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Post by tingramretro on Aug 4, 2015 9:30:06 GMT -5
Revolutionary War wasn't bad, though that early 90s stuff wasn't the cream of the Marvel UK crop, for me. I did like the fact that Revolutionary War gave a prominent role to a character with one of my favourite names in all of comics: Warheads leader Colonel Tigon Liger. The only name I can think of from any Marvel UK title which was even more ridiculous-yet-somehow-cool was Kilgore Slaughter from Paul Neary's now almost forgotten Timesmasher strip.
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Confessor
CCF Mod Squad
Not Bucky O'Hare!
Posts: 10,209 
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Post by Confessor on Aug 4, 2015 9:45:22 GMT -5
I well remember those UK originated Star Wars strips, too. Aside from Alan Moore's five stories, I thought the late, great Steve Moore's couple of efforts were pretty great, too. The Steve Parkhouse one wasn't bad, but I think Death Masque, Tilotny throws a Shape and The Pandora Effect are still my favourites. I think Alan in particular was basically just writing his own sci-fi stories though; the Star Wars setting was largely immaterial. Steve Moore's "Death Masque" was and always has been a real favourite of mine. Alan Moore's stuff was crazy and, in retrospect, quite psychedelic and dream-like...almost as if they were the product of an opiate-addled mind.  However, I'm not sure I agree with your assessment that Moore's stuff was just his own sci-fi stories, with the SW characters thrown in to make it fit. I think they're more Star Wars-y than that. In fact, just this morning, while writing my review of Star Wars #35 (see here), I speculated that Moore had attempted to explain a mysterious leg injury that Princess Leia has in that issue in his own "Tilotny throws a Shape", which was published two years later. It is pure speculation, mind you, and could just be coincidence, but still, I think Moore had done his SW homework on those stories. Does Clan Destine count? I believe it was originally planned to be Marvel UK, but was published after Marvel UK went down. Clan Destine was a great little series, with some awesome artwork (was it John Byrne?). I remember loving it at the time. No idea how well or not it holds up today though. |
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Post by DubipR on Aug 4, 2015 10:03:31 GMT -5
Does Clan Destine count? I believe it was originally planned to be Marvel UK, but was published after Marvel UK went down. Clan Destine was a great little series, with some awesome artwork (was it John Byrne?). I remember loving it at the time. No idea how well or not it holds up today though. Clan Destine was all Alan Davis. I loved that series as well. |
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Post by tingramretro on Aug 4, 2015 10:33:57 GMT -5
I well remember those UK originated Star Wars strips, too. Aside from Alan Moore's five stories, I thought the late, great Steve Moore's couple of efforts were pretty great, too. The Steve Parkhouse one wasn't bad, but I think Death Masque, Tilotny throws a Shape and The Pandora Effect are still my favourites. I think Alan in particular was basically just writing his own sci-fi stories though; the Star Wars setting was largely immaterial. Steve Moore's "Death Masque" was and always has been a real favourite of mine. Alan Moore's stuff was crazy and, in retrospect, quite psychedelic and dream-like...almost as if they were the product of an opiate-addled mind. However, I'm not sure I agree with your assessment that Moore's stuff was just his own sci-fi stories, with the SW characters thrown in to make it fit. I think they're more Star Wars-y than that. In fact, just this morning, while writing my review of Star Wars #35 (see here), I speculated that Moore had attempted to explain a mysterious leg injury that Princess Leia has in that issue in his own "Tilotny throws a Shape", which was published two years later. It is pure speculation, mind you, and could just be coincidence, but still, I think Moore had done his SW homework on those stories. Does Clan Destine count? I believe it was originally planned to be Marvel UK, but was published after Marvel UK went down. Clan Destine was a great little series, with some awesome artwork (was it John Byrne?). I remember loving it at the time. No idea how well or not it holds up today though. Hmm, I'll give Alan the benefit of the doubt, then. Perhaps I'm being somewhat prejudiced as a result of his stories for Doctor Who Monthly which, while excellent, were very far from being anything like Doctor Who...mostly, I suspect, because Alan didn't actually have any interest in Doctor Who. I've always kind of gotten the impression that at Marvel UK in the early eighties, if they needed a quick fill-in story, they'd just catch Moore when he came in to pick up a cheque and he'd rattle off a script in five minutes on the back of a cigarette packet for a few quid extra. Of course, it would probably still be a better script than anyone else could have turned in in a week... |
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Post by tingramretro on Aug 4, 2015 10:46:18 GMT -5
Clan Destine was a great little series, with some awesome artwork (was it John Byrne?). I remember loving it at the time. No idea how well or not it holds up today though. Clan Destine was all Alan Davis. I loved that series as well. So did I. Did you read the 2008 revival? |
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Post by fanboystranger on Aug 4, 2015 10:57:45 GMT -5
Clan Destine was a great little series, with some awesome artwork (was it John Byrne?). I remember loving it at the time. No idea how well or not it holds up today though. Clan Destine was all Alan Davis. I loved that series as well. There were the post-Davis issues by Glen Dakin and Bryan Hitch, but per Alan's instructions, we're supposed to pretend that they were just a dream. I still maintain that the ClanDestine vs The X-Men mini is the finest work that Alan Davis has produced as a writer-artist. It was the pinnacle of his work before some of the quirks in his art became regular features from page to page. He's still doing amazing work, though. |
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Post by fanboystranger on Aug 4, 2015 11:04:03 GMT -5
I also remember not caring for his Man-Thing, though I only have 3-4 issues. Again that may have been the inking. It's one of those series that you have to stick with to appreciate what Sharp was doing. The first few issues are somewhat conventional, but then he starts experimenting wildly with his technique. I particularly loved it when the Silver Surfer appears, and he's all airbrushed and shiny. Such a powerful juxtaposition to the overall murkiness of the series. The Mr Termineas pages are always beautiful, yet freaky uses of black and white, too, as befits the collapse of reality. |
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Post by Dizzy D on Aug 4, 2015 11:16:59 GMT -5
Clan Destine was all Alan Davis. I loved that series as well. So did I. Did you read the 2008 revival? I read that one (loved the ending) I also read the 3 annuals that Alan Davis did in 2012 that are basically Clan Destine vol. 3. |
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Post by Deleted on Aug 4, 2015 17:31:27 GMT -5
*raises hand* Grew up with boxes full of Beano and Whizzer & Chips too. I still have boxes of Beano and Whizzer & Chips (but were you a Whiz-kid or a Chip-Ite, that's the question?) My childhood sweetheart.  |
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Post by tingramretro on Aug 5, 2015 1:20:20 GMT -5
I still have boxes of Beano and Whizzer & Chips (but were you a Whiz-kid or a Chip-Ite, that's the question?) My childhood sweetheart. Percival Proudfoot Plugsley: a legend in his own lifetime! I remember when he had his own book! |
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Post by adamwarlock2099 on Aug 5, 2015 7:55:54 GMT -5
I have a lot of Deaths Head II that I just recently read again. It's very much a 90's book but I enjoyed it when I read it first, mostly for Liam Sharpe's art, who I first discovered in Hulk. Reading it again, I still enjoyed though I would say that could be some nostalgia. It wasn't the deepest book I've ever read but it surpassed a lot of top tier Marvel titles everyone else was eating up. I at some point would mind getting the Deaths Head issues. I only have one, #6 I believe, with The Thing in it. I must admit, I preferred the original Death's Head, but it's a bit of a shame DHII has been all but forgotten since the 90s. I don't remember where I read it, perhaps wikipedia but at some point Deaths Head II was pitched at Marvel in the 2000's but Marvel didn't take the bait. Perhaps they too thought it was best left in the 90's. Edit: I was a Ultimate Death's Head that Sharp pitched that never got greenlit. I also remember not caring for his Man-Thing, though I only have 3-4 issues. Again that may have been the inking. It's one of those series that you have to stick with to appreciate what Sharp was doing. The first few issues are somewhat conventional, but then he starts experimenting wildly with his technique. I particularly loved it when the Silver Surfer appears, and he's all airbrushed and shiny. Such a powerful juxtaposition to the overall murkiness of the series. The Mr Termineas pages are always beautiful, yet freaky uses of black and white, too, as befits the collapse of reality. I'll give it another shot if I come across the issues. I have to admit, after reading older Man Thing and Werewolf by Night issues, I didn't give the new installments much time. It wasn't Conway, or Gerber or Ploog or Alcala; so I was being a bit unfair. Though the WBN #2 Ploog cover we did get was pure awesome. I'll add both to my list to finish as some point. Especially seeing WBN only lasted six issues. Edit: I do have all the WBN, it was the stories in Strange Tales that I didn't continue with. |
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Confessor
CCF Mod Squad
Not Bucky O'Hare!
Posts: 10,209
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Post by Confessor on Aug 5, 2015 8:57:34 GMT -5
I still have boxes of Beano and Whizzer & Chips (but were you a Whiz-kid or a Chip-Ite, that's the question?) My childhood sweetheart. Oh, lordy! I hope you've set your sights a bit higher as an adult, Jez.  |
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Post by tingramretro on Aug 5, 2015 9:03:34 GMT -5
My childhood sweetheart. Oh, lordy! I hope you've set your sights a bit higher as an adult, Jez. Is it possible to set one's sights higher than a superstar like Plug? |
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Post by fanboystranger on Aug 5, 2015 13:09:34 GMT -5
I must admit, I preferred the original Death's Head, but it's a bit of a shame DHII has been all but forgotten since the 90s. I don't remember where I read it, perhaps wikipedia but at some point Deaths Head II was pitched at Marvel in the 2000's but Marvel didn't take the bait. Perhaps they too thought it was best left in the 90's. Edit: I was a Ultimate Death's Head that Sharp pitched that never got greenlit. It's one of those series that you have to stick with to appreciate what Sharp was doing. The first few issues are somewhat conventional, but then he starts experimenting wildly with his technique. I particularly loved it when the Silver Surfer appears, and he's all airbrushed and shiny. Such a powerful juxtaposition to the overall murkiness of the series. The Mr Termineas pages are always beautiful, yet freaky uses of black and white, too, as befits the collapse of reality. I'll give it another shot if I come across the issues. I have to admit, after reading older Man Thing and Werewolf by Night issues, I didn't give the new installments much time. It wasn't Conway, or Gerber or Ploog or Alcala; so I was being a bit unfair. Though the WBN #2 Ploog cover we did get was pure awesome. I'll add both to my list to finish as some point. Especially seeing WBN only lasted six issues. Edit: I do have all the WBN, it was the stories in Strange Tales that I didn't continue with. Simon Furman did have a Death's Head III story for the Amazing Fantasy anthology back in 2005. Abnett and Lanning followed up on some of the DH II and DH III plot points in Nova. I loved the Jenkins/Manco Warewolf by Night series. I think it's a shame that Leo Manco hasn't become a superstar artist-- his stuff was leagues ahead of the guys who were popular in the '90s. It took years to get Michael Lark, Sean Phillips, etc. the attention that their work deserved, but Manco still hasn't gotten his due. |
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Post by adamwarlock2099 on Aug 5, 2015 18:58:17 GMT -5
I had only recently read about Deaths Head 3.0 not too long ago. But it's on am ever growing but list.
I assume your speaking of the Nova series that coincides with Annihilation? That I have a good majority of to start with. The first 20-25 issues I believe.
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However, I'm not sure I agree with your assessment that Moore's stuff was just his own sci-fi stories, with the SW characters thrown in to make it fit. I think they're more Star Wars-y than that. In fact, just this morning, while writing my review of Star Wars #35 (see 
