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cassettesofthelatestgamesandaskkidsto
fillinaform,theideabeingthatthewriters
wouldbebrutallyhonestandreviewtitles
fromtheperspectiveofitsyoungreaders.
Today,theaudienceforSpectrumand
Commodore 64 gamesismucholder,so
childrenwon’tbeaskedtocontributethistime
around.Manyelementswillremain,however.
Scoresweregivenasapercentage,for
example,andtopgamesdubbedaCrash
SmashoraZzap!Sizzler.Ifpreviousmagazines
hadbeenataddryandhobbyist,thatwasn’t
thecasewithNewsfield’smagazines,and
Wilkinsiskeenforthisto continue.
Afterall,Crash’sapproachsawitsellmore
than100,000copiesamonthby 1986,
althoughitwasn’twithoutrufflingafew
feathers.InAugust1985,aninjunctionwas
takenoutagainstthemagazinewhenit
spoofedSinclair Userandreferredto itas
‘UnclearUser’. Someriskycoversevensawthe
magazinebeingplacedonthetopshelfof
newsagents:onehadamanincollarand
chainsandanotherhadabarbarianaboutto
splitthethroatof another.
It’sunlikelythenewCrashorZzap!64
magazineswillfollowthesamecontroversial
path.Forarecentissueof thegaming
magazineFusion,whichWilkinsalsoedits,
readerssubscribingviaPatreonwereaskedfor
theiropinionaboutarisquecoverthattiedin
withanarticleaboutcontroversialgames
advertisements.Withopinionlargelyagainst,
itwasdropped.ButWilkinsnevertheless
admiresthefantasyartstyleassociatedwith
CrashandZzap!64,andthestylewillcontinue.
“WhenCrashusedtocomethroughmy
letterboxeachmonth,itwasOli’sartthatI
sawfirst,anditwaswhatIfoundmyself
lookingforwardtoeachmonth,”saysWilkins.
“Thehumourinjectedby Roger,Oli,Robin
Candyandothersalsoensuredthatreaders
camebackformore, butOli’scoverswerethe
icingonthecake.”
Zzap!64wasalittlemoregrownupthanits
sistermag.“Ithadateamof writing
personalities–GaryPenn,JulianRignalland
morewhocaptivatedtheirreaderswiththeir
coolnessandknowledge,” Wilkinssays.“Again,
withiconicartby Oli,itwasahugehitwith
Commodore64gamersand,withboththese
magazinesbackinthegamingcommunity,
thingshavecomefullcircle.”
PLAYITAGAIN,SAM
NotthatWilkinsisaloneinkeepingthe
memoriesof oldcomputersalivewhile
investinginprintedpublications.Some,such
asColinPiggot,havebeendoingsofor
quitesometime.
PiggoteditsSAMRevival(samcoupe.com/
samrevival.htm),afanzinededicatedtothe
8-bitBritish-madeSAMCoupé,whichwas
releasedbyMilesGordonTechnologyin 1989.
Thecomputerwasneverwellsupportedby
mainstreamcomputerandgamingmagazines,
andsoitwaslefttothecommunitytopickup
theslackprettymuchfromthestart.
“TheSAMscenewasalwaysawashwith
variousfanzinesanddiskzinesthroughoutthe
1990s,buttheyfadedtowardstheendof the
decade,” Piggotexplains.“In2002,Ihadbegun
to expandarangeof SAMproductsIwas
designingandIwasproducingtheonly
diskzineleftfortheSAMcalledSoundbyte.”
Soundbyteprovidedcoverageof the
Quazar SurroundsoundcardPiggothad
designedandlaunchedin1995,anditalso
bundledgames,utilitiesanddemos.InAugust
2002,hetransitionedthediskzineto aprinted
fanzine,producingthefirst13issuesusing
basicdesktoppublishingsoftwareand
knockingthemoutonamonolaserprinter
thathefedbyhand–aprintingprocessthat
tookhimnearlyaweek.
Havingprintedfurthereditionsonaduplex
colourlaserprinter,thepasttwoissueshave
⬆Crashmade its comeback as an annual, and its success gave Chris Wilkins the idea tomakeitaregular publication.Zzap!64caters for
fans of the Commodore 64 and has also proven popular
