90s Marvel UK comics. Help?

[FrogMan]

Can anyone list all the Marvel UK comics? And I mean just the ones around the same era as Motormouth, MysTech Wars etc.

Is there a website devoted to them that anybody knows about?

[Babylon23]

The International Superheroes website has a good rundown of Marvel UK characters ar http://www.internationalhero.co.uk/90.htm

[FrogMan]

Thanks. I'd already found that website. It's pretty interesting.

But what I really want is a list of all the series.

[FrogMan]

Surely somebody has a list somewhere or can point me somewhere that does.

:)

[Loki]

Surely somebody has a list somewhere or can point me somewhere that does.

:)
Sleeze Brothers
The first Marvel UK mini-series, launched in 1989 with six issues in the US format.

Knights of Pendragon
Launched in 1990 as a six-issue mini-series, Knights of Pendragon proved to be successful enough to go to ongoing series, which eventually ran 18 issues.

Death's Head II mini-series is launched in March 1992, lasting 4 issues. It was the start of a major push from Marvel UK, with the line's two "tester" titles (Death's Head and Knights of Pendragon) re-vamped and re-started.

Knights of Pendragon (Vol 2) Another 1992 relaunch, a few months after Death's Head II. The new series lasts 15 issues.

Overkill
Launched April 4th 1992. Lasted 52 weekly issues. It debuted the new characters making up the Marvel UK push. In July the same stories would begin to be reproduced in several American format comics.

Warheads
Launched July 1992. Cancelled in 1993 after 14 issues.

Hells' Angel
Launched July 1992. After #5 the title was renamed Dark Angel (#6) due to a threat of legal action from Hell's Angel biker groups. It cancelled after a total of 16 issues.

Motormouth (later Motormouth and Killpower)
Launched July 1992, and lasted 12 issues.

Deaths Head II
After the success of the mini-series, Death's Head II gained an ongoing series in December 1992. It lasted 16 issues.

Battletide
Launched December 1992, Battletide was a four issue mini-series, and concluded in March 1993.

Codename Genetix
Launched January 1993, lasted 4 issues

Incomplete Death's Head
Launched January 1993, lasted 12 issues

Mys-Tech Wars
Launched March 1993, lasted 4 issues

Black Axe
Launched April 1993, lasted 7 issues

Super Soldiers
Launched April 1993, lasted 8 issues

Wild Thing
Launched April 1993, lasted 7 issues

Shadow Riders
Launched June 1993, lasted 4 issues

Cyberspace 3000
Launched July 1993, lasted 8 issues

Warheads Black Dawn
Launched July 1993, lasted 2 issues

Battletide II
Launched August 1993, lasted 4 issues

Deaths Head II and Die-Cut
Launched August 1993, lasted 2 issues

Children of the Voyager
Launched September 1993, lasted 4 issues

Dances with Demons
Launched September 1993, lasted 4 issues

Death3
Launched September 1993, lasted 4 issues

Killpower: The Early Years
Launched September 1993, lasted 4 issues

Immortalis
Launched September 1994, lasted 4 issues

Body Count
Launched October 1993, lasted 1 issue

Dark Guard
Launched October 1993, lasted 4 issues.

Genetix
Launched October 1993, lasted 6 issues

Gene Dogs
Launched October 1993, lasted 4 issues

Gun Runner
Launched October 1993, lasted 6 issues

Die-Cut
Launched November 1993, lasted 4 issues

Die-Cut vs G-Force
Launched November 1993, lasted 2 issues

Plasmer
Launched November 1993, lasted 4 issues.

Death Metal vs Genetix
Launched December 1993, lasted 2 issues

Death Metal
Launched January 1994, lasted 4 issues.

Death Wreck
Launched January 1994, lasted 4 issues.

Two series commissioned, written and drawn for Marvel UK ended up being published by Marvel Italia - the 5 issue Europa, and the one-shot Wild Angels.

Loose Cannons was commissioned and partly drawn before the collapse. Never published, what was finished can be found online.

[drwho]

Damn i forgot how much marvel uk flooded the market.

[FrogMan]

Holy!! Didn't realize there'd been that much!

But thanks. That was exactly what I was looking for. Any ideas which books were actually any good?

[drwho]

I read some so I have an opinion on them:


warheads Launched July 1992. Cancelled in 1993 after 14 issues.-Pretty decent

Hells' Angel
Launched July 1992. Pretty good but heavy on lame x-men guest stars. They made her betsys best friend and it was like she had a room in the mansion

Motormouth (later Motormouth and Killpower)-Probably best of the bunch

Deaths Head II-okay

Codename Genetix
Launched January 1993, lasted 4 issues-Some interesting characters kind of like a new mutants type team

Black Axe-blah

Super Soldiers-was okay read 2 issues

Wild Thing
Launched April 1993, lasted 7 issues-sucked some vr based super hero

Cyberspace 3000
Launched July 1993, lasted 8 issues- guardians of galaxy knock off had potential

Dark Guard-read 2 issues decent

[The Sword Is Drawn]

Ones missed of the list:

Death's Head GOLD #0 & #1. Written and penicilled by Liam Sharpe. Actually one of the best from the line. A damaged Death's Head II spends a lot of the issue have schizophrenic conversations with several of his 107 other personalities.

Bloodseed #1 & #2 - Marvel Frontier Comic, originally intended for a four issue series, but was cut to two for a number of reasons. It was another Liam Sharp book, about a warrior barbarian type. Contained nudity.

And

Marvel Frontier Comics Special - One shot. Frontier Comics were an offshoot of Marvel UK, which began as a taster for things to come when Paul Neary reshaped Marvel UK for their improved approach. Frontier Comics were to Marvel UK what the MAX line is to Marvel US. Stronger language, violence, and nudity allowerd. This showcase issue featured the four main books, Bloodseed, Children of the Voyager, Dances with Demons and Mortigan Goth: Immortalis, blus two never continued stories The Fallen and The Evil Eye (Which was a debut for David Hine).

It's a real shame. Early 90s Marvel UK went wrong because Marvel US were unsure to include it as part of the main Marvel universe, and the decision to to create stories with regular, and unlikely guest characters to boost sales. These appearances had to be removable so that they could be reprinted without the guests in Overkill, in the UK. This meant that a lot odf stories in that first year made little sense from either side of the fence.

But when Paul Neary reshaped the business approach Marvel UK began turning it's direction into the Vertigo of Marvel Comics, introducing people like Salvador Larrocca, Carlos Pacheco, Mark Harrison, Dan Abnett, Liam Sharp, David Hine and Jim Cheung to the American Market. The new books were better rounded. And plans for Warheads and Death's Head looked impressive along side the Frontier Comics line up.

Sadly, Marvel axed the line when the industry crashed - and with it all but destroyed the British Comic book industry. Even 2000 AD had lost most of its talent to DC and Vertigo.

The better books, and my recommendations:

Death's Head: Read the four issue mini, and then The Incomplete series to bring you up to speed with his previous incarnation. The 12 issue series by Dan Abnett and Liam Sharp is the most consistent of the whole brand. The Death 3 and Death's Head II/Die Cut mini's are very missable, but then do pick up Death's Head Gold. This was the direction Marvel UK were going to take him, and that book was really good.

Warheads: Would probably feel better at home in 2000 AD, but I'm so glad it was part of Marvel UK. They work for the bad guys for god's sake! The series and then Black Dawn are both very interesting. And then track down Mark Harrison's Loose Cannons mini. It was never published before the plug was pulled on Marvel UK, but Mark put it up on the internet. I posted the link on another thread. Have a search for it.

Mys-Tech Wars: Four issue crossover series, which worked in a similar way to how House of M and Civil war have. Central mini and crossover stories in all books in the line. Just read the mini.

Motormouth & Killpower: :Loved these guys. Series is a bit disjointed, but written well. Then try and track down their guest appearance in the The Hulk.

Knights of Pendragon: Read vol 1. Don't bother with vol. 2

Hell's Angel/Dark Angel: Changed it';s name several issues in, because Marvel US wanted the 'Hell' part removed... go figure. She's got a strand of the very fibre of the universe bonded to her. Very inconsustent in places. The Psylocke issues are let down by some very poor pencilling, but the later issues by Salvador Larocca are worth waiting for.

Frontier Comics:

Mortigan Goth: Immortalis is probably the best, but all 4 series were of a high quality. The others being Bloodseed, Children of the Voyager and Dances with Demons.

[Soundrave]

Ones missed of the list:

Hell's Angel/Dark Angel: Changed it';s name several issues in, because Marvel US wanted the 'Hell' part removed... go figure.

It's because they were threatened with litigation by various Hell's Angels biker groups.

[The Sword Is Drawn]

It's because they were threatened with litigation by various Hell's Angels biker groups.

Actually, that would make more sense...:D

Still, the same problem would doubtless come using the name 'Dark Angel' nowadays.

[Ivan Isaacs]

Two series commissioned, written and drawn for Marvel UK ended up being published by Marvel Italia - the 5 issue Europa, and the one-shot Wild Angels.

AAARGH!!! I dunno if I should hate you or not. :D
Now I have another comics (aside the French only Semic comics) to track down.
I don't suppose you know someone who has these for sale and will ship them to Germany, right? :(

[Loki]

AAARGH!!! I dunno if I should hate you or not. :D
Now I have another comics (aside the French only Semic comics) to track down.
I don't suppose you know someone who has these for sale and will ship them to Germany, right? :(

Try Italian e-bay. That's where I got them.

[Ivan Isaacs]

I did. Nothing there at the moment. Guess I have to wait. :(
But thanks anyway. :)

[marshal99]

The Death's Head II 4 part mini was rather enjoyable featuring an future alternate reality marvel heroes , drawn by the Jim Lee-ish Liam Sharpe.
The first 4 issues of Death's Head II ongoing was pretty cool with the x-men guest appearance as well as featuring a cool fight between Wolverine and Death's Head II.

Motormouth & killpower was the first Gary Frank (Supreme power) marvel work if i'm not wrong , decent enough. I always liked his clean clear cut pencils.

Battletide was mainly a Killpower/Death's Head II mini , but featuring a whole host of marvel heroes - wolverine , sabretooth , hercules , psylocke etc locked in a tagteam brawl to see who's the best etc.

The Mys-tek was the first marvel UK crossover , all the heroes from marvel UK interact with the main marvel heroes to fight the main bad guys from the marvel UK line. A host of marvel heroes got killed in the process , the good guys managed to reverse the process , blah blah blah. :)

[The Sword Is Drawn]

I always thought it was a great shame that Marvel UK artists such as Liam Sharp and Mark Harrison never got a bigger chance with Marvel after the imprint was shut down.

Both have very impressive art styles, and continue to produce quite impressive work, but they weren't best suited to Marvel's more benal 90s output. Liam was best suited drawing more 'adult' work and Harrison worked in oils - something Marvel just couldn't get their heads around at the time.

If the MAX line had been around at the time they'd have been working on that.

No loss to British comics for Harrison. Just the adverts for the unpublished Loose Cannons got him the Durham Red gig with 2000 AD.

As for Europa and Wild Angels, I've been trying to track these down for years. I don't speak anything other than English, but it doesn't stop me wanting them... :D

[marshal99]

Liam Sharp and Gary Frank did make the transition from Marvel UK to Hulk. Frank went on to bigger things , not sure what happened with Sharp.

[The Sword Is Drawn]

Liam Sharp and Gary Frank did make the transition from Marvel UK to Hulk. Frank went on to bigger things , not sure what happened with Sharp.

Yes, they did. Albeit that Liam's stay was pretty brief. :(

These days he own his own publishing company Mam Tor Publishing, who put out anthology titles, with a number of his old compatriots, such as Glen Fabry and Simon Bisley.

He also draws Testament for DC Vertigo.

[The Sword Is Drawn]

Just found this little snippet, on Marvel UK. Liam Sharp posted this from his own blog, on Millarworld's forums. Thought people might find it intersting.

"What went wrong? It was all going so well!

There are as many answers to that as you can find people to answer it. Everyone has their own take. There's a bitter taste in the mouths of a few, a touch of sadness for others. For me, I'd rather not dwell on the bad days, the gradual slide back into obscurity. For a moment there, Marvel UK was carving its own trench though the comics landscape, and making quite a noise about it. And I was there for the best of it.

Whatever Paul Neary was to anybody else, there are few people I personally have to thank more for getting my career off the ground. Before meeting Paul I had assisted the legendary Don Lawrence for a year and worked on some Judge Dredd stories for 2000ad. My knowledge of the US market was mainly based on childhood memories and the breakout titles of the 80s that you HAD to get; Watchmen, Dark Knight, etc. The mainstream superhero titles were not something I really followed at the time as I'd really harboured a hope to make it in Europe doing "Arzach" type stream of consciousness sci-fi/fantasy art. Paul took me under his wing, invited me to do a redesign of Deaths Head, and introduced me to the new wave of mainstream US talent like Jim Lee, Wilce Portacio and Todd McFarlane. Jim Lee in particular caught my eye, and I found myself devouring his work, just eating it up. It had scale, dynamics, and it was attractive. Sleek. I couldnt recall seeing anything as appealing in the mass market for years, other than the odd rare Barry Smith piece. Jim Lee showed me a new possibility through his work, and this new house style owed as much to the inking as anything else. You could do an approximation if you understood it. And I GOT it. It excited me.
It now seems like a very short time between my meeting Paul, and there being a shiny new design for Deaths Head in a Jim Lee-esque style in the pages of "Sales to Astonish". And the orders for a new Deaths Head title jumped from 30,000 to 300,000 almost over night.

The day those figures came in remains one of the all-time highs of my life. A few of us enjoyed a long, euphoric night in the Devereaux Inn, and we almost certainly had a curry at the end of it!

In fact, though, it had been a long year getting there. Paul was gearing everything up, and initially had nothing to offer me art-wise though he was determined to use me for something. He had me do a bunch of covers and promotional pieces. I did a Deathlok cover for Havoc that Bernie Jay coloured up, and some interior bits and bobs, but eventually work on Deaths Head II started. That in itself was not an easy situation as the creators of the original had had their noses not unsurprisingly put out by there being a new team brought in. Dan Abnett, who had formerly been an editor at Marvel UK, was to write it. I was to pencil, and Andy Lanning my old friend and partner in crime with whom Id shared a studio in Islington a couple of years earlier was to ink. Paul gave me some studio space in the old Marvel building in Temple, right at the top of the building overlooking the Thames and the South Bank. I could see St. Pauls Cathedral and the Houses Of Parliament from there, it was extraordinary. So together we set about creating this new character out of the old.

Marvel UK was like a family at this time. I loved being there. We worked hard and we played hard, and often I would stay in the building over the weekends to get my work done. Geoff Senior and I certainly had our share of all-nighters up there usually after wed cut ourselves a bit of slack and dropped into a nearby pub for one too many beers.
Indeed every night was a drink-up. Id either be with Harry Papodoplis, Chris Klar and Helen Carter, or Steve White, Helen Stone, John Freeman, Bambos, Stuart Bartlet, Louise Cassell, my wife-to-be Christina McCormack or any number of combinations of the afore mentioned, plus friends. Or Id be shooting the breeze over far too much wine or Port with Paul. These were happy days some of my very happiest. I learned so much about the industry, and I made some life-long friends. Indeed, in Christina, I found what would later become my ACTUAL family, and the mother of my children.

Time travel is a complex thing to start trying to tell simple stories about. In around ten months I had almost drawn the entire first issue of Deaths Head II twice before we were happy enough to move on to the next issue. It was clear by then it was going to be pretty big, so it had to be right. But just HOW big we could never have anticipated.

Deaths Head II came out, sold out, and went to fifth ink special reprints on both issues one and two. Suddenly I found myself a bit of a star. Wizard had me at number three in their hot new creators section. We were making waves in the US market. We were being taken seriously! I was even flown out to San Diego as a paid-for guest. Nothing in my life so far had prepared me for this, and I was swept up by it. Intoxicated.

Its hard to capture in this limited space just quite how much of an impact this time had on me, and Id be lying if I didnt admit to missing it. For me the Marvel UK offices are still there. The editors, as I remember them, are all in their offices. Theres the old Darlek in the reception. I could, if I wanted, jump into the archaic elevator to the top floor. Go and see whos working in my old studio space. At lunchtime a bunch of us might go and get an enormous burger at the American diner an incongruous silver caravan installed between two Victorian buildings just behind Fleet St.
The studio space had grown by the end. There was a full bullpen. Rodney Ramos, the inker, would come over from the US periodically, and the guitars would come out. He could sing La Bamba properly, being Puertorican after all, and myself and Bryan Hitch could belt out a chord or two. Edmund (Periman) Bagwell, our very dear friend whom I shared a flat with in Richmond, would be there with his marvellously sculpted miniature heads. (He liked to make them for reference.) The amazing Richard Dolan would be there at his easel. Completely colour blind, he would have to read the tubes to know what colour he was painting. Tim Gula, Andy Curry and so many more.

By the time Deaths Head II got to be an ongoing series sales were really peaking. Issue one launched with figures just shy of 500,000. It was a UK phenomenon. To this day, I believe, no other UK export to the US ever did so well. Stan Lee said to me three times in San Diego that year "Oh, you're the guy that did the cyborg! I love that Deaths Head guy!"
Jim Lee asked me to go and join him and his new company Image in La Hola - which I sadly declined. I honestly thought Deaths Head II would continue to grow and retain that level of success. Also I felt a strong loyalty to Paul, and was very much wanting to remain with Christina, who was not in a position to move out there at that time. We still hardly knew each other, but I was smitten.
So that was the year I hired a powerboat and took Christina out into the San Diego lagoon. We hung out with actors in LA, I was a Sheraton Hotel club member barely 23 years old. It was insane, wonderful, and unforgettable. In these much more modest times it feels good to recall having had at least a brief glorious taste of the good life.

Theres so much more to tell. "Bloodseed", my dream project that was meant to hark back to the old Warren comics. Getting to draw a couple of issues of the XMen. The politics and powerplays. The demands from Marvel US to produce more titles than we were able to realistically deliver. But I'll leave that for others. Paul Neary was an inspiration and a dear friend. Marvel UK gave me a base from which to grow.

1991 - 1993 was Marvel UKs Golden Age and don't let anybody tell you different!"

[The Sword Is Drawn]

And also the following reply to another post on that thread:

Dave, the sales were awesome. It was incredible. Marvel UK was meant to be like a tax dodge, apparently. We weren't meant to make any money. What changed that was Death's Head II. It was HUGE. Sales jumped from 30,000 to 300,000 on the mini series - and sold out!!! They went to reprint within a couple of weeks. Like I said, the ongoing series was just under 500,000. It's was never topped. Marvel US had to rethink Marvel UK, and they started putting huge and ridiculous demands on us. They wanted us to jump from three ongoing titles to 30!!! We didn't have that kind of creative pool in the UK, and Paul had to go to the Philipines to get artists! It was insane! We also had to create a huge number of new characters in a tiny amount of time. Killcraze, Motormouth, Roid Rage, BlackAxe, Die Cut... it went on and on! Then we did the mature line. It was too much to ask, and that's when it all started going wrong. Of course it wasn't just us, the whole bisiness was scrabbling for those sales, that swollen audience, and false marketplace. It got insane, and pretty sad for the passionate people, like Paul, who just wanted to produce a small number of great comics. But his hands were tied. There was certainly some terrible cash-driven decisions being made at the top level in the US, who were owned by Revlon at the time.

Overkill was produced for the UK market, often reprinting US stuff. There was no ban on using US characters in our UK books, but to be fair that got out of hand anyway. It intitially helped with Death's Head II as it kind of validated us in the US market, but soon it was just a cynical sales-grabbing device.

When it fell appart it was because we produced too many books - as demanded by the US - at a time when the whole bubble was bursting anyway. Sadly, this is the time most people seem to recall.

The statement I've highlighted is particularly interesting, and kind of shows why things turned out as they did. That's a crazy demand!

I have great respect for Liam. I too was surprised that Death's Head didn't outlast Marvel UK. It's a real shame. and the guy could have made a lot of money at Image in the 90s.

For the rest of his posting on the subject they can be found here:

http://forums.millarworld.tv/index.php?showtopic=62368&hl=

[Apocalypse Now Then!]

Now that's interesting.

Marvel UK was only meant to be tax dodge?

Jesus, a leap from 3 to 30 ongoing titles? That's nuts. Just not possible for what was effectively a dozen guys in one office.

I really think that Marvel Uk could have become Marvel's Vertigo line, if they'd stuck with it.

Poor Liam. He could have raked it in at Image.