Citizendia

Star Blazers is also the name for the American dub of the anime series Space Battleship Yamato

Starblazer - Space Fiction Adventure in Pictures was a British small-format comics anthology in black and white published by D. C. Thomson & Co. Ltd. is a Japanese Science fiction Anime series and the name of its eponymous space craft. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located Comics anthologies collect works in the medium of Comics that are too short for standalone publication D C Thomson & Co Ltd, is a publishing company based in Dundee, Scotland, best known for producing Oor Wullie, The Broons

There were 281 issues, the first published in April 1979, and the last published on 1 January 1991. Events Year overall January February March April May Frank Miller takes over from New Year See also New Year The Ancient Romans began their consular year on January 1st since 153 BC Events January February March April X-Force debuts in New Mutants vol The front cover was printed in colour while the back page featured an ongoing subject that was relevant to the space programme. This included pictures of astronauts and brief details of the missions they were on, other subjects were satellites and the planets and planetoids of the solar system. An astronaut or cosmonaut (космона́вт) is a person trained This article is about artificial satellites For natural satellites also known as moons see Natural satellite. The Solar System consists of the Sun and those celestial objects bound to it by Gravity.

The Early Style of Starblazer cover with the single pane colour cover This is Issue 1, released in 1979.
The Early Style of Starblazer cover with the single pane colour cover This is Issue 1, released in 1979.

Partway through its run, from issue 168 onwards, the anthology changed format. Instead of a single front cover and a black and white subject on the back, a new all-colour 'wrap around' cover was instituted, most of the time showing a collage of subjects from that issues storyline. A collage (From the coller to glue is a work of formal art primarily in the Visual arts, made from an assemblage of different forms thus creating a new whole The subject matters also appeared to have a more adult emphasis and there was a heavier focus on Fantasy storylines. Fantasy is a Genre that uses magic and other Supernatural forms as a primary element of plot, theme, and/or setting The cover title also changed format slightly to Starblazer - Fantasy Fiction in Pictures, despite the title change, there were still a considerable number of Science Fiction storylines up till the final issue.

The later style of Starblazer cover from Issue 200, which had a wrap around effect. Also showing an emphasis on Fantasy storylines, this was the first appearance of the Kingdom of Anglerre.
The later style of Starblazer cover from Issue 200, which had a wrap around effect. Also showing an emphasis on Fantasy storylines, this was the first appearance of the Kingdom of Anglerre.

Prior to the new format, there had been several issues that had been classed as interactive fiction, with the title Starblazer - Space (or Fantasy) roleplaying game in pictures similar in idea to the then popular Fighting Fantasy and Lone Wolf gamebooks, but this idea was quietly dropped after a few issues after proving unpopular. For a list of Fighting Fantasy media see List of Fighting Fantasy gamebooks Fighting Fantasy is a series of single-player Lone Wolf is a collection of 28 (soon to be 32 Gamebooks created by Joe Dever and initially illustrated (books 1-8 by

Contents

Recurring Characters

Although each issue was intended to be a 'one-off' storyline, a number of characters made reappearances in subsequent issues. The first of these was Matt Crane, who appeared in issue number 5-The Shipeater. He subsequently reappeared in issue 26-Alien Contact.

Other recurring characters include:-

The Suicide Squad. This series of stories, by W. C. H. Reed, follows the team of Lieutenant Steve Martin and his squad of misfits. Lieutenant (abbreviated Lt or Lieut) is a Military, Naval, Paramilitary, Fire service, Emergency medical services Martin himself apparently was disgraced and his active military career was finished. The remainder of his crew, Gunner Gee, Vidop (Computer operator) Bello, and Navigator Henry also had issues. The first appearance was in issue 49-Rigel Express. Strangely enough, Steve Martin was called Steven Terry in that issue. The Terry surname was also used in a couple of early pages in issue 75 Doomrock but it changed by the end of that issue. Later issues used the Martin surname and no explanation was ever given for the change. As the issues went on, Martin became increasingly sickened by war, especially the human cost. War is an international relations Dispute, characterized by organized Violence between National Military units Issue number 31-Starstrike featured a character called Steve Martin, though it is not the same character.

The Planet Tamer. Formerly known as Jubal McKay, a member of the United Planets Security Service who was rebuilt by cyberneticist Dr Hans Verringer. The whole side of his body was practically destroyed by a bomb that had been planted by a criminal by the name of Trent. A bomb is any of a range of devices that typically rely on the Exothermic Chemical reaction of an Explosive material to produce an extremely The resulting damage left him effectively unable to live a normal life. Verringer rebuilt his body, integrating weapons and computer systems into his suit. Completely self-sufficient in space, he had a sled built at a ship engineers that he can control remotely. Armed with a wide variety of weapons the Planet Tamer operates outside the normal jurisdiction of the law.

Matt Tallis. One of the more irregular and short lived of the reused characters, Matt Tallis is an investigator/agent for the Galactic Security Service. He is stronger than the Earth normal, because his home world is a heavier gravity world. Tallis has his own ship, the Taurus, complete with a robot named Isak which can remotely control ship functions. A robot is a mechanical or Virtual Artificial agent In practice it is usually an electro-mechanical system which by its appearance or movements Due to an implant that Tallis has, he can establish a telepathic style link with Isak.

Hadron Halley. A member of the Fi-Sci (Fighting Scientists), a part of Earths Galac Squad. The Fighting Scientists are a small group of scientists who are extremely intelligent, but also enter combat areas, having been fully trained in combat and survival techniques. A scientist, in the broadest sense refers to any person that engages in a systematic activity to acquire Knowledge or an individual that engages in such practices Hadron Halley first appeared in issue number 50-Moonsplitter, which also saw the first appearance of General Larz Pluto who would later become Halley's commanding officer and friend. Issue appearances are as follows.

Mikal R Kayn. A former police officer who was invalided out of the force after an explosion burned out his eyes. A police officer (also known as a policeman or policewoman) is a warranted employee of a Police force. Without the aid of special glasses he can only see in the infrared spectrum. Glasses, also called eyeglasses or spectacles, are frames bearing lenses worn in front of the Eyes normally for vision correction, Infrared ( IR) radiation is Electromagnetic radiation whose Wavelength is longer than that of Visible light, but shorter than that of He eventually meets Cinnibar, the female warrior from the planet of Babalon who helps him in a case to the abandoned research city of Valhalla Nova on the ice planet of Thrymheim. According to the Random House Dictionary, the term warrior has two meanings Research is defined as Human activity based on Intellectual application in the investigation of Matter. A city is an Urban area with a large Population and a particular Administrative, Legal, or Historical status Curiously enough, Kayns first appearance in Issue 45-Operation Overkill makes no mention of his accident, or his disability, only that he is a former law enforcement officer. However. it is obvious that it is the same character.

Cinnibar. A fierce female warrior from the frontier planet of Babalon. According to the Random House Dictionary, the term warrior has two meanings Her character started in the Kayn stories. She had three spin off stories involving herself and her brother Rulf who also had made his first appearance in a Kayn story. Cinnibar is a tall statuesque, but slender woman who looks human. The most distinctive features of her, is her extremely long hair, and three striped marks on her face which could be tribal style tattoos. A tattoo is a permanent marking made by inserting ink into the layers of Skin to change the pigment for decorative or other reasons She favours combat with traditional style weapons like swords, although she is not averse to using ranged weapons like laser blasters. As Kayn once remarked, he remembered that "Babalonians had found methods to kill practically anything that moves". She has a cousin, Vivanna, who also became a semi-recurring character in two of the Cinnibar issues.

Grok and Zero. One of the earlier series with a lighter tone to it. While some of the stories themselves are serious in nature, they do have a touch of humour to them. Grok is a humanoid alien, an experienced Space Policeman. The term " humanoid " refers to any being whose body structure resembles that of a Human. His partner is injured in the first appearance and he gets assigned a new partner by the name of Smith, who he dubs 'Zero' which is derived from his service number. In this universe, Earth is not the origin of the human race, it is in fact a planet called Cappella VI, Earth having been the location of a crash of a colony ship some centuries before, from which the present population has descended, although it has regressed somewhat.

Frank Carter. More commonly referred to as just 'Carter', he is a mandroid, in effect, part robotic, but not quite enough to be called a cyborg. A cyborg is a Cybernetic Organism ( ie, an organism that has both artificial and natural systems His background is revealed in a later issue. Frank Carter was a perfectly normal police officer until he received a gun blast to the head. A gun is a particular Weapon that propels Projectiles The projectile is generally fired through a hollow tube known as the gun's barrel. The severe head wound meant that pioneering cybernetic surgery was tried. He was given enhanced strength and reactions, but the part of his brain that contained emotions had been destroyed. His basic no-nonsense attitude to lawbreakers, and some would say overly brutal methods are constantly bringing him into conflict with his superiors.

Starhawk. An intergalactic freelance troubleshooter, his real name is Sol Rynn. He answers distress calls from those in need who use a special card which slots into a computer interface. A computer is a Machine that manipulates data according to a list of instructions. Starhawk was one of the flagship stories in the short-lived DC Thomson comic Crunch. Starhawk also made a number of brief appearances in DC Thomsons Hotspur annual. His companion is a robot that goes by the simple name of Droid. He has a starship that he can remotely summon. The setting is the crumbling Earth Empire which has been ravaged by years of raiding from the alien Krell. Strangely enough, little background is given to the Krell themselves and the backstory of conflict between the Krell and that of Earth is never elaborated on. The result, instory though, is that much of the galaxy is in a state of lawlessness.

Skald. The Skald series of stories initially is set in the region of a castle where the population are enslaved by powerful 'warlocks'. The warlocks use energy weapons to dispense their own brand of justic and keep the population enslaved by fear. When Skald, a young herder finds out that he is to receive the 'collar of manhood', basically a life sentence in the mines performing hard labour, he rebels. Lashing out in anger, he kills one of the warlocks and flees the area. Later he meets with Linx, the Amazonian warrioress, a member of the matriarchial Yaba-Kel tribe. Many elements of the Skald stories centre around the fact that an Earth colony ship crash landed on the planet and advanced technology found its way into the hands of a select few people, and the constant struggle for this technology.

The Anglerre Series. This series of issues set in the fantasy kingdom of Anglerre follows the royal family and their conflict against various aggressors. A royal family is the extended family of a monarch. Generally the head of a royal family is a king or queen regnant The first appearance, in issue 200 of Prince Veyne was followed by a later issue which was a prequel showing Veyne's father, King Iagon. Prince, from the Latin root Princeps, is a general term for a Monarch, for a member of a monarch's or former monarch's family and is a King Iagon had been vaguely referred to in Issue 200, both by saying that Veyne had just ascended to the throne on the death of his father, and a ship named the 'Royal Iagon'. Much of the storyline of the Royal House of Anglerre is entwined with the god Vishena and the Demon Sword, Cerastes, who will make its user invincible, but will also kill its wielder after an unspecified period of time. The nature of Anglerre's opponents seems to make heavy use of Demons. A recurring character within this series is that of Myrdan, a seemingly immortal figure of unspecified power who could said to have been inspired by both Gandalf from The Lord of the Rings and King Arthurs court adviser, Merlin. Concept and creation Humphrey Carpenter in his 1977 biography relates that Tolkien owned a Postcard entitled Der Berggeist ("the mountain The Lord of the Rings is an epic The Multi-Element Radio Linked Interferometer Network ( MERLIN) is an Interferometer array of Radio telescopes spread across England and the In the issue Demon Sword, Myrdan at one point seems to merge with Vishena, which hints that he could be an avatar of the god.

Solo. This series charts the adventures of Solo, the sole human survivor of a cryogenic sleeper ship. The charter of his vessel, the Telurian Quest, grants him ownership of a planet. Unfortunately, he finds that his planet is already inhabited as faster than light capable ships were launched some years after the Telurian ships. Solo was reared by an onboard android who educated him with tales of chivalry. An android is a Robot designed to resemble a human usually both in appearance and behavior Chivalric order Chivalry is a term related to the Medieval institution of Knighthood. Therefore Solo has a rather archaic way of looking at things and is also naive.

The Robot Kid. One of the more humorous series of stories that later appeared. The initial Robot Kid story was set on a frontier planet under attack from bandits. The whole story had a quasi-western feel to it. The initial story had the townsfolk try to buy a Kelso Deathmek, a war robot, to protect them. What they got was a reprogrammed cinema usher. It's computerised mind had been loaded with all sorts of clichés and popular saying from Western films. The Western is a fiction Genre seen in Film, Television, Radio, Literature, Painting and other Visual arts. Indeed, there were homages throughout the issue with a character by the name of Angel Eyes, and another character who bore a resemblance to Lee Van Cleef in The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. Lee Van Cleef ( January 9 1925 &ndash December 16 1989) was an American film actor who appeared mostly in Western and action pictures The Good the Bad and the Ugly ( Il Buono il Brutto il Cattivo) is a 1966 Italian epic Spaghetti western film directed With its body destroyed at the end of the story, the replacement body was manufactured by the Japanese arm of the company and was a parody of the many martial arts movies. For other uses see Martial arts (disambiguation Martial arts film is a Film genre that originated in the Pacific Rim. The third and final appearance was a parody of the Rambo style movies. "RAMBO" can refer to RAMBO Brooklyn, a neighborhood in New York City Robust Associations of Massive Baryonic Objects, a theoretical

Artistic Peculiarities

It was not uncommon for artwork to differ from frame to frame for something like a spacecraft. An item like this could look very different in one frame than it does in other parts of the same issue. There also seems to have been a reuse of artwork. For example, some character poses were reused with different faces and clothing, but the pose itself has been used in a previous issue.

Featured Artists and Writers

British comics creators to have worked on Starblazer include Grant Morrison, Walter Cyril Henry Reed, John Smith, Mike Chinn, Mike McMahon, Colin MacNeil, Cam Kennedy, and John Ridgway,. Grant Morrison (born January 31 1960 is a Scottish Comic book writer and artist John Smith is a British Comics writer best known for his work on 2000 AD and Crisis. Mike Chinn is a horror, Fantasy and Comics writer from Birmingham, England. Michael (known as Mike or Mick) McMahon is a British Comics Artist best known for his work on 2000 AD characters Colin MacNeil is a British comics artist best known for his work on 2000 AD and in particular on Judge Dredd and other stories within his Campbell ("Cam" Kennedy is a Scottish Comics artist He is best known for his work on 2000 AD, especially the flagship titles John Ridgway (born 1940) is a British Comics Artist. Biography Ridgway began his career initially as a hobby drawing D

End of Run and the Future

The Starblazer issues suffered from poor distribution, being rare in parts of Scotland and almost unknown in the rest of the United Kingdom. Due to a downturn in the general comic market, many newsagents never stocked them, or later would only take subscriptions. This contrasts sharply with the Commando comics from the same publisher that have enjoyed countrywide widespread distribution since their origin in the 1960s. Commando For Action and Adventure, formerly known as Commando War Stories in Pictures, and colloquially known as Commando Comics, are a series of British Also, a slump in the Science Fiction genre would not have helped sales either.

There have been rumours that DC Thomson would release an anthology, basically a reprint of the old issues, but whether this is true or not, and whether this would be the complete print run is, as yet, unknown.

In May 2007 Cubicle 7 Entertainment announced that they were producing a licensed Starblazer role-playing game using the FATE 3.0 system. A role-playing game ( RPG; often roleplaying game) is a Game in which the participants assume the roles of Fictional characters. FATE, Fantastic Adventures in Tabletop Entertainment, is a Generic role-playing game system based on the FUDGE gaming system

External links

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