Over on the Facebook Make Mine Marvel UK group, former editor, ever a writer and now frequent raconteur Tim Quinn has been posting some fantastic photographs and artwork rescued during the dying days of the company that brought titles such as Captain Britain, The Real Ghostbusters, Death’s Head, Death’s Head II and Overkill into the world – including these early images of work in progress on the Death’s Head II costume, created for publicity purposes at his request back in the 1990s.
The project was just one of many publicity ideas Tim came up with for Marvel UK, with the final costume featuring in several comics and at PR events on both sides of the Atlantic, including the London Lord Mayor’s Show in 1993. On occasion, Marvel’s heroes also rubbed shoulders with the likes of Alice Cooper and Brian May.
“I forgot the name of the guy I got to do this for Marvel but he had worked on the early Nineties Bat movies,” Tim, who now tours the UK with his own show about the wacky world of comics, recalls of the Death’s Head costime. “… the costume maker offered to also make a Tuck costume, for a little extra.”
“I remember being so excited to see this…” commented Liam Sharp, who drew the early issues of Death’s Head II.
“US Customs snapped off one of the horns when it was shipped out to the 1992 San Diego Comic Con… they thought it might contain drugs! It was also the best costume on the Marvel stand at that time.
In 1994, Marvel UK was absorbed by Panini, senior staff decided dumping ‘stuff’ lying about Arundel House – Marvel UK’s London headquarters – was favourable to transferring it to Panini UK’s Tunbridge Wells offices. Several editors salvaged said stuff (or, in Tim’s words, “curated” it), rather than see the projects they’d worked on destroyed forever. Not being there at the time, we’re guessing that this was not a happy period for many of them as they saw Marvel UK go down in flames.
But before those grim days, there were great times had at the company, under various reigns of management, for all the frustrations of day to day decision making that on occasion seemed quite bonkers, often the result of Marvel US decision making.
“I don’t think I really appreciated how incredible it all was,” says Liam of Marvel UK, which will be celebrated at London Film and Comic Con on Saturday 5th October. “Death’s Head II issue one had half a million sales!”
• London Film and Comic Con will celebrate Marvel UK on Saturday 5th October with a panel that includes Steve White, Andy Lanning, Alan Cowsill, Dan Abnett and John Freeman, with more names to come: www.londonfilmandcomiccon.com/winter
• Read our Marvel UK’s “Genesis ’92″: Looking Back and What Might Have Been feature
• Tim Quinn’s Official Web Site
- About the Author
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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, Classic British Comics, downthetubes Comics News, downthetubes News, Featured News
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