Hibernia Comics to represent Doomlord origin story

By John Freeman on August 13, 2025

Doomlord is on the way! After a few tantalising hints, Hibernia Comics has announced they will be reprinting the first very Doomlord photostory from the 1980s Eagle weekly.

*Eagle Issue 2 cover dated 3rd April 1982, featuring, probably, Mike White as Doomlord and Fleetway staffers Barrie Tomlinson, Doug Church and Kelvin Gosnell facing his wrath*

“We are looking at summer 2026 for publication,” publisher David McDonald says. “It will also include a piece on the creation and impact of Doomlord and an intro by Eagle editor, David Hunt.

“If it’s successful, we are hoping to continue and reprint all of the Doomlord photostories.”

“The photo stories attracted much criticism at the time, but, as the title’s Editor, I considered it a gamble worth taking in a push to make the New Eagle different from other comics,” David Hunt has noted. “Because of the excellent writing, I think ‘Doomlord’ worked extremely well and was very popular with the readership.”

Hibernia has a long association with Doomlord, the creation of Alan Grant and John Wagner, who made his debut in the first issue of the 1980s iteration of EAGLE. The death dealing alien assassin fast became the comic’s most popular strips, and The Deathords of Nox was the specialist publisher’s first collection, 20 years ago.

Doomlord: The Deathlords of Nox by John Wagner and Alan Grant

“When I published the Doomlord Deathlords of Nox collection, I did consider starting with the photostrips rather that the drawn episodes, but at the time they very difficult to restore to a condition that would be suitable for publication,” David notes. Technology has moved significantly on, so that situation has changed.

*Eagle, cover dated 14th August 1982, which saw the welcome return of Doomlord*

A coloured unaltered picture of Doomlord in the 1990 Eagle Holiday Special. The actor can plainly be seen under the mask and the image itself is an unused one from the penultimate episode of Doomlord 3, from Eagle cover dated 25th June 1983. “Presumably the photographer Gary Compton would have taken many shots, and the editor would have then used the most appropriate for the script,” David McDonald notes. “Is there a stack of colour Doomlord images sitting in a drawer out there somewhere? Only time will tell!”

A page from “Doomlord” from an issue of Eagle published in May 1982. Doctor Who supporting artist Mike Mungarven faces death from Doomlord, and top right in the tie is Tom Kelly, who appeared in the train station story of the TV series Sapphire and Steel (spotted by TV archivist David Brunt)

*Doomlord poster by ‘Heinzl’ from Eagle cover dated 25th February 1984. Later reused as a cover to the Best of Eagle monthly*

Copies of Hibernia’s original Doomlord collection, The Deathlords of Nox, are still available along with lots of other great titles such as “The Running Man”, from Action, and the superb feature book, The Editors Cut, packed with interviews and articles and featuring an amazing Mick McMahon cover.

These comics are only available exclusively from comicsy.co.uk

More downthetubes Doomlord goodness…

Doomlord on location... — *Doomlord on location…*

• Behind the Scenes on Eagle: Secrets of Doomlord Revealed

When Eagle was revived in the 1980s, it initially featured a number of fumetti-style photo strips, and “Doomlord” was the most popular of them all. Almost 40 years on, it’s still fondly remembered – but who played the characters who featured in the strip – and where might you find Doomlord’s mask today, if at all?

• Behind the Scenes of Eagle comic – An Interview with Dan Dare and Doomlord FX designer, Julian Baum

• The Mask of Exterminus looks vaguely familiar… and is a music career in the works for a former Servant of Nox?

• Celebrating 20 Years of Hibernia Comics

Publisher David McDonald reflects on 20 years of plundering comic archives!

• Crowdfunding Spotlight: The Chefs of Death, a daft homage to Eagle’s Doomlord

A cleverly made “trailer” for sadly fake “Doomlord” TV pilot

About the Author
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John Freeman

John is the founder of downthetubes, launched in 1998. He is a comics and magazine editor, writer, and Press Officer for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He also runs Crucible Comic Press.

Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine and Overkill for Marvel UK, Babylon 5 Magazine, Star Trek Magazine, and its successor, Star Trek Explorer, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics; and has edited several comic collections and graphic novels, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”, and Hancock: The Lad Himself, by Stephen Walsh and Keith Page.

He’s the writer of comics such as Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs”, with Dave Hailwood.