The All-Star All-Purpose Comic Query Thread

[mosquito617]

Originally Posted by Lee Grice

Sandman: Endless Nights
Yes and (kinda) No - "Yes" because it introduces all the Endless and the wider concepts of the mythology, is beautifully illustrated and a good read.

(kinda) "No" because (IIRC, it been a while since I read it) as it was written after the main series was finished it spoils one or two mysteries that feature in the main story, should you go on to read it.

That doesn't help you at all does it?

Actually it does. Am glad to know it gives me a good intro, and I don't particularly mind bout the spoilers. i like knowing some things before hand. cheers Steve. Now go drool over the Gorgeous Stace a bit more

[Happy-Hangman]

'Endless Nights' is a great wee book. The spoilers for the main series are a pain in the backside, but it does work as a self-contained anthology.

[Lee Grice]

Originally Posted by mosquito617

Actually it does. Am glad to know it gives me a good intro, and I don't particularly mind bout the spoilers. i like knowing some things before hand. cheers Steve. Now go drool over the Gorgeous Stace a bit more

"Steve?" :lol:

[Happy-Hangman]

Is that your secret identity?

[mosquito617]

Bugger! Read before you post woman! Damn Sudafed have whacked me out. Sorry Lee.

[Lee Grice]

Originally Posted by mosquito617

Bugger! Read before you post woman! Damn Sudafed have whacked me out. Sorry Lee.

:lol: no bother - I was just worried it was going to turn into some 'Trigger-from-Fools & Horses'-type running gag...!

Wasn't there a character in a Gene Wilder movie who kept calling everyone Steve? :?:

[mosquito617]

Oh quite possibly.

Just figured out why, i scanned up to check your name, and Obi Steve had posted above you, I think i may have clocked that by mistake. Thats it, no more drugs. :twisted:

[fenris]

New question: purely for my own geeky curiosity, I'm trying to establish how many horror comics have been produced in the UK by mainstream/news-stand publishers. These are the series I'm already aware of;

Shiver and Shake. IPC/Fleetway. 10/03/73 - 05/10/74. 83 issues. A weekly humour comic with horror-themed characters and stories.

Monster Fun. IPC/Fleetway. 14/06/75 - 30/10/76. 72 issues. Another horror-themed humour weekly. Despite Shiver and Shake being relatively short-lived, someone at IPC clearly still believed in the concept.

Spellbound. DC Thompson. 25/09/76 - 14/01/78. 69 issues. The first 'serious' British horror comic weekly. Intended for female readers.

Misty. IPC/Fleetway. 04/02/78 - 12/01/80. 101 issues. Also intended for girls, but quite liked by boys as well. Was supposed to compete with Spellbound, but ironically the DC Thompson title folded three weeks before Misty launched.

Scream. IPC/Fleetway. 24/03/84 - 30/06/84. 15 issues. The first British horror comic aimed specifically at boys, it concentrated on blood and grue. Never stood a chance. Didn't anyone at IPC remember what happened with Action?

The actual question/request for help (in three parts);
1.) I'm trying to find out the number of issues and first & final publication dates of Marvel UK's Dracula Lives weekly and their pocket-sized Chiller monthly (Okay, both may have been merely reprinting American material, but who can deny Marvel UK's status as a major news-stand publisher in this country?). I've searched on-line for this info, but have drawn a blank. Can anyone enlighten me?
2.) Does the Seventies monthly House of Hammer (subsequently retitled Hall of Horror) quality as an actual comic? Based on what I've read, it seems to be more accurate to describe it as a movie magazine with some comic strips included - mostly adaptations of films.
3.) And finally, are there any UK horror comics that I've missed?

[Happy-Hangman]

I believe there were 17 'Chiller' pocket-books - which were off-loaded to someone or other by me in the early days of the Giveaway thread.

As to other horror comics, there was a title - back in the early-to-mid '90s - which adapted old Hammer fims in comic-book form. I had the 'Quatermass Xperiment' issue....but lost it during renovaions a couple of years back, and I'm damned if I can remember the title (and I don't think it was the 'House of Hammer' adaptation - http://www.nigelkneale.cwc.net/strips.htm - though I can't be sure).

[Lee Grice]

I think you've got the complete list there, fenris...

I do seem to remember a few reprint magazines of European horror comics but I don't think they appeared regularly or could be classifies as 'mainstream'...

As for the start/finish of Dracula Lives I'll have a nosey see what I can turn up - its the sort of info I was sure I'd be able to track down in a second but apparently not...!

(I do know it ran at least 70 issues and finally merged with Mighty World Of Marvel)