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Post by Andy Turnbull on Oct 24, 2017 9:29:11 GMT
Ach I didn't mind Joe. Machine Man was tops, followed by Rocket and then Hercules. The worst is a toss up between Planet Terry and Spitfire and the Troubleshooters.
Andy
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Post by blueshift on Oct 24, 2017 9:46:45 GMT
Yeah, even as a wee 'un the Joe stuff bored the crap outta me. Rocket Raccoon was my favorite backup, then... Hercules, I think. Hell, I think I'd say I preferred Planet Terry to Joe! I genuinely liked it a lot more when it was called Action Force! A subtle difference! |
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Post by Andy Turnbull on Oct 24, 2017 9:51:59 GMT
Yeah, even as a wee 'un the Joe stuff bored the crap outta me. Rocket Raccoon was my favorite backup, then... Hercules, I think. Hell, I think I'd say I preferred Planet Terry to Joe! I genuinely liked it a lot more when it was called Action Force! A subtle difference! Having read Action Force weekly, the fact you also had a strip focusing on a smaller core cast helped immensely. As Joe goes on it lurches from character to character, in a similar way to latter era Uncle Bob Transformers, Flint was cool. Andy |
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Post by Philip Ayres on Oct 24, 2017 10:48:53 GMT
No he wasn't. Gi Joe's cast is huge. There's attempts to deal with it as early as the mid 30s when Hama gives many of the original Joes desk jobs but the fans (and Hama) keep wanting to do more of certain characters. Fortunately many of them coincide with the characters the toyline keeps bringing back but as the comic goes on you get the feeling that nobody is really interested in the new characters. There's a rather amusing incident with the US 1985 (a part of the initial 1987 Action Force release) Vehicle The Snow Cat and it's Driver Frostbite. They make their debut in US issue 68, dated October 87 after the toy had gone off sale! www.mikesamazingworld.com/features/comic.php?comicid=58906A later attempt to deal with the problem by killing some Joes off *really* goes down badly with the fans but that's long after the UK printing finished. |
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Post by Philip Ayres on Oct 24, 2017 10:51:51 GMT
I imagine it's because GI Joe just didn't appeal to a young British audience I always enjoyed GI Joe at the time. However from about 1990 ish, the range took a dive which is roughly coincidental with the first Gulf War. I don't know how war toys fared against that but the 2002 attempt at relaunching the line over here really felt it tanked due to how toxically US led military action at the time was viewed. |
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Post by The Doctor on Oct 24, 2017 11:28:57 GMT
Flint was cool.
I liked the dayglo figures of the 90's.
-Ralph
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Post by blueshift on Oct 24, 2017 11:30:47 GMT
I imagine it's because GI Joe just didn't appeal to a young British audience I always enjoyed GI Joe at the time. However from about 1990 ish, the range took a dive which is roughly coincidental with the first Gulf War. I don't know how war toys fared against that but the 2002 attempt at relaunching the line over here really felt it tanked due to how toxically US led military action at the time was viewed. GI Joe was explicitly American and about how great America was, so little Blueshift felt he wasn't supposed to read it. Action Force was for everyone as they are international heroes |
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Post by Andy Turnbull on Oct 24, 2017 11:37:11 GMT
GI Joe did feel like it kept going far longer than it should have. That being said the final issue is a really good end to the series.
Andy
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Post by The Doctor on Oct 24, 2017 21:17:52 GMT
I don't think I've ever read it.
-Ralph
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Post by drmick on Nov 14, 2017 23:18:15 GMT
Have the UK originated Action Force stories ever seen modern reprints?
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Post by Philip Ayres on Nov 14, 2017 23:23:37 GMT
I don't believe so.
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Post by Andy Turnbull on Nov 16, 2017 12:54:19 GMT
No they haven't.
Odd, as I assumed at least European Missions (Action Force monthly) might have gotten a look in from IDW after they finished with the Joe/TF trade reprints.
Andy
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Post by Philip Ayres on Dec 31, 2017 17:52:58 GMT
Surprised to see that the Iron Man stories 'Night of the Octopus' and 'From the Ashes' from Marvel Fanfare don't appear to have been reprinted anywhere, nor the first Machine Man series... Having pulled my Marvel UK from the loft today to do some SW research I was surprised to see issues of Marvel Fanfare popping up elsewhere. Issues 7, 14 & 15 are used by Marvel UK Spider-Men during 1985 (probably more, I don't have that many issues) which makes 22 & 23's use in Transformers look a little less odd. www.mikesamazingworld.com/features/series.php?seriesid=4075&page=gallery |
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Post by Philip Ayres on Jan 20, 2018 23:20:40 GMT
Another question is why start Machine Man at MM#11 in TFUK#1? Had another Marvel UK title been running it before "Fantastic news for your comic!" struck? Machine Man appeared previously in Forces in Combat comicvine.gamespot.com/forces-in-combat/4050-34688/As to which stories they printed.... www.mikesamazingworld.com/mikes/features/series.php?seriesid=4046&page=galleryI can see Machine Man 15's cover on Forces in Combat 32 and Machine Man 18 on Forces in Combat 29. Both those issues appear in TFUK so it could be they were sitting on Marvel UK's shelves ready to use when Transformers came along. Repeated reuse of original X-Men and various FF issues by Marvel UK would support this theory. So did the earlier Kirby stories get printed anywhere by Marvel UK? Forces in Combat has cropped up on this forum before, as one of the previous homes of Rom: tmukhub.proboards.com/post/155140/threadTheir use of Shang-Chi might explain why it got used as an Action Force back up strip: again cos Marvel UK had it sitting on the shelves. I don't own any Forces in Combat or Action Force to compare the too. I know Ralph had a run of Action Force, do you still have it? I've reached some conclusions about the other TFUK back up strips and how they fit into the madness that was Marvel UK's recurrent "Fabulous News" at that time from my recent adventures with UK Spider-Man back issues but I need more brain than I have at 23:20 to write that up. |
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Post by Pinwig on Jan 20, 2018 23:43:06 GMT
Forces in Combat is a name that stirs a distant memory. I must have had the odd issue back in the day. Interesting. Don't recognise any of the covers, just that name rings a bell.
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Post by Philip Ayres on Jan 20, 2018 23:44:48 GMT
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Post by Pinwig on Jan 21, 2018 8:15:48 GMT
Aha! a quick eBay search and I see the first few issues came with stickers. The tank one with issue one used to be on the wardrobe in my old bedroom. I must have had issue one then. Interesting. That memory would have laid undisturbed were it not for this thread!
I may have to buy one of those. Phil is costing me money again.
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Post by The Doctor on Jan 21, 2018 10:52:58 GMT
I did have the full run of Action Force Weekly and Monthly though passed them to Andu. I only have the Annuals and a couple of Specials left.
-Ralph
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Post by Philip Ayres on Jan 21, 2018 16:39:04 GMT
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Post by Philip Ayres on Jan 21, 2018 17:13:35 GMT
What lies in between is somewhat odder and almost all owes some legacy to Marvel UK's habit of cancelling titles. Marvel Fanfare issues had been running in later issue of Spiderman (late 590s through to 633 - I've found material from 7, 13, 14, 15 & 18). I would suggest that Night of the Octopus & From the Ashes, from Marvel Fanfare 22 & 23 which ran in TFUK 043-050 was an on the shelf left over from there. It's at this point that Mighty World of Marvel enters the picture comicvine.gamespot.com/the-mighty-world-of-marvel/4050-3232/ - June 1983-October 1984, around the point Transformers starts. They run a number of US Limited Series including Vision & Scarlet Witch www.mikesamazingworld.com/mikes/features/series.php?seriesid=4049&page=gallery
Wolverine www.mikesamazingworld.com/mikes/features/series.php?seriesid=4048&page=gallery
Cloak & Dagger www.mikesamazingworld.com/mikes/features/series.php?seriesid=4053&page=gallery
X-Men/Micronauts www.mikesamazingworld.com/mikes/features/series.php?page=gallery&seriesid=4148
Magik www.mikesamazingworld.com/mikes/features/comic.php?comicid=48911 Waaaaay back in issue 4 of MWOM the letters column says that they intend to print all the US Limited series and have ordered them all from Marvel US. Of the TF Back up strips between the Machine Man reprints and Spitfire, almost all are US Limited series: Machine Man, October 1984-Jan 1985 (June-Sept 1984) www.mikesamazingworld.com/mikes/features/series.php?seriesid=4097&page=gallery
Same months as X-Men 186-9 & TF US 2-3
Rocket Racoon May-August 1985 (Feb-May 1985) www.mikesamazingworld.com/mikes/features/series.php?seriesid=4571&page=gallery
Same months as X-Men 193-196 & TF US 5-7
Hercules, Sept-Dec 1982 (July-Oct 1982) www.mikesamazingworld.com/mikes/features/series.php?seriesid=4088&page=gallery
Same months as Wolverine 1-4 & X-Men 161-164 I would suggest that, given the dates of publication, Hercules *definitely* was a left over from the MWOM order: it was out at the same time as Wolverine and Vision & Scarlet Witch. Machine Man *might* have been, and was the one they pulled off the shelf first because it fitted with the existing backup strip. Rocket Racoon, given the dates, looks a little less likely to have been part of the MWOM order but I suppose it's quite possible an enthusiastic editor might have ordered far in advance.... Starting in |
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Post by Pinwig on Jan 21, 2018 17:28:17 GMT
That's some good deduction there, Phil. Very interesting.
Also - Magik in a pink leotard?! I prefer the current costume!
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Post by Philip Ayres on Mar 3, 2018 18:43:48 GMT
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Post by Andy Turnbull on Mar 4, 2018 11:09:22 GMT
So long as in 2020 we get THAT armour.
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Post by legios on Mar 4, 2018 21:20:06 GMT
Well quite. Iron Man's armour should always fit the times.
Karl
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Post by Pinwig on Apr 12, 2018 19:38:31 GMT
Aha! a quick eBay search and I see the first few issues came with stickers. The tank one with issue one used to be on the wardrobe in my old bedroom. I must have had issue one then. Interesting. That memory would have laid undisturbed were it not for this thread! I may have to buy one of those. Phil is costing me money again. Phil has indeed cost me money. I picked up the first issue of this from a recent auction, complete with sticker. Amazing to see one again. I'm going to enjoy seeing if I can remember any of the contents because it's only the sticker that I can remember at the moment. I'd have been six when this was printed, six months after I first started being bought Doctor Who Weekly by my dad and two years before The Eagle relaunched, which are the only benchmarks in my early years of comic reading that I can put this with. Very odd feeling looking at it!  |
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Post by Philip Ayres on Jul 23, 2018 14:08:34 GMT
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Post by Grand Moff Muffin on Jul 23, 2018 16:42:32 GMT
Awesome. Strange though that the blurb doesn't mention Doc Ock.
Martin
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Post by Philip Ayres on Jul 23, 2018 17:04:02 GMT
No, the text covers the main series and Crash. Fanfare is obviously serving as filler.
Fanfare 44 was released the same month as Iron Man 243, so that's why that's here, but I'm unsure as to the logic of the other two here other than they're by the same guy and will bump up the page count!
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Post by The Doctor on Jul 23, 2018 18:08:24 GMT
A TFUK Back-up story and Crash? SOLD!
-Ralph
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Post by Andy Turnbull on Aug 7, 2018 19:29:17 GMT
Love that Crash is being reprinted - so finally it will have a digital version.
Andy
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