The Starlog Project: Starlog #96, July 1985: Howard Zimmerman Exits

Starlog's ninth anniversary celebration is the occasion editor Howard Zimmerman chooses to announce his departure from the magazine he has edited for 90 issues. Zimmerman will be replaced by the managing editor, David McDonnell, who would stay with the title for nearly 300 more issues before it finally closed its doors in 2009. Zimmerman moves over to Byron Preiss Visual Publications, and, after Preiss' death in 2005, would create his own firm. Zimmerman also authored a number of books on dinosaurs.

Starlog also announces its lineup of new licensed film magazines: Rambo: First Blood Part II, A View to a Kill, and Explorers.

Starlog #96
100 pages (including covers)
Cover price: $3.95

The magazine celebrates with its usual 100-page birthday issue, but it's a different package than in recent years. There's still the addition of an extended full-color section, but with the exception of a roundup/review article of the year in genre media, the extra pages are mostly taken up with more of the same type of articles you find in the magazine every month. That's a trend that would continue.

The rundown: The cover is once again (and for the final time) the magazine's patented boxed-photo layout against a white background. Kerry O'Quinn pens his usual anniversary editorial, asking "Where are the heroes?"; Communications letters include praise for the magazine, reaction to David Prowse's complaints about how he's treated in the Star Wars films, a call for an all-science-fiction cable channel (what a concept), and more; Log Entries short news items include David McDonnell's Medialog (a wrapup of pretty much everything going on in the SF media world, in short blurb form), David Hutchison on Erik Luke's plans for a Jetsons movie, Will Murrayon a Destroyer film, Patrick Daniel O'Neill updates the Doctor Who hiatus, and more.

Randy and Jean-Marc Lofficier interview singer/actress Tina Turner about her role as Auntie Entity in Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome; Jim George profiles Al Lorimer, special effects coordinator on The Man with One Red Shoe; Adam Pirani interviews actor David Rappaport (Time Bandits, The Bride); Fan Network includes reports from the Starlog convention in Boston, more on the Doctor Who hiatus, and more; Robert Greenberger, Chris Henderson and Carr D'Angelo review the year in television, books, and comics; two pages are devoted to photos from Return to Oz; Lee Goldberg interviews Bond actor Roger Moore; Dennis Fischer interviews Lifeforce director Tobe Hooper; Robert Greenberger interviews Red Sonja's Brigitte Nielsen; David Hutchison previews Disney's The Black Cauldron; Kim Howard Johnson interviews Cocoon producers Richard and Lili Zanuck; William Rabkin interviews Harvey Bernhard, producer of The Goonies; novelist Mike McQuay writes about "Apples to Oranges" in the Other Voices guest column slot; Steve Swires interviews actor Peter Cushing, Grand Moff Tarkin himself; and speaking of Star Wars, David Hutchison's seventh (of seven) article investigating the special effects of Return of the Jedi looks at the use of matte paintings; Jerry Ahern explains how you can dress like Indiana Jones (complete with suggested retail stores); in the Future Life section, John Clayton describes the Hubble Telescope, due to be deployed the following year, plus there's short news, including Mark Shannon on a documentary about the microchip, Max Rottersman on the Keck telescope, and more; Mike Clark interviews Jonathan Harris, who portrayed Dr. Smith in TV's Lost in Space; Brian Lowry interviews Woody Woodpecker's Walter Lantz; Kim Howard Johnson interviews Python John Cleese; and, for the final time, Howard Zimmerman wraps it all up in his Lastword column, saying goodbye to the magazine he helped build into a success.

"The Goonies is the most magical picture I've ever worked on. ... It's every kid's secret dream – to find pirate treasure. It will appeal to kids as well as to everyone who remembers how they felt when they were kids. Certainly, The Goonies will be in the top five all-time biggest grossing motion pictures."

–Harvey Bernhard, producer, interviewed by William Rabkin: "Harvey Bernhard, Keeper of The Goonies"

To view previous Starlog issue descriptions, click on "Starlog Internet Archive Project" in the keywords below or visit the Starlog Project's permanent home.

The Starlog Project: Starlog #95, June 1985: A View to a Kill

Maybe I'm not getting an accurate view because I'm consuming (well, re-consuming) these issues in a relatively compressed period of time, rather than taking them one month at a time without the benefit of hindsight, but it seems as if just last week that the previous James Bond film was all the rage at Starlog. Yet here we are with A View to a Kill, the latest Bond film, and co-star Grace Jones grabs the featured cover slot this issue.

Starlog #95
76 pages (including covers)
Cover price: $2.95

Starlog has never had an overflow of advertising. Perhaps it was just a matter of the publishers' business philosophy to charge readers more and have fewer ads, or perhaps it was because advertisers don't like magazines that don't have independently verified circulation figures (because they can't be sure they're being told the correct number of people who might see their ads). But whatever the reason, Starlog nearly from the beginning had a lot of "in-house" ads that sold products from other companies; you sent the cut-out coupon to Starlog, but the delivery of the product was fulfilled by the other company (and, presumably, the other company paid only for the number of fulfilled orders). So what are some of the products you can buy in this issue of Starlog? How about a Doctor Who wallet or coffee mug, or a Raiders of the Lost Ark movie program?

The rundown: In his From the Bridge column, Kerry O'Quinn writes about the secret to success; the Communications section is filled with three pages of readers' thoughts on the Dune movie; and in the Communications short-news section, items include David McDonnell and Adam Pirani on the cancellation -- er, hiatus -- of Doctor Who, genre historian Will Murray on the return of pulp character Moon Man, Chris Henderson on fantasy writer Barbara Hambly, and more.

Brian Lowry interviews Jonathan Betuel, scripter of The Last Starfighter and director of My Science Project; the Fan Network includes science-fiction pen pals, reader questions, a Mark Hamill fan club, and more; John Sayers and David McDonnell profile Edward Feldman, producer of Explorers; David Gerrold's column comments on computers and writing (a favorite topic of the author's, who even today, in 2010, is still a columnist for a computer magazine); Merritt Butrick, Star Trek film actor, is interviewed by a young writer named Anthony Timpone, who would soon be editing sister magazine Fangoria (and would continue to do so for a quarter century); Adam Pirani interviews Grace Jones about the new Bond film; Adam Pirani writes "On the Set of Oz, Part Two," but I don't remember part one; Mike Clark interviews actor Frank Ashmore about V; Randy and Jean-Marc Lofficier visit the location shooting of the Mad Max sequel, Beyond Thunderdome; Patrick Daniel O'Neill interviews actress Mary Tamm, who portrayed Doctor Who companion Romana in the Tom Baker years; Kim Howard Johnson visits the set of the Ron Howard film, Cocoon; in the Future Life pages, John Clayton (the same John Clayton who's the magazine's staff photographer?) explores the designing of a space station, plus news items on phased-array radar and space lasers; Lee Goldberg interviews Ladyhawke and Blade Runner actor Rutger Hauer; Marc Weinberg interviews a cute Matthew Broderick, who plays "Mouse" in Ladyhawke; and Howard Zimmerman wraps it all up in his penultimate Lastword by talking about some trends in genre films.

"I used to hear stories that Rober [Moore] always played tricks on all the girls with whom he had love scenes, like pulling out dildos and things like that. Maybe. I don't know. So, I decideed, during our scene, to get back at him before he got to me. ... Oh, I can't say. I'm not going to tell! They recorded it on film, too. But it won't be shown."

–Grace Jones, actress, interviewed by Adam Pirani: "Grace Jones vs. 007: 'Trouble Follows Me Around'"

To view previous Starlog issue descriptions, click on "Starlog Internet Archive Project" in the keywords below or visit the Starlog Project's permanent home.

The Starlog Project: Starlog #94, May 1985: A Bigger Package

Starlog's editors make a number of changes to the magazine starting with this issue, and they're all positive. First, there are more pages in the package -- a total of 76 instead of 70; they got rid of the two-page inside front cover foldout, and added eight non-color pages (printed on colored non-glossy stock, such as a blue or yellow). Two new sections also premiere: Future Life revives the name of the late, great magazine, and it features science and space-related articles and news bits; Fan Network is a neat little section that answers reader questions (such as, "Whatever happened to the Silver Surfer move?"), features convention news and calendar, fan club listings, and other fan-centric news items, assembled by junior staffers Carr D'Angelo and Eddie Berganza. And, thankfully, the publishers seem to be printing on a slightly better black-and-white paper stock for the non-color pages. In fact, they might have even switched printers again, because the color pages have better color registration. All-in-all, combined with a well-chosen selection of feature articles, this iteration of Starlog is quite good, a welcome revival of sorts.

On the corporate front, the company releases the latest (volume four) of its Starlog Scrapbook special, this time featuring Jane Fonda's Barbarella on the cover.

Starlog #94
76 pages (including covers)
Cover price: $2.95

One change that actually is a mixed-emotions situation was to make David Gerrold's long-running column appear every-other-month instead of monthly. I still don't know if that was the decision of Gerrold (who would, in a couple year's time, join the team that finally brings Star Trek back to weekly television, and likely had plenty of projects on his plate to keep himself busy) or if the publishers and editors actually thought they should reduce the presence of one of their defining voices in the magazine. Dunno. Nonetheless, they made the change, and at the same time they introduced a rather nifty guest column that would bring into the pages a number of writers -- some well known, others less so -- on a pretty wide variety of topics. They could have had both a Gerrold column and a guest column -- after all, at one point the magazine featured columns by Gerrold, Susan Sacket, Jonathan Eberhart, and David Houston, and it still found room for plenty of feature articles and the other departments. But they chose this path.

The rundown: In his From the Bridge column, publisher Kerry O'Quinn discusses the joys and the all-consuming passion of devoting yourself to projects that fascinate you; in the Communications section, readers share lots of ideas (sparked by what, I don't know) about George Lucas and his Star Wars creation, offer feedback (on Runaway, Starman, The Ewok Adventure, and The Terminator), defend England against David Gerrold, and more; in the Log Entries short-news section, Edward Gross (who, unless my mind is getting rusty, makes his first of many appearances in the magazine) chats with Gremlins writer Chris Columbus, David McDonnell previews an E.T. sequel in book form, Adam Pirani reports on the reopening of the James Bond film set destroyed by fire (see issue #87), David Hutchison previews new video casette releases, and more.

Mike Clark interviews V star June Chadwick; Fan Network debuts, packed with news and information; Adam Pirani interviews Robert Watts, producer of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom; Jim George and J. Cat McDowell interview Star Trek's Mr. Scott, James Doohan; the new Future Life section premieres with an article by Max Rottersman on the use of the space shuttle to retrieve satellites, plus short news reports on claims of the discovery of an extra-solar planet, NASA's 1985 launch schedule (including the classified mission on September 18 with a Department of Defense payload), and more; former editor of Famous Monsters of Filmland Forrest J. Ackerman is the first Other Voices guest columnist, and he announces a contest; William Rabkin interviews Ladyhawke producer Lauren Shuler (with a sidebar by Lee Goldberg chatting with Michelle Pfeiffer); Steve Swires interviews writer John Sayles (The Brother from Another Planet, Clan of the Cave Bear); Lee Goldberg previews the James Michener TV adaptation Space; in part six of his never-ending series, David Hutchison looks at staging the walker fighting in Star Wars: Return of the Jedi; Brian Lowry interviews William Katt, star of Baby and the late The Greatest American Hero; Lowry also interviews actor Yaphet Kotto, star of Alien and Live and Let Die, among others; Cary Bates interviews veteran film composer John Barry; Dennis Fischer examines the TV series Otherworld (which, I have to admit, I'd never heard of before I reviewed the issue for this Project, despite the fact that there frankly weren't very many genre programs around back in the mid-1980s); and Howard Zimmerman's Lastword explains how the magazine decides what to feature.

All in all, a great issue and a good magazine.

"[The Cannes Film Festival] was like going to Las Vegas, ... It's so trashy that it's funny. The festival is so transparent. There is no attempt made to disguise the fact that it's really about money. The foreign distributors just buy in bulk: 'Give me 500 hours of action, 500 hours of softcore and 200 hours of hardcore. I'll put my own titles on them.'"

–John Sayles, writer/director, interviewed by Steve Swires: "John Sayles: From Hoboken to Hollywood"

To view previous Starlog issue descriptions, click on "Starlog Internet Archive Project" in the keywords below or visit the Starlog Project's permanent home.

The Starlog Project: Starlog #93, April 1985: The Return of the Return of the Jedi

Star Wars: Return of the Jedi is back, featuring another cover and two articles inside. On a more technical side, the magazine reverts this issue to a stabled spine; it had been mostly (but not always) perfect-bound (also called square-bound or just plain old glued) ever since issue #77. Not a very interesting point to make, I guess, but it's a welcome change from the purely selfish p.o.v. of this Starlog Project: Stapled issues are easier to scan for page spreads.

Starlog #93
70 pages (including covers)
Cover price: $2.95

This issue includes the final two-page foldout poster (#24 in the series, collect 'em all): Star Wars: A New Hope. Starting next issue, there would be no more posters, no more foldout inside front covers of any sort, thanks to a reformatting of the magazine that would result in more pages and new features.

The rundown: Kerry' O'Quinn's From the Bridge column touts the "New and Improved" Starlog coming down the pike, as well as some improvements to the Starlog Festivals; Communications letters include extensive reader responses to the special review issue, #88; short news items in Log Entries include David McDonnell on the special guests at the Starlog Festivals, Chris Henderson on the latest science-fiction and fantasy books, Brick Thornshaw on the appearance by Fangoria co-editor "Uncle Bob" Martin in Day of the Dead, David Hutchison on Disneland's 30th anniversary, and more.

Lee Goldberg interviews director Richard Donner about his latest filme, Ladyhawke; Robert Greenberger talks with British actor Simon Jones about the Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Doctor Who, and more; Janet Fielding, a former Doctor Who companion, is interviewed by Patrick Daniel O'Neill; Lee Goldberg interviews actor John Lithgow (2010, Buckaroo Banzai, Twilight Zone movie, and much more); Goldberg also talks with actor Robert Englund about his role in V, as well as a recent little film of his called Nightmare on Elm Street; Adam Pirani interviews 1984 star John Hurt; David Gerrold serves up "Glop II" in his column, a collection of notes on various topics; Monty Python expert Kim Howard Johnson provides the second of his two-part article on SF in the Python oeuvre; Randy and Jean-Marc Lofficier interview Bill Norton, director of Disney's li'l dinosaur movie, Baby; the Lofficier's also interview Denis Lawson, the Scottish actor who played Luke's pal Wedge in the Star Wars films; speaking of the Wars, David Hutchison continues his multi-multi-part examination of the special effects of Return of the Jedi, this time looking at the speeder bike chase; and Howard Zimmerman uses his Lastword column to give us his final Zimmerman Awards (such as, "Best Performance By Arnold Schwarzenegger: The Terminator").

"The [V] mini-series was done from the point-of-view of a modern Anne Frank; it was as if the entire occupation was seen through this teenage girl's eyes. Dominique was playing it shy and homely. ... When they recast, Blair [Tefkin] lightened it up and they made her an LA-Valley girl which painted them into a corner, too, because there was really nowhere to go with that idea after the intergalactic abortion."

–Robert Englund, actor, interviewed by Lee Goldberg: "Robert Englund: He's Willie, Lost Earthboy and Good Guy Alien"

To view previous Starlog issue descriptions, click on "Starlog Internet Archive Project" in the keywords below or visit the Starlog Project's permanent home.

The Starlog Project: Starlog #92, March 1985: When Starman Met Barbarella

Though this issue looks much the same as most of the previous dozen-or-so Starlogs, editor Howard Zimmerman previews some changes that will take place a couple issues in the future. More pages, additional science reporting, and a new guest column alternating with David Gerrold's column (was that Gerrold's idea or the publisher's?), for starters.

Starlog #92
70 pages (including covers)
Cover price: $2.95

The cover this month features John Carpenter's surprise film Starman. The 23rd two-page foldout poster is a shot from Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, showing a Klingon ship firing at a Federation vessel.

The rundown: Kerry O'Quinn talks personal freedom in his From the Bridge column; Communications letters include former Starlog columnist Susan Sacket raising money for Gene Roddenberry's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, readers commenting on V and praising Ray Bradbury, remembering Luke Skywalker's friend Wedge, and more; Communications short news items include David McDonnell on several new books from Philip Jose Farmer, Lee Goldberg on the tragic death of 27-year-old actor Jon-Erik Hexum, Milburn Smith on the death of Francois Truffaut, and more.

Steve Swires interviews director John Carpenter about his Karen Allen/Jeff Bridges film Starman; Marc Weinberg profiles Zach Galligan, star of Gremlins; Lee Goldberg visits the location lensing of the next James Bond film, A View to a Kill; Starlog publishes a one-page reader survey (the type that asks about your purchasing habits, used to help the magazine attract advertisers); Tom Carlile pens a retrospective of the Jane Fonda 1960s film Barbarella; Jean-Marc and Randy Lofficier explore the comics history of Barbarella; Robert Greenberger interviews Jeremy Leven, writer of Creator; William Rabkin explains the ILM-created special effects of Starman; Adam Pirani visits the set of Oz; Kim Howard Johnson continues his talks with former Monty Python stars, here interviewing Terry Gilliam about his (soon-to-be-classic) film Brazil; Lee Goldberg interviews Runaway star Tom Selleck; Chris Henderson previews The Faces of Science Fiction, a book featuring photographs of science-fiction writers; and Howard Zimmerman discusses some changes coming to the pages of Starlog.

"In light of her current mind-set, Jane Fonda probably would have been much happier if she had never heard of Barbarella. Although it is by no means the low point in her film career, this bizarre little fantasy, almost totally devoid of social or intellectual significance, came at a bad time in her life. Just a few months after it hit the world's movie screens, Fonda had undertaken her self-appointed role as America's most strident critic of the Vietnam War, nuclear proliferation and the exploitation of women in the marketplace. Critics were quick to draw the comparison between her new activist role and her latest outing as an actress. Barbarella became somewhat of a landmark – probably the last pure-entertainment film Jane Fonda would ever make."

–Tom Carlile, writer: "Barbarella: Nostalgia Time in Outer Space"

To view previous Starlog issue descriptions, click on "Starlog Internet Archive Project" in the keywords below or visit the Starlog Project's permanent home.

David Everitt, Former Fangoria Editor, Dies at 57

Some sad news from the world of genre publishing. Fangoria reports that David Everitt, who co-edited (and briefly solely edited) Fangoria in the 1980s, has died at the young age of 57. He had been suffering from Lou Gehrig's Disease (ALS).

His work with co-editor Bob Martin produced a punchy and scrappy horror magazine at a time when longtime industry stalwart Famous Monsters of Filmland ceased publication. The two of them often wrote many of the articles in the early issues of Fangoria. Fango itself apparently wasn't the healthiest magazine until Freddie Krueger came along and superpowered sales. But the two editors explored new and classic horror projects and made the magazine a must-read for aficionados. He also contributed to Starlog, wrote books, and went on to other positions in the magazine world after leaving Fangoria after issue #50.

Condolences to his family and friends.

Panel Discussion on the Modern Graphic Novel

Graphic novels began to earn literary and even intellectual respect in the 1980s with works such as Art Spiegelman's Maus (a Holocaust tale), around the same time people were being blown away by Watchmen and various Batman reimaginings.

Now, I don't think real cartoonists (or at least mature ones) care about being called graphic novelists and not cartoonists or comics artists. I know professional cartoonists, and they love and are proud of comics and cartoons. The semantic battle over graphic novels as a term really just involves communicating with the non-comics folks who look down upon anything illustrated (but whose reading list usually is filled with hackwork airport books and crap self-help tomes).

That said, there's a new generation or two of long-form comics -- erk, graphic novels -- that are evolving this storytelling form in cool new ways. People who are interested in this topic might want to check out the video below of a recent panel discussion in San Francisco featuring some comics heroes.

Great Star Trek Spoof from Pushit Films

Loved this. Made on an apparent budget of $32, it has more real wit and talent than most web videos (which, frankly, mostly rely on cats flushing toilets or people falling down stairs).

The Starlog Project: Starlog #91, February 1985: Sting and Dune

Sting, lead singer for The Police and a co-star of the new David Lynch Dune film, is on the cover. In his end-of-the-book editorial, editor Howard Zimmerman says the magazine is taking a big risk by featuring Dune, because the early word on the film is that it's a sleep-inducer. Nonetheless, they must have thought Sting would bring in a certain number of new readers to reduce the risk.

Some updates on the world of Starlog: The magazine's cover logo is now sporting a new boxed tagline: The Science Fiction Universe. (The company would eventually make that tagline a registered trademark, along with the logo itself.) Also, the fourth volume of The Best of Starlog magazine, now including some never-before-published articles (so, not really a best-of magazine after all, is it?), is out.

Starlog #91
72 pages (including covers)
Cover price: $2.95

There's no foldout poster this issue, as those two pages are moved elsewhere into the magazine and another two pages are added (hence the slightly higher page count, as with issue #87, but at least this time they didn't trumpet it on the cover).

The rundown: In his From the Bridge column, publisher Kerry O'Quinn gives encouragement to a reader seeking help with his artistic career; letters in the Communications pages include Walter Koenig thanking the magazine for plugging his stage show, reader reaction to Buckaroo Banzai and The Neverending Story, thoughts on actor Jeff Goldblum, and more; short news items in Log Entries include Chris Henderson on a traveling museum exhibit on robots, Chris Steinbrunner on the upcoming World Fantasy Convention in Ottawa, David McDonnell on the departing magazine design staffer Denise Lewis Balestracci, Chris Henderson on The Plague Dogs, and more.

David Gerrold's column prints some of his lymericks; Lee Goldberg interviews 2010 actor Elya Baskin; Kim Howard Johnson talks to the Monty Python troupe about their "wacky TV exploits with flying saucers and alien desserts"; Steve Swires previews Larry Cohen's black comedy The Stuff; Marc Weinberg interviews actor Charles Martin Smith about his work in Starman and his screen test for the role of Luke Skywalker; Weinberg also interviews Kenneth McMillan, who plays the villainous Baron Vladimir Harkonnen in Dune (plus a sidebar by Paul Mandell talking with Alicia Witt, who plays Alia); Martha J. Bonds interviews actor and author Walter Koenig; Lee Goldberg interviews author Michael Crichton about Runaway; Dennis Fischer previews the CBS program Otherworld; David R. Smith recounts plans for a Disney version of an Oz story in the 1950s, The Rainbow Road to Oz; David Hutchison examines the special effects of V; and in his Lastword column, Howard Zimmerman shares his misgivings about Dune.

"I liked the idea of bringing some creature from outer space into a mundane English suburban setting, and then being almost ignored and all but absorbed into everyday English life. That reminds me – we actually did start writing a film with a science-fiction opening, with these aliens coming out of their spaceships, rather like Close Encounters. Suddenly, the door bangs shut behind them, they can't get back in and suffer enormous embarrassment."

–Michael Palin, a real python, interviewed by Kim Howard Johnson: "Science Fiction, According to Monty Python, Part I"

To view previous Starlog issue descriptions, click on "Starlog Internet Archive Project" in the keywords below or visit the Starlog Project's permanent home.

The Starlog Project: Starlog #90, January 1985: Hide the Womenfolk, It's Gene Simmons!

Gene Simmons and his band KISS would have a long relationship with Starlog. Simmons, apparently a science-fiction fan, is interviewed in this issue about his role in the movie Runaway. In the 1990s, Starlog Group would publish a number of official KISS special magazines. KISS (or at least its record company) was one of the first advertisers in Starlog magazine a number of years earlier. Anyway, he's back, freaky long tongue and all.

Starlog publishes its annual postal statement of ownership and circulation this month. The total paid circulation for the issue closest to the statement's filing deadline is listed as 190,699 (down from last year's 227,420), including the number of paid subscriptions of 13,408 (down from 18,100 last time).

Starlog #90
70 pages (including covers)
Cover price: $2.95

The Peter Hyams-directed sequel 2010 takes center stage, grabbing the cover spot of Starlog #90. And page 59 is a big ad for Starlog's official 2010 movie magazine (which, for the record, has a pretty cool cover). Also this issue, the two-page foldout poster is officially redubbed just "Poster" (as opposed to the "Science Fiction Classic Poster" or "Fantasy Classic Poster), so that saved the editors a lot of typing time each month. It features the classic Silent Running this month.

The rundown: Kerry O'Quinn's From the Bridge column is another "Grab Bag Notes," with comments on his new intern, the North By Northwest soundtrack album that O'Quinn produced, Isaac Asimov's visit to his office, and more; Communications letters include feedback on Supergirl, Conan the Destroyer, Sheena and Greystoke, a quick thank-you from Muppet-meister Jim Henson, and more; short news items in Log Entries include Robert Greenberger on the box office performance of genre films in 1984 (Ghostbusters and the Indy sequel were tops), David McDonnell on a V comic book from DC, a roundup of SF books from Chris Henderson, and more.

Chris Henderson interviews actor Joe Morton, star of John Sayles' The Brother from Another Planet; Lee Goldberg interviews actor Roy Scheider, star of 2010; Brian Lowry interviews screenwriter Stanley Mann (Conan the Destroyer, Firestarter); Lee Goldberg talks with Ewok Adventure director John Korty;  David Gerrold's column worries about "A Dilemma for Gods"; Randy and Jean-Marc Lofficier interview Dune's Dean Stockwell; Adam Pirani talks with Jeannot Szwarc, director of Supergirl; Richard Robinson interviews KISS star Gene Simmons; Robet Greenberger interviews actress Karen Allen of Starman; Mike Clark interviews actor Michael Ironside of V; Edward Summer recounts the life and history of Pinocchio; and Howard Zimmerman talks 2001 and 2010 in his Lastword column.

"I used to publish my own magazine, Cosmos ... with the mimeograph machine down in the basement. It used to elicit letters from professionals. I got a letter from Isaac Asimov commenting on the magazine. Jack Gaughan, a famous illustrator for Amazing Stories, would write letters. Many of the guys who wrote in at the time as fans went on to become professionals. Fred Clarke used to contribute and he went on to publish Cinefantastique. And there was Marv Wolfman, who now writes for DC Comics."

–Gene Simmons, singer/actor, interviewed by Richard Robinson: "Gene Simmons: A Famous Monster Turns to Science"

To view previous Starlog issue descriptions, click on "Starlog Internet Archive Project" in the keywords below or visit the Starlog Project's permanent home.