FLASH OF RECOGNITION

'Starblazer' never really got the credit it deserved for its innovative artwork. Here it completely updates the 1980 Flash Gordon film poster by merely adding a beret and a couple of spooky looking skulls, thereby making it at least 26,000 times better.

What's the difference between an android and a cyborg? An android is a robot who looks like a man; a cyborg is a man with mechanical parts who, clearly, needs chasing by a 'one many army'. 13p well spent.

THE FUTURE IS CHANGING

A rare advert for the controversial reboot issue of D.C Thompson's long running sci fi comic 'Starblazer'. Hastily withdrawn after a heated board meeting, a single batch went out by mistake to half a dozen Leicestershire newsagents, all of which later burned down in mysterious circumstances.  

PEOPLE CRINGED

'In a world predating history as we know it, 

the people cringed under an evil rule. 

Black clad warlocks enslaved anybody useful to them, 

and spilled the blood of those that were not'.  

That's the back cover blurb for a remarkably contemporary sounding tale from a 1987 edition of 'Star Blazer' .

Essentially a sci fi companion to publisher D.C Thompson's much more successful 'Commando'* imprint, 'Star Blazer' suffered from poor distribution and the fluctuating fortunes of the fantasy market, but still managed to run from 1984 to 1991, racking up 281 easy-and-cheap-to-find-on-ebay editions.  

* The indomitable 'Commando' started publication in 1961, and is still going strong - with over 4,500 issues to date.