Journey to the Stars (SPEED, 1980)

When IPC launched Speed in 1980 I must admit I was a bit cynical about it. The tone and look of the comic seemed to be a step backwards from what we'd seen with Battle, Action, 2000AD and Starlord. Maybe it was, as it only lasted for 31 issues before merging into Tiger. However, its run was interrupted for several weeks due to industrial action, which clearly didn't help sales.

Looking at it now, it's not a bad comic at all. Solid storytelling and great artwork. Speed was obviously intended for a slightly younger reader than some of IPC's other boys' comics and there's nothing wrong with that. (I was 21 at the time so didn't appreciate it in the same way an 8 year old would have.) I would still question the absence of credits on the stories though. That was definitely a step backwards, considering 2000AD and Battle were both running credit boxes by then. 

One of the standout strips in Speed was Journey to the Stars, with glorious colour artwork by Ron Turner. Pretty much inspired by 1960s TV show Lost In Space, the Redford family find themselves trapped on an unknown planet and encountering various beings and dangers. Here's a couple of sample strips I'm showing today. The episode above is from the issue dated 15th March 1980, and the one below from the issue dated 5th April 1980. 

Now that Rebellion own Speed and its strips, perhaps we'll see Journey to the Stars reprinted one day. It's probably too young in tone for the average comic fan but I think it'd make a nice book for children. What do you think?

The Christmas WHIZZER AND CHIPS (1969)

This was the first Christmas issue of Whizzer and Chips, and also No.11 of the series (as you can see by the number I added in felt tip back when I was ten). The cover strip, Sid's Snake, was drawn by Mike Lacey.

As I'm sure most of you know, Whizzer and Chips gave the illusion of being "Two Comics in One" by having its middle 16 pages posing as the pull-out Chips comic. Therefore I'll look at each comic individually...

In Whizzer, Little Saver was a gentle strip, miles away from the humour of the wildly boisterous Power Comics that Whizzer and Chips had replaced. This page was drawn by Les Barton...

At this stage, Leo Baxendale was still drawing Champ, although not for long as I recall. This was full of his trademark humour and would have been a good fit in Wham!  

Over in the Chips section, the cover strip Shiner was by Mike Lacey...

Whizzer and Chips had a good smattering of adventure strips in its early days. This one, The Space Accident, was illustrated by Ron Turner...

This page of Hetty's Horoscope required some digital remastering to get rid of the inks showing through from the previous page (a result of the cheap newsprint the comic was printed on). However, I decided to keep the crude colouring job I did on it back in 1969. Artwork by Terry Bave...

Although IPC had made the ludicrous decision to drop the popular spy spoof The Cloak from Smash! because it didn't suit their narrow parameters of humour, Mike Higgs stuck at it to create something new. The result was Space School, written and drawn by Mike...

One of the veteran artists on the comic was Denis Gifford, who had revived and updated his old Steadfast McStaunch character from the original Knockout comic to produce new stories for Chips. Denis' clever inclusion of puzzles into the strip was very inventive, and presumably inspired Jack Oliver to do likewise years later...

Next time: Another Christmas comic from the past! Which comic? Which year? Wait and see!

SPACE ACE Volume 9 is here!

A new issue of Ron Turner's Space Ace was published recently, and it's another top value edition. The 40 page comic reprints three Space Ace stories from the 1950s, newly coloured by John Ridgway. 

In truth though, it's more than three stories in a way, because editor John Lawrence has combined three strips into one, to create a 16 page lead story. I'm in two minds about this, as I believe that if classic strips are reprinted they should appear as close to their original form as possible. However, John Lawrence gives good reasons for editing three stories into one, and the finished result moves along at a good pace and proves to be an exciting story. 

Once again, John Ridgway's colourisation is excellent, and I was pleased that he seems to have retained more of Turner's original inking than in some previous issues. Again, I would prefer the strips to be reprinted in their original black and white, as intended, but John's colouring is well accomplished. 

There's a great, informative bonus feature on the history of the Space Ace strip which was very welcome, as there hasn't been a great deal written about 1950s British strips outside of Eagle and The Beano. There's also a two page letters section, which is always good to see in a comic.

Ron Turner’s Space Ace Issue 9 costs is £8.95 UK, £12.50 for Europe and £14.50 for international orders. Copies may be obtained via PayPal (please use friends and family option) at: spaceace.54@virginmedia.com. Otherwise cheques (UK funds only) payable to: John Lawrence, to 39 Carterweys, Dunstable, Bedfordshire, LU5 4RB 

Ron Turner's THE CASTAWAYS (1972)

Ron Turner had a long and impressive career in comics and illustration, dating back to the late 1930s. He was particularly notable for his science fiction book covers for Vargo Statten's novels in the 1950s and for the Rick Random stories. (If you can still find a copy, I urge you to buy this wonderful collection.)

I first saw his artwork in the mid-1960s when he did a few fill-ins on the Gerry Anderson strips for TV21 specials, and of course his long run on The Daleks strip on the back page of the weekly. By the 1970s he was freelancing on the IPC comics, and the examples I'm showing here are of a series called The Castaways that he drew for Whizzer and Chips in 1972 (24th June and 8th July issues). I don't think it ran for long, and may not be well known (or well remembered) today so I thought I'd post a couple of samples. The story is the well-trodden "kids stranded on island" idea, but it's always good to see Ron Turner artwork and the distinctive inking techniques he used. 

SPACE ACE No.8 is here!

It may only be published three times a year, but editor John Lawrence keeps to a regular frequency and always delivers a quality comic. Ron Turner's Space Ace No.8 is out now, featuring more classic work by the late, great artist Ron Turner. 

This 40 page issue reprints four short Space Ace stories from the 1963 publication The Book of Space Adventures. Each story has been recoloured, re-lettered, and remastered by John Ridgway, so in effect it's a new version of the classics and a team effort between the two artists. 

There's also a four page article written by John Ridgway, where he explains his painstaking process to colourise the strips. 

There's also a lively two page letters section rounding off the issue. 

In this age of multi-part story arcs, crossovers, and "event" comics, it's a refreshing change to have short, self-contained adventure stories. Something of a lost art in many cases. Fans of Ron Turner will be happy to see this latest issue and I hope anyone genuinely interested in classic British comics will buy it too.

Ron Turner’s Space Ace is not available in newsagents. Issue 8 costs £8.95 UK, £12.50 for Europe and £14.50 for international orders. Copies may be obtained via PayPal (please use friends and family option) at: spaceace.54@virginmedia.com. Otherwise cheques (UK funds only) payable to: John Lawrence, to 39 Carterweys, Dunstable, Bedfordshire, LU5 4RB 

Ron Turner's SPINBALL WARS (Battle-Action 1978)

The artist Ron Turner delighted comics readers in the 1950s with his superb science fiction strips such as Space Ace and Rick Random, and in the 1960s with his colour work on The Daleks for TV21. By 1978 he was illustrating The Spinball Wars for Battle-Action, and I'd like to show you a sample of that today. This episode is from Battle-Action dated 7th January 1978.

The Spinball Wars had begun life as Death Game 1999 for Action in 1976, changed to the less violent Spinball when the comic was toned down, and later became Spinball Wars to suit the war-themed Battle Picture Weekly when it and Action merged in 1977. Though not as gory as the early issues of Action had been, Battle-Action was still more brutal than most comics, as you can see from this strip with someone being riddled with bullets, his corpse staring blankly at the reader. Ron Turner's style would have perhaps been too slick for a traditional war strip but it was ideal for the futuristic Spinball Wars. 

Hopefully, now that Rebellion have the rights to this old material, perhaps we'll be seeing collections of Death Game 1999 and Spinball Wars in the future?

VWORP VWORP! Volume 3 is here!

Although humbly calling itself a fanzine, Vworp Vworp! is easily on a par with any professional magazine. I'd go as far to say that the editorial and design talent is actually of a higher standard than some High Street magazines. Volume 3 has just been published and it's the best yet!

What I wasn't expecting was how chunky this issue would be. There are 208 pages here! That's not a typo. Two hundred and eight pages! Quality paper, full colour throughout, and packed with information and interviews.

If you're unfamiliar with Vworp Vworp! it's a publication dedicated to the history of Doctor Who comic strips. The amount of research is amazing. These guys do their homework and the fascinating features are accompanied with artwork and rare photographs from over the decades.

It'd take a blog post almost as lengthy as the magazine itself to do justice to all of its contents but here's a selected few:

• New interview with Alan Moore discussing his scripts for Doctor Who Weekly.

• Interviews with comic artists John Stokes, David Lloyd, Lee Sullivan, John M. Burns, Barrie Mitchell and more.

• A new Robot Agent 2K strip written by Tim Quinn.

• Features on veteran Doctor Who / Dalek illustrators such as Gerry Haylock, Richard Jennings and Ron Turner.

• Interviews with editors of Doctor Who Magazine past and present.

• Ron Turner's unfinished Daleks strip, with brand new episodes drawn by Lee Sullivan to complete the saga.

Plus much, much more and a free CD containing a new audio adaptation of the 1960s Dalek strip The Mechanical Planet with actors David Graham (as The Dalek Emperor) and Sasha Mitchell. 

The TV21 style cover variant comes withy the free CD plus a 7 inch vinyl version too (with retro style sleeve)! 

Vworp Vworp! isn't published very often, (this is the first one for nearly six years!) so you can take your time reading this 208 page giant and savour its contents. How can you resist? To order your copy, set your coordinates for this website now:
http://www.vworpvworp.co.uk

Ron Turner's SPACE ACE returns again!

A new issue of Ron Turner's Space Ace (No.7) is out now! Once again, editor John Lawrence has done an excellent job compiling classic 1950s material for modern readers and nostalgists alike. The colourisation by John Ridgway may be controversial for purists of Turner's stark black and white art but there's no denying that John has done a remarkable job.

 The 40 page issue features two stories: Trouble on Titan, a complete 24 page serial that had appeared in Lone Star Magazine from January to June 1955, and a 10 pager, The Time Transmitter, which originates from Lone Star Annual in 1960.

Plus there's a short old interview with the late Ron Turner and a lively two page letters section.

Ron Turner’s Space Ace is not available in newsagents. Issue 7 costs £8.95 UK, £12.50 for Europe and £14.50 for international orders. Copies may be obtained via PayPal (please use friends and family option) at: spaceace.54@virginmedia.com. Otherwise cheques (UK funds only) payable to: John Lawrence, to 39 Carterweys, Dunstable, Bedfordshire, LU5 4RB

Review: Spaceship Away No.39

Every issue of Spaceship Away is always a worthwhile read and this edition is spectacular. Published three times a year, the latest issue is packed with material that's sure to appeal to fans of classic Dan Dare and 'space' comics in general. 

The all-new adventures of the original Dan Dare, Pilot of the Future continue with new episodes of Parsecular Tales and Mercury Revenant, both written and illustrated by Tim Booth. Fantastically detailed work capturing the spirit and look of the old Eagle strips. However, as I've said before, with a three month gap between issues the serials really need a 'Story so far' box, on page two if not on the strips themselves. I'm afraid I've lost track of the plot and don't have time to re-read the previous 23 episodes. 

A 'new' Jet Morgan serial begins in this issue by Charles Chilton and Ferdinado Tacconi; edited and re-lettered reprints from the 1950s. 

There's also episode five of Nick Hazard and the Planet of Doom; a classic by Ron Turner, newly coloured by Martin Baines. Plus the return of the humour strip Davy Rocket. (Sadly uncredited. Why?)

Spaceship Away also has a generous number of superbly illustrated features and this issue really spoils us with an interview with Ian Kennedy on his 1980s Dan Dare work. There's also Eagle's coverage of the space race, and classic Dan Dare artist Greta Tomlinson talking about her life and work. There's a few other bits and bobs too, such as a new back page illustration by Don Harley and a wonderful brand new centrespread painting by Ian Kennedy (easily worth the cover price alone).

Spaceship Away is an essential read for anyone interested in Dan Dare, classic UK comics, and aficionados of great comic art. So that's everyone reading this blog then! You can order a copy directly from the publisher at this link:
http://spaceshipaway.org.uk/

Ron Turner's SPACE ACE Vol.6

John Lawrence has just published Ron Turner's Space Ace No.6 (or Vol.6 as they prefer) and it's another superb edition. The comic's 40 luxuriously printed pages feature the final Space Ace serial from 1956, but don't worry; there are more shorter stories to be collected. The Collectors from Space runs to 24 pages and although its premise of aliens collecting artifacts from Earth isn't new (and probably wasn't even new 60 years ago) it's told in an engaging and exciting way.

It's the artwork that is the main attraction of course, and it's easy to see why Ron Turner's work is still so highly regarded. He was certainly one of the best science fiction artists in the industry. The strips originally appeared in black and white but for these modern collections they've been painstakingly colourised by John Ridgway. Some purists may prefer Ron's superb original version but John does a stunning job on the colours. 

There's also a back up story, The Lens, which runs to 8 pages. Like the lead strip, it's an exciting page turner and the Ron Turner/John Ridgway collaboration works well. 

There's also background information on the strip thanks to part of an old interview with Turner, and a great feature on the "lost story"; part one of what would have been another serial but which was abandoned when Ron Turner realised he could no longer reliably commit to producing serials. 

Last but not least there's a two page letters section. (It's always good to see responses from readers printed in the comics themselves.)

So, if you're interested in the work of one of the UK's best artists, don't miss out on ordering a copy of Space Ace today!

Ron Turner’s Space Ace Volume 6 costs £8.95 (UK) or £12 (Europe) and £14.00 (other overseas) including postage and is available via PayPal at spaceace.54@virginmedia or by cheque  made payable to John Lawrence at 39 Carterweys, Dunstable Bedfordshire LU5 4RB

SPACESHIP AWAY for Spring

The classic version of Dan Dare is kept alive again in brand new installments in the latest edition of Spaceship Away that has just arrived. Issue 38 (or Part 38 as it's called) is another 40 page package with superb reproduction on quality paper. 

The contents include the latest episodes of Tim Booth's ongoing Dan Dare serials, Mercury Revenant and Parsecular Tales across eight pages. Booth puts a lot of work into his pages and they look fantastic. My only gripe, again, is that there's no resumé captions to remind us of the story so far. With four months between each issue it's a long time to expect readers to remember what's gone on. I appreciate that Tim might not want such captions cluttering up the pages but a small paragraph or two on page 2, next to the editorial, would be very useful. 

All-new art and story by Tim Booth.

Other strips this issue feature the conclusion of the Jet Morgan reprint The World Next Door (which does include a Story So Far caption) and Part Four of the Nick Hazard story Planet of Doom by Phil Harbottle and Ron Turner, nicely coloured by Martin Baines. 

Vintage Ron Turner artwork.

There are some great articles in this issue too, with the conclusion of Andrew Darlington's retrospective of Dan Dare in the New Eagle covering 1989 to 1994. There's also a good lengthy eight page feature on Keith Watson's distinguished career, and a well illustrated article on Authentic Science Fiction magazine showing some excellent 1950s covers. 

One of the superb 1950s covers shown in the issue.

To top it off there's a new cutaway illustration by Graham Bleathman of Gogol's Personal Phant Transport printed across the centrespread. It's always good to see new work by Graham and this is another intricate job. 

Spaceship Away No.38, 40 pages in full colour, £8.50. Copies will be available soon from the official website:
http://spaceshipaway.org.uk/