Tag Archives: Simon Furman

Comic Reviews, Dragon's Claws

DRAGON’S CLAWS #7: NO MERCY!

Leave a comment

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.

iSSUE SiX < > iSSUE EiGHT

DRAGON’S CLAWS MENU

CHRiSTMAS 2023

Comic Reviews, Death's Head

DEATH’S HEAD #1: BACK TO THE FUTURE

Leave a comment

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?

DRAGON’S CLAWS FiVE < > iSSUE TWO

DEATH’S HEAD MENU

Comic Reviews, Dragon's Claws

DRAGON’S CLAWS #6: FAMiLY TiED

Leave a comment

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.

iSSUE FiVE < > iSSUE SEVEN

DRAGON’S CLAWS MENU

Comic Reviews, Dragon's Claws

DRAGON’S CLAWS #5: TERMiNATED

Leave a comment

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 #6 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.

FOR DRAGON’S CLAWS:

iSSUE FOUR < > iSSUE SiX

DRAGON’S CLAWS MENU

FOR DEATH’S HEAD:

DOCTOR WHO 135 < > DEATH’S HEAD 1

DEATH’S HEAD MENU

Comic Reviews, Dragon's Claws

DRAGON’S CLAWS #4: FRENCH FRiED

Leave a comment

Another month, another foray into the far future with Marvel UK’s classic Dragon’s Claws. It may look like there’s an ancient oriental theme to the story this time around if the cover is anything to go by, but actually Steel here is facing off against one of two French armies. This month’s exciting comic is just that: exciting! It pushes the background intrigue and shocking story arcs from last time aside and concentrates instead on a self-contained tale that’s no less thrilling.

A quick mention of the editorial page first and that opening paragraph doesn’t change from issue-to-issue, remaining as a quick introduction for any new readers. It reminds me of how American TV shows of the 80s and 90s would’ve had a spoken narration at the beginning of their opening credits, so it feels perfectly of its time. Think Knight Rider, Jag and Babylon 5. These were (and still are) all favourites of mine so this gets me hyped every month.

As usual the in-universe Fastfax gives us a little bit of background to the story before it starts on the opposite page. It’s interesting to get some insight into how the wider world outside Greater Britain is faring and it appears France isn’t doing so well, with the rich carving up the country for their own benefit, the rest of the populace suffering as a result. The rebel group La Folie appear to be getting painted as a terrorist group here, so I’m pretty sure that won’t be the case as the story unfolds.

Of course, we know already who’s going to be selected to do the prisoner exchange between the World Development Council and the rebels, don’t we? I’m also intrigued by this mention of a Canadian vigilante, seemingly innocently slotted in there at the end. Perhaps a character we’ll get to in a future story. These Fastfax updates throw out hints and character references every month, painting a lovely three-dimensional world crafted by writer Simon Furman which I hope we get time to explore in the ten issues.

“When Dragon pulled us Dragon’s Claws back together as government agents, his intent was to restore order to this mad world!”

Steel

The first half of Simon’s story (drawn by Geoff Senior, lettered by Annie Halfacree, coloured by Steve White, edited by Richard Starkings) is heavy on the action while not wasting any time in developing the story. It may be a little predicable in the end but that could be down to the fact it’s 35 years old. At the time I’m sure it kept readers guessing until the end. So the barons mentioned in the Fastfax are battling all over the country, tearing it apart and killing hundreds of thousands of innocent bystanders in order to advance their power. La Folie are being painted as terrorists instead of freedom fighters because this suits the governments of the world.

Dragon’s Claws have been assigned to return La Folie’s two members in exchange for the government’s man and Dragon himself is on route to rendezvous with his team with the prisoners when he comes under attack by La Folie’s second-in-command Colonel Gescaux. He wants to kill prisoners Legris and Ostleur as they seem to know something that their leader can’t find out. Straight away Dragon seems to know all is not as black and white as the governments are painting it, even throwing himself into harm’s way to save the so-called terrorists from a grenade.

Meanwhile, the rest of his team find themselves between two warring factions. Mercy is all for abandoning the area, it’s not their fight after all, both sides are in the wrong as far as she’s concerned and can wipe each other out. But as Steel points out the local town is being devastated by their battle and given why Dragon reformed the team as government agents (the first time his reason is explained) it very much is their fight. Hence the cover.

Legris takes a moment to have it out with Dragon in a scene where they end up surrounded by Gescaux’s men. Before Dragon battles his way out, entrusting Legris and Ostleur to help out and not make a run for it, he realises he has respect for Legris, that he’s a man of integrity and belief in a cause. Gescaux just wants La Folie for himself, to turn it into the criminal organisation the world already thinks it is in order to further his own schemes. These two men know this and Gescaux knows if their leader found out he’d be a dead man.

Turn the people against each other to enrich the rich even further. Sound familiar?

The story revolves around the point that Greater Britain and the wider World Development Council will happily ally themselves with corrupt world leaders in order to advance their own personal interests, not those of the people they’re meant to serve. They don’t care who gets scapegoated, ostracised from civilisation or killed, as long as no one knows what’s really going on in the corridors of power. Turn the people against each other to enrich the rich even further. Sound familiar?

So while this chapter in the adventures of Dragon’s Claws may not advance any of those plots I found so intriguing over the first few issues, it’s beginning to paint a wider canvas for future stories to take part in and I do hope we get to see more of the world, or even revisit France at some point. (UPDATE: We don’t.) Speaking of which, let’s get back to that battle between the warring barons the rest of the Claws couldn’t walk away from and a surprising moment of comedy thanks to my favourite character, Scavenger.

I love this moment so much. The person he hit thanks to the lady’s headscarf was one of the leaders, the plan being to take down one of them so their followers would flee, creating an opening to do so with the other leader, thus saving the town. Steel stops Mercy from killing the other baron, instead putting weapons in front of them both and telling them to fight it out to the death instead of sending their troops into battle for them. Naturally, they show themselves up as the cowards they are and run away instead.

The main thrust of the story ends with Dragon taking on all of Gescaux’s minions, who then tries to escape instead of fighting on (again, typical) and he jumps onto their vehicle. However, Dragon notices the fuel tank is ruptured and about to blow. He still tries to save Gescaux but he’s too late and the terrorist gets blown to smithereens. After an arduous wait to see if the freed prisoners will keep to their word (Dragon let them go to the exchange alone), Ambassador Golding turns up. The other, so-called ‘terrorists’ kept to their word, this honourability proving most important to Steel.

With a little acknowledging nod to the previous story arcs we reach the end for now. After learning of Dragon’s reason for agreeing to become an agent of the World Development Council (and N.U.R.S.E.) earlier in the issue, his comment here about re-educating people isn’t just a throwaway line. Instead, it’s a true heroic statement and one that’ll hopefully lead to many exciting adventures to come, swiftly followed in the next moment with him cracking a joke. A great ending.

Well, there’s actually one more page to go. Last issue’s story also finished but then had a final page hinting at things to come, it’s something of a trademark for Simon’s comics if this and Death’s Head are anything to go by. So as we turn to the final page we get another surprise cliffhanger. In a moment that’s reminiscent of The Terminator films a bright ball of electricity signals the arrival of a futuristic robotic character, appearing in The ‘Pool (Liverpool) next to The Evil Dead’s Death Nell, one of only two apparent survivors of that Game team from #2. This is a particularly exciting entrance!

Anybody who’s been following the Death’s Head real time read through will know all about the character created in the pages of Transformers by Simon Furman and Geoff Senior. After a few appearances in that hit comic and discovering the origins of the Cybertronians he disappeared through time (after a battle with Unicron) only to appear in Doctor Who Magazine.

There he was brought down to human size by the Seventh Doctor (Sylvester McCoy’s) in a funny strip in #135 of his publication and then tricked into jumping to Earth in the year 8162, a very familiar time for readers of Dragon’s Claws. Now, with Death’s Head’s own comic due for release before the end of the year it’s time for him to make his reappearance in Marvel UK’s lineup at last and I for one can not wait! Check out the very back page of the comic below, drawn by Bryan Hitch rather than Geoff, so I wonder who is drawing the next chapter. Interesting, and a superb choice of artist.

I really am sick and tired of that “’Nuff Said” phrase though. Between Dragon’s Claws, Havoc and Transformers it was so overused by Marvel UK and every single time they did it just felt like a cop out, like the editor couldn’t be arsed saying anything else. At least Action Force were getting much more exiting covers for their monthly than they were a few issues back, with more superb Geoff Senior artwork to gawk at.

With page 28 sufficiently gawked, it’s time to wrap things up for Dragon et all for another month. This continues to be an extraordinarily fun comic, full of action, character and world building that’s second-to-none. With a crossover event next month and the background arcs set to return, I don’t know how they’ve managed it but I’m getting ever more hyped every month for the next issue. Come back on Sunday 8th October 2023 for Dragon’s Claws #5 to see if that trend is set to continue.

iSSUE THREE < > iSSUE FiVE

DRAGON’S CLAWS MENU

Comic Reviews, Dragon's Claws

DRAGON’S CLAWS #3: SNiFFiNG OUT THE ENEMY

Leave a comment

Another sharp, exciting cover from Dragon’s Claws co-creator Geoff Senior welcomes us to #3 of Marvel UK’s comic which, judging by these first three issues at least, really deserved to find a bigger audience and last a lot longer than it did. The premiere issue basically dealt with Dragon himself in an 80s action flick-style story that set up the world we find ourselves in, the Greater Britain of the year 8162. Then last month we properly met the rest of the team and their nemeses The Evil Dead in what felt like part two of that movie.

So with the introductions out of the way it’s time to get into the meat of the next story and I’m glad to see Simon Furman‘s script isn’t going to be as episodic as I assumed a monthly from Marvel UK would be. This reads great in its own right while setting lots of things up for future issues, expanding the background plot the previous issues have hinted at and ending on not one, but two cliffhangers. The splash pages so far have been just as good as the covers, with colours by Steve White and letters by Annie Halfacree. I really do like the way editor Richard Starkings uses the Fastfax to introduce the stories within the setting itself rather than using a typical editorial style.

That’s The Pig, Dragon’s Claws’ ship, which feels rather suitable for this blog, doesn’t it? Even though they’ve only just been hired by N.U.R.S.E. (National Union of Retired Sports Experts) to bring in The Game teams still at large across the country who are abusing their positions of power, it seems some of the public are already turning on our heroes and viewing them as nothing more than government lackeys.

Their particular mission here is to head to Channel City, a huge metropolis that was built out over the English Channel to help with the overcrowding on the mainland, although it now overlooks nothing but a dried up seabed. No less than 20 teams have formed an army to protect someone called The High Father, an individual who the Claws were told had imprisoned hundreds of people in their own home. But now as they approach they’re under attack by those very civilians. Why? As the Claws discuss this and how they’re going to accomplish their mission without harming any innocents, unbeknownst to them a funny little moment plays out on the hull.

So why do these people not want rescued from this army and their apparent martial law? The strip does get to that by the end of the issue but first there are a few subplots thrown in for good measure. Kurran, brother of one of the Wildcats killed by Dragon as he protected his family, is out for revenge it would seem, at least in the interlude in the middle of the strip (more below). We also catch up with Tanya as she continues to try shielding their son Michael from Dragon’s violent TV coverage, but Michael wants his dad and it looks like she has no choice but to confront the situation and talk to his father.

I like these very human moments, although the most intriguing of the subplots this issue comes courtesy of N.U.R.S.E.’s Mister Stenson and Deller, the ex-Game player whose jealousy over Dragon leading the Claws almost ended with his death last month. It looks like they specifically need Dragon more than they’re letting on to him; having him as their poster child will mask their real intentions behind a cloak of heroism. But it’s the final couple of panels that interest me the most. Just who is giving these orders?

Any fan of Marvel UK’s Transformers comic will recognise the classic Geoff Senior pose there in panel three of page nine. So the main background plots thicken and I hope there’s enough time to give us a satisfying amount of development for these before the comic’s cancellation with #10. I’m particularly looking forward to seeing where the Kurran/Wildcats arc goes because on the final page of this issue he’s no longer concerned about Dragon. He’s smart enough to know that Dragon could easily have taken out the entire Wildcat team on his own (which he did do) so now he’s pursuing the reason behind the confrontation.

He knows his brother was stupid, but he wouldn’t have been stupid enough to go up against Dragon just because he hurt their pride. He beats up a woman at their hideout, wanting to know who paid them to do it and finds out it was Deller. Now that’s a cliffhanger. Even moreso than the main story’s, which we’ll lead up to now. With The Pig out of commission the Claws take to hover pads to make their way to Channel City and come up against a Game team hinted at in the pre-release marketing, The Vanishing Ladies.

There’s a particularly gigglesome moment when the strong and ever so macho Steel gets taken down a peg in the simplest of ways

First though, the mysterious Scavenger (already my favourite) breaks formation and takes off across the desolate landscape, disobeying Dragon’s direct orders. It’s such a sudden and dangerous move the reader instantly thinks something terrible is about to happen, that Scavenger has blasted away to stop it and save his teammates from whatever it is. The camaraderie between the members of this team is so tight it has to be something huge, right?

Well yes, as a matter of fact. I mean, an abandoned, starving animal is a big deal to this reader. It’s still funny of course. We now have our final member of the team. After all, this mutt was in those adverts for the comic too. He also gets named Lady Killer after what happens next. The Vanishing Ladies have special clothing that can bend beams of light (that old chestnut), essentially making them invisible. Cue lots of pictures of our team getting beaten up and using ingenuity to try to fight back.

There’s a particularly gigglesome moment when the strong and ever so macho Steel gets taken down a peg in the simplest of ways. Mercy isn’t so easily incapacitated and as she gets punched she deliberately rolls with the hit and is able to backflip and kick her attacker in the face without clapping eyes on her. Digit uses his computerised brain to accurately calculate probabilities for blocking attacks to find out where his attacker is. Dragon and Scavenger don’t have it quite so easy though.

Scavenger is getting strangled by one of the invisible foes and the only thing that stops him from being killed is his new dog who’s able to sense her and bite her on the leg, making her visible again. The newly named Lady Killer then helps Dragon and his reaction is another funny moment. I’m really looking forward to seeing this dynamic play out further in future episodes. The mightiest Game team ever now has a pet, one who is just as much a part of the team as the rest, whether they like it or not!

All of this is being televised across Greater Britain just as The Game was, N.U.R.S.E. adamant the people need to see Dragon’s Claws doing the government’s work in order to change public perceptions as they see fit. Then, as the team fight The High Father’s minions his voice panics Stenson. He recognises him, but he should be dead! He runs off to warn his superiors and stop the broadcast, and as Dragon’s Claws blast their way through into the area being protected by his army they come across a surprising scene, one of land cultivation and farmed animals!

As you can see there’s a moment when Dragon accuses The High Father of being just as bad as the government, that he’s creating his own privileged class. However, there’s a part of Dragon that doubts he’s really the bad guy in all of this. It’s when The High Father, unmasked as someone called Starick (to Stenson’s horror) explains further that we get our main cliffhanger. He says his former employers were good teachers, but they want him terminated now because they’ve found out how he’s actually looking after his people. The employers’ name is revealed when he tells Dragon he understands his surprise, “After all, you haven’t worked for N.U.R.S.E. for as long as I have!”

I love all this double-crossing, playing politics and subterfuge amongst the action. Add in the more human moments too and what we have here is a surprisingly deep action comic that manages to fit an awful lot into its 22-page strip without it ever feeling cramped or rushed. It’s quite ingenious really. Maybe a little too ingenious for the first letter writer on the new Dragon’s Nest page? Surprisingly, this first letter came from friend of the blog Andy Luke, whose podcast I previously appeared on to discuss OiNK for its 35th anniversary!

The first two chapters for Dragon’s Claws were highly entertaining and gave hints as to what the regular stories could be like. I could not have guessed the very next issue would’ve been so completely satisfying, that the comic would find its feet so quickly. I have a good feeling about the next seven months. The next one can’t come soon enough, but wait I shall for Sunday 10th September 2023. Join me then, won’t you?

iSSUE TWO < > iSSUE FOUR

DRAGON’S CLAWS MENU

Comic Reviews, Dragon's Claws

DRAGON’S CLAWS #2: COLOUR ME iMPRESSED

Leave a comment

It’s been a long time coming but Dragon’s Claws’ sophomore issue is finally here. After spending the first couple of years on the blog covering fortnightly and weekly comics (the one exception being the short-lived Visionaries right at the beginning of the blog) it’s strange to find myself in a position where, at the time of writing this, both Dragon’s Claws and even the site’s namesake comic OiNK are monthly. I’ve gotten so used to what came before that the four-week wait between issues feels so long!

Could this have been an attributing factor to Marvel UK’s new range of US-sized comics not being the success they may have deserved to be? British comics were often more frequent, and if any did become monthly you always knew that meant they wouldn’t be lasting much longer. Things would change a lot in the 90s of course when most comics became monthly but sales figures also declined drastically across the board at that time. A month was a very long time to wait for us back then, especially when computer and videogames were now grabbing our attention.

If last month’s debut felt like a typical yet very enjoyable 80s action flick, this feels like it could actually be the second half of that movie. The threat of The Evil Dead teased in the premiere issue’s opening pages comes full force this time around. The opening pages once again see that Game team take on a trained group of fighters, this time at a weapon’s depository that was apparently built to withstand an entire army. Over the course of these first seven pages they decimate the defence and make off with the weapons.

What I particularly like here is just how very ‘English’ The Evil Dead are, especially their leader Slaughterhouse. Shouting “Orf with their heads” before two soldiers get brutally decapitated, tutting when others put up a fight, using drawn out proper grammar and such words as “splendid” while all around is death and destruction. Believe it or not, there’s even a funny moment used to lighten the dark opening when they win their battle and dead bodies are strewn everywhere.

There’s something of note right off the bat with this issue’s story. The government is referred to as that of ‘Greater Britain’. Now for any readers of an international flavour who may not be aware, ‘Great Britain’ as we know it today is made up of England, Scotland and Wales. I live in Northern Ireland and that’s part of ‘The United Kingdom (UK) of Great Britain and Northern Ireland’. Northern Ireland is separate from ‘Great Britain’, a mistake many make. The fact the Dragon’s Claws comic refers to the government of Britain rather than the UK makes me think we’ve scarpered and rejoined Ireland away from the dystopia of the land within which The Game is set. Thank goodness! But anyway, I digress.

The one surviving soldier is taken to N.U.R.S.E. where Dragon, his team and the already irritating Deller (he’s meant to be irritating) are assigned their first mission by Stenson to kill The Evil Dead, as if they were nothing more than an irritant rather than murderers. The order is given in such a blasé way it’s clear N.U.R.S.E. care not for those they’ve hired. They give the orders and the foot soldiers must obey. This results in Dragon losing his temper because as far as his was concerned his team were independents, going out into Britain to clear up the mess of the government’s Game on their own. But Stenson has them over a barrel, he knows their lives felt meaningless without The Game and they back down.

“Mercy – you let your father’s business go bankrupt while you chased vendettas”

Stenson

We find out a little more about the various members of Dragon’s Claws here after last issue concentrated almost solely on Dragon. The most interesting one for me is Mercy, the sole woman of the team. Since they withdrew from The Game she’s used all the money from her father’s business to chase after those lawbreakers who had enough money to stop any potential repercussions from occurring. In the current climate we find ourselves in I do hope we find out more about her time doing that, it’s quite topical after all. (There’s also something very ‘Knight Rider‘ about that, a show where the hero chased after “criminals who operate above the law”.)

Dragon takes off and over the next couple of pages we see him back at his farm, now a desolate, abandoned wreck after the battle with the Wildcats last time. It’s these little quieter moments that have made these first two issues for me. It would’ve been very easy to have action from cover to cover but in such a fantastical set up these scenes ground our characters, the result being we believe in them, and care for them and the outcome of the story more. His family haven’t returned and then Scavenger turns up to warn him Deller has pulled rank and taken the team out in search of The Evil Dead.

Dragons Claws were opponents worthy of his skills, now he sees them as mere government lackeys

Deller is desperate to be the hero, the leader responsible for bringing them in or killing them, obsessed with personal glory. Of course, we can immediately see where this kind of character will end up leading the team, and that’s into immediate danger. The team’s protestations and attempts to quell his blood lust and self-importance fall on deaf ears. Seeing the lion-like Feral feasting on a dead body out in the open Deller immediately gives chase into an enclosed area, the Claws trying to stop him but it’s too late. Of course it’s a trap.

Another little moment here is the area this is taking place in is referred to as ‘The ‘Pool’. Clearly meaning Liverpool, it’s an area Steel stays away from because it’s known as The Evil Dead’s home, somewhere they know like the backs of their hands and would obviously have the advantage. One-by-one this advantage see the Claws fall. Captured, Slaughterhouse is more disappointed than angry. Dragons Claws were opponents worthy of his skills, now he sees them as mere government lackeys.

As you can see Dragon appears at the last moment, saving Deller’s life. He’s no stranger to having an advantage himself and as the Grim Reaper-esque Kronos sneaks up behind him Feral notices Dragon has no scent. He’s a hologram and there’s a pressure pad just behind it, which Kronos steps on, instantly exploding. The other members of The Evil Dead are Hex, a circus showman with poisonous darts and hypnotising eyes and Death Nell, Slaughterhouse’s other half who appears to have had some kind of romantic history with Steel!

Anyway, the battle we’ve been building up to is rather short and sweet but no less entertaining and ultimately satisfying. On one page Slaughterhouse’s order to kill the Claws falls on deaf ears, or rather dead ears. Scavenger, a master of stealth if last issue’s cameo and the fact he was able to sneak up on Dragon on his farm are anything to go by, has quietly severed his team mates’ bindings (without even them knowing how), meaning Steel can surprise Nell in a moment that initially confused me. Initially, I questioned why he didn’t just hit her earlier? It hadn’t been clear from previous panels they’d had their hands tied behind their backs until Mercy’s explanation made me go back and check.

Dragon is sniping from scaffolding on top of a very tall building nearby and as Slaughterhouse lunges at him he’s apparently taken by surprise, getting scraped by huge nails and kicked in the head in the process. But like the hologram there’s a bit of clever misdirection here on Dragon’s part. Riling Slaughterhouse up until his anger takes over and he leaps through the air, Dragon doesn’t dodge out of the way or put up a fight, instead grabbing Slaughterhouse and letting his momentum push them both over the edge.

Special mention must be made of Steve White’s colouring. It’s glorious!

Then, as we turn to the final page we can see he’d actually tied his ankle to the building, stopping him as Slaughterhouse falls to his apparent doom.  Of course with a team made up of such characters as The Evil Dead, and with hints in the story that they may actually be dead already, there’s no sign of his body. As for Feral, it looks like Scavenger made a meal out of dealing with him! Their leader and his girlfriend may be the only ones to have survived now that Dragon’s Claws have been sanctioned to kill.

Written by Simon Furman and enthusiastically brought to the page by Geoff Senior, with editor Richard Starkings on lettering (under the pseudonym ‘Zed’), special mention must be made of Steve White‘s colouring. It’s glorious! His work on Transformers was always exemplary but this surpasses even that. His backgrounds are atmospheric, shading can be subtle in places like faces and in-your-face in others. It’s big, brash and bold in the very best possible way. (Check out his colour work for Xenozoic Tales in an issue of Jurassic Park too!) This is a collection of creative people that could give Dragon’s Claws a run for their money in the teamwork stakes.

Strangely one of the Marvel UK adverts in this issue is for the comic the reader was actually holding. Weird. There’s also a humour strip, a constant in most of the publisher’s action titles. The Reverend P. Gunn’s debut last issue wasn’t great but this one is funny and the art is great fun. Along with Richard and Steve, writer John Carnell and artist Andy Lanning were well known to me at the time from The Real Ghostbusters and this is a perfect outlet for their bizarre sense of humour that I loved so much in the licenced comic. Would further strips have been funny or more like last month’s? Who knows? This was also Gunn’s final appearance!

So yes, Dragon’s Claws has produced another dynamite issue. It feels very much like the second part of last issue’s introduction and I am perfectly fine with that. I want to find out so much more about these characters already and I know there’s the real potential here for that to happen while not skimping on the action, thanks to Simon’s writing. If I’d known about the comic at the time these first two issues would’ve had me hooked and placing a regular order at my newsagent. Today I’m hooked and you can look forward to regular coverage, the next bit of which will be the review for #3 on Sunday 13th August 2023.

iSSUE ONE < > iSSUE THREE

DRAGON’S CLAWS MENU

Comic Reviews, Dragon's Claws

DRAGON’S CLAWS #1: SiNK YOUR TEETH iN

Leave a comment

The start of a new real time read through is always an event on the blog, this one particularly so because I’ve never read a single issue of Dragon’s Claws before. So why is it here when all previous read throughs have been based on comics I collected (or tried to) as a kid? I may not have started buying Marvel UK’s Transformers in time to see the Dragon’s Claws hype, but I was aware of its final few issues and was always intrigued by these smaller, US-style comics by the publisher.

However, with a maximum on the number of comics I could reserve, and only 50p pocket money for any more beyond that, I only ever bought the first issue of Death’s Head out of the whole range. Despite wanting to read them that pocket money got spent on more familiar comics every time. I feel like I missed out, so this is the start of me catching up on what appeared at the time to be excellent comics. It’s off to a good start with that Geoff Senior cover.

The Dragon’s Domain editorial page introduces us to the concept. (To be honest, I’m surprised the human race lasted another 6000 years!) So in the year 8162 Earth is dying. The governments of the world could work to do something to help people but instead they just distract the populace (surprise, surprise). This distraction is The Game. A violent event in which teams basically kill each other while it’s all broadcast live, The Game kept the civilians in line with something to enjoy as the world crumbled around them and off the government’s back.

Created by writer Simon Furman and artist Geoff Senior, legends with the Robots in Disguise, their new creation starts off hard

When it descended into chaos it was cancelled and sure enough the public, with no outlet for their fears and anger, turned to rioting and civil unrest. The Fastfax (with a date that was meant to coincide with #1’s launch before it was delayed) gives us an update on the state of the country and it’s a shock to see how many civilians died during a sanctioned game. How many innocent casualties did The Game have? I’m guessing the government nor the viewing public actually cared, this is meant to be an 80s dystopian future after all.

Richard Starkings was the editor of Dragon’s Claws. He was also the launch editor of a comic I was collecting at the time, namely The Real Ghostbusters. Also going by the name ‘Zed’ when lettering there were very few Marvel UK comics I bought as a kid that he didn’t have a hand in. Also listed is designer John Tomlinson, writer for Rogue Trooper: Remembrance Day in #2000 of 2000AD, Armoured Gideon and one of those other oft-advertised-in-Transformers US-size comics, Knights of Pendragon. Dragon’s Claws itself was created by writer Simon Furman and artist Geoff Senior, legends with the Robots in Disguise and their new creation starts off hard.

“Earth 8162. Not a nice place to live… But a good place… to die!” Thus starts a three-page teaser as a military group are pinned down and under fire. Obviously highly trained, they’re no match for the five individuals hunting them. We see glimpses of large guns, huge claws and even bigger hair as the team are all picked off one-by-one, like a scene from Aliens. This is the Evil Dead mentioned in the Fastfax, the group who appear to be the main cause for The Game’s cancellation.

Their visual identity is kept secret for now but it’s confirmed it’s them when we pay a brief visit to the headquarters of the National Union of Retired Sports Experts (N.U.R.S.E). Officially created to help former game players into post-career employment, it reeks of a shady government department with an ulterior motive. They hire former player Deller to track down and reactivate the Dragon’s Claws team to stop the Evil Dead. He isn’t happy. He wanted that job for himself.

This is when we meet Dragon. The top team of The Game have all gone their separate ways and their leader has been living a happy life on his farm with his wife Tanya and their son Michael. A very happy life actually. What with real fruit and vegetables being so rare they’ve got quite the happy life together growing their produce and selling it at the ginormous Marketplace. Michael is seven-years-old, which gives you some indication of how long after The Game this is for them.

But as we’re introduced to Dragon it’s clear something is very wrong. He’s not sleeping, he’s tense, stressed, quick to lose his temper and he’s become obsessed with viewing old recordings of The Game in which the Claws were undefeatable. He doesn’t know why he’s doing this (as he subtly hints at above) and no answer is given yet, so already we’ve got an interesting character plot point to build upon. Not knowing Michael has sneaked out of bed and is watching from behind, Dragon replays the team’s final victorious game.

This is the only time we see any of his teammates Mercy, Steel, Digit and Scavenger in the issue despite their appearance on the cover. As such, I think the strip advert for the comic actually did a better job of introducing them (and included their dog). What this does very successfully is show how well they worked together as a team. With Dragon seemingly making an unwise solo run for the finish all the other teams ganged up to kill him. Not that any of them could’ve won the trophy with The Evil Dead in such a close second place, they just wanted to stop the Claws from winning yet again.

But it was all part of the plan and as each team member makes an appearance the tide of battle turns, just as they planned. But Tanya isn’t happy. Angry that Michael is being exposed to such violence and frustrated at Dragon’s recent behaviour a huge argument is interrupted by the arrival of Deller, who calls Dragon “old man”, emphasising again the passage of time since the action we’ve just seen. He’s already visited the others to recruit them and every one of them has said they’ll only join if Dragon does. But Dragon turns Deller away, explaining that when he retired he meant it, and returns to his family.

It’s clear you’d need to be of a certain mindset to want to take part in The Game

We started the story with an action teaser to show the dire situation and set up the hero’s replacement who doesn’t want the hero back, but has no choice but to work with him. We saw the hero now a shadow of his former self, surely unable to be that hero again and he turns down the opportunity. So far, so typical of many classic action movies. What would happen next in those films is the former hero would find himself in a situation where he has no choice but to fight, which he discovers he’s missed, leading him to change his mind and return to being the hero once more, albeit reluctantly. Well, it just so happens the next day at the Marketplace things don’t go too well, coincidentally enough.

The Wildcats are also a former Game team who’d let the power go to their heads. Terrorising the market one of them tries to steal from the wrong stall. Easily beating him up and scaring the rest of them off for now, Dragon is chastised by Tanya for resorting to violence so easily and they pack up and leave, along with Michael and their farm hand Saul. But on the way home the Wildcats catch up and try several times to kill them. Trying to save his family Dragon drives too fast, losing control and crashing into their home.

Tanya is convinced this is all part of some wider plot to lure Dragon back to The Game. She just wants them all to flee together and find somewhere peaceful to live. But Dragon can’t. He struggles with the decision but ultimately feels he can’t back down, he has to fight back, so he orders Saul to take his family and run. One by one he picks off the Wildcats until one of them panics and turns the huge turret on the whole home, including one of their own in a darkly funny moment here.

It’s clear there’s some psychological issue at play with Dragon. His teammates all seem like very unique individuals to say the least, and the other teams we’ve seen so far are way out there. Given what The Game is, it’s clear you’d need to be of a certain mindset to want to take part. Dragon had been genuinely happy for a long time, so maybe something triggered this mental issue he’s been suffering recently, or maybe it was just inevitable. I hope we get to see plenty of character development in future issues to explore this and the reasons he (and the rest of his team) think like this.

I’m not doubting Simon’s ability to develop character, after all he took small plastic robots and turned them into incredible three-dimensional individuals for years. But with hindsight we know Dragon’s Claws only lasted for ten issues, so it’s whether or not Simon had the time to delve into his characters. This initial chapter certainly sets things up in a way that shows there’s plenty of scope for such development, not just with the people he’s created but with the wider world including the suspicious N.U.R.S.E. It’ll be interesting to see how the next nine months play out.

That “Nuff Said” phrase was really overused by Marvel UK at the time! Anyway, the beats of the story may not be that original but the fact it feels like a bit of a clichéd 80s action flick just makes me love it more, and remember this is only chapter one. I can’t wait to see how Simon develops this initial idea. Geoff’s art is sublime throughout too. (Even if a story is rubbish I think Geoff would have the ability to make it enjoyable.) His clean lines, hard edges and ability to not only produce highly animated action scenes on the static page, but also emotive characters so effectively adds the kind of depth those 80s movies could only have dreamed of.

Alongside Steve White’s colours this was a winning team on Transformers and so far that’s translating perfectly to this original property. No wonder it was so hyped in the pages of Transformers (even if they didn’t mention the creative team to begin with), this was right up the readers’ alley. There are enough little details to establish a complete world too, such as a ‘Game Tax’ where every citizen must pay towards the games whether they want to or not (and you thought the Licence Fee was bad?). I’m left with the overriding feeling of a solid foundation that’s ready to explore some really interesting possibilities.

I have every faith that what lies ahead will just get better and better

The strip takes up 22 pages of this 28-page comic, the remainder including a humour strip called Reverend P. Gunn and a few adverts for other Marvel UK publications. First up is Speakeasy, the ‘Comics Newspaper’. I actually have #76 of this because it contains an article about OiNK. I like how it’s sold at the same size as a regular comic or magazine only to fold out to actual newspaper size. Anyway, that’ll be added to the blog at some point so watch out for it.

The first issue of the new Action Force Monthly (another of the US-size comics launched) doesn’t exactly have the most inspiring cover for new readers. For fans like me who had been following along with the back up strip in Transformers, before it was unceremoniously yanked mid-story, it’s great to see certain characters together again. But for potential new readers it doesn’t exactly get across the action-packed storylines, does it? Action Force Monthly would last for 16 issues and get repackaged for the states as G.I. Joe The European Missions.

Much better is the advert for the publisher’s ongoing top-seller and a real favourite of mine, Transformers. I mentioned in the introductory post for Dragon’s Claws how Richard Starkings had requested one-page stories from a range of their comics, each in the style of the strips they’d normally create as a way of promoting what they contained. I’ve already shown you the ones produced for both Dragon’s Claws and Death’s Head and this next one takes pride of place on the back page of this issue.

Written by Simon with art by Lee Sullivan, letters by Glib (Action Force, Doctor Who, Digitek) and colours by Steve I think this perfectly sums up where the comic was at this point, with the hype machine really making its mark in that final panel. Very exciting times! Speaking of summing up its time I did so for #1 of Dragon’s Claws which has had a very strong start.

Ten issues doesn’t feel like enough time to fully explore the amount of possibilities this one issue has shown us, but I have every faith that what lies ahead will at the very least just get better and better. From the feedback and site views already received I can tell this is one read through many others are looking forward to as well. You (and I) can look forward to the review of #2 on Sunday 9th July 2023.

GO TO iSSUE TWO

DRAGON’S CLAWS MENU

Comic Introductions, Dragon's Claws

DRAGON’S CLAWS: iN REAL TiME

Leave a comment

The year of 1988 was a big one for new releases from Marvel UK. One such comic was The Real Ghostbusters which I began collecting as soon as it launched that March, however most of its advertising space was taken up with the new franchise’s own merchandise. Marvel UK news and promotions were for the most part kept within the pages of their truly epic top-selling Transformers comic, which I only began collecting in November 1988, so I missed this little announcement on its 7th May editorial page.

Dragon’s ‘Teeth’? We’ll get to that. So, all was set for the UK arm of Marvel to release its first original smaller format monthly. Regular readers of the blog will know I’ve already begun the Death’s Head read through with an introductory post and his guest appearance in Doctor Who Magazine. His own US-format comic would appear in November 1988, but up first came Simon Furman and Geoff Senior’s other original creation, although Transformers doesn’t mention they’re the pair behind it yet.

For it being set so far into the future Dragon’s Claws certainly has an air of familiarity about it

Marvel UK was having great success with licenced titles, in particular the likes of the two mentioned which mixed original strips with American reprints (the latter would come eventually in the case of The Real Ghostbusters). But the company wanted to expand. They’d had a success with Captain Britain and now the focus was on producing mature titles very much in the tradition of their parent company. Dragon’s Claws was to be the first of these, comics that Marvel UK could export back to the States. Even Action Force got a revamp the same month as a physically smaller monthly comic and was sold in the US as ‘G.I. Joe The European Missions’.

On 21st May there was an update in Transformers and a half-page ‘feature’ explaining the premise in more depth (in the same issue as Death’s Head’s High Noon Tex, I should mention). In a dystopian future 6000 years from now Earth is dying, the seas are drying up, animals are becoming extinct and civil unrest is widespread as poverty and starvation take hold. Instead of actually doing anything about it the world government instead distracts the populace to bring them in line. For it being set so far into the future it certainly has an air of familiarity about it.

A violent, deadly televised game (simply referred to as ‘The Game’) is created and for a moment unrest is calmed. But then the game itself descends into chaos. It becomes a free-for-all where teams begin playing outside the rules for their own dreams of power beyond the game. The Dragon’s Claws team drop out as a result. Now they’re being reassembled by the government to go out into the world and bring down those teams causing so much of the terror their game was meant to quell.

In Transformers #167 the announcement was made that the premiere issue of this bold new comic was to hit newsstands within the week, although it’s strange the creative team still isn’t mentioned, especially given how Simon and Geoff were such a huge part of Transformers’ success. (Fans would’ve recognised Geoff’s art, but still.) Thing is, the first issue wouldn’t appear for another few weeks and when it did it’d have a different name. Both of these factors can’t have helped sales of the first issue.

In fact, the first issue didn’t go on sale until 11th June (according to the Mighty Marvel Checklist in other Marvel UK comics of the time) and under the name Dragon’s Claws, yet a week later on 18th June Transformers #171 ran another editorial calling it by the original ‘Teeth’ and hyping #2. Of course, deadlines being what they are this would’ve been written before the name change and the subsequent delay. At least they were finally promoting who was behind it to Simon’s and Geoff’s fans.

Eventually in #174 of Transformers, not on sale until 9th July(!), the date the second issue was actually released the name change was finally mentioned. That was a bit of a rocky launch, wasn’t it? So what happened? At the last moment it had come to Marvel UK’s attention a small press comics company had the same name and so ‘Teeth’ became ‘Claws’, although the logo (created by editor Richard Starkings) stayed the same. I’ll admit I never knew of the original name until decades later and yet the logo never seemed out of place. Now, it’s obvious why it’s a set of teeth, of course.

Knowing Simon’s Transformers writing I’m really looking forward to seeing how this one plays out

Simon Furman was inspired to create Dragon’s Claws after Live Aid which brought a higher awareness of global differences and injustices to the rest of the world. On the surface the reason behind The Game sounds quite similar to that in Walter Simonson’s Star Slammers which I’ve covered in the Havoc read through, although having not yet read Dragon’s Claws I’m only going by these initial press releases. I may not have been a huge fan of Slammers, but knowing Simon’s Transformers writing I’m sure there’s more to it, so I’m really looking forward to seeing how this one plays out.

As a preview, an advertisement featuring a one-page comic strip was produced, running for the first time in Transformers #171.

Whoops, a mention of the team’s original name slipped through in the second panel there, although it was picked up on by the time it was published in Visionaries. (I do like the not-so-subtle hint in panel four.) Adverts like these were Richard’s idea, who wanted individual comics to create a one-page strip very much in the style of the comic. This seemed like the perfect way to promote them and the likes of this, Death’s Head, Transformers and The Sleeze Brothers did just that. For some reason Doctor Who Magazine decided to do a humour strip instead (you can see in this Visionaries post). Each are highly memorable to this day so clearly did their job with this reader anyway.

Saying that, Dragon’s Claws only lasted for ten issues before it was cancelled. Around this time the UK comics market was becoming overly-saturated, a problem I’ve mentioned before in other read throughs. It was much like the videogames market before it collapsed a few years previous. Take Barrie Tomlinson’s Wildcat for example, a superb original title that deserved to thrive. If that can get lost on the shelves then these tinier monthlies were always going to struggle. Richard has previously told me the costs of originated material required higher than normal sales to succeed too.

Now at least three of these are going to get the OiNK Blog treatment, beginning with Dragon’s Claws, then Death’s Head and another I’ve already mentioned will join in due course.

I missed all the hype at the time or I’d have definitely tried this comic out in the 80s. It’s time to rectify that. I’ve had this collection sitting on my shelves since before I launched the blog in April 2021, so you can imagine how excited I am that the time has finally come when I can read them! (The blog has rules to follow, will power is needed to run this site, you know.) There was also a one-page epilogue produced in 2004 by Simon and Geoff but for now let’s concentrate on the original run. The Dragon’s Claws real time read through begins in just one week on Sunday 7th June 2023. I can’t wait!

GO TO iSSUE ONE

DRAGON’S CLAWS MENU

Comic Reviews, Death's Head

DOCTOR WHO MAGAZiNE #135: READYiNG DEATH’S HEAD

Leave a comment

When this edition of Doctor Who Magazine hit newsstands I hadn’t even watched a single episode yet! It wouldn’t be long before I was a fan though and today I most certainly am, but I’ll get to that at the end of this post when I point something out in the news column of the issue. That’s not why we’re here though. We’re here for the comic strip starring a certain Freelance Peace-Keeping Agent, yes?

The last anyone saw of Death’s Head was when he disappeared through an exploding time portal in the pages of Transformers #151. While we saw the others he shoved through the portal survive the implication was clear he was missing rather than dead and readers eagerly awaited a surprise return at some point. That inevitable return was only two months later, but what was even more surprising was where it happened: in a different publication.

Written by Simon Furman and drawn by Geoff Senior with letters by Zed and edited by Richard Starkings (actually Zed is Richard), The Crossroads of Time was a one-off eight-page strip in #135 of DWM (which is at #588 at the time of writing). The magazine was a very different publication back then, with 36 pages and only the covers and middle four in colour (as opposed to the 84 full-colour pages it has today, complete with regular Lew Stringer Daft Dimension strip), but just like the best of the black and white stories in later issues of Transformers I think this really highlights Geoff’s inks and gorgeous details, some of which are very funny.

The opening page sets things up straight after The Legacy of Unicron with Death’s Head still travelling through space and time and crashing into the TARDIS. Soon both he and the Doctor (their seventh television incarnation, portrayed by Sylvester McCoy) find themselves on a random, barren planet along with a Time Warden, an impartial arbitrator. The warden weighs up the situation by taking one look at Death’s Head and decides they’ll have to come to an agreement without him.

Ever the opportunist, Death’s Head gives the Doctor a choice between bargaining or dying, and asks if he has anything to trade. Realising jelly babies aren’t going to cut it the Doctor realises he has one of the Master’s Tissue Compression Eliminators. This is a device his evil counterpart would use to shrink people down into tiny little toy solder-esque versions of themselves, effectively killing them.

It was actually seen in one of the more recent series when my own personal favourite Doc, Jodie Whittaker’s take on the character, went up against Sacha Dhawan’s highly memorable Master. In it he used the compressor to kill quite a few people in a particularly nasty fashion. Indeed, back in our strip the Doctor acknowledges it’s a horrible device but that “desperate situations call for desperate measures”. But the fact Death’s Head is already so huge has an unexpected result.

Despite wracking his body with pain, instead of shrinking him to minuscule size its power only brings him down to the same size as the Doctor. While it’s not a large image of Death’s Head’s face, you can clearly see his shock even from the side angle. After being a Transformer-sized mechanoid who could strike fear into his targets just by being there I find his face here so funny! The Doctor’s reaction is also meant to be funny, but I find it rather out of character.

Yes, he was obviously in danger but he hadn’t even really tried to talk himself out of the situation at hand before turning to a device he hoped would “eliminate” Death’s Head? That sounds more like something a Dalek would do. Even when I started watching Doctor Who with season 25 it was clear he didn’t go around simply killing the villains when he first bumped into them. This story was set during McCoy’s first year as the Doctor when he was still very much a slapstick, comedy version of the character with some elements of Colin Baker’s previous, darker incarnation thrown in, so I think this is just a joke comment rather than anything else.

Death’s Head would pop up in one more Marvel UK comic before his starring role, namely Dragon’s Claws

The following season (my first) he was a mysterious, thoughtful Doctor, often initialising the stories rather than reacting to some evil doer. I absolutely loved that portrayal, so reading this from the year before feels strange to me. But hey, I should’ve started watching it earlier! There’s a fast-paced chase to add some action, culminating in the Doctor finally getting an idea as to how he can turn the situation around and he calls out to Death’s Head that he has a trade to make.

I love that moment. It perfectly demonstrates the character of Death’s Head, his disappointment that he can no longer kill the Doctor because business always comes first. I’m sure I can look forward to a lot more of this humour in his own comic.

But what does the Doctor have that could possibly be of any use in a trade? Obviously, the TARDIS. We know he’ll have no intention of honouring this trade and anyone who has seen the show in recent years can probably predict what happens next. First of all though, it’s a bit of a thrill for this fan of both these characters to have Death’s Head get that enjoyable moment usually reserved for new companions, when they get to see the interior of the phone box for the first time.

The Doctor successfully bluffs his foe into his own fate by quickly running through some technobabble by means of instructions on how to time travel (remember, Death’s Head wasn’t a time traveller, he used others’ tech to do so in Transfomers), before pretending to leave it in the hands of its new owner. Death’s Head stops him, convinced if he did as instructed it would turn out to be a trap and tells him they’ll travel together for the first trip. Of course, this is what the Doctor planned all along and he sets the controls for Earth in the year 8162, concentrating the time circuits on the mechanoid who dematerialises accompanied by the text of that famous sound effect.

Why did the Doctor choose Earth to send a dangerous bounty hunter to? (…Ouch!! Sorry! Freelance Peace-Keeping Agent!…) He’s spent most of his life trying to save us daft humans and the strip even ends with him telling us our home is his favourite planet. Oh well, it’s still been a fun strip even if it’s left me a bit confused with The Doctor’s actions at times. But most importantly it’s set things up perfectly for Death’s Head’s monthly and that was its purpose in the end. (UPDATE: Actually, three months after writing this post, having now reviewed the first issue of another comic that date suddenly seems awfully familiar.)

So he’s now ready to interact with all manner of human characters and by the looks of the advert in the introductory post he even gets a human sidekick. In fact, I think I can just about remember him. I’ll find out in November I guess. I do know from seeing images of the covers over the years that he meets a couple of Marvel’s superheroes along the way so it’ll be interesting to see those interactions, what with his single-mindedness and dark sense of humour. (Kind of makes me think of Deadpool actually.) The TARDIS is even on one cover so there must be a rematch to come!

Before I round things up I wanted to show you the news story that stood out to me.

The story Remembrance of the Daleks was my first encounter with the series. It was a brilliant introduction! Made to mark the 25th anniversary of the Daleks I’d never seen anything like it and I was a fan straight away. This issue breaks the news of the new season’s opening story and it really took me back to that evening sitting in front of the portable TV in my bedroom when I decided on a whim to tune in. There are other points of interest in the magazine too.

It’s edited by Shiela Cranna who was the launch editor of Transformers and friend of the blog John Freeman is the designer and gets plenty of praise on the letters page. On those pages there’s also evidence nothing changes though, with some readers complaining others who like the new Doctor and the current show runner “aren’t true fans”. (Sigh.) It’s like Twitter before Twitter. There’s also a mention of a new Holywood movie which as we know would eventually become the 1996 TV movie pilot. I always find it interesting to read old magazines like this when I know how things turned out.

But anyway, back to the main subject at (detachable) hand.

Things may be all set for a brand new monthly comic starring one of the greatest comics creations of all time (in my opinion) but we’ve a while to wait, what with the first issue’s release date being 5th November. That TARDIS would come in handy. But actually, we haven’t got quite that long to wait and this is where I break the news of the next real time read through to come to the OiNK Blog. Death’s Head would pop up in one more Marvel UK comic before his starring role, namely Dragon’s Claws also created by Simon and Geoff.

For now don’t forget there’s an introductory post showing highlights from Death’s Head’s stories in Transformers (and links to all of the Instagram posts from that multi-year read through too) along with more details about his creation and some insights from the comic’s editor Richard Starkings who very kindly contributed. The Dragon’s Claws will join the blog on Sunday 14th May 2023, #5 featuring Death’s Head will be reviewed on Sunday 17th September and then his own debut issue will be here on Sunday 5th November. I think it’s going to be a good year, yes?

GO TO DRAGON’S CLAWS 5

DEATH’S HEAD MENU