Space Hero & Heroine Saturdays ALIEN: THE ILLUSTRATED STORY

On our fellow Retroblog, Secret Sanctum of Captain Video™, we presented the original, 1979 version of the classic movie adaptation graphic novel by Archie Goodwin and Walt Simonson.

Yes, there were comic book and magazine adaptations (You've seen a number of them on Secret Sanctum of Captain Video™), but this was a one-shot trade paperback of all-new material based on a movie!

Officially called Heavy Metal presents ALIEN: the Illustrated Story, it was a major hit for the infant Heavy Metal publishing group spun off from National Lampoon.
And if Ripley, Dallas, Parker, Brett, Kane, and Lambert don't qualify as Space Heroes/Heroines, nobody does!
There's a new edition of this landmark, long-out-of-print, graphic novel, scanned and mastered directly from the original art still in Walt Simonson's possession, and you can order it below...

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Alien: the Illustrated Story

(Remastered)

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Trump Reading Room "Sinner"

If you wonder what sort of mindset would allow "God-fearing" evangelicals...

...to support a proven heathen like Don da Con, as The Chosen of the Lord, perhaps this over half-century old tale will offer some insight...

In case you have trouble reading the marker, here it is...enlarged...

Originally published in the wonderful Silver Age prozine, Witzend #1, in 1966, this Archie Goodwin-scripted and illustrated tale has also appeared in Unknown Worlds of Science Fiction Special #1 (1976) and Epic Illustrated #2 (1980), never losing it's impact!

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Best of Witzend

Reading Room EPIC ILLUSTRATED "Relic"

Is this never-reprinted tale from the 1980s...

...a subtle commentary by the "old guard" about the "young bucks" who were taking over the comics industry?

When this Archie Goodwin-scripted/Al Williamson-rendered story appeared in Marvel's Epic Illustrated #27 (1984), the comics industry was going through an upheaval.

Due to the introduction in the late 1970s of comic book stores and the Direct Market (which enabled publishers to "print to order"), numerous small publishers were popping up to compete with the major companies.

But, among the casualties in the changing marketplace were the "old pros", long-time creatives who were finding less and less work as the majors hired youngsters who were willing to work on their characters for lower rates.
The older writers and artists did find work, but mostly for new publishers, and usually at lower rates.
Some kept going by taking commissions from fans for new pieces.
Others moved on to advertising or newspaper syndicate work.
It's a sad turn of events that only started reversing itself after 2000.
BTW, note the story is dedicated to Williamson's fellow Fleagle Gang member Roy Krenkel who passed away around the time this tale was being created.
Krenkel was especially expert at rendering lush overgrown jungles and fantastical lost cities, so Al's dedicating this particular tale to him was most appropriate.

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Al Williamson

Hidden Lands

Monday Madness VIDEO JACK "Pilot Error" Conclusion

We Have Already Seen...

...it's the 1980s and Jack, the ultimate pop-culture nerd, is about to interact with tv in a way he never expected...

Before that, we want to let you know that we'd be happy to continue the funky adventures of Video Jack--if you tell us you want it!

So let us know by Saturday night, because we'll be preparing the next installment of Monday Madness on Sunday!

Update: If you came here earlier, you may have noticed there wasn't a link to the previous chapter, nor a synopsis.

That's because Blogger's altering of the creation interface caused serious glitches, and after almost two hours, I finally got the images uploaded and clicked "post" not realizing I still hadn't done those items!
My bad.😡

Plotted and penciled by Keith Giffen, scripted by Cary Bates, and inked by Dave Hunt, the never-reprinted Epic's Video Jack #1 (1987) is truly a product of its' time!

Note that, unlike today, pop-culture aficionados were scorned as geeks and nerds (What a great name for a movie or tv series!) and considered social outcasts!

How times have changed...

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Max Headroom's Guide to Life

Monday Madness VIDEO JACK "Pilot Error" Part 1

You know it's a story from the 1980s...

...when the book's editor deliberately looks like, and mentions, Max Headroom!

With that context, let's time-travel back to that era, when MTV dominated the airwaves with actual music videos, the internet was in its' infancy (no streaming video), video tapes were state-of-the-art to watch movies/tv shows, and a 27" TV screen was considered HUGE...

On the contrary, from the 1960s to the present, some kids have been all-but reared by television!

To be continued...

NEXT MONDAY!

Plotted and penciled by Keith Giffen, scripted by Cary Bates, and inked by Dave Hunt, the never-reprinted Epic's Video Jack #1 (1987) is truly a product of its' time!

Note that, unlike today, pop-culture aficionados were scorned as geeks and nerds (What a great name for a movie or tv series!) and considered social outcasts!

How times have changed...

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Max Headroom's Guide to Life

CoronaVirus Comics EERIE "Masque of the Red Death!"

Wow!

It's scary how many adaptations there are of Edgar Allen Poe's classic story...

...including this one from Warren's Eerie Magazine #12 (1967)!

Adapted by writer/editor Archie Goodwin and illustrated by Tom Sutton, this tale is one of the looser versions we've run.

But, at the same time, it's one of the more effective ones at evoking the mood and visceral terror the story requires!

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Eerie Archives

Volume 3

(reprinting this tale, plus everything else in issues 11-15)