As a child I thought the theme of the next issue of OiNK was another pig-related pun, what with it being the HOGmanay special. I’d never heard of the word before and was initially a little disappointed to find out it wasn’t a pun at all. But then I realised with a name like that this Scottish celebration was the perfect way for Uncle Pigg and all of the crazy characters to see in the New Year. At the end of the Christmas issue we all got a special invite. All except one.
Promo by Patrick Gallagher
I remember receiving the issue a few days before Christmas but I didn’t read it until a day or two before New Year’s Eve. To do otherwise just felt wrong. Plus I was still enjoying the festive issue over and over again. I didn’t want to wish away Christmas so the comic was filed away until the right time. For the blog I don’t know the exact day it came out early so I’ll be reviewing it on the date on the cover instead, Monday 27th December. Surely something to look forward to reading between the food-induced comas.
It’s probably the most unique cover you’re ever likely to see on this blog, that’s for sure! I originally thought it was by Ian Kennedy but he’s informed me it wasn’t, so at the moment I’m at a loss to who drew the giant pud. Even more unbelievably the cover represents an actual story inside this latest issue of creator/editor Barrie Tomlinson‘s Wildcat, and that story is one of the best so far. You’ll have to wait until further down the review before I show you that particular Christmas miracle. After this cover image the next thing that grabs the attention is the paper.
Specifically, the paper quality. Half of the comic is made up of the kind of paper Rebellion‘s modern day 2000AD is printed on (at the time of writing). This issue goes back and forth between this and the regular, thinner gloss paper but basically any sheet that has colour somewhere over its four pages will be of this thicker, heavier, higher grade. It feels wonderful in the hand and gives the comic a sense of high production values.
Moving on to the content and our four main strips obviously aren’t festive tales, what with being ongoing serials (although that didn’t stop Super Naturals, another of Barrie’s). Turbo Jones has a wonderful monster movie feel to it, like the Japanese kind I’d have watched late at night on TV back when I was a child. It’s not just dinosaurs anymore, there are giant mantises and other insects, as well as original creations such as Turbo’s Terrosauron. The imagination on show is wonderful.
The Arglons are attacking the Burroids‘ city from underground and by the time Turbo and his army make it back a lot of it has already been destroyed. The Ark and his cronies are in charge of the enemy army and here we can again see the mechanics within their skeletal mouths. The frequently used alien terms add a nice touch too. Normally a strip might contain one or two such made up words but Barrie hasn’t held back when writing this script and I love that. Where does he get all this terminology from? It adds to the absurdity of the situation, the alienness of this planet and the originality of the story.
There’s a nice little touch there with Turbo tying up his flying beast like a pet, but it’s not long before he’s taking to the skies for more thrilling battles. This particular episode really does have it all. The action is truly thrilling, Vanyo‘s artwork sizzles in the action scenes, conveying real scale in the destruction of the city, creepiness in the council and lots of little background details to pour over again and again. While the action builds so do the questions for this reader, with details about The Ark and the history of this war being drip fed to us. Wonderful stuff indeed.
Joe Alien has had enough in the next chapter of David Robinson‘s story. After falling for a trap set by the trees(!) he draws the logical conclusion this continent they’ve landed upon is not hospitable for human life. It’s simply too dangerous; the killer vegetation can’t be communicated or reasoned with, despite finding out they can understand our language. Resistance is futile, so he orders a hasty retreat for his team but the plant life won’t let them leave. However, they’re not trying to kill them anymore either.
This is where a surprising turn of events takes place. We knew the trees were intelligent, able to uproot themselves and walk, they could communicate with each other and they appeared to be attempting to do so with us. Their murderous instincts were always front and centre but as Joe points out, while he has lost some team members, if the plants wanted them all dead they would be.
A vehicle made of rock glides in over a body of water and from within it steps out a man. A human man from Earth! Our heroes have been corralled, now trapped on an outcrop surrounded by this body of water full of man-eating plants ready to chomp the legs off anyone who attempts to escape. But for this man they spread out their lily pad-like leaves and let him cross to within talking distance of Joe and his men.
I didn’t expect this! I have no recollection of this twist at all. A nice touch is the fact his speech is broken and slow because it’s been so many years since he last needed to do so. The plants treat him reverently, he’s quite clearly in charge and yet very frail, at least upon first glance. It ends with him promising to tell a surprising story. I bet! I have so many questions. But that’s the whole point of the story. It’s layering mystery upon mystery, and just when you think you’ve got one or two bits sussed out it pulls the rug from under you.
Yes, that last sentence was a bit clichéd but there’s nothing unoriginal about this story. Ron Smith‘s artwork really comes into its own too, like he’s had a couple of issues to settle in and is now confidently in charge of the world originally created by Massimo Belardinelli. The rock vehicle feels suitably solid, the old man is an intriguing character even just to look at and the uprooted killers remind me of the tree that came in through the window in Poltergeist. Genuinely threatening. Two for two, the strips this issue have depth, character and intrigue. Shall it continue?
Just before the Kitten Magee strip here’s artist José Ortiz‘s pin up of one of her teammates Casandra Cardeti. While I do really enjoy José’s work and it’s nice to see some colour work from him, I always had an issue with how female characters would be dressed in our sci-fi comics. While Turbo, Joe and Loner are properly equipped for whatever is thrown at them, women always seemed to go up against the same dangers with a lot less clothing. It’s a sign of the times of course but it was always a niggle I had, not just with Wildcat so I’m not singling it (or José) out.
Unfortunately, out of all the strips in this issue Kitten Magee’s has the least development plot-wise. Basically a fight to the death between them and the robotic tribe, there’s plenty of action and a few close shaves until right at the end one of the robot heads pops off and explodes, leaving a crater where Kitten and Aurora were standing. But even within a basic plot this time around there are some really nice little nuggets by writer James Tomlinson to sink our teeth into. Have a look at these two panels by way of example.
The robots have suddenly become rather interesting. Their techniques for dispatching foes get more and more creative, my particular favourite being this ground drilling monster that pops up just when the battle seems over. Then there’s a gaffe Kitten herself makes. In saving Casandra from a dropped explosive by expertly kicking it into the hole from the previous panel, she mentions how keenly she played football as a kid. The thing is, the sport was deemed too violent and banned more than one hundred years ago. Add this to how old she looked in #3 and we’re beginning to get a glimpse into just how much of a lie she’s living. An interesting plot point which I’ve a feeling will become the main thread in issues to come. I certainly hope so anyway.
Just before Loner there’s another double-page spread of letters although none from the readers. Instead, every contribution has been signed off by an alien being from some distant world. The letters page had been hacked! I asked Barrie if this was due to a lack of letters but he assured me it was probably just for a bit of fun for the Christmas issue. He says he’s a big kid at this time of year (just like myself) so I can believe it.
“The creature is preserving their bodies… so it can eat them when it pleases.”
One of the little furballs
Barrie Tomlinson‘s Loner gets a bit of a new look but whether I’d call it an upgrade is something else. The furry little pets of the extinct alien race told him the weapons he’d found could only be controlled by his mind and thus he was made to sit in a chair to prepare himself for using them. The end result makes for a rather startling image and he’s not best pleased with the finished result.
It’s a bit of an anti-climax when one of the furballs casually says they can change him back afterwards, what with the transformation being part of the cliffhanger last time. But it does mean he’s all set to take to the caverns and hunt down the creature the lizard demanded he kill. There are also some nice humorous touches in the dialogue and you get a sense of the beginnings of a friendship between the former mercenary and these cute little beings.
This episode is all about stalking through the underworld and it contains some wonderful imagery from David Pugh, especially within the lair of the beast.
The detail here is stunning. I love the webs, the rock formations and the skeletal remains of the critters, which is a bit sad with rotting corpses and imprisoned furries strung up everywhere. It’s quite the panel!
As he tracks down the beast we’re treated to a suspenseful atmosphere. Take your time reading this, taking in all the fine details of the art and the fact the lettering of the homing beep gets slightly bigger and smaller as Loner attempts to find it, and it gives off a tense Aliens vibe. As for the beast itself, well I remembered it being a hideous snake-like creature with huge black eyes and long, pointed teeth. An image in a previous issue confirmed my grey cells hadn’t let me down, but I’d assumed it was about the size of a large Earth anaconda. How wrong was I.
In #2 I was under the impression the crazed lizard was a giant beast in itself, only to find out in the next issue he was about twice the size of our hero. With the predator Loner has been sent to dispatch, I’m very glad to say I was wrong in a completely different way. Just look at that final page! What an image to leave in the minds of young readers. This is the best cliffhanger in all of Wildcat’s run so far.
They’re tracking the huge dessert making its way towards them through the darkness outside
How on Earth (or wherever they are) can Loner hope to take on this thing, even with the advanced weaponry? We know it has no brain patterns to speak of, that it operates purely on survival instinct (this is why the telepathic lizard can’t kill it). Is that information in itself a clue? I can’t see how. But isn’t that the best kind of cliffhanger? One where you can’t think of any possible way beyond it, but you know the answer has probably already been hinted at, that it’ll be an organic and ultimately satisfying resolution. Wildcat has proven itself in this respect many times over already. A tense chapter with a stunning final scene.
Our last strip takes us back to that giant Christmas pudding on the cover. It’s the festive season for the last human beings in existence and there’s some nice scene setting, including mention of the fact there’s been no communication with the landing parties, a running theme throughout all the stories and a nice reminder each one is part of a larger whole. We also get to see the bridge and the captain in charge of Turbo’s ship when he’s not around, while they track the huge dessert making its way towards them through the darkness outside.
For such a ludicrous thing to see they take it very seriously. Some crew members joke but they’re soon put in their place. It could’ve been so easy to reduce the whole story to a farce but I’m glad to say the characters treat it very seriously. Various attempts are made to communicate, they see it as an imminent threat, sounding the alarms and even opening fire, but their laser beams go straight through it. As does the Wildcat when the pudding surrounds them. “It’s like being wrapped in cotton wool”, one engineer scanning the impact (or lack thereof) states. Stranger and stranger.
It’s what the Wildcat crew don’t see that elevates the story into being the best Wildcat Complete yet
The lights go out and a mysterious glow signals someone or something beaming aboard. It’s Santa and an elf! With presents for everyone they explain they disguised their ship as something they thought couldn’t possibly be seen as a threat and they apologise. The image of the Wildcat within the actual ship itself is a striking one too and provides an “ahh” moment for the reader after that cover. The captain takes some convincing and they don’t immediately win everyone over. Even after they’ve gone no one is sure it wasn’t some form of mass hallucination.
It’s a fun little story but then the final page makes everything click into place. The large Death Star-esque vehicle morphs into a sleigh and reindeer, another illusion. But it’s what the Wildcat crew don’t see that elevates the story into being the best Wildcat Complete yet. I’m left with just one question. Were they impersonating someone we humans associate with gift giving (apparently what they love to do as a species) or is this Santa’s true form?
It’s left without an answer of course, like all good Twilight Zone twists, leaving the readers much to discuss with their friends. I know I’ve mentioned that show before in reviewing these anthology stories, but to me that’s just the vibe I’m getting. I’m all for it, and even though the stories can be so different from the rest of the comic they manage to fit perfectly. While it can’t be officially confirmed at this time, we believe the artist is Manuel Carmona Ruiz (2000AD, James Bond). The way they so effortlessly blend the hard sci fi with a very traditional way of illustrating Santa Claus in his close up, in a completely different artistic style, is extraordinary.
A wonderful Christmas feast of a story to end another fantastic issue. The way the dates fell in December 1988 there was another issue in the festive period, in fact it’s dated New Year’s Eve. It was probably released early like most comics scheduled around that time but I’ll be reviewing it on the last day of the year. If it’s anything like this issue it’ll give 2021 one hell of a send off. Join me then.
It’s great to finally be reading the issues I enjoyed so much as a kid and this is one I’ve really been really looking forward to, what with me being such a fan of the season. As a child I remember the TV Times magazine being a staple part of my television viewing, even though it only had ITV and Channel Four inside it, and the Christmas issue was a bit of an event when it arrived. Today the only time I’ll buy a TV listings magazine is Christmas, there’s something wonderfully nostalgic about it nowadays. Back in 1986 OiNK‘s TV Tips sat proudly alongside the family’s TV Times in the magazine rack for the whole of the school holiday. I insisted upon it.
What a present the free gift turned out to be too. The third and final section of the calendar for 1987 came with this issue and when linked to the separate parts from #15 and #16 it dominated my bedroom for the whole of the next year. It was subject to many pen marks when crossing off dates and highlighting birthdays, but it was treasured. Below are photos of the final part and the finished calendar I’ve been able to acquire again, proudly taking centre stage on the wall of my office, impatiently waiting for a year the dates will match up.
The issue is packed with Christmassy strips, spoof toy adverts, cards and decorations to make, Christmas stories and more. I know it’s only going to get harder from here on to pick out a few highlights, this issue is proof of that but after long deliberations here’s the selection box of piggy perfection. To set the mood for the festive frivolities is Roger Rental, He’s Completely Mental drawn as ever by Ian Knox.
I think that sets things up for us rightly.
So a comic with a comical take on TV listings magazines on the cover just has to follow that up on the inside and we weren’t to be disappointed. Blog readers who were alive in the 80s will find this next page particularly funny with references to a lot of the shows we’d have enjoyed ourselves back then, as well as those during which we’d have retreated to our bedrooms to play with our toys but which were favourites of our parents.
So what was on offer for us on TV? Some aspects really weren’t that much different than today. Cartoon movies, The Snowman, as well as the inhabitants of Albert Square refusing to have a merry one even back then. We may have had a festive special of Knight Rider instead of Doctor Who but the clichés about the television schedules at this time of the year aren’t a new thing, as OiNK proves here.
To be fair I’m actually a fan of Christmas telly and I think no matter the amount of cracker (no pun intended) specials and film premieres are broadcast people will carry on with the same old complaints. Interestingly, that Roger Moore James Bond illustration by Tim Thackeray was drawn for the first OiNK annual, which wouldn’t be released until the next year! (You can just about make out the OiNK logo above Roger’s head.) Just goes to show how far in advance those books were created.
Let’s not forget about the true meaning of Christmas. I’m not a religious person by any stretch of the imagination but I’m a big kid for this time of year. To me, it’s all about those nearest and dearest to me and thanking them for being in my life for another year. It’s about presents of course but I get just as much of a thrill out of giving to those I love as I do in receiving from them. It’s a time to be grateful, to be happy, to feel loved and to share that love.
In other words, the true meaning of Christmas is ripe for OiNK to tear to shreds.
Written by Mark Rodgers and drawn by Davy Francis, Blue Xmas takes the foundations of any good Christmas story and builds upon them with plenty of laughs along the way, before it’s all flipped on its head in the final panels. A poor boy who won’t be receiving any gifts for Christmas tries to raise some money so he can buy his mum a present and through it all he finds that the joy of giving is better than receiving, only for him to be punished for his goodwill!
You can also get a real sense of the amount of work Davy (Francis) put in
From memory I could’ve sworn this was in one of the annuals but here it is in the regular comic. A good few years back now I had the pleasure of meeting Davy for a chat and had the chance of purchasing some of his original OiNK artwork. One of the pieces was the first page of Blue Xmas which is now up on my wall. I thought I’d show you a few highlights of this strip now.
In the comic the strip featured two-tone colour, all the faces being quite aptly blue, but on the original drawing you can see it was black and white. You can also get a real sense of the amount of work Davy put in; in the title box you can actually see the pressure put on the page by Davy’s colouring-in of this solid black first panel. Those groups of lines he always used for backgrounds look even more time consuming in full-scale (this is about twice the size of the pages of the comic) and you can also see some of the correction fluid used to change a speech balloon to one with frosty icicles.
A quick look at some of the other highlights of the issue now, starting with Harry the Head‘s big adventure taking him into space, The Sekret Diary ov Hadrian Vile sees the school pantomime descend into chaos and this particular panel had me laughing aloud, and the Christmas Quiz has a real head scratcher for you. Then in Ham Dare, Pig of the Future there’s more parodying of the all-British adventure comics of the day and that image of Ham looks so much like Dan Dare I think artist J.T. Dogg could easily have taken over the strip in Eagle!
Harry the Head by Marc Riley Hadrian Vile written by Mark Rodgers, drawn by Ian Jackson Christmas Cracker Corner by Ed McHenry Ham Dare written by Lew Stringer, drawn by J.T. Dogg
I admit that well into my adult life I’d always assumed Mrs. Claus’ name was Mary! I know this was mentioned in a Charlie Brown Christmas Special (thanks to Wikipedia) but I wonder if OiNK was where I originally got that idea. Anyway, moving on.
The commercial breaks during those Christmas programmes are usually filled with Boxing Day and New Year sales adverts for all those people not happy with what their loved ones gave them. Getting in on this racket is none other than OiNK’s in-house catalogue company, GBH with their very own Christmas Catalogue for the following Christmas! This is definitely the best so far, complete with photographs of children enjoying (well, in theory) the dodgy toys and a background image by Mike Taylor complete with a very unhappy snowman and a very smug fox.
This particular madvertisement was written by both Mark Rodgers and Patrick Gallagher and this is Mike’s first contribution to OiNK. A renowned ‘zine illustrator, Mike would go on to provide more lovingly crafted work for 13 issues altogether, being most prolific during the comic’s weekly phase.
Patrick directed the photo session which must’ve been hilarious to be a part of. His brother James was the actual photographer and the Barbie toys belonged to his sister Bernie. The two children featured are Patrick’s cousins, Erin Claffey and her brother Patrick, the rest of the toys belonging to them. On a side note I remember having that Castle Greyskull toy myself and many years later being told by my parents they had to make the trip all the way from Belfast to Dublin in order to get it that particular Christmas!
James Gallagher, Patrick Claffey, Erin Claffey
A few issues previous to this Lew Stringer introduced us to Tom Thug‘s mum. When it was announced she’d be appearing both Tom and his father were terrified. Who on Earth could do that to the two biggest wannabe bullies in OiNKtown? What kind of bully was the mum, to make these men shake in their bovver boots? As it turns out Mrs Thug was the kindest, sweetest and most affectionate woman you could imagine and that’s what put the fear of god into them. It was a funny twist and here she’s putting Tom to sleep on Christmas Eve, the morning after which she’d end up very happy with what can only be described as a Christmas miracle.
One thing I always like about Christmassy comics is seeing favourite characters within that setting. We all have our own Christmas traditions for the big day itself and sometimes it feels like we’re getting an insight into the cartoonists’ traditions, maybe from their own childhood, or at the very least maybe what they think our traditions were. These were always extra special strips and one cartoonist who never disappoints with a snowy logo is Lew.
A little extra note, according to Lew he originally had Tom actually shoot Santa but Mark Rodgers said it should be a dream so as not to upset kids. Lew says, “Mark was 100% right and it worked out far better”.
While it only ever snowed once for December 25th when I was a child we expected all of our strips to be covered in the white stuff and Lew always seemed to go that extra mile in this regard. Whether it was Tom and Pete in OiNK, or Combat Colin and Robo Capers in Transformers, you could be assured of a white Christmas in the pages of your comics. Nice to see Satan the Cat back in his own little mini-strip too and to have it all finished off with crackers and holly, and that little man at the top keeping the pages clear is a funny little touch.
“I normally manage to cadge a free, slap-up meal at Christmas time!”
Mr. Big Nose
This issue is really making my Christmas all over again 35 years after it did the first time, and now it’s time the main event, a wonderful multi-page Uncle Pigg strip, one of only two times this would happen in the whole of OiNK’s run. Written by Mark Rodgers and of course drawn by Ian Jackson this four-page story is spread throughout the comic, even appearing as a subplot in Rubbish Man.
The plot has our editor declaring he’ll take his staff out for a Christmas treat, but the free gifts and competition prizes have drained the piggy bank. But as luck would have it, at that exact moment a flyer pops up offering a £10,000 reward from Santa Claus if anyone can find Rudolph who has gone missing. Donning his best Sherlock Holmes-esque getup Uncle Pigg leads his team into the snow and immediately stumbles upon a clue. But not all is as it seems.
I can remember reading this back then and loving every panel of it, wondering why we didn’t get at least a full-page like this every issue. I don’t know how many times I read it, but it was so witty and the art so funny it was definitely more than a few. I even remember lying in bed on Christmas Eve reading it yet again (even though the next issue had already arrived by that point, see the bottom of this review for more on that) just before going to sleep, or at least trying to fall asleep with the excitement of the night, which this only added to.
As the story continues there’s one madcap mishap after another, such as above when Percy Plop makes a welcome guest appearance. Yes, the script is funny but Ian’s style heightens every piece of slapstick such as the policeman skidding on Percy, forcing Uncle Pigg’s assistant deep into the snow. In the end our heroes follow the trail right back to the OiNK offices which Mary Lighthouse (critic) and none other than Santa Claus himself have commandeered. Why is Santa working with Mary? Read on.
In hindsight it’s a bit strange to have Santa team up with Mary, but when you think about it he isn’t meant to bring toys to the naughty children, is he? Children who like rude jokes, bare bums on their comic covers, puns about plops and stuff like that. But in the end Uncle Pigg and the OiNK crew won through and showed him we were all just as deserving. The present he refers to is Patrick Gallagher‘s cut-out mobile on the back cover “for people who hate Xmas”, which is a very strange thing to put in a children’s comic. It’s more revenge on Santa for the story, but still, I remember thinking even at the time it was a little weird. Surely no one in OiNK’s target audience would hate it!
So that’s us at the end of a superb issue, a very special Christmas treat and a great stocking filler in itself if you can throw a hint at any loved one to search for it on eBay in time. With everything wrapped up (again, no pun intended) in time for the holidays there’s just time to squeeze in Jeremy Banx‘s Mr. Big Nose, another highlight of this issue that has stayed in my memory for decades and it’s a joy to see it again.
The next issue of OiNK had an on-sale date of 27th December but as per usual with Christmas comics and magazines it was released earlier than normal, what with the comics publishers shutting for the holidays, distributors working limited hours and back then our shops actually shut for days at a time to give the staff time off too. So our New Year’s editions would always arrive before Christmas, but I’ve no way of knowing exactly when so I’m just going to stick to the on-sale date.
That means the Hogmanay (appropriately enough) issue of OiNK will be reviewed right here on Monday 27th December 2021. I hope to see you then.
It’s the most wonderful time of the year and time for the most wonderful free gift in the history of comics (not that I’d hype it up and I might be biased) to finally be completed in time for the end of 1986. Part three of Ian Jackson‘s glorious Mount Rushboar calendar poster was coming in the next issue of OiNK and you’ll be able to see it and the finished product in all its glory in the full review of #17 tomorrow.
Poster promo by Patrick Gallagher
But even better than that is the fact it’s the first Christmas Special! I should just get this off my chest now, I absolutely adore Christmas and this next issue of OiNK was my first experience of a festive comic. From the snowy logo on the cover photograph of the Queen making a Christmas dinner out of her corgis, to the spoof TV listings inside making fun of the seasonal telly and a multi-page Uncle Pigg story, it was a hoot from start to finish!
Promo written by Mark Rodgers, drawn by Ian Jackson
Now, finally, I’m getting to read this issue all over again and I can’t wait! The full review will be here at some point tomorrow, Monday 13th December 2021 so come back then for cheer and goodwill to all* in a review which I’m particularly excited to write.
(* except Mary Lighthouse, butchers and, surprisingly, Santa Claus it would seem! Find out why in the review.)
The latest issue of editor Barrie Tomlinson‘s Super Naturals from Fleetway decided the best way to get new readers on board was to bribe them with cold, hard cash. I’m joking, of course, the fact was this Sandy James cover informed potential readers of the prizes for their submissions used in the pages of the comic. As Super Naturals continued some of the best strips would be those based on reader ideas too. For now though, let’s stick to the issue at hand and it kicks off as usual with the latest chapter of The Legend of the Super Naturals, as drawn by Dave D’Antiquis.
Continuing to terrorise the streets of New Orleans during Hallowe’en 1987, the evil forces of Skull seem to be having the time of their afterlives, especially when human law enforcement begins to fight back. The police officers are easily dispatched by Snake Bite who transforms, hypnotising them to the spot. As he closes in to bite them (and kill them I’m assuming) Lionheart and his noble warriors turn up to save the day. Or at least attempt to.
The thing is Skull’s on a roll with his seemingly unstoppable Bat Bopper truck. He goes beyond the police lines, seeking out the military defence cordon we saw mobilise last time. But they’re nothing against this possessed vehicle, their weaponry literally bouncing off the supernatural force behind it. Just to drive home the point it rams the tanks, flipping them out of the way as if they themselves were toys and firing bat bombs at the approaching air forces.
As is the case in stories like this we humans can’t tell the difference between the good and bad guys when we’re faced with something different and the strip ends with Eagle Eye fired upon in his bird form after a pilot saw him transform. Of course, Eagle Eye actually did so in order to take to the air and help protect the pilots. What’s curious here is how he refers to his ‘Power of Truth’ at one stage, but that just results in a powerful energy beam coming from his chest in the midst of battle with his foes. Surely that power would be used to force people to tell the truth?
Anyway, Legend sets quite the pace and while it remains light on plot it continues to do its job of introducing our characters and their abilities brilliantly. This chapter in particular feels like a truly huge battle, the reader left wondering if there could ever be anything us humans could do to stand up against these supernatural forces if they truly turned against us. Or are we forever to rely on the good guys to swoop in and save us, which given the fact we’re shooting them down doesn’t bode well. A good bit of old-fashioned, grand scale action to begin proceedings before we move on to the light-hearted Ghostlings drawn by Anthony Williams.
A new story begins this issue and it has the potential to be quite interesting and a lot of fun. Colliding as they crash through another barrier from Ghostworld, the opposing forces of good and evil appear to have lost a couple of their helpers. Both Weird Wolf and Spooks have fallen off at the moment of transition and ended up in some kind of limbo or void between realities, or so it initially seems. There are only hints so far about where they actually are and I like that, adding a bit of mystery to the fun.
When faced with a giant dinosaur-like creature Spooks immediately concludes they’ve been thrust into the past but Weird Wolf isn’t so sure. For once the dimwitted punk rocker may be on to something. The dino only has one eye and he’s never heard of anything like it before in all his years. Most of all, he sees a chance to do a rare thing for a Ghostling and make a meaningful contribution to the cause.
It’s actually not a bad plan. While the first Ghostlings strip was fun (and actually quite funny in places) this one is far more interesting. Everything from the sudden change in setting, the mystery and Weird Wolf becoming more than the petulant teen wolf of previous issues is really enjoyable. This is only four pages into the tale so I’m looking forward to seeing where it goes from here. A big improvement so far.
Now we go from the interesting to the outright murderous, right from the very first panel! Knowing this is a comic aimed at kids who were the same age as me at the time (that is, roughly ten-years-old or so) this is quite the shocking image from artist Francesc Masi when you turn the page. Any mystery behind whether The Doll would actually kill is wiped away here, but what’s even more shocking is the reveal in the second panel.
Initially, just for a second, I thought the fact it was just younger brother David Wickham was to alleviate the horror, but then I thought about it and it’s so much worse! David’s face says a lot about his state of mind and now that first panel is very clear in its intentions, finding out David was attached to the doll makes this all the creepier.
This is a particularly dark episode of the story. Hearing the commotion, their foster dad enters the room and David throws the doll at Simon for him to take the blame of rescuing it from the bin outside. Well, actually there’s a hint the doll may have leapt onto Simon by itself, but it’s deliberately not overly obvious. Uncle Frank understandably goes ballistic (see earlier reviews to understand why) and, grabbing Simon by the ear, marches them all to the fireplace and throws the doll into the flames. (The scene is completed with a tiny safety message from the comic.)
We know this won’t be the end though, and just a short while later a noise from the living room alerts the family and they find the doll has somehow fallen out of the fire. It would seem the fireguard wasn’t secured properly (or was unlocked from the inside) and the doll’s charred remains have set the carpet ablaze. Again, it’s all smoke (literally in this case) and mirrors.
The Marshalls’ teenage son Clive goes to lift the toy to throw it outside but burns his hand. However, David picks it up with ease, proclaiming Clive must’ve been “unlucky” and touched the wrong bit. Frank is furious, blaming Simon for everything and after the fire brigade have put out the fire he asks them to dispose of the “rubbish” that caused it. This leads on to the final page of the strip for this issue, in which a homeless man searching for scraps of food does so in the skip outside.
The individual events here might seem a little clichéd today but taken altogether they can make for a tense read. You also have to remember this was written in 1987 and for an audience who wouldn’t have been exposed to horror films yet. For all intents and purposes this was their introduction to the genre, and let’s make no bones about it, that homeless man has been murdered by the doll. Its capabilities are now very clear.
Two of the letters sent in by young readers were illustrated by Tom Williams which was quite the honour
That could be harrowing stuff for young kids and while I only read the first two issues (and the last) back then, what I read did frighten me. I don’t know what this chapter would’ve done, but I’m sure I would’ve enjoyed it. Oh, how the other kids in the playground loved being scared by this character. It was fun to be scared by a comic, knowing it was just that, a comic and we could stop at any time, close it and walk off. But we dared ourselves on and kept coming back.
Reader contributions were gathering pace with this issue. Not only was there a gallery page for drawings, A Letter FromSpooks had a double-page spread. Two of the letters sent in by young readers were also illustrated by Tom Williams (Creature Teacher, Tiny Tycoon, Dandy and Beano Comic Libraries) which was quite the honour. One asked Mr Lucky to cast a magic spell for better weather, the other asked Rags to wrap up the reader’s school bus driver!
What could be better than seeing your idea brought to life by a pro and then receiving a fiver in the post for it? How about receiving a tenner in the post when one of Super Naturals’ writers and another pro comics artist turned your story idea into a full six-page strip? That’s exactly what happened for reader Tony Ashworth when his idea became the first to be used for the Scary Cat Challenge.
His Monster of the Lake is a basic tale but it’s well presented. It begins millions of years ago as a Tyrannosaurus rex and a Brontosaurus fight to the death atop a cliff face. Spanish artist Julio Vivas (Tammy, Jinty, Valentine) really exaggerates the creatures which, while they’re not for me, I’m sure young Tony appreciated. The Brontosaurus (which wouldn’t really have been a fighter like this) triumphs and the T-rex falls to its death beneath the waves.
Through some unclear imagery we surmise she was pregnant and for whatever reason the egg inside not only remains perfectly preserved as her body decomposes, but over millions of years grows to huge proportions. None of this is explained. But millions of years later is where we pick up the story when Lieutenant-Commander John Cartwright‘s nuclear submarine hits the giant egg and unleashes a T-rex upon his boat. Again, how did it survive in there? Who knows. It even absorbs one of the Commander’s missiles, then destroys the sub and kills all on board.
Eleven years later young Kevin Cartwright is being taken on a camping trip by his mum to the lake where his dad, John, died under mysterious circumstances. Yes, I wondered why they’d want to do that too. During the night Kevin is summoned by a mysterious voice telling him to walk to a certain cliff face near the lake. Sleepwalking, completely unaware of where he is or what he’s doing, he comes face to face with the dinosaur who lashes out at the young boy.
“I build the flames of my being to the strength of a thousand furnaces!”
Burnheart
But Kevin starts to emit a ghostly glow, startling the ‘rex who then topples over the same cliff as featured earlier. It’s a story full of plot holes but that could be more to do with it being based on a young reader’s imagination and I wouldn’t have cared at the time. But it does have some nice imagery in the latter pages, like the panel showing the passage of time after the sub is destroyed and the final image of father and son.
Much better is the final part of Mount of Athos, as ever drawn to epic proportions by Alan Langford. Each issue, the opening panels of this story have really drawn me in and this time is no different, with his superb depiction of Skull looking on as Burnheart transforms into living flame, ready to destroy the symbol of peace they’ve all been fighting over. It’s a dramatic opening worthy of the longest-running comics of the time, once again making me lament the fact this publication wasn’t to sit alongside them.
Just as Alan crafted his own version of Skull from the toy design, his Burnheart disregards the fiery face the toy’s action figure and shield had. It was never too obvious anyway and was a subtle face in the flames, but Alan instead opts for pure flame and I think it works so much better. It’s scarier to have pure fire, it feels more dangerous than a spooky face.
In this last chapter of the best licenced strip so far, it all boils down to a bit of quick thinking deception by Lionheart. First, Scary Cat transforms into her feline form (which last issue revealed was her true form) to take the container from him by force and once again Alan knocks it out of the park. A stray cat is no match against a lion and ultimately she’s thrown aside, so it’s only a small moment but I just love how it’s been drawn, particularly the attacking cat emerging from the disappearing form of the old witch.
He seems to particularly relish bringing the evil Super Naturals to the page and I hope, like editorBarrie’s Ring Raiders where the same creative teams would continue to bring each subsequent serial to life, that Alan returns for the next story. We’ll find out in a fortnight.
The battle has gone back and forth several times by this point over the issues, frustrating Lionheart so much he appears to suddenly lose it! Screaming at Skull and his henchmen for daring to challenge him he transforms into his lion persona and takes them all down in a wild fury. However, he knows this will only delay them, that the battle can’t be won and so in desperation decides on another way of getting the relic out of Skull’s reach, which involves a bit of trickery.
Hiding the actual contents of the casket under a heavy stone in the body of the monastery, he makes a run for it with the now empty canister. Apparently backed into a corner overlooking a cliff he has no option but to throw the canister over the edge into a vast forest below in a final desperate bid to push it beyond the reach of Skull.
Of course, it’s not a desperate bid and even getting cornered was deliberate. Skull and the others take off after the relics. There’s no longer a need to waste time by doing battle, they will spend their time hunting them down and destroying them instead, despite the size of the forest below. He questions Lionheart’s rationale and later we see him come to the realisation he’s been duped.
It’s a basic idea but it’s still early days for the comic and the character of Lionheart, however it’s great to see him beginning to grow beyond the simple fighting warrior. His character has just started to come through and I’m hoping we get to see more of it before we get to the end of the comic’s short run. The story itself has been a blast but it’s the imagery that will stay with me, with plenty of epic scenes and creepy imagery for fans to lap up.
With the back page competition being the exact same as the one in #1 all there is left to write about is the Next Issue promo.
The fifth issue gets a full page promotion because it’s the Christmas issue! Christmas editions of comics are always special, especially for me because I’m a huge nut for the season! Perhaps my comics really celebrating it helped form that part of me that I’d never grow out of. It looks like most of our stories are going to be festive entries too (even some of the serials which surprised me) and that front cover is another piece of Ian Kennedy gorgeousness. So, plenty to look forward to. After all, there’s nothing quite like good ghost stories at Christmastime.
The date on the cover is 26th December but it would’ve been released early because of publisher deadlines and limited opening hours for our shops. While the whole point of this site is to read everything in real time I’ve no way of knowing the exact date it would’ve arrived in my newsagent, so I’ll be sticking to the date on the cover. Come back on Boxing Day 2021 for the full review of Super Naturals #5.
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