Thanks to Charlie Horse 47 and Killdumpster for their sponsorship of this post, via the magic of Patreon.
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Cinemas!
What films were making their debuts within them, during this month in 1986?
These films were: Critters, A Room With a View, Absolute Beginners, Wise Guys and 8 Million Ways to Die.
Of those, I've seen the whole of Critters and some of Absolute Beginners and, Reader, I can declare Critters to be the better of those two features.
I pass no judgement upon the other films.
The Eternals revival is still going and I've no idea what happens in this issue.
However, I do know the Arctic may be a location.
My razor-sharp senses tells me it's some sort of spin-off from Star Wars and that, this issue, on the planet Dodz, our beloved robots help unseat a greedy governor.
Despite the popularity of Star Wars, I do believe this mag will last for just eight issues.
Having already lasted three times that long, Dreadstar hits its 24th edition - and does so with someone called Monalo defeating someone called Willow and taking her prisoner.
However, this series only has two more issues left in it.
Assuming, of course, that that's her and not someone else entirely.
But it would appear this mag has just five more issues left in it.
I know little of this adventure but I do know Evil Hyperion is killed by Good Hyperion!
I anticipate plenty of action, as the Punisher tries to put a stop to the Trust and their army of Punisher clones!
Holy Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer, Batman! Shades of DC's early 1970s Manhunter revival!
I couldn't claim it's a sight we've never seen before when an article in the Daily Bugle sends Spider-Man over the edge and he sets off on a revenge mission against its publisher.
That Squadron Supreme isn't bad. Going berserk, Hyperion slays the fake Hyperion, because he's "making time" (is that what you kids call it, these days?) with Wonder Woman ( I mean Zarda! ) The ending's a bit vicious for little kids. The heat-vision showdown, leaving the fake Hyperion a damaged husk, still mooning over Zarda, with his last breaths (if memory serves.) Mount Rushmore is "Presidents' Mountain", of course, as it's an alternate Earth. Like I said, not bad at all! Often, with Marvel's male characters ( DD, the Guardsman - he got a green costume, too! - etc) red hair's code for Irish ancestry. Or was Hyperion just given red hair to match his costume?
ReplyDeletePhillip
Never saw not one of those comics. I often wonder how many of these I flicked past searching for my favourites.
ReplyDeleteI did read the trade paperback of Moonshadow, though, so I can tell you with authority that it’s terrible.
Soz for the bad grammar - I'm simultaneously eating my tea. Remove the comma after "showdown", and change "leaving" to leaves!
ReplyDeletePhillip
Of those movies, I believe I’ve only ever seen A ROOM WITH A VIEW, which I often get mixed up with WINGS OF THE DOVE, another Helena Bonham Carter movie. Besides both of them being period pieces (and starring HBC of course) the two movies are VERY different in tone. WINGS is very good but super-depressing.
ReplyDeleteOf these comics, I think I had that PUNISHER. I vaguely remember liking the dynamic Zeck /Beatty art, but other than that I don’t remember much else about it.
b.t.
I went to see Absolute Beginners. On a date. With the cousin of a schoolmate, but she brought the schoolmate along as a chaperone so it was a washout.
ReplyDeleteI didn’t really like the film either. I do like the theme song though.
I bought the Pet Shop Boys first album that day too, so it wasn’t a completely wasted journey.
I went to one of the PSB ‘Obscure’ concerts in Camden last Tuesday. Apart from the guy behind me singing along to everything, it was really good.
MM - you got to see PET SHOP BOYS? Wow! Excellent!
ReplyDeleteA bit of a full month for the comics, especially as it's 1986 (which was generally a good year).
ReplyDeleteI agree with Phillip - hey, it happens! - and that Squadron Supreme series was alright. I actually read it much later, when it was first collected sometime in the early 2000s... It's not really the contender as some sort of anticipation of Watchmen that some have hyped it up as, but had I read it back in the '86 I'd probably have rated it as one of the better regular superhero comics of the time.
Anyway, I like it more than Grunt Morrison's JLA comics (I knew reading those was going to come in handy for an online comment sooner or later! ;)
According to Mike's World of Comics, the Marada Graphic novel - collecting the Epic stories by Chris Claremont and John Bolton - came out this month, so that would be the best thing from Marvel that wasn't Daredevil #229 or Thor #366.
-sean
Wasn’t a big fan of Marada myself. Thought it was just “Okay”. I got a bigger kick that month from Eclipse’s WORLD OF WOOD #1, featuring four reprinted stories by Wally Wood and a tasty Dave Stevens cover.
Deleteb.t.
Well, b.t., I'm not claiming Marada is an all-time classic for the ages. 'Okay' still places it some way ahead of most other Marvels this month...
DeleteNot read that World of Wood series. Did it reprint his Warren stuff?
Kinda surprised you're not raving about Batman #394, the second part of a Doug Moench/Paul Gulacy James Bond style twofer.
As for comics that were any good this month, there's Swamp Thing #47 - 'The Parliament of Trees' - and Miracleman #7. Although I have to say having finally got to the new stuff, the latter was a little disappointing.
The bigger disappointment though was the return of American Flagg after a few month's break. Now drawn by Joe Staton. Competent enough I suppose, but average comic book artwork was not the series' USP.
-sean
*Oops, that should be 'a bit of a dull month for the comics' in my first comment above. Not a 'full' one.
DeleteAnd spellcheck just tried to change that again! Why does it 'correct' words that aren't even spelt wrong?
-sean
Sean - Let's see if you feel the same after my Captain Britain article hits 'Speak Your Brain' on Tuesday! ; )
ReplyDeletePhillip
sean :
ReplyDeleteYes, WORLD OF WOOD was mostly made up of reprints from the Warren mags, newly colored, including a few stories from BLAZING COMBAT. The fifth issue is mostly lesser Wood works from the 1950s.
I faithfully bought just about every Moench / Gulacy collab for years and years — Slash Maraud, Sci-Spy, Six From Sirius, their 007 mini-series for Dark Horse, etc — ever hopeful that they’d somehow manage to match the level of flamboyant fun from their MOKF run, but that ‘Special Something’ always seemed to be missing. Their various Batman comics in particular just didnt do anything for me, alas.
b.t.
Maybe it's just changing tastes at that age, b.t. For instance, I was mad for Killraven but Dauntless Don McGregor's Sabre - the original with Gulacy - just didn't do that much for me. And it's hard to point to anything in particular that makes the difference...
ReplyDelete-sean
I’m sure changing personal tastes has a lot to do with it (‘It’s not you, Paul Gulacy — it’s me’ ). But artists’ drawing styles do also change and evolve over time. From SABRE onward, I found Gulacy’s stuff kinda stiff and awkward. As Phillip mentioned, i thought Starlin’s art lacked joie de vivre in all his post-WARLOCK work. Wrightson was never quite the same after FRANKENSTEIN, etc etc.
Deleteb.t.
Likewise, with Starlin's Dreadstar, & Infinity nonsense, not matching Adam Warlock. ( This is starting to sound like a Speak Your Brain topic! )
ReplyDeletePhillip