1977: MERGER ALERT! THE FIRST COMBINED ISSUE OF BATTLE AND ACTION!

From November 1977: Merger alert!  The well-past-its-prime ACTION had finally been axed the previous week... clearing the way for the merger with BATTLE to create - yup - BATTLE ACTION (not to be confused with BATTLE ACTION FORCE, of course).

And there's not a shark in sight...

1977: MERGER ALERT! BATTLE PICTURE WEEKLY AND ACTION MERGE

From 12 November 1977: Big News Issue!  BATTLE PICTURE WEEKLY announces the impending merger of the once-loved (especially if you were a journalist or a campaigner looking for an easy target or something to get all worked up about) ACTION.

I wasn't reading BATTLE (or ACTION) back in 1977 (or, indeed, anything at all) so it's hard to judge whether this merger would have been welcomed by the readers of Battle.  I'm assuming Action's reduced readership would have been less chuffed by the news their weekly was doomed.  On the face of it, Action still had some strong strips but it's hard to see how Spinball Wars (formally Death Game 1999 before Action's tone-it-down-now reboot and then Spinball after the hiatus) fits the war weekly formula.  Despite yet another tiitle change.  At least we didn't get 'Hookjaw Wars', which meant Action's best-known strip didn't survive the closure.  The other strips seem a more natural fit and probably spiced things up sitting alongside the surviving Battle troopers ('Fighting the Japs... Indian style'. Ahem).

Don't be tempted to confuse the BATTLE ACTION run with the later BATTLE ACTION FORCE era.  Same weekly: different times.  

1977: LOGAN'S RUN: THE TV SERIES

From 1977: STARLOGGED celebrates the biggest genre event of the year!  The debut of LOGAN'S RUN (aka LOGAN... although you have to wonder why)... the TV series.

Yup.  The one with the Spock-alike android and - even better - those high-tech cars zipping around some familiar looking (if you'd been watching PLANET OF THE APES a few seasons earlier) California countryside.

1977: STAR WARS DAY: MAJOR STARLOG MAGAZINE ARTICLE

STAR WARS DAY continues... with this epic preview of the movie, published in STARLOG MAGAZINE issue 7 in the summer of 1977.  You certainly can't argue they ignored it...

1977: STAR WARS DAY: EARLY NOVEL ADVERT

STAR WARS DAY continues...

Here is an early plug for the STAR WARS NOVELISATION, published in STARLOG issue 7 (on sale in the summer of '77... the year everything changed).

1977: STAR WARS DAY: STARLOG PREVIEWS STAR WARS

Happy STAR WARS DAY!  To mark the annual event, STARLOGGED has unearthed some early sightings of the original movie from the pages of STARLOG MAGAZINE.

From Issue 6, coverdated June 1977 but on-sale several months earlier, here is possibly the earliest references... a reader's letter (is this the guy that broke the news about STAR WARS to the world?) and a one-page colour preview using - obviously - some of the yummy concept art.  The same concept art that convinced Marvel to (reluctantly) take the plunge and launch the four-colour comic that saved the company...

1977: THE UNIVERSAL BACKLOT FROM THE AIR

From 1977: three overhead shots of the Universal Studios backlot.

These were three brief shots used as transitions in the HARDY BOYS/ NANCY DREW Hollywood set two-parter (which I blogged about recently) that was shot almost entirely on the backlot.  They were never shameless enough to namecheck that it was the Universal Tour but anyone familiar with the set-up (trams trundle 'round exterior sets) and specific attractions (the Jaws shark, the trippy ice tunnel that also shows up in THE SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN) would know it in a second.

It wasn't uncommon for Universal shows to use the studio as a studio (rather than use the specific sets as somewhere else), THE A-TEAM and KNIGHT RIDER both instantly spring to mind, but these shots are unusual.  They represent the Universal TV machine at its zenith: churning out multiple shows and teleflicks for the three US broadcasters on an industrial scale.  It's interesting to think that somewhere on the lot, pre-production was underway on both BATTLESTAR GALACTICA and BUCK ROGERS IN THE 25TH CENTURY.

The tower, bottom right in the top pic, is the infamous 'Black Tower', home of the studio's leadership and administration.  The centre of power.

Apologies that the shots ain't great: they are snapped off-screen using my phone because by MAC laptop doesn't allow screengrabs from DVDs.  Humpf.  

BATTLESTAR GALACTICA'S RICHARD HATCH, 1945 - 2017

From 1977:

I was saddened - and not a little shocked - by the news of the passing of BATTLESTAR GALACTICA's Richard Hatch last month. This is the first opportunity Starlogged has had to mark his passing.

I've unearthed this pre-BATTLESTAR 1977 article from a copy of a celeb-packed American supermarket tabloid.

Hatch was subbing for Michael Douglas on the final year of THE STREETS OF SAN FRANCISCO at the time of publication, although Larson may already have been courting him for his new space epic as Battlestar was already deep in pre-production - as a series of occasional teleflicks - at the time.

I've always thought that Hatch was pretty underserved by the script writers on the first / only season. Despite having star billing, Dirk Benedict's Starbuck quickly emerged as being the more interesting character and grabbed the lion's share of the numerous iterations of the 'lost warrior' plot that cluttered the run. It didn't help that one of his few solo episodes was a blatant reworking of SHANE (which was subsequently blatantly reworked again as an episode of TALES OF THE GOLD MONKEY a few years later).

Days before he died, I happened to see Hatch in a rare movie starring role in CHARLIE CHAN AND THE CURSE OF THE DRAGON QUEEN, the 1981 misfire which I doubt did Hatch's acting resume many favours. The film itself is OK, thanks mostly to a strong cast (Angie Dickinson, Roddy McDowall and a young Michelle Pfeiffer) but suffers from too much enforced quirkiness and pratfalls. It also veers into un-PC territory by casting Peter Ustinov as Chan and Hatch as his mixed race 'number one grandson'.

Hatch was never keen to sign aboard the Battlestar (at least until he realised that filming was about to begin and he could name his price) but did manage to make it into a lifetime's career despite only shooting one season. In addition to the usual conventions and personal appearances, Hatch filled the (rather large) gaps between acting gigs by penning a series of original novels and some stories for the various comic book versions. He famously also went out and shot a trailer for a mooted revival despite not having any rights or ownership claims. His reasoning: the studio bosses couldn't envisage what an updated show might look like... so he set out (with the help of fellow cast members and assorted fans) to put together a presentation reel.

He had been slated to make an appearance in the aborted early Noughties revival and - of course - returned to the franchise for the remake. A role which finally stretched him as an actor.

1977: LOGAN'S RUN ISSUE 1 (MARVEL COMICS)

From January 1977 (but published late the previous year): the first issue of Marvel's brief dalliance with the LOGAN'S RUN franchise.

The MGM movie tie-in proved short-lived... canned after only seven months on the stands. The swift end was apparently down to licensing issues surrounding the creation of new material and the launch of the TV incarnation (the rights to which weren't covered in the Marvel deal... restricting comic strip versions to the British annual and the weekly LOOK-IN strip). Sales probably looked pretty puny once the STAR WARS juggernaut blasted into town a few months later.

Marvel UK didn't run these strips, possibly for the self-same licensing reasons, but - as the 10p cover price tells - copies were shipped to the UK as part of the bundle that went to British newsagents.

1977: THE DEEP MOVIE ADAPTATION (MARVEL COMICS)

From 1977: Marvel's done-in-one adaptation of the movie THE DEEP.

The movie was adapted from the novel by Peter Benchley, starred Robert Shaw and was set in the sea... so it came with JAWS-sized expectations of a runaway blockbuster.

Presumably that expectation, and the opening scene, propelled it to becoming the 8th higest grossing movie in the States that year. Having seen the movie far more recently, I can report that lightning did not strike the ocean twice and this was - in fact - no Jaws.

1977: STAR WARS IN VECTOR (BRITISH SCIENCE FICTION ASSOCIATION)

From August 1977: Some very early heavyweight STAR WARS coverage in VECTOR ("The critical journal of Science Fiction") published by The British Science Fiction Association. 

It's worth remembering that STAR WARS didn't get its' London premiere until Christmas 1977 and didn't go on nationwide release until the following year (which is why Marvel and other merchandisers waited until then to launch their official, and unofficial, tie-ins). So this is very early coverage for a UK publication. 

The BSFA was established in 1958 and is still going strong today. 

I've never been a member, I found this issue in a dealer box recently and it was too good to pass up. 

1977: STAR TREK GIANT POSTER BOOK VOYAGE ONE

From February 1977: the first issue (or "voyage") of the ongoing (rare for the genre) STAR TREK POSTER MAGAZINE aka GIANT POSTER BOOK.

This followed the tried and tested poster mag format but whilst most were one-shots or, at best, only published for a few months, this notched up an impressive seventeen regular issues and a special devoted to STAR TREK: THE MOTION PICTURE. The last regular US issue was dated April 1978 with the special appearing more than a year later to coincide with the film's December '79 release. 

Not bad for a magazine devoted to a show that debuted eleven years earlier and failed to see out the sixties. 

This is a British edition that, if the cover date is to be believed, hit UK stores almost six months after the American edition (which was dated September '76: the ship's tenth anniversary). Its not clear whether the UK received all seventeen issues. 

Most of the Trek movies had poster magazine tie ins of some description although not all followed this format. Visual Imagination enjoyed considerable success with a long-running Next Generation version. Titan Magazines clearly hoped their Deep Space Nine equivalent would fare equally well. It didn't. 

1977: FAMOUS MONSTERS STAR WARS SPECTACULAR MAGAZINE (WARREN)

From 1977: Another Warren black & white one shot: the first official STAR WARS MAGAZINE!

FAMOUS MONSTERS STAR WARS SPECTAULR was quick out the launch bay as one of the very first official print tie-ins with the who-would-have-thought-it blockbuster. Other speedy contenders included the novelization, the early issues of Marvel's comic book and Treasury Editions and the (superior to this) STAR WARS COLLECTORS EDITION: UK edition courtesy of Marvel).

The cover is a cracker (nailing the robots and aliens attraction of the movie and the merchandise) and not a still that seems to surface that often. The contents, however, are more disappointing: The usual Famous Monsters mix of poorly reproduced photos and enthusiastic but superficial text.  The arrival of STARLOG and STARBURST must have seemed like something radical and new (as did the launch of SFX in the 1990s after more than a decade of both and their formulaic spin-offs.

I picked this up from a dealer last year for under a fiver (maybe because a little beat up) but it seemed like a good price for such an early piece of Star Wars print media. 

1977: 2000AD ANNUAL 1 (Fleetway/ IPC)

From September 1977: the very first 2000AD ANNUAL, from IPC's Fleetway imprint.

Yup... that REALLY is Dan Dare on the cover!

The galaxy's greatest comic always played fast-and-loose with the Pilot of the Future but this interpretation really demonstrates how far Tharg was willing to deviate from the established formula.

The Fleetway annuals that accompanied most of IPC's weeklies (even the long-defunct ones) were assembled by a different team which allowed, by (bad) luck or (bad) judgement, the spin-offs to sometimes only enjoy a passing resemblance to the 'mothership'.  A situation compounded by finite budgets (which meant that much dipping into the combined IPC vaults was required), key creators already committed to the remorseless weekly schedule of the core title and, in 2000AD's case, an annual that (because of extended lead times) had to be put together alongside the earliest regular issues.  

This was one of the two earliest spin-offs from the weekly: IPC also issued a DAN DARE POSTER MAGAZINE one-shot circa August '77.  See here for more.  

It total, 14 2000AD annuals appeared cover-dated between 1978 (published 1977) and 1991 (published 1990).  Another four appeared as softcover "yearbooks" dated 1992 - 1995 (published 1991 - 1994 respectively).  The sudden decline in the sector sealed the fate of what had been a sure thing throughout the Star Age.

The following year (cover-dated 1979) Tharg added a DAN DARE ANNUAL to his hardback offering.  Although still hindered by Fleetway's set-up, the spin-off was actually better than the core title.  A second outing followed a year later before it became obvious that Dare, by now the subject of a possible TV adaptation and a mooted move to a revived EAGLE, was not going to become 2000AD's breakout character.  

The first JUDGE DREDD ANNUAL appeared in late 1980 with a 1981 cover date.  A total of eleven were published with the late appearing in 1990.  Four Yearbooks appeared between 1991 (cover-dated for the following year) and 1994 (for 1995).

1990 saw a concerted effort to elevate Rogue Trooper from the strip ensemble to make him the comic's next big star.  Unfortunately, he failed to break out and the ROGUE TROOPER ANNUAL 1991 was the only one to appear. 

1977: THE MAKING OF THE TREK CONVENTIONS BY JOAN WINSTON (Playboy Press)

From 1977: Another oddity from the library of the Starship Enterprise.. THE (Unofficial) MAKING OF THE TREK CONVENTIONS, published during the flourishing years of fandom by (of all people) Playboy Press.  

I stumbled across this one quite recently, the first time I have seen a copy. 

1977: STAR WARS: THE MARVEL COMICS ILLUSTRATED PAPERBACK (Dell Ray)

From November 1977: The US paperback reprint of Marvel's STAR WARS movie adaptation.  

Once Marvel realized they had a sell-out hit on their hands (surprise!), they scrambled to get the six-issue adaptation back into print in as many formats as possible.  The early issues of the regular comic (which Marvel snagged royalty-free, because Lucas and Fox were desperate for the exposure) went back to press for a rare second printing and, in addition to this paperback, Marvel also supersized with two (and latterly a third) treasury editions.  

Unlike some of Marvel's other comics-to-paperback transfers, this one has black and white interiors.  The paperback editions of the sequels were upgraded to colour. 

1977: CAPTAIN BRITAIN ANNUAL (Marvel UK)

From 1977: the one-and-only (to date) CAPTAIN BRITAIN ANNUAL.  

This UK hardback reprinted the strips from the first few issues of the 1976-77 weekly and would have gone on sale a couple of months after the comic itself had shuttered, in the summer of '77, after only thirty-nine issues.  As is normal practice for British annuals, the cover date (if included at all) references to the year ahead rather than the year of publication.  

Not all of the weekly's interior pages were colour (the centre-section, occupied by the Fantastic Four, were black & white) which, occasionally, meant that one page of CB's strip (if the strip ran long that week) would be published in black & white.  These were designated 'colour-it-yourself' pages by the ever hypefull Bullpen.  The previously mono pages were coloured... incredibly crudely... for their repeat outing here. 

1977: THE HUMAN FLY Issue 1 (Marvel Comics)

From 1977: Another Marvel venture into the realms of licensed comics... THE HUMAN FLY.

This was based on the exploits of the alter-ego of real-life stunt performer Rick Rojatt (and not to be confused with Marvel's existing Spider-man villain of the same name).  A quick bit of Goggle action reveals that his final stunt was also in 1977, suggesting that Marvel came to the party a little late.

The problem with making a stunt man into a comic book superhero is that, on paper, his "real life" stunts would never look as impressive as those carried out by his super-powered contemporaries.  

Regardless, the comic book version managed a commendable nineteen issue run before shuttering.  As with many of Marvel's other licensed properties of the period, HF was fully integrated into the MCU with occasional appearances by Marvel properties including Ghost Rider in issue 3.  

It was also another book from the prolific Bill Mantlo, Marvel's go-to guy for licensed properties.

There was never any British editions (although this is a cents-to-pence import for sale in the UK), presumably because the character had no relevance here.  Or, Marvel's license didn't extend to a UK edition. 

This issue was another recent bargain box find.  I imagine that similar licensing problems (plus general disinterest) to those that have nixed reprints of ROM and THE MICRONAUTS have prohibited Marvel (or anyone else) from ever putting these stories back into print. 

I love his oh-so-phallic "belt" as well.  

1977: THE MIGHTY WORLD OF MARVEL and DRACULA LIVES (Marvel UK)

 

The end of PLANET OF THE APES the previous week left the way clear for THE MIGHTY WORLD OF MARVEL to, belatedly, add Tomb of Dracula reprints to the line-up.  The strip had, despite the DRACULA LIVES masthead continuing to appear post-merger of the POTA weekly, been absent from the British line-up for months. 

So, issue 247 (cover-dated 22 June 1977) included this two-page text feature refresher before picking up the action...

1977: FANTASY FILM JOURNAL Issue 1

The (uncredited) wraparound cover from another late Seventies unofficial STAR WARS tie-in: FANTASY FILM JOURNAL from late 1977.

The issue is heavily devoted to John Dykstra and the work of the movie's effects team.

I don't know anything about this magazine (other than it was published in the Staes) so I have no idea whether it spawned any further issues… and whether, as its title suggests, it expanded its remit to a wider range of Star Age activity.