Trick or Treat from the Journal of Luke Kirby

'Trick or Treat'

from the Journal of Luke Kirby

2000 A.D. Annual, 1994

The character of Luke Kirby debuted in 2000 A.D. comics, in the April 23, 1988 issue ('Prog' No. 571). The story was set in the UK in 1962, when Luke is a schoolboy, sent to live for the summer with his Uncle Elias, in the seemingly pastoral and peaceful countryside.

 

Luke discovers that his family lineage features more than a few wizards and warlocks, and in due course, is introduced to the basics of magic (and by extension, the supernatural).

 

One of the more engaging Luke Kirby stories first appeared in the 1994 2000 A.D. Annual, and features a script by Alan McKenzie, and art by John Ridgway. It represents the Luke Kirby franchise's attitude towards the intersection of the 'modern' world, with the hidden world of the occult.

 

 

 

 

Book Review: Damon

Book Review: 'Damon' by C. Terry Cline, Jr.

1 / 5 Stars

 

'Damon' first was published in 1975 by G. P. Putnam's Sons. Fawcett Crest issued this mass-market paperback edition in 1975.

 

The premise of 'Damon' is simple: a four year-old boy is a Bad Seed. The novel documents his transgressions, along with efforts by his caretakers to determine if the boy's behaviors are of pathological, or supernatural, origin.

 

In the novel's opening passages we are introduced to Damon Daniels, the only child of high-achieving parents Melba and Edward. Damon's family lives in a nice home in a rural area outside Decatur, Georgia. We learn that Damon has a high IQ, along with some peculiar traits: he can read minds, and he can cause rose bushes to wither and die with a simple gesture. His parents, dumbfounded by their son's behavior, consult with eminent psychiatrist Kyle Burnette. 

 

Burnette subjects the rather truculent Damon to a variety of physiological and psychological tests and assays. These reveal a 'hormonal imbalance,' a condition which may explain the boy's predisposition to certain shocking behaviors. Burnette observes that Damon regularly lapses into catatonia, during which he displays the voice and mannerisms of adult male, in particular, an aggressive, sex-obsessed, and malevolent male.

 

Is this a case of demonic possession, a la 'The Exorcist' ? Author Cline surely was aware that he was treading on well-known fictional ground by proceeding in such a direction. Accordingly, the narrative in 'Damon' distances itself from 'Exorcist' territory by evading the supernatural, and instead dithering through clinical and diagnostic activities. These are related with a pedantic attitude, much in the manner of a Michael Crichton novel. 

Interspersed with the medical discourses and lengthy conversations between Damon and his psychiatrist, are episodes in which Damon Behaves Badly. Even by the relaxed, 'groovy' sensibility of the 70s, these have a disturbing quality and plainly are designed by author Cline to emulate, and even surpass the transgressive sensibilities of 'The Exorcist.' Indeed, I doubt any modern-day publisher would agree to publish 'Damon' unless some of the content is removed. As the back cover blurb, attributed to Publisher's Weekly, states: 

If The Exorcist contained its fair share of shocks, sexual and supernatural, Damon outdoes it.

   

By the final fourth of 'Damon,' even the titillation of shapely Nurse Betty Biting the Pillow starts to pall, and boredom sets in. I anticipated that author Cline would have a contrived, underwhelming denouement in store. Without disclosing spoilers, that is exactly what the novel delivers ! The denouement is dumb.

 

Is 'Damon' a must-have for collectors of Paperbacks from Hell ? Decidedly, no. Its one of those novels where its transgressive qualities only can ropel the narrative so far, for so long, before the plotting stalls and sputters. It's a One-Star novel.

 

For another review of the book (contains spoilers) from another underwhelmed reader, I direct readers to the Trash Fiction Champion blog.

Summer Magic 2000 A.D.

  

'Summer Magic: The Complete Journal of Luke Kirby'

2000 A.D., 2017

The character of Luke Kirby, boy wizard, was introduced in 'Prog' 571, April 23, 1988, of the UK comic 2000 A.D. The initial series, printed in black-and-white, was titled 'Summer Magic,' and written by Alan McKenzie, with artwork by John Ridgway.

 

The series is set in the UK in 1962. When his mother becomes ill, Luke is sent to live with his Uncle Elias for the summer. Elias lives in 'Lunstead,' in the country, and its bucolic setting seems (at first) to be placid and peaceful.

Luke soon discovers that Uncle Elias is a practitioner of magic, and Elias teaches Luke some 'alchemy' involving the transmutation of metals. Luke also learns that wild animals have been attacking the sheep at Brock's Farm. Joining the men folk on a night-time hunting trip, Luke has an alarming encounter with the 'beast' responsible for attacking the sheep:

Further confrontations with the dark forces haunting the woodlands bring a loss of life, and revelations about his family, that show Luke a path forward to being a wizard in command of strange powers and abilities. But these powers have their costs, and can corrupt the unwary.....

Other story arcs, first published in 2000 A.D. in the mid-to-late 1990s, see Luke investigating rumors of vampires ('The Night Walker'), those unfortunates who are trapped in the depths of Hell ('Sympathy for the Devil'), and strange goings-on in places of myth and magic ('Old Straight Track'). Interspersed with these adventures are several shorter, one-shot stories.

Starting with 'The Night Walker' in 1992, the series was printed in full color, using a 'retro' palette designed to evoke the color schemes used in the British boy's papers of the 1950s and 1960s.

 

With 'Sympathy for the Devil' (1993) and following stories, Ridgway was replaced as artist by Steve Parkhouse, whose art decidedly is more 'cartoony.' In my opinion, Parkhouse's art (below) is less effective than Ridgway's carefully rendered line work.

Blurbs about Harry Potter aside, in the Luke Kirby episodes, Alan McKenzie's scripting is much darker than the Rowling franchise. British media in the horror and suspense genres, intended for what is nowadays called the 'young adult' (YA) readership, historically tends to be grimmer and more sophisticated than its American counterparts (i.e., R. L. Stine's 'Goosebumps' franchise).

The 'Night Walker' storyline, in particular, aims, and succeeds, in communicating an atmosphere of grim and disturbing things taking place in suburban neighborhoods.

Aside from ardent 2000 A.D. fans, who will want a copy of 'Summer Magic' ? The series' deliberate pacing, and its carefully tended evocation of the UK of 60 years ago, likely will be underappreciated by modern-day YA readers. However, adults who appreciate a 'classic' approach to horror and the supernatural will find the book rewarding.

Penthouse and Omni October 1978

Penthouse and the Launch of Omni

October, 1978

October, 1978, and atop the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart we find the band Exile with their unusual amalgamation of country and disco, 'Kiss You All Over.'  Also in the top Five are A Taste of Honey, with their disco hit 'Boogie Oogie Oogie.' Album oriented rock is represented by Boston and their single 'Don't Look Back.'

The October issue of Penthouse magazine is on the stands, and publisher Bob Guccione has dedicated much of this issue to promoting the release of a new magazine, Omni, this same month. Formerly titled Nova (it was dropped to avoid confusion with the PBS television show), Omni was to provide 'science fiction and science fact' to the discerning reader.

 

 

While Guccione didn't explicitly mention it, Omni was to be run by his girlfriend, Kathy Keeton. Keeton was of course still in charge of Viva, Guccione's attempt to mimic Playgirl. While Viva would be cancelled in 1980, Keeton was much more successful in helming Omni, which was published until 1996.

 

This October issue of Penthouse had a lengthy article, 'Science Fiction Fever,' by journalist Tom Nolan. The article covers the science fiction boom then sweeping the popular culture. It's a good overview of a transformed genre, and illuminates the impact the success of Star Wars and Close Encounters of the Third Kind had on science fiction and its foremost practitioners. 

Nolan presents some interesting observations on the genre as it was in 1978:

 

• Star Wars merchandising sales are expected to reach the $200 million mark by the end of 1978.

• Starlog magazine has a circulation of 500,000 (for comparison, in October 1972 Good Housekeeping had a circulation of 5,601,207, and True Confessions, 442,111).

• Robert Silverberg is "....mulling over a six-figure offer to return to the typewriter" (presumably this was the impetus for his 1980 novel 'Lord Valentine's Castle').  

• Bantam Books has sold a total of around 17 million Ray Bradbury paperbacks.

• Frederik Pohl estimates there are about 2 million dedicated readers of sci-fi in the USA.

• Nancy Neiman with Avon Books estimates that the average print run for a science fiction paperback is 60,000 to 75,000 copies, as compared to 40,000 "a few years ago."

•  Some 2,000 science fiction courses are being taught at approximately 60,000 high schools and colleges nationwide.

• Joe R. Haldeman's 1977 novel 'Mindbridge' set a record when its paperback rights were sold for $100,000.

 

The October issue of Penthouse features an excerpt from the forthcoming Anthony ('Clockwork Orange') Burgess novelette, '1985.'

According to Burgess, '1985' was intended to be a sort of sequel to George Orwell's novel '1984.' In Burgess's novelette, the UK is in sad shape. Mass migration by third worlders means the London streets are ruled by 'cocoa-colored youth' who rob, rape, and kill with impunity. Arab ownership of the British government means that the call to prayer sounds throughout the city and the bars serve only soft drinks, and no bacon.

There are perpetual strikes, one of which - by the firemen's union - has caused the death of the wife of the protagonist, a 40 year-old man named Bev Jones. As the excerpt ends, Jones has lost his job due to going to work despite his union's implementation of a strike. Jones finds refuge in an abandoned factory off Hammersmith Broadway, with a cohort of men in similar straits, who are hoping that British society will collapse and allow them to regain some measure of power.

'1985' reads very presciently, here and now in 2025...........

 

Elsewhere in the issue we have an advertisement for the film Midnight Express, starring Brad Davis. One of the more impressive films released that year.

There is an interview with Leonard Nimoy. No real revelations or provocations here, Nimoy stays in character, so to speak, as he has been involved in filming the Star Trek feature film (a film whose production was so troubled it would be another year, until December 1979, before it would be released). Nimoy coyly avoids mentioning that he only agreed to do Star Trek: The Motion Picture because Paramount gave him a pot of money to settle Nimoy's dispute over residuals from the TV series. Nimoy also insisted on having script approval over the feature film.

 

We've got a risque cartoon in this October issue...........

 

And, of course, a Penthouse Pet portfolio ! Our Pet for October 1978 is the lissome, Paris-born Veronique de Valdene. I can't say that the inclusion of clothes, boots, blankets, and other accoutrements brings all that much to the portfolio, but that's how Bob Guccione wanted things.

 

 

 

 

And thus we say goodbye to Penthouse, Omni, and that October of 1978, 47 years ago............