Thanks to Charlie Horse 47 and Killdumpster for their sponsorship of this post, via the magic of Patreon.
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October 1984 was a good time to be alive if your name was Ringo Starr.
That's because it saw the broadcast of the very first episode of Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends, featuring that very same ex-Beatle on narration duties.
Outer space witnessed transport matters of much loftier ambition than even Thomas could have attempted, as Space Shuttle Challenger astronaut Kathryn D Sullivan became the first American woman to perform a space walk.
When it came to the UK singles chart, the month began with Stevie Wonder's I Just Called to Say I Love You triumphant but, after what seemed like a million weeks on top, it was finally pushed aside by the noticeably livelier offering that was Wham's Freedom.
It's a special treat as we're granted an interview with Ian Marter, otherwise known as Harry Sullivan and, "That bloke on the ship in Carnival of Monsters."
But it gets even more exciting than that. For, if that cover's to be believed, we're also given the chance to meet the Loch Ness Monster. Though I'm not sure how that works.
We also encounter Part 4 of the comic strip the world knows as The Voyager and there's a report from the set of Attack of the Cybermen.
Just to send us all off to bed happy, the issue supplies us with a full-colour poster of a grumpy-looking Zygon. And who wouldn't want a thing like that hanging on their bedroom wall, looking down at them at night when they're trying to get to sleep in the dark?
But it goes out in a strange way, with a reprint of Little Girl Lost, sourced from the pages of Magik #1.
And there is, of course, the latest episode of the Night-Raven tale Night & Day.
However, the rest of the issue just seems to be a hotch-potch of three and four-page bits and bobs, with the comic's usual strips being nowhere in sight.
It all seems rather half-hearted, almost as though everyone involved has given up by this point.
And that's Conan the Barbarian!
But what's he up to, this month?
As far as I can make out, this issue, a demon's playing two kings off against each other, in order that it can gain control of their kingdoms.
Can our trusty swordsman put a stop to their plans?
And will he pick up a new girlfriend while he's at it?
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16 comments:
I must have given up on MWOM at this point - as had everyone else.
That is quite a nice cover though - and it's not the one from the original miniseries [I only know this because it's included in the Omnibus that I bought with the Paul Smith run in it - as well as some other interesting odds and ends like a Sienkiewicz annual].
So someone made a bit of an effort here. Looks a bit like a John Higgins background...?
Wham were massive this year, weren't they? I'd sort of missed their first album, thankfully - it was stuff my kid sister and her mates listened to. But in 1984 they were inescapable.
For me, everything about them seemed [and still seems] completely vacuous and lightweight. I mean, I wasn't into particularly challenging stuff myself at the time, but at least Frankie Goes To Hollywood had some oomph. Wham! were just like candy floss music.
My sister had a George Michael calendar for 1985. I thought Everything She Wants by Wham! was quite good (heard it in Tesco a few months ago).
George Michael appeared on Desert Island Discs about 15 years ago and when presented with the obligatory Bible and Complete Works Of Shakespeare he replied "Well, I've no use for either of those". At last a castaway on DID had dared to say what most of the listeners have thought for years!
On the subject of pop records - the veteran DJ Johnny Walker retired from BBC radio yesterday afternoon. I used to listen to his Sounds Of The '70s show but I haven't heard it for a few years so I didn't hear yesterday's farewell either. In my opinion he played too many obscure album tracks and not enough famous '70s hits which is why I stopped listening to his show.
Meanwhile over on Radio 4 yesterday afternoon Open Book came to an end after 26 years which was a shock as I didn't even know it was due to finish! Does this mean Radio 4 will be without a weekly book review programme from now on??
It must have been a tough time for MWOM as those Marvel (X-men) mini series were increasingly, easily obtainable as many towns had a specialty shop by the mid 80s. Didn’t the X-men reprints in Rampage eventually refer readers to the original US issues? I didn’t bother with this issue as Captain Britain had departed for pastures new.
I was visiting Florida in Oct 84, and did come across a Geppi’s Comics World. Surprisingly, the manager was more interested in discussing Marvel Man and Warrior, than any inside gossip from Marvel or DC. I was a big fan of Unforgettable Fire, at the time.
DW
You know what's stranger than Magik #1 appearing in the final issue of MWOM, Steve? That the series was continued the following month in - spoiler alert! - Savage Sword of Conan (yeah, sorry, I cheated and took an online peek at whats coming next).
I guess it had to go somewhere. You'd think the upcoming new Captain Brexit monthly would have been a better place for it, but I think the idea was for that to feature UK originated material only (and iirc it had less pages, to make for a lower cover price).
Btw, while checking that I noticed this month's SSOC reprints the story from #90 of the US edition - 'Devourer of Souls!' - which I have read! So I can let you know that Conan does not pick up a new girlfriend.
He picks up two new girlfriends.
Basically, he saves the life of one of the kings, who gives him his two shield maidens - a pair of hot, amazonian bodyguards - as a reward. Its a basic male fantasy I suppose, having two nubile, scantily clad wenches who'll do what ever they're told, which seems - even from the few I've read - to be a regular thing in Michael Fleischer's Conan stories. But the women always get killed - in this one by the demon - before Conan can get his end away. Weird. Don't ask me what thats all about.
Oh, and the story's drawn by John Buscema and the great Nestor Redondo. Nice.
-sean
In your round up of the events in October '84, Steve, you forgot to mention that the Tory party conference in Brighton went off with a bang...
-sean
And it happened on my father's 57th birthday, Sean.
A Tory MP was killed in the blast and the by-election to replace him resulted in Michael Portillo getting elected.
Speaking of MAGICK, has anyone here seen the ill-fated NEW MUTANTS movie? I remember it got horrible reviews when it was finally released after various delays. According to the Wikipedia article , it was quite the fuster-cluck behind the scenes. I’ll have to see if it’s on Disney Plus. It has Anya TaylorJoy as Illyanna so I figure it might be worth checking out if it’s free.
b.t.
Bt, I didn't even know there was a New Mutants movie.
I gave a bit of a sigh of relief when the last issue of MWOM was published as I bought every issue from number 1 onwards , most I never read as this was a geeky habit ( borderline OCD). When Pannini relaunched the title I almost started again until I came to my senses and stopped at issue 7 of that particular version of the title .
So yeah, Matthew was right to mention Frankie Goes to Hollywood, as their 'Welcome to the Pleasure Dome' album finally came out this month. Hoo-ha! Hoo-ha! As I recall it's come up here before, and the general consensus that the singles were good, but there was too much filler...?
Also Robert Wyatt - who coincidentally enough also got a mention under one of the Marvel UK 50 year ago posts this month (admittedly that was me too) - had a new record out, the typically brilliant 'Work in Progress' 12", which included his cover of Peter Gabriel's song about Stephen Biko -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QSUKz5BjrE
And he sang on Working Week's 'Venceremos' single -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MHCSMT1Q1OY
There you go, Steve - you can double the number of songs you've heard by him now if you're so inclined.
Also, seeing as iirc there is at least one 4AD enthusiast around these parts, This Mortal Coil's 'It'll End In Tears' lp came out.
-sean
Oh dear, I got a couple of those Pannini MWOMs too, Paul, in the 90s. You know how it is, I'd been clean for a while - hadn't read a Marvel comic for ages! - then saw a copy in the newsagents and thought I'll just try one...
Then of course I got another the next month... even though it was reprints of #@&*ing Jim Lee's FF! Thats when you know you've got a problem.
-sean
Breaking news (i think)! Cochise from the movie The Warriors has passed. That was one fine film!
Still holds up!
Charlie Horse 47
Sean -
Yes. ‘Pleasuredome’ was one very disappointing album.
Partly, in my case, because I had to wait until Xmas 1984 to get my hands on it.
My pocket money didn’t stretch to a pricey vinyl double album in those days, what with comics to buy every month and a burgeoning social life. It was an agonising wait.
Sitting down to listen to it on Xmas day was a truly dispiriting experience: one great track upfront, a side of singles I was too familiar with, then an entire 2nd LP of duff tracks.
Luckily I got the Art Of Noise album and the original Close-Up 12” that year as well, which made up for it.
Apologies if I’ve posted all that before.
Ah yes, I always forget TMC being a 1984 thing. I only caught up with that LP at the end of 1986 after I’d first bought ‘Filigree & Shadow’, which was my 4AD entry point.
I still love those records. Despite having discovered the original and often more interesting versions of the songs covered.
That movie is several removes from being on my radar: like most non-Marvel movies based on Marvel comics (ongoing X-men, Venom, old FF etc - they just don’t seem worthwhile on any level).
I can sort of recommend the kind-of-New Mutants show Legion though. It’s by Noah Hawley who I’ll always give the time of day to on the strength of his remarkable TV version of Fargo.
Someone bought me Season 1 of Legion on disc for Xmas a couple of years ago. I stalled after a couple of episodes but it was imaginative to say the least.
Matthew, I didn't really hear the first This Mortal Coil album - apart from 'Song to the Siren' - for a while. I'd got it into my head that they were the Cocteau Twins under a different name, making them a bit too Gothy for me (just a - probably unfair - opinion, I'm not knocking anyone else's taste).
Funnily enough, I read in a review of the TMC box that came out a few years ago that the Cocteaus themselves disliked the record, and - at least back in the 80s - resented the association with it, and people assuming they were Tim Buckley fans.
I would say now it's a bit of its time, and patchy. Some of it I don't much care for at all - the pair of Alex Chilton covers for example (although in fairness I'd actually heard the third Big Star album first, so...).The ones with Lisa Gerrard are quite good though iirc...?
-sean
Charlie - I'm only remembering Michael Beck's character, 'The Warriors' not having been broadcast for a while. Next time, I'll watch Cochise's performance more carefully.
Phillip
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