Artifact Details

Title

Captain Zilog!

Catalog Number

102646293

Type

Document

Description

This is a brochure for the Zilog Z8000 computer in the form of a four-color comic book. The front cover has a color illustration of Captain Zilog and Dr. Diabolicus fighting, locked in each other's arms. On the top left corner it says "No. 1" and on the bottom left corner there it state s"WESCON/79 COLLECTOR'S EDITION" which is encased in a yellow circle. The first part is the origin of Captain Zilog, who is system designer Nick Stacey who gets caught up in a comet and is given a microprocessor. Following is about how Dr. Diabolicus invaded Cityville. Following is about how Nick leaves and become Captain Zilog. Dr. Diabolicus tells everyone that his satellite station is controlled by the largest and most complex computers in the universe. On the following page Captain Zilog informs the doctor that big computer set up doesn't mean you are in control, and that his silicon chip, which is the Zilog Z8000, can give him a run for his money. Due to the advantage of a short design system, Captain Zilog builds a system quickly. On the next page Captain Zilog defeats Dr. Diabolicus and Dr. Diabolicus retreats back to his war room. On the next page, Dr. Diabolicus returns to earth to defeat Captain Zilog. He replicates himself and challenges Captain Zilog to find out which one is the real Dr. Diabolicus. Captain Zilog quickly chooses the real Dr. Diabolicus, and explains that he was able to compute so quickly because he has an address space of eight megabytes. The Dr. Diabolicus says that he has instructed his allies to sabotage the nerve centers of the civilization. Captain Zilog quickly flashes over to each machine and shouts "imagine" and they are converted to microcomputerization. Disaster is averted since the machines run more efficiently and are able to do things they weren't able to do before. On the next page Dr. Diabolicus admits defeat and promises to leave for good. Captain Zilog then explains that the Z8000 had a regular architecture, 32 bit operation capability, 8 megabyte memory, and two operating modes (system and normal). The next page is a display of development systems from Zilog, which include Zilog PDS 8000 model 10; Zilog PDS 8000 models 25 and 30; Zilog PDS 8000 model 15. Contact information is provided for those wanting more information. Included is a postcard insert to get detailed data on the Z8000 and a full color, 18 x 24 Captain Zilog poster. The following page is a new section called "BATTLE BENEATH THE ARCHITECTURE!" Dr. Diabolicus is in the war room with his henchmen, Bottleneck; Power Stealer; Crasher; Scrambler; Scorcher; and Kluger. Dr. Diabolicus decides that they need to miniaturize themselves and sabotage the Z8000 from the inside. The next page shows Nick at the computer lab, and he sees that someone is trying to sabotage the computer's general registers. He transforms and miniaturizes himself to find the culprits. He takes his co-worker Anne with him. The next page shows Dr. Diabolicus destroying a stack pointer, but realizes that none of the registers are designated. He then has his henchman Crasher get ready near the three interrupt inputs. The following page Crasher steps on the interrupt input contact and switches to operating system. Most of Dr. Diabolicus's henchmen are take to system stack, and then Dr. Diabolicus decides to take Anne and go to the operating system. On the following page, Dr. Diabolicus and Bottleneck cannot get into the operating system, since the Z8000 has a protected dual environment. On the following page Captain Zilog was able to quickly code using the Z8000 instruction set to cancel Dr. Diabolicus miniaturization. Dr. Diabolicus decides that earth is not worth the trouble to conquer and vows to leave for good. The following page Dr. Diabolicus is gone and Anne only remembers the day's events as a dream. The inside back cover has a list of Z8000 peripherals.

Date

1979

Contributor

Brooks, Lou
Kuber, Joe

Publisher

Zilog, Inc.

Place of Publication

U.S.

Extent

18 p.

Dimensions

10 1/4 x 6 5/8 in.

Copyright Holder

Zilog, Inc.

Category

Promotional Material

Subject

promotional materials; Military/Aerospace applications; Entertainment/Gaming applications; Business applications; Educational applications; Personal applications; Graphics applications; Component: IC; Zilog Z8000 (Computer); Zilog, Inc.; Scientific applications

Lot Number

X3067.2005