186: The Back Cover!
Full-circle the «front cover
c.1979/1980? | age 11/12? One last extra bit of the comic for you! Isn’t it awesome? Drum-roll…
Postscript: It’s the back cover!
Woweee-zowee-kablooey! Amazing. Yes, I said the comic was at an end but, my goodness—it just keeps on giving. Okay, maybe not. But quiz-time! Who recognises those drawings?
Back in those days, if you were a fan who couldn’t watch Star Wars whenever you liked, you took your sci-fi thrills wherever you could get them.
My Battle of the Planets! larger
An animated TV series called Battle of the Planets hit the screen from Japan and it did the job pretty well if you were a youngster. Repetitive, yes; but visually better I think, than anything else that was available on telly. It was the first time I’d seen glowing back-lighting effects in TV animation. They were able to produce realistic laser and fire effects. For the time it was also quite richly coloured. Every week, a robotic alien monster attacked earth. G-Force battled against it and always – always – ALWAYS! – the giant robot would resort to breaking up into lots of smaller robots. How times have not changed. I still think Japanese animation is mostly bloody awful. I hate the style of it. And don’t get me started on Manga drawings that all the kids copy now… but I LOVED this—at the time—when I was a kid.
My Space 1999! Larger
Characters would get all teary too. All glisteny-eyed and quiver-lipped—when something terribly sad happened, like a child losing their parents. I never saw that before in TV animation either. Weird! I mean, it ws even more sentimentl and mushy than the stuff that came from the States, and believe me, I saw much more of Little House on the Prairie than any kid should ever see. (Or Little House on the Vomit, as my dad used to call it).
Every Friday afternoon after school, John S and I would race home to see Battle of the Planets. And Gabby, my wife, says she loved it too. But I really must have loved it because I made a comic out of it! (left)
Anyway, you took your TV sci-fi where you could get it. Or “Skee-Fee” as I mispronounced it, for a time. Space 1999, Battlestar Galactica (ugh), Buck Rogers (oh dear), and even Jason of Star Command (one of the most laughable atrocities ever committed to celluloid). Desperation eh? I felt like such a traitor to Star Wars, but it was a guilty pleasure.
In retorspect, I think I might have singled out Battlestar Galactica for particular hatred because it was done so well. Buck Rogers in the in the 25th Century was OK with me. It was pretty crap—not as bad as Jason of Star Command mind you—but enjoyable enough with some likeable, charismatic main characters, but it was no threat to Star Wars. Battlestar kind of was, and had the insolent, upstartish, gall to try to be. I was a true Star Wars loyalist.
For me though, Space 1999 was it. I’d also seen it before Star Wars when I was around 8 years old. So it couldn’t be accused of being an upstart challenger to Star Wars. It was the greatest thing I’d seen between occasional TV screenings of Jason & the Argonauts—my favourite film until Star Wars hit—and Star Wars hitting. Space 1999 was the first reason I ever had for wanting an audio cassette recorder—so I could tape it from the TV.
I finally got a tape recorder, and here’s my own re-telling of what I did with it in my Between * Wars comic
Disco Force!
So where next for Star Wars age 9? Well, there are other comics which I could upload, but sometimes I wonder if I should. The views/traffic on this site are extremely low—I mean, between 4 hits per day and 30 on an update day. So, I’m going to have to think it over. I could spend the time on other things instead, like my Between * Wars comic or other artistic pursuits.
However, some of you might remember me mentioning this ages ago on the Facebook page, in the early days of SWa9.
One morning—in late 1979, perhaps?—I had the most exciting vivid dream. My big sister Maria was up and about getting ready for school while I was still sleeping. She had the radio on as always. A song seeped into my subconscious and mingled with Star Wars. I awoke before the wonderful dream concluded—much to my disappointment, because I didn’t often have brilliant Star Wars dreams—but set to work on a new comic. Proof if it were needed, that the subconscious mind is a creative force, is shown below (what a note on which to end!)
Sing to the tune of “Gimme, gimme, gimme (A Man after Midnight)” by ABBA
Yes, the song that had seeped into my dreams was by Abba. So, in my excitement I created some of this silly comic. I was buzzing, because it had felt as if I was inside Star Wars, right there with the characters, in their world.
Two other Star Wars comics that I did work on were my ‘Empire Strikes Back’ adaptation, and another one done before that, which was what I thought the sequel might be like, based on nothing but the name of the upcoming film, which had been revealed. The cover was copied from a Carmine Infantino comic splash page and then I just made the story up as I went along. It was pretty terrible, and silly. I will Blog about these soon, in this site’s Blog section».
So, hands-up (in the comments below) who wants to see them?
. . .
All too awesome for a Friday morning.
I LOVED battle of the Planets, especially the Princess’ knicker shots.
I now have the complete series on DVD (as it’s original entity, Gatchaman)
As a parting last embarrassment, I must admit that I was the sole boy in a local disco dancing club, and can still remember the routine to Disco Inferno.
Great comments as ever!
I’ve sneaking a feeling that you and I Neil, don’t embarrass easily!
What no Sea Monkeys for sale?
John I’m surprised you failed to capatalize on such a great financial opportunity.
At least you could have advertised Xray glasses so I could have seen through all the plot holes in the trilogy!
Woah – obscure!
You mean the G-Force fellow (Cheops was it?) looks like a Sea Monkey?
Believe it or not Johnny told me they’re growing so-called ‘Sea Monkeys’ in School. They were the most bl;atant case of false advertising i ever saw as a kid 😆
DISCO FORCE! 😛 Quite nice art on that one, though.
And is there more to the “Battle of the Planets” comic? I used to watch that show religiously after school back in the day. Rather surprised to find out the original name (not unlike “Star Blazers” renamed from “Space Battleship Yamato”).
Yep, it’s a complete – really terrible – story 😮
Post it please!
Star Blazers was the show for me after school back in the 80s. Ourrrrr… Starrrrr… Blazeeerrrrrrrs!!!
Good stuff!
Haven’t seen that. Incidentally Phil, your webcomic is so good, that I feel it poses a real threat to my publishing empire. Of course you realise: this means war.
😆
My 9-year-old action-figure-collecting self against your 9-year-old comic-drawing self – a battle across time and space!
Oh, but I have far greater financial resources to draw upon in this battle Phil.
As you are no doubt aware, this webcomic – drawn bya child – has earned me literally millions. HA HA HHA HAHHAHH AH 😕
MIllions of what is the question John. :-*
Although a battle of one 9 year old’s drawings versus another 9 year old’s action figures would be cool, I estimate (like me) you are both still 9 year olds mentally, so will it ever end, or do we need to get your respective moms involved in mediation? 😥
I bet if phil and I had nothing else to do we could have an occasional special episode with guest characters from one comic appearing in the other. Like magnum pi appearing on Simon and Simon if you will. Or dracula appearing in werewolf by night comic for 1 issue.
Though, now I think of it, didn’t that usually happen when the audience for one of them was in decline?
You know, my comic takes place in the “real world,” so it could potentially include “real” people…
Agh! Phil’s going to throw me – in photographic effigy – into the Sarlac pit!
Woo, all caught up but D: D: that’s it’s over! I enjoyed every bit of this.
Glad you’ve enjoyed it Casey.
I’d definitely second that request for you to post your Battle of the Planets comic John. I loved that show as a kid, and the strips they used to run in TV Comic….
You’re getting me all nostalgic now for 70’s sci-fi.
D’you rremember Atom Smashers crisps with the stickers of spaceships and robots in? Did they have those in Ireland, or has it always just been Taytos?
Careful what you wish for, oh Danny-boy!
Atom Smashers? Sounds familiar. Do you remember Bones and Fangs crisps?
And bats and claws!
Atom Smashers! I loved the smell of those vinyl stickers!
Loved Outer Spacers too. I drew those crazy robots all over my school books.
Just watched Alien today. Is it bad that I laughed when they launched the dude’s body out of the ship? Also, I thought the chestburster scene was adorable.
Did you laugh? (Psycho… :-* )
But yes, it is an adorable and rather beautiful film Zayne.
Disco Wars would make a great web comic. Maybe…
I remember taping tv shows on audio cassette! I taped the SWHS that way.
Heck, my mom snuck a recorder when we went back to see JAWS a second time and recorded it. I remember the clacking noise as she changed tapes every half hour or so.
Magic stuff, Rob.
Lying in bed, with your eyes closed, listening to the tape, and watching the pictures forming in your head!