Charlton Notebook: Space: 1999 #1

I've had this book for quite a while and wasn't very impressed when I first read it. I revisited it last night, as I was in the mood for something different, and mid-70s Charlton is always a little different. I liked it much more the second time around. The main weakness is that Nicola Cuti crammed so much into a single issue - the whole lunar explosion is covered in a handful of pages and that kind of underplays the drama of the 311 survivors on Moonbase Alpha. There's a ton of heavy dialogue that takes a while to process. We quickly move to the search for a new world and the first candidate is an odd one, populate by Neanderthalish humanoids and Cthulu-inspired slug masters. It ends on a strange pseudo-cliffhanger that seems to lack drama - as I got the feelings the slugs were trying to trap the Earthlings - but I guess they were just playing host. Don't get me wrong - it's actually a very entertaining read as Joe Staton's lively layouts keep things hopping along. His character and creature designs are also strong - giving the strip a lot more life than existed on the TV screen.