Crash (magazine)
Issue 1 cover
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| Editor | Roger Kean (Feb '84 - Aug '85) Graeme Kidd (Aug '85 - Mar 87) Roger Kean (Apr '87 - Sep '87) Barnaby Page (Oct '87 - Mar '88) Steve Jarratt (Apr '88 - Jul '88) Dominic Handy (Aug '88 - Mar '89) Stuart Wynne (Apr '89 - May '89) Oliver Frey (Jun '89 - Mar '91) Richard Eddy (Apr '91 - Oct '91) Lucy Hickman (Dec '91 - Apr '92) |
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| Categories | Computer games magazine |
| Frequency | Monthly |
| Circulation | 101,483 (at its height) |
| First issue | February 1984 |
| Final issue — Number |
April 1992 98 |
| Company |
Newsfield Publications Ltd Europress Impact |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Website | http://www.crashonline.org.uk/ |
| ISSN | 0954-8661 |
Crash was a magazine dedicated to the ZX Spectrum home computer. It was published from 1984 to 1991 by Newsfield Publications Ltd until their liquidation, and then until 1992 by Europress.
Crash was initially launched in 1983 by Roger Kean, Oliver Frey and Franco Frey as a mail order software catalogue that included several pages of reviews. It then launched as a magazine in February 1984, maintaining its focus squarely on Spectrum gaming. Kean and the Frey brothers would continue to be involved with the magazine throughout its lifetime.
By October 1986, Crash boasted regular sales of over 100,000 copies. Its ABC figure of 101,483 copies a month for the period of January to June were claimed by the magazine to be "more than any other computer magazine in the country by all accounts".
Much editorial content (for example, the previews and responses to readers' letters) was credited to Lloyd Mangram, a fictional character, although written by members of the editorial staff. Mangram was depicted visually in the magazine by a sketch of a man wearing a paper bag over his head with holes cut for eyes. This was in stark contrast to the magazine's practice (more common in later years) of accompanying each review with a small likeness of the writer. Lloyd Mangram's contributions made frequent references to his ancient Hermes Typewriter.
Crash included the occasional column which seemed unusual for a computer magazine. Its first year saw the launch of both the Lunar Jetman strip (written and illustrated by John Richardson, based on the character from the games by Ultimate Play The Game) and The Terminal Man, an original piece of fiction written by Kelvin Gosnell and illustrated by Oliver Frey. Later years would see a brief revival of The Terminal Man, as well as Mel Croucher's comic story Tamara Knight, both of which ended mid-run due to poor reception. After the closure of Newsfield's short-lived lifestyle magazine LM, Crash also featured video reviews for a period, a strongly debated move.
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