Unused Wizard Magazine cover featuring Motormouth and Killpower, byCurrie and Lanning.

 

An Unused Wizard Magazine cover featuring Motormouth and Killpower, by Andrew Currie and Andy Lanning.

 

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Out Tomorrow: Revolutionary War - Death's Head II

Hi guys.

Just a quick post to remind you that tomorrow (12th January 2014) sees the release of the fourth Chapter of Revolutionary War. This time it's Death's Head II's turn, courtesy of Andy Lanning, Alan Cowsill and Nick Roche.

If you're interested the cover looks like this:

With a truly wonderful variant cover courtesy of DH II's co-creator Liam Sharp.

REVOLUTIONARY WAR: DEATH'S HEAD II #1

ANDY LANNING & ALAN COWSILL (W) • NICK ROCHE (A)

Cover by MARK BROOKS
Variant Cover by LIAM SHARP
Part 4 of "Revolutionary War"
• The long-awaited return of DEATH'S HEAD -- one of the biggest hits of the original Marvel UK!
• Death's Head! Death's Head II! On an adventure together for the first time EVER!
• What threat could be grave enough to bring these two heroes together from across time? How about the villainous Mys-Tech organization resurfacing with an army?!
32 PGS./ONE-SHOT/Rated T+ ...$3.99

There's a 3 page preview up at comic book resources. In which we see Captain Britain being returned 'home' of  sorts, to the Darkmoor Research Centre from Captain Britain #1. This issue has a number of promising factors in play, not least of which being BOTH Death's Heads.

So, go out and grab it! :)

And for the astute among you, yes, I know we're missing a Chapter 3 Summary. It's coming...

In the meanwhile enjoy this page from tomorrow's issue.

Clarifying the Timeline of Revolutionary War in the Marvel Universe.

Hi folks,

In my last blog article I went into quite some detail over the first issue of Revolutionary War and how it fitted into Marvel continuity. In particular trying to place the Battle of London Bridge may have occurred, and asking if (as it seemed) Killpower had gotten trapped on the other side of a portal how could he have taken part in the events of Captain Britain & MI13.

Well, on that issue thread we were lucky enough for series co-creator Andy Lanning to have dropped by and clarified a few things about the course of events we are seeing in Revolutionary War. And as it turns out I had the order of events a little skewif in terms of quite where they fit.

I've asked Andy if he'd be okay why my posting his comments up for the rest of you to easier find, and he's said he's okay with that. So here, in his own words, is how things fit.

Wotcha Mark,

Just thought I'd pop in and clarify the confusion about the timeline in Revolutionary War.

I've noticed a few comments about when it is set and probable continuity errors regarding Killpower.
This is a problem facing most creators when dealing with long running continuity in any established comic universe. We had to make a call early on as to when this story was set and how it slotted into on-going story continuity.

I've always tried to respect continuity as much as possible- out of respect for previous creators and for the fans who have been reading a title for a long time.

Sometimes this can be difficult; especially when you want to bring in new readers who may be put off because of the weight of established continuity as well as dealing with the complete illogical nature of story time verses real time.

So, bearing in mind all the above, here’s our approach for revolutionary War:

It’s been 20 years since the last Marvel UK title was published in 1994.

The last time we saw any Marvel UK characters was in Paul Cornell’s excellent Captain Britain & MI13 series which was published in 2008-2009. That’s 5 years ago, real time.

Death’s Head II and other characters have popped up recently in Iron Man and other Marvel titles but MI13 was the last time we saw anything that could be considered ‘Marvel UK’ continuity.

In the Marvel Universe story continuity the events in MI13 were during and after the Skrull Invasion. There’s been a lot of Events in the MU since then but no real sense of how long has passed since the Invasion and now. Just that time has passed because of the changes to various characters in the MU.
We took it that at most 5 years has passed in the MU since the events in MI13 and the start of RW (because this is fact based on real time) but were careful not to be specific as it may cause problems down the line and we want to keep our options open should we get the chance to tell more stories in the MUK Universe (one of which would almost certainly be revisiting the events surrounding the fall of MYSTECH).

During those years, the Battle for London Bridge has taken place and MYSTECH have been defeated, setting the scene for the story we’re telling and the changes in the characters when we meet them now.

It may not be ideal but it’s the best we have and, more importantly, allows us to once and for all establish that the events and characters from Marvel UK take place in the bigger Marvel Universe.
Hope this clears things up.

Thanks for all the support and kind comments

Hope you keep enjoying the story and fingers crossed we get enough buzz from it to do some more in the future!

Cheers
Andy

I hope that helps clear a few things up for folks.

So basically, think of Captain Britain & MI13, with its guest appearances of Motormouth, Killpower, Death's Head, Digitek and Dark Angel as the last Marvel UK story. The flashbacks you are seeing from the Battle of London Bridge happen a while AFTER that. Mys-Tech are taken down, S.H.I.E.L.D. take some element of control, characters get trapped in another dimension, but all some time after that series had concluded.

So, yes, Killpower may well be trapped in another dimension. We'll just have to wait an see... ;)

And I do agree with Andy on this. Story time vs Real Time is a very difficult to balance to strike up. Probably even more so in recent years. Since the end of Secret Invasion really the incredible flow of storylines, crossover Events and status quo changes at Marvel has been much higher than the preceding ten years of comics. With the bulk of Marvel's books also double shipping these past two years that also adds complexity to situation.

Try logically putting a time scale on something like 'Dark Reign' - the period after Secret Invasion where Norman Osborn was given full control of S.H.I.E.L.D., closed it down and replaced it with his own organisation - for example. That period of Marvel status quo lasted for just over a year in publishing time, but even with all the tie-in issues (and there were many) you could probably only truly account for a months worth of actual 'events' in panel. Osborn was clearly in charge for much longer than that, which just kind of shows that any attempts to formulaically measure such things in terms of Real Time is a pretty pointless exercise.

Does it effect the story? No. All you need to know is that Mys-Tech have been gone a long time, and they were defeated a while after Captain Britain & MI13 wrapped.

But, I suppose, for those who absolutely need to place the Battle of London Bridge in amongst all those Marvel status quo periods? Here goes...

Captain Britain & MI13 started during Secret Invasion but wrapped during Dark Reign. Dark Reign ended with Siege, which then began the period of focus upon Heroes coming back, getting together and winning the day named 'The Heroic Age'.

Now it is purely my own opinion here, but a day where all the heroes of Marvel UK got together, in one co-ordinated attack, and took down their greatest enemies once and for all? Well does that just sound in step with the Heroic Age, now? :) It even roughly fits time wise too.

So there you go. No new issue out this week, but I'll be posting up a summary for Revolutionary War: Dark Angel in the week.

Hopefully I'll see you then.

Revolutionary War: Alpha - Some Thoughts & Theories

Hi guys. Right, so I've intentionally left this summary a week, in order to maximise the number of people who are actually going to pick the book up get the chance to go out and do just that, without having it spoiled by me. Comic book stores here in the UK will now have closed. When they reopen tomorrow the second issue of this Event, Revolutionary War: Dark Angel hits the shelves. Courtesy of Kieron Gillen and Dietrich Smith. I have heard a couple of anecdotal reports that the first issue had sold out at their local store, and that more of future issues had been ordered in.

That is hopefully a good sign.

I'm sure there are still copies available out there if you haven't grabbed one yet. The first issue is obviously also still available digitally, on ComiXology.

So, Revolutionary War: Alpha, eh? This one's been a long time coming. But bloody hell, did it deliver. Lanning Cowsill and Elson managed to deliver an opening issue which both pleases the long term fans but I also think is perfectly accessible to new readers.

Do a lot of characters appear in this issue? Sure. Is it important to know who all of them are at this stage? Not imperative, no. This was an issue about introducing concepts and setting a scene, for what is yet to come. Even for us long time readers there were new angles on show here. Things which have come to pass during our time away from these characters.

So, here are a few Thoughts & Theories over what we saw this week. Hopefully they'll serve as a convenient catch up for the following issue also.

1) Psychowraiths. Yes. Psychowraiths.

Or should that be 'Psycho-wraithes'?

Who knows? Does it matter? Not in the slightest. Stop being a pedant.

Along with Psycho-Warriors these guys formed the private armies of the Mys-Tech Corporation. Tank-bred foot-soldiers, who would do exactly as their masters ordered. 

Somebody had to do the heavy lifting for the bad guys. And so much more reliable to just breed them rather than rely on real people, with lives and opinions. 

Mys-Tech had a number of facilities breeding these things for combat, back in the day. Well, it seems like in the Marvel Universe Crossrail's continuing expansions to the London Underground don't merely irritate commuters. They also uncover lost caches of these nasties...

But is this purely an unfortunate disturbing of a long forgotten scientific relic, or did something else trigger these tanks into action?

2) Mys-Tech.

Yes. Mys-Tech. When was the last time we heard from Mys-Tech?

Well, they got a mention back in 2010's Spitfire one-shot, by Paul Cornell and Elena Casagrande. But otherwise we've pretty much heard nothing from them since the end of the Marvel UK imprint. But as anybody who has read this issue will know it certainly looks like they're going to play an important role in this story.

So, in way of reminder, who are the Mys-Tech Board?

The Mys-Tech Board, as they became, started life as a group of men and women who dabbled in the occult. In the year 987 AD they conjured up the demon Mephisto, and entered into a contract with him. A contract in which Mephisto would bestow upon them the gift of immortality, on the proviso that they delivered a prescribed quota of human souls to him. 

A quota which, this being Mephisto, kept on rising. Every year.

To meet the constantly rising numbers they had to get creative...

In the modern age the group formed a company, by the name of the Mys-Tech Corporation, which had a finger in many, many different multinational pies, and owned many many subsidiary companies, research centers and other projects. They orchestrated regional famines, wars, supplied Arms to others, all so that when people died, even indirectly, it was by their hand.

And thus their soul was claimed by Mephisto, and the quota met.

It's all a little bit messed up, when you think about it. But also pretty disturbingly clever. :)

Anyway that's the short version. Observe the picture above. To put names to faces (from left to right) the Board members are Eadmund Porlock, Brendan Rathcoole, Bronwen Gryffn, Gudrun Tyburn, Algernon Crowe and Ormond Wychwood. We did actually see them in flashback form in this issue (in that double page spread).

And I have a feeling we'll be seeing them again.

Crowe is the nominal head of this organisation. It also had a 7th member originally. He was Ranulph Haldane. Father of Shevaun Haldane - Dark Angel. Ranulph was killed by Mephisto some years ago, for trying to find ways out of their Contract, but still maintaining their immortality.

Yeah. Dark Angel's Dad. It's all that closely interconnected. :)

And speaking of that double page spread...

3) Lanning and Cowsill give Marvel UK the conclusion it never got.

The Marvel UK imprint didn't ever get to conclude. When Marvel US pulled the plug the output just... stopped. Warheads, Death's Head Gold, Dark Guard Gold and others just stopped where they fell in the schedule. No conclusion. Many loose ends.

Well, Andy Lanning and Alan Cowsill have retroactively created one.

They're calling it 'The Battle of London Bridge'. S.H.I.E.L.D. apparently covered it up from the general public, but as you can see pretty much every last damn Marvel UK character was involved. See if you can name them all! Even Black Axe and Digitek are in there.

Oh, and the 'Union Juggernaut'. As the messageboards have come to term that period, best left forgotten, in the life of Union Jack. :)

The details are not fully fleshed out yet, but the battle appears to have ended by forcing Mys-Tech through a portal and trapping them in another dimension.

This was not without it's casualties...

4) Wait, did you say S.H.I.E.L.D. ?

Yes. And that's another big reveal.

Yes. Apparently S.H.I.E.L.D. has a European division. It's been monitoring the situation since Mys-Tech fell, and Captain Britain has apparently been working with them, in secret.

Now this has, it has to be said, put a few fans' noses out of joint. The idea that MI13 are swept aside by what most perceive to be a US Government Organisation has irritated some. The notion that Captain Britain could, and would, have kept this a secret from everybody seems either at odds with the character or something they simply could believe.

But let me say two things on this...

Firstly, though Marvel often confuse this, in the way that S.H.I.E.L.D. are used or portrayed, they ARE an international organisation. Much like the United Nations. Just with access to flying battlestations, superheroes and other technology. Their remit is Global. MI13's is National. MI13 aren't being done away with, It's just that here they're kind of the smaller operation.

It's also worth noting that S.H.I.E.L.D. have featured frequently across the history of Marvel UK, from early Captain Britain right through to several appearances during the Imprint Years. This is not the first time they've come in to oversee threats of this kind.

So please calm down. 

They are also used here somewhat as a metaphor. This US based organisation which swept in, chose the guys they wanted to work with and left the others in a state of limbo, either retired or simply unused...

When you think about what happened when Marvel closed down Marvel UK? Well, there are some parallels one could easily draw, there. 

You know. Should they wish to. 

And yes, Captain Britain was probably still with Excalibur at point Mys-Tech fell. Would he have told Pete Wisdom about his involvement with S.H.I.E.L.D.? Then, or later? Possibly. Possibly not. 

I mean when I read this...

I start to get the feeling that Brian himself is only involved with this whole thing because he has to be. Because something stinks about it. Because S.H.I.E.L.D. can't be 100% trusted. Because somebody has to watch over them.

Brian is often noble to a fault. Could he have kept all of this to himself in order to do that? It's not impossible in my book. Either way there's clearly more too this than is currently being revealed.

5) It's not just the Imprint characters making a Comeback.

No, Sir. Bet you never thought you'd see this guy again.

Yes. That's Commander Lance Hunter. Formerly of S.T.R.I.K.E.

During Captain Britain & MI13 it was mentioned that Lance Hunter was now Joint Intelligence Chair, for MI5, MI6 and MI13. We never actually got to see him in panel during the course of that run, but as you can see he's alive and well. And  now working with S.H.I.E.L.D.

Oh, and yes. That's Marcus Johnson. Nick Fury's illegitimate son, who just happens to look like Samuel L Jackson in the Marvel movies. And now calls himself 'Nick Fury'.

Yeah. I'm pretty sure it's a edict somewhere that EVERY Marvel book must use this guy at some point, right now. In the hope that some day readers will accept him.

Though I wouldn't wait up for that...

6) Meet Agent Keller. 

While we know very little about Agent Keller we do know that he's attached S.H.I.E.L.D.'s European division, and he appears to be along for the ride. Do we trust him? Only time can tell...

As far as I can tell Keller's new. No currently obvious or revealed connections to previous characters.

7) So, Col Tigon Liger is a Drunk... 

Following the theme of the characters Marvel US left behind (Wait, S.H.I.E.L.D., surely ;) ), Colonel Tigon Liger of The Warheads really hasn't fared so well. When Agent Keller and Pete Wisdom go to retrieve him we find him living rough. Homeless, and also kind of a Drunk.

What is particularly messed up about this, though, is that S.H.I.E.L.D. have been monitoring him all this time. Ever since the fall of Mys-Tech. All of it. They've known exactly where he's been, and what he's been doing. And they just... let it all happen to him.

Think about that for a moment. A guy descends into vagrancy and potential alcoholism, and S.H.I.E.L.D. do nothing.

S.H.I.E.L.D. are kind of... dicks, aren't they?

Liger is a Drunk for a slightly more understandable reason though, it seems. As we find out this issue he was the only surviving Warhead from the Battle of London Bridge. When it came to the crunch they had to close that portal and trap Mys-Tech on the other side. Close it down with Stacy, Misha and the rest of Kether Troop all still on the other side. Trapped in another dimension with them.

Liger lost his Troop. And it has justly hit him hard.

8) Wait a second... did we see Killpower get trapped, too!? But wasn't he in Captain Britain & MI13???

Yeah. There is some debate on this one. 

Here is the image in question, from the issue itself.

Killpower charging towards the mass of tentacles which are coming out of that other-dimensional portal, the fading text of Motormouth's words perhaps suggesting that Julius has crossed over into that other dimension. 

So did he get trapped too? Surely not. Because those of you pointing out that both Motormouth AND Killpower appeared in the 'Vampire State' arc of Captain Britain & MI13 are absolutely correct. Harley and Julius went to protect Faiza 'Excalibur' Hussain's father when Dracula began his invasion plan.

They failed. Harley ended up hospitalised, and Julius ended up captured by the vampires, seemingly turned into a vampire himself. And just to make sure there can be no room for doubt here, he was even name-checked by Spitfire, introducing him to Dracula himself!

Well, we all know why. Mys-Tech is why. Everything is interconnected in this crazy little corner of the Marvel Universe. You should know this by now.

He wasn't actually vampirised, of course. And I'll let Killpower explain that to you for himself.

Killpower was MI13's mole within Dracula's ranks. His mystically tweaked genetics meant that he couldn't be taken under Dracula's thrall, and therefore he was there intentionally to look out for Faiza's dad. It was actually a pivotal role to play in the plot of the story. Killpower effectively saved the day here, and led those who had previously been captured to freedom.

So, how could he have been around to do all that if he had spent the past X number of years trapped in another dimension?

Well, I'm hoping that this is just a bit of an art error, rather than somebody forgetting about the story. Given that it was the last big Marvel UK storyline people do remember it pretty well. A continuity glitch like that would certainly not pass undetected under the radar.

I guess we'll find out in time.

9) The Museum of Pagan Antiquities is now under S.H.I.E.L.D. control

Which, given the contents within is probably for the best.

10) The Un-Earth is activating...

You remember the Un-Earth, right? Big mystic crystalline computer system attached to a scale replica of the real Earth?

It played a very important part in the events of the Marvel UK crossover event 'Mys-Tech Wars'. 

Think of it effectively as a kind of Voodoo Doll for planet Earth. Whatever designs the Mys-Tech board's members placed on the Un-Earth, whatever changes they made to it, were then enacted upon the real world. It was an insanely powerful, wish fulfilling, Doom Engine!

Which is why when this happens...

That is definitely NOT good news.

And leaves us with several important questions. What is controlling it? Who activated it? And from where? From how far?

11) Hold on... several 'Metres' below the museum? That cavern is much further down than that, surely!?

Well, yes. But let me no-prize this for a moment. That line comes from S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Keller. Agent Keller is presumably American. Surely we can forgive him a misunderstanding of the Metric System... :)

12) What does the Un-Earth show us?

I've got a feeling that this image is going to be pretty important. You may want to open this picture in a new Tab for scrutiny.

So, clockwise from top left I see:

Captain Britain in flight - This one seems fairly straightforward, as he is en route to meet up with Dark Angel at Darkmoor castle. 

Peter Hunter (Albion) looking at a glow of energy around his hand - Now we have no idea what Hunter has been up to since Dark Guard. He's certainly not in costume. Hunter was previously a Teacher, and in that kind of attire maybe he has gone back to that life. Maybe the Green Knight took his power away, after the threat of Mys-Tech faded. and this is a vision of Pendragon fire returning to him?

A downtrodden Motormouth, in sweater and baggy trousers, carrying some shopping - This is very much Harley in civvies. And she looks pretty depressed. The solicit for her own one-shot kind of gives away what's changed for her since Mys-Tech fell. But you can seek that out yourself. I'm not going to spoil. :)

Joseph 'Invincible' Hauer, toting pistols - Although I'm pretty sure Image Comics hold the trademark for 'Invincible' now. He looks like he's waiting to open fire on somebody. Guess we'll find out who in the Super Soldiers one-shot.

Dark Angel accessing multiple computer terminals - Presumably before what we see of her at the end of the issue.

And in the centre, Death's Head II with a fist extended.

Make of these images what you will. But remember, where the Un-Earth is concerned anything seen on Un-Earth can have a very REAL effect upon what is happening on the ACTUAL Earth.

Yeah. This could get very interesting. :)

13) What the heck happened to Dark Angel???

What indeed. 

As Captain Britain arrives at Darkmoor Castle Shevaun appears to be in the process of either being electrocuted or fading out of existence. Brian tries to grab hold of her, but then somebody else intervenes.

It's a little unclear as the what has actually happened here as the punch up kinda brushes Shevaun aside.

At the start of her one-shot (which should be your next port of call this Wednesday 15th January) we see Dark Angel waking up on the floor of Darkmoor Castle, with a hole in its exterior wall. 

My current personal theories as to what may have happened there are:

a) Shevaun has been unconscious since passing out. Captain Britain and his attacker have both left. Most likely straight through the exterior wall. 

or

b) Shevaun may think she's just woken up on the floor of the Castle, and in a manner of thinking she has. Only she's not quite where she thinks she is. It all looks the same, but she's actually been transported to the same point on the Un-Earth. Hence her semi transparent state in the first issue.

The last time we saw Shevaun was in the form of a brief cameo in the final issue of Captain Britain & MI13, fighting Dracula's forces alongside Tangerine, Digitek and at least one other notable Marvel UK Alumni. I am definitely glad to see her back in her original costume here (love Salvador Larroca's art, but I was never a huge fan of his redesign) even if it is as she is seemingly taken down. :)

I guess we'll have to wait and see how this plays out. But thankfully the wait isn't too long...

14) Bet you didn't see THAT coming. Yes?

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is what we call a cliffhanger.

Death's Head II. The backstabbing cyborg turncoat. :)

Clever DH2. Throw Cap off balance with an image inducer show of his greatest foes, before taking him down.

The last time we saw 'Minion' was in that self-same final issue of Captain Britain & MI13. The Marvel factfile handbook 'The Heroic Age: Superheroes' expanded a little upon how he came to be working for MI13.

Purely for Profit. As it turned out.

I guess somebody has made him a better offer...

We have been promised a Death's Head vs Death's Head II face-off in the upcoming Revolutionary War: Death's Head one-shot. Is that going to be related to this? Is the other DH going to try and teach his later self a lesson for ruining his good name? Is he going to cut into the Deal? 

And will we finally find out where Tuck is these days?

All questions yet to be answered... :)

I hope this article has been of interest to you. I intend to do a similar one next week for Revolutionary War: Dark Angel. But in the meantime allow me to reiterate that this series really does need your support if we are to see more from the characters of Marvel UK in the future.

You can find a full list of upcoming issues here. And if you want to make sure you can get a physical copy ask your local comic book store to put a copy by for you. Let them know you're interested.

You can also pick up Revolutionary War digitally, through ComiXology on iOS and Android. So if you can get a physical hand on it, or you just prefer reading on a tablet or PC screen, you can grab it there, too.

In the meantime I am curious to know what you thought of this issue. Feel free to add your opinions in the Comments section.

Until next time.

Mark

The Time has Arrived: Revolutionary War starts This Week!

Well, 'Hello' everyone. I hope you had a suitably enjoyable Christmas and New Year break. I have been giving myself a little time away from the internet during December. Recharging for all that 2014 has to offer.

And boy, DOES it offer!

This week brings us the start of the Marvel UK mini event 'Revolutionary War'. Marvel UK stalwarts Andy Lanning and Alan Cowsill are bringing back the largely forgotten characters of the Marvel UK 90s imprint, for a multipart story played out over three months.

This all begins this coming Wednesday (8th January, 2014), with Revolutionary War: Alpha, by Lanning and Cowsill, with art by Richard Elson.

 

 

 

The solicit for the issue itself reads as follows:

 

 

REVOLUTIONARY WAR: ALPHA #1

ANDY LANNING AND ALAN COWSILL (W) • RICH ELSON (A)

Cover by MARK BROOKS
Variant Cover by BARRY KITSON
Part 1 of “Revolutionary War”
• Marvel UK’s greatest heroes come together for the first time in 20 years to face a threat that could destroy the world.
• Featuring Captain Britain, Pete Wisdom, Death’s Head II, Motormouth and Killpower, the Warheads and a host of British heroes.
32 PGS./ ONE-SHOT/Rated T+ …$3.99

 

 

I cannot overemphasize both how excited I am about this and just how important this issue is to all fans of Marvel UK. Marvel probably doesn't have huge expectations for this series, so please join in me in surprising them by exceeding those expectations in a definite way.

 

Ask your comic store to put a copy aside for you, do not miss this issue. That's the cover you are looking for, or this Barry Kitson variant:

 

 

 

 

 

 

And for those who are curious a 4 Page Preview is now up over at Comic Book Resources.

 

Want more? Well, now we have a much clearer picture of what is coming via Marvel's own solicitations and via Alan Cowsill himself over on the Make Mine Marvel UK Facebook page.

 

So, Revolutionary War: Alpha is effectively Chapter 1 of this story. Here is how the rest of Revolutionary War will break down.

 

 

Wednesday January 15th 2014:

 

 

REVOLUTIONARY WAR: DARK ANGEL #1

KIERON GILLEN (W) • DIETRICH SMITH (A)
Cover by MARK BROOKS
Variant Cover by SALVADOR LARROCA
Part 2 of “Revolutionary War”
• When Shevaun Haldane experiences a troubling vision in Darkmoor Castle, she realizes danger may be coming for the heroes of Marvel UK.
• With time running out, Shevaun has no choice but to suit up as Dark Angel once again.
• An adventure that will take fans through the past, present, and future of Marvel UK!
32 PGS./ ONE-SHOT/Rated T+ …$3.99

 

 

 

Wednesday 29th January 2014:

 



REVOLUTIONARY WAR: KNIGHTS OF PENDRAGON #1

ROB WILLIAMS (W) • SIMON COLEBY (A)

Cover by MARK BROOKS
Variant Cover by TBD
Part 3 of “Revolutionary War”
• A corporate deep-mining setup unearths an old MYS-TECH base, where magical cloning experiments have been taking place.
• What mysteries or monsters are waiting in Britain’s subterranean bones?
• Featuring fan-favorite Marvel UK characters Dai Thomas, Pete Wisdom, and Union Jack!
32 PGS./ ONE-SHOT/Rated T+ …$3.99

 

 

 

Wednesday 12th February 2014:

 

 

REVOLUTIONARY WAR: DEATH'S HEAD II #1

ANDY LANNING & ALAN COWSILL (W) • NICK ROCHE (A)

Cover by MARK BROOKS
Variant Cover by LIAM SHARP
Part 4 of "Revolutionary War"
• The long-awaited return of DEATH'S HEAD -- one of the biggest hits of the original Marvel UK!
• Death's Head! Death's Head II! On an adventure together for the first time EVER!
• What threat could be grave enough to bring these two heroes together from across time? How about the villainous Mys-Tech organization resurfacing with an army?!
32 PGS./ONE-SHOT/Rated T+ ...$3.99

 

 

 

Wednesday 19th February 2014:

 

 

REVOLUTIONARY WAR: SUPERSOLDIERS #1

ROB WILLIAMS (W) • BRENT ANDERSON (A)
Cover by MARK BROOKS
Variant Cover by DAVE GIBBONS
Part 5 of "Revolutionary War"
• Some of the most popular heroes of Marvel UK return for SUPERSOLDIERS – and where the Supersoldiers go, trouble isn't far behind!
• It's the Supersoldiers versus Mys-Tech in all-out war!
• When a vast army of Mys-Tech Psycho Wraiths come calling on a small Scottish town, it's up to the Supersoldiers to put them down for good!
32 PGS./ ONE-SHOT/Rated T+ ...$3.99

 

 

 

Wednesday 12th March 2014:

 

 

REVOLUTIONARY WAR: MOTORMOUTH #1

GLENN DAKIN (W) • RONAN CLIQUET (A)
Cover by MARK BROOKS
Variant Cover By DECLAN SHALVEY
• When Mys-Tech returns and threatens the safety of Great Britain, MI:13 need to try to convince MOTORMOUTH to come out of retirement.
• Harley Davis’ days of being a hero are over, though.  Now, her day job is being the mother of  her two children. Until an explosive Mys-Tech attack calls her out of retirement!
• Be there as Motormouth gets her mojo back!
32 PGS./Rated T+ …$3.99

 

 

 

Wednesday 19th March 2014:

 

 

REVOLUTIONARY WAR: WARHEADS #1

ANDY LANNING & ALAN COWSILL (W)
GARY ERSKINE (A)
Cover by MARK BROOKS
VARIANT COVER BY GARY ERSKINE
• Colonel Liger, formerly of the evil organization Mys-Tech, has started working as an agent of MI:13, Mys-Tech’s rival agency.
• Not everything is as it appears, though – because Liger has just discovered that his old team, The Warheads, are still alive – and nothing’s going to stop him from finding them.
32 PGS./Rated T+ …$3.99

 

 

 

And finally...

 

Wednesday 26th March 2014:

 

 

REVOLUTIONARY WAR: OMEGA #1

ANDY LANNING & ALAN COWSILL (W) • RICHARD ELSON (A)
Cover by MARK BROOKS
Variant Cover by JAMIE McKELVIE
THE FINAL ISSUE IN AN 8-PART EPIC
• Marvel UK’s triumphant return reaches its epic conclusion!
• Will the agents of MI:13 be able to stop whatever Mys-Tech has been planning?
32 PGS./Rated T+ …$3.99

 

 

And there you have it. A list of issues, dates, variant covers and creators. And with this again may I reiterate what is fast becoming somewhat of a mantra for me, right now. Make sure you Order (or Pre-order) your copy.

 

I'm sure that most of you, much like myself, are eager to read these books. They're kind of a big deal to us, we want to read more Marvel UK character stories, and we know that the only way that is going to happen is if this series succeeds. The best way to ensure that is for you to go to your local comic book store, speak to the guy who orders them in, and ask them to pre-order you a copy of each book. You have the issue names. You have the dates they come out. They can do this for you.

Why? Well, it's no secret that the characters involved here are not as high profile as, say, the Spider-man, Avengers or Wolverines of this world. Those Mark Brooks covers are gobsmacking. Really standout covers. But the Marvel UK characters have been away for a while, and some store owners out there might not even be completely aware of Revolutionary War as a series or event.

So go and spread the word to them. :)

Pre-ordering the book, asking the owner to put an issue aside, guarantees that you'll get your copy, but it also lets the owner know that people are interested in the series. So hopefully they'll order enough copies in for others too.

If championing Marvel UK appearances over recent years (Such as Captain Britain & MI13, for example) has taught me anything it's that there's nothing more frustrating than wanting to support a series only to find that you cannot get hold of a copy - either because the store owner didn't order enough copies in, or didn't order it in at all. I've received a number of emails over the years from guys telling me just that. So let's make sure this does not happen this around.

Avoid disappointment, get your Revolutionary War order in today, and pick up Revolutionary War: Alpha this Wednesday. I have a really good feeling about this.

 

Speak soon.

 

Mark (Sword)

Second month of Revolutionary War titles revealed with Marvel's February Solicits.

I had intended to post these up on Friday. But we've been away over the weekend, so you're getting them now... ;)

So, Marvel's February 2014 solicits are out, and this means that two more Revolutionary War one-shots have had covers and issue information revealed.

First up:

REVOLUTIONARY WAR: DEATH'S HEAD II #1
ANDY LANNING & ALAN COWSILL (W) • NICK ROCHE (A)
Cover by MARK BROOKS
Variant Cover by Liam Sharp
Part 4 of "Revolutionary War"
• The long-awaited return of DEATH'S HEAD -- one of the biggest hits of the original Marvel UK!
• Death's Head! Death's Head II! On an adventure together for the first time EVER!
• What threat could be grave enough to bring these two heroes together from across time? How about the villainous Mys-Tech organization resurfacing with an army?!
32 PGS./ONE-SHOT/Rated T+ ...$3.99


And another great Mark Brooks cover, there. I've mentioned before that THREE versions of Death's Head have been active in Marvel, recently. The version in Kieron Gillen's Iron Man series had recently gone MIA. But that still leaves TWO.

1) Death's Head II, last seen in the pages of Captain Britain & MI13.

and

2) A version of Death's Head I, stranded in the present in an issue of Avenging Spider-man.

Looking at the character designs shown on that cover I'd say there's a fair chance that's what we might be looking at here. Two versions of the same character from different points in their own personal timeline. Why hasn't somebody done this before?

And yes. MYS-TECH. Could they be Revolutionary War's Big Bad? We'll have to wait and see...

Secondly we have:

REVOLUTIONARY WAR: SUPERSOLDIERS #1
ROB WILLIAMS (W) • BRENT ANDERSON (A)
Cover by MARK BROOKS
Variant Cover by TBD
Part 5 of "Revolutionary War"
• Some of the most popular heroes of Marvel UK return for SUPERSOLDIERS – and where the Supersoldiers go, trouble isn't far behind!
• It's the Supersoldiers versus Mys-Tech in all-out war!
• When a vast army of Mys-Tech Psycho Wraiths come calling on a small Scottish town, it's up to the Supersoldiers to put them down for good!
32 PGS./ ONE-SHOT/Rated T+ ...$3.99


That's right. Super Soldiers.

It's been a while, but from memory I'm assuming that's Invincible (Joseph Hauer), the most focussed on Soldier front and centre. The big guy behind him is, without question, Gog (Owen Llewelyn) the highly modified Welsh guy with bionic eyes.

The other two? I'm figuring the red-headed guy on the left is Govnor (Andy Black) the little guy who could absorb kinetic energy and convert it into strength. The guy with the bandana? I'm not so sure. It might be Dalton. I guess we'll have to wait and see... :)

And yes. Psycho Wraiths. Remember them? A little MYS-TECH side project based out of an undisclosed part of the Scottish highlands, which were once activated by the board members to take down Dark Angel. I wonder whether there's been a few more of them sitting unactivated all these years? Just sitting in wait?

So yes, that's what we have coming up in February. Notice also, that when compared next to the 3 covers from January's solicits there is a clear sense of progression going on on the covers themselves, as the event progresses. Check out the flames on the Union Flag at the bottom of each issue's cover.  Absent in the Revolutionary War Alpha cover, creeping in on the base of the Dark Angel and Knights of Pendragon issues, and then far more prominent on both of these new issues. A nice touch.

You'll also notice that if you look back up to the Death's Head II one-shot above you'll see that DH2 co-creator Liam Sharp will be doing a variant cover for this one. The finished article is still under wraps, however Liam Sharp has put up a rough sketch of what we presume is that cover on his Facebook page.

 

 

 

 

Even as a rough sketch you've got to admit that looks pretty damn good. I cannot wait to see the finished article.



So there ya go, to more officially solicited issues. And as I've said before if you want to read them, go to your local comic book store and ask them to pit a copy by for you. By pre-ordering you'll make sure you get the book you want and you'll also let the store owner know that people are interested in the series.

You can't really go wrong with that.

UPDATE! Creative teams for Revolutionary War announced.

Earlier today a new Revolutionary War interview went up over at Newsarama, with Alan Cowsill and Andy Lanning (in which they actually name checked this site, which was nice of them). In the course of that interview an almost complete list of who would be doing what during the series was revealed.

So let me update that earlier list...

Prologue (January 2013):
Revolutionary War - Alpha: Writers - Andy Lanning & Alan Cowsill Art: Richard Elson

One Shots:
Dark Angel (January 2013): Writer - Kieron Gillen Art - Dietrich Smith
Knights of Pendragon (January 2013): Writer - Rob Williams Art - Simon Coleby
Motormouth: Writer - Glenn Dakin Art: TBA
Warheads: Writers - Andy Lanning & Alan Cowsill Art: Gary Erskine
Death's Head (featuring Death's Head & Death's Head II): Writers - Andy Lanning & Alan Cowsill Art - Nick Roche
Super Soldiers: Writer - Rob Williams Art - Brent Anderson
Conclusion:
Revolutionary War - Omega: Writers - Andy Lanning & Alan Cowsill Art: Richard Elson
I've tried to include links to everybody involved, where possible.

As far as I can tell that's the Brent Anderson who did the art for X-Men: God Loves, Man Kills, which could be very interesting. He's on art duties for Super Soldiers. Dietrich Smith was announced on Dark Angel in the January solicits. He's done artwork at Marvel for Hercules, I understand, but you can get a better idea of his art style on his DeviantArt page.

The only question mark now hangs over who will be doing the interior art for Glenn Dakin's Motormouth.

As soon as I find that out, I'll be sure to let you know. In the meantime, can I ask of you a favour?

We now have solicits for the first three issues of this series:

REVOLUTIONARY WAR: ALPHA #1
REVOLUTIONARY WAR: DARK ANGEL #1
REVOLUTIONARY WAR: KNIGHTS OF PENDRAGON #1

I'm sure that you, like I, are eager to read them. The best way to ensure that you can do that is to go to your local comic book store, speak to the guy who orders them in, and ask them to pre-order you a copy of each book.

Why? Well, it's no secret that the characters are not as high profile as the Spider-man, Avengers or Wolverines of this world. These guys have been away for a while, and some store owners out there might not even be completely aware of Revolutionary War as a series.

So go spread the word to them. :)

Pre-ordering the book, asking the owner to put an issue aside, guarantees that you'll get your copy, but it also lets the owner know that people are interested in the series. So hopefully they'll order enough copies in for others too.

If championing Marvel UK appearances over recent years (Such as Captain Britain & MI13, for example) has taught me anything it's that there's nothing more frustrating than wanting to support a series only to find that you cannot get hold of a copy - either because the store owner didn't order enough copies in, or didn't order it in at all. I've received a number of emails over the years from guys telling me just that. Let's put a stop to that if we can.

So if you're interested in Revolutionary War? Avoid disappointment, and get your order in today.

Because I genuinely think that we could be in for a treat... :)

Trying to put a name to a face on that Revolutionary War image.

When the Mark Brooks cover for Revolutionary War: Alpha was revealed last week I think most of the faces on display were fairly recognisable to the majority of 1990s Marvel UK readers. There might be a little bit of curiosity over whether the Sir Gawain on show was the the Robot version from the second volume of Knights of Pendragon or... something else. But by and large they were familiar.

But there has been a fair bit of debating online as to who the chap standing between Gawain and Pete Wisdom actually is.

At first many people (mostly from seeing the knife in the utility belt) assumed it to be Blade the Vampire Hunter. After all he was born in London, and has been working with MI13. But some folks out there (me included) are not so sure. Blade tends to sport sunshades, for one. He rarely leaves his eyes exposed. He also pretty much exclusively wears Black, and usually sports some kind of leather jacket. This makes me query that claim, somewhat. The utility belt here seems to hold bullets, a knife and more. He does look a little younger than Blade tends to be drawn and the colour pallet just doesn't quite match to my mind.

So who else might he be? For all the number of characters who popped up during the explosion of the Imprint Years at marvel UK, it has to be said that there really weren't that many of them who were of afro-caribbean skin tone (something which doesn't really match with reality here in Britain, and didn't really then either). They weren't all strictly Caucasian either, of course. Indian, Asian, blue skin pigment with bug-eyes...

But, yes. The number of likely candidates is not high.

There is though, to my mind, one fairly plausible option I can think of. A guy who had not entirely dissimilar hair and also used to sport a utility belt.

And that guy used to go by the name of 'Shift'.

 

 

'Who?' I hear you ask...

 

Well, Shift wasn't part of an ongoing series at Marvel UK, but he did appear in several limited series as part of the Genetix team.

Genetix were a team of young powered individuals brought together by MYS-TECH through their Gena-Sys research and development division. The X-Men have the Jean Grey School, the Avengers have the Avengers Academy. Heck, MI13 even have the Braddock Academy. Well, MYS-TECH had Genetix - a bunch of kids with powers who they captured and then experimented on to better weaponise those powers. They also filled their heads with a bunch of faked memories in an attempt to better control them.

Well, you know... they were the bad guys.

Unfortunately for MYS-TECH, as often occurs when you experiment upon people, they don't tend to take too kindly to it when they find out about it. Genetix spent their second series on the run from MYS-TECH and mostly hanging out in an abandoned London Underground station.

 

  

Shift's real name was Clinton Joseph, at the time a 16 year old from Kingston, Jamaica. His codename was formed in reference to his ability to 'shift' between dimensions. He was able to create portals to them at will. Something which came in damned handy for transportation purposes. But it also had a secondary use. Clinton was able to store caches of weapons in pocket dimensions. Something he did regularly, allowing him to call upon all manner of weaponry at a moment's notice in battle. 

 

Even more handy.

 

Shift's costume, and the shaved arrangements of his hair, changed on and off through his appearances. More often than not he wore a somewhat garish trenchcoat and shades. But certainly in his early appearances he did wear a utility belt. At one point that belt also incorporated a Walkman in it.

 

Yeah. As in the tape playing kind.That does kind of mark its age now, doesn't it?

 

But if you compare this image from Shift's factfile in Codename: GENETIX #2 next to the image from the Revolutionary War cover there is a certain amount of similarity.

 

 

 

 

 

In particular notice the similarities around the neckline and utility belt. The colour scheme isn't that dissimilar to his other appearances, either.

 

It might also be noted that Shift, along with the other Genetix members, was co-created by one of Revolutionary War's writers - Andy Lanning.

 

It's plausible.

 

We've no idea just how much exact time has passed in continuity since the early 90s, but if other 90s Marvel teens like Jubilee are now considered adults it's pretty likely that Shift would be in a similar age bracket.

 

The other alternative would be one guy we actually know very, very little about. Because in all honesty we never got to learn very much more about him than his name.

 

Kith Nasca - 'Ultra Marine'.

 

 

 

 

Major Nasca was US Army Major who debuted in Dan Abnett and Carlos Pacheco's Dark Guard limited series. There was very little explanation of how he came to be there (although to be fair that was kind of the point of Dark Guard), or anything you could actually call a backstory, but one could assume that there probably was some kind of further plans for him if the planned Dark Guard: Gold had ever seen print.

 

If that's who we're seeing on the Revolutionary War cover then I think you'd have to agree that it's a fairly radical, and certainly much more understated, redesign. Because Ultra-Marine? He was previously all about the armour.

 

 

 

 

Hugely tech reliant - strength and stamina enhanced by it, plasma blasts launched by it, it even had a fusion reactor in its casing.

 

And that's why it seems far less likely to me. Because the guy on that cover may look like he could have a Marine vibe to him (the utility belt, bullets and knife) but he doesn't look quite so tech savvy.

 

No gadgets. No devices.

 

But that said, with the mask off, and placed side by side...

 

 

 

 

 

In expression and in jawline there is a certain amount of physical similarity. And that's why it's hard to completely discredit the idea.

 

Again, it's definitely not implausible.

 

Both are pretty obscure choices, I grant you. But they do still both bring something to the table.

 

I guess we'll just have to wait and see once the series kicks off.

 

One way or another it'll certainly be interesting to find out.