downthetubes: Topper, like Beezer, at that time was still published in tabloid format rather than the more A4 size that was more normal for Thomson's comics. Was there a reason for the size difference for these two titles?

Bill: I'm not sure, but at times the size of a publication was down to which machines were available to print.

downthetubes: Did the larger pages allow for more panels per page or, alternatively, larger speech bubbles in the panels?

Bill: This wasn't the reason but it did give opportunity for different layouts.

downthetubes: Did the editorial teams who produced the weekly humour titles have any input to the annuals or the summer specials?

Bill: Yes...we did them all!!!

downthetubes: Later in their runs Topper and Beezer were reduced to Beano and Dandy size, yet they still folded. Was there a reason other than sales figures for keeping the two older comics going while the younger ones were cancelled?

Bill: I presume it was not an economic proposition to keep the Topper and Beezer going. It wasn't a case of one at the expense of the other... simply that the Beano and Dandy still sold more.

downthetubes: Most DC Thomson titles have included space or fantasy characters although there was never a Dan Dare style clone in the way that, for instance, Lion had Captain Condor. Yet when IPC published the first issue of 2000AD in February 1977 there was no direct response from DC Thomson. The first issue of Starblazer did not appear until April 1979.
Was Starblazer more of a response to the UK release of Star Wars in December 1977 and its popularity the following year rather than as a response to the success of 2000AD?

Bill: Yes, although while I was working with Ian Chisholm on the Sparky in 1976 we produced a dummy for an SF magazine, set more in the spooky area of SF, but it didn't see the light of day.

At the same time, Jack Smith, in another department, had been pushing for a pocket sized SF publication and the success of Star Wars was the trigger to launch.

downthetubes: Since you were there at the beginning of the title, how was it set up and how did that set up differ to a weekly anthology title such as The Wizard?

Bill: Jack Smith was the editor and we talked things over. Jack wanted to go down the Star Wars line and this is what we did. Adverts for authors and ideas were put into national newspapers and the response was enormous. We sifted through all the entries and replied to them all. The best were sorted out and we arranged visits to them.

The ones I remember best were Ray Aspden, John Albert, Bill Reed, Tony Stent and the inimitable Alan Rogers. We were producing two a month but we had to set up a production line of authors and artists...it took roughly 12 weeks from coming up with the idea to finished job...but we made it.

downthetubes: A lot of early Starblazers used generic, and presumably bought-in, images as covers rather than have your own artists create something specific to the internal story. Was this a money or time saving procedure and why was it eventually discontinued?

Bill: We already used various agencies to supply covers for our women's and romantic publications and had noted a number of SF illustrations. We looked through them, selected a number and wrote stories around them. Once we got up and running a number of artists were keen to turn their hand to doing covers and there was no necessity to hold stock.

downthetubes: Starblazer seems to have used a lot on new or aspiring scriptwriters such as Ray Aspden or Steve Holland, both of whom have spoken of the encouragement they received from yourself and Jack Smith or Bill Graham. Was there an editorial policy of encouraging new talent?

Bill: Sad to say a number of editors were resistant to new talent. But the three of us used the simple criterion...is it good? We also knew a number of the young writers and artists and had a good number of nights in the pub discussing and developing ideas. Alan Burrows, Colin McNeil, Ian Kennedy, Rob Moran, Alan Hemus, are a few who spring to mind.

downthetubes: What killed Starblazer in the end and was it wrapped up neatly with the Definitive History credits listing, or is there a 282nd Starblazer written and illustrated gathering dust in a Dundee archive?

Bill: SF has never really been a British thing and the sales didn't justify continuing. One problem was the format. Had we been able to go to A4 full colour then I think Starblazer would still be going now, perhaps in yet another guise, but still going.

About the time of Starblazer's demise, the graphic novel was establishing itself and we had four stories in a series with the generic title, Legends, produced. They were all drawn by Alcatena, scripted by Alan Hemus and coloured by Helen Black, an ex staff colourist who we persuaded to colour them freelance. She did a great job. However, the publication of these A4 gems was halted.

There are in fact five unpublished Starblazer stories sitting in a cupboard awaiting a message from beyond.

downthetubes: Were you aware of the various foreign editions of Starblazer?

Bill: Yes. We syndicated Starblazer to Holland and Italy.

downthetubes: Would you like to see a Starblazer reprint book in the same format as the Carlton/Sevenoaks Commando reprints?

Bill: Absolutely definitely! If Carlton were keen, then I think we could put together a class book.

downthetubes: Given the continued popularity of science-fiction, particularly Doctor Who, do you think a re-launched Starblazer might be able to find an audience?

Bill: This is a difficult one. Probably not! It goes back to SF never having been enormous in Britain. I just don't think there is the audience for it.

Interview Concludess: Football and Wendy
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All images © DC Thomson and Co Ltd. Image research by Jeremy Briggs