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Comic Reviews, Death's Head

DEATH’S HEAD 2: KiLLER COMEDY

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Well this is a turn up for the books, isn’t it? Previously guest starring in Dragon’s Claws #5 and being reconstructed beneath The ‘Pool of Greater Britain in 8162, where he’d been exiled by The Doctor when he bumped into him in the corridors of time, after disappearing from The Planet of Junk in 2007 where he helped the Autobots defeat the Chaos Bringer god Unicron (do keep up), ol’ Death’s Head is now the one welcoming the special guest stars to his own comic

You see, he’s been rebuilt by a Game team looking for revenge on Scavenger of Dragon’s Claws and as always business comes first, so up he pops in as characteristic a manner as ever. First though, don’t forget to subscribe to 12 issues of the comic that would only last for ten. Obviously Marvel UK had much bigger plans for their smaller US-sized comics. A sad reminder of that to kick things off with.

Alongside writer Simon Furman, penciller Bryan Hitch, letterer Annie Halfacree, colourist Nick Abadzis and editor Richard Starkings comes inker Dave Hine (Spawn, The Joker’s Asylum, Will Eisner’s The Spirit), who brings a completely different feel to proceedings, especially to any human characters who seem to emote more and have a rougher, harder edge to them. I approve. I still much prefer the original design of Death’s Head from Transformers though.

So the Freelance Peace-Keeping Agent has been sent to round up Scavenger rather than kill him, and deliver him to the Game team. The first half-dozen pages consist of their back and forth battle involving anything that comes to hand for Scavenger, including Scratch the dog! As ever, Death’s Head keeps his cool and even has time for the occasional quip before he finally overcomes his target.

When the rest of the team show up Dragon spots an “old friend” and they recover Scratch who leads them out into the wastelands towards the Chaney Maximum Security Prison, where criminals the World Development Council wanted to forget were sent. So forgotten were they that when an earthquake destroyed the prison the authorities didn’t attempt any rescue and just assumed all of those within had perished. They were wrong.

At this point we get a little insight into the past of Dragon and Scavenger, specifically how they first met. This was exciting to begin with for me as Scavenger is a favourite character and one I’d like to know more about, but I didn’t think we’d get the chance given the comic’s short lifespan. In the end though it’s pretty inconsequential, Dragon having his life saved seven years previous at the last moment by a silent Game player who disappeared just as quickly afterwards, Dragon vowing inwardly he’d recruit the stranger to the Claws next time they met.

Still, it’s interesting to have a flashback for these characters in this comic instead of their own. Death’s Head finds himself conflicted at this point. The Chain Gang had become agoraphobic from living underground for so long and they’d used Scavenger, a relatively new prisoner at the time, as their gopher to go and fetch food and supplies, tying an explosive device to his leg so he’d have to return. Eventually earning their trust, as soon as they removed the device Scavenger had legged it, and now the team has reconstructed the galaxy’s greatest bounty hunter (their words!) to recapture he who had betrayed them.

Death’s Head knows he’d have done exactly the same thing in Scavenger’s case, but money is money and a contract is a contract. However, such distaste does he have for this situation he’s set a timer counting down to the very second said contract expires. It’s at this point, while he’s lamenting his situation, that he meets the technical whizz who recreated him from his scrap parts, and co-star of the strip advert for the comic, Spratt.

Of course we know from the marketing that Spratt will end up working with Death’s Head so it’s interesting to see how this relationship starts. Spratt is basically brushed aside, despite his obvious intelligence and technical abilities. The “eyes on the back of my head” line will come back to haunt our anti-hero before this issue is over, but at this point in the story there’s no indication of how they’ll end up together. I like the build up.

Scavenger’s teammates then turn up and basically all hell breaks loose. As you’d expect, really. But that doesn’t mean the humour has been forgotten about, not even for one page, as Steel finds out in a rather painful way. With the clock counting down on his wrist, Death’s Head even surprises himself with what he’s thinking while he fights.

He finds himself respecting Dragon, something that simply hasn’t happened with a human before. Not that he takes it easy on him of course. Nope, he’s still under contract for another nine seconds and will continue to fight just as hard until that time runs out. Meanwhile, the leader of The Chain Gang, Fox, chases Scavenger through the crumbling prison. However, his wish to kill clouds his judgement and he doesn’t realise that Scavenger isn’t really running away from him.

He’s being deliberately led somewhere but his prey is very convincingly playing the desperate victim, right up until he jumps on Fox, wrapping his whole body around his head and obscuring his vision. It’s all been a ruse and suddenly Fox finds himself in the most terrifying of places. It’s not the prison itself nor the earthquake damaged cells ready to collapse and kill everyone at any moment. No, now he finds himself outside.

Inside, our two title characters are still fighting and Dragon is taking quite a bit of punishment when, with his spiked metal ball raised to come down hard on Dragon’s head, Death’s Head checks his wrist and just stops. Walking away, he apologises for the fight lasting longer than it should’ve and blames his timer for running slow!

It really is the only way this fight could’ve ended; neither of these two could actually win anymore, they’re heroes of their own comics after all. In fact, as the authorities arrive to clean up and arrest The Chain Gang, Dragon looks up and sees Death’s Head looking down from a hill nearby… and waves. This sight of mutual respect has me wishing both these comics had lasted longer because I would’ve loved to have seen these two slowly become friends and even work together at some point.

As for the story itself, Scavenger insists Fox is treated with leniency as he was just looking out for the community he cared for but had just gone about it the wrong way. It all ends with Spratt being the first person to ever sneak up on Death’s Head, and probably the first to offer to be his partner. After all, the mechanoid is from a different time and doesn’t know this world, so Spratt offers to help him with that while handling the business side of things. He’s a free man now and knows a good thing when he sees it. Death’s Head refuses and walks off… then the chapter ends with Spratt following anyway and continuing to talk about his proposition. To which Death’s Head merely sighs. And the reader laughs.

A couple of Marvel UK adverts round off the issue. The first is for Dragon’s Claws and uses the excellent Dave Gibbons cover from the current issue, while the other advert is somewhat more cryptic. For a comic that wouldn’t even turn up until June of the following year, six months hence, Marvel UK were certainly playing the long game here.

I remember this particular promo appearing in The Real Ghostbusters and Transformers comics week after week, month after month. Even at that young age I began thinking, “Enough already, just tell us more!” The Sleeze Brothers, namely El Ape and Deadbeat would follow Death’s Head into the pages of Doctor Who Magazine first but that wouldn’t even be until March. I guess you’ll just have to wait until then to find out more… because yes, The Sleeze Brothers will be joining the OiNK Blog in 2024.

For just the second time we come to the end of an issue of Death’s Head and I really like the fact all of the pieces have taken a couple of issues to put in place. Actually, I’m looking forward to seeing how Death’s Head’s and Spratt’s partnership works out, so I suppose everything isn’t quite set yet. While this and Dragon’s Claws are very natural sister publications, this one is definitely a lot funnier and lighter, despite its title character’s name and job! Great fun so far. The next review will be after the festive season (right after it in fact) so come back to kick off the New Year in style on Sunday 7th January 2024.

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Comic Reviews, Dragon's Claws

DRAGON’S CLAWS #7: NO MERCY!

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As I mentioned last month the cover for this issue of Dragon’s Claws caught my eye. Finally, I’ve been able to take a closer look at the first guest artist cover and it’s none other than Dave Gibbons. Dave’s work has featured on the blog before, namely in the hilarious Superhero’s Day Off in OiNK, written by Lew Stringer which lampooned the comics Dave would draw. This is a great Dragon’s Claws cover, but does the inside match up to this first impression?

The Fastfax catches us up on the secondary plot from last issue which spills over to become our main story this month, with Mercy stopping herself from falling to certain death by grabbing a power line, nearly dislocating her shoulder and ploughing through a barber shop window! The Fastfax sums up the whole “criminals who operate about the law” Knight Rider-esque vibe of the people she used to hunt and who her copycat is now killing.

We also get a quick introduction to the L.W.J., the League of World Justice which is investigating the World Development Council, the organisation behind The Game and the bosses of N.U.R.S.E. Will the LWJ prove to be just as corrupt in this future Earth of 8162? Will we find out more in the next three months?

For now, Mercy is not as down-and-out as we think as she springs back up to confront her copycat, Scourge.

Simon Furman is paying homage to the Marvel UK series that made him

Hmm, last month in Dragon’s fact-file a previous Claws member was called ’Megaton’ and now this lady is called Scourge. I don’t think these are coincidences somehow, so either writer Simon Furman can’t think of any new names or he’s paying homage to the Marvel UK series that made him, namely The Transformers. Clearly, I think it’s the latter.

Scourge is hunting a villain named Judden, a small, fat slimy guy who reminds me a bit of Penguin. He was cleared of all charges but Scourge is convinced the system is corrupt and that he bought his freedom. (Now we know the Fastfax was laying some groundwork.) Interestingly, it’s never revealed if he’s innocent or not. Perhaps it was to be picked up on in a later issue but his story isn’t the point here.

Scourge is very much a mirror image of Mercy before she accidentally killed an innocent woman and joined the Claws, now fighting from the right side of the law. Scourge even carries the same Black Dagger symbol Mercy used. Meanwhile, while assessing the mess at Dragon’s farm in Norwich, Stenson mentions someone called ‘Matron’ for the first time, giving the smallest of clues to the real boss.

Scavenger’s mutt also gets an easier name to roll off the tongue than ‘Lady Killer’. Scratch will end up playing an important role in this issue’s story, more important than any of the other male members of the team. Then a couple of pages later we catch a glimpse of this Matron person and how the all-important Stenson is really nothing more than another gopher, another cog in the machine.

It’s all very cloak and dagger and I hope we have time over the next three months to get some answers. Having the head of N.U.R.S.E. called ‘Matron’ and wearing what appears to be a nurse-like hat behind the shadows has me intrigued as to the real nature of this organisation. Obviously the Claws are key to her plans but what is this empire she’s built up? What is N.U.R.S.E. really? What do they control already?

Mercy easily tracks Scourge down to the roof of a shopping mall as she’s basically living Mercy’s earlier life. Knowing she’d need a place just like this to rest, recuperate and stash weapons, Mercy reveals she killed an innocent woman during her revenge spree, that she’d become a murderous menace just like those she was fighting against. But it falls on deaf ears as Scourge is just as entrenched in her vendetta as Mercy was.

Accusing Mercy of being brainwashed a fight ensues and once again our heroine finds herself falling off another tall building. At least this time the landing is much easier on her. Meanwhile, the “guest” referred to is Ambassador Golding of the W.D.C., who Dragon’s Claws rescued from a rebel group gone rogue in #4. Back then he got to speak to the group and Dragon promised him he had a lot more to find out.

It appears he’s done so. He tells Stenson while inspecting the Claws’ HQ that N.U.R.S.E.’s independence has come into question, that there are fears of the Game team being misused against their knowledge and he demands to meet Matron. Stenson objects but then Deller pops up for the first time after last issue’s shoot-out, ready and willing to be questioned. I’m finding all of this particularly fascinating but for now it’s just ticking over until it can be addressed further in an upcoming issue (I hope).

Back to the action and the object of Scourge’s revenge is having a night out at a club so the Claws are assigned to undercover protection detail, although Dragon’s more concerned about the whereabouts of Mercy and why she didn’t talk to the team about what’s going on. Distracted, they miss Scourge, who’s easily able to identify the team in their weak disguises and sets off the fire alarms with a smoke bomb.

Among the chaotic evacuation she grabs Mister Judden and takes him to a back corridor to force him to confess to some previous killings. Adamant that he’s innocent, Scourge doesn’t care, she wants a confession to justify what she’s about to do. As I said, we don’t find out if he’s innocent or not but that’s not the point, judgement has come first and the evidence will bend to it rather than the other way around.

After this page comes my only disappointment with this chapter when the final confrontation isn’t even seen! Although, story-wise, I can understand why the fight between Mercy and Scourge happens off-camera (as the phrase goes) it still feels like an anti-climax. The Claws come to her rescue to find Judden saved but Scourge lying dead. Mercy just tells Dragon she’s faced some of her own demons that day and walks off. As she leaves a confused Dragon turns to Steel who simply says, “There but for the grace of God”, pointing out how Mercy could’ve shot to wound.

Mercy’s fact-file essentially ruins all of the drama surrounding the character

A cliffhanger involving the return of a newly assembled Evil Dead takes second place to this temporary (I hope only temporary) end to Mercy’s development as the most interesting of the Dragon’s Claws team. It has expertly answered some questions and opened her up a bit while at the same time leaving plenty of mysteries (and adding new ones) to solve in the future. That is, until we come to the next page in the comic which somewhat ruins that brilliantly written ending.

Mercy is the star of this month’s fact-file and while it starts off with some interesting background, such as her father being of Irish descent and the tragic loss of her mother to cystic fibrosis, it goes into far too much of her own mysterious background which I’ve enjoyed being drip fed in these past two issues, essentially ruining all of the drama surrounding the character. In fact, by the time I finished this page it felt like there were no more mysteries to be discovered!

This feels like a very strange thing for the comic to do. Why give the game away for so much of her character in an extra page separate from the strip? Maybe as a kid I’d have enjoyed getting these insights but all I can think of now is that the intrigue is completely gone. Not through intelligent, enjoyable storytelling like the other characters either, but in a chunk of text instead. It’d also mean any graphic novel reprint would most likely leave readers unaware of these details. Strange, indeed.

On the letters page a reader asks how Digit ended up with a computer instead of a human brain and the answer given is that this will form the basis of a future storyline. Seems rather unfair on Mercy to be honest, unless of course a future Digit fact-file spoils this for us too. Anyway, not wishing to end on a sour note I’ll leave the final words to Mercy who got the whole back page to herself as a nice extra and tell you that the date for the review of Dragon’s Claws #8 will be Sunday 7th January 2024.

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Comic Reviews, Death's Head

DEATH’S HEAD #1: BACK TO THE FUTURE

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This is an exciting one! I’ve only ever read this first issue of Death’s Head. As a kid I originally became acquainted with his time in Marvel UK’s Transformers a year later through reprints in the comic and my friend giving me his back issue collection. However, I’d seen some of the funny comic strip adverts in the likes of The Real Ghostbusters and my Transformers-loving friends raved about him, so I had to try it out. I loved him.

There was a problem though. I was only allowed a few comics on order at any one time and so there was no room for Death’s Head in my reservation list as far as my parents were concerned. I didn’t want to stop any of the others I had on order so instead I bought #1 with my own pocket money and thought I would do so every month. However, a month is a long time at that age, so when #2 came along I’d forgotten all about it and instead that week bought some other random comic with my pennies.

He did pop up in The Marvel Bumper Comic upon occasion but apart from that this was all I ever read beyond Transformers. I rediscovered this issue in my collection about a year later and was really disappointed to learn it was no longer being published and that I’d missed out. Thankfully I have a much better attention span these days so it’s time to correct my oversight. Even this opening spread of pages two and three brings back the memories of reading this on a day off sick from school and all the thrills and laughs it contained. Let’s see if they’re still there today.

One little niggle straight out the gate though. Those tours, often hyped up in the pages of Marvel’s comics, always irritated me as a kid because they never came to Northern Ireland. We were always ignored back then despite us buying their comics. But we’ll move on from that and this issue is made up of three flashbacks told from the perspective of the Freelance Peace-Keeping Agent, which split up scenes of his reconstruction after being almost destroyed by Dragon’s Claws in #5 of their comic (from last month, no longer on sale despite what Head Lines says).

Some interesting bits of information come from his inner thoughts throughout, such as him having an original programmer. This may be obvious to some, but seeing as how he originally came from the story universe of the Transformers I’d always assumed he didn’t have one and was instead a sentient being much along the same lines as the Cybertronians. Sentient he is, obviously, but did he have a human programmer? I think that might be what’s hinted at here, but he killed them anyway so that’s all we’re getting for now.

Why? Well it would appear he was created as a rich man’s plaything, but knew he was destined for more. However, beyond that things are kept a mystery which I enjoy. These flashbacks all see him in his original body and given the timeline of events he must still be in his original gigantic form. After battling Unicron on the Planet of Junk he was zapped through time where he literally bumped into The Doctor who shrank him to human size before being zapped through time again and meeting Dragon’s Claws. These stories are then set sometime before his final story with the Robots in Disguise.

So a Game team called The Chain Gang discovered his remains and resurrected him in order to carry out a contract on someone. The member of their team tasked with this is called Spratt, the same Spratt we’d see in adverts for the comic across other Marvel titles. His own background is also a mystery, all we know is he’s a scavenger and thief and was able to track down the parts needed to repair Death’s Head’s body, make improvements and kit him out with a new set of clothes. Thankfully, his humour was still in good knick.

I particularly like the moment in one of his flashbacks where he disguises himself as a blonde-haired woman in a gangster’s local hairdressing salon and, among his recollections of all the chaos and violence, he laments the fact he had to give the wig back. Setting him up as a new lead comics character for both old and new readers alike, his sense of humour was always going to be key and thankfully this issue has it in spades.

His three stories all address different rules: always honour a contract but never trust a client, make no concessions for age, size or gender and never kill for free but it pays to advertise. All three of these are played out as mini-stories and work perfectly, especially the last one which sees him do something for free, but only because he’s about to go broke and the result of his advertising is a long list of clients eager to hire him after a display of prowess.

His office is the same we’ve seen before on the blog in the High Noon Tex strip advert and plays up to the old fashioned detective/ganster movies writer Simon Furman must’ve been such a fan of. He used these as an influence in part of the Matrix Quest epic in Transformers (on the planet Pz-zazz, although set way back in 1990) and the setting perfectly suits Death’s Head and his peace-keeping business, surrounded as he is by a world that is anything but peaceful but which he ignores unless paid.

I also love how the facade slips now and again, even within his own inner thoughts as he calls himself a bounty hunter before correcting his narration. For the uninitiated, he was very much a bounty hunter but hated the term and so called himself a ‘Freelance Peace-Keeping Agent’, and woe betide anyone who used the wrong description!

One thing that took me by surprise because I’d completely forgotten in the years since was the fact Geoff Senior, despite being co-creator of the character, wasn’t the regular artist on the series. Instead our penciller is Bryan Hitch (The Batman’s Grave, Hell’s Angel, The Transformers including Death’s Head final appearance) with inker Mark Farmer (Slaine, Excalibur, Doctor Who). Colouring the proceedings is Nick Abadzis (Rogue Trooper artist, Vector 13 writer, The Amazing Mr Pleebu creator), lettering is by Annie Halfacree (Knight Rider, 2000AD, Lion) and Richard Starkings is editing as always (Elephantmen, The Real Ghostbusters, Dragon’s Claws).

I’ll admit it took a while for me to get used to the new art style, so sure was I that Geoff would be the artist; the lack of jaggy edges and exaggerated facial expressions is disappointing initially, even though Bryan’s earlier work I’d seen in Transformers was more like that. Only initially though. The first chance the comic has of giving Death’s Head a different facial expression than the one people may assume is his only one (on the cover) I was sold! This happens on only the third page of the strip when he shushes someone he’s knocked unconscious, so I was sold pretty quickly.

His trademark speech patterns return too of course, yes? His ability to talk reasonably and calmly no matter what’s going on around him, almost like he’s enjoying the fact he can remain detached, remains too. I genuinely inwardly giggled when, in the last of these mini-stories, he takes out a robot much larger than him and for a moment his confidence waivers. Just for a moment.

The issue ends back in the world of Dragon’s Claws and Greater Britain as he finally begins to move his apparently non-functioning frame and punches out the member of The Chain Gang who had berated him. Shocked, Spratt asks him why he didn’t move before if he was able to, instead of leading them to believe something had gone wrong with his reconstruction. Death’s Head simply tells him he needed to order his thoughts, which is why we’ve been treated to these flashbacks.

Reliving these key moments from his (distant) past and running over his rules in his head were the perfect way to introduce him. Including the interludes we’ve been treated to four completely different scenarios, meaning the comic can formally begin his adventures quickly with a fully-fledged character in #2 rather than slowly introducing elements as the early issues proceed. It’s a good balance for a first issue, one which would appeal to new readers and those who already knew him. Of course, there’s more to him and the ongoing series, but this is a strong start.

Apart from catching glimpses of his new body (and clothing) in the interludes, the remainder of the issue sees him as we all knew him before now. As such, when the big reveal is made on the last page of the strip my initial reaction is that I much prefer the original look. I’ve a feeling it’ll grow on me though, because this is all about the character himself and he’s very much the same mechanoid he always was, I’m very happy to report.

I mentioned above the disappointment I felt when I found this issue amongst my pile of random comics in 1989, after its unfortunate cancellation with #10. I can remember that feeling like it was yesterday, so knowing I can finally read what I’ve been wanting to read for 35 years is bloody exciting! There’s no Next Issue promo but I’ve seen the cover (and nothing else) of the next edition on my shelf and I can’t wait for Sunday 3rd December 2023 when Death’s Head #2 sees him crossing back over into the world of Dragon’s Claws! Join me then, eh?

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Comic Reviews, Dragon's Claws

DRAGON’S CLAWS #6: FAMiLY TiED

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After the crossover story to help launch a brand new Marvel UK comic last month how can writer Simon Furman and his team of artist Geoff Senior, colourist Steve White and editor Richard Starkings hope to top that this month? What event could possibly follow what was surely an ‘event’ comic? Judging by the cover it appears to be the death of Tanya Dragon, that’s what!

Seen through a silhouette of Dragon’s head it’s a shocking front page for regular readers, with spurned ex-Game player and Dragon’s rival Deller holding her lifeless body, having killed her himself as per Stenson’s instructions last issue. But surely this is a huge spoiler? All of the build up and tension will be ruined somewhat by having what appears to be the resolution right there before we read a single page. As it turns out, not so much. However, that leads to another issue with this, erm, issue altogether. I’ll explain as we go.

The story begins showing Kurran as head of Shrine, a group who worship an ancient god with 82nd century technology. Once an almighty Game team before his brother was killed by Dragon in #1, now they’re out for revenge. But Kurran knows it wasn’t Dragon’s fault, that Deller paid his brother’s team to kill Dragon, knowing they’d be outmatched. Elsewhere the Claws are on their way to track down the Canadian Vigilante mentioned in #4’s Fastfax and we get to see them in some rare lighter moments which is a nice change of pace.

Once in the land of Ryan Reynolds it appears we’re going to finally get some background into Mercy, who seemed to be the most intriguing member of the team from the very first issue. She picks up a lead with something she finds at the scene of a killing but keeps it to herself. Back in Greater Britain (Norwich to be precise) Tanya and her family are toiling at their farm and she’s as determined as ever to lure her love back into retirement to be with her and their adopted son, Michael. 

The story jumps about a lot over these first handful of pages and it appears there are a few different plots vying for position, then in a genuinely shocking moment we soon realise two of these are about to converge. Deller seethes about the job at hand outside Tanya’s home. He’s still going to go through with it though. His anger at how N.U.R.S.E. has sidelined him for Dragon lays the groundwork for the rest of this issue but unbeknownst to him the watcher is being watched.

Believing this to be Deller’s family home, Kurran assembles his team upon his position. With his brother dead, could this mean Shrine will also be aiming to take out who they mistakenly see as being Deller’s family? A little tension is back in the story. As a side note that woman in the previous issue’s promo is Clarity, a team member who fawns over Kurran and is by his side when they storm the house.

The next handful of pages are non-stop action and if it weren’t for that cover it’d be full of suspense. Deller simply asks Tanya if he can come in to discuss Dragon before pulling a gun on her, then just as he’s about to pull the trigger Saul the farmhand enters and saves her. Easily dispatched by Deller with several kicks to the head, another of his targets is more work than he bargained for.

While Michael may not be Dragon’s biological son (we find out here he’s Tanya’s and was adopted by Dragon when they married) he clearly has his fighting spirit. That is, until Deller flings him across the room and with a gun hovering over both him and his mum Tanya snaps! Michael asks why this man wants them dead and Tanya screams back that Deller is nothing but a “good little boy” doing what his superiors told him to do.

It’s a powerful moment. However, just as Deller realises the truth about himself and how far he has fallen, dropping his gun to the floor, the door explodes open. Shrine burst through, Kurran demanding vengeance upon his brother’s murderer. This confuses the hell out of Deller and catches him off guard but in an exciting moment he’s given a shot at fighting back from a surprising source.

It was at this moment I realised I was so caught up in this part of the story I hadn’t noticed that Dragon’s Claws themselves are the B-plot in their own comic. This isn’t a complaint. In fact, it cements what the comic has hinted at in previous issues, that if it had continued in the long term its story was going to encompass this whole world and its myriad of characters. It could’ve been both truly epic and deeply personal.

With a gun back in his hand Deller fights hard but a stray shot from Shrine hits Tanya and he suddenly finds himself worrying about the target he was sent to kill. He realises in order to save her he’s going to have to flee for now and jumps out of a window, injuring himself in the process. But unbeknownst to him Kurran believes Tanya, her father and Michael are Deller’s family, someone Kurran wants to hurt as much as possible.

As Tanya slips into unconsciousness she hears a member of the Game team announce Saul is dead and she realises she had loved him, that everything could’ve been fine if she’d reciprocated his feelings instead of trying to get Dragon back. This is the annoying bit though. Not the character beat, that’s a heartbreaking moment which adds to the drama, but the fact that the cover sells us a completely different outcome to this chapter.

I’m more thrilled by the development of Mercy’s story than the cliffhanger

With the way this has played out the exciting cover now feels like a cheap trick to lure potential readers into buying it, but none of it happens. Tanya is alive (I’m very happy with that by the way), Deller never killed her and Dragon was nowhere near the incident. This may not annoy anyone else but it’s a pet peeve of mine when modern comics do this. The overall story and in particular these several pages have made up for it though, this has been a great issue so far.

The story ends back with Mercy tracking down the Canadian Vigilante and the cliffhanger has the Claw plummeting to her apparent doom from a skyscraper. The vigilante is an apparent copycat, going after the same kind of elites Mercy killed before joining the team. Part of her wants to let her copycat get on with it, but she knows the ultimate outcome if someone doesn’t help her and stop her, like Dragon did for Mercy. I’m more thrilled by the development of Mercy’s story than the cliffhanger and I’m glad this looks like it’ll be the main plot next time.

The Reverend. P. Gunn humour strip has disappeared already and been replaced with a new fact-file series which naturally starts with the main character himself. It’s an interesting read that asks more questions and appears to set up lots of potential future plot lines. No knowledge of his parents, the mysterious tragedy that befell his sporting career and the Miami bloodbath that was the catalyst for withdrawing from The Game, all of these could be starting points for stories.

I did notice a familiar-sounding name there, one of their former teammates was named ‘Megaton’. A little nod at a certain other comic Simon was writing? Elsewhere in the issue the Fastfax on the editorial page also hints at things to come with a headline involving a famine in Moscow and news happening at a London Labour Camp! The future sounds oh-so 80s-dystopian. A quick flick to the back page would’ve been exciting for regular readers too.

Hopefully it’s just as exciting today for blog readers. I don’t just mean “today” in the general sense of the modern world, either. I actually mean today, the day this post is being published. That’s because #1 of Death’s Head’s own comic was also released on this date back in 1988, so later on today the first monthly review will also be up on the blog. Don’t forget to come back for that, yes?

With that #6 of Dragon’s Claws goes back upon the shelf and I catch a glimpse of the cover for #7 and a Dave Gibbons signature at the bottom, so that’s me already excited to take a closer look at the next issue, and that’s even before we catch up with Mercy inside. The next issue will be right here for you to check out on Sunday 3rd December 2023.

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Comic Reviews, Dragon's Claws

DRAGON’S CLAWS #5: TERMiNATED

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Yes Mr. Head, you certainly will be. Especially with those who picked up your own comic. That particular new monthly from Marvel UK was due to begin a month after this issue’s release. In fact its premiere issue would go on sale the same day as the next Dragon’s Claws. So it was time to introduce him, or reintroduce him to those who’d followed his exciting and funny adventures thus far in Transformers and Doctor Who.

We get a mention of his appearance from the end of the previous issue’s story in the FastFax and it also gives us some interesting information on The ‘Pool (Liverpool of the 82nd century) and the make up of England in this apocalyptic time. In the real world of the 80s the north of that country had felt generally neglected by the main UK government and this is clearly being played up to here. At the time of publication this would’ve been particularly pertinent to readers there.

This blog is named after the hilarious 80s comic OiNK which was produced in Manchester, and I think the editors of that particular riotous publication would be rather happy with the north of England being described as an area with an “anarchic nature”. The dates at the top of the FastFax don’t seem to be making sense anymore. In #1 it seemed to refer to the date of the (original) release of the issue, only thousands of years into the future. That’s no longer the case so I can only assume it was never actually meant to be a date.

While last month’s Next Issue page was drawn by the upcoming Death’s Head comic’s Bryan Hitch, Geoff Senior remains on art duties for his and writer Simon Furman’s Dragon’s Claws, with the regular team of letterer Annie Halfacree, colourist Steve White and editor Richard Starkings all present and correct. The story begins with Death’s Head’s arrival spotted by Game team members who think he’s The Evil Dead’s reinforcements, so they decide to take him down before he can meet up with them. Bad idea.

Death Nell’s hiring of Death’s Head is initially somewhat disappointing because we immediately think it’s going to be a contract to take out Dragon but instead it’s for some other Game team that’s become an annoyance to The Evil Dead. That disappointment doesn’t last long. Then, when we catch up with Dragon’s Claws we see the beginnings of a new base of operations for them as the early pieces of a long-running comic series continue to be put in place.

It brings up the question of who is really running the show

With a new Headquarters cue the heroic Saturday morning cartoon-esque call to action! But not before Dragon and N.U.R.S.E.’s Stenson have had a bit of a barney. Stenson let’s it slip that the World Development Council has only just fully endorsed the team’s reactivation after last issue’s rescue of their ambassador, and Dragon isn’t happy as this is yet more evidence N.U.R.S.E. isn’t telling them the whole truth.

It brings up the question of who is really running the show. Just how corrupt are N.U.R.S.E. and the W.D.C. and is the former actually lying to the latter rather than being in cahoots? Dragon also starts to bring up what The High Father is meant to have told him after #2’s story but unfortunately he gets interrupted by Deller and the Claws have to leave for The ‘Pool.

Back up north Death’s Head is about to be sent in to wipe out the Jones’ Brothers team when we get a quick insight into one of the background plots we know Stenson is up to his perfectly tailored neck in. The inner thoughts of one of the Joneses laments the fact it’s come down to them killing each other, yet he knows they have no choice, that some “non-payment” will have been noticed and that they can expect retaliatory action soon. But from who?

As the fight nears his further thoughts confirm my suspicions. Despite being so heavily armed and more than capable of taking on The Evil Dead (of all people), he’s terrified of N.U.R.S.E.! This is because of how they came after the ‘Dead with Dragon’s Claws. It’s N.U.R.S.E. he’s meant to be paying. The conspiracies, back-stabbing and politics of this comic have got me hooked.

“Government enforcers, peace-keeping agents, bounty hunters – all mean the same thing, yes?”

Death’s Head

Deller, the jealous man who wants to take over the Claws from Dragon and a stooge of Stenson’s, knows a lot more than he’s letting on too as you can see above when he admits he’s hiding calls from Dragon’s wife, Tanya. He goes along with the team and as usual tries to take over the situation to further his own cause, until Dragon finally explodes at him about his so-called ’sources’ at N.U.R.S.E., just before they see a certain fan-favourite character for the first time.

I love this moment and at this point I actually changed my mind about Death’s Head being given a contract for Dragon, that would’ve been too predictable. As Death Nell helps the still-recovering Slaughterhouse out of their safe house to make a run for it, more plot points are established. He has some theory about the Claws’ role in recent events and by having both the Claws and Death’s Head out for the Jones’ Brothers they can be certain of success for now.

They leave to recruit new players and Slaughterhouse calls the Claws N.U.R.S.E.’s “little puppets” which leads nicely on to a verbal, rather than physical (to begin with anyway) confrontation between the Freelance Peace-Keeping Agent and Dragon. When Dragon saves him from the last of the brothers, Death’s Head isn’t happy and accuses him of wanting to split the bounty. Dragon explains he was trying to help and that they’re not bounty hunters but “legally appointment government agents”, after which is this interesting retort.

That’s Deller sneaking in at the bottom to take out Death’s Head from behind for no other reason than to stitch up Dragon. But this isn’t someone easily taken out, even from behind and he soon gets the upper hand, shooting Deller in the shoulder and grabbing Dragon by the throat, falling for the ruse that Dragon was allegedly keeping him talking while Deller tried to kill him.

Most interestingly here, after Death’s Head says the team “sure sound like assassins to me”, we see Mercy being told by a dying Jones brother that the Claws are being used by N.U.R.S.E. as their hired killers and she just doesn’t care! It seems she’s the most bloodthirsty of the team and I hope we get a chance to see her character develop, as I think this could put her at odds with the rest of them, in particular Dragon and the honourable Steel.

“Times like this, I’m glad I don’t have to explain myself to an accountant!”

Death’s Head

Back to the moment at hand. Steel and Digit attack Death’s Head, freeing Dragon before he orders them to back off and takes aim. The Peace-Keeping Agent mocks him, asking if he really thinks he can hurt him with such a little gun, and after I turned the page the answer to that is more shocking than I ever couldn’t imagined!

It seems his entrance on the last page of #4’s strip wasn’t the only moment we’d see inspired by the Terminator films. I certainly wasn’t expecting to see him in this state, that’s for sure! Even in the face of possible death though, both when blown up and when he’s about to get crushed on the next page, he’s still able to make quips. Moments like this are why I’ve been so looking forward to reading his own comic and it’s almost here. The hype is very real for me right now and I’m sure Marvel UK were hoping for that.

They tell the captured Game player that due to non-payment their entire family will be killed and he’ll be taken prisoner. Harsh.

He was to get a bit of a redesign for his own monthly, a fresh lick of paint after a few years circulating around other peoples’ comics and this sets that up nicely. It’s strange they didn’t take the opportunity to mention the new comic coming just one month from now anywhere within this issue though. Anyway, as usual the final page of the strip is left to hint at stories to come, with the final remaining Jones brother being taken before the real leader of N.U.R.S.E.

We don’t see this person other than in silhouette as they tell the captured Game player that due to non-payment their entire family will be killed and he’ll be taken prisoner. Harsh. Then the order is given to Stenson to do the same with Dragon’s family before they interfere with their plans, and that’s where it’s left. The letters page also looks to the future, not least by offering subscriptions, none of which would be completely fulfilled.

Some hints about the contents of future issues are dropped too and, just like when Havoc began answering readers’ queries there’s that heartbreaking realisation that all of this potential will come to a premature end. Let’s just hope we get some of it realised in the second half of the comic’s run (yes, we’re already halfway through). There’s so much promise here, between the development of Dragon himself and the slow burning story arcs. I just want to see where it all leads.

We began this read through comparing the first couple of issues to the best 80s action flicks, with some added characterisation for good measure. Dragon’s Claws has successfully emerged from the shadow of its big screen contemporaries to establish itself as an original, absorbing story with plenty of action, some good laughs and characters I already feel like I know pretty well. Not a small feat when it’s only five issues in.

This back page seems to combine more than one subplot too. Deller has been sent to eliminate Dragon’s family while Kurran has caught up with him at the exact same moment. Kurran is the man whose brother was killed by Dragon in #1, and who then found out Deller had paid his brother’s Wildcats team to take on Dragon, knowing they’d be outmatched. Who the woman is I have no idea yet. Questions to be answered and most likely many more to be asked in #6, then.

The release day of the next issue was a particularly exciting one and so it will be again on the OiNK Blog. There’ll be two real time read throughs published on the exact same day, for #5 of Dragon’s Claws and the premiere issue of the brand new Death’s Dead, the only issue I ever read as a child and one which I’m eager to reacquaint myself with after 35 years. So remember, remember to come back to the blog on Sunday 5th November 2023.

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iSSUE FOUR < > iSSUE SiX

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DOCTOR WHO 135 < > DEATH’S HEAD 1

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