The Merchandise GuideNovelisations: Japan
Compiled by Martin Willey
The Merchandise Guide
三笠書房 (Mikasa Shobou), Japan, 1977. Each Yen 580.
Three translations of Michael Butterworth titles. The covers feature the series title in both Japanese and English above a photo (SFX publicity shot of the four sizes of Eagle, astronauts from "Ring Around The Moon", Eagle over Metamorph volcanoes). Interiors endpages contained black & white photos (all from Year 1).
Each book contains just three of the four episode stories. In book 1 and 2, it is the last story of the book that is deleted - New Adam, New Eve and One Moment Of Humanity respectively, and in Book 3 it is the third story, The Exiles, that is left out.
Each book starts with a six page intro with photos (all Year 1 images). First a title page, followed by a two page overview of the show - very much like an expanded version of the Year 2 opening credits, followed by a two page Table of Contents, then a one page Cast of Characters for that novel. This is followed by the novel itself, and then at the end of each book there is a short 2-4 page afterword by the translator of that book.
The books are 11cm x 17cm, and follow the Japanese convention with the spine on the right. While they are paperbacks, the covers are slip-covers. This is the inside cover: "Mikasa Novels" in English on the front (left side), and on the back (right) is Mikasa in Japanese: ミカサ ノベルズ
The last page of the first book is an advert for other Mikasa titles. The Space: 1999 books, promised at the bottom, mention 4 books ("part 2 /part 3/ part 4" are forthcoming). The fourth book is not mentioned in the later titles. Thanks to Patrick Zimmerman
 Full details |
| Title | Original Title | Details | Cover | Back cover |
|---|---|---|---|---|
恐怖の惑星脱出! ("Escape the Horror Planet!") Details |
Planets Of Peril (Does not include New Adam, New Eve) |
15 May 1977. 248 pages. Translated by Masao Mitani 0297-007004-8001 |
|
|
| 狂った宇宙! ("Crazy Universe!") Details |
Mindbreaks Of Space (Does not include One Moment Of Humanity) |
25 May 1977. 220 pages. Translated by Keishi Masaki 0297-007005-8001 |
|
|
| 死の標的! ("Target of Death!") Details |
The Space Jackers (Does not include The Exiles) |
15 July 1977. 230 pages. Translated by Masao Mitani 0297-007008-8001 |
|
|
Japan, 1 June 1977
This is a small 64-page booklet containing abridged versions of a Columbo novel and The Metamorph from Planets Of Peril, translated by Masao Mitani for Mikasa Novels.
The booklet is small, 3.5" x 5" (9cm x 12cm), and just 64 pages long. The top text refers to National Railway East Bureau regulations for magazines and appendix material. Possibly this is a supplement to a magazine for Japanese commuters. In addition to the publication date (1 June 1977) it refers to volume 22 number 3 and 4.
The Columbo story is The Murder Chart (later re-titled Caribbean Murder Case), by Mitsufumi Sasamura. The Columbo books were published by a different publisher, Futami Shobo. The translator of the 1999 story, Masao Mitani, who translated Butterworth's text, also translated a number of Columbo novels, and wrote original Columbo novels. This booklet was published shortly after the first two Mikasa novels.
The banner phrase states it is a TV preview; Japanese TV was only showing year 1 episodes at the time. This episode was first shown in May 1981, almost four years later.
The title page for the Space: 1999 section. It is titled 月面基地大作戦 (Moonbase Operations), actually the title of chapter 1 but used as a story title here. The other text indicates Original work: Michael Butterworth, Text: Masao Mitani, Illustration: Sumio Koizumi.
The unusual cover image is inaccurately coloured because artist Sumio Koizumi was working from a black and white promotional photo. It's a shot from Ring Around The Moon (Koenig throwing a piece of paper at Helena). The original photo appeared in the photo section of Mikasa novel 2, Mindbreaks Of Space.
Thanks to Patrick Zimmerman