Shift #3 Out Now!

The latest issue of the new British anthology comic Shift is now out. A little later than expected but given the difficulties of publishing not just a new comic but to launch it during the middle of a pandemic the publishers are to be congratulated on reaching their third issue. 

Currently Shift is on a 5 week or so cycle though #4 isn't due until April it's worth persevering with especially as there are a 100 pages of high quality content to read.  This month there is no "one-off" story which is a shame but the extra space is devoted to the regular features of which there are six.

I'm not going to go through the material except to say each story is developing well. Only one hasn't really caught my personal interest (and no I'm not going to name it) but the others make the price of entry certainly more than worth while.

This month there are a couple of features, the first being about Dragon Claws about which I know nothing and have never seen or read and the other is a run down of the vibrant independent British comics scene that I've got into recently. Not everything will appeal as these comics cater for a wide variety of differing tastes which is as it should be.

Shift is available from major newsagents or on-line from: theshift.store

(The first two issues are still available to purchase which is advisable if you haven't picked up this comic yet.There is also a prequel comic to my favourite feature "To The Death".)

Rating 5 Stars (Highly Recommended)

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And don't forget the new Prog is out on Wednesday (you really should get a subscription) and features part one of a new Judge Dredd story and the return of Thistlebone a story of arcane magic.

The Incredible Hulk #441/442 (Marvel/1996)

 

Peter David (w) Angel Medina (a)

One of the joys of having a large comic collection is randomly dipping into back issues. At the moment I'm choosing the more accessible ones as I'll need help to get to the boxes. But I digress. Having missed the nineties I did pick up some of the comics I missed especially since hey are mostly inexpensive.

The Hulk has always been a favourite of mine but I have collected most of his early adventures  via The Mighty World of Marvel or other Marvel UK titles. Bruce Banner has gone through a number of changes over the years though I've always been a fan of his cousin who adorns this particular issues cover and the comic is re-titled The Incredible She-Hulk.

It appears the Hulk is dead (again), Betty Banner is in mourning and trying to write a book about her husband and their life which is causing "writers block" and her mind often wanders into absurd fictional portrayals after a suggestion by a certain green skinned lawyer. 

Hence the homage to Pulp Fiction on the cover.

There's a couple of sub-plots one of which is a mystery to me and involves the trial of some Leader look alike character called "Omnibus". The other is around Major Matt Talbot who had Presidential authority to "deal with the Hulk in any way appropriate" however that did not include the Major being seen in a photo shooting an unarmed woman even if was just stun pellets.

Never like these "Hulk hunter types, so tough methinks!

The story soon gets some action as Jen receives a call from Doc Samson who is in trouble and off she goes to intervene. Problem is it's the Molecule Man who is love-struck, discarded by his beau and extremely dangerous.

Meanwhile "Omnibus" is dumped near naked in the Arctic to die by whoever this crowd are

The Hulk never appears in either of these issues which are a mixture of melancholy, mystery and humour in well produced scripts from Peter David. Angel Medina provides slightly cartoon-y art but it's appropriate for whatever is happening here.

And this was the nineties after all!

Star Trek: The Next Generation - The Gorn Crisis (Hardback OGN) (Wildstorm/2001)

Kevin J Anderson & Rebecca Moesta (w) Igor Kordey (painter)

Ever wonder where Captain Picard and the Enterprise were during the Dominion War? This is that story and it takes from the edge of the Federation on Gorn space to seek their help as allies against the Dominion. The Gorn have not been since since the confrontation with Captain Kirk and have been shall we say "festering" on their home-world ever since.

The war as we knew when this was published was not going well and the Federation wanted to get help from wherever they can even if those like the Gorn are ill-disposed towards humanity who they still consider weak.

Their society is made up of castes and the story begins with massacre of the eggs of the next generation of the politicians (don't get any ideas folks) and are launching a coup against the Gorn's leaders at the very moment Picard is in negotiation.

The Enterprise notices something is wrong and there is a call for Picard to attend the chambers of the Gorn. Alas the away team arrive too late and almost everyone is dead. One lies dying and gives a message that will bring hope, for his caste at least as The Black Crests seize power.

Meanwhile Ryker along with a somewhat disgraced Klingon Captain are building defences on the border..just in case. There is mush infighting between the Klingon crew and their leader following what they see as his cowardly actions during a confrontation with the Dominion that left their fleet in ruins.

The confrontation with the Gorn rebels is not long coming as Picard and his team are held hostage as the Enterprise faces attack. The Gorn fleet heads off to the Federation weakened by the war. Their empire will expand. One Earth colony is over-run whilst Ryker and his Klingon allies fight valiantly against overwhelming odds..

And in the end it's down to a rematch between a representative of humanity against the Rebel Gorn leader. Who will be the Federations champion upon which the outcome of this conflict ultimately depends? 

Enter...Data. 

An excellent fully painted original graphic novel worth picking up if you find a copy. 

Here's a reminder of the last one on one between Kirk and a Gorn. Love the costume! Never seen again in the TV series and are too weakened by their civil war to help anyone. 

Tomb Raider: Mystic Artifacts TPB (Top Cow/2001)

 

One of the big franchises around in the early part of the century was Tomb Raider a computer game about Lara Croft a wealthy adventurer and collector of ancient artefacts. Famously this became a film starring Angelina Jolie who played an excellent part but I thought was let down by the sequel. The modern remake is to be avoided at all costs. 

Inevitably Tomb Raider was to become a comic and frankly it made sense for Lara Croft to be part of the Top Cow Universe with all it's mystical artefacts and their bearers. Lara was friends with Sarah Pezzini the New York cop who was the modern host to The Witchblade. Team ups were frequent.

This volume is a collection of two stories from The regular comic book #5 to #10  and had a high standard of art as was expected from Top Cow. The series itself lasted 50 issues of which I have the majority. 

The first of the two stories is The Merlin Stone and leads Lara on a quest that gives her an unexpected encounter with dinosaurs though whether on an alternate earth, back in time or in an alternate dimension is pondered but never resolved.

Given the nature of the Merlin Stone of Arthurian legend it's hardly the villain turns out to be a certain Morgan Le Fay.....

The second story which was run across four issues introduces the reader to an unpleasant group of reactionaries who manipulate world events and are a conspiracy theorists wet dream are after the Eye of Shaherettin which allows the holder to see the future.

 

Rather useful if used wisely but the Midnight Squires (who refused to sign the American Declaration of Independence) want it for their own mad scheming. Throw in a renegade who has managed to build a huge complex with a magnetic railway for escaping if he and his harem came under threat is the third interested party.

The fight begins!

An entertaining couple of stories id somewhat derivative are good for a rainy or sunny afternoons distraction, nothing more. Top Cow hardly exist these days and have long lost the Tomb Riader licence but these are superior to the more recent Dark Horse comics.

2000AD Prog 2200 Regened All Ages Special Edition

 

The publishers of 2000AD have once again treated readers to an oversized edition of 2000AD with one of their all-ages "Regened issues! Tis contains five complete stories and starts off with the very young Cadet Dredd in Suboptimal that sees him involved in a search for a missing child that takes them to the ruins of the city left over from the Atomic Wars that radically changed the world.

Here they find their missing child alright as the Judges are taken prisoner by a mad computer that needs consumers. An excellent tale by Arthur Wyatt with great art from Davide Tinto. Sadly for me the following story Action Pact was a bit of a let down. 

However the pace is soon taken up by the rather entertaining Viva Forever by Daivid Baille with art from Anna Morozova which a thief is terrorising rich billionaires with her daring robberies and even has a fan base. The story takes place at a good pace and the reveal is worth waiting for. Someone who would make an excellent femme fatale for Judge Dredd methinks! So long as he never gets to put her in a cube!

There's one of Thargs future shocks Geeno Firenzo's Big Comeback which wasn't the best I've read but certainly the last strip was worth waiting for. 

Mayflies: Precious Cargo is set in the world of Rogue trooper and is an origin story for an epic around a group of genetically modified troopers who  escape to to make their own destiny. A great new series in the making.

Rating: 4 Stars (Recommended)

Available from: 2000ad.com

Blue Peter Tenth Book (BBC/1973)

Having recently published a series of posts covering the seventies via the ITV magazine for children Look-in, the other main channels (there were only three back then) BBC 1 & BBC 2 got left out and there were a wide range of programmes that we watched as school children. Even though for me this was my penultimate year at Secondary School Blue Peter was one programme we watched at tea time as a family.

Like many children of my generation I had been a viewer of Blue Peter (which began in 1958 , the year after I was born) since as far back as I can remember. Christopher Tracey and Val Singleton along with John Noakes who joined later along with Peter Purvis and Lesley Judd are the presenters I recall the most as I gradually "grew out" of the programme.

This was a good educational show which allowed for viewer participation via all sorts of activities from naming the Blue Peter pets to collecting milk bottle tops (remember those!) or earning a Blue Peter badge for doing something useful or charitable 

Photo: By RockingSummer

The annuals were called books for reasons only the BBC know perhaps the former term seemed a bit "low brow" for the producers and these were often in our Christmas stockings usually from one particular Aunt each year though there were no complaints from me.

These books covered a whole variety of activities that the presenters had engaged in over the year and had articles aimed at girls and boys. All you normally needed were some toilet roll inserts, sticky back plastic and some glue and they's add things to make some kind of useless present for a relative.

Blue Peter always had some great guests and as an avid Doctor Who fan I couldn't resist this clip from 1973 in which Jon Pertwee bring one of his "Whomobiles" into the studio.

Blue Peter still gets broadcast on the CBBC channel and I did tune in the other day thinking it was sad that this was no longer a programme on the main channel where the whole family could sit down and an d enjoy together. I suspect those days are long gone as viewing diversifies. Pity sometimes the old fashioned ways seem a little better!

Official Website:Blue Peter

Marvel's first US Doctor Who comic and the latest Missy series from Titan

 

Doctor Who comics made their first appearance in the USA courtesy of Marvel via their UK franchise in Doctor Who Weekly from which these stories are reprinted and also for the first time in colour for the American market.

The format changed not only to colour but to the smaller American comic size. The initial story featured the Fourth Doctor in the Tom Baker years and lasted for four initial issues in this "try out" comic before moving on to having a solo title.

The Iron Legion by Pat Mills & John Wagner with art from Brian Bolland is of course well known to whovians in the UK and appeared in Doctor Who Weekly #1 to 8 and set the tone for the future direction of Doctor Who comics. Marvel issued UK originated material in their Doctor Who Weekly/Monthly which lasted for 23 issues and went on to feature Peter Davison as the Fifth Doctor!

If you haven't read the story it's still available from Panini in a collected volume featuring Tom Baker and well worth picking up as the represent all the original strips in glorious black & white which I quite like.

Meanwhile as time moves on Titan Comics are preparing a new series of Doctor Who comics featuring none other than the wonderful "Missy" the female incarnation of the Master. If you miss Missy there are also two series of her adventures available on CD from Big Finish productions.

Titan Comics are announcing the launch of a brand-new Doctor Who Comics series and the comic debut of one of the Doctor's darkest nemeses this April with Missy #1.

Missy wages war on the Doctor, but this time she’s not alone! Can the combined brilliance of the Third and Twelfth Doctor avert her deadly scheme, or will she get her hands on a secret weapon capable of wreaking havoc on the universe?

You can pre-order Missy #1 ahead of its release in April 2021 from your local comic shop, from Forbidden Planet in the UK, or digitally at Comixology.

Midnight Nation (12 issue maxi-series) (Top Cow/2000)

After the success of Babylon 5 (one of my favourite all-tie science fiction TV shows) Michael J Strazczinsky turned his attention to the world of comic books and produced two major series for Top Cow Studios (part of Image Comics) with Rising Stars which was a super-hero epic with a difference and lasted for 24 issues and Midnight Nation a 12* issue maxi-series. There was also a graphic novel about fairies which I never got around to reading.

With art by Gary Frank this is a great story which starts with a murder (don't they all!) which Police Detective David Grey into a world that the rest of us don't see. In this case literally. A scared witness is found later with his body torn apart in his apartment with the head in the fridge. Each part placed to make a word.

But where are the eyes?

Then the Detective follows a lead about the men who may be behind this and heads to arrest Arlan Jaeker who already has a warrant out on him. Here he faces ghosts with scarred faces and ends up in hospital where the Detective slips through the folds of reality and meets Laurel.

They are in the "place inbetween".

The Detective discovers that people who others ignore literally slip into this world and live apart from the rest of humanity but are menaced by The Walkers, who incidentally have stolen his soul and if he doesn't get it back will become one of them within the year.

Laurel will walk with him to New York (they can't use any form of transport it turns out) to help him in his quest and assist in his adjustment to this new way of living. They are far from alone and Layrel has made this journey many times.

And they always failed.

This really is a road journey into the unknown and answers will be forthcoming eventually. There will be hope and misery for all and there will be a choice to be made. Will the Detective make the right choice when the time comes or will he take up Laurel's off to end this for him before journey's end?

Like a lot of stories this does benefit from a complete reading rather than in the monthly instalments which originally came my way and this is the second and probably final time I will do so as I make my way through my collection. 

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* There was also a 1/2 issue published in conjuctionwith Wizard magazine. This is apparently included in the collected edition but I've not read it.

Judge Dredd Megazine #429 (Rebellion) Out Today!

 

The latest issue of Judge Dredd Megazine hit stores today though if you are a subscriber your copy should have already arrived. It's the usual good value comic with the usual mini-graphic novel bagged with it. This month the publishers have chosen a Judge Dredd story Traumatown from 2014/15 by Michael Carrol and superb art from Nick Percival.

Meanwhile in the Meg itself the main one-shot Judge Dredd story is a rather tragic affair in Destiny's Child as a citizen keeps getting herself unnecessarily in trouble with the law. What is her story and how is Joe involved. Does he even care?

The "alternate universe" Megatropolis story continues with mystery and mayhem as we reach part six and secrets begin to reveal themselves. The black & white artwork by Dave Taylor certainly fits the mood of the noir adventure from the pen of Kenneth Niemand. This will be worth watching out for as a collected edition if you are not a regular reader. I certainly hope we get more!

The early days of the Judges comes to an end in Dreadnaughts: Breaking Ground part six an action packed disturbing story of a dystopian future not too far away from now. Again more please! While The Returners continues in Heartswood. I've not got into this story for some reason it's not bad but I've missed earlier episodes and not really caught up.

The Meg ends with Deliverance featuring Judge Death and his fellow creatures continues on a world where they are worshipped. Really dark story and art by  David Hine and Nick Percival the latter being the artist whose work is featured in the mini-graphic novel this month .

There's the usual features including one on Rebellion's re-issuing of the Steel Claw's early adventures in Valiant both favourites from my childhood and worth grabbing a copy of. I won't be because I have the Titan edition from a few years back and can't afford to buy duplicates sadly even though the printing quality is higher.

Rating: 5 Stars: Recommended

Available from: 2000ad.com

2000AD Prog 2219 (Rebellion) Out Wednesday

 

The latest issue of 2000AD arrived on my doormat on Saturday which has a wonderful wrap-around cover which relates to the one-off Judge Dredd Against The Clock story that leads the issue and is a rather entertaining look into the life of a Judge and a citizen. Pity they don't do these covers more often but advertising usually occupies the rear page.

Next up is Part 8 of the latest Slaine adventure, Dragontamer with both great story and art by Pat Mills and Leonardo Manco respectively. Always liked this character. Sadly we have to wait two weeks for the next instalment as  the next issue is one of those Regened Specials.

Skipping over the awful Proteus Vex we get the next part of Served Cold featuring Durham Red one of the best strips at the moment as her trackers finally get their way but there's a twist.

Finally Hershey comes to an end with part eight of her current story line which was OK but I rather thought this character could have slightly more interesting plots.

Rating: 4 Stars (Recommended)

The previous edition of 2000AD remains on sale in Newsagents for the next couple of days or you can pick up back issues or a subscription from: 2000ad.com

Captain Atom: Armageddon (Wildstorm/2005)

 

Will Pfiefer (w) Giuseppe Camuncolli (a)

One of my favourite type of stories is where companies crossover their characters and this is no exception though by the time this comic was published DC did actually own Wildstorm but the two universes in which their heroes operated were very different places as we will shortly find out.

Captain Atom himself an acquisition from the long defunct Charlton Comics by DC is heading in a rocket which resembles the villainous Superman/Batman villain built by the Toy Man from an adventure in another comic to crash into a Kryptonite asteroid heading to Earth where it will cause an extinction event.

This is a one way mission in which Nathaniel Adam knows he will not return. The subsequent explosion saves the Earth but unknown to the world Captain Atom is not killed he is thrown into another Universe or should I say group of universes.

The world looks familiar but the good Captain finds that people are afraid of him even when he tells them he is a "super-hero" they remain terrified. The reason for this soon becomes known as he is attacked by one of this worlds "heroes" an alien with Superman like powers called Majestic. 

Eventually Captain Atom persuades Majestic he is no threat and he seeks to find him a way home as he's been there and met Superman. However they discover that not only is this not possible but if the Captain remains here he will explode and destroy the universe. In fact he'll do this even if someone suceeds in killing him.

A solution needs to be found but it's not long before this worlds so-called heroes are attacking him again as the Wildcats enter the fray. It begins to dawn on on our hero why ordinary folk are afraid of their so-called heroes. Another fight over he seeks the help of the US President who is less than helpful and most distrustful.

It is only the arrival of The Authority that brings hope as they take him to Carrier and try to find a way home. They fail of course but realising there is a threat prepare to kill him however their plan becomes complicated by the Engineer (Angie) having an affair with with Nathaniel.

Seemingly with no choice left she attacks but fails so the heavy hitters Midnighter and Apollo enter the fray though Majestic tries to warn Jack in the carrier of the consequences he fails. It seems no matter what they do their world will end even though Captain Atom brings proof that it doesn't.

There is involvement with a being called The Void who is part of the problem and the solution

It does and there is another Big Bang. A universe dies.......

For most of the Wildstorm universe the main characters just wonder what happened as there is just a blip in creation but there are changes.

A "Crisis" of sorts I suppose.

As for where Captain Atom ends up...I'm not actually sure...

Overall not a bad story but I was not that familiar with most of the characters other The Authority and not at all keen on Majestic. As for The Void, not a clue.

Captain Atom: Armageddon was a nine -issue mini series published by Wildstorm an imprint of DC Comics between December 2005 and  August 2006.

Doctor Who Magazine #561: A consumer complaint!

 

The latest issue of the long running Doctor Who Magazine came out a few days ago but with no local shops carrying a copy I had to wait for a trip to Sainsbury's in Wandsworth to pick one up. I have never been a regular buyer but recently have been purchasing it a bit more reguarly but was a wee bit caught out by this "special edition".

The poly-bagged Magazine comes with a special edition of a Target Novel and wall poster of the Target Books collection. Not one I'd use but these freebies are not always useful. Except the expectation of a "freebie" was misplaced on this edition as the price rocketed from the usual £6.99 to £9.99 without any real indication on the cover and I only noticed when checking through the bill at home.

I doubt I was the only person caught out by that hidden price increase and my fault I suppose for not double checking but the price tag is so tiny it's easily missed. Not sure I would have purchased a it had I known especially sine the book is a bit of a rip off containing "extracts" from other Target novels. I'm not impressed with Pannini or Target in this blatant exploitation of the Doctor Who fanbase.

The magazine is up to it's usual high standards though the current comic strip doesn't interest me much but that does sometimes happen so I could live with that if were not for the feeling I will need to be more careful especially as household income has now been effected drastically by the pandemic. I doubt our family is alone in that either so in future I will be more reticent and a bit more careful when picking up a copy. 

A shame that I had to write what has turned out to be a consumer warning rather than a review.

Heroes Reborn: Fantastic Four (Marvel/1996)

One of the major story lines published by Marvel Comics was the Onslaught epic which led to the recreation of the Marvel Universe in a set of books under the Heroes Reborn banner. I missed both these events as by the time I had returned to the hobby the MU was back to "normal".

I had seen this as Marvel's "Crisis" but the whole saga is far from being that simple and anyway the Marvel Universe continued in parallel with the missing characters eventually returning to the Marvel Universe proper.

I recently read a story on Bleeding Cool which referenced 2021 as the 25th Anniversary of the event and that the concept was to be "revived" in 2021 as if the current Marvel Universe doesn't have enough going on in it.

Onslaught was apparently "born" in the psyche of Charles Xavier and Magneto and was practically unbeatable eventually being taken down in an action which "killed" many of Marvel's heroes, except they didn't. They were transported to a pocket dimension by the ever powerful Franklin Richards (whose age remains a mystery to this reader) where everything was seemingly recreated but with differences.

This volume collects the first six issues of the thirteen issue series published in 1996/7 which introduce to the new versions of the Fantastic Four and their supporting cast. As expected the origin story is different with the FF heading off into space to stop what turned out to be) a rogue agent from destroying a spacial anomaly just outside the Solar System with a couple of nukes.

Needless to say the fail and gain their powers in the aftermath. Events quicken on their return to Earth as they end up fighting the Mole Man, Namor, Doctor Doom and the Super Skrull in quick succession as they team up with the Black Panther to save an alien who we know as the Silver Surfer.

Along the way they meet others trapped in this bizarre creation of Franklin's including Nick Fury and the Avengers. Others will turn up elsewhere I suspect, though whether i ever get around to exploring this event further remains to be seen.

This was a commercial success of sorts which boils down to the Image Stars of the time (Lee. Liefeld and others) doing Marvel. It didn't continue and Marvel brought everyone back in a mini-series called Heroes Return. Whatever next.

An interesting experiment if nothing else. This volume is a good read but I did find the colouring far too dark and it wasn't the Fantastic Four I grew up with even though it was (Go figure). Worth reading if you have the time or inclination and missed Heroes Reborn the first time. I wonder exactly what Marvel will do with this concept next? Answers will be forthcoming in previews.

Once & Future: Volume One - The King Is Undead (Boom Studios)

 

Kieron Gillen (w) Dan Mora (a)

Since I no longer get Previews the comic shop catalogue I don't really spend much time looking at the smaller publishers other than Dynamite since they produce two of my favourite characters. However this has turned out to be a mistake as i missed out on this series published by Boom! Studios who amongst other things have the Buffy The Vampire Slayer franchise.

In fact the only reason this  volume came to my attention was because of one of those random adverts you get by e-mail from Amazon as the result of browsing. I took notice for a change, read the synopsis  and ordered what turns out to be the first volume of a still on-going series.

An archaeological find is brought to the attention of some far right British nationalists who decide they can use the artefact to further their cause.

There is a murder.

In a nursing home in Somerset an old woman reminds another resident who wants to tur off the news that broken fingers take longer to heal at their age.

Meanwhile her grandson is having problems on a date with his clumsiness and nerves when he gets a telephone message to say his Grandmother has run away from the home.

Granny calls and wants him to pick her up. 

Collecting a few weapons from a hidden armoury in the woods Granny reveals she used to kill vampires.....amongst other things as the Questing Beast turns up to Duncan's horror.

The chase is on. The world is not quite as it seems.

Bridgette McGuire takes her still somewhat disbelieving grandson on a mission to stop the awakening of King Arthur but they are too late. And the Nationalists too stupid to realise Arthur fought for the Britons, Celts as they were and finding these men to be Anglo-Saxons decides to slay them.

The first of his undead knights.

Too late to stop these events from happening Gran and Duncan have to flee whilst being pursued by the risen enemy. The Adventure is afoot as they say.

This is actually an interesting and somewhat different take on the Arthurian legends and the world needs to be protected from these mythical and mystical beings or reality will rewrite itself to fit these dangers  in to the modern world.

I read this in one sitting being highly entertained by the twists and turns Keiron Gillen takes in weaving his story. In fact I checked to see if there was more and have already ordered the second volume. 

Rating: 5 Stars Plus (Highly Recommended)

 

A "Look-in" to the Seventies: 1979

 

1979 was an eventful year that saw the controversial release of Monty Python's Life Of Brian which led to arguments over blasphemy with some councils banning showings. I went to see it at a cinema in the Haymarket in Central London which was being picketed by Nuns who it turned out hadn't even seen the film. It's now a classic and helped bring forward the march of secularism as most people reacted against the fundamentalists.

Meanwhile James Bond continued with Moonraker with Roger Moore, Blondie hit number one with Sunday Girl, The groundbreaking film Alien appeared in cinemas and the Boomtown rats sang a song about a girl who shot her classmates (for real) and when asked why said I Don't Like Mondays.

Then came two big political events; Margaret Thatcher won the General Election and Jeremy Thorpe somehow managed to get off a conspiracy to murder charge. Peter Cook takes up the case...

Still Look-in continued to bring the nations youth the real news that counted for them. Featured programmes included Charlie's Angels, Battlestar Galactica, Sapphire & Steel plus good old Benny Hill kept on amusing the nation.....

Music continued to be featured in the form of Dave Edmunds and Nick Lowe.

Sadly for Dave this only reached number 59 in the charts.

And finally there were the comics still going strong as we headed towards the eighties.

A "Look-in" to the Seventies: 1978

 

The year began with Wings having a number one hit with Mull of Kintyre and the soundtrack to Grease went on to be number one for 18 weeks! Films included Revenge of the Pink Panther, Watership Down and of course Superman! 

The Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy begins on Radio 4, The first "naturist" beach is opened in Hastings, Anna Ford becomes ITN's first female News Reader and Charlie Chaplin's coffin is stolen in Switzerland.  Kate Bush tops the charts with Wuthering Heights and is the first woman to have a self penned number one single!

Amongst the groups that were making waves that year were the Boomtown Rats fronted by Bob Geldorf who were the main feature with pin-up in the December issue of Look-in. Their single Rat Trap hit number one in November.

Benny Hill was still entertaing the masses though his show was joined by the very funny Mind Your Language which I'm sure wouldn't get past our self-righteous woke censors these days!

Other popular TV programmes featured still included The Six Million Dollar Man and The Bionic Woman though they were joined by the Famous Five of Enid Blyton fame and parodied in the eighties by The Comic Strip Presents. I read some of the books when I was younger but never saw the programme.

Other programmes appearing included sex starved The Smurfs who only had the one woman between the whole lot of them it seemed and How The West Was Won which I don't recall at all.

Alice Cooper released his album From The Inside following his staying rehab for alcoholism. Nothing to be ashamed of so many of us have been there.

Then of course there were the comics.....

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And finally tomorrow a Look-in" to 1979 the decades end!