20 Years of Sonic The Comic: A Tribute

20 Years of Sonic The Comic: A Tribute

Britain’s fortnightly Sonic The Comic turns twenty this year. Published by Egmont Fleetway, the series, which ran from 1993 to 2002, was originally conceived as more of a Sega comic. The book featuring a lead strip featuring Sonic but also backup strips featuring other Sega titles like Golden Axe, Shinobi, Wonder Boy and Streets of Rage. Over time, the focus shifted further in the direction of Sonic eventually dropping all other strips entirely (with the notable exception of Decap Attack, a strip initially used to advertise a now little known game but which evolved into something of a pet project for writer and artist Nigel Kitching).

STC was my first introduction to comics, I first picked it up at issue 101, just missing out on the issue widely considered to be the best in the series….*sigh*. Nonetheless, I was hooked and bought every issue from then on up until the series’ cancellation. I have many fond memories of the series, of taking my copies to school and reading them on my lunch break, re-enacting scenes with m friends and of my first tastes of freedom as a child when I was allowed to go into town by myself to buy it from the newsagent. The series has been with me my whole life and means a lot to me. But my love of STC is not only nostalgia talking, it was a genuinely great comic.

Ray Harryhausen: A Tribute

Ray Harryhausen 

1920 – 2013

A dashing hero steps from his boat onto a deserted beach, he walks inland and discovers a temple. He approaches the door and quickly draws his sword as he sees the creature that dwells within. The gorgon, half woman half serpent, with snakes for hair and a gaze that turns man to stone. Bravely he leaps in and the two are locked in combat to the death.

This scene and countless others like it, were the work of special effects legend Ray Harryhausen, whose highly detailed models came to life and thrilled audiences on the big screen since the 1940’s and have influenced several of our most famous film makers.

Yesterday it was announced through the Ray and Diana Harryhausen foundation Twitter and Facebook accounts the Harryhausen had passed away. He was ninety two.

Over his forty year film career, Harryhausen would breathe life into dinosaurs, aliens, giants, sea creatures and almost every creature from Greek mythology but he is perhaps most famous for the famous scene in Jason and The Argonauts that seen the eponymous hero battle an army of warrior skeletons, a scene which still holds up brilliantly to this day.

By today’s standards his techniques were fairly primitive. Original footage would be projected onto a screen, Harryhausen would then animate his models frame by frame in front of the projection and re-photograph the images. This is the reason that the image quality of the live action footage visibly drops whenever his creatures take to the screen.

Primitive or now however, these effects work brilliantly and still look amazing to this day. There are no computers involved in his films, every creature is a real thing brought to life through sheer hard work and determination.

While CGI may dominate the film industry today, his influence is still felt, with everyone from George Lucas to Peter Jackson to James Cameron proudly singing his praises and honouring his influence.

Harryhausen was one of films greats. He brought the magical to life and made us believe in the impossible. His work took us to other worlds and made us gaze at the screen in awe.

We have lost a legend, but the legends he brought to life will live forever.

In Watermelon Sugar

In Watermelon Sugar

Richard Brautigan

"iDEATH is a place where the sun shines a different colour every day and where people travel to the length of their dreams. Rejecting the violence and hate of the old gang at the Forgotten Works, they lead gentle lives in watermelon sugar. In this book, Richard Brautigan discovers and expresses the mood of a new generation."