Star Raiders

'Star Raiders' by Maggin and Lopez
DC Graphic Novel No. 1, 1983

Throughout the early 80s, DC comics looked on with some degree of envy as Marvel exploited the popularity of Heavy Metal magazine by releasing first (in 1980) Epic Illustrated magazine, and then (in 1982) the Epic line of color comic books.

DC decided to get into the game in 1983 by publishing a series of Graphic Novels, priced at $5.95 and consisting of 48 pages. 

Rather than dealing with established characters and franchises in the manner of the Marvel graphic novels of the same era, the DC novels were based on original narratives, leaning heavily towards sf and fantasy content.

For its very first Graphic Novel, DC decided to release ‘Star Raiders’, based on the 1979 video game for the Atari 400 / 800 computer console. [Additional versions of the game were released in the 80s, and the most recent release, for the Xbox, PS3, and PCs, came out in May, 2011.]
 
Written by Elliot S (!) Mangin and illustrated by Jose Luis Garcia Lopez, ‘Star Raiders’ didn’t have much more than pixels from the video game with which to develop content. 

Accordingly, the book borrows quite heavily from Star Wars. 

It also has a juvenile character to it, featuring plenty of cute aliens. Then there is a pretty, New Wave-ish space chick with an eyepatch and a scarlet headband (early 80s sci-fi fashion ‘musts’); and a reserved approach to showing blood and gore. These are indications that, although these graphic novels were not subject to the Comics Code Authority, DC sought to avoid the ‘adult’ themes presented in the Epic and Heavy Metal franchises. 

 
Despite its rather conventional plotting, ‘Star Raiders’ certainly has well-done artwork by Lopez, and if it can be found for just a couple of bucks (like my copy was), and you have a fondness for the all-ages sci-fi media of the early 80s, then you may want to get a copy.

The Odyssey by Navarro and Sauri

'The Odyssey' by Francisco Navarro (writer) and Jose Sauri (art)

 

 

'The Odyssey' (64 pp) was published in hardback  by Heavy Metal magazine; the book is undated, but apparently was published in 2006. It compiles all the comics originally published in serial form in 1983 in Heavy Metal.

The story of Odysseus needs to introduction, but Navarro's adaptation is a serviceable treatment of the legend. It's the intricate pen-and-ink artwork of artist Jose Sauri that really makes this graphic novel impressive.

Since all we know visually about ancient Greece is what has come down to us as illustrations on vases, urns, tiles, and other items, Sauri adopts the same illustrative style. 

The result is artwork with an emphasis on contrasting blacks and whites and linework. Graytones are layered onto the linework in a well-designed manner.

In a sense, Sauri's artwork is as 'authentic' a depiction of ancient Grecian culture as any (and the Frank Miller comic and film 300 comes to mind here, but in my opinion, Sauri's draftsmanship is much more accurate, and visually pleasing).

'The Odyssey' is worth picking up, particularly if you are a fan of Eurocomics and quality graphic art. At present, copies are available from amazon, and from the Heavy Metal magazine website, for around $10 - $12 without shipping. 

'Contagious' by Charles Burns from Taboo No. 1

'Contagious' by Charles Burns 
from Taboo No. 1

‘Taboo’ was a black and white horror comic anthology, nine issues of which were published, in trade paperback format, by Steve Bissette from 1988 to 1995.

Bissette saw the magazine less as a promising commercial venture (which it wasn’t), but rather, as an outlet for creativity otherwise not available to many of the artists and writers working for the major comic book companies. As well, there was a dearth of horror comics being published in the late 80s, and Bissette saw Taboo as filling a void.

Issue One, from Fall 1988, was something of a mixed bag. There were a number of worthy entries, as well as some real duds........I’ll be posting the better strips on a periodic basis. 

Leading off, is a nice little gem from Charles Burns, titled ‘Contagious’. This four-pager is a prequel of sorts to the enormously successful ‘Black Hole’ series that Burns would launch seven years later in 1995. 

'Heavy Metal' magazine, July 1983

'Heavy Metal' magazine, July 1983

 

 

It's July, 1983, and MTV and FM radio are dominated by The Police and the massive success of the Synchronicity album. But there are also some good songs that aren't in heavy rotation, such as Robert Palmer's 'You Are in My System', which mixes New Wave synths with a funk beat.

The latest issue of Heavy Metal is on the stands, with a front cover by Liberatore featuring the 'Ranxerox' character from Italian comics, who was making his US debut in this issue.

In the Dossier, we learn of Dennis Hopper's venture into indie filmaking....

The reviews of horror novels include Peter Straub's 'Floating Dragon', and Stephen King's 'Christine'. Also receiving coverage are Karl Edward Wagner's 'In a Lonely Place' story collection (very hard to find, and very expensive, nowadays) and Michael Shea's 'Nift the Lean'. There's also coverage of sf novels featuring women as their main protagonists.

 Marilyn Chambers, and her new R-rated action film, garner attention....

 ....and there is a spotlight on the new Playboy Channel.

Snicker, if you must, at the idea of 80s people finding titillation in video of young nubiles in 'aerobics' gear, but remember, this was a year or two before the VHS - mediated delivery of porn became commonplace, and eons before anyone ever imagined that personal computers, with the aid of a descendant of ARPANET, would one day channel bountiful smut to everyone's home....

I've posted the Ranxerox comic below. Its garish coloration and 'street sleaze' approach to storytelling were very much in line with Eurocomic sensibilities in the early 80s. I'll post the succeeding installments here at the PorPor blog in the coming months.

 

Book Review: Random Factor

Book Review: 'Random Factor' by Joel Henry Sherman

2 / 5 Stars

‘Random Factor’ (329 pp) was published by Ballantine / Del Rey in April, 1991; the cover artwork is by Paul Chadwick.

The book is comprised of two alternating narratives. One narrative deals with Casey Rourke, a soldier of fortune / jack of all trades whose assignment as a bodyguard to a diplomat goes awry. Rourke winds up taking on a job as the head manager, or 'Factor', for the Mael Station, a corporate-owned space station located in the distant, economically isolated southern arm of the galaxy.

The other narrative deals with a female alien named Rem Il Leera, a member of the Col race occupying a planetary system close to Mael Station. The Col have the physical form of an oversize amoeba, and infiltrate the bodies of semi-sentient animals residing on the Col home planet. This sort of benign parasitism allows the Col to perform physical activities otherwise unachievable in their native form.

There is ferment in the Col empire, as two strong-willed males are vying for control of the Col’s destiny. One male has entered into a clandestine alliance with a race of aggressive aliens, the Oolanian Unity, to control access to Mael Station. His rival dispatches Rem Il Leera to uncover the details of this conspiracy.

As the intrigue among the Col unfolds, it intrudes on the security of Mael Station and Casey Rourke’s well-being. In the absence of a space fleet to defend the Station from the designs of the Col and the Oolanian Unity, Casey Rourke will have to rely on guile and subterfuge to protect the Station and its populace. In essence, he is the ‘random factor’ that the Oolanian’s strategic plan has neglected to consider……

Author Sherman published two sf novels, and a number of short stories, in the 80s and early 90s. ‘Factor’ was his second novel, and it’s not a very accessible read.

This is due in large part to the author’s rigid adherence to the ‘Show, Don’t Tell’ mantra of fiction writing. 

Too many of the initial chapters of the book contain these types of sentences:

Gark looked up at the arching branches of the gunthath tree and listened to the cries of the beetha roaming its branches. His symbiont sniffed the air, pheromones of aggression starting to rise in its bloodstream.

What exactly is taking place here ? Who or what is Gark.....who or what is the 'beetha', and why is Gark bothering to hunt it......who or what is his 'symbiont'....why is the symbiont getting aggressive.....and what does this have to do with the plot ? 

Devoid of sufficient explication, these passages really don’t give the reader a coherent sense of what is taking place. The result is that the reader is laboriously forced to plow on through the narrative, relying on conversational asides, and irregular snatches of descriptive prose, to disclose who exactly Gark is; why he’s examining the gunthath tree; what his ‘symbiont’ is, etc., etc.

At times ‘Factor’ does overcome its obtuse prose structure, and becomes something of an entertaining read.

However, the buy-in to get to that point is, I suspect, too high to entice most readers to pick up this book.

Enoch by Royo

'Enoch' by Royo
from the July, 1983 issue of Heavy Metal magazine

 

Father Shandor: The Empire of Sin from Warrior No 6

'Father Shandor, Demon Stalker'
'The Empire of Sin'
from Warrior (UK) No. 6, October, 1982

In this installment of the 'Father Shandor' series, our hero is dead, and his body interred in Hell. But his spirit refuses to yield.....

 

 

Book Review: Videodrome

Book Review: 'Videodrome' by Jack Martin

3 / 5 Stars

This New English Library paperback edition of ‘Videodrome’ was published in the UK in July, 1983. ‘Jack Martin’ was a pseudonym for the well-known horror writer Dennis Etchison. 

(The US editions of the novelization paperback, with a cover illustration derived from the film poster, rather than playing up the Debbie Harry angle, are quite expensive, with used copies starting at $18).

The film was released in the US in early February, 1983, and it received considerable critical praise. However, Videodrome's  low-budget presentation was out of place with the expectations of the horror and sf viewership of the time, and it did poorly at the box office.

The novel is set in Toronto in the early 80s. Lead character Max Renn is the owner and producer of an independent TV station called ‘Civic TV’. Renn is essentially a sleaze merchant, constantly looking for cheap softcore porn and 'mondo' films, with which he can fill out the late night blocks of Civic TV’s broadcasting. 

Assisted by a video technician named Harlan, Renn covertly uses a satellite dish to steal video feeds from around the world, taping the pirated programs for release on Civic TV.

One day Harlan captures a brief segment of what appears to be a torture scene, originating from a broadcast titled ‘Videodrome’, from Malaysia. The video’s creepy ‘feeling’ is exactly what Max is looking for in terms of newer, more disturbing material to fill the late night programming slots, and he instructs Harlan to try and capture more of the strange video. 

Appearing on a local talk show, Max encounters Nicki Brand, a pop psychologist who hosts a call-in radio show. Max Renn and Nicky become romantically involved, and Max discovers she is turned on by the torture video. When Harlan discovers the Videodrome broadcast is actually originating from Pittsburg, Nicky’s obsession with the video leads her to travel to the city to discover more about the company producing the broadcast. 

 

Max’s interest in the Videodrome broadcasts becomes more than simply mercenary in nature when he discovers that they are triggering vivid hallucinations
 
By now alarmed by the effect the Videodrome hallucinations are having on his waking hours, Max Renn probes deeper for answers to the nature and purpose of the broadcasts. What he discovers sends his life spiralling out of control. For Videodrome is not just an outlet for particularly disturbing snuff films. Videodrome’s ambitions are set on a societal transformation much more all-encompassing….and dangerous. 

Thirty years after its release, the Videodrome film holds up well, as does this novelization, which contains segments / scenes that failed to make the filmed script. These additional scenes help fill out some of the narrative, and give Videodrome a greater standing as a work of proto-cyberpunk.

Videodrome, which came out just a year in advance of 'Neuromancer', contains a number of cyberpunk tropes, such as the advent of a ‘virtual’ reality, and the use of a helmet-type device to allow the end-user access to his or her own perception of said VR. 

But both the film and, to some extent, the novel, avoid using the more stylized, noir-ish elements of early cyberpunk (e.g., Blade Runner) and rely instead on a grubby, lurid, low-budget aesthetic that seems truer to the genre, back when it was in its formative stages.

If you haven’t seen Videodrome, or your last viewing was a long time ago, it’s definitely worth checking out. Given the overstimulated, frantic nature of so many contemporary sf films, the low-budget, gritty packaging of Videodrome, and its satirical but unsettling approach to the passive nature of tv viewing, will seem fresh and novel.