Thanks to Charlie Horse 47 and Killdumpster for their sponsorship of this post, via the magic of Patreon.
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Sometimes in life, you don't have to go looking for horror. The horror just leaps out at you.
And, even though I haven't seen it, I'm absolutely certain that's what happened in easily the most promising-sounding film unleashed in November 1983.
That film was Amityville 3-D.
Could that house cause any more trouble than it already had?
It seemed it could.
And add a whole new dimension to it!
Then again, according to Wikipedia, it starred Meg Ryan. In which case, I have seen it.
I just can't remember anything about it.
Nor did I see it in 3-D.
That was, of course, a classic in the making but that month also saw the first appearance of two more nightmarish movies.
The first was The Day After which premiered on ABC and dealt with the grim aftermath of a nuclear war.
The second was The Smurfs and the Magic Flute which aired in the cinema and featured the grim aftermath of the Smurfs.
Those little blue men famously had a UK Number Two hit, in June 1978, with the Smurf Song.
But there was no sign of them on the British singles chart in November 1983.
Instead, its top spot was hogged, all month, by Billy Joel's Four Seasons/Ravel mash-up known to the world as Uptown Girl.
Over on the equivalent album chart, November kicked off with Lionel Richie's Can't Slow Down on top, before that was replaced by Culture Club's Colour by Numbers. However, at the month's very death, that was supplanted by Duran Duran's Seven and The Ragged Tiger which smashed straight in at the pinnacle.
But what of the galaxy's greatest comic? How was it planning to combat such rivals for our pocket money?
So old-favouritey was it that it would appear no new strips appeared that month.
Meanwhile, Tharg's Future Shocks was nowhere to be found. Surely, the biggest shock of them all.
I do note that Sláine was still messing about with the Bride of Crom.
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27 comments:
Belardinelli is back on Slaine across these issues, and while its amongst his better work, he's unfortunately no McMahon or Fabry. Other than some reasonable Brother O'Neil Nemesis, these are mostly pedestrian, although Ian Gibson adds some frenetic energy to a couple of Dredd. Probably the most unusual feature being Nemesis getting the colour centre spread from Dredd. Nothing from the Mage.
The music was all a bit bleh, however Steve's forgot top mention the Smiths performed This Charming Man on Top of the Pops around this time, and so things were starting to look up.
DW
The Day After. America’s most watched TV movie. Watched it 3 years ago on YouTube again.
Scared the shit out of me in 1983 and 2018.
Watching the nukes launch out of their silos in Missouri while a wedding was in progress was a mind bender.
It was no 'Threads' though Charlie. Right, Steve?
Strange how we've kind of forgotten the threat of mutually assured destruction. With a more unstable international situation and nuclear proliferation it actually strikes me as more likely now than it was in the early 80s. But you don't really hear about it these days.
I never understood the appeal of the Smiths - the return of guitar rock after the varied music of the 'post-punk' years (see my last comment about 1981 from the previous post) was disappointing. And I found Morrisey annoying even before it became fashionable.
But each to their own of course.
Ok, onto the comics:
Kevin O'Neill did zarjaz work on Nemesis, and judging from the cover to prog 343 this was when Mek-Quake returned. The idea that some of the Ro-Busters were still around after thousands of years was a nice touch, but a bit of a double edged sword as almost inevitably it lead to endless Nemesis/ABC Warriors/Volgan War crossovers.
Slaine was pretty strong too, as we're now well into his first proper extended storyline and its becoming much clearer what the series is actually about. Belardinelli did a reasonable job - his version of Slaine wasn't quite right, but he did a great wicker man and Slough Feg imo - and McMahon is back next month anyway.
So applying the DW theorem - 2 good stories in a prog = a win - I think this was a pretty good month for Tharg's organ. Even the perennially dull Rogue Trooper was drawn by Cam Kennedy, so at least looked good.
-sean
Moore-watch update: Saga of the Swamp Thing #21 - the world beating classic 'Anatomy Lesson' - came out this month.
I recall being slightly disappointed by #20... but it became obvious with the next issue Moore was doing a Captain Brexit - wrap up previous storylines and kill off the main character in the first episode, then take it from there.
At that point, 'Anatomy Lesson' was the best written single issue of a regular US comic. Not bad for someone's second ever go at a full length script...
-sean
Having not read these for decades, my memory is that Brother Mills then story for Slaine was rally good, but slightly let down by the art, while Nemesis looked great but was a bit slow. But I'm probably genralising.
I didn't read Swamp Thing #21 at the time but, yeah, Anatomy Lesson was a game changer. I think I actually started with Halo of Flies (#30 - also a real eye opener!) and so had the pleasure of reading Moore's first nine issues straight (for some reason I didn't get #20 and can't actually recall reading it subsequently). The UK shops must have ordered big on those early Moore issues because I picked up the monthly issues quite easily (I suppose they were less than a year old at the time).
"There will be blood. Lots of blood. Blood in extraordinary quantities". Moore was always at his best when main lining us information. Whether it was Marvelman learning about the spook show or Every reading Valerie's letter or Swamp Thing realising he's been a vegetable all along...
DW
Moore Swamp Thing collections began with SotST #21 DW, which maybe explains why you don't recall reading #20? DC only started reprinting it relatively recently, in an effort to sell the early issues to us all over again.
Yeah, broadly I agree that Nemesis run seemed slow moving - presumably Pat was busy establishing Slaine, and left the heavy lifting to Brother Kevin's illuminations - although my recollection is that it got better once the story shifted from the warlock's homeworld to the seige of Ydrasil Castle.
Maybe thats the Mek-Quake effect...
-sean
Sean, we've forgotten the "threat" of mutually assured destruction because there never was a threat in the first place. Do you seriously believe the elite in either the West or the USSR would have destroyed themselves in a nuclear war? The stupid hard Left in Britain made Labour un-electable by imposing all that CND crap on the party's manifesto which was a gift to Thatcher.
Funny, it seems like MOST people didn’t read SAGA OF THE SWAMP THING #20. I know I sure didn’t — I’d picked up the first few issues of the re-booted series but soon lost interest. I liked Yeates’ art but couldn’t get into the stories. So I’d completely stopped even flipping through it when #20 came and went, and had no idea a new creative team was at the helm.
For whatever reason, I did pick up #21 and impulse-bought it. Wasn’t entirely sure I liked the art. At the time, I associated Bissette with some gnarly shorts that had appeared in BIZARRE ADVENTURES and that truly ugly ‘1941’ adaptation he did with Rick Veitch. . But upon reading ‘The Anatomy Lesson’ I became an instant fan of Moore, Bissette and Totleben and began searching for back issues of SOTST and especially WARRIOR, with the Marvelman and V For Vendetta strips.
No one who wasn’t there at the time can possibly understand what a seismic Paradigm Shift Moore’s writing represented. Grant Morrison says that there was already a progression happening in Mainstream comics, with guys like Don McGregor and then Chris Claremont adding sophistication and ‘adult’ dimension to four-color superheroics — but Moore’s stuff was light years ahead of them in terms of ambition and craft. Those three Moore series fundamentally changed the way people create Mainstream comics (for better or worse — but that’s a whole nother discussion).
b.t.
Of course there was a threat of nuclear war Colin, by accident if nothing else.
But I also think you're overestimating the rationality of the ruling class. I mean, the first world war was in no-one's interest (apart from the arms industry) but it still happened.
And if you think it was stupid for the UK to stop wasting billions on weapons of mass destruction and spend the money on health and education instead - especially during a period of recession - I don't know what to tell you.
But hey the clever Brits got Thatcher instead...
-sean
Matthew, thats how I found out about SotST #20 from the Warrior letters page too.
I agree, Moore on Swamp Thing does seem out of sync with the progs here.
As you say, 2000AD had been around long enough to be associated with a younger age; but also I reckon we've got so used to Tharg's better droids moving on to American comics once they've had some attention here that its surprising to be reminded Moore actually began working for DC well before starting on Halo Jones.
From the Comic Journal interview with Rick Veitch, about the 1941 adaptation:
"Do you know if Spielberg saw it?"
"Yeah, he saw it, and was completely pissed off"
-sean
Sean, the First World War was in no-one's interest? That's true in hindsight but in 1914 the aggressively militaristic Prussian elite were keen as mustard for a war precisely BECAUSE they thought it was in their interest. Every war in history has started because a rich and powerful elite saw a chance to grab more wealth and territory. But in a nuclear war the elite would be annihilated along with everybody else which is why there'll never be a nuclear war.
Obviously you are right that spending money on public services is better than spending it on nuclear weapons but Labour's unilateralist policy made them un-electable because it left us defenceless against the evil Russians, or that's how the Tories and their media lapdogs presented it. As it happens, I don't believe the Russians had any interest in invading Britain but elections are decided by marginal voters who are mostly thick as mince.
And I must point out (yet again) that only 43% voted for Thatcher. If you count the entire electorate, including those who didn't vote, only about 30% of British adults voted for Thatcher.
I totally doubt that Russia has any interest in the UK either Colin but I genuinely worry that they have serious eyes on Crimea and possibly Ukraine itself in order to claw back influence ,territory lost under the USSR banner and to halt NATO expansionism. Really worrying times and while hopefully no nuclear bombs will be activated an invasion of Ukraine can't be ignored , understand by and do nothing if that is the case - where's Superman when you need him!
Regarding the 1941 comic book adaption, didn't Spielberg write to Heavy Metal clearly noting his shock at what had been created, I seem to remember the letter was published somewhere.
Charlie, I remember watching The Day After when I was around 15 years old. It scared the bejeesus outta me too.
I literally had nightmares about mushroom clouds.
Then I saw The Road Warrior, and thought, maybe a post-apocalyptic world wouldn't be all that bad.
I could dress up like a rock star and drive as fast as I want. And no more high school!
I figured I could handle a little radiation sickness.
Years later, when I was older and slightly smarter, I was ecstatic when the Cold War ended. And we were there, weren't we, Charlie?
On another note, I'm a huge fan of Moore's run on Swamp Thing. I have no doubt that it changed everything about comics. I didn't read it or buy it till years after the fact, but I knew of it. I started to hunt down collections in graphic novel form or original back issues.
I still pull those out (well-worn, mow) from time to time and read 'em again.
Remember the Invunche? From Constantine's campaign against the Brujeria?
Good Lord. I couldn't believe what I was reading in a comic book.
And don't even get me started on "Halo of Flies"...
Incidentally, I read In Patagonia, the book that I assume inspired Moore the write the Brujeria arc. In fact he even quotes it at one point. It was written by an Englishman named Bruce Chatwin, and is his account of his experiences in that region.
Chatwin has been accused of being something of a fabulist, and maybe he was. Nevertheless, it is a HELL of an interesting book. If half of what's in it is true, it's pretty startling. Nuff said.
M.P.
Typo alert! I meant "well-worn now" not "well-worn mow".
I am not a cat.
M.P.
Such negative vibes about nukes! Let's take a breath and enjoy the season.
Let us remember that 50 years ago this month Yoko and John asked us to Imagine Peace and Give it a Chance!
And 50 years ago this month the newstands foretold the future with Marvel Team Up #1 hitting the spinner rack! It was set during Xmas and it's final panel is Spidey and Torch with Torch spelling out "Peace on Earth. Good will to Men."
Would anyone know if Keith Richards version of Run Run Rudolph is Charting in the UK? I called the Xmas dynamo 93.9 to play it but still haven't heard it!
Quite a bit of that 'American Gothic' run draws on James Frazer's 'Golden Bough' M.P. - a lot of it seems familiar if you've read Moore's Swamp Thing.
Which is a big part of why Moore's writing was a game changer - he's fairly well read, so his work drew from more than just the usual old comics, Star Trek episodes, and a few well known movies.
Colin, theres a large historical literature debating the origins of the first world war. I find the traditional British claims about "aggressively militaristic" Prussians/Germans kind of hilarious considering which country had the largest empire in history back in 1914.
But then, in the UK war mongers like Tony Blair are considered "moderates" so...
Actually, probably best if I stop there before boring everyone stupid. If its not already too late.
-sean
Run Run Rudolph!
Sean. I confess I haven't read The Golden Bough, but its reputation precedes it.
That was one of the books Kurtz was reading in Apocalypse Now!
...from the scene where Willard decides to kill him.
The concept of the "dying god", the "sacrificial king", and so on.
These pagan rituals (I assume) were done to commemorate (or even ensure) the changing of the seasons. Even as I type these words, the winter solstice is upon us.
And we all know why they say Christ was born at this time of the year, don't we? The cult of Sol Invictus was a big deal in the eastern Roman Empire when Constantine was in charge.
"On your knees! I will now bring back the sun."
I'm not sure I see a connection between Frazer and American Gothic, though, Sean.
Was it those vampires that lived in that lake?
M.P.
Charlie, Keith is not currently in the UK Top 100.
However, over 50% of this week's chart is made up of Christmas songs.
This is it:
https://www.officialcharts.com/charts/singles-chart/
M.P., 'The Golden Bough' discusses a number of pagan practices - like the native Americans women who were kept in a lodge once a month - that get mentioned in 'American Gothic', and theres quite a bit about plant elementals.
Also, its always seemed to me that Moore's take on 'Crisis of Infinite Earths' in the crossover issue had more than a passing resemblance to part of William Burroughs' 'Cities of the Red Night' (I'm not knocking Moore, just pointing out what a different of reference he had compared to other comic writers at the time).
-sean
*frame of reference
Oops, typo
-sean
As regards 'The Golden Bough', there's only a certain number of examples of 'sympathetic magic' you can read, before deciding Frazer is over-egging the pudding - or something.
As regards WW1, for Poland, neither Russia or Germany were on its Christmas card list. So, when war broke out, for Poland, it wasn't a case of one side being the "goodies" & the other side the "baddies".
To the media, one side is the cowboy with the white hat, whilst the other is the cowboy with the black hat. In reality, of course, it isn't as simple as this (except, maybe with Adolf & other nutty dictators!)
I don't know why I'm writing this, as we all know it already!
Phillip
neither...nor - damn typos!
Phillip
Notable exception: Chris, from 'The Magnificent Seven', had a black hat (concealing a bald head) - and he was the hardest man in the world! (Hee, hee!)
Phillip
Charlie, Steve is correct that 'Run Rudolph Run' by Keith Richards is not in the official UK Top 100 but that is a streaming chart nowadays and there is also a PHYSICAL singles chart Top 100 which DOES include the Keith Richards song.
Gents - WW 1 and the time before and after is riveting stuff. If you are deeply interested, I recommend following Adam Tooze's emails. I also recommend reading his books.
He sends out a free email every few days called "Chartbook." Deep, interesting stuff and fun stuff. He also is fluent in German so he can read source materials.
His work "The Deluge: The Great War, America and the Remaking of the Global Order, 1916–1931 by Tooze, Adam" blew my mind.
E.g. I never knew that the USA's JPM bank had loaned so much $ to the UK and France that had the UK not won, the USA financial system would have collapsed. This was well understood on all sides and hence Germany's attacks that "provoked" the USA into the war. It was the original "too big to fail" scenario so we (germany) better attack now.
Adam J. Tooze is a British historian who is a Professor at Columbia University and Director of the European Institute. Previously, he was Reader in Twentieth-Century History at the University of Cambridge and Gurnee Hart Fellow in History at Jesus College, Cambridge.
The Golden Bough is a very interesting read, although not one you can skim through in an afternoon! I have a very nice 1960s two-volume edition of it.
Incidentally, as someone who grew up watching sport on TV in early 80s Britain, my instinct is always to pronounce 'bough' as 'boff'.
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