| Warrior | |
|---|---|
 Warrior #1 (March 1982), featuring an image ofAxel Pressbutton bySteve Dillon. | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Quality Communications |
| Schedule | Monthly |
| Format | Ongoing series |
| Genre | |
| Publication date | March 1982 – January 1985 |
| No. of issues | 26 |
| Creative team | |
| Created by | Dez Skinn |
| Written by | Alan Moore Steve Parkhouse Steve Moore[Note 1] Paul Neary |
| Artist(s) | Garry Leach David Lloyd Steve Dillon John Bolton Paul Neary Mick Austin |
| Editor | Dez Skinn |
Warrior was a Britishcomics anthology that ran for 26 issues between March 1982 and January 1985. It was edited byDez Skinn and published by his companyQuality Communications. It featured early work by numerous figures who would go on to successful careers in the industry, includingAlan Moore,Alan Davis,David Lloyd,Steve Dillon, andGrant Morrison; it also included contributions by the likes ofBrian Bolland andJohn Bolton, while many of the magazine's painted covers were byMick Austin.
The titleWarrior was recycled from a short-livedfanzine Skinn had once edited/published; in 1974-1975, he had produced six issues ofWarrior: Heroic Tales Of Swords and Sorcery. The fanzine featured reprints and new strips, art, and writing from such creators asSteve Parkhouse,Dave Gibbons (who designed the logo),Michael Moorcock,Frank Bellamy,Don Lawrence, andBarry Windsor-Smith.[1]
Following the success ofHouse of Hammer andStarburst, Skinn was head-hunted byStan Lee ofMarvel Comics to take over the company's ailingBritish division.[2] There, his work included creating the well-receivedanthologyHulk Comic, which mixed reprints of extant American material and work sourced from the burgeoning British comics scene, much of it drawn from Skinn's contacts in both the industry and fanzines. In 1980, Skinn left Marvel UK[3] – later explaining that he felt the demands on the wing's output had reduced it from making "quality material" to "quantity material".[4] In response he set up Quality Communications, planning to follow the same successful template with a creator-owned ethos.[5] He revived the name of the 70s fanzine for the project:
"Warrior seemed an obvious choice nobody else had picked up on — both times! It fit perfectly as a newsstand logo".[6]
The contents ofWarrior deliberately mimicked the successful elements from his work for other publishers -Marvelman was planned to emulate the revival ofCaptain Britain in theHulk Weekly'sBlack Knight strip,V for Vendetta traded on similar motifs toNight Raven,Axel Pressbutton had a similar theme toAbslom Daak fromDoctor Who Monthly andFather Shandor fitted the sword-and-sorcery profile ofConan the Barbarian.[5] Skinn recruited many of the writers and artists he had previously worked with at Marvel, includingSteve Moore, Gibbons,Steve Dillon,Steve Parkhouse andDavid Lloyd, adding established creators like Bolland and Bolton, as well as emerging young talent such asAlan Moore andGarry Leach. Leach would subsequently be assigned as the magazine's art director.[7][5]
Part of the attraction for the creative staff wasWarrior's unusual payment model. While page rates for the initial work were lower than those offered by rivalsIPC Magazines,DC Thomson, and Marvel UK, the creators of each strip would receive a share in their output'sownership and increased royalties for reprints, instead of the normal industry practice ofwork-for-hire. Skinn hoped to follow the example of the French anthologyMétal hurlant, with the various strips both syndicated overseas and, as each reached enough material, in collected albums.[5]
The 52-page magazine had colour front and back covers (the latter usually carrying advertising, but occasionally containing a 'clean' version of the front cover) but was otherwise in black-and-white; initially it was priced at 50p. The first issue was dated March 1982, with Skinn's editorial noting work had begun in April 1981, but the creators had been encouraged to work at getting the first issue "right" rather than working towards a deadline.[8] The issue included a two-page article introducing the creators behind the magazine.[9] Both the editorial-cum-contents page and Skinn's replies to readers' letters would adopt a similarly candid approach, giving a generally unvarnished look at the magazine's frequent production problems. Letters page 'Dispatches' would print both positive and negative missives, with the latter often being upbraided by Skinn or other members of the creative team.[10][11][12]
A Summer Special was planned in 1982 to be a separate special edition alongside the regular issues, featuring self-contained stories.[13] However, various production issues saw some of the planned material merged into various regular issues ofWarrior instead;[14] in 2007, Skinn would attribute this to himself getting excited and overextending. Repurposed material included the cover for #4 – which bore the text 'Summer Special' instead of a date. As a result, both Big Ben[15] and Raiko fromDemon at the Gates of Dawn were featured in the illustration but not in the magazine's content, causing some confusion to readers.[14] The Summer Special also bequeathedThe Golden Amazon, theV for Vendetta strip "Vertigo" and the two-pageMadman strip "ChronoCycle Mk.1" toWarrior #5. The magazine would fluctuate between monthly and bi-monthly, which Skinn would state was in response to the industry slowing down in the winter.[16]
In late 1983, the magazine had a print run of around 30,000 copies.[17]Warrior #15 saw the first of the 'Sweatshop Talk' articles featuring interviews with creators – beginning with Steve Moore being 'interviewed' by his pseudonym Pedro Henry; the pair being one and the same was something of an open secret at the time.[18] Later issues saw 'Henry' interview Skinn,[19] Alan Moore,[20] Leach[21] and Austin.[22]
Skinn wanted the material inWarrior toshare a fictional universe, with connections between the strips to be gradually developed, with the various heroes eventually forming aJustice League-style super-team tentatively called Challenger Force. Marvelman, Warpsmith/Aza Chorn, Big Ben and a new character called Firedrake were among the mooted members.[5] As part of the plans for the book, Alan Moore and Steve Moore sketched a far-reaching chronology tying together some of the events fromMarvelman,V for Vendetta,Warpsmith andAxel Pressbutton. Due to being potentially irreconcilable due to their relatively close time periods,V for Vendetta was designated as taking place in an alternate universe whereMarvelman had never returned;[23] Skinn would joke that V was killed byKid Marvelman early in his life in the 'regular' universe.[5] Fate, the computer fromV for Vendetta, was posited as an invention of Marvelman Family creatorEmil Gargunza.[23] The Marvelman strip "The Yesterday Gambit" was set three years in the universe's future, featuring the title character teaming up with 'Warpsmith' to battle Kid Marvelman, with a call-out for the mysterious Firedrake and "the others". Otherwise few of these connections reached print before the title was cancelled, and neither the completed V for Vendetta nor the ongoing Miracleman showed any sign of being connected. However Moore did incorporate the Warpsmiths inMiracleman, making several references to "The Yesterday Gambit". A draft of the timeline was printed inGeorge Khoury'sKimota! The Miracleman Companion in 2001.[23]
A second attempt at more strongly connected series of strips was planned in 1985, with stripsBig Ben,The Liberators,The Project Files andWardroid planned to all be connected to a mysterious foundation called The Project.[24] However, onlyBig Ben andThe Liberators would reach publication before the magazine's cancellation.
The high level of creator control led to problems; issues began to turn up late when contributors missed deadlines and fill-in artists could not be commissioned, as the originating artists owned the properties.[5]Laser Eraser and Pressbutton stalled when Skinn lost contact with Dillon; material intended forWarrior #16 was replaced by a reprint of one of Pressbutton's appearances fromSounds, and then a one-off war strip by Parkhouse and John Ridgway. Tensions were also growing among the creative staff, with those behind the magazine's more popular features feeling the division of spoils was unfair as they were carrying the less popular features. This was exacerbated by the general lack of spoils themselves; despite acclaimWarrior was losing money, being propped up by the takings of Skinn's Quality Comics store.[5][25] Deadlines were also a problem, as the difficulty in using fill-in artists meant one strip being late could knock a whole issue off schedule.[16] Further problems arose when creative staff began receiving offers from American publishers and had less time to contribute toWarrior, slowing or curtailing storylines.
Marvelman became something of a nexus in the problems surrounding the title. Firstly Alan Moore and artist Alan Davis fell out over an unrelated matter, involving their parallel work on Marvel's Captain Britain, and refused to allow anyone else to continue the story - vetoing a mooted continuation byGrant Morrison.[5] Secondly, Alan Moore's relationship with Skinn deteriorated; a key point of the dispute was a growing suspicion that the editor had not correctly licensed the character in contrary to what he had told the writer. Thirdly, the publishing of a one-offMarvelman Special in July 1984 had drawn legal action for trademark infringement from Marvel Comics; while the strip had already stalled this made potential syndication partners wary as Skinn was attempting to find a package deal for entirety ofWarrior's contents.[5] FromWarrior #25, the magazine briefly expanded when fellow Quality magazineHalls of Horror was merged into the title.[26]
Publicly, Skinn railed against Marvel and their legal tactics, even going as far as printing his correspondence with the rival publisher's British legal representatives in columns inWarrior while implying that the action was preventing the continuation of Marvelman. However, before the matter could go to court or the creative impasse could be resolvedWarrior's losses finally became too much for Skinn. After 26 issues he shuttered the title, and would later estimate that its run had cost him between $36-40,000 in losses. He would later state the loss of Marvelman played no role in the cancellation.[5] As well as the planned 'Project' stories, other victims of the cancellation included Leach superhero stripPower, Steve Moore andJim Baikie'sClaustrophobia andGrysdyke Dean, which was a submission by readers Paul Alexander and Mike Nicholson.[24]
Instead Skinn focused on attempting to sell the reprint rights for the lucrative American market. After some unsuccessful negotiations, Alan Moore and David Lloyd broke ranks to make their own deal with DC Comics, while Skinn and Mike Friedrich of Star*Reach brokered a deal with Pacific Comics for the remainder. Before anything could be published the Pacific folded and its assets were purchased by Eclipse Comics.[5] Eclipse would publish series based on Marvelman (renamedMiracleman) and Pressbutton but would go bankrupt themselves in 1994.Warrior Marvelman and Warpsmith material has since been reprinted in updated form in Marvel's 2014Miracleman series.[27]
Created byAlan Moore andDavid Lloyd. A masked vigilante battles a fascist British government in an alternate 1997. Episodes of the serial appeared in all but one issue ofWarrior, only missing #17.[16] Following the demise ofWarrior, the story was picked up byDC Comics, who eventually published the material and its continuation in a ten-issue 1988 limited series.
A revival of theMick Anglo-createdGolden Age British superheroesMarvelman,Young Marvelman andKid Marvelman. The strip was written by Alan Moore and initially drawn byGarry Leach before he handed over toAlan Davis. Marvelman featured in #1-11, #15-16, #18 and #20-21; related flashback strips drawn byJohn Ridgway appeared in #12 (Young Marvelman) and #17 (Marvelman Family). The story was later renamedMiracleman in 1985 when it was published byEclipse Comics, and would continue until 1993 when the American company folded. Following a long hiatus while copyright issues were resolved, the series returned to publication under the auspices ofMarvel Comics in 2014.
Sociopathic cyborg assassin Axel Pressbutton had been created by Steve Moore and Alan Moore (under the pseudonyms Pedro Henry and Curt Vile, respectively) for music magazineDark Star in 1979, and subsequently appeared in the more-widely readSounds from 1980. For the character's appearances inWarrior, Skinn requested the creation of a female co-star and Axel was joined by the Laser Eraser Mysta Mystralis. The strip appeared inWarrior #1-12 and #15-16 with 'Henry' writing andSteve Dillon drawing most of it;David Jackson andMick Austin would also provide art for some episodes. However, after a reprint of aSounds strip in #17, Skinn's editorial claimed the artist had "disappeared" with the artwork for the title. The story would return in #21 and appear again in #24-25, now drawn by Alan Davis.[16] TheWarrior strips would be reprinted by Eclipse in the limited seriesAxel Pressbutton in 1984,[28] after which the American publisher would run new material, first inLaser Eraser and Pressbutton[29] and then as a backup feature inMiracleman.
The adventures of a medievalTransylvanianmonk turned demon hunter. The character had actually debuted in the 1966Hammer horror filmDracula: Prince of Darkness, played byAndrew Keir (the film's credits referred to the character as 'Sandor'). The comic version had been created bySteve Moore forHouse of Hammer and was continued inWarrior; issues #1–3 reprinted material fromHouse of Hammer #8, #16, and #21; the rest were original toWarrior. While the initial reprints featured artwork by Bolton the new material was drawn by Jackson. It was one of the most consistent features of the magazine with either Father Shandor or spin-off Jaramsheela (featuring a demonic succubus enemy of the priest) appearing in #1-10, #13-19, #21 and #23-25.[16]
Afantasysword and sorcery strip bySteve Parkhouse and Bolton,[citation needed] concerning the travails of Caed and his friend's daughter Bethbara in the land of Tairngir. It appeared in #1-2 & #4-12[16] butWarrior ended before a second arc could begin. The completed material was later repackaged as a two-issue 'micro-series' by Eclipse Comics, which was nominatedfor 'Best Limited Series' at the 1986Kirby Awards.[30] The story teased a possible continuation, with the title given asThe Silver Circle, but this never materialized.
A retelling of the story of thelegendary Christian king (and not to be confused with theMarvel Comicscharacter of the same name) by Steve Parkhouse and John Bolton. While the strip appeared inWarrior #1 it then disappeared until #11, due to what Skinn's editorial called a "catalogue of ill-luck"; the story was now drawn byJohn Stokes. However, after #12 it would again disappear for good.[16]
Created, written and initially drawn byPaul Neary. The story concerned the mental journey of Martin Schiller, a catatonic mental patient. The strip debuted inWarrior #2 and ran in #3-5 & #7.[16] As Neary's workload at Marvel UK increased Austin took over art duties from #5.[14] After the planned conclusion failed to arrive for publication inWarrior #8 it was simply abandoned - Skinn would later say Neary "went off the radar in the West Country".[16]
The magazine's ersatz mascot, sweaty, amorous blob Zirk was spun off fromLaser Eraser and Pressbutton. The Sultan of Slime received his own solo strip inWarrior #3, written by Steve Moore (under his Pedro Henry pseudonym) and drawn byBrian Bolland. Another appeared in #13, with art from Leach.[16]
A science fiction story written by Alan Moore and drawn by Garry Leach concerning the Warpsmiths, a highly advanced race of aliens with the ability to teleport instantaneously. They are locked in a cold war with the Qys Imperium. The characters featured strongly in the mooted chronology of the magazine, first posing as allies of Earth before gradually colonising the world.[23] However, after one - later revealed to be Aza Chorn, but initially only named Warpsmith - appeared as a guest character in "The Yesterday Gambit", only two episodes (inWarrior #9-10),[31] of their own story would be published beforeWarrior was cancelled. These would subsequently be reprinted as back-up material in Eclipse'sAxel Pressbutton series before the characters themselves were folded intoMiracleman from 1987. Another story, "Ghostdance", was scripted but did not reach publication beforeWarrior folded in 1985.[7][32] "Cold War, Cold Warrior" was subsequently coloured by Leach and reprinted by Eclipse in the second issue of theirAxel Pressbutton series.
Marvel Comics reprintedMiracleman from 2014 onwards, including theWarpsmith strips.[27] As of 2025[update] the Warpsmiths still feature in the continuingMiracleman storyline, now written byNeil Gaiman.
An absurdist black comedy by Alan Moore and Steve Parkhouse about the eccentric, monstrous Bojefferies family fromNorthampton (Moore's home town) and their bizarre antics. Only four episodes ran inWarrior (in #12-13 & #19-20).[16] The series was later continued in the anthologiesDalgoda andA1.
Set on a dystopian future Earth, where the little life remaining on the planet is threatened by Castle Core, the planet's faulty defence system. Jay Verlane and the alien Fylar set out to destroy it. Written by Steve Moore and drawn byJim Baikie, the story ran in #14-17.[16] It was later reprinted in colour as back-up material in Eclipse'sLaser Eraser and Pressbutton.
Science fiction fantasy set on the planet Naglfar, by Steve Moore andCam Kennedy. The strip bore one of the few explicit shared connections in the magazine - Mysta Mystralis was cloned from cell tissue of the title character, effectively makingEktryn aLaser Eraser and Pressbuttonprequel. The strip appeared inWarrior #14 and #25.[16]
Future-set private eye story written byAntonio Segura and drawn byLeopoldo Sánchez, imported fromSpain and translated into English forWarrior by Skinn, appearing in #22-23 & #26.[16] Not to be confused with Antonio Ghura's 1975 British underground comix volumeBogey.
Originally created by Dez Skinn and artistIan Gibson[15] as a possible addition toHouse of Hammer, the existence of a completed unpublished story with the character led to the editor requesting Big Ben be included inMarvelman. This allowed the strip to be printed in theMarvelman Special (where Skinn was credited as Edgar Henry).Rich Johnston has speculated that Marvel UK'sThe Thing is Big Ben, starringBen Grimm ofFantastic Four fame, was intended to prevent Skinn using Big Ben as a title character.[15] Later, new material featuring the character was created forWarrior by Skinn (now credited under his real name); Leach was initially announced as artist[33] but insteadWill Simpson would draw the strip. This posited that - contrary to the depiction inMarvelman and later minor appearances inMiracleman - Big Ben was a shape-shifting alien that had taken on the guise of Lord Benjamin Charterhouse Fortescue. As Big Ben, Fortescue fought crime from a headquarters in the Westminster clock tower, which he accessed via a secret lift in the House of Lords, with the assistance of valet Fosdyke and assistant Tanya. These strips appeared inWarrior #19-26;[16] another completed before the cancellation was later included in the "Spring Special" edition ofComics International, and has been subsequently used in Marvel Comics' revival ofMiracleman.[15]
A group of rebels fights the alien Metamorphs in the post-apocalyptic London of 2470; the strip was one of the few to feature clear connections to others in the magazine, with concepts related toBig Ben. The first story was printed inWarrior #22, written by Skinn and drawn by Ridgway.[16] The first of a two-part prequel written byGrant Morrison (some of his earliest professional work) then appeared in #26; due to Warrior's cancellation the second instalment wouldn't be printed until the 1996 'Spring Special'.
Whimsical comedy story, in which the title character escapes his mundane everyday life by indulging in fantasy. Written byCarlos Trillo with art byHoracio Altuna, the story was another imported from Spain, and appeared inWarrior #25-26.[16]
Warrior was a critical rather than commercial hit.[5] It obtained considerable success at theEagle Awards; in 1984 it won 'Favourite Comic (UK)' and 'Favourite Comic Cover (UK)' for Mick Austen's work onWarrior #7, whileMarvelman, its lead characters and writer Alan Moore were also honoured.[34] The following year it retained the 'Favourite Comic (UK)' award.[35]
As well as syndication rights, Skinn and Friedrich also arranged for unsold issues ofWarrior to be shipped and sold in America;[36] inWarrior #5's 'Dispatches' Skinn claimed the US market accounted for 25% of the magazine's sales.[37] While large-format black-and-white magazines were falling out of fashion and the exportedWarrior issues only reached speciality stores it drew some influential readers. Skinn would later attribute Alan Moore's selection as writer forSaga of the Swamp Thing - a key factor in the so-calledBritish Invasion - toDick Giordano andLen Wein beingWarrior readers.[16]
Letters page 'Dispatches' meanwhile would attract letters from established industry figures including then-2000 AD editorSteve MacManus[37]Martin Lock[38]Bill Black[39]andMarv Wolfman,[40] as well as future comics figuresKevin O'Neill,[41] Bambos Georgiou,[41][38][42][17]Warren Ellis,[43][33]Lew Stringer,[37]Roger Broughton,[44]Rik Levins[11] andRichard Starkings.[12]
Lew Stringer acclaimedWarrior, stating thatWarrior as a whole showed that British comics didn't have to always pander to kids or be restricted to the old ways of storytelling".[45]Comicon.com note the magazine was "incredible, it set the mold for so much of what would come later, and it's a slightly lost portion of UK comics".[46]
Musing onWarrior in a 2017 interview, Skinn surmised: "So did the experiment work? Not for the publisher, no. At least not financially. But it did provide a brilliant showcase for creators not shackled by tradition".[47]
After Quality Communications took overFleetway's overseas licence fromEagle Comics, Skinn announced a new 48-page colour version ofWarrior for 1986.[48][30] However, the title would not be released.
Alan Moore went on to complete bothV for Vendetta and his planned storyline forMarvelman (asMiracleman) working for American publishers. Both have received considerable commercial and critical acclaim;V for Vendetta wasadapted for cinema in 2005 and David Lloyd's art inspired thehacktivist groupAnonymous, whileMiracleman has been continued byNeil Gaiman.Laser Eraser and Pressbutton andThe Spiral Path were also exported via Eclipse Comics.
SeveralWarrior characters were revived for the 1989 anthologyA1, published by Leach'sAtomeka Press. This included "Ghostdance", a previously-unfinished Alan Moore-writtenWarpsmith story.[7] A "Spring Special"flip book 'issue' ofWarrior was published in #67 of Skinn'sComics International in 1996, featuring previously completed but unpublishedBig Ben andLiberators strips.
In 2018, Skinn produced a limited editionfacsimile ofWarrior's original dummy issue.[49][50]
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