This Way Up #3

Aug 2002. 5⅞"x8¼". Free
36 pages. Paper cover; B&W contents.
John Connors

Contents:

.2 Editorial text by John Connors
.3 Antenna ...All The Right Signals text
.5 Counting Friends Buffy review by John Connors
.9 This Is Music text feature by Tim Worthington

15 'You're Wizard, Harry!!' Harry Potter text feature by John Connors

22 Blockbusters Can FLy!! Film overview by John Connors

24 "Screech! Wah! Wah!" Doctor Who Big Finish audio adventure reviews by Chris Orton.

27 The Sulphur Man Doctor Who text feature by Dave Rolinson. Illustrated by Richard Farrell.

30 Winging It Angel season three review by Jon Hope
33 Reviews Summer 2002

This Way Up #2

Jun 2002. 5⅞"x8¼". Free
32 pages. Paper cover; B&W contents.
John Connors

Contents:

.2 Antenna ...All The Right Signals text pieces by John Connors
.3 Contents
.4 Strange Behaviour television reviews by John Connors
.7 Mex-Merised!! Gomez article by John Connors
11 The Dr Who Man text article on John Nathan-Turner by John Connors
15 Stoned! text article Stone Roses by John Connors
23 Unhappy New Year text article on New Year's Day by John Connors
25 Crossing The Boundaries text article on television by Tim Worthington
27 Reviews by Oliver Welsh
31 Dal-Lek! text feature by John Connors

33 "Screech! Wah! Wah!" Doctor Who Big Finish audio adventure reviews by Chris Orton.

35 Editorial by John Connors

This Way Up #1

Jan 2002-Feb 2002. 5⅞"x8¼". Free?
32 pages. Paper cover; B&W contents.
John Connors

Contents:

.2 Ed text introduction by John Connors
.3 Antenna Minuteman review by Oliver Wake.
.4 "Have You Got DVD Yet?" text feature by Tim Worthington.

.9 Eighth Man Bound - BBC's Eighth Doctor Books part one, text feature by Vince Stadon.

13 Moonglow Tim Worthington article about Dark Side Of The Moon by Pink Floyd

18 Everything In Contemporary US Sci-Fi Is Ripped Off 60s And 70s Dr Who!! text feature by Matt Salisbury

20 The Origins Of Dr. Who text feature by John Connors(?)

21 Everyone's Tolkien At Me... text feature by John Connors. Illustrated by Rob Clark.

24 Richard Linklater's Waking Life text feature by John Connors.

27 "Screech! Wah! Wah!" Doctor Who Big Finish audio adventure reviews by Chris Orton.

28 Reviews

Big Television Book

19?? - 19?? (??? titles)
World Distributors (Manchester) Ltd.

Note: There is, as far as I am aware, no numbering. Titles are alphabetical.

Basil Brush In Basil Makes A Film w: (unknown). a: (unknown).
Basil Brush In The Up And Down Show w: (unknown). a: (unknown).

Catweazle: Marrow Escape w: (unknown). a: (unknown).
Clangers: The Iron Egg w: (unknown). a: (unknown).

The Flintstones And Dino w: Kay Rausch Patrinos. a: Peter Alvarado, Robert Heiner & William Lorencz.

Huckleberry Hound: The Rainmaker w: (unknown). a: (unknown).
Huckleberry Hound And His Friends w: Pat Cherr. a: Ben De Nunez & Bob Totten.

The Jetsons: The Birthday Surprise w: Eileen Daly. a: Leon Jason.

Lassie And The Deer Mystery w: Jean Fiedler. a: Larry Harris.
The Lone Ranger And The Ghost Horse w: (unknown). a: (unknown).
The Lone Ranger And The Talking Pony w: (unknown). a: (unknown).

Pixie And Dixie And Mr. Jinks w: (unknown). a: (unknown).
Popeye Goes On A Picnic w: Crosby Newell. a: Bud Sagendorf.

Quick Draw McGraw: Badmen Beware w: Dorothy Haas. a: James Fletcher & Al White.

The Road Runner And The Bird Watchers w: (unknown). a: (unknown).
Roy Rogers At Lane Ranch w: (unknown). a: (unknown).

Shari Lewis' Lamb Chop: The Treasure Hunt w: (unknown). a: (unknown).
Supercar w: (unknown). a: (unknown).

Tom And Jerry And The Toy Circus w: (unknown). a: (unknown).
Tweety w: Don MacLaughlin. a: (unknown).

Yogi Bear And The Super Scooper w: Nancy Hoag. a: L. Hooper & R. Thomas.
Yogi Bear: No Picnic w: Eileen Daly. a: Frank McSavage & William Lorecz.
Yogi Bear: Our Hero w: S. Quentin Hyatt. a: M. Kawaguchi & Bob Barritt.

The Wombles Go To The Seaside w: (unknown). a: (unknown).

It is not without some difficulty that I bring this list here, rather than to the main blog, as it is woefully incomplete - the titles I have managed to find so far represent a fraction of what I believe is out there. There were a couple of entries I hesitated including, with different group titles than "Big Television Book", which might actually be a part of this range. Further information is welcomed.

Frontline - The SP Catalogue #1

Your Alternative Comics Distributor

Summer 2006. 6¼"x9⅝". £1.50.
28 pages. Card cover; B&W contents.
Smallzone Distribution

Cover includes reproductions of the covers of 10th Muse/Ezra (Arcana Press) #1 (2006), Dead By Dawn Quarterly (Scar Comics) #2 (Mar 2006), Starship Troopers: Blaze Of Glory (Markosia), Shadowmancer (Markosia) vol.1 (May 2006), Kolchak: The Night Stalker Chronicles (Moonstone) (2006) and Sherlock Holmes Mysteries (Moonstone) vol.2 (2006).

Contents:

.2 Frontline Users Guide
.3 Extra Reader Order Form - Summer 2006
.5 Comics Listings
26 Doris Danger advertisement
27 Special Offer For Retailers
28 The New Age Of UK Comics Is Here in-house advertisement

Official Website

One day these ephemeral catalogs will be considered important enough to document, though for the moment it seems they are thought tertiary to comic collectors, dumped in four-for-a-pound boxes, or worse... There is a great deal more American-style comics than more traditional photocopied small press titles, though the variety is wide enough that the few superhero titles included don't draw undue attention to themselves. The most fascinating aspect of this selection of comics is the number of licensed titles and characters from the public domain - all the while keeping the completely original material visible enough.

The only question in my mind after perusing the list of comics and graphic novels was why so many American-published titles were included. The differences between this and Previews is distinct, with less emphasis on allegedly "hot" comics, and a concrete focus on the merits of the titles - the Spotlight features which pepper the listings may have superficial similarities, though I would much rather see more done to support and promote the highly idiosyncratic individual creators who are printing their own material and distributing the work themselves, which this goes some way to doing.

Blue Peter Annual 2007

Annual (2007). 9"x12". £7.99.
112 pages; hardback. Full color.
Pedigree Books, Ltd. / BBC

ISBN-10: 1904329993

Features written by Richard Marson. Photography by Chris Capstick.

Photo cover.

Contents:

..2 Blue Peter photos.
..4 Contents
..5 Title Page
..6 Hello There! text introduction.
..8 Try Hard rugby photo feature by Richard Marsdon.
.12 All The Queen's Horses text feature by Richard Marsdon.
.14 Totally Blue Peter text feature by Richard Marsdon.
.20 Flying Angels cut-out feature by Gillian Shearing.
.24 Winter Safari To Namibia photo feature.
.28 Be A Blue Peter V.I.P. photo feature.
.30 Gethin Jones pin-up
.31 Gethin Jones text feature by Richard Marsdon.
.32 Geth Gloves Up boxing photo feature.

.36 Zarafa illustrated feature by Richard Marsdon. a: Bob Broomfield.

.40 Darth By Chocolate recipe by Gillian Shearing.
.42 Konnie Huq pin-up.
.43 Konnie Huq text feature by Richard Marsdon.
.44 Land Of The Rising Sun photo feature.
.48 No Oil Painting photo feature.
.50 Smackdown cut-out feature by Gillian Shearing.
.54 What Not To Wear...? photo feature.
.58 Who Peter Doctor Who text feature.
.62 Exterminate! Exterminate! cut-out feature by Gillian Shearing.
.66 An Eiffel Of Paris photo feature.
.70 Marie Antoinette photo feature.
.74 Socks Rocks! photo feature.
.76 Feline Fun cut-out feature by Diggy Hicks-Little.
.78 Treasure Trail text feature by Richard Marsdon.
.80 Zoe Salmon pin-up.
.81 Zoe Salmon text feature by Richard Marsdon.
.82 Commando Yomp photo feature.
.86 Badge Winners photo feature.
.90 Music Makers photo feature.
.92 Happy Endings photo feature.
.96 I'll Try Anything Once photo feature.
100 Happy Birthday Mabel photo feature.
102 Andy's Audition photo feature.
104 The Top Ten No. 10 photo feature.
106 Eggs-travaganza! cut-out feature by Gillian Shearing.
109 Solutions & Credits

Minutemen Arcade

http://www.minutemenarcade.com/uk/

From the stylish loading bar, evoking the Watchmen black-and-yellow branding perfectly, this website has a style which is unmistakably tied into the film adaptation. The diner location may be rather too simplistic - the arcade machine is the only clickable object. The newspaper in the foreground of the image could have led to reviews, the window to an image gallery, and the burger... Okay, I have no idea why that is there, other than to make me hungry, but my point stands. There is so much that could have been done with the opening screen.

The game itself begins with a rather amusing, though (once again) all too simple. There are a few issues with movement, the characters occasionally getting blocked by invisible obstacles, and the combat is limited to a punch and a kick. The availability of only two characters (Nite Owl and Silk Spectre) limits the replayability of the game, though as a few minutes of fun it is perfectly acceptable diversion - and, importantly, it is free. As long as you don't expect the level of quality as found in the the arcade game in The Wanderers, you might be entertained.

Once past the game, links to the official site, I Watch The Watchmen, and The New Frontiersman (for some reason here redirecting to the Paramount website) become available, along with an option to replay.

Very disappointing.