tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-353035150642073044.post5482140981531883916..comments2023-06-25T09:34:57.104+01:00Comments on The Memories of a Strict Uncle: From typescripts to Janus: the 1970sUncle Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15834932581407853949noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-353035150642073044.post-14521687197956749082012-02-09T19:28:13.998+00:002012-02-09T19:28:13.998+00:00Having read the new web page "A brief history...Having read the new web page "A brief history of Janus" on the Janus Worldwide site, it occurs to me that the disgruntled editorial mentioned above may well have appeared in the 1981 inaugural number of New Derriere, "Produced by the same editorial staff and team who devised Janus," which reportedly only lasted for six issues. I still suspect - but cannot prove - that Phoenix was the work of Janus veterans.Bibliophilenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-353035150642073044.post-1664070033099895822011-08-27T19:13:26.429+01:002011-08-27T19:13:26.429+01:00So the spanking special came after the name had ch...So the spanking special came after the name had changed. Thanks for that heads-up. I just assumed that it had happened earlier, but admit that I never bothered to check the details.Uncle Nickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15834932581407853949noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-353035150642073044.post-40486023515983451742011-08-27T18:30:14.250+01:002011-08-27T18:30:14.250+01:00The very first title page states: "Mentor, Pu...The very first title page states: "Mentor, Published monthly by Janus Publications at 187 Victoria Street, London, S.W.1." So paradoxically both the Janus brand and coin logo were in place well before the issue 5 name-change, for which I have no explanation.<br /><br />None of the Mentor issues was billed as a spanking special. But a year later, at the beginning of 1973, Janus released three large-format "Special numbers" simultaneously: one on bondage, one on spanking and one on underwear fetishism. The second of these is the one that sold like hotcakes, leading to two further Spanking Specials in quick succession.<br /><br />The only copy of Phoenix I have is number 21, copyright 1984. Text content and style are indistinguishable from those of original Janus. At one issue per month it would have launched in 1982 or early 1983, consistent with the timeline of events.Bibliophilenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-353035150642073044.post-82562028323024875502011-08-26T08:31:01.979+01:002011-08-26T08:31:01.979+01:00You are quite right about Mentor being the title; ...You are quite right about Mentor being the title; the error is all mine.<br /><br />I am dubious about your claim that the plan all along was to change the magazine's name as that makes no sense.<br /><br />I don't remember Phoenix claiming to be via the Janus rebels, but agree that the name is suggestive of that.Uncle Nickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15834932581407853949noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-353035150642073044.post-73514687851993263882011-08-25T11:55:02.226+01:002011-08-25T11:55:02.226+01:00(1) The first four issues were called Mentor, not ...(1) The first four issues were called Mentor, not Monitor.<br /><br />(2) The title page of the Mentor issues carried the same facsimile of the two-headed Janus coin that appears on all subsequent covers and title pages, so the name change must have been planned from the very beginning rather than a last-minute inspiration.<br /><br />(3) I think an editorial in the first issue of Phoenix magazine identified it as the work of disaffected Janus staff, and that title ran for a number of years.Bibliophilenoreply@blogger.com