off the feeling of over-familiarity with what is happening in Turbo Jones. Not that the invasion of a city by enemy forces isn't an interesting subject, but its handling has been a mix of overly-elaborate melodrama (the attack from below) and mundane inanity (the raising of a wall), rather than a character study showing the stress of maintaining order in a besieged location, while simultaneously commanding military forces to appropriate defensive positions.

But it is Kitten who leads off this issue, so it is only right her story be tackled first.

Following Hobos, the women of Kitten's team (and Crud) are told that the path ahead of them is infested with savage creatures, so the alien leads them along a 'safer' track instead. Kitten questions the safety of the route as the ground becomes more swampy underfoot, and is reassured that it is the safest way to their destination - in what feels like an earthquake, an immense form raises itself from the sand. Hobos identifies it as a Zicker Beast, a murderous meat-eater with a massive appetite. The women fire all of their weapons at it, though this only results in the beast being angered.

Kitten manages to trick it into chopping off its own mini-head, after which it retreats back into its lair. Doc is about to take some blood and tissue samples for her research into her study of the planet's wildlife when it proves to be not quite as dead as it appears. Kitten kicks it aside, and as the beast resurfaces she fires its own mini-head into its mouth.

A story rife with symbolism. From the top: A group of women are led (literally) down the wrong path by a duplicitous male and placed into harms way, whereupon they are attacked by a monster, which only the strongest female of the group is able to (symbolically) castrate. Then she feeds the monster its own... Well, mini-head. As his plan hasn't worked, the male figure then leads the women towards a cave. This script cannot have been written without some notion of how it would be perceived.

There's probably two or three layers of subtext to this, all the while following the Fleetway Adventure Story Rulebook. Reading this story now, it is impossible to ignore the similarity in theme (if not specifics) to the scene in which Hannibal Chau in eaten in Pacific Rim, and although what we are given works, it reinforces the notion - after so many near-misses - that these characters are decidedly not in danger. Kitten's team is protected by seriously strong plot armour.

If I don't believe that characters will be killed off for shock value, the tension decreases dramatically. No character should be sacrosanct.

Crud's pin-up shows that a degree of thought went into its design, yet the overall impression is of a poor mans Tik-Tok. The clasps on its chest even match the positions of the bolts on Tik-Tok, though I do like the detailing on its waist.

Joe Alien manages to reach out to the trooper who has been knocked into the water, and drags him to safety - with a carnivorous plant attached to his leg. The former astronaut tells Joe that he has ordered that the group face the supreme court of the trees to determine if they are guilty of crimes against the plants. The vote is split, with the deciding vote coming from the Gardener, who spares them - but first inspects Joe's external brain pack. A trooper grabs Joe's brain back, in the process pushing the old man over and accidentally killing him.

I had hoped - somewhat optimistically - that there would be more to the Gardener's story, though such revelations are now moot. There's every indication that the strip is heading for a tedious reprise of Anabasis, with the characters battling their way through a hostile landscape back to safety, which is slightly depressing given how much there remains to uncover regarding the trees. We still haven't had a reasonable answer as to the plant life ability to control rocks, which is a massive tool in their arsenal.

Discovering the Beast spits acid, Loner quickly goes on the attack, driving it back until it falls over a cliff, impaling itself on stalagmites. Having accomplished his mission, Loner returns to the weapons room, guided by the Fuzzballs, where he learns that he must wear a bio-organic headband when facing the Bellari - a device which will prevent the lizard from attacking him telepathically. Freed from any influence, he is able to dispatch it with ease. Loner returns once more to the weapons room to place the firearms back in their rightful place, and learns from the Fuzzballs that the headband will prevent mind control hereafter.

Also, it will translate all alien tongues into his own language, but has also been embedded into his brain, and can never been removed. For every silver lining...

The art is still top notch, yet the story has a rushed feeling, concluding all matters beneath the surface in double-quick time so that Loner can return to the surface with his new abilities. The Bellari, so fascinating and formidable an opponent upon his introduction, is given the briefest of scenes in which to be destroyed. It is entirely too quick an installment, lacking proper gravitas required to sell Loner's journey as having been so difficult.

It also conforms entirely too closely with the Journey to the Underworld myth cycles, having descended into Hell to defeat a great enemy before returning, changed. Unlike the majority of those stories, Loner doesn't lose anything of significance in his passage through the depths - there isn't a sense that he is, in some ways, poorer for the experience.

A two-man pterodactyl is sent to plant a control box on Turbo's Terrosauron, in a last-ditch attempt to turn the war in the Arglon's favour. They succeed, and Turbo finds he no longer has control of his mount, as it begins attacking Burroid forces - considered a traitor, Burroids are ordered to bring turbo to the Supreme Monarch. The Terrosauron, meanwhile, transports Turbo to an Arglon outpost.

There isn't much in the way of subtlety on display, with one scene of destruction after another. Roland Emmerich and Michael Bay have so thoroughly covered every manner of explosive, earth-shattering scenario that this strip suffers in comparison to what is expected from this type of broad-strokes science fiction. Although I do wish the Arglons weren't using something so mundane as pterodactyls...

Before I hone in on A Perfect Crime, I have to make an admission:

I'm not a fan of Columbo. While its basic premise is sound, the main attractions of a murder mystery (for me, at any rate) isn't seeing how the pieces fall into place for the investigator. I don't want to be privy to the details of the murder until relatively late in the narrative, preferring the dual questions which drive the engine of the story - "How was the person murdered?" and "Why were they murdered?" If, during the story, the possibility is raised that the accused might be innocent, then all the better.

In the case of A Perfect Crime, we are treated to the murder, and the rationale behind it, straight from the beginning.

Fears regarding a strange mould growth being able to eat through the ship's metal sees two men sent out onto the hull to investigate, and finding nothing in the space fungi to be concerned about, the Captain decides it is in their best interest to merely scrape it off. Joe Stefano sees the opportunity to get rid of his superior officer, in order to obtain for himself a promotion, and sends the man drifting into space. As he floats off, the Captain tells Stefano that in the event of his death Roderick Serling will be promoted to the position.

When a derelict alien craft is piced up on the Wildcat scanners, Stefano and Serling are assigned to investigate to see if anything can be salvaged or learned from the vessel. Stefano seizes this as the perfect way to get rid of his competition - after shooting Serling, Stefano contacts Wildcat to inform them that the crew of the ship perished due to an alien disease, and Serling is seriously ill, though he remains unaffected. After waiting an appropriate length of time, he reports in that Serling is worsening, the medicines he has administered having had no effect. He then dispenses with Serling's body into space.

"Stefano calling Wildcat at 1900 hours! Serling has died of the alien disease. He made a last request before dyin'... His body became so grotesque he wanted it ejected into space after his death... Then none of his family would ever see him in that state! I carried out his wish...

Can't do anythin' else here, so I'll return to Wildcat..."

His request to return is denied, with Wildcat authorities concerned that he might be carrying the disease himself - however small the risk, he can't be allowed back on board if he poses any risk to the lives of those aboard the ship. Food and other provisions are arranged to be shipped over to Stefano, and he is informed that if he attempts to return he will be destroyed. Thus exiled, he will have to remain on the alien ship for the rest of his life.

Tales of the Unexpected this isn't. A twist that is obvious as soon as the words "alien disease" are uttered, this is a complete waste of what is actually a rather neat scene. By cutting the tether to allow the Captain to disappear off to his doom Stefano had committed the perfect murder, and if the story had followed the investigation, revealing what actually happened at its conclusion, the drama would be so much more fulfilling. As it is... the story is okay. It is a perfectly adequate strip, with little to draw it out from the morass of similar strips - hardly to the quality of even an average Future Shocks strip.

In structure, the strip resembles nothing less than the episode Final Escape, from The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, with every step Stefano takes bringing him closer and closer to his awful fate. It is a story type which is almost tailor-made for comics, though the handling of the twist is, unfortunately, so poorly handled that it fails to capture anything in the way of rising tension.

#06

Wildcat

#08

Wildcat #6

31 Dec 1988 - 13 Jan 1989; Cover price 40p.
32 pages. Colour & B&W.
Fleetway Publications.

Edited by Barrie Tomlinson.

Cover by Ian Kennedy (signed).

Contents:

 2 Turbo Jones UNTITLED [Arglons in the City] w: UNKNOWN (uncredited); a: UNKNOWN (uncredited).

 7 In Space, Some Things Are More Important Than Others... subscriptions coupon.

 8 Joe Alien UNTITLED [The Great Gardener] w: UNKNOWN (uncredited); a: Ron Smith (signed).

11 Kitten Magee UNTITLED [Torg-Lion Attack] w: UNKNOWN (uncredited); a: Jose Ortiz (uncredited).

16 Joe Alien UNTITLED (cont.)

18 Alien readers' art; Smiler by Lee Yeun, Vos by Chris Garside, The Blob by Tony Palmer, Octo Slug by Simon Wood. / Time-Warp Data Link feature page (uncredited). / Robojoke UNTITLED ["Take me to your leader"] (pocket cartoon) w:/a M. Herlihy

20 Loner UNTITLED [Minions of the Beast] w: UNKNOWN (uncredited); a: David Pugh (uncredited).

25 Moon of Terror w: UNKNOWN (uncredited); a: UNKNOWN (uncredited).

31 Goodbye, Turbo next issue information; illustrated by UNKNOWN (uncredited).

32 Turbo pin-up; illustrated by UNKNOWN (uncredited).

The Torg-Lion cover is dramatic - along with being superbly painted - but the design of the creature leaves a lot to be desired. It doesn't look like a creature that might live, and although Kennedy imbues the image with much energy and gusto, it fails to convince as a snapshot of Kitten's battle against the beast due to how cartoonish the Torg-Lion is.

Turbo Jones commands the Burroids dinosaur army after Burroidia is attacked by the Arglons. Turbo rides a deadly Terrosauron... Not knowing that the Arglons are about to bring two Terrosaurons of their own to Burroidia!

We get a name for the city. And it is awful. Honestly, anything would be better than Burroidia, which smacks of a lack of both imagination and credibility. I dread to imagine what their nation is called, or what their national anthem sounds like. Letting loose the Terrosaurons, the Arglons anticipate the speedy demise of Turbo, but before they can prepare their attack Robo manages to sever the Arglons signal. After defeating the Terrosaurons, Turbo orders the city defences stored underground to be activated.

Giving Robo a purpose other than to make a rather attractive action figure is appreciated, though a more proactive stance would have been better than merely requesting permission to act, or responding to orders. He is nothing more than Turbo's well-trained pet, or worse, as uncomfortable as the suggestion is, his slave. As for the grand city defences which are so important to put in place... Nothing more than a giant fence. Fences, no matter how impressive, are very backwards-thinking forms of protection. Did they run out of money for an accompanying moat?

What an utter waste of time. How is a fence supposed to protect against burrowing enemies?

Joe Alien sits down with the leader of the plants - a man who appears to be human - to learn more about the circumstance he and his men has found themselves in. An astronaut aboard the first manned rocked to Mars in the year 2079, everything went as planned until the vessel reached the Von Kaybane asteroid belt, where an asteroid swallowed the ship whole before moving off under its own power.

"We finally landed on this planet...

I was amazed to find that on this continent, vegetation ruled...

They had sent the craft out to discover another living species who could help them... For a great war was being fought between trees and other vegetation...

They wanted me to end the hostilities. They were sick of fighting... I negotiated with both sides...

Finally, an agreement was made. Peace returned to this continent!"

With both sides in the conflict trusting the man from Earth, they decreed he become a king. Assisting in the breeding of new species, he decided to give himself the title "The Great Gardener." With the planet having a strange slowing effect on human biology, he aged slowly, and with the trees and plants not having long lives he became more like a god than a traditional ruler, with even his watering can becoming a symbol of power.

He is, of course, as mad as a bag of ferrets.

This background creates several problems, none of which are immediately discussed. Firstly, why were the plans so hostile to those who are, fundamentally, similar to the most revered figure in their society? The aggression seen does not indicate that the group have entered a peaceful plant society, though that might be explained by the irrationality their leader displays.

The second problem is one which poses a great danger to plans for the long-term habitation on the planet. If people age so slowly, then overpopulation is a real problem which needs to be addressed. If this is merely limited to those living in the area which the plants have claimed as their own, then issues of longevity are mitigated, but if it is a general effect it will impact on every decision hereafter.

After seeing the explosion, Cassandra believes Kitten and Aurora dead, yet they have survived thanks to the holes dug by their robot foes. Hobos, angered at their survival, uses a destabilising beam, interrupting the signals between the brain and limbs, making them non-operative. Kitten almost falls back into the hole, though Hobos steps (or, rather, glides) into action to save Kitten - showing the meat-eating Skik scavengers, brought to the surface by the use of his beam, which now squirm in the hole. Leading them away from the area, while using a carnivore-attracting beam to bring fresh dangers. A Torg-Lion attacks, though Kitten is able to scratch it with her ring, which contains poison from the Kizajeree plant from the planet Maakan, the most deadly in the universe.

Kitten's attack is silent but deadly.

I'm not sure if any poison could make things explode, leastways if they aren't already made of explodium, but it is nice to see some mad, out-of-the-box thinking, no matter the logical leaps required. There is no sense of what Hobos' plan is, which is admirable for this kind of title, which so often signposts plot developments in flashing neon, preventing immersion in the immediacy of events. Not being able to discern the shape of the coming journey is a joy.

Loner uses the telepathic weapons to strike against the monstrous Beast, though it quickly flees to a lower network of tunnels. Following, with tentative steps, Loner discovers a cave full of skulls and skeletal remains stretching as far as the eye can see. Further down into the twisting network of tunnels, and he finally manages to corner it - but must first dispense with its minions.

Beautiful and disturbing in equal measures, the Hell-Beast is a superb creation, and its immensity is presented clearly - Loner is, in comparison, tiny. It sets up the big battle perfectly, with the almost-insurmountable odds clearly laid out.

There is always one story in an anthology which fails to deliver, and here we have Moon of Terror. With the previous three-man expedition crew having disappeared while surveying the planet's first moon, Kurby is tasked with investigating. He has trouble with thick cloud cover, and only barely manages a landing. He escapes the immediate area before his ship explodes, leaving him stranded. Happening upon mutant creatures, Kurby shoots first and asks questions later. Finding a forest, Kurby heads straight for the fruit he spies growing.

There were three men on the first survey, and three mutants attack him. You would think that Kurby had picked up basic mathematics, and put three and three together, but no. And honestly - what kind of brain-dead moron goes and eats alien fruit on a mysterious moon which has already seen the disappearance of three crew-members? With no reasonable sense of self-preservation, I'm willing to state that Kurby is the kind of person who most likely has "Potential Darwin Award Winner" in his personnel file.

#05

Wildcat

#07

Marvel Bumper Comic

1988 (1 issue)
Marvel Comics

Holiday Special (1988; cover price 75p)

01 Oct 1988 - 22 Jul 1989 (32 issues)
Marvel Comics

00 (1988) Preview issue.

01 (01 Oct 1988; cover price 35p) Free Panini sticker album and stickers.
02 (15 Oct 1988) Free Panini stickers.
03 (29 Oct 1988)
04 (12 Nov 1988)
05 (26 Nov 1989)
06 (10 Dec 1988)
07 (24 Dec 1988)
08 (07 Jan 1989)
09 (21 Jan 1989)
10 (04 Feb 1989)
11 (18 Feb 1989)
12 (04 Mar 1989; cover price becomes 40p)
13 (18 Mar 1989)
14 (25 Mar 1989) Free Ghostbusters Slimy Jelly.
15 (01 Apr 1989) Free cover-mounted stickers.
16 (08 Apr 1989) 7 free Snappy Badges.
17 (15 Apr 1989)
18 (22 Apr 1989) Defenders of the Earth poster.
19 (29 Apr 1989)
20 (06 May 1989)
21 (13 May 1989)
22 (20 May 1989)
23 (27 May 1989)
24 (03 Jun 1989)
25 (10 Jun 1989)
26 (17 Jun 1989)
27 (24 Jun 1989)
28 (01 Jul 1989) Title becomes Marvel Bumper Comic and ALF.
29 (08 Jul 1989)
30 (15 Jul 1989)
31 (22 Jul 1989)

Wildcat #4

03 Dec 1988 - 16 Dec 1988; Cover price 40p.
32 pages. Colour & B&W.
Fleetway Publications.

Edited by Barrie Tomlinson.

Cover by Ian Kennedy

Contents:

 2 Turbo Jones UNTITLED [Terrasauron-Tamer] w: UNKNOWN; a: Ian Kennedy.

 7 Loner pin-up; a: David Pugh.

 8 Joe Alien UNTITLED [Prisoner of the Tree] w: UNKNOWN; a: Massimo Belardinelli.

11 Kitten Magee UNTITLED [Robot Attack from Above] w: UNKNOWN; a: Jose Ortiz.

16 Joe Alien UNTITLED (cont.)

18 Time-Warp Data Link feature page (uncredited). / Alien readers' art; Martian Moonrider by Danny Bryant, Belugan Blob by Richard Dowling, the Slither-Sloth by Andrew Heath, Rola-Lung by Vincent Holland, Troilian Fiend by Wayne Smith, the Greater Guzzard by Barry Bottomley.

20 Loner UNTITLED [The Bellari's Hallucinations] w: UNKNOWN; a: David Pugh.

25 Death on Wildcat w: UNKNOWN; a: UNKNOWN.

31 Loner is Ready for Issue Five - Are You? in-house advertisement; a: David Pugh.

32 Free Circus Games advertisement for Weeto's cereal; a: UNKNOWN.

One of the most dramatic covers of the series thus far, with Kennedy channeling the spirit of seventies low-budget European SF films for a horror-tinged image.

Jones discovers the Terrasauron can fly when attempting to tame the beast to his will. Eventually subduing it with his laser goggles, Jones sets about teaching it act as he wishes, though expresses concern about his army being prepared within the six remaining days. One Arglon has managed to escape the battle, and approaches his forces on a wounded flying dinosaur. He successfully reaches the rest of his men, and demands to speak with the council of elders. Hearing the survivors tale, the council brings the date of attack forward, preparing tunnelling creatures to strike from below.

Cracks appear in the city's roads, although the army is far from prepared.

Events move far too rapidly to believe that the great forces of one civilisation is truly moving against another - it feels more like a localised squabble, supported by the lack of vistas squirming with alien bodies, hungry to attack. As small as the conflict is presented as, there are things to enjoy here regardless - beautiful artwork, laid out appealingly, compensates for some of the deficiencies in presentation. The large pages ought to be used to their full advantage, creating a real sense of scale, but this never quite gets there.

Joe's men use lasers to force the tree to release their leader, and when hit it collapses in a scream of agony. Reattaching Joe's brain pack, he informs the men that the location is far too dangerous to remain in, and that they should attempt to return to Wildcat - a voice calls out, though no other humans ought to be in the area.

The very premise of a removable brain has already grown tiresome, and I can't help but think that the problem should have been addressed in-universe - discussion about attaching the unit in a more substantial manner, to ensure accidental loss of faculties. Some form of side release buckle worked into the design of the apparatus, perhaps. If the team surrounding Joe can't figure out that this is a major obstacle which needs addressing, then they really are too dumb to live.

Overwhelmed by the sheer number of alien aggressors, Kitten's unit struggle to free themselves. Kitten, meanwhile, has Crud restore her youth and vitality in order to rescue her team. Using her wrist lasers she manages to even up the odds, allowing defensive measures to be taken. Hitting the alien leader with her lasers, Kitten learns that it is, in fact, a robot. Hobos is spotted, and Bonnie fires at the alien with a sniper rifle, almost killing him. As he fleees, the multi-eyed figures reveal that they, also, are robots - with lasers in their eyes...

As if the battle wasn't tough enough already, they are also able to fly.

Kitten's strip has a lot to draw readers in. A rather fantastic set-up, with the all-female unit (shades of Charlie's Angels notwithstanding), great designs for the surrounding alien life, and a mystery in Kitten's sudden ageing and rejuvenation - which is why this storyline is increasingly becoming rather annoying. With increasing hostility from Hobos, and the presence of robots on the planet, this doesn't feel connected to what is happening elsewhere, or even make a great deal of sense as presented.

So... There's dinosaurs, advanced robots, mobile and intelligent plants, and numerous sentient aliens all residing upon this one planet. And that's without mentioning the ghosts. How far, pray tell, can credibility be stretched before it snaps under the accumulated weight of the clichés piled atop the premise? It is almost as if each story exists in its own reality, ignoring the fact that being set on a single planet requires echoes of distant life to be present. Where are the living plants in the city Turbo Jones has seen, and where is the dinosaur life wandering the tropical jungle which Kitten is exploring?

Further to this, is Hobos some distant relative of Mojo?

It might all be a reality television series designed to annoy or entertain audiences.

Given a terrifying demonstration of the Bellari's power, Loner agrees to fight the beast. Assigned a number of Fuzzballs to accompany him into the depths, he begins a trek through a cavernous underground system, along a rather handy path, and when far enough away from Bellari the Fuzzballs are able to communicate with Loner telepathically. Explaining that they are a normally peaceful race, formerly the pets of an advanced race of telepaths. They inform Loner that they collected the ancient weapons of their former masters and deposited them in the deepest caverns so that no others could use them.

Led to the grotto of fantastic weaponry, Loner first uses a chair which will afford him the mental abilities required to operate the weapons - advancing him many thousands of years into his biological future.

And thus Loner becomes more advanced than his peers, and able to use advanced weapons. As the distinct story threads of the various teams advances, in this case dramatically, the sense that a long-term plan for the series is, in some way, sketched out. The bravery in changing up the status quo so early in the title's run is interesting and unexpected, though is likely a requirement to enable Loner's strip to compete with the adventures faced by teams of explorers elsewhere in the title.

The Fuzzballs' ability to communicate lucidly is a plot twist which makes a modicum of sense, and isn't a complete swerve from left-field.

The complete story, Death on Wildcat, establishes that the remnants of humanity aboard the ship are accompanied by a multitude of aliens in addition to the previously seen robots. John Anderson, the ship's deputy commander, reports that there has been no crime aboard the vessel for weeks, and that the threat of criminal behaviour can now be placed aside. To prove him wrong, an alarm rings out as a murder victim is discovered.

Seemingly sucked dry of all blood, the victim is identified by Dr. Timothy Lee, who discovered the body. Another body is found a day later, bearing the same distinctive lack of blood. Regarding Dr. Lee as his prime suspect, the Chief of security has nothing to base his suspicion on other than a gut feeling, which is confirmed when he witnesses the doctor transforming into a vampire...

Dinosaurs, robots, vampires... Oh, my.

It is impressive that no plot development, however far-fetched, is left untapped. What this means for credibility, alas, is that we are left with little foundation for the big reveals. This is a title desperately short of build-up, rushing headlong in to one adventure or another.

#03

Wildcat

#05