Capes and comedy to

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I loved FEAR, it was gothic not to splattery and a ghostly mag from issue one. I managed to get my dad to subscribe for me and got my complimentary copy of guy n smiths the crabs and chimera as well. 

Now I was stilla  bit little school ‘Fear was when i was in seocndary which is like 11-16 at that time. But what I didnt know as I grew into all the horror on the racks at my local newsagents was this was actually a boom. the thing I have begun to realise about more serious things…I though they were as they were, and now I look back and realise they were a boom I wa too young to understand.

But back to horror. I never really got high fantasy, except for the funnier ones, I kind of got dragged into that via roleplay games when dungeons and orcs were the only game in town. but even then more warhammer then D and D but thats a dark tone and for another article.

the thing is I grew up thinking I would be a horror writer. Of course I read stephen King but so many of them were british. James, Herbert, Shaun Hutson, CLive Barker, Ramsay campbell were the biggest names to me. 

As I read more it broadened out stephen gallagher, guy n smith, dennis etchinson and ean R Koontz all began to proliferate in my reading but I still remember ‘Dark Gods’ an anthology laucnhed in forbidden planet in its then new oxford street and seeing this line of great horror guys.

It was something british, working class and something I could do.

While life takes other turns and interests change. not least my interest in being a stand up seemed more immeadiate and accessible by the time I hit my 20′s.

I wont forget the things I learned from horror

1. its ok to be afraid

2. the good guys dont always win

3. always work at writing , and when your good at writing , be better

4.  No such thing as a bad book just a bad mind.

5. always hold on to the core you.

See the show starts really in 1977. MArvel had been working hard joining in with the pop pehnomenon, doctor strange was about to hang out with such big bands as the blue oyster cult and the cartoons of spidey and fantastic four were going gangbusters.

But no one was buying comics. 

the publihsing arm needed a shot in it and that came from one guy. beard, glassess, pop up models. everything that screamed hipster

and that man was george lucas.

lucas were a maercahndising mogul, now people forget there had been tie in toys before. most of what happened with star wars was just emulating planet of the apes. another fox plan that went stratosphereic.

he sold the comic rights to marvel and when it launched. it saved the line.

the thing is they ahd trouble. with only two films by the time the deal was sealed and no allowance for interering with return of the jedi they had to draw out as much as they could without negating anything that could come later.

hence Jaxxon. you know. hes up there with dash rendar and the orange kid from the clone wats. who would ever forget the red jumpuit rabbit with the las pistol and sense of derring do…anuyone…..anyone….

bill mantlo created him and was annoyed when he was written out. jaxxon then went to morph into a whole new character you may know as bucky ohare. and as for marvel…….they thougth a rabbit was ridiciulous.

but a few years down the line mantlo was on a hot streak, gerber had his duck.

and the only way to top it…was the raccoon. with a rocekt on it

Hi there Thrill Seekers and Keepers of the Flame. Rowdy Rob Debonair Deb here to say hes been working busilly on the next project ROb Deb : A mArvel Comic. its debuting at the brighton fringe at the end of May and is focussed on marvel, mainly though rather then the regular mutants and mayhem your used to , its based on the goings on in the Bullpen and the fanboy myths and legens that have built up over the years. some of the changes and the most ludicrious rumour mill that could only eve happen in a comic book and never in real life right? right!

I been digging through a few Marvel Age comics and trying to get the msot out of the gossipy elements. and some pertinant ones. Like heres a little factoid often over looked.

the marvel illustrated swimsuit specials are often bought up as exhibit A that comics are for boys and overly objectify women. The editor for the mags was One Bobbie chase, one of a few female editors at the time. her stipulation on accepting the assignment was that the mag as 50/50 in terms of female characters and male. also the artists were lining up to draw the guys! why you may think. most male staight artsist if you ever went through their doddles in their scrap book ( a scrap book was like a deviant art account but with more pople interested in seeing it) draw girls. lots of girls. because forget the image. artists spend so much time drawing they never actually saw one of those “woe-man” of myth and legends in the male dominated comic times, except for editors.

well its ebcause there was more variety, more challange. drawing the hulk or colussus or the thing or nightcrawler had more challenge in their speedos then the cookie cutter phsyique of most of the female characters.

and it  was really funny. really really funny.

and worth chekcing out. and yes she hulk is on the cover, and yes hubba hubba. but it had more

it had domino too!

until next extract true believer

excelsior!