Absolutely. Get well soon.

2. Star Trek: The Next Generation (DC, 1989-1996)






I may well be duplicating what I said about the DC Star Trek title that was my third choice.

Here, we had a book that ran from 1989 to 1996 - and was true to the spirit of TNG. Back when the book was released, I had only seen a few tapes of the series, CIC Video releasing them in the UK (I believe the first tape was released in 1990). BBC2 started showing the series around 1991 at 6pm.

I needed my TNG "fix" while waiting for the tapes or BBC2 to air the episodes.

As I said in the other thread, I am not entirely sure Gold Key or Marvel Comics satisfied me with their Star Trek books; it was only when DC took over the licence in 1984, and I started reading the books in the late 80s, that I had a Trek incarnation I could enjoy.

Like the comic based on the original series, this title served the characters well, giving many of them a chance to shine, and playing to the strengths that an ensemble series allows. And it all felt very credible. This felt like it was taking place in the same universe as the TV series. What more can one ask from a licensed comic?

Interesting trivia: despite being published by DC, the UK reprints were reprinted by Marvel UK. At the time, that blew my mind. ;-)

2. Beneath the Planet of the Apes

Publisher - Gold Key
Year - 1970
Writer -No writer credited
Artists- Alberto Giolitti, Sergio Costa





This has to be one of the earliest comics that I bought, but I’m sure that my dad got it for me after we went to see the movie. At age 9, I remember loving the movie and desperately comparing the two. It held up pretty well, although I thought the depiction of Taylor falling on the doomsday device switch failed to give the impact of the final scene. Anyway, I do remember having the poster and the thrill of “bringing the movie home” in the age before DVD’s / tapes or digital. The scans that I have are from searching the internet and finding the complete story posted by someone thus saving me the 35-100 dollars it would have taken me to read it after all these years. I love the net.

Blade Runner (Marvel, 1982)




So, today's pick is Marvel's excellent comic adaptation of Blade Runner, by Al Williamson and Archie Goodwin. This first appeared in the U.S. in Marvel Super Special #22, but, being in the UK, I first encountered it when it was serialised as a back-up strip in Return of the Jedi Weekly in 1983.

One of the most important things to note, with regards to the high placing of this adaptation in my list, is that it was my very first encounter with the world of Blade Runner. I mean, yes, I had heard of the movie when it came out – it was heavily publicised in the pages of the British Star Wars comic alone – but I was only 9-years-old and it had a 15 certificate rating (or AA as it was back then). As a result, there was no way I could get into a cinema to watch this new sci-fi film starring Harrison "Han Solo" Ford.

Luckily, Marvel came to the rescue...and this is precisely why these old comic adaptations of then-current movies were so cool: in the days before the likes of Netflix, YouTube or cheaply available DVDs and Blu-rays, these adaptations allowed us comic readers to re-live the films we'd seen, or – as was my case with Blade Runner – "see" the films that we'd missed.

So, for me, Rick Deckard, Rachel, the Tyrell Corporation, Replicants, the "Voight-Kampff" test, Roy Batty's moving "tears in the rain" speech, and the big questions about mortality and the very nature of what it is to be human that Blade Runner asks, were all first encountered via this comic. It wasn't until 1987 or thereabouts that I actually managed to see the film itself on VHS video cassette. So, for four years, between 1983 and 1987, this comic adaptation was Blade Runner to me.

These days, the film (in any of its variations) is easily one of my top 5 favourite films ever, and the Marvel Comics adaptation certainly does it justice: Williamson's artwork is just to die for and Goodwin's interpretation of the film's script is basically faultless, with his noir-flavoured narration boxes actually improving on Ford's voice over from the original cinematic cut of the film. I reckon this must be one of the most re-read comics in my collection, but more importantly, this adaptation is the version of Blade Runner that I first fell in love with.

I had no idea that the comic had come before the TV series! That is so cool!!!

2. The Summit of the Gods

A novel by Baku Yumemakura adapted by Jiro Taniguchi. Published in serial form in the anthology magazine Business Jump (2000-2003), then collected in five books.



It starts with the possible discovery of George Malory’s camera on Mount Everest, and continues through the exploration of the friendship between two climbers motivated by a deep and sometimes unfathomable drive.

Taniguchi’s art is mind-blowing. The Himalayas never looked so stark, so unwelcoming, and so beautiful at the same time. The extreme hardship endured by the climbers is also rendered in a stupefying way; for one particular scene, I was up on my toes frenetically turning the pages to see what would happen next!!! The final pages would bring tears to the eyes of any but the most hardened reader; the emotional crescendo is akin to that of a few operas.

Taniguchi is a god among comics creators, as far as I am concerned, and this may be his masterpiece.

I think this just became my number one must buy!

My number 2 is Unknown Worlds of Science Fiction, #6, the final issue.



If you are going to end, you might as well make it a memorable ending. The cover alone pretty much proves how little involvement Stan had in the publishing side of things, at this point. In no way shape or form would he have put out a comic with a figure imitating the crucifixion pose, from a story that was as controversial as Michael Moorcock's Nebula-winning "Behold the Man!" However, Roy Thomas did, with script from Doug Moench and fantastic art from Alex Nino.

Moorcock's story tells of Karl Glogauer, a man obsessed with the historical Jesus. In this alternate world, Christianity is pretty much a thing of the past. The story gives us snippets of Karl's life and obsession, as we see him as a child, tied, with arms spread, to a chain link fence, as he is pelted with rocks, by other kids. One of the children tell the adult who stops them that it was Karl's idea, that they were playing "Jesus." Eventually, Karl is part of a time travel experiment and ends up in ancient Judea, where he encounters John the Baptist. From there, he soon finds himself very much pulled into the story of Jesus, as told in the Bible, yet in a fashion not expected, right up to the ending, which pretty much will give you moorcock's view on religion.

Roy opens the issue with an editorial, cautioning readers that this is fiction and it depicts an alternate world. If you are offended by such things, he says, skip the story. There are other stories in the issue. Kind of hard to skip the cover, there, Roy! However, readers who did pick it up and read it will find a tremendous adaptation of Moorcock (one of the few adaptations of his work outside the Eternal Champion cycles). Moench is in his element and Nino goes to town on the art. It isn't as wild as "Repent Harlequin," from issue 3; but, it is compelling and dazzling.



Unknown Worlds of Science Fiction would never fly as a Code-approved series, which is why it was part of Marvel's more mature B&W magazine line ad Unknown Worlds went beyond most of them (with the exception of Bizarre Adventures), creating some instant classics. Reprinting them is another story, since the individual stories are owned by the original authors; so, you have to seek out the actual magazines or scans of them. Some of it can be found online, including the entirety of "Behold the Man," here, at the Bronze Age of Blogs.