Popular Retro - Review

Popular Retro began life as a download-only magazine focusing on gaming, toys, comics, music, film and culture of yesteryear. It scratched an itch for those of a nostalgic nature, looking back to the cool stuff we remembered from our formative years. With the release of sixth issue (or volume two, issue one as they call it), we have the first physical issue. I paid the required £7.71 (including postage) and waited to see what turned up.

The magazine arrived quickly and it was obvious to see that money has been spent on the physical quality. I know I mention this with every physical magazine I buy but it is important to note that, as you're paying more than a typical newsstand publication price, it's pleasing to see that publishers don't skimp on the quality of the stock. At 56 pages (including covers), this seems to be the typical length of such niche mags and whilst there are ads included, these are limited to the inside front cover and both sides of the back cover. In other words, you get 52 pages of actual content.

Speaking of content, there are pieces on 80's TV classics  Airwolf and The Real Ghostbusters (which had 21 episodes written by J Michael Straczynski who, if you have an interest in how US television worked back in the 1980's, covered the topic well in his excellent autobiography 'Becoming Superman", reviewed here), a nice look at the ZX81 on the 40th anniversary of its release and some reviews. These cover a new release for the Spectrum (Valley of Rains), a PC release in the style of a Spectrum game (PanGEMic) and a micro-budget straight-to-video horror movie (Evil Spawn). If it were just that, it would be quite a decent magazine. But there is more.

An interview with the man behind Psytronik Software also includes a centrefold poster that'll bring back memories of 1980's computer game artwork, there is a look at Dire Straits' Brothers in Arms album, and a guide to essential vampire-themed comics. Ok, some of this I am unfamiliar with but still an entertaining read and I now know more than I did before I read the mag.

The key article (and providing the cover star) is about the Philips CD-i. At 19 pages, this takes up pretty much the back third of the issue and is a proper in-depth look at this failed multimedia machine from the early 1990's. I am a fan of the CD-i despite its many limitations and there is a 205 model in a cupboard upstairs that did see a fair amount of use before the last house move. This piece really made the magazine for me and it should be the starting point of anyone interested in learning more about this impressive but flawed machine.

Any criticisms?  A minor one which has already been acknowledged online: there are a couple of typos. Like I said, just a minor thing and this is something that I am very aware about with this blog, as more than a few have made it into posts in the past, and I shall not be throwing stones in this glasshouse. Other than that teensy thing, there is absolutely nothing else wrong with Popular Retro and I will definitely be keeping an eye out for the next issue. 

You can find out more about Popular Retro and buy the latest issue here.