Pat Mills moving onto new things it would seem

[JayzusB.Christ]

Fascinating stuff all round, and I'm getting a better idea now why Sexy Ostriches is more likely to be filmed than Nemesis.

Anyway, while we're dreaming, a Slaine TV series would be nice, wrapping things up at the end of the Horned God.  Obviously with Harry Styles in the lead role. (Sorry, a little callback humour for those who were here in the Mayor's time.)

[JOE SOAP]

You're probably thinking of Metalzoic, which was first published in colour by DC Comics in a short-lived range of high quality printed graphic novels (compared to the print quality of the era) and then reprinted in black and white in 2000AD, as every squaxx know.


Marshall Law was first published by Epic Comics (imprint of Marvel) but judging from its subsequent print history is owned wholly by Mills and O'Neill*.

Mills has alluded to the idea that the publishing rights for Marshal Law are now owned by DC.

[Colin YNWA]

Well for another example of why self publishing is such a challenge the feature in The Meg this month about John Wagner's effort to get Rok The God out is quite chilling. I mean that John - F*&kin' Wagner can't just drop a project into the crowdfunding arena and walk out smelling of filthy cash is a terrible thing*.

Its a bloody stupid industry we follow with such passion!

*Side note to say THANK YOU Jim Campbell, if it wasn't for the fact  - that even having met you a few times - I still believe you are a deathly pale goth and thus incapable of blushing, I'd assume you are aflush with a pinky glow as you read John make clear what a lovely person you are.

[sheridan]

Marshall Law was first published by Epic Comics (imprint of Marvel) but judging from its subsequent print history is owned wholly by Mills and O'Neill*.

Mills has alluded to the idea that the publishing rights for Marshal Law are now owned by DC.

Interesting.  Seeing as it was originally published by the competition and has been through a few other publishers in its time.  Has DC ever exercised that right?  I've bought up various ML series as they came out (except for the first one which I had to get in reprint form when it was serialised in Strip - The Comic Grows Up) so haven't kept up with what other editions it's gone through.

[rogue69]

IIRC Pat said that Marshal Law is now owned by DC but Kevin O'Neil and himself have a percentage of the sales along with the film rights. DC can use the character how they want and create their own Marshal Law stories if they wish as the attempt of a Batman/ Marshal Law comic shows so if DC wanted they could do a whole Before Watchmen/ Doomsday Clock to  the Marshal Law universe

[Jim_Campbell]

I'd assume you are aflush with a pinky glow as you read John make clear what a lovely person you are.

Honestly, I was very much taken aback by John’s kind words, but I think it says more about John’s down-to-earth nature that he finds it surprising that I’d be more than willing to pay back every damn thing he’s given me over the years as a comic reader with a little bit of free work. It’s both a privilege and a pleasure.

[seanharry]

I think you might be overestimating how much writers are concerned by how they are influenced by the work of others, and yet they can still be highly-protective of a specific version of a story they happened to have produced themselves.
Harlan Ellison sued James Cameron over Terminator, yet Ellison also dismissively points out that the basis of his own tv show was taken from a Robert Heinlein novel (although he erroneously identifies it as a Harry Harrison) in this rather lengthy dissection of the car crash that was The Star Lost and how it was just a mish-mash of other things.  I would recommend the bit starting around 13.30 or so for Ellison being quite unabashed about what derivative horseshit he knew was turning in, but he was still clearly possessive of it until he angrily rage-quit the whole enterprise.

James Cameron vehemently denies having even seen, let alone copied, Harlan Ellison's episode of The Outer Limits, Soldier. Having seen the episode, I tend to side with Cameron; they bear little similarity.

The Terminator does bear huge similarities to an X-Men story, Days Of Future Past. And Cameron is an admitted fan of the X-Men, and was at one point in the nineties  set to direct an X-Men film.

And to muddy the matters more, John Byrne, who plotted and drew the X-Men story Days Of Future Past has since admitted that he lifted the plot from a Dr Who episode, Day Of The Daleks (if you ever see this episode, made in 1972, it bears a shocking resemblance in both story and tone, to The Terminator, far more so than Ellison's Soldier).

[seanharry]

Marshall Law was first published by Epic Comics (imprint of Marvel) but judging from its subsequent print history is owned wholly by Mills and O'Neill*.

Mills has alluded to the idea that the publishing rights for Marshal Law are now owned by DC.

Interesting.  Seeing as it was originally published by the competition and has been through a few other publishers in its time.  Has DC ever exercised that right?  I've bought up various ML series as they came out (except for the first one which I had to get in reprint form when it was serialised in Strip - The Comic Grows Up) so haven't kept up with what other editions it's gone through.

A quick check of my copy of the Collected Marshal Law, published by DC in 2013, and the copyright is to Mills & O'Neill. So if DC now own the rights to the character, it is because Mills & O'Neill sold it to them.

Over the course of the strips history, Marshall Law has been publish by Epic Comic / Marvel, Apocalypse Publishing / Toxic, Dark Horse, Image Comic and the collected edition by DC Comics.

A quick check of the recent Ro-Busters collected edition, and The Tera-Meks is copyright to Pat Mills, but no mention of Dave Gibbons who drew the strip and created their visual design.

[Jim_Campbell]

A quick check of the recent Ro-Busters collected edition, and The Tera-Meks is copyright to Pat Mills, but no mention of Dave Gibbons who drew the strip and created their visual design.

*coughcoughcoughACCIDENTMANcoughcough*

[broodblik]

The only reason why I got Spacewarp (and having an AD subscription) is because it is available digitally. A lot off cases I just do not get the self-published material since it is not available digitally. It literally will cost me 4 times more when I have to include shipping as well. The advanced of the “evil” publishing “monsters” is that their material is available regularly and digitally. I would like to support the people that self-publish but I am not prepared to pay the “additional” cost of save (to guarantee that you get your stuff you must use the expensive options and not the PO) shipping.

Slaine will work as animation show, I believe

PS – This is completely off topic but if The77 is available digitally please let me know.

[Colin YNWA]

I'd assume you are aflush with a pinky glow as you read John make clear what a lovely person you are.

Honestly, I was very much taken aback by John’s kind words, but I think it says more about John’s down-to-earth nature that he finds it surprising that I’d be more than willing to pay back every damn thing he’s given me over the years as a comic reader with a little bit of free work. It’s both a privilege and a pleasure.

See lovely (bet this makes him squirm!)

[JOE SOAP]

Mills has alluded to the idea that the publishing rights for Marshal Law are now owned by DC.

A quick check of my copy of the Collected Marshal Law, published by DC in 2013, and the copyright is to Mills & O'Neill. So if DC now own the rights to the character, it is because Mills & O'Neill sold it to them.

I mentioned Publishing rights being owned by DC rather than Copyright. We don't know the specific terms of those publishing rights or how long they last but Mills & O'Neill may have made have made a particular deal with DC so they could finally get the backing for the ML collection after Top Shelf dropped it. According to Mills it's up to DC whether there would be more ML stories or not, but all other rights are owned by the creators.

[sheridan]

A quick check of the recent Ro-Busters collected edition, and The Tera-Meks is copyright to Pat Mills, but no mention of Dave Gibbons who drew the strip and created their visual design.

Not to disparage the great Gibbons (or the marvelous Mills) but aren't there examples of 'strong influences' for both Charlie and the Terrameks?

[Leigh S]

Kowing Pat's bundle of research method of comics writing, I have long presumed Pat would have provided those images - see much of the rest of RoBusters robots

[Proudhuff]

To be fair with Rennie, when he ploughs the same furrow, he often creates something that’s fresh: the Angel Gang rebook; the superb Jaegir (the only thing in the RT universe really worth a damn for me); Diaboliks. It doesn’t feel like he’s bored or going through the motions. With Mills’s more recent output, it’s like watching a remastered DVD at 50% speed. It’s a bit more glossy, but we’re getting the same story again, playing out at half speed.

I’ve yet to read Spacewarp. But if it treads the same ground and is peppered with the same Icky-style worldview, I might just end up angry rather than intrigued/entertained.

This for me too^^^^