Future Tense #3

Britain's Newest Science Fiction Weekly!

19 Nov 1980; Cover price 14p.
32 pages. B&W contents.
Marvel Comics Ltd.

Edited by Paul Neary.

Free 'Build Your Own Spaceship' piece, part three, designed by Rahid Khan.

Cover p: UNKNOWN.
r: UNKNOWN.

Contents:

 2 Welcome to Issue Three (half page) text introduction by Paul Neary. / The Concise History of the Galaxy (half page) UNTITLED [Uncle Frank] w: Tim Quinn; a: Dicky Howett. / Indicia

 3 The Micronauts Divided They Fall w: Bill Mantlo; p: Pat Broderick, i: Armando Gil, lettering by John Costanza.

r: Micronauts (Marvel Comics) #19 (Jul 1980).

11 Meet the Micronauts, part two, Princess Mari... Marionette w: UNKNOWN (uncredited); a: UNKNOWN (uncredited).

12 Seeker 3000! The Dying Sun!, part three, w: Doug Moench; a: Tom Sutton, lettering by Denise Wohl.

r: Marvel Premiere (Marvel Comics) #41 (Apr 1978).

16 Marvel Back-Issue Bonanza! in-house advertisement.

18 Star-Lord Windhölme, part three, w: Chris Claremont; p: John Byrne, i: Terry Austin, lettering by Tom Orzechowski.

r: Marvel Preview (Marvel Comics) #11 (Summer 1977).

22 Paladin In Manhattan, They Play for Keeps, part thee, w: Don McGregor; a: Tom Sutton, lettering by Gaspar Saladino & Bruce Patterson.

r: Marvel Premiere (Marvel Comics) #43 (Aug 1978).

25 Contact! w:/a: Tom Sutton; lettering by Tom Sutton.

r: Son of Satan (Marvel Comics) #08 (Feb 1977).

27 Warlock And Men Shall Call Him... Warlock!, part three, w: Roy Thomas; p: Gil Kane, i: Dan Adkins, lettering by Sam Rosen.

r: Marvel Premiere (Marvel Comics) #01 (Apr 1972).

32 Science Fantasy in Television, Cinema and Graphics in-house advertisement for Starburst.

Before you think that the quality has dipped so low as to negate any possibility of salvation, The Concise History of the Galaxy contains a classic moment of comedy, with more than a hint of 2001: A Space Odyssey being lampooned. While I may be alone in seeing a slight resemblance, the Captain Caveman styling present is greatly appreciated.

With the immensely original title of Divided They Fall, this issue's Micronauts tale strikes out in a bold new direction, with Bug being spooked by a dog's appearance, then engaging in dramatic battle with a chicken, before being capture by a bespectacled amateur scientist who refers to himself as "Odd John." Would anyone actually call themselves such a name? Strips this bad are rarely seen, so to see this in a Marvel title is plain embarrassing.

Star-Lord gets a sentient ship, called (in another startling leap of originality) "Ship". Honestly, why do I bother tormenting myself with possibilities that the quality of this title might rise to the level of... mediocre, perhaps. A lot of the strip's charm has evaporated as the story has progressed, though the appearance of reptilian aliens provide a brief jolt of excitement.

A highlight of the issue is Contact!, which - although the punch-line has been used time and time again - manages to raise a smile thanks to clever writing, some lively art, and a sense of the ridiculous which is entirely appropriate. Unfortunately, yet predictably, things return to normal with Warlock's mangling of science, in a speech so idiotic that even readers possessing no scientific knowledge whatsoever are likely to utter a sigh of despair at how moronic the notion is.

There is word of Star Trek strips forthcoming in the editorial, though I doubt even as tasty a promise as this is likely to have ensured readers' attention through so much of the poor material slapped together for this title. Had the Star Trek material been present since the start it might have held more immediate appeal, though I can't help thinking that the only way for the title to distinguish itself was to opt for original strips.

#02

Future Tense

#04

Future Tense #2

SF from Here to Eternity!

12 Nov 1980; Cover price 14p.
32 pages. B&W contents.
Marvel Comics Ltd.

Edited by Paul Neary.

Free 'Build Your Own Spaceship'.

Cover p: Dave Cockrum, i: Joe Sinnott.
r: recoloured cover from Marvel Premiere (Marvel) #41 (Apr 1978).

Contents:

 2 Future Tense ...Second Great Issue! (half page) text introduction by Paul Neary. / The Concise History of the Galaxy (half page) UNTITLED [Heavy Sunspots] w: Tim Quinn; a: Dicky Howett. / Indicia

 3 The Micronauts Child Eyes!, part two, w: Bill Mantlo; p: Howard Chaykin, i: Al Milgrom, lettering by Irving Watanabe.

r: Micronauts (Marvel Comics) #18 (Jun 1980).

12 Meet the Micronauts UNTITLED, part one, w: UNKNOWN (uncredited); a: UNKNOWN (uncredited).

13 Warlock And Men Shall Call Him... Warlock!, part two, w: Roy Thomas; p: Gil Kane, i: Dan Adkins, lettering by Sam Rosen.

r: Marvel Premiere (Marvel Comics) #01 (Apr 1972).

17 Seeker 3000! The Dying Sun!, part two, w: Doug Moench; a: Tom Sutton, lettering by Denise Wohl.

r: Marvel Premiere (Marvel Comics) #41 (Apr 1978).

21 Paladin In Manhattan, They Play for Keeps, part two, w: Don McGregor; a: Tom Sutton, lettering by Gaspar Saladino & Bruce Patterson.

r: Marvel Premiere (Marvel Comics) #43 (Aug 1978).

26 Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back in-house advertisement for Star Wars Weekly.

27 Star-Lord Windhölme, part two, w: Chris Claremont; p: John Byrne, i: Terry Austin, lettering by Tom Orzechowski.

r: Marvel Preview (Marvel Comics) #11 (Summer 1977).

32 Science Fantasy in Television, Cinema and Graphics in-house advertisement for Starburst.

This may be one of the most unappealing covers to appear on a Marvel title, with the crew of Seeker 3000 rendered as plant people, or really bad Green Lantern cosplayers. The interior is, mercifully, black and white, so further artistic desecration is limited to the truncation of the strips rather than rendering them entirely unappealing through ham-fisted colouring.

The Concise History of the Galaxy isn't quite as funny (yet) as other Quinn and Howett strips, though I'm holding out hope that it improves. As it is the sole beacon of originality within the pages of Future Tense, and with the remainder of the contents struggling for definition and differentiation in the issue, it is a strip which really should be more energetic.

The Microship Endeavour has escaped from the Microverse and has landed on an unknown planet! They see amongst the giant vegetation, a house which they recognise to be in the style of a dwelling from planet Earth... But it is much too small! Two of the Micronauts - Space Glider and Marionette - approach the curious structure from the air...

If, like most intelligent readers, you will have guessed that Marionette and Arcturus are looking at a doll's house, then you are smarter than any of the characters in this story. The sole concession to some semblance of originality are models capable of movement, though as the notion of living toys dates back to the myth and legend we shouldn't rush to congratulate the script - the creepy girl, whose powers animated the toys, is not necessarily a villain in events, but merely a child wishing to play.

To have such an unusual cast of characters, with the unique selling point of being the same size as their action figures (on sale in all good toy shops, circa 1980), but delivering such a predictable tale with them, makes this is massive disappointment. The wasteful tale is mercifully wrapped up quickly, and followed by a single-page introduction to the characters. It is a feature which really ought to have appeared before the strip in the first issue, and is utterly useless here.

Warlock really is an abysmal story with which to tease in an SF audience, with its recap highlighting everything which is wrong with the strip:

The High Evolutionary has in the past created a race of animal-men who revolted, and nearly destroyed him! He now lives in a hollow asteroid spaceship with his companion animal-man Sir Raam! Raam has summoned his master to examine a strange cocoon found floating in space...

Why is the High Evolutionary in space? More pertinently, how did he get there?

Actually, I don't care. The awful writing and mediocre art can hardly encourage empathy with any of the characters.

Seeker 3000 continues to plunder Star Trek for everything not nailed down, is one of the most shameless comic strips in Marvel's retinue. The idea of telepaths being marked so that they are easily identified is a brief moment of sense in what is largely a forgettable story.

Paladin boasts some impressive cityscapes, though is mostly a rehash of better material, while Star-Lord stands as the sole strip which does something interesting with its main character - until, that is, it turns into a superhero strip more suited to The Mighty World of Marvel than an SF title. The plot nudges the story into becomming one of the most disappointing strips of the issue, and, given the undistinguished strips which it shares space with, must be seen as quite the accomplishment.

#01

Future Tense

#03

Future Tense #1

Future Tense #1

05 Nov 1980; Cover price 14p.
32 pages. B&W.
Marvel Comics Ltd.

Edited by Paul Neary.

Cover by Jim Steranko. r: Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. (Marvel Comics) #06 (Nov 1968).

Contents:

.2 Future Tense Welcome You to its 1st Issue text introduction by Paul Neary.

.3 The Micronauts Child Eyes! w: Bill Mantlo; p: Howard Chaykin, i: Al Milgrom, lettering by Irving Watanabe.

r: Micronauts (Marvel Comics) #18 (Jun 1980).

11 Seeker 3000! The Dying Sun! w: Doug Moench; a: Tom Sutton, lettering by Denise Wohl.

r: Marvel Premiere (Marvel Comics) #41 (Apr 1978).

16 The Concise History of the Galaxy In the Beginning Was... w: Tim Quinn; a: Dicky Howett.

17 Paladin In Manhattan, They Play for Keeps w: Don McGregor; a: Tom Sutton, lettering by Gaspar Saladino & Bruce Patterson.

r: Marvel Premiere (Marvel Comics) #43 (Aug 1978).

23 Warlock And Men Shall Call Him... Warlock! w: Roy Thomas; p: Gil Kane, i: Dan Adkins, lettering by Sam Rosen.

r: Marvel Premiere (Marvel Comics) #01 (Apr 1972).

27 Star-Lord Windhölme w: Chris Claremont; p: John Byrne, i: Terry Austin, lettering by Tom Orzechowski.

r: Marvel Preview (Marvel Comics) #11 (Summer 1977).

32 Savage Action in-house advertisement.

Nick Fury's cover cameo promised so much. Unfortunately, and annoyingly, he doesn't reappear by way of an explanation for the image. Was it picked because the covers of the comics reprinted were so awful? That is a strong possibility.

It is nice to see Marvel giving a shout-out to John Brosnan's book, which shared a title with Future Tense, in Paul Neary's introduction. It is a shame they didn't manage to snag the rights to reprint small portions of the book in each issue, as attempting to compete with 2000 A.D. with a bunch of reprints was never going to work in the long term. Familiar strips are duly dusted off, checked for suitability, and presented as if nobody had seen them in years.

The presence of Micronauts as the lead strip really doesn't do the issue any favours, and although the printing is better than in the Pocket Books, the strip doesn't have an immediate appeal. It was never clear why people seemed to be of the impression that the characters were popular, but from the various reprints they aren't immediately appealing or interesting enough to sustain interest. Maybe it is a cultural gap which no amount of explaining is ever going to bridge.

It is odd that Paladin receive a place among the more obvious reprints when there was more appropriate material available (Machine Man, Deathlok, or even Iron Man would have been more palatable), and once more it is Tim Quinn and Dicky Howett who come to the rescue of the comic with a full-page strip which raises the issue's interest, and provides real value for money.