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Post by tarkintino on Oct 18, 2023 8:27:15 GMT -5
Starlog & Fangoria had foreign editions, including a Japanese version some value more than its American version due to selection of production stills used in articles. I have several issues of Starburst from the early 1980s, and found it was a cut above Starlog and other American fantasy media magazines--not as fanboy-ish. If I ever bought one of those fantasy/sci-fi movie mags -- which I didn't very often -- but if I did, it was always either Starlog or Starburst. I recall Fangoria on the newsagent's shelves, but it always looked pretty scary and I wasn't really into horror anyway. I don't recall ever seeing Mediascene or Cinefantastique in the UK at the time. I'm not sure I was a discerning enough reader to choose between the quality of the reporting in Starlog or Starburst or pick up on any editorial bias, as I was only 11-14 when I would've been buying them. But Starlog seemed to have the better Star Wars content of the two, as a rule of thumb. The Star Wars 10th Anniversary issue from 1987 in particular was packed full of really fascinating articles about different aspects of the franchise. It's the only issue of Starlog that I've hung onto.  's first issue began as a glorified Star Trek fanzine with smaller columns dedicated to other fantasy media of the period, but overall, the magazine was never truly as in-depth in its analysis as one would desire (especially for a genre not often covered seriously at the time). For example, I was a regular reader of American Cinematographer at the same time, and found its coverage of the production of fantasy films far more insightful than comparable articles (including multi-issue articles) in the pages of Starlog and similar, notably lighter magazines. It's hard to make (in-universe) songs work in comics since you cant actually hear the songs being sung (sure, you've got lyrics sometimes, but you dont know how they're being sung) or even know what the style of the song is. Feel free to prove me wrong (as I would actually like to see a good music-based comic). Translating song to the comic page rarely, if ever worked. One of the best examples comes from Archie, which--by 1969--was partnered with RCA / Calendar Records to turn the fictional Archies rock group into a recording act. As the song "Sugar, Sugar" became the biggest single of the Hot 100 in 1969 (according to Billboard), and of course, Filmation Associates struck gold with their animated series, The Archie Show that fall, where the songs would receive additional exposure. That said, the musical side of the Archies could not be transferred to the printed page, as seen in this splash from Everything's Archie #4 (September, 1969):  The great Harry Lucey was one of the kings of Archie art, but even he could not make illustrated musicians and notes transcend its format for readers to hear. This also applied to the animated series, as comic readers expressed never imagining the sound of the characters' voices being like that of the voice actors, as seen in this letters' page colum from Everything's Archie #2 (July, 1969):  I've always found music-themed comics rather pointless, when the fictional musicians' reason to be will never be a part of the comic book experience. |
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Post by MDG on Oct 18, 2023 9:55:17 GMT -5
It's hard to make (in-universe) songs work in comics since you cant actually hear the songs being sung (sure, you've got lyrics sometimes, but you dont know how they're being sung) or even know what the style of the song is. Feel free to prove me wrong (as I would actually like to see a good music-based comic).  |
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Post by Rob Allen on Oct 18, 2023 11:27:18 GMT -5
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Post by Rob Allen on Oct 18, 2023 11:32:00 GMT -5
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Post by Prince Hal on Oct 18, 2023 20:42:11 GMT -5
In the Lampoon's Very Big Book of Comical Funnies, the strip "Variety Time" (drawn like Rex Morgan) took things even further by highlighting a concerto performed by Artur Rubinstein and a performance by Jimmy Niles and his pal Dopey, a ventriloquist act.
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Post by impulse on Oct 19, 2023 9:11:16 GMT -5
I've spent so much of my comics reading time in superhero and zombie areas that I forgot how diverse and weird they could get.
Ohh, uhhh.. bear pun. Some of those panels are unbearable.
There.
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Oct 19, 2023 19:28:55 GMT -5
I had forgotten about the Gene Colan/Dick Giordano collaboration in Dracula Lives! #2. By the hoary hosts of Hoggoth, Mr. Giordano could almost challenge Tom Palmer for the title of best Colan inker around!
What's also great is that it doesn't look like a Colan/Palmer job, but manages to convey the same type of mood, with highly contrasted art full of light and shadows.
I wish the two gentlemen had done more work together!
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Post by Prince Hal on Oct 19, 2023 20:46:03 GMT -5
Another musical comic strip that works...  |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 21, 2023 7:42:52 GMT -5
Electro's mask is still one of the craziest and most awesome designs for my money. They don't make 'em like this anymore.  |
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Post by driver1980 on Oct 21, 2023 7:58:39 GMT -5
Electro's mask is still one of the craziest and most awesome designs for my money. They don't make 'em like this anymore. Logically, supervillains wearing masks makes no sense, once their identities become public knowledge. If Electro has spent time in jail, he’s known to the world. So in a real-world sense, it is illogical that they’d continue to hide their faces. However, this is why I try to remember that comicbook logic and real-world logic must often be separated, because while there’s no real-world logic to someone like Electro keeping a mask, it does look great from a visual perspective. |
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Post by kirby101 on Oct 21, 2023 8:40:00 GMT -5
I really liked the way Gene Colan drew Electro, with the lighting bolts as stiff add ons. Even if he didn't know what Coit Tower looked like.  |
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Post by Calidore on Oct 21, 2023 9:42:52 GMT -5
Electro's mask is still one of the craziest and most awesome designs for my money. They don't make 'em like this anymore. Logically, supervillains wearing masks makes no sense, once their identities become public knowledge. If Electro has spent time in jail, he’s known to the world. So in a real-world sense, it is illogical that they’d continue to hide their faces. However, this is why I try to remember that comicbook logic and real-world logic must often be separated, because while there’s no real-world logic to someone like Electro keeping a mask, it does look great from a visual perspective.
I just think of the mask as part of the costume, whether to hide an identity or just as a decoration.
Agree with @supercat2099 about Electro's mask.
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Post by kirby101 on Oct 21, 2023 10:39:14 GMT -5
Let's all thank the man who created the character.  |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 21, 2023 11:40:18 GMT -5
Let's all thank the man who created the character. Yeah, I figured a classic Ditko example would have gotten a few more "likes" with this crowd, but I decided to mix it up. Finch did some really nice work on the early New Avengers material. When it comes to costume designs, for my money Ditko and Cockrum share the crown. Another "there, I said it"! |
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Post by tarkintino on Oct 21, 2023 11:51:54 GMT -5
Depending on the character (IOW, no one was/is a master of comic book costume design across the board), Kirby, Steranko, Romita and others were far more imaginative than Ditko. You better believe I said it!  |
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