Coming from the Treasury of British Comics next May is a collection of “Maroc the Mighty” strips centred on a medieval superhero drawn by Don Lawrence, collected from the weekly adventure comic, Lion.
Rebellion is offering a webshop hardback exclusive edition of the 96-page collection, alongside the paperback edition released available to order from all good book and comic shops.
Originally serialised in Lion, “Maroc the Mighty” is a action-packed adventure story about a thirteenth century superhero. A knight fighting in The Crusades, John Maroc comes into possession of the ‘The Hand of Zar’ – a magic amulet which grants its wearer superhuman strength, but only when bathed in the sun’s rays.
This medieval superhero strip was published in Lion between Lawrence’s work on “Karl the Viking“, previously collected by Rebellion, and his beautifully-painted work on the series “The Rise and Fall of the Trigan Empire“.
Published in Lion between October 1964 and June 1966, some of the scripts for “Maroc the Mighty” are credited to legendary fantasy author Michael Moorcock, but not the three stories featured in the collection: “The Hand Of Zar“, “The Red Knights of Morda” and a shorter story, untitled in Lion itself but identified abroad as “The Minimas Versus The Gigantos“.
After Lawrence moved to Ranger, to draw “The Rise and Fall of the Trigan Empire“, he was replaced on “Maroc” by other artists, including, apparently, Lion regular Geoff Campion. These later stories, including those featured in Lion annuals, are not included in this collection.
The Don Lawrence-drawn stories were reprinted in Lion in the early 1970s, and published widely in Europe, including titles such as Stripoteka, Panorama, Plavi Vjesnik and Strane in the states then making up Yugoslavia.
• Maroc the Mighty | Art by Don Lawrence | Release Date: Scheduled for Wednesday 21st May 2025 | Paperback | 96 Pages ISBN: 978-1837865178
• Preorder now from AmazonUK (Affiliate Link) | Webshop Hardback Exclusive Cover Available
Web Links
• Dark Worlds Quarterly: British Fantasy Comics (1955-1984)
• Michael Moorcock Official Site: michaelmoorcock.net
• Michael Moorcock: A Checklist of his Early Work
This news item was updated to note Michael Moorcock did not write the “Maroc” stories in this collection
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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.
Categories: British Comics, British Comics - Collections, Comic Previews, Comics, downthetubes Comics News, downthetubes News
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