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Comic Reviews, Super Naturals

SUPER NATURALS #2: NO GARBAGE

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I’ve really been looking forward to this after enjoying the premiere issue so much. A licenced comic which came across as a spiritual successor to Scream!, Super Naturals had a great start but can that momentum be maintained, even built upon? We kick off with another Sandy James cover which is as colourful as that memorable logo and I initially thought it contained a glaring mistake, but it was I who made the error.

The evil Ghostlings are the star of this front page and in the background we can see their human forms as they lift the cover and reveal the horrors they transform into. Except for Scary Cat, whose hissing cat and witch forms seem to be the wrong way around. But inside, during one of the stories she calls her cat persona her “true form”. While it’s not elaborated on, could it be she was a stray cat who wondered into the Tomb of Doom? It’s an interesting idea. She was the only toy I owned at the time but I can’t remember what it said about her background on the packaging.

The issue opens straight into the second part of The Legend of the Super Naturals and unfortunately it appears John Gillatt has already moved on. Perhaps as a high profile artist he was brought in for the first chapter to either draw readers in or to define the tone and style. Something similar would happen two years later in editor Barrie Tomlinson‘s Wildcat, when Ian Kennedy drew the preview issue and the first chapter to the Turbo Jones strip but then handed it over to Vanyo from #2 onwards. In the case of Super Naturals they’re now in the capable hands of Dave D’Antiquis (2000AD, Eagle and co-creator of Brigand Doom).

There’s no rush to get everyone properly introduced, so it doesn’t feel forced and I like this approach

While John brought a horror comic feel to the origin story, especially in his depiction of Skull and his cronies, Dave’s is more of a traditional adventure strip. The story is action-packed but I do miss the more horrific interpretations of the characters. The story basically continues the fight from last time, playing out over four of the five pages and it’s highly entertaining, right down to their medieval-style speech patterns. These may feel forced to some but they make perfect sense when you take their origin story into account.

Fighting it out amongst modern 80s technology, Skull and Lionheart are impressed with the vehicles and the story ends with them entering separate junk businesses to build their chariots. More on these later. The Legend of the Super Naturals would run for the length of the comic and perhaps the original idea was for it be an ongoing tale of the first months after the characters first entered our world; a way to introduce new toys and features into the stories. We’ll unfortunately never know. I like how it’s taking its time in setting up the world within which our comic will tell its tales. There’s no rush to get everyone properly introduced, to get every single toy front and centre, so it doesn’t feel forced and I like this approach so far.

While the first issue was very much a children’s horror comic with the more light-hearted Ghostlings strip in the middle, this time we’ve started with more of an adventure feel before the comedy, so with only its second issue the comic feels very different. In the Anthony Williams strip the evil Ghostlings bicker and fight about the best way to cause mayhem at a punk rock concert while Spooks, See-Thru, Hooter and Mr. Lucky take centre stage in a completely different era. Accidentally travelling through a different Ghostworld exit they came out in the time of Henry VIII.  Right in front of him as a matter of fact.

There are plenty of jokes and sight gags, as well as funny banter between the characters. It really does give the impression they’ve known each other for a very long time before we the readers came along. What was interesting is how it’s forbidden for the good Ghostlings to frighten a human, so when they find themselves trapped Mr Lucky turns into his giant bunny form and burrows their way out of trouble instead of simply scaring the people away. Enjoyable silliness but now it’s finally time to get back to some frights.

It’s time to return to the foster home where brothers Simon and David Wickham are spending their first night. With his little brother sound asleep, Simon worries about earlier events and the anger he saw in David’s face over a toy. He begins to hear creaking and shuffling noises and The Doll leaps at him in the dark! But he jolts upright and realises it was just a dream. Or at least he thinks it was, it was so real. Thirsty, he heads downstairs, unaware his brother isn’t asleep at all. The panel showing this is really rather creepy. Oh I love this strip!

It’s such a shame we don’t yet know who wrote it, because whoever’s script this is works incredibly well with artist Francesc Masi to create a truly unnerving atmosphere for the young readers. We knew the doll was alive, knew it was probably in the house but we didn’t know if Simon really saw it and we certainly didn’t know where or when it could pop up next. Looking out the window Simon sees the dustbin and breathes a sign of relief, unaware of what happened at the end of the last chapter, and as he enters the kitchen in the dark we young readers were checking every inch of the panels.

The caption here echoes that of the one when David opened his eyes. The two events are linked. Reading this now I can clearly remember this issue from 1987. Well, this strip anyway and the feeling of what I now know was suspense, but which at the time was a new experience for me.

We get a little light relief when Aunt Louise comes downstairs thinking Simon was looking for a midnight snack. It’s a tender moment between the foster parent and the teenager on their first night living together, while it also teases us with hints about the past and their previous foster child Alan, who also had a fascination with the ventriloquist dummy. For a children’s comic it’s certainly doing its best to tell a story like a classic 80s horror movie.

After Louise leaves the cat startles Simon when she enters through the cat flap. She begins to hiss, apparently at him, before running back outside again. Cats normally like Simon and there’s nothing else there that could’ve scared her. Confused, he heads to bed, unaware of the shadowy presence watching his every move from the cupboard behind him, which the cat obviously sensed.

“But it isn’t in the dustbin!”

The Doll

We don’t actually see the doll until the final panel of the five pages, but we somehow feel it throughout. It’s still compelling 34 years later. Even though I wouldn’t buy the next issue as a kid (something else must’ve grabbed my fickle attention) I can remember reading this instalment in bed late at night with only my bedside lamp on and the feeling it produced. The pacing is perfect and it suits being read one chapter at a time much more than binge-reading it, which for me would ruin that pacing and suspense if rushed through. It was designed to be read this way after all.

What an experience it was and for the life of me I don’t understand why I didn’t have a regular order. I was only allowed a certain amount reserved at once but at this early stage of my comics reading I only had two orders (OiNK and Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends). Perhaps that’s all I was allowed at the time, later I could have up to four at once. Whatever the reason, I missed out on all but the final issue. Remembering how this creeped me out I regret not experiencing the rest of it as part of the target audience.

Sandy James brings heroic leader Lionheart to life for a centre page poster and it’s classic Sandy. I especially like how the faces of the lion on the shield, Super Natural and complete lion forms all have similar characteristics. They’re not just generic lion faces, you can tell they’re the same character.

Next up is another complete story in this issue’s Scary Cat Challenge. It’s still too early for any reader suggestions due to deadlines so another unknown writer takes the helm, as does an unknown artist. I’m making it my mission to find out more about the making of this comic but information (even from those that worked on it) is hard to come by. It really does seem to be a forgotten comic in every way, which is heartbreaking. But for now these two creators, whoever they may have been, bring us Spider.

It’s a rather basic tale of an unlikeable guy bullying his younger step-brother and then getting his comeuppance. Darren Benson sees young Clive as unmanly by his own so-called standards because he doesn’t like sport, relaxes in hot baths and helps people. From the very start we know Darren is the bad guy here. He buys a toy spider to scare Clive while a spate of deadly spider attacks are reported on the news. We know where this is headed.

The final two pages are above and I will admit the furry arachnid in the final frames is superbly drawn, highly realistic and for anyone with a fear of spiders I’m sure it would’ve made their skin crawl. It’s just a shame it’s all rather predictable and seems to end just as it gets interesting. It’s a six-page story and really could’ve used those pages better. It could’ve got to this stage quicker, using the remaining space to really terrify Darren and maybe have his step-brother save him or, to really scare the young readers, maybe he wouldn’t have. When you see what happens to some of the kids in later stories you’ll understand how this wouldn’t have been too much for this comic!

Mount of Athos is once again our final strip and I’m so glad Alan Langford hasn’t been replaced by another artist. He brings a truly epic scope to this Super Naturals tale. They feel bigger than life, which suits them perfectly of course since they’re not alive and even the toys were huge compared to their contemporaries. In Alan’s hand their other forms can be horrific (see Snakebite in #1 for the perfect example) and their battles Earth-shaking. The opening page looks superb but then you turn it over and this image of Skull just grabs you! I mean come on, look at him!

Skeletor never looked that good. A truly terrifying leader and a world away from the depiction in the first strip this issue. I particularly like Alan’s choice of not giving Skull eyeballs, deviating from the toy and the original comic designs by Sandy James. While the version of him in The Legend of the Super Naturals is a crazed skeleton bent on conquering via endless battling, in Mount of Athos he’s a calculating, cunning foe and has a genuinely frightening presence.

This takes place in an unspecified time after the origin story so perhaps this is the character he was to evolve into, but I think it’s more likely the unknown writer and Alan simply decided on a more serious villain for their story. It certainly raises the stakes. This is also when Scary Cat reveals the hissing cat is her true form as I mentioned earlier. The evil Ghostlings finally show their fangs too, proving they’re more than comic relief and both Eagle Eye and Skull get to show off their supernatural powers. Athos and The Doll are worth the price of admission on their own. Both are compelling reads.

Time to wrap things up for now.

On page 31 there’s a quick preview of the next issue which focuses on those so-called chariots the two sides are determined to build in their respective junk yards. The Ghost Finder and the Bat-Bopper were the two big Tonka Trucks available that Christmas and readers had already been able to check out photographs of them in the preview issue. They looked great so I’m looking forward to their inclusion in the action story next time.

Below that you’ll see the instructions for the free Lionheart mask and I can remember they actually came with little elastic bands for our ears. Funny the things classic comics dig up from our ageing memories, isn’t it? On the back page is the third Tonka competition and it’s a chance for readers to design their own Super Naturals. I’m a bit disappointed Tonka assume they’ll all be male though, but unfortunately this was par for the course back then. (What about Scary Cat?)

Just to finish, when I mentioned “the price of admission” it got me thinking about that price of 40p. It’s easy to dismiss it now, but in 1987 that placed it a little above most similar comics. Marvel‘s Transformers was 30p at the same time, albeit it on smaller paper, with 24 pages instead of 32 and less original material was needed. OiNK itself was a good bit more expensive than Fleetway‘s (publisher of Super Naturals) other humour comics due to its glossy paper and being an independently created comic yet it was 35p. Even MASK, also a licenced comic by the same publisher was 35p in November 1987. Could the price have put some parents off buying it? At the end of the day the toys weren’t a success anyway so it probably wouldn’t have mattered.

Nothing will put me off returning in two week’s time for #3 so join me back here on Sunday 28th November 2021 for more chills, thrills, action and laughs from the comic that had all of that.

iSSUE ONE < > iSSUE THREE

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Comic Reviews, Ring Raiders

RiNG RAiDERS #5: ELECTRiFYiNG STAKES

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Being the only issue I somehow lost between childhood and bloghood this cost me a pretty penny a few years back but it was worth it to have the complete collection again. The superb Ian Kennedy cover featuring my favourite Skull Squadron aircraft, Skull Leader Mako‘s Mig-29 ‘Sea Hunter’ certainly softened the blow to the bank balance. Regular readers may wonder why the question on the cover is being posed when we’ve already seen the answer in #2, but that was a secret for the readers. As far as the Ring Raiders were concerned it was still unconfirmed and made Mako one to fear.

I love the details in the cockpit (something the toys simply couldn’t include due to their size) and the size and power Ian brings to his renderings of these planes. I also love that crosshatch effect for the sky which adds the illusion of texture to the glossy cover. Inside, editor Barrie Tomlinson‘s Battle Zone ’99 comes to its conclusion after beginning back in #2. A more lighthearted affair than the other strips, it’s acted as a great way to introduce the relationship between the calculating Skull Leader Chiller and his own leader Skull Commander Scorch, which comes to a funny conclusion on the final page.

Carlos Pino‘s work has been colourful and fun throughout, perfectly suiting the fast action script and bringing the comedic moments in the air to life. But in this final part there’s something of an anomaly. Chiller’s wingman just doesn’t look right, does he? It’s a mystery, the answers lost in the mysts of time that were the late 80s, but it looks like he’s been altered after the fact. Perhaps the wrong character was drawn originally?

As for the story, which started off with the death of so many sailors on board a submarine, it ends more like an episode of the cartoon series. Chiller’s wingman lands to rescue him but his plane is a single seater so instead of joining the fight on the ground he’s unceremoniously strapped to the prop plane’s tail while Chiller commandeers it. It may have been light on plot but as an action-packed way to kick off every issue it’s been a short, to-the-point bit of fun. With the comic introduced, Barrie and Carlos will team up again next issue for its replacement in a serial which features more plot and the return of Chiller as the lead villain.

In the continuing Trackdown written by Angus Allan and illustrated by John Cooper it looks like Freddie Riley and the professor’s adventure is coming to an end as they approach Wing Commander Joe Thundercloud on a supposedly deserted airstrip, unaware Blackjack and his Harrier ‘Battle Bird’ lie in wait. The panels showing the Ranger helicopter and then Riley’s point of view feel like the camera (for want of a better word) has zoomed inside in one fluid movement. Just me? Well, that’s how it felt to me. John Cooper was certainly cinematic in his storytelling.

In this episode the story transitions back to the characters from the toy line as Riley and the professor are beamed aboard the Air Carrier Justice where they watch the unfolding drama alongside Ring Commander Vector. As much as I enjoyed the comic’s original creations Riley and Runtz I never felt disappointed with the way the story changed its focus here. It was just the natural way for it to go when Riley’s situation was resolved. It’s a fast-paced story but it’s full of character and each issue brings another layer to the plot. It feels masterfully planned out, so kudos to Angus for doing such an amazing job with his first story for a brand new franchise.

As a kid I loved the scenes on the ground just as much as the air combat that was at the heart of it all. While they could be shot down, which we’ve seen plenty of in fact, there’s a feeling of invulnerability in the air and a vulnerability when they’re on their feet. Here it adds suspense as Joe lies unconscious, helpless as Blackjack does his cool vertical takeoff with the doomsday device, after confirming the ambush worked perfectly because he can radio-control his bird. A nice little piece of information from the toys there.

(I have to admit I’ve always found the way Harrier jets take off and land just amazing to watch too.)

Skull Leader Hubbub is a Vietnam vet. Having fought for America he’s been left damaged by the ravages of war

In pursuit, Joe can’t shoot down or even cripple the Battle Bird, not with the Doomsday Device on board. Unable to stop it being taken back to Scorch the strip ends with a feeling of complete helplessness. I can’t remember what happens next, so just as I had to originally I’ll be waiting two weeks to find out. One thing to note here, there are a couple of references to Thundercloud’s heritage which read rather differently today and which I’m ashamed to say I glossed over at the time. But given how they’re used by the Skull pilots it adds to their viciousness in the panels in which they’re used.

Scott Goodall‘s complete tale this issue focusses on the Skull star of the Bomber Blues serial, Hubbub the Skull Leader of Rebel Wing. We’ve seen him use his electronic weaponry in that story and here we learn of where his fascination with electricity’s power began. It all kicks off with this glorious splash page by Geoff Campion showing the kind of air battles only this comic could be capable of. The lightning, Vector’s stealth fighter powering into the scene, even another Harrier doing a daring manoeuvre with those vertical jets, it’s all there in one panel. Exciting stuff!

Originally the owner of a rigged slot machine parlour, Hubbub thought he was a tough guy, emperor of his own little domain. He’s also a Vietnam vet. Having fought for America he’s been left damaged by the ravages of war. This theme of the Skull Squadron was pointed out in an earlier issue. We were used to our heroes in everything from The A-Team and Knight Rider to Airwolf and Magnum P.I. being veterans of that war and we learned how it affected them. To see it played out in my toy licence comic was great, especially how it told of the horrors faced during that war turned the vets into the bad guys instead.

With all of these little details building up issue-by-issue, character-by-character, it’s all the more heartbreaking to know they didn’t get to flourish in a long-running comic where these aspects of their personalities could have been revisited in future serials. However, it wouldn’t be the last time the ghosts of Vietnam would be felt in Ring Raiders, although you’ll have to wait for the Ring Raiders Special in the early months of next year for that particular story.

Surprisingly, when he’s robbed at gunpoint in his office we see how much of a coward Hubbub actually was in the days before Skull Squadron, cowering while the thieves use harmless pop guns to escape. The police don’t care either because they know he’s a crook himself (and actually in the end this cop is the ringleader of the thieves). Through contacts in Chicago’s rough South Side he’s able to stake out the next target and hide on the roof of their van while they make their escape.

Falling off when the driver loses control on the wet runway of the airport from which they’re going to flee the country with their last score, Hubbub finds himself at their mercy, outnumbered and this time their guns are very real. It’s at this point his life is miraculously saved and thus begins the creation of the character we’d grow to love to hate; a sudden bolt of lightning strikes the metallic dish on top of the van the thieves had put there (to make it look like a repairman’s vehicle). The bolt blinds them long enough for Hubbub to make his move. We then finishes things off with a little more of his history and a gorgeous final few panels as he rounds off his tale.

After Ring Raiders was cancelled the new year brought a new partwork to my newsagents called simply Airplane and I collected the first handful of issues. My interest was in no small part thanks to how the comic would treat these fantastical airplanes in as real a way as possible, always referencing them by their proper code numbers and names, and then there were historical scenes like these and other real world conflicts. A new series of pin-ups next issue heightened my enthusiasm too. I’ll talk more about that next time, but for now just look at those final few panels, making the transition from Vietnam to the world of the Skull Squadron via the different aircraft Hubbub used. Beautiful imagery to end an engaging and fun little story with surprising depth.

After the letters page the Next Issue promo feels retro even for this 1989 comic. Featuring a biplane, a big banner to the left and a headline along the wings of the plane, it reminds me of what Barrie might have used to promote an issue of Battle for example and I love it! If the Ring Raiders toys had been more successful I honestly believe this comic could easily have been seen as a modern, high-tech version of those classic war comics. It certainly had the writing and artistic talent for it.

Moving on and another story comes to a rather sudden end in part five of James Tomlinson‘s Bomber Blues, drawn by Don Wazejewski. It also includes what I originally thought were contradicting actions from Raider ‘Cub’ Jones. He begins by blasting a crashing Skull plane out of existence to save Hubbub who had ejected from his own aircraft last time and was standing in the crash zone. I like this; the Raiders have a code and will always aim to capture rather than kill.

But then on the very next page he inadvertently places innocent lives in danger. One of Hubbub’s wingmen sees an opening but isn’t prepared for Cub dropping his flaps and undercarriage to drastically reduce his speed, letting the Skull pilot fly past before returning fire. It’s a neat move and the pilot ejects to safety but the plane crashes right into the airfield below, the very one Cub had been trying to protect this entire time.

The World War II pilots run for their lives and barely escape. I remember thinking this went against that code I mentioned, so why did he shoot the plane down there? The key moment here is the Skull pilot’s final radio communication. “Double engine flameout! All power lost… entering terminal dive!” In other words, he’s known he was going down and at the last moment forced the nose down early, aiming the flaming plane towards the hanger.

It’s certainly a dramatic twist, which makes the sudden ending all the more strange. Another wingman lands to pick up Hubbub who takes a leaf out of Chiller’s book from earlier in the issue and forces the pilot out, taking the airplane up alone to face off against Cub for the final fight (leaving the pilot in the middle of World War II I’d assume). There are some great acrobatics as his slow prop plane tries to angle itself into the path of the jet but ultimately he flies out of the time zone in retreat. We’re now down to the final few panels and Cub opens up a time jump too and simply signs off!

He disappears, leaving the wreck of the airfield behind him, telling the men he’s befriended that he’ll see them again when needed. He could at least have helped with the clean up. To be honest, Bomber Blues has been a blast from the start and Cub’s affinity for the people battling in the time zone he was originally plucked from was something I would’ve liked to see return in a later issue.

I do think this final chapter could’ve been split over two issues though, so that it could’ve included at least a page of some kind of epilogue. As it stands, it’s still a great action-packed story notable for taking place almost exclusively in the air, the ending is just a bit rushed.

This issue’s advert hasn’t got much in the way of original art this time that’s for sure, just a tiny F-9 ‘Sky Tiger’ taken from Bomber Blues. But what it does contain is a lot of memories. Looking back at this I’m thinking, “Oh I had that, and that, and that!” In fact, I had everything shown here! Well, except my Battle Blaster was a Ring Raiders model and not the Skull Squadron one.

I can remember opening the giant boxes for those three bases on Christmas Day, although unlike the photos here (or indeed the images on the box) my Sky Base Freedom was just the Sky Base Courage mould painted another colour with different guns. (I see in this photo some of its accessories are missing too.) Those are some very happy memories, only marred slightly with the knowledge the comic had already finished.

“Mako got Baker in that last scrap over the fort, Commander! Didn’t see him bail out!”

Tremlet, Freedom Wing

While Mako and Yuri Kirkov both made the cover it wasn’t in relation to their strip. Perhaps that’s a sign they were arch enemies, destined to face off time and again. For now, Tom Tully‘s Freedom Flight continues with part six and the fort is on its last legs with Mako leading the rebel planes in a spectacular assault as presented here by Sandy James. Mako and his men easily take out the government planes, leaving the ground forces at the mercy of the rebels.

Kirkov’s plane is nearly repaired, catastrophic damage from Mako’s previous attack being averted thanks to his use of the ring last time, and he’s frustrated as he helplessly watches the battle unfold. Interestingly, he uses his ring to power the monitors and surveillance cameras of the fort which had lost all electricity. Getting impatient he finds out that repairs have stopped because of a very simple reason: it’s 1966.

His incredible F-4 ‘Comet’ is from another time and the ground crew have never seen anything quite like it. They’ve been able to slap together repairs on the physical damage but when looking at the hydraulics they come across computer circuits and controls like something that might as well be from a sci-fi movie for them. I liked this small bit of technical information and it brings up a conundrum with the whole time travel thing. Little scenes like this show the writers are thinking the time travel aspect through properly. Yes, it’s all fun and far-fetched nonsense, but ground that nonsense with some moments like this and you can inject real jeopardy into the fantastical set up.

Kirkov takes a gamble, assuming that after the physical repairs all that’s needed is a little bit of power, something that normally would be out of the question but which the ring may be able to provide (as established with the fort’s equipment). There’s a rather corny caption to go with it, but apart from that it’s another enjoyable episode. It’s the only story so far to use the ring for its main purpose and we saw how it could have a detrimental effect on the pilot last issue. I’ll assume here it’s more like jumpstarting a car.

By this stage all of the members of Freedom Wing have been named and we find out Baker has been shot down, with no sign of a ‘chute. We’re left to presume one of the Ring Raiders has been successfully killed by Mako as they fly to a three-on-three battle next issue. High stakes indeed. In fact, Freedom Flight and Trackdown both have the highest stakes for our characters and a real feeling of peril, and it’s because of this that they’re my favourites. So far anyway.

From memory the next issue is the best of the run but of course it would also contain the very worst news imaginable. You can see how it manages to both thrill and sadden when the review lands on the blog on Thursday 25th November 2021.

iSSUE FOUR < > iSSUE SiX

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Comic Reviews, Super Naturals

SUPER NATURALS: BLOCKBUSTER ADVERT

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When I was building up to OiNK‘s own read through I wrote about how IPC Magazines promoted its release in new ways compared to previous comics. These included a four-page ‘Blockbuster Advert’. Rather than a regular advertisement these actually added four pages to those comics that contained it and acted as a large pull-out promo which could be enjoyed separately, just one week after the preview issue had also been given away. By 1987 Fleetway had taken over IPC’s comics and decided to employ this tactic for Barrie Tomlinson‘s Super Naturals tie-in.

So, one week after the free preview comic and on the same day as the premiere issue went on sale (Hallowe’en 1987) came the Super Naturals’ own Blockbuster Ad. At the same bigger-than-A4 paper size it surely must’ve made an impact when Sandy James‘ Skull fell out of readers’ regular comics. Unfortunately just like the preview issue this wasn’t given away with OiNK so I didn’t discover it until decades later. The exact comics that included this is unknown but I think it’s a given the likes of Eagle and the licenced Mask would have.

The Blockbuster Advert, as seen below, included samples of Super Naturals art by Sandy James, Francesc Masi, John Gillatt, Jim Watson and Alan Langford.

So it was included in the issues released on 31st October, the perfect day for some added spookiness to tempt new readers over. Inside, the layout shows off all the main highlights of the issue in stores that very day, including that bloody doll as drawn by Francesc Masi. (I mean this endearingly because I loved being scared by that thing.) A few of the toy characters are shown in their new comic form and there’s a preview of three of the strips, perfectly highlighting the creepy artwork to be found in this very different publication. I must admit though, I’m not entirely sure what the “Be Patient” is all about.

The back page highlights the free gift and the physical details of the comic. I always did love the way Fleetway would draw pages behind the cover, something they did with adverts for their annuals. It gives the impression of a thick, meaty read and that was no word of a lie with this one.

Back on Hallowe’en 1987 I discovered the comic by accident in the shop, but if this had fallen out of one of my OiNK’s I’d have been right back down to the newsagent straight away anyway!

There was definitely a big promotional push behind Super Naturals both in terms of the toys and the comic.  It was all set to be a hit for Tonka and Fleetway, but alas it was not to be. Let’s not get hung up on that though, instead let’s enjoy the journey through all the regular issues and specials to come.

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Comic Reviews, Wildcat

WiLDCAT #2: STiCKiNG AROUND

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We all know the risks of buying classic comics on eBay and that’s why I always check either in the description or with a message to the seller that all the pages are included and intact. This was listed as being in mint condition and it really is, but what the seller failed to mention was that it also came complete with its free gift. In fact two copies of the gift. To go along with that lovely depiction of the Wildcat spaceship by Ian Kennedy are stickers also drawn by the man himself.

These were to be attached to the free poster that came with the previous issue, which I haven’t been able to acquire yet, but even on their own they’re a cool gift. None of the aliens (at least in these stickers, there were more given away with the first few issues) relate to any of the stories inside, so this was simply a case of Ian’s imagination running wild. I think you’ll agree they’re great and very typical of his work. Brilliant stuff.

With this being only the second issue there’s another recap page to kick things off for new readers who missed out on the preview and issue one, although the comic does ask them why they missed it! The page itself feels a bit like an 80s tabloid layout which is a nice touch, giving the headline news of the story an immediacy I’m sure was appreciated at the time.

After this it’s on to the second part of Turbo Jones‘ story and unfortunately it looks like Ian is no longer the artist for the leader of the daring planetary expedition.

But you needn’t fear because in his place is Vanyo (Death Wish, Storm Force, Ghost Squad), which was actually the pseudonym used by two Spanish brothers, Vicente Vano Ibarra and Eduardo Vano Ibarra. I asked Barrie if he remembers which brother drew Turbo but because they worked through an agency he was never sure which one was contributing which art to his comics. However, on their work he did say, “I do know they kept up a very high standard of artwork and I am a great fan of their work.” I think we can all agree on that.

Their line work brings dramatic facial expressions to Turbo that really humanise him, and adds a real solid feel to the ground-shaking action throughout. In this part of the story we find out the aliens who captured Turbo last issue are called the Burroids and they aspire to be a peaceful race. However, their war with the savage Arglons has been raging for so long now they were instantly suspicious of these new human aliens. Their leader is a giant brain suspended in a large glass dome, who tells Turbo of the history of their races, the war and of the planet itself.

A radiation storm, not unlike that which Turbo predicted for Earth (coincidence?) struck the planet a millennia ago. The resultant conditions upon the world resulted in all species developing a lung deformation and the inability to survive for any length of time above ground level. This rules out air travel and with giant monsters and raging seas stopping travel across the oceans each continent was thus cut off from their neighbours. This also explains the interference in communications prevalent in all of the strips.

This is the perfect set up for the comic. Each continent evolved across a million years separate from all others, meaning each of our landing parties (and our strips) can discover completely different environments and inhabitants, and are all cut off from calling for help, meaning they must explore. It’s quite an ingenious idea by Wildcat‘s creator and editor Barrie Tomlinson. It’s like having lots of different planets to explore all at once.

The Brain explains the two races signed an anti-nuclear treaty to ensure their war wouldn’t destroy the planet or negatively impact those on other continents. But the Burroids are still losing and need a new military leader. Guess who they want? That’s the set up to Turbo’s initial story arc complete and it’s an original one. Let’s see how it develops.

The scenes of murder and mayhem feel like they’re drawn with real relish

David Robinson‘s Joe Alien is up next and his team aren’t really having the best of days. Confirming contact with the Wildcat is being disrupted, I like the fact this only happens after Turbo’s strip has given us readers the explanation why (Loner was cut off last time but we figured it was just the area he was in). It’s just one way in which each strip feels connected to the larger story, which was the whole point of the comic in the first place.

The bad luck continues as he loses another team member, all the while taking shelter from their stalker among the thick vegetation, unable to work out that this is actually the source of their woes. Joe himself keeps sensing danger all around them but continues to be just as confused as his men. When they see something move in the shadows they open fire and hear a scream but find no body. It was the tree that screamed, unbeknownst to them.

I know I’m making a bit of an assumption here but the scenes of murder and mayhem feel like they’re drawn with real relish, like artist Massimo Belardinelli is really enjoying drawing this strip with its weird and wacky antagonists. I do hope that was the case, as it’s such gruesome fun so far. A real classic gem.

We return to Kitten Magee next, written by James Tomlinson and drawn by José Ortiz, and she finally meets some of the locals. First they befriend a cute little furry eight-legged creature, only for it to be eaten on the very next page by flying blobs with big teeth. Her team fire back to scare them off, Kitten stopping her team from killing them, pointing out this is just nature’s way and their lives aren’t in danger. This is a nice moment because after the action of last issue it could’ve been easy to make these characters trigger-happy. Instead, the readers were given all-out action in issue one to draw them in but now things are settling a little more and proper exploration and research is beginning.

There’s quite a funny moment here when two of the team members are talking about when the next attack will come. They draw the conclusion it’ll be a while because their initial actions probably scared off the animals, when this happens.

The two-headed, three-mouthed tiger and its dinner disappear as quickly as they appeared, not even noticing the humans, making for nothing more than a fun piece of comic timing. The laughs soon stop when a tribe of multi-eyed men walk out of the shadows, not flinching when warning shots are fired in an attempt to halt their advance. Cassandra wants to fire directly upon them, based solely on how scary they look, but she’s told by Kitten she’s assumed incorrectly. The tribe are instead conveying a message through a form of sign language.

They wish for their leader to fight Kitten, who they’ve observed as the leader of this strange new tribe. Accepting the challenge, it doesn’t go her way but despite the cliffhanger of a giant rock held over her head, ready to crush her, she tells her team they can’t interfere if this is the custom of the local people. With what seems like an endless array of weaponised jewellery, we’ll have to wait 14 days to see which one she pulls out of the bag (figuratively speaking) to get herself out of this one.

The art here is suitably creepy or suitably action packed when it’s called for. José’s use of dark shadows and scratchy lines is a great contrast to the glorious full-colour assault on the eyes that is Joe’s strip. In fact, I think Kitten’s really benefits from being in this place in the line-up right after Massimo’s work. The sudden change almost forces us to read this differently. The contrast is striking and helps the story convey the darker tone it wants to get across.

There are then two pages of reader’s letters and drawings, although most likely not by actual readers of the comic yet (I explained where #1’s came from last time). One of the alien designs stands out, although not for the reason you might think. Take a look at ‘The Mighty Mouth Monster’ by Paul Ramsey. The second I saw it I recognised it from the myriad of marketing images for The Real Ghostbusters, a franchise which had only just launched in the UK (complete with its own comic) at the beginning of the same year. Here’s the image in Wildcat alongside one of the TV tie-in novels. Notice anything similar? (Novel photo taken from eBay.)

The question about the destruction of our home planet being different to that predicted by Turbo is raised on these pages too, answered with the hope that six pages will be devoted to explaining it in a future issue. Intriguing, although I do know from speaking with Barrie that this story was never developed. What a shame.

On to my favourite strip now and former mercenary Loner uses his modified six-shooter Babe to fire flares into the air, scaring off the cute-but-deadly little furballs from last issue’s cliffhanger. Loner was created by editor Barrie Tomlinson and written by both him and his son, James Tomlinson (Johnny Red, Storm Force, Ring Raiders) and I think you can tell they were having a blast with the scripts here. As he tries to run for his life, Loner jumps into the water but there are floating versions of the little balls of fluff. Then on higher ground he gets attacked by cuddly bat versions!

It doesn’t descend into farce but it’s still quite comical without ever losing its edge or drama. Quite the feat considering how they look. What I particularly like is how he recognises himself as the intruder. He laments having to use his gun to scare them and he refuses to open fire. Again, Wildcat lured its younger readers in with the action but is now showing them there’s more to being a hero than fighting. Constantly getting stung, becoming weaker and weaker he’s unaware of a pair of lizard eyes watching his every move and reading his every thought, or that this creature is controlling the furballs with his mind.

When Loner comes up against a wall of the little creatures the image makes the reader stop and take notice! It’s a great looking page; the wall of electrified death is the background, the panels leading up to that moment on top. I especially like the perfectly aligned little row of eyes between the two groups of panels. But nothing could’ve prepared the young version of me for what was on the next page.

Wow. This is the creature that’s been in control this whole time and would you just look at this image! The detail here is quite remarkable. I love the little details such as the scars, the veins, the shading giving real weight to the figure and that hand in particular. When you have an artist of the calibre of David Pugh drawing something like this it’s almost criminal to know the likes of 2000AD told its readers Wildcat was for their little brothers or sisters. Well, it was their loss and those of us who bought Wildcat were treated to the very best.

Across the page, under those adverts for stamp collecting that seemed to appear in every comic throughout the 80s is the Next Issue panel. At the end of Joe’s strip he used his telescopic limbs to grab hold of a small plant high up on a cliff, trying to look down and see who was attacking them. But the plant started to unravel its roots from the rocks and Joe realised they’re more alive than he bargained for. His realisation came too late though as it ended with him plummeting to the ground. Below you can see what happens next.

The second Wildcat Complete is called Space Madness and readers of classic 2000AD might feel right at home with this one. Although not 100% confirmed, my usual sources of help in identifying artists believe this issue’s story was drawn by Jesús Redondo (Dan Dare, M.A.C.H. 1, Nemesis the Warlock). It all kicks off with a DJ at the ship’s radio station being murdered by a robot while he’s still broadcasting to the last several hundred human beings in existence. As his death is played out live one of his listeners suffers the exact same fate in her room somewhere else on board.

Their untimely deaths make the front page of The Wildcat Express newspaper, which now feels somewhat quaint for being set in the far future (there are even horoscopes despite them being in deep space), but I always enjoy seeing how the future was predicted in stories from our youth. Anyway, I digress. Panic hits the Wildcat, which is understandable given the fact there appears to be a serial killer among them when there really aren’t that many people left, and they’re all trapped inside an orbiting tin can.

As the killings continue you begin to realise each one could be a major blow to the mission. For example a professor is carrying out experiments into the thoughts and feelings of plants in an attempt to understand them. I could see that being of particular use to Joe! Remember, as stated in the preview issue everybody was handpicked by Turbo and his team to be the best of the human race and here the story is just picking them off one by one.

“Mad Newspaper Boss Responsible For Wildcat Murders”

Newspaper headline

In the end, a witness to a fourth murder identifies the culprits as printing robots, leading security to the editor of the paper whose sales were failing because everything was so peaceful on board. It wasn’t exactly a hard case to solve but that’s not the point. The editor is diagnosed with Space Madness, “a kind of insanity triggered off by dwelling too long on the fact that Earth is destroyed and we’re in an unknown galaxy”. Apparently it’s happening across the ship.

It sounds similar to ‘Future Shock’ from the earliest 2000ADs, although here it makes a lot more sense. (It always confused me why people in the future would diagnose others as being unable to cope with living in the future; it’s not the future to them!) I instantly think this would’ve been interesting to expand upon, perhaps it spreading across the Wildcat could’ve been the basis for future stories. I’m not alone in this thinking, because that’s exactly what happens in #10. The fact the doc’s experiments could’ve related to Joe’s story is also interesting. Perhaps if the comic had lasted longer we’d have seen plot points from the strips develop, crossing over into others since they’re all part of one bigger story after all. We’ll never know.

The back page pin up is Joe Alien this time and it’s drawn by the hugely talented Ron Smith (Transformers, The Dandy, Harlem Heroes) and I’m happy to say there’ll be more of Ron in future issues. With all the danger inside, it’s nice to see Joe taking a moment to do some alien meditation surrounded by his new, erm, friends.

Just one thing I’d like to add before I sign off. During The Wildcat Complete I reiterated the point about how so few people were actually saved from the cataclysm. This hasn’t stopped Barrie and his writers from killing off plenty of them so far though! Between Joe Alien and the Wildcat Complete stories so far we’ve lost seven of our survivors already and we’re only two issues in. I think I’ll have to keep tabs on this, just for fun.

Already showing confidence in its scenario and where it wants to take us, this second issue has been a joy to read from beginning to end. If it were in the hands of anyone other than Barrie this is the kind of solid quality we wouldn’t expect until much later in the run, so we really are off to a flying start. Come on back on Friday 19th November 2021 to see where he takes us next.

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Comic Reviews, Super Naturals

SUPER NATURALS #1: PERFECT TiMiNG!

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I’ve never really been into Hallowe’en and could count on one hand the amount of times I’ve really celebrated it. The first time I did anything remotely tied to the season was in 1987 when I sat down on the evening of Saturday 31st October with this Sandy James cover, wearing a mask of a rotting face and read the comic it had come with. That comic was the first issue of Super Naturals from Fleetway and surely its release date was the perfect bit of marketing in itself!

I ended up only buying the second issue before being distracted by something else (easily and often done back then) and I’ve gone into more depth on how my fascination with these returned too late in the introductory post. Right here, right now, I’m ready to read this complete series in real time and enjoy every page along the way I’m sure. As mentioned last time the first story is a reprint of the preview comic’s origin story. Of course, I didn’t originally know this and I’ve a vivid memory of pouring over this particular page from editor Barrie Tomlinson‘s The Legend of the Super Naturals for a long time.

I think it was because of the panel on the top-right. John Gillatt‘s depiction of terrified church goers, fleeing their place of sanctity on the same night I was reading the comic was a powerful image to someone who was only approaching their tenth birthday in a couple of months. The way their faces are cloaked in shadows makes their eyes almost blank with fear, the fact the comic chose a church of all places to have these supernatural entities explode into our world, the date giving it an immediacy when read; these all combined into something that seared itself into my memory.

This is coming from someone whose Reminders app on his iPhone is always full nowadays because he has a head like a sieve, so the fact this memory has stuck with me should say a lot. I won’t go into detail on the story here because I’ve covered it already in the preview issue’s review, but I felt I had to hold back on describing reading this page until now. This was how I first read it so it seemed more fitting for this review. After that heart-pounding beginning it was on to something a lot lighter.

Moving into more comedic territory, Ghostlings was very appropriately illustrated by Anthony Williams (Sinister Dexter, The VCs, Batman) who I knew from the ghostly goings on of an equally comedic variety in The Real Ghostbusters. So who were the Ghostlings? These little helper spirits were Spooks, who in a previous life had been a court jester and can now switch between that form and a traditional ghost, Mr. Lucky the magician who could transform into a giant rabbit, Hooter the wise old wizard whose spells were hit and miss had an owl form and See-Thru, who was a take on The Invisible Man and whose holographic toy could lose its bandages.

There’s such potential within this comic

The evil Super Naturals had their own Ghostlings. Scary Cat the witch could change into a hissing cat (although I assume in the comic she wouldn’t be constantly hissing), Rags was an Egyptian Pharaoh and mummy, Weird-Wolf was a very 80s villain in his punk teen and teen wolf variations and finally Vamp-Pa wasn’t a fatherly old gentleman bloodsucker, he was a vicious vampire and a bat, obviously. In their own story they want to be seen as more than assistants assigned by Specter, who we actually see take form which I don’t remember happening.

Weird-Wolf decides to crash into our world at a rock concert to cause a bit of havoc. It’s not exactly a grand evil scheme, but that’s the whole point of these characters, they wish to play with the bigger kids and impress them by causing a little chaos and showing their potential. It’s a fun set up but as Spooks and his pals give chase the doorway inside Ghostworld changes randomly and they end up in a setting more befitting his previous life, in the court of Henry VIII! Well, I didn’t see that coming. A fun, light-hearted strip to ease the tension for the young readers, giving them a false sense of security before the next story.

The Doll appears to be the most memorable of all the strips in the comic if social media responses are anything to go by, and it’ll soon become clear why. David Wickham and his older brother Simon move in with a temporary foster family after their dad’s accident, their mum having died when they were very young. They’re soon settling in and making friends and it’s all so idyllic to begin with. Illustrated by Francesc Masi (Jackie, Warlord, Bonanza) like a traditional, wholesome comic story it puts the reader at ease. A classic bit of misdirection.

I think it’s worth mentioning this was a year before Child’s Play hit cinemas

David soon finds an old ventriloquist’s dummy hidden away in the back of a closet and immediately takes a shine to it. Simon just thinks it’s ugly. He’s more concerned with his baby brother playing with what he considers a girl’s doll. David wants to show off his discovery of what he thinks is just a forgotten toy and goes to ask Frank and Louise if he can play with it. Frank’s reaction is one of outright anger and he snaps the doll out of David’s hands. Louise tries to explain that it belonged to a previous foster child who had an accident while under their care, and the doll just brought back painful memories. When the kids are in bed though, Frank tells Louise he doesn’t understand how it was still in the house, he thought he’d gotten rid of it years ago, and he throws it in the bin outside.

David isn’t happy one bit. He gets angry when talking about it in bed with his brother, a side to him that Simon has never seen before. He doesn’t understand why his brother is acting this way just because of a doll he found only moments before. Of course, we know by now it’s not just a doll. Aside from the title page, when you look closely at some panels of the strip you can see the doll giving a little side-eye here and there. It’s subtle but it’s clear it’s not being done by the person holding it.

The strip ends with a noise outside as the bin lid clatters onto the ground. Thinking it’s just cats digging about the trash again, Frank goes to have a look. While he’s on his way we get that lovely creepy image above of a hand slowly rising up under its own power. Two staring eyes lear over the rim and this is where the story ends for now. I think it’s worth mentioning this was a year before Child’s Play hit cinemas.

Kids love being scared by their chosen entertainment. Whether it’s Doctor Who, Hallowe’en games or storybooks etc. Tabloids try to rile parents up with fake outrage about such things but kids love this sort of thing. It’s a safe scare. The Doctor will arrive and she’ll save the day for example. Or we’d know it was just our friends jumping out at us from the dark. Or we could always put down the book, but we never did. The Doll did frighten me back then but I lapped it up. I’d never known a comic could do that and the strip was a hot topic amongst friends at school, copies being passed back and forth with those children whose parents didn’t allow them to read it.

Just to clear up some online misinformation, some people think The Doll was written for another comic aimed at older kids and was simply printed here to fill space. This is rather insulting to the team behind the comic. Just because it’s a toy licence it can’t possibly be scary? The fact The Doll did scare us shows these people are wrong. Francesc Masi even drew the cover to the final issue and inside that edition the story was given a proper conclusion. This was written for Super Naturals and is another reason why this comic deserves more attention and recognition.

Sandy James returns for the double-page poster above, showcasing The Tomb of Doom, the gateway to Ghostworld and he does a superb job of turning the plastic toy into a creepy monstrosity. We then move on to The Scary Cat Challenge. Hosted by the Ghostling, she’d ask readers to send in their ideas for a scary story and, if chosen, the team would turn that idea into a fully fledged comic strip. There was even a tenner for each one used! That was big bucks to us back then. But the real thrill must surely have been seeing your idea brought to life on the page.

Of course the first few stories couldn’t be based on these yet so instead the comic’s writers (as yet unknown to me) came up with some of their own. In The Hunchback of Hinkley Rest a typical teenage game of Dare goes horribly wrong when Ian agrees to spend a night in the local cemetery and accidentally wakes someone up. That someone is the late Cornelius Grudge, a gentle, lonely hunchback who just wants to make friends, but who was bullied by children when he was alive because of his looks. He never gave up on people though and here he comes out to keep Ian company.

Despite opening up to the boy, Ian and his friends do exactly the same thing as people had done throughout Cornelius’ life. They fear him because of his looks, they think he’s a monster and call the police in, who in turn instantly think he’s a criminal or monster of some kind, all based on how they perceive him with their eyes. In the end he’s forced to return to his grave, the police thinking he’s run off, leaving only Ian to know the truth. It’s actually a sad tale in the end, if rather simplistic. But the downbeat ending adds another layer to the comic and the atmosphere is thick, thanks to artist Jim Watson (Scream, Commando, Battle Action Force).

We’re back into Super Naturals territory with a two-page introduction to all the characters which builds upon the card given away with the preview issue. Sandy James is once again on hand and his character models add so much personality to the toys, really bringing those little green holograms to life. In fact it was Sandy who designed the comic’s take on the toys, a process we’d be let in on in a future special feature.

It’s these characters we return to for the final strip of the issue in part one of Mount of Athos. While at this stage readers would be unaware of how long each of the individual stories were to last, the opening page of this gives the impression of a real epic. I just love the grand scale of Lionheart and Skull in battle. The scenario for these characters is such a huge idea, it really is capable of having scope and this page sums it up perfectly for me. There’s such potential within this comic.

In reality, Athos would last a handful of issues before another Super Naturals tale would begin in its place, but that epic feel remains. This is testament to the art of Alan Langford (Eagle, Judge Dredd Megazine, 2000AD), who brings a mature feel to this toy licence tale. The story involves the Monastery of Athos and the Sacred Coffer relic which contains the remains of Saint Servius, known as The Essence of Perfection. As a symbol of all that is good it’s the perfect target for Skull and his group.

All the players are here and more of their abilities are shown off in the heat of battle. Best of all we see Snakebite transform himself into his giant snake form. Snakebite does this to terrify the monks into revealing the location of the coffer in order to save their own lives. I think this image is incredible. This is the kind of horror-action our imaginations would’ve been full of when playing with the toys, but we’d never have been able to imagine it brought to life as such.

For fans of the toys everything they could possibly wish for is here in #1 of Super Naturals. All the characters are introduced, their abilities have been established, toy likenesses elaborated on and more importantly they’re well developed for a first issue. For young fans of children’s horror comics the licenced strips offer spooky adventures (alongside some comedy) and the extra content brings an anthology feel and the promise of real chills to come. It really is the best of both worlds.

It’s a great start. I really hope this read through can bring some overdue attention to this forgotten comic, it’s a truly unique title and deserves a place in the history of UK comics alongside Scream! For now we close off issue one with another competition on the back page from Tonka. This time the two vehicles are up for grabs but strangely aren’t shown.

Next week on Sunday 7th November 2021 I’ll take a look at the four-page Blockbuster Advert found in some of Fleetway‘s other comics as part of the marketing for Super Naturals, followed closely on the 14th with #2’s review. With all three of editor Barrie Tomlinson‘s comics now being read side-by-side, this could be a great winter on the blog!

PREViEW iSSUE < > iSSUE TWO

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