lance spearman 67stories may not have been forgotten. A big difference between this earlier
and highly politicized African genre and the photo novels, however, is
the complete absence of the political in the photo novels. This is surely
an effect of publishing under apartheid rule, which had firmly taken root
in the 1960s when censors regularly scrutinized Drum. In African Film,
the political is overwritten by the fantastical—and that is where James
Bond and the fantastic world of espionage come in. Like James Bond,
Lance Spearman has more than a few gimmicks at his disposal, such as
a wristwatch walkie-talkie, a knife-flinging boot, and special cigars that
contain either explosives or sleeping gas. The fantastic science fiction of
the espionage film, however, is much more elaborate in the case of Spear’s
antagonists, who not only employ brain machines, shrinking serums, and
other medical devices but also such fancy things as jet-powered wheel
chairs and cars (in fact, a flying V W Beetle; see Meisler 1969).
Geared toward experiencing the pleasures of suspense, African Film
seems apolitical at first glance. However, despite the announcement on
every issue’s last page that “all characters in this publication are fictitious,”
the magazine is deeply rooted in the wider political and social context of
the production era. In The Diamonds of Salamar (no. 118), for example, the
fictitious country of the Spearman adventures turns out to be one whose
economy, which is largely based on diamond exports, is threatened be-
cause large amounts of precious stones (The Spear calls them “sparklers”)
are stolen. In this case, it is not difficult to make out South Africa—not to
mention other African countries whose economies depended on the ex-
ploitation of mineral resources—as a frame of reference. The five-chapter
series The Power-Mad Tycoon (nos. 122–126) introduces a power-hungry
man who threatens the world with nuclear weapons he has stashed away
on a lonely, uninhabited island. From this deserted location, he plans to
stir up war between the East and the West and rule the world supreme.
A lthough this plot could come straight out of a James Bond movie (even
a submarine is part of the power-mad tycoon’s plan), it nevertheless re-
flects the contemporaneity of the cold war. A similar plan to conquer the
world is drafted by one of Spear’s arch enemies, Dr. Devil, who enlists his
henchmen by telling them: “Today all the big countries are trying to land
a rocket on the moon”—a clear indication of this episode’s production
date, around 1969: