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TARGET, launched by NEW ENGLISH LIBRARY in April of 1972, was an odd periodical that didn't quite hit the target (spot the deliberate pun) with its intended audience - whoever they were meant to be. Not quite a comic, not quite a magazine (aside from the format), it was neither one thing or the other and, at 10 pence, was ridiculously expensive compared to other weekly periodicals aimed at kids or teens.
I bought the mag for a while, but no longer recall exactly for how long or, indeed, how many issues there were. (Just noticed that #50 is currently on sale on eBay.) I remember a novel being given away over several issues in part form, and eventually I combined them into the finished 'book', but I couldn't now tell you what it was called or who it was by. The free gift in the first issue was a sachet of the 'powder of life', which I suspect was the same as the 'Sea Monkeys' advertised in American comics.
In fact, I emptied it into a beer tumbler full of water, and after a few days (or was it weeks? I can no longer recall), little, almost microscopic creatures could be seen swimming around. Sadly, I had to pour them down the sink when we went on holiday that year, as there was no way I could let them starve while I was away for a fortnight. I like to think that they survived and made their way to freedom.
The mag had some comic strip content (two humour and two action/adventure strips), probably the most notable being BOVVER BOY, perhaps the inspiration for a similar character that appeared in OINK! then BUSTER almost 15 years later, but the artwork never really grabbed me. Then there was L'S ANGELS, which confirmed my suspicion that the mag's publishers were trying just a little too hard to be different and also (to use a far later expression) 'down wiv the kids'. What with fashion and 'problem' pages, it seemed to be borrowing a leaf out of mags for girls, like JACKIE, etc. Were boys into fashion back then? I know I wasn't. (Nor am I today.)
Anyway, having recently acquired this replacement for my original, long-discarded first issue, I though I'd show you some of the contents. Did you buy this mag in your youth, and if so, what are your memories of it? Tell all in the comments section.
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Or perhaps we may have gone away somewhere earlier, in May, instead of June or July. Another possible explanation is that, as we flitted houses halfway through June of '72, my parents might have cancelled our holiday at the last minute, as the cost of moving on top of a holiday would probably have made a dent in their finances, especially if the opportunity and decision to flit was a sudden one. Will I ever really know? Will you ever really care? (I think we all know the answer to that one.)
Another thing that strikes me as curious is that, although I was probably still buying at least the odd issue of VALIANT & TV21, LION & THUNDER, and TV ACTION (the latter on a weekly basis) at the same time as Target, it seems to stand in isolation in my memory, with no association in my mind to any other comics I was then getting. Maybe it came out on a different day to the others and, because I purchased it by itself, that's why it occupies its own compartment in my recollections? Or perhaps because it wasn't really the same kind of publication as other comics, I just don't think of it as belonging with them? Again, who knows or cares, apart from myself? And perhaps that's how it should be.
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| Looks like this page may originally have been in colour. A reprint from somewhere? |
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On a personal level, this particular issue causes problems for me, memory-wise, because we moved house just a couple of months after I bought my original copy, but had I not seen the date of 1972 inside this replacement mag, I'd have assumed it came out in '70 or '71, as it feels like there was a much longer period of time between me buying it and us flitting. I also can't remember where we went on holiday that year, though as I said, I recall reluctantly pouring my powder of life creatures down the sink in advance of our departure. Could it be that we holidayed in Largs in '72 instead of '71? But if so, where then did we holiday in '71?Or perhaps we may have gone away somewhere earlier, in May, instead of June or July. Another possible explanation is that, as we flitted houses halfway through June of '72, my parents might have cancelled our holiday at the last minute, as the cost of moving on top of a holiday would probably have made a dent in their finances, especially if the opportunity and decision to flit was a sudden one. Will I ever really know? Will you ever really care? (I think we all know the answer to that one.)
Another thing that strikes me as curious is that, although I was probably still buying at least the odd issue of VALIANT & TV21, LION & THUNDER, and TV ACTION (the latter on a weekly basis) at the same time as Target, it seems to stand in isolation in my memory, with no association in my mind to any other comics I was then getting. Maybe it came out on a different day to the others and, because I purchased it by itself, that's why it occupies its own compartment in my recollections? Or perhaps because it wasn't really the same kind of publication as other comics, I just don't think of it as belonging with them? Again, who knows or cares, apart from myself? And perhaps that's how it should be.
7 comments:
I think that we must have had this one over here in Australia but like your recollections of it, the mag did not make much of an impression on me, only being recalled on seeing the Christopher Lee column.
Always have been (and still am) a fan of the Hammer Studios output so that element may have been why I first picked it up and stayed with it. Don't own a single issue know and I can't recall when and how I parted company with them over the years - six house moves in 40 years will do that!
Looks like the publication tried to please everyone and ended up not pleasing anyone, though as you say it made it to 50 issues, which is more than a lot did. World of Horror is one that springs to mind, only making it to 8 issues and that had more focus.
It may even have made it beyond 50 issues, PC - it would be interesting to know just how long it lasted. As I moved house after only around a dozen issues (and I don't even know if I bought that many), the majority of them were published while I was living in my new abode. However, I don't recall ever seeing it again at that time and, consequently, Target is forever associated (time-locked you might say) in my mind to my previous home.
Like you say, it seemed it was spreading its net far too wide and trying to be all things to all boys. However, it did better than I would've imagined by reaching at least 50 issues. I wonder if New English Library deliberately took a loss on it in the hope that it would eventually catch on? It's interesting to note that their next periodical (as far as I know) was a Dracula mag, so maybe Christopher Lee's alleged association with Target was the most popular thing about it, and helped shape the NEL's decision on what their next publication should be.
Yeah, Dracula I recall though only through trade ads in other mags at the time, never had my hands on an actual issue though I do have a sort of anthology paperback with a lot of story reprints now. Had a lot of the Spanish artists in common with Warren's Eerie, Creepy and Vampirella, I especially remember the great Esteban Maroto.
Did some digging and could not seem to find a total issue run for Target but I did see that there was another comic / mag around in the 70s also called Target. Looking back now I guess the Christopher Lee piece was more than likely written by someone on staff and not by the man himself. Saw more covers while searching and they sparked memories of other issues I must have had. Funny how some things just fade from your memory.
Dennis Gifford's The Complete Catalogue of British Comics doesn't give an issue run either, PC, only listing the first two issues and what Dennis would like them to be worth. That was the thing about his price guides - they usually reflected more what he was prepared to pay, rather than what they actually changed hands for among collectors and dealers. I think I had some of the Dracula mags, but I'd probably have to see them again to be sure. Some memories fade sure enough, but they can be revived given the proper stimulus.
I struggled for years to work out if I'd actually dreamed up this thing, as it's very difficult to find out much about it. My friend Gavin bought it religiously back in 1972/73 and I used to read his copies. I came here because I'm researching a post on New English Library novels for my site www.darkeyesoflondon.blogspot.co.uk (shameless plug) and I remember there being regular reviews of new NEL paperback releases in the mag (hardly surprising given that it's the same publishing house), including 'Night of the Vampire' by Raymond Giles; Giles is the subject of the research.
I actually managed to get hold of a copy a year or so back (No 19 with Tony Curtis on the cover!), mainly because it featured a write up of a pretty obscure Japanese yokai movie called 'One Hundred Monsters' which I was writing about at the time, and I remembered the coverage from all those years back. What made this all the stranger is that the film was never released in cinemas in the UK, so I have no idea where they got the stills and press kit copy from.
Anyhow love your site and I've linked to this post in my article.
I struggled for years to work out if I'd actually dreamed up this thing, as it's very difficult to find out much about it. My friend Gavin bought it religiously back in 1972/73 and I used to read his copies. I came here because I'm researching a post on New English Library novels for my site www.darkeyesoflondon.blogspot.co.uk (shameless plug) and I remember there being regular reviews of new NEL paperback releases in the mag (hardly surprising given that it's the same publishing house), including 'Night of the Vampire' by Raymond Giles; Giles is the subject of the research.
I actually managed to get hold of a copy a year or so back (No 19 with Tony Curtis on the cover!), mainly because it featured a write up of a pretty obscure Japanese yokai movie called 'One Hundred Monsters' which I was writing about at the time, and I remembered the coverage from all those years back. What made this all the stranger is that the film was never released in cinemas in the UK, so I have no idea where they got the stills and press kit copy from.
Anyhow love your site and I've linked to this post in my article.
Great stuff, DEoL, took a look at your site and lovers of the NEL books will be sure to appreciate your posts in equal measure. Feel free to use the pic of #1 if you want to, no credit necessary. Thanks for taking the time to comment.
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