Anime magazine history, Part 2: 1978-1980

When it was announced that a Yamato sequel was on the way for August 1978, the "wild west period" was over and some actual planning could begin. The stage was set for things to become interesting, and they sure did. Over 130 individual magazines poured out from seven different publishers in this 3-year span. See them all here!

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Anime magazine history, Part 2: 1979

January Animage Vol. 8 OUT, March issue Quarterly Fantoche No. 1   Back from the dead! The original run of Fantoche vanished after its 7th issue (August 1977), then popped back into existence with a new No. 1 in January ’79. It continued to give a strong nod toward international...

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Anime magazine history, Part 2: 1980

1980 began with continuing expansion of anime on TV and cinema. Thanks to steady magazine coverage, anime creators were now known to the readership, and their next works were greeted with anticipation rather than surprise. A simple scan of magazine covers demonstrates where the momentum was strongest. January Animage Vol....

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Roman Albums, 1977-1980

As the brainchild of editor Shigeo Ogata at Tokuma Shoten Publishing, the Roman Album series has become so influential that the term is sometimes used to describe any form of anime-based book. Influenced in no small way by examples set in OUT and Rendezvous magazines, they examine their topics with...

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2000AD Progs 1501-1600

From August 2006 through August 2008, the cover logo got a facelift at the end of 2007, the cover price crept up a bit from £1.75 to £1.90, and the galaxy’s greatest comic kept on being great with all the most popular characters getting their due. Clint Langley brought more...

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Judge Dredd, The Megazine Volume 3 (part 2)

With issue 39, the Megazine changed its cover design and format and gave us all quite a gift; an issue-by-issue reprint of Preacher, originally published in the US by Vertigo (an imprint of DC comics). It was an odd choice in terms of content, since it has nothing in common...

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Fantoche Volume 1

Introductory editorial Messages from industry personnel Notes on the 10th Annecy International Animation Festival Animation Artist of the World 1: The World of Norman McLaren Report on the Private Animation Festival TV Animation: Heidi, Girl of the Alps Elucidating Independent Works (1) Moudou | What is Superman? essay by Kosei...

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Judge Dredd, The Megazine Volume 3 (part 1)

The shift from “Volume 2” to “Volume 3” only came with two significant changes: the logo was redesigned and the cover price jumped 20p to £1.80. Content, format and page count were the same. However, when you look at the broader context at the time, something VERY significant was happening:...

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2000AD Progs 1401-1500

After the tumult of the 90s and the subsequent rescue by Rebellion, the patient made a complete recovery and returned to full strength. From then on, the Galaxy’s Greatest Comic was back at the top of its game with a continually renewable resource of classic characters, freshened up by new...

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Judge Dredd, The Megazine Volume 2 (part 2)

Picking up where we left off, here is the second half for Volume 2 of the biweekly Megazine. As Dredd’s world continued to expand with stories set in other nations, classic Judge Dredd artist Mick McMahon came back for a star turn. Just as this volume came to an end,...

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2000AD Progs 1301-1400

From July 2002 to July 2004, there was another in a long line of format changes and the cover price rose from £1.40 to £1.60. The new, stronger foundation laid down by Rebellion made 2000AD a safe space for more veterans of the early years to return to the fold....

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Animec Vol. 30, May 1 1983

GenPro Hanzai Chronicles This may be a journal of General Products’ prosperity, or it may be a chronicle of a lifetime, or it may be a title that I don’t understand well. by Toshio Okada & Yasuhiro Takeda Illustration by Mimi Akai New Series, Part 1 “Proper Science Fiction” Takeda:...

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