Bear Alley Books: The Men Behind Flying Saucer Review

Thursday, July 27, 2017

The Men Behind Flying Saucer Review

From 1955 until the present day, the Flying Saucer Review has been key to chronicling the appearance of Unidentified Flying Objects and the latest theories of why they have been appearing in our skies. A dedicated group of enthusiasts - amongst them an accountant, a publisher's editor, a test pilot, a novelist and a member of the House of Lords - were amongst those who helped put together this remarkable magazine. Who they were and how they came to work together makes for a fascinating tale, some of it as curious as the phenomena the magazine studied.

From the Foreword:

‘The Men Behind the Flying Saucer Review’ arose out of discussions I had with its co-author, Roger Perry, about writer and editor Charles Bowen. Roger had very kindly taken some time to interview his former colleague Dan Lloyd, the results of which were published on my Bear Alley blog in September 2013. Knowing Dan's connections with the Flying Saucer Review, I was interested in learning more about the FSR's former editor, Charles Bowen, who contributed features to Boys' World, a boys’ comic which Roger had worked on and which I was writing about at the time; the resulting book was published in September 2013. Roger also knew Bowen's name from his time on Countdown, where Roger was art editor and Bowen a contributor. It was our successful collaboration on this lengthy feature that led me to writing up the history of Countdown soon after, the finished book appearing in July 2014.
    Information on Bowen proved to be a little elusive but his career provided a fascinating thread through the publishing history of the Flying Saucer Review / FSR, and we used this thread to take a look at some of the other people who helped put together the magazine, the first magazine of its kind to study the phenomenon of unidentified flying objects (UFOs) in a serious and objective way.
    So, while we started out with simple intentions, centred around expanding our knowledge of the extraordinarily competent Charles Bowen, we found ourselves exploring the lives of other people key to the creation of Flying Saucer Review until the results of what proved to be a fascinating journey through the magazine’s history were presented in a 12-part serial published between 14 October to 3 November 2013.
    Sadly, Roger passed away in 2016. I miss the critical back-and-forth of our e-mails as we argued over what should and should not be included in the series – a rather odd situation as both of us were of the “everything including the kitchen sink” school of writing. I have made only a few additions where new information has come to light and some minor changes for clarity to the original series and respectfully dedicate this e-book version to Roger’s memory.

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COMIC INDEXES

Countdown to TV Action
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"The perfect compliment to my set of Countdown/TV Action" - Graham Bleathman.
"A wonderful trip down memory lane. Recommended" - Paul Simpson, Sci-Fi Bulletin
"If you read Countdown as a child, you'll be fascinated by this account of its making ... indispensable." - John Freeman, Down the Tubes
"The definitive history of the title" - Lew Stringer, Blimey!
"I urge you to grab a copy and give Steve Holland a tip of the hat for the amount of hard work, research and love he's poured into making a book of information become an interesting story" - Barnaby Eaton-Jones, The Cult Den
"A nostalgic journey through a boyhood passion. TV Action was such a good comic and I was surprised by how short the lives were of some of the properties it's stories were based on. Lots of detail and some great imagery along the way!!" - Goodreads

Rocket: The First Space-Age Weekly
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"Rocket went up against the much more famous, Eagle and failed miserably. It ran for 32 issues in 1956 and included not only imported comic strips from America (Flash Gordon and Brick Bradford being two) but also strips from the Netherlands as well as the UK This index has extensive overviews of the strips and their origins, and lists all contents and creators. As this comic is half a century old Steve Holland has done a brilliant job unearthing credits and biographies." - Goodreads - 5 stars

COMIC STRIP REPRINTS

Longbow Volume 1
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"Steve Holland has once again presented a great package ... with historical background to the character's creation by Mike Butterworth. Holland always researches thoroughly, not only his specialty, the comics history, but also the history of native Americans and how that effects the veracity of these stories ... Holland also provides invaluable background to the artists whose work appears in this volume: Geoff Campion, Don Lawrence, Keith Shone (a new one on me!), R. Charles Roylance and Jesus Blasco." - Goodreads - 5 stars

Longbow Volume 2
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"The second volume of Longbow's adventures packs a lot of stories and history. Steve Winders does the introduction to Blackbow the Cheyenne in Eagle (the successor to our 'Longbow' - buy the book for an explanation!) and the following [drew] the adventures: Don Lawrence, Geoff Campion, Jesus Blasco, Juan Gonzalez Alacreu, Keith Shone, R. Charles Roylance, Frank Humphris, Gerry Haylock, Rodney Sutton, Francisco Cueto, Cesar Lopez and Martin Salvador. In this volume Holland writes the biographies of those who did not appear in Volume 1. A really enjoyable read - especially for someone who until recently didn't read westerns!" - Goodreads - 5 stars

AVAILABLE NOW!
The Complete Eagles Over the Western Front
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"What a wonderful surprise this book was to me! I had read reviews and loved the artwork but was hesitant about two/four page stories - what depth can they have? But they are very clever in places. The stories of the nascent RAF in World war One are entertaining and tense in places. The plot twists are sometimes surprising but always entertaining. The characters are easily distinguished by their looks and also their actions. The players who wonder in and mostly out again are interesting too and never feel as if they are only there for a story - a hard trick to pull off. Butterworth's writing is a pleasure to read and Lacey's artwork amazing with flashes of Ian Kennedy here and there! Steve Holland also gives us biographies of Butterworth and Lacey and as usual hunts down those obscure facts. This collection of all 116 episodes of Eagles Over the Western Front is a terrific read" - Goodreads - 5 stars

London Is Stranger Than Fiction
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""The original books have been highly collectable for many years now, but finally they’ve been republished in a single volume from Bear Alley Books ... for the ridiculously reasonable price of £14.99. Do yourself a favour. " Christopher Fowler.
"The London Is Stranger Than Fiction comic strips are richly illustrated, full of arresting detail and unique characters. Jackson’s love of the quirky is apparent in the events, trades, people and places that he highlights." Chris Evers, Anstapa.

AVAILABLE NOW!
Private Detective / Secret Service / The Female Detective by Andrew Forrester Jun.
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"Forrester's The Female Detective (1864) was reprinted in 2012 as part of the British Library's Crime Classics series, cementing the notion that it heroine, Miss Gladden, was "the first female detective", although whether that is the case is challenged in the essay on Ware and his career published in this new edition of the collection — published now in a uniform edition with Forrester's two earlier collections, The Revelations of a Private Detective (1863) and Secret Service; or, Recollections of a City Detective (1864), reprinted for the first time in 150 years."

Gwyn Evans: The Lunatic, The Lover and The Poet
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"The story of a broke Evans bamboozling the public and a policeman and the Press is hilarious! many illustrations (especially by the prolific Eric R. Parker) litter the book and keep us grounded in the right era of pulp and boy's story papers. Also the mention of French onion-sellers does this too. That's a tradition that must have died out before I was born! The book certainly makes me realise Sexton Blake is a key part of British crime thrillers and mysteries which I hadn't appreciated." - Goodreads - 5 stars

FORGOTTEN AUTHORS

Forgotten Authors Vol.1
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"This is utterly fascinating: what a terrific accomplishment! It has held and engaged me. Authors who are only names have been documented and recorded, from the pathetic to the successful, and everywhere in between. This is incredible research, and I cannot begin to thank you enough for sharing it. I’m dipping into it with absolutely enormous pleasure."—Richard Bleiler
"Recommended for anyone with an interest in the history of books, book publishing, obscure authors or even researching family history. Looking forward to Volume 2"—Amazon review.

NON-FICTION

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"I thoroughly enjoyed this book and read it again straight away. Never having followed sidecar racing, I had reservations before I started reading. Well it’s only 150 pages I thought, let’s get it over and done with! How wrong I was; I couldn’t put it down. This is one of the best motorcycling books I’ve ever read and John and his partner Tony Davis have done a cracking job. The pictures are great too and capture the changing face of Britain over the past fifty or so years. I urge you to get hold of a copy now." - Jim Plant, Velocette Owners Club

AVAILABLE NOW!
Iron Mask: The Story of Harry Bensley's "Walking Round the World" Hoax
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"The story sounds like an implausible Hollywood film but it was true! Who was the Man in the Iron Mask (no, not the French novel by Dumas!)? He set off from Trafalgar Square to push a pram around the world in January 1908 to win a £20,000 bet! he seems to have been a lovable rogue and this was not the first time he had hoodwinked people! I won't say more so I don't spoil the story as it's wilder than even this! Steve Holland has preserved a wonderful British eccentric's story for us all to enjoy. Give it as a Birthday or Christmas present to anyone who's curious about people in any way!" Amazon - 5 stars
"The whole unearthing of this incident from the early 20th century is one of brilliant detective work on behalf of Steve Holland -whose research skills in tying up characters and authors and their works is next to none!" Goodreads - 5 stars

The Men Behind the Flying Saucer Review
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"Beginning in 1955, the Flying Saucer Review has been key to chronicling the appearance of Unidentified Flying Objects and the latest theories of why they have been appearing in our skies. A dedicated group of enthusiasts - amongst them an accountant, a publisher's editor, a test pilot, a novelist and a member of the House of Lords - were amongst those who helped put together this remarkable magazine. Who they were and how they came to work together makes for a fascinating tale, some of it as curious as the phenomena the magazine studied."
"Interesting account of the people who founded the Flying Saucer Review which at its peak was arguably the foremost UFO journal in the world." - Nigel Parkinson, Amazon

Thursday, July 27, 2017

The Men Behind Flying Saucer Review

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