In April 1972,Koralle Verlag published issue number 1 of ZACK 2000 [pre-dating 2000 AD,you’ll note]. I don’t think that I saw my first copy until 1973…?
To me,as a teenager raised on UK comics and American Marvel and Charlton comics,this was a treat because there were full colour strips and features I had not seen before [as a youngster in Germany I was a Bastei-boy!].
Interestingly enough,at the Lucca Comic Convention in 1973,Zack won a “Yellow Kid”!
But what was in Zack? Well,I got my first look at Bruno Brazil by Vance and Albert. “Die Versteinerte Stadt” was great and a very sexily drawn woman with a whip…hmm. Maybe I can now see why I ended up writing for Eros comics!!
There were the racing adventures of Michel Vaillant,by Jean Graton, and all they involved! . I guess the best British equivalent was Skid Solo,though,in style I’d say both were wholly different!
Mick Tangy, by Charlier and Jije, flew the skies and seemed to have more than a few non-aerial adventures –and there were nice info pages with illustrations of various aircraft as back-up.
Naturally,Blueberry [Leutnant Blueberry] was in there. I loved the look of the art and the stories were unlike most
Luc Orient,by E. Paape and Greg,of course,I was/am a big fan of his adventures. In 1973 “Die Glasernen Sonnen” had me hooked with its colour and characters.
Later there was Moonbase Alpha [Space 1999],based on the UK TV series and some incredible Farinas-Cardona work.
Sadly,I never got a chance to collect whole stories due to having to return back to the UK –I think I would have been really tempted to stay in Germany simply for the comics [though if you do ever want to visit a country with fantastic forests,great wildlife and,despite what some might tell you,friendly people,Germany is the place for you!]!
Of course,you may have just realised that these are Franco-Belgian strips! I didn’t really notice. Did it matter when you had a great weekly comic like this? And,ever in my mind,were the 52pp worth DM 1,50?
YES!!
But,mournfully,on 31st July,1980,the last Zack appeared.
Scouring supermarkets,news kiosks and anywhere else where comics could be found,in August 1980 a rather kind gent informed me Zack was no more.
On my knees outside Aldi,Lemgo,in the pouring rain,the tears were washed away as I raised a fist to heaven.“Why,God!! Oh dear God –WHY???!!”
Over the years I had my tatty copies left and memories but the days of Zack 2000 were over.While doing some work in 1999,involving going over material from Germany,I saw a very –very- small image with “Zack” on it.
Could it be? A Zack I had not seen before? I then realised that it was quite “modern” looking art so I went home and search the internet.
Yes. On 1st July,1999,Zack had returned. I contacted a couple of friends in Germany and asked what this was all about –new material? The reaction was that “it’s very unlikely that this new Zack will last a year or more in the current climate”.
In October,2007 there is a Michel Vaillant special issue marking Zack’s 100th issue –so much for not lasting long!
If good old,reliable Michel is still driving around Zack,what or who else is inside?
Well,Baker Street,the Western Ringo,Cubitus,Rudi,Green Manor,Lucky Luke still blazing the trail and there are even the Zack Collections.
If you want to see more check out the Zack home page –and never,ever let the fact that this is in German put you off!!
Page counts do vary but the standard seems to be 68pp,A4 size and around E5,90ZACK home page:
For historical info:
http://www.incos-ev.de/Comic-Box/ZACK/body_zack.html
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