American Comic Book Chronicles: The 1980s

American Comic Book Chronicles:
The 1980s
by Keith Dallas
TooMorrows Publishing, March 2013

'American Comic Book Chronicles: The 1980s' (287 pp) is one of a series of books released by TooMorrows Publishing that chronicle the history of American comic books. Other volumes in the series cover the 1950s, the 1960s, and the 1970s.

Like the volume covering the 70s, which I reviewed here, this is a great book. It adheres to the standardized format for the series, one marked by copious color illustrations and tiny, dense font.

The opening chapters of 'American Comic Book Chronicles: The 1980s' review the rather dire financial state of the comic book industry in the US in the period from 1979 - 1981. Sales were declining for all publishers, as ever fewer newsstand distributors were interested in selling comic books. 

Although Marvel remained the industry's sales leader, the executives of the company's parent corporation, Cadence Industries, were displeased with the low revenue the company was generating from comics. Only by arguing that comics still were a financially viable aspect of magazine publishing, was Marvel president Jim Shooter able to convince the Cadence executives that they should avoid cancelling all but a handful of titles.

As Dallas relates, there was hope that the so-called Direct Market would provide an increasingly viable outlet for comic book sales. But in 1979 there were only 800 comic book stores in the US, and it was not at all clear that the Direct market would grow to the degree necessary to keep comics afloat.

As author Dallas points out, while the publishers struggled to maintain their enterprises, Jim Shooter - having brought a much-needed degree of order to the Marvel editorial offices - began reviving the superhero genre by implementing a reboot of Marvel's X-Men lineup, as well giving greater freedom to new artists and writers, leading to Frank Miller's unique take on Daredevil.

With the gradual growth of dedicated comic book shops throughout the decade, the ranks in independent publishers grew in tandem, and their titles - like Nexus -were able to find shelf space and readership in ways that were simply not feasible in the 70s.

Dallas relates how the 'maturation' of editorial attitudes towards comic book content, and the decisions by both major and minor publishers to no longer ascribe to the Comics Code Authority, brought with it some degree of controversy.

By the middle of the decade, the growth of the Direct Market had begun to compensate for the shrinking newsstand sales market, and comic books had begun to thrive financially. Not only were Marvel and DC benefiting from the Direct Market, but indie titles like the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were major hits.

Dallas devotes coverage to the battles between creators and publishers, Jack Kirby's dispute with Marvel being one of the most visible of these conflicts.

For DC, the decade began with the company still suffering from the aftereffects of the so-called 'DC Implosion' of 1978, which saw many titles cancelled, staff fired or laid off, and sales plummet. But during the 80s, the release of Frank Miller's The Dark Knight helped lead the company to a creative and financial revival. With the release of the blockbuster film Batman in 1989, in September of that year DC actually enjoyed a greater market share than Marvel, a major achievement given that Marvel had dominated the markets since the early 70s.

The final chapters of the book reveal how the financial strength of the comic book industry allowed publishers to release innovative titles that represented genres other than the superhero genre, setting the stage for the enormous expansion of the 90s. 

Throughout the book, Dallas's inclusion of callout boxes for topics dealing with the arrival of new approaches to formatting comic books, such as the abolition of thought balloons and third-person narratives, are interesting contributions.

Summing up, like its companion volume for the 70s, 'American Comic Book Chronicles: The 1980s' is well worth getting for anyone with an interest in comics, graphic art, and popular culture.

Victory (The Jacksons)

Victory
by Michael Whelan
illustration for the cover of the Jacksons' album 
1984

left to right: Marlon, Tito, Randy, Michael, Jermaine, Jackie

The major single off this album was the song 'Torture'.

Book Review: The Runestaff series

Book Review: The 'Runestaff' Series by Michael Moorcock

5 / 5 Stars

All four volumes of what is labeled the 'Runestaff' or 'Hawkmoon' series first were published in 1967 - 1969, sometimes with different titles, by Lancer Books in the USA.

The Lancer books series apparently was not endorsed by Moorcock; accordingly, the 'authorized' version of the Hawkmoon series is considered to be that issued by DAW Books: The Jewel in the Skull (January 1977), The Mad God's Amulet (April 1977), The Sword of the Dawn (July 1977) and The Runestaff (September 1977). 

All feature outstanding cover artwork by Richard Clifton-Dey.

[Sequels to the 'Hawkmoon' titles, known collectively as 'The Castle Brass' series, consist of Count Brass (1973), The Champion of Garathorm (1973), and The Quest for Tanelorn (1975).]

The Hawkmoon novels are set several thousand years in the future, in a Europe ruled by Granbretan, i.e., Great Britain. Interestingly, Moorcock makes this far future Granbretan the villain, intent not only on conquering the rest of Europe, but the Middle East.......and perhaps the entire World. 

Opposing the Granbreton empire are an ever-dwindling collection of European provinces. In one such province, called Koln (i.e., Colonge), the Duke, a man named Dorian Hawkmoon, uses his military prowess to defy the Granbretan forces. As related in The Jewel in the Skull, when Koln finally is defeated by the overwhelming might of the Granbretans, Hawkmoon flees to Kamarg in Southern France, there to ally himself with Count Brass, ruler of Castle Brass.

Succeeding volumes in the series recount the various adventures of Count Brass, Dorian Hawkmoon, his sidekick - the loyal Oladahn - and the cryptic Warrior in Jet and Gold, in their efforts to deter the Granbretans. It becomes increasingly clear with each entry in the series that a mystical artifact known as the Runestaff is directing the actions of Hawkmoon and his compatriots, although Hawkmoon is none too pleased to discover he is a pawn in the schemes of the Runestaff. 

But it is only with aid the of the Runstaff and its accompanying artifacts - the Mad God's Amulet and the Sword of the Dawn - that Hawkmoon can even hope to deter the well-armed hordes of Granbretan soldiery........and their psychotic leader, Baron Meliadus, who has a deep and abiding hatred for Dorian Hawkmoon....... 

The four volumes in the Runestaff series each are under 175 pp in length, meaning that the series can be read relatively quickly. Moorcock's writing is unadorned and direct; there is little if any unnecessary exposition, dialogue is restrained, and the use of short chapters keeps the narrative moving at a quick pace.

It's worth noting that the combined four volumes of the Runestaff series occupies less than 800 pages. The brevity of the series is something I appreciated, given that modern fantasy novels have become extraordinarily bloated and overwritten. For example, the current 'Stormlight Archive' series by Brandon Sanderson has a first volume with 1280 pp, and the second volume,1328 pp. And there are eight more volumes to go........?!

What makes the Runestaff series effective is its villains. The Granbretans are not the reincarnations of past Dark Lords, or a cabal of Evil Mages who use corrupt incantations to direct Dark Forces against their opponents. 

They are in fact a race of aristocrats who are so jaded that only war, and its freedom to carry out all manner of perversions and atrocities, can satisfy them. The Granbretans take delight in raping and pillaging conquered villages, taking in the spectacle of the Sexual Gymnasts (!) at court ceremonies, and casually snuffing out the lives of their slaves and servants. The repellent nature of the Granbretans gives the conflict between them and Hawkmoon a nasty edge that is very much absent from modern-day fantasy series.

Summing up, although Moorcock was in many respects a one-man publishing factory in the 70s (and there are suspicions that some of his works were in fact ghost-written), much of what he wrote in that decade was of good quality, and the Hawkmoon / Runestaff series is the equal of the Elric series. 

While picking up the individual volumes is feasible, there are omnibus volumes that can be purchased for very affordable prices from your usual online vendors.

Judge Dredd Ladies' Night

Judge Dredd in 'Ladies Night'
script by Alan Grant (as T. B. Grover)
art by Brian Talbot
from 2000 AD Annual 1987

This Judge Dredd strip from 1981 features one of the more eye-popping color schemes in an early 80s comic, and a focus on sarcastic humor. But it's the great artwork of Bryan Talbot - of Luther Arkwright fame - that makes this comic really stand out.

Book Review: The Ends of the Circle

Book Review: 'The Ends of the Circle' by Paul O. Williams

4 / 5 Stars

‘The Ends of the Circle’ (203 pp) was published in April, 1981; the cover art is by Ralph Brillhart.

This is the second volume in the ‘Pelbar Cycle’, which ultimately comprised seven volumes.

Like the preceding novel, ‘The Breaking of Northwall’, this episode is set more than 1,000 years after World War Three led to the collapse of civilization. The stone fortress of Pelbarigan, located on the upper Mississippi River, is the home of a matriarchal society that is only slowly coming to accept wider interaction with the nomadic tribes that roam the Midwest.

As ‘Circle’ opens, a young man named Stel is finding his place in Pelbar society to be increasingly difficult, even dangerous. Stel has chosen to marry Arhoe, a woman of the Dahmen family, who are notoriously demeaning towards those males who marry into the family.

Although Stels’ affection for Arhoe is genuine, he can no longer suffer mistreatment at the hands of the Dahmen females, and, renouncing the family, sets off on his own into the winter wastes. His goal is a vague one: to travel the western half of what used to be the United States and see if the so-called Shining Sea of the West really does exist.

For her part, Arhoe is unwilling to see her husband abandon her and the Dahmen family; when word of Stel’s disappearance reaches her, she sets out to find him.

Most of the novel is taken up with the twin narratives of the journeys of Stel and Arhoe across the immense lands of the West. Dangers and perils abound, including standard-issue postapocalyptic cults, hostile tribes, and lingering rads from the nuclear blasts loosed a thousand years ago.

As with ‘Northwall’, much of the narrative is focused on the anthropological nuances of the nomadic tribes that roam this future America, many of which – although comprised of whites – author Williams models on Amerindian counterparts.

As sf novels written in the early 80s go, ‘Circle’, like ‘Northwall’, is much more readable than other novels of the era that dealt with sociological topics. Compared to bloated, meandering novels like Donald Kingsbury’s ‘Courtship Rite’, the Pelbar novels are shorter, more focused, and devoid of world-buildings so intricate that they eventually undermine their own narrative.

This is not to say that ‘Circle’ is flawless; it is not. Many of the dialogue passages have a stilted quality, and the pauses in the narrative during which Stel engages in some existential philosophizing are tedious rather than convincing.

With that said, ‘Circle’ is a good sf adventure novel, and another strong entry in the Pelbar Cycle. It’s worth picking up.

Muskrat Love November 1976

'Muskrat Love' by the Captain and Tennille

November, 1976

November, 1976..........and at position number 4 on the Billboard Top 40 pop chart, it's the Captain and Tennille with their version of the song 'Muskrat Love', which originally was recorded and released by the band 'America'.

It's hard to describe the uniquely deranged nature of this vision of 70s cheese.......those watching it for the first time, are best advised to do so with caution.

I still remember watching it unfold, during an episode of The Captain and Tennille TV show, on our little 20 " black and white TV in the Fall of '76. 

What can you say about a live action / video montage in which people dressed in 'muskrat' costumes dance together, while Daryl Dragon (i.e., the 'Captain') plays 'pitter pat' noises on his synthesizer ? 

Only in the 70s, that's for sure.......

Battle for the Planet of the Apes Part V

Battle for the Planet of the Apes
Part V of VII
by Doug Moench (script) and Dino Castrillo (art) 
Planet of the Apes (Marvel / Curtis) No. 26, November 1976

Marvel continues the 'Battle for the Planet of the Apes' storyline in this November, 1976 issue of the Planet of the Apes comic magazine. The entirety of episode V, 'Assault on Paradise', is posted below.

Part One is here. 
Part Two is here.
Part Three is here.
Part Four is here.
Part Six is here.

Lost on Venus

Lost on Venus
cover artwork by Richard Clifton-Dey
For the novel by Edgar Rice Burroughs
New English Library, 1965

Book Review: Four Came Back

Book Review: 'Four Came Back' by Martin Caidin

1 / 5 Stars

‘Four Came Back’ (214 pp) was published by Bantam Books in February 1970. The cover artist is Sanford Kossin.

The novel is set in the near future, i.e., the mid-70s. The international space station Epsilon is in orbit 460 miles above the Earth. Its eight-person crew have been aboard for nearly six months, with just three weeks to go before returning to Earth.

The crew is led by the rugged, square-jawed American astronaut Mike Harder. Also on board are two women, June Strond and Paige Alison; the German doctor Werner Koelbe; the Frenchman Henry Guy-Michel; the Britisher Tim Pollard; and two other Americans, Bill Jordan and Luke Parsons.

One of the tasks the crew are obliged to perform in their final days aboard the Epsilon is to obtain samples of space dust, and store them for delivery back to Earth. The collection effort goes well, but just a few days afterwards, Bill Jordan becomes ill….his skin marred by an unusual rash. Despite the best efforts of Dr. Koelbe, Jordan's condition deteriorates with alarming speed........

To the horror of commander Mike Harder, it appears that an unknown pathogen has gained access to the ship’s crew……and as the healthy crewmembers struggle to aid their shipmates, the knowledge that they, too, are potential victims of the unknown plague fills them with dread.

And to make things worse, when news of the crisis on the Epsilon becomes known to the Earth’s population, conflict breaks out over whether to bring the crew home for treatment….or leave them to die in the airless void of space…….

The cover blurb for ‘Four Came Back’ leads the reader to believe that the novel is a sci-fi thriller in the mode of Crichton’s classic ‘The Andromeda Strain’. But the reality is that ‘Four’ is really more of a clone of the 1968 disaster novel ‘Airport’, by Arthur Hailey.

For author Caidin, the space plague is simply a background upon which the narrative – which primarily is devoted to elaborating on the melodramatic interactions of the characters - unfolds.

Indeed, in ‘Four’, the exposure of the crew to the space dust doesn’t take place until the halfway point of the novel. The first half deals with the evolving romantic relationship between June, the idealized 60s liberated, sensual Norwegian bombshell, and the reserved Mike Harder. Complicating things is the presence of Henri, who – as the inevitably randy Frenchman – is happy to try and bed June, while Harder- the stereotypical American man of action who is out of touch with his feelings - can only look on with increasing frustration and resentment.

While Caidin displays competence in writing about the technical aspects of life and work aboard the Epsilon, he is utterly over his head, and tone-deaf, as a romance novelist. The book has a large number of embarrassingly awful passages, such as this one:

And, all the while, he remained blind to the desires that surged through June’s young body.

As the novel’s title makes apparent, only four of the crew of the Epsilon will come back…..I won’t disclose any spoilers and declare who survives, who doesn’t, and whether the plague is defeated or not. I will say that for me, ‘Four’ was a dull and unrewarding slog. Unless you are a dedicated Martin Caidin fan and absolutely have to read every one of his novels, I recommend passing on this book.