The Crunch #1

20 Jan 1979. Cover price 10p.
32 pages. B&W and red.
D.C. Thomson & Co., Ltd.

Cover by UNKNOWN.

Free "The Black Band".

Contents:

 2 The Crunch is Now... Introduction (uncredited). / Free gift preview for forthcoming issues. / Contents (unordered).

 3 Arena UNTITLED [No Mercy! Kill! Kill!] w: Dave H. Taylor (uncredited); a: Enrique Alcatena (uncredited).

 7 Mantracker UNTITLED [Yellow Pine Bank Robbery] w: UNKNOWN (uncredited); a: Alberto Salinas (uncredited).

12 The Kyser Experiment UNTITLED [Introducing Dr. Kyser] w: UNKNOWN (uncredited); a: UNKNOWN (uncredited).

16 The Walking Bombs UNTITLED [U.S. Rocket Research Complex] w: UNKNOWN (uncredited); a: Denis McLoughlin (uncredited).

20 In the Skies Over Britain, the Crunch Question is... Friend or Foe? illustrated feature (uncredited).

21 Hitler Lives UNTITLED [Germany is in ruins] w: UNKNOWN (uncredited); a: Patrick Wright (uncredited).

25 The Crunch Black Band (quarter page) free gift information. / Another Great Story Starts Next Week (quarter page) in-house advertisement.

26 The Crunch Death Leap photo feature on Eddie Kidd (uncredited).

27 Who Killed Cassidy? UNTITLED [] w: UNKNOWN (uncredited); a: UNKNOWN (uncredited).

31 The Crunch Question (half page) in-house advertisement.

32 Another Free Gift in The Crunch Next Week in-house advertisement for Barry Sheene poster.

I would love to know which wag scribbled a middle finger on the fist depicted on the cover. The desecration does mean that the issue cost a mere 20p, thirty-five years after publication. Regardless, a brilliant cover layout - proudly promoting the newness - isn't aided by a rather unremarkable illustration, but the excitement which it conveys is palpable. The Black Band, this issue's free gift, doesn't seem to serve any purpose other than to advertise the fact that the wearer has purchased The Crunch, which is fine in and of itself, but seems rather poor in comparison to other giveaways of the seventies.

THE CRUNCH IS NOW!

THE CRUNCH is a whole new experience in boys' papers! It's for the boy of TODAY - packed with never-before-told stories with true-life features on the men who have faced the crunch in their lives.

Whatever else this issue has going for it, there's a giant stumbling block of the name to get over. It speaks of rush hour on the Tube, or being grabbed someplace sensitive, not of excitement and adventure. While it is explained within this issue as a life-defining moment, that isn't necessarily what is going to be taken from the title by readers. A remarkably good logo, despite questionable appropriateness of the name, boldly coloured red to maximise its attention-grabbing properties.

Welcome to the greatest, most exciting sport ever! The ultimate conflict - and to the death! Locked in mortal combat employing strength and cunning and the most ingenious weapons the 21st century can devise. This is the story of one man's struggle against the system, and his desperate battles for survival in the Arena

Mark Sabor, a journalist who criticized his corrupt and oppressive government, is found guilty of Article 29 of the Public Order Code and his citizenship is revoked. Plans to appeal are shattered when told that he is a non-citizen, and will be taken to fight in the Arena, where death is almost guaranteed. Sabor is shown around by Deker, chief guard, and sees where he will be allowed to design and construct weapons. Almost immediately Sabor is placed in a simulator where rubber bullets are fired at him, and learns rudimentary defense techniques from Alexis Powers.

His stay seems destined to be a short one, as Sabor learns he will face the Savage, the most vicious fighter the Arena has ever seen, in seven short days.

An innocent man falsely tried and convicted by a future government is possibly inspired by the previous year's Blake's 7, though there's less stigma attached to Sabor's crime. Gladiatorial combat is an odd way to deal with criminals, and Alcatena's art brings to mind both Death Game 1999 and Harlem Heroes (and feels prescient of The Running Man's film adaptation), without being derivative.

Despite everything seeming being in place from this installment for dramatic purposes, somehow the strip doesn't gel quite as it should. Perfectly serviceable, though lacking an instant appeal, it would improve greatly over subsequent weeks, yet here there is no sense of how pervasive the Arena truly is. Our exposure, through Sabor's plight, doesn't show how the regular citizens react to this occurring as part of the media landscape - Sabor, therefore, comes across as woefully out of touch with what is happening in the legal system of his own nation.

In our age of multimedia bombardment on the launch of a new series of reality television shows, round-the-clock news, and endless sporting boroadcasts, surely the Arena would receive all the promotion available - and, as a reporter, Sabor ought to be at least familiar in passing with the circumstances surrounding the participants. It is a storytelling oversight which impinges on immersion in the world of the story to an uncomfortable degree.

Much better, and with all the flair and drama of an hour-long US adventure series, is The Mantracker.

Bounty hunter! Hated by lawbreakers and despised by society! A man who tracks down other men for the price on their heads! This is the story of Bearpaw Jay, the Indian warrior who became a bounty hunter!

Jay, a highly-decorated ex-Green Beret, returns to his home town, Yellow Pine, and is met by his grandfather. Before heading home, he goes to deposit his savings in the bank, but is taken hostage during a bank robbery. Jay's grandfather is killed when he intervenes, and Jay sets off on his own to take down the robbers. With a five thousand dollar reward for their capture, Jay looks to purchase a car and fancy weapons for his new life as a bounty hunter.

The best strip in this issue, Mantracker is perfectly paced, beautifully illustrated, and eminently entertaining - Jay Bearclaw isn't given much in the way of characterisation in the strip's handful of pages, but there's an energy which carries his narrative along as he sets out on a career as a bounty hunter. This feels, more than any other strip in the title, as if it was destined for television. Which is a shame, as no attempt at exploiting the property has been made. Better than The A-Team premise, and with the added scope of his Native American heritage, this is a gem of a story.

How The Mantracker escaped the attention of television producers is a mystery.

The Kyser Experiment is a football story with SF elements, sure to appeal to... Someone. I'm not sure why, of all subjects, the artificial amplification of athletic ability has been so tied to football in comics, with this being a perfect example of a strip splitting its potential audience with conflicting elements. Sports fans aren't a major target audience for SF, nor are SF fans likely to embrace the sports aspect wholeheartedly, leaving a narrow overlap where strips often struggle to survive alongside more traditional material.

Camford City have concluded their previous season with an empty trophy cabinet, despite reaching the FA Cup Final and being runners-up in the First Division (surely there are runners-up trophies), and three weeks before the start of the new season, Len Bradley, City Manager, introduces Doctor Kyser to his squad - taking charge of the health and fitness of the players. Placing each of the players, in turn, in an ominously-shaped "treatment" mechanism, each is subjected to the treatment, save for Jeff Lawson, whose physiology is incompatible with Kyser's ministrations.

Alan Green is taken to the treatment room after he twists his knee during practise, and returns to the pitch a few minutes later - to Lawson's astonishment. After the game is over, Green's knee appears to be injured again, though he can't explain how that is so. Jeff is determined to discover the secret of the doctor's strange therapy.

Engaging, though with many inconsistencies in telling the story - we aren't given an explanation as to how a failing club can afford a doctor with astonishing results, nor how they manage to afford such a grandiose stadium in which to play. Accepting the limitations, it does what it sets out to do with a certain flair, and the art is solid enough to overcome many of the niggling doubts raised by the plot.

The Walking Bombs begins at the U.S. Rocket Research Complex in Nevada, where General Bannerman is announcing Project Apocalypse funding being approved, when he explodes - the blast from which appears to be a nuclear explosion. Secret Agents Mike Preston and Andrei Chakov are summoned to a meeting with their chief, Sir John Hart, preparing for an attack on British soil. They watch a life feed which shows the U.S. Secretary for Security briefing the Prime Minister, when he, too, explodes in a flash of light.

Preston and Chakov race to the scene, and are met by armed forces personnel in protective clothing. A call is received from Professor Hagan, an expert in microelectronics, who wishes to be picked up from his house in Sussex. Others, however, are also interested in the scientist...

While the notion of people acting as walking bombs is patently ridiculous - somewhere between spontaneous human combustion and a superhero story - this largely focuses on the ramifications of such individuals being granted access to highly sensitive locations and people. There is a refreshing lack of sensationalist elements within this installment, and McLoughlin's art is, if not as elaborate as some of his western material, beautifully balanced. Some panels, especially explosions, are depicted wonderfully.

My name is Jacob Lindt and I am dying... but first I must tell you my story... many will find it incredible... but you must believe me, or the World will plunge into chaos and misery again... for Hitler the Nazi Dictator did NOT die in the ruins of his Third Reich...

Firmly in exploitation territory, Hitler Lives plays on long-held suspicions that Hitler somehow managed to escape his fate. Despite Berlin being in ruins, Lindt, a young German officer, is ordered to keep fighting to the end, but resists. In desperation he shoots his commanding officer, then concludes that the only thing which will end the needless slaughter is the death of Hitler. At the bunker he is stopped by an SS patrol and sees the funeral pyre for the Chancellor. Lindt is then shown that the real Hitler is alive, with an impersonator taking his place in death.

In a state of suspended animation, Hitler's body is taken to the banks of the River Spree, where it is transferred to a boat. Lindt accompanies the fanatical Nazis, who hope to resurrect their leader when the need is greatest, in order to scupper their plans and kill Hitler once and for all.

Hitler Lives wouldn't have been out of place in Warlord, and - in a title which is "for the boy of TODAY" - seems to sit awkwardly alongside contemporary, near-future, and outright SF stories. The premise, however, holds interest, though Lindt's personality is only barely sketched-in throughout this installment.

Which is a problem.

By having his primary motivation merely be "this war is going badly, so I'm going to kill Hitler" makes Lindt's understanding of political and military hierarchy seem woefully inadequate - does he really believe that nobody else (especially from the upper echelons of the Nazi party) will step in to take over, in, possibly, a more effective manner? Without a strong motivation, clearly stated, there's a gaping hole left for readers to fill in. Are we to superimpose historical accounts of von Tresckow, von Gersdorff, von dem Bussche, and others disenchanted by changes in Germany?

That Lindt isn't an important officer makes his progression from the streets of Berlin to an eventual escape, accompanied by SS officers, all the more unbelievable. If he was of significant rank, and in possession of information or equipment essential to the success of the mission, he would have a purpose beyond being another warm body to throw in from of advancing Allied forces, yet he seems to be (at best) a minor cog in the military machine.

Frustrating full of unanswered questions, and using coincidence to propel the plot, Hitler Lives feels like a holdover from an earlier time. Patrick Wright provides the strip with some remarkably good artwork, with an eye for detail, which is more interesting than the plot.

Ross Harper, a traffic officer, attends a meeting at Dulsa City Police Department H.Q. during which it is announced that President Jack Cassidy is visiting the city that day, news of his visit having been restricted due to security concerns. Harper is assigned a position opposite the library, and after spotting a car, in what is meant to be a closed-off area, encounters a White House security agent. As the presidential limo passes, a shot rings out. Harper is also injured in the assassination, but recovers enough to tackle a man attempting to flee the scene.

Thomas Orkin is identified as their shooter, though no firearm is located. Before a search can begin, the FBI assume command of the investigation, and Harper takes the opportunity to pass on the names of eyewitnesses and his helmet - proof that a second shooter was involved. All press and newsreel film of the shooting is confiscated, and Ross Harper (much to his surprise) is asked by the FBI to interrogate Orkin.

While at the holding facility, Harper is drugged, and on resuming consciousness discovers Orkin has committed suicide. The FBI refuse to acknowledge the names of eyewitnesses, or his helmet, and set on Harper for falling asleep on the job.

I have reservations about the logic behind White House security withholding details of a presidential visit from police officers. It is the greatest misstep in an otherwise tense conspiracy tale, which predates XIII, as well as other ruminations on the Kennedy assassination through fiction. There's something about the actual assassination which feels as if the page is rushed - we don't get a wide shot, in order to establish geography, so when a character says that shots came from some bushes we must accept the statement at face value.

Another quibble lies with the manner in which evidence, in the form of Harper's helmet, is casually handed over without indicating that the chain of custody is being observed. There's a great story here, but I fear it is one which is going to accrue more of these logical difficulties. Being published so soon after the assassination of Harvey Milk answers why this was included, though it would have been better if more time had been spent setting up the strip's location and major players.

So close to being a great first issue, the scripting difficulties in The Crunch's strips knock this down to merely an adequate issue. Fascinating ideas, some impressive artistic talent, a few engaging characters, though wrapped up in inconsistent scripting.