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| Cover by John Cooper. |
Which classic strips would you like to see collected in book format? Remember, it's only IPC material after 1970 we're talking about, so characters created before then, such as The Steel Claw or Odhams' Legend Testers or The Nervs or even Weary Willie and Tired Tim are not part of the deal.
That still leaves many, many characters who might be collected. Characters from Action, Misty, Battle Picture Weekly, Whizzer and Chips, Cheeky, Cor!!, Thunder, Jet, Speed, Jinty, Tammy, Monster Fun, Scream!, Whoopee!, Jackpot, Tornado, and post-1970 Buster and others.
Post your thoughts in the comments section below. Remember, we're talking about the stories, not the comic titles...
I don't remember when or where exactly it was published, but I was fascinated by the strip The Iron Eaters, about an infestation of alien pink spongy fungus with anti-ferric properties. Would that be part of the IPC haul?
ReplyDeleteFunnily enough Lew, I purchased some old British fanzines at the weekend which included some quite scathing comments from you regarding the photo-stories in the 1982 EAGLE relaunch. But - regardless - I'd love to see the DOOMLORD photo strips cleaned up and reissued. And the long-running Dan Dare story Return of the Mekon (and the occasional fill-in stories which interrupted the ongoing plot) really deserves a really nice collection which showcases the stunning art.
ReplyDeleteI'd like to see the Action Force strips from BATTLE ACTION FORCE reissued but - presumably - they are trapped in rights hell because of the closure of Palitoy and the transfer of the toyline to Hasbro.
Love to see any Reg Parlett character pages collected like Creepy Car for example..
ReplyDeleteMastermind and Cliff Hanger by Jack
Ian Knox Robot Gran.
Cheeky by Frank..there is too many...
Tom Thug ;)
One Eyed jack is the perfect start.
ReplyDelete'One-Eyed Jack' is the perfect start.
ReplyDeleteA Jack Oliver Cliff Hanger book would be great for children to get into reading comics, Peter.
ReplyDeleteRGC, The Iron Eaters was a Beezer strip, so not available.
SR, I still think the Eagle photo strips were a bad idea but my caustic comments when I was 23 don't necessarily reflect how I'd feel about those comics now I'm 57. I said some ridiculously gobby nonsense back when I was young that makes me cringe today.
It certainly is, Flint, and there's more great stuff to be announced later this year!
ReplyDeleteSimply for completeness, because I missed the first and last episodes: "March of the Mighty Ones" (about Robot Dinosaurs escaping and going wild, [and only two 12yr olds can stop them!]), from either Monster Fun or Cheeky.
ReplyDeleteThe Mike Nelson (Day of the Eagle) stories are online (somewhere) but I loved them anyway. So, I'd ask for reprints of D-Day Dawson, and Danny Budd, the Bootneck Boy, from Battle Picture Weekly (as nobody called it)
You're right. People only referred to it as Battle from day one. (They did at my school anyway.) I never liked the 'Picture Weekly' part of the title but now I find it quite distinctive. I suppose at the time, IPC were trying to attract readers of their 'Picture Libraries'.
ReplyDeleteI think we may be seeing some material turn up bagged with Judge Dredd Megazine soon.
>>I think we may be seeing some material turn up bagged with Judge Dredd Megazine soon.
ReplyDeletePlease, do tell more (unless you're just merely hoping and praying along with me). And / or linkies to subscription info to the JD Megazine.
Badtime Bedtime Books !
ReplyDeleteI can't reveal any details yet, Narlaquin, but I show previews of upcoming 2000AD and Judge Dredd Megazines here regularly. As for links, click on the 2000AD logo on the sidebar to the right of this blog post.
ReplyDeleteHi Lew,
ReplyDeleteWas Janus Stark part of the Rebellion deal? If so he's an obvious contender. Black Max and Adam Eterno, of course.
Danny Doom was short lived, but great Eric Bradbury art. The Trial to Nowhere? A Western, surprisingly mature for its time and place ( early 70's Valiant) and wonderful Mike Western art. Scream Inn: the best horror/humour strip of the day, with, again, great art (and well written ) and full of echoes of other British media comedies of the time.
I only hope Rebellion can reprint these properly, at the correct size and with decent printing. None of those horribly shrunken reprints on glossy paper.
Strips from SMASH! aren't included so no Janus Stsrk I'm afraid. I think most Valiant strips might be off limits too. One-Eyed Jack may have been an exception.
ReplyDeleteYes, Scream Inn would be good. Great Brian Walker art.
As for the format, I presume they'll be the same size as the recent MISTY reprint, which was a bit smaller than the original comics but still looked good.
Pity if none of the Valiant material is unavailable as there were a couple of strips I would like to see collected, Raven on the Wing and Kid Pharoah. Other stuff that would interest me are Planet of the Damned, Timequake (both from Starlord) and Operation Shark (from Battle Action). Probably some others but I can't think of them.
ReplyDeleteRaven started pre-1970 so not available.
ReplyDeleteBasically Rebellion own the comics that started after 1970, but there are a few exceptions such as Whizzer and Chips (1969) and several strips from Buster that started after 1970.
Remember that this is the same deal that Egmont had. Rebellion bought the characters from Egmont, so they only have the ones that Egmont got from IPC years ago. (Although that still means hundreds of characters so it's still good.)
ONE EYED JACK was reprinted in the EAGLE revival between 1983-84 (and looked suspiciously dated even to 10 year old me) so maybe it sneaks under the wire that way.
ReplyDeleteBATTLE ACTION FORCE had a nifty strip called Nightmare about a kid in London during the blitz being stalked by a mysterious killer. It had a weird reboot mid-run which found the boy in Germany and inducted into the Hitler Youth for reasons that now escape me.
And don't forget... Star Rider and Golden Boy.
EAGLE isn't part of the package I'm afraid, as that was sold off to the Dan Dare Corporation years ago. It could be that Rebellion own O.E.J. because it continued into Battle. Whatever the reason, I'm glad it's being collected. From what I know so far, I think the archive is in good hands now at last!
ReplyDeleteGot me wondering now, who owns Roy of the Rovers both strp and the comic named for him?
ReplyDeleteRebellion own him now. RotR was part of the deal. News story here:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-oxfordshire-37177877
Adam Eterno. I loved his stories and since he was created in the seventies for Thunder, he must be one of characters that Rebellion obtained.
ReplyDeleteAdam Eterno should be part of Rebellion's deal, although there was some doubt at one point when Egmont acquired the characters from IPC. If Egmont owned him, Rebellion do now. Time will tell.
ReplyDelete