Post by Silver Age Fan on Aug 12, 2011 20:02:56 GMT
This thread is going to be a modest attempt at giving information on what DC comics were published in the UK from 1988 until 1994.
Before you read on, this thread is being posted from memory. I will use the words *think* if I am not in full possession of the facts or unsure of dates, etc. The thing is, there seems to be virtually no websites out there devoted to DC's UK output.
Also, for the sake of my sanity (and memory!), I will be starting from 1988, to go back further would have me in a padded room before too long.
Any inaccuracies/errors, please point out. From 1988, the DC titles were published by London Editions Magazines/Fleetway, both Egmont companies, I believe.
SUPERMAN
Initially, LEM reprinted John Byrne's 1986 mini-series The Man of Steel before moving on. Around the 20th issue (could be earlier or later), it became a monthly title. The back-up strips were Green Lantern and Justice League of America. There were also magazine-style articles about Kryptonite, the Superman radio show, etc.
At some point, the Green Lantern strip was dropped and it was just Superman and Justice League International. Around 1991/92, the title became bimonthly. A merger with the UK Batman title would happen sooner or later, but best to look at Batman's UK output first.
Batman Monthly
This title debuted after the Superman one. Obviously, it was monthly (as the title tells you). There were two Batman strips in each issue, from the 70s. Around the 20th issue (could have been earlier), they started reprinting 80s Batman tales.
There were a few revamps of the Superman and Batman titles in the early 90s and my memory can't recall the exact details. All I can recall that around 1993/94, there was a Superman/Batman title, reprinting the Batman Knightfall story and The Death of Superman arc. That title ended in 1994, ending a six-year run for Superman/Batman titles in the UK.
During LEM/Fleetway's 1988-1994 tenure, many specials were published, such as some devoted to The Joker, Catwoman, etc.
DC Action
At a guess, this title debuted in the spring of 1990. It featured The New Teen Titans, Animal Man and an origins tale (for The Creeper). I don't think it ran for more than six issues.
Zones
This title was devoted to darker DC input such as Swamp Thing and The Shadow. This may have lasted less than six issues.
Heroes
This made it's debut around late 1990/early 1991. It was devoted to pre-Crisis on Infinite Earths stories and had fact files in each issue. I can recall it reprinting The Legion of Super-Heroes and The Brave and The Bold stories, including one where Batman and The Flash 'traded' villains, Batman taking on The Rainbow Raider, The Flash taking on Doctor Double X.
This title lasted around eight or nine issues. It also reprinted Blue Devil, an underrated series if ever there was one.
One thing all these titles had in common was the passion behind them, a passion I find lacking in Titan's DC titles over the last four or five years. I had a conversation with one of the editors once - a man called Brian M. Clarke - and we chatted for a while. It's clear to me the passion he had for the titles he edited.
I always found Marvel more avuncular and less formal than DC. However, from 1988 until 1994, DC's UK titles were avuncular and just as friendly as we'd come to expect from Marvel.
Before you read on, this thread is being posted from memory. I will use the words *think* if I am not in full possession of the facts or unsure of dates, etc. The thing is, there seems to be virtually no websites out there devoted to DC's UK output.
Also, for the sake of my sanity (and memory!), I will be starting from 1988, to go back further would have me in a padded room before too long.
Any inaccuracies/errors, please point out. From 1988, the DC titles were published by London Editions Magazines/Fleetway, both Egmont companies, I believe.
SUPERMAN
Initially, LEM reprinted John Byrne's 1986 mini-series The Man of Steel before moving on. Around the 20th issue (could be earlier or later), it became a monthly title. The back-up strips were Green Lantern and Justice League of America. There were also magazine-style articles about Kryptonite, the Superman radio show, etc.
At some point, the Green Lantern strip was dropped and it was just Superman and Justice League International. Around 1991/92, the title became bimonthly. A merger with the UK Batman title would happen sooner or later, but best to look at Batman's UK output first.
Batman Monthly
This title debuted after the Superman one. Obviously, it was monthly (as the title tells you). There were two Batman strips in each issue, from the 70s. Around the 20th issue (could have been earlier), they started reprinting 80s Batman tales.
There were a few revamps of the Superman and Batman titles in the early 90s and my memory can't recall the exact details. All I can recall that around 1993/94, there was a Superman/Batman title, reprinting the Batman Knightfall story and The Death of Superman arc. That title ended in 1994, ending a six-year run for Superman/Batman titles in the UK.
During LEM/Fleetway's 1988-1994 tenure, many specials were published, such as some devoted to The Joker, Catwoman, etc.
DC Action
At a guess, this title debuted in the spring of 1990. It featured The New Teen Titans, Animal Man and an origins tale (for The Creeper). I don't think it ran for more than six issues.
Zones
This title was devoted to darker DC input such as Swamp Thing and The Shadow. This may have lasted less than six issues.
Heroes
This made it's debut around late 1990/early 1991. It was devoted to pre-Crisis on Infinite Earths stories and had fact files in each issue. I can recall it reprinting The Legion of Super-Heroes and The Brave and The Bold stories, including one where Batman and The Flash 'traded' villains, Batman taking on The Rainbow Raider, The Flash taking on Doctor Double X.
This title lasted around eight or nine issues. It also reprinted Blue Devil, an underrated series if ever there was one.
One thing all these titles had in common was the passion behind them, a passion I find lacking in Titan's DC titles over the last four or five years. I had a conversation with one of the editors once - a man called Brian M. Clarke - and we chatted for a while. It's clear to me the passion he had for the titles he edited.
I always found Marvel more avuncular and less formal than DC. However, from 1988 until 1994, DC's UK titles were avuncular and just as friendly as we'd come to expect from Marvel.