Star Wars in 2000AD, part 1

Solar Salutations, fellow humans! It's time once again to splice the hatches and batten down the mainbrace and settle in for a long meander down retrospect river, because Unky Rusty has wrangled his trained pedantosaur out of its pen (actually, it's more of a paddock than a pen) and taken it foraging for juicy and …

Noncomics: KP Outer Spacers Free Space Posters

In the late 1970s, uncoincidentally around the time Star Wars was released and gave science fiction a massive boost in popularity, KP Snacks released Outer Spacers. Subtitled "Crispy Corn Snacks for Cosmonauts" these were cheap but tasty fried snacks -- sort of a sci-fi version of the more famous Monster Munch -- available in a …

Noncomics: Making Superman’s Shield

For a change, today's article isn't about something created by someone else... this is a vanity project! (In stark contrast to the pure altruism that drips from every other article on this blog...) If you're a regular reader of this blog you'll likely be aware of my interest in logos and symbols, particularly when it …

Branding: Spider-Man Comics Weekly

In the first part of this highly-acclaimed-by-me series, we looked at how the Doctor Who Weekly comic evolved into the Doctor Who Magazine magazine. This time, it's the turn of another staple of the Marvel UK publishing group, Spider-Man Comics Weekly. A spin-off from The Mighty World of Marvel -- launched four months earlier -- Spider-Man …

Branding: Doctor Who Weekly/Monthly/Magazine

Give me a new magazine and I'll spend as much time studying the design and layout as I will reading the content... In particular I find logos and branding to be fascinating. I'm aware that it's a niche interest, but we live in a market-driven world and branding is key to marketing. For a company …

The MWOM & SMCW Timeline

Stop! Before you go any further, please be aware that this article has been replaced by the much more comprehensive Marvel UK 1900s Timeline! "The what timeline?" I imagine that I hear you ask. Wonder no more, chum: those four-letter words that look a bit like they might be the names of Welsh TV stations …

Most Popular Posts of 2018!

Rusty Staples was launched only about eight months ago as the fly crows, but already it's in the top 100% of the most popular comic blogs ever! Amazing, I know, but there you go: you wonderful people know awesomeness when you see it! Now, to welcome in the year 2019, I'd like to take you …