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.

Doctor Who Sticker Collection, Second Edition

2007. 8⅝"x11¾". Promotional copy
52 pages. Full color contents.
Topps Europe, Ltd. / Merlin Stickers

Photo cover.

Contents:

.2 Tardis photo
.3 .[3 stickers] Are You Ready?
.4 [21 stickers] The Doctor
.8 [11 stickers] Rose
10 [11 stickers] Mickey
12 [10 stickers] Meet The Cybermen
14 [10 stickers] S2.5: Rise Of The Cybermen
16 [10 stickers] S2.6: The Age Of Steel
18 [10 stickers] S2.7: The Idiot's Lantern
20 [10 stickers] S2.8: The Impossible Planet
22 [10 stickers] S2.9: The Satan Pit
24 [10 stickers] S2.10: Love & Monsters
26 [10 stickers] S2.11: Fear Her
-- [14 stickers] Monsters And Aliens Uncovered full-color poster (16¼"x23¼").
28 [10 stickers] S2.12: Army Of Ghosts
30 [10 stickers] S2.13: Doomsday
32 [10 stickers] The Daleks
34 [11 stickers] The Doctor & Rose's Adventures
36 [20 stickers] S3. The Runaway Bride
40 [11 stickers] Martha Jones
42 [11 stickers] S3.1: Smith & Jones
44 [11 stickers] S3.2: The Shakespeare Code
46 [11 stickers] S3.3: Gridlock
48 [11 stickers] S3.4: Daleks In Manhattan
50 .[4 stickers] TARDIS Adventures
51 .[4 stickers] Completion Sticker Box / mail-order sticker information & indicia

Pending Information: Marked For Murder

This is an entirely frustrating title to index, and the closest I have come to discovering a full list of issues is a German reprint title named Geheim Brigade (Secret Brigade), which ran for twenty issues in the late sixties - indicating that Marked For Murder had at least as many issues. That there is such a sparsity of information on the title is unsurprising, though I would hope someone can identify at least some of the writers and artists involved, or merely indicate which titles are missing from the index.

1962 - (20 issues)
Thorpe And Porter

01 (1962; cover price 1/) The Murder Of The Lonely Sailor
02 (1962) The Rat
03 (1962) One Body Too Many
04 (1962) Unknown Title
05 (1962) Unknown Title
06 (1962) Unknown Title
07 (1962) Unknown Title
08 (1962) Conspiracy To Kill
09 (1962) Unknown Title
10 (1962) Unknown Title
11 (1962) Unknown Title
12 (1962) Unknown Title
13 (1962) Unknown Title
14 (1962) Unknown Title
15 (1962) Unknown Title
16 (1962) Unknown Title
17 (1962) Unknown Title
18 (1962) Unknown Title
19 (1962) Unknown Title
20 (1962) Unknown Title

Blue Peter - Eighteenth Book

Annual (1982). 8"x11". £1.95
80 pages; hardback. Full color.
BBC

ISBN-10: 0563179384

Features written by Biddy Baxter, Edward Barnes & John Adcock.

Photo cover.

Contents:

.2 Blue Peter Animals part one
.3 Contents
.4 Hello There! text by Simon Groom, Sarah Greene & Peter Duncan.
.6 Time Gentlemen Please! text feature by Peter Duncan.
.9 Rags Goes Back To School text feature (uncredited).
10 Who Stole The Stone? illustrated feature by Dorothy Smith. a: Robert Bloomfield.
16 Who's Who? text feature (uncredited).
18 Witches And Wizards cut-out feature by Margaret Parnell.
20 Joey text feature (uncredited).
25 Weddings photo feature (uncredited).
26 Great Jumping Bullfrogs photo feature (uncredited).
28 Leap Frog cut-out feature by Margaret Parnell.
30 Kevin Keegan photo feature.
31 Tina's Baby text feature (uncredited).
34 End Of An Era text feature (uncredited).
36 HMS Ark Royal cutaway. a: Roland Berry.
38 Christmas Stamps text feature (uncredited).
40 Marathon Man text feature (uncredited).
44 The Case Of The One That Got Away text story (uncredited).
47 The Big One text feature by Peter Duncan.
50 Malaysia text feature by Sarah Greene.
54 Butterflies And Headhunters text feature by Dorothy Smith. a: Robert Bloomfield.
57 I Don't Care A Pin photo feature by Sarah Greene.
58 Bradgate Park text feature by Simon Groom.
60 Goldie's Puppies photo feature (uncredited).
62 What A Snip! illustrated feature (uncredited). a: Cindi Harwood.
64 Simon And The Thirty Theaves text feature (uncredited).
66 Blue Peter Meets Grange Hill text story by Paul Manning. a: Brian Delaney.
69 The Fishers Of Mousehole text feature by Sarah Greene.
72 Star Gazey Pie recipe by Margaret Parnell.
74 The Bear Facts! illustrated feature.
76 Solutions answers to puzzles printed in reverse.
77 Spot The Spots competition.
78 Blue Peter Animals part two

Under a bolder cover than previous years, the contents are - surprisingly, given the changes made in previous years - rather less different than readers might have expected. There are overly familiar elements, which have been reported on at length in episodes (the Stone of Destiny, the Ark Royal), and blatant plugs for other BBC shows (Doctor Who, Grange Hill), but the essential Blue Peter-ness is maintained throughout, with features on things to make at home, recipes, and plenty of photos of the presenters. This annual is appearing here rather than on the main blog, due to the lack of comic-specific content, and even the aforementioned Doctor Who article is merely a brief overview of the series' history rather than a meaningful contribution.

The most immediately noticeable thing about the features is the bluntness of language. The article on Joey Deacon uses the word 'spastic' freely, which probably contributed to the proliferation of the word as a term of insult in school playgrounds up and down the country in the 1980s, and is at odds with later annuals careful use of language. Of course, even with the worrisome contents, there is enough here for readers to consider - an especially interesting two-page article on Rupert Bear lays out the history of the character, and his early creators. There are gaps in the narrative, along with what seems like a joke on 'Girl Power' over a decade before it was coined, but it does enough to justify its' inclusion.