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Bisley does Zenith - all very odd

Started by JayzusB.Christ, 28 February, 2021, 09:07:57 PM

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JayzusB.Christ

Just discovered these, which I've never seen or heard about before. 
https://comicvine.gamespot.com/zenith-phase-ii/4050-60466/

While I do like the style of cover art - which presumably led to Bisley's cover run on Doom Patrol - I'm also moved to wonder what the actual feck.  Zenith smoking a fag?  The utterly unrecognisable lumpy face on the second issue?  And, weirdest of all, Zenith's dad is Donald Trump? 

Also, I thought they weren't allowed to reprint Zenith back then.  My brain is reeling.
"Men will never be free until the last king is strangled with the entrails of the last priest"

The Legendary Shark


That Zenith smoking a fag looks awfully familiar - is it a homage to a Modesty Blaise cover, or something like that?

[move]~~~^~~~~~~~[/move]




Funt Solo

++ A-Z ++  coma ++

Richard

Why shouldn't Zenith smoke? He seems like he would.

Funt Solo

I'm trying to think if any of the 2000 AD characters from that era smoked - apart from Robo-Hunter with Stogie - but then part of the plot was that Stogie was helping him quit. I suppose the other thing would be that Zenith doesn't smoke in the strip itself - although he does drink, of course.

And Ukko is smoking a doobie on that poster, that time. Or did I imagine that?
++ A-Z ++  coma ++

JayzusB.Christ

No, Ukko definitely was smoking a spliff.  Was it last year's Thrillcast where Dermot Power was talking about it?
"Men will never be free until the last king is strangled with the entrails of the last priest"

O Lucky Stevie!

Morrison didn't contest the rights to Zenith until Titan went to reprint  the series following  the appearance of Zzzzenith.com appeared in Prog 2000.

TSo after he met his wife, who is a lawyer.
"We'll send all these nasty words to Aunt Jane. Don't you think that would be fun?"

Colin YNWA

Never seen those pictures thanks for sharing. Very curious pictures and that first one particularly is so of his time. Reminds me of Doom Patrol covers of the time, thougn curiously not necessarily the Simon Bisley ones, rather the ones by Tom Taggart.

JayzusB.Christ

Quote from: Colin YNWA on 01 March, 2021, 06:14:15 AM
Never seen those pictures thanks for sharing. Very curious pictures and that first one particularly is so of his time. Reminds me of Doom Patrol covers of the time, thougn curiously not necessarily the Simon Bisley ones, rather the ones by Tom Taggart.

Yep, I see exactly what you mean.  Though there are the usual Bisley rippling muscles in the second one; which again is very jarring - under the bulky biker jacket, Zenith for me is a skinny, fey metrosexual type, despite the super strength.

I love Zenith and I love Bisley, but they go together like ice cream and toast.

"Men will never be free until the last king is strangled with the entrails of the last priest"

IndigoPrime

From the era where Quality Comics entirely dispensed with quality as far as its covers went.

james newell

that cover is credited to Bisley on the site, but it's not a Simon Bisley cover.

wonder who it is?


ming

Quote from: james newell on 02 March, 2021, 11:30:59 AM
that cover is credited to Bisley on the site, but it's not a Simon Bisley cover.

wonder who it is?

Yup - after applying 2 minutes of web-fu, the third of these at least is definitely by Dave DeVries...  The style also fits for the other ones, and he's done more by the look of it.




IndigoPrime

I mean, it's better than the shockingly bad covers on the Quality Nemesis run I once had, but...

Colin YNWA