Thanks to Charlie Horse 47 and Killdumpster for their sponsorship of this post, via the magic of Patreon.
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Sadly, the need to cram in an extra post dedicated to Atlas Comics - plus the way the days have aligned themselves, relative to the month as a whole - means there's no space available for Speak Your Brain, this month. Instead, I'm having to squeeze in our look at what Marvel UK was up to, exactly 40 years ago.
But before that, the charts must be tackled.
In a world filled with super-powers, there was only one power that mattered in October 1985.
And that was the power of love, as the song of that title held the pinnacle of the UK singles chart for the entire month, thanks to the somewhat punishing voice of Jennifer Rush.
There was, however, far more churn occurring on the UK album chart, with Madonna's Like a Virgin, Kate Bush's Hounds of Love, George Benson's Love Songs and Simple Minds' Once Upon a Time all briefly seizing the summit, at some point.
And, within its hallowed pages, we encounter a look back at the Doctor Who Fanaid Convention, followed by an interview with Jacqueline Hill, best known as 1960s companion Barbara Wright.
Then, we discover the second instalment of the magazine's exploration of the history of comedy in the show, and an interview with Raymond Cusick, designer of the Daleks.
But we should never overlook the fact that we also encounter the comic strips Abel's Story and Enlightenment.
And we should definitely not overlook the fact that, if we buy this issue, we'll get a free Doctor Who bookmark! An event so momentous that it gets a major mention on the front cover!
What might not be so obvious is he's gone there in a bid to uncover the truth about his brother Jamie.
And that brings him into conflict with Dr Crocodile!
That's followed by Abslom Daak having encounters with things that are both Mercuriuser and Curiouser.
Next, Night-Raven finds himself at the End of the Line.
Then, he finds himself in Midsummer Madness, Episode 1.
And the Space Thieves are still mixed up in the oddly titled serial mankind can only know as PARTS vs. the Universe.
Everybody's favourite periodical devoted to the worlds of the larger-than-life is back and is taking a look at the upcoming resurrections of such old shows as The Twilight Zone, Amazing Stories and Alfred Hitchcock Presents, among many others.
After that, John Boorman tells us of his latest project The Emerald Forest.
Following that, Clint Eastwood tells us about his career as both an actor and director, seemingly in relation to his latest fillum Pale Rider.
And there are also interviews with Douglas Adams and Gary Busey. Not to mention the magazine's latest news, reviews and viewpoints on the genres of Fantasy, Sci-Fi and Horror.
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11 comments:
There’s a real hangover feel to this selection: the aftermath of a halcyon period.
Look at the contents of that Starburst: in previous years, from 1977-1983, they had more movies than they could cover. By 1985 that whole market had disappeared and they’re doing retrospectives and scraping around at vaguely fantasy-oriented movies like Insignificance and Emerald Forest and Pale Rider.
Captain Britain again highlights how the whole early 80s comics scene had already moved on, and you’re left with… this.
And Dr Who in the 80s. Hmm. Enough said.
That description of Jennifer Rush made me laugh out loud.
Matthew, I agree. The shame with Captain Britain was that Alan Davis was still producing great art and the Jamie Braddock/Jeffrey Epstein-esque sex trafficking story could have been pretty substantial, however the whole thing was wrapped up in a few pages. I wondered at the time if the editorial team lost their nerve. Coming soon after Megan transformed from a werewolf to hot babe, may have set off their spider-sense.
DW
Prowler can think of no greater example of 80s Hollywood excess than a 1985 pre-motorcycle accident Gary Busey interview. Much like Ol Prowler, Busey's 80s are a decade lost to the haze of history...
Now push PUBLISH
Fillum...? So you speak a bit of Irish, Steve? Maith thú.
Matthew, Starburst does seem to be a bit desperate for content at this point. Although presumably the mag was still selling ok, as another publisher bought it. I think the one here is the second to last Marvel issue.
Oh no, this feature will soon be down to two just two titles...
-sean
Speaking about John Boorman, I'm a little curious about how you guys from the U.K. think about Excalibur.
For me it's a timeless classic, but reasonable folk may differ.
On that magazine cover, that was Charley Boorman, right?
He played little Mordred, as I recall. And this was before we knew about the Trump kids!
I think there's a little Mordred in all of us.
M.P.
MP, I haven't seen Excalibur in decades and my recollection of it is fuzzy. I seem to remember finding it quite boring, overwrought and long-winded. Also, the voice of Arthur took me right out of the movie. He sounded like he'd been re--dubbed in every scene and seemed to deliver every line the same way, no matter what emotion he was trying to convey.
'Excalibur'...? Better than Boorman's 'Exorcist 2: The Heretic' I guess.
-sean
Excalibur? Top notch!
That issue of Starburst had a letter from a disgruntled Dublin resident, unimpressed by some of the material covered in recent issues. His name was Graham Linehan...wonder if he was ever heard from again?
In Excalibur's credits, I see adult Mordred is played by Robert Addie, an actor best known in the UK for playing Sir Guy of Gisburne, in 'Robin of Sherwood'.
My favourite Robert Addie bits were later in the series, when Gisburne started challenging the Sheriff's authority, and blatantly answering back. A good example is in the episode entitled, 'Rutterkin':
Gisburne: "It's always Robin Hood... Robin Hood. Anyone would think he was the only wolfshead in Sherwood!"
Sheriff "But he is, Gisburne. The only one that matters."
Gisburne: "You made him what he is. Robin Hood and the Sheriff of Nottingham. You're two sides of the same coin."
Sheriff: "What! You forget who you speak to!"
Gisburne: "But it's true, isn't it? It's an obsession - a disease. But you'll never get rid of him... because he's part of you."
Robert Addie played Gisburne perfectly - it's a shame he died young. Looks like Addie was in 2 other Arthurian films, besides 'Excalibur'. In the outstanding 'Merlin', with Sam Neill, both Addie (Gisburne) & Nickolas Grace (the Sheriff) have minor parts. In fact, almost everybody's in that film - incredibly, one of gardener Monty Don's side-kicks, from 'Gardener's World', (Rachel de Thame) plays Igraine!
Phillip
I honestly haven’t seen Excalibur since 1987. I remember it being visually quite good, in that British ‘lots of smoke and mist and chuck coloured filters on the lighting’ sort of way, but hugely uneven in tone. At times it’s stoney-faced and grim, at times almost farcical.
My wife likes it so there’s a copy in the house somewhere. I should revisit.
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