Batman Guardian of the Night Panini Comic

Panini Comics UK began publishing Batman comics in 2003 with Batman Legends which would feature three US issues in one, bound in a cardboard cover like Paninis Marvel Collectors Editions. They eventually lost the license to Titan Comics but in 2020 regained it and released the one and only issue of Batman: Tales of the Dark Knight. Unfortunately the global pandemic quickly put an end to what was to be a new series. This one issue still had the cardboard cover but now only included two US comic issues rather than three to reduce costs, coming in at £4.50

 Panini are now making a second attempt to return Batman to UK comic stands with Batman Guardian of the Night. Featuring two US comic issues but now without the cardboard cover the Collectors Editions are known for. This change seems to have knocked the cover price down to £2.99. It's sad to see the cardboard covers go but £4.50+ per issue was getting a little high for many readers. Especially if they bought multiple titles from Paninis Marvel and now DC range every month.

H.P Lovecraft Cool Air Comic Adaptations

Cool Air is a short story written by H.P Lovecraft in 1926, originally published in the March 1928 issue of Tales of Magic and Mystery. It tells the tale of a man who moves into a New York apartment block and meets a fellow tenant who is obsessed with defying death and preserves himself though increasingly low temperatures. Though his efforts come gruesomely unstuck when the power goes out....

                                      

Berni Wrightson adapted H.P Lovecraft's Cool Air into a comic strip eventually collected by Pacific Comics in issue 2 of Berni Wrightson, Master of the Macabre. Wrightsons art work brings the story to beautiful and gruesome life. Invoking the style of Ghastly Graham Ingels of EC fame.

EC had themselves adapted the story in Vault of Horror issue 17, renaming it Baby It's Cold Inside and giving it a more contemporary setting.

 

Jurassic Park Comics UK

 Dark Horse International published 16 issues of Jurassic Park in the early 90s, reprinting Topps comics movie adaptation, prequel and sequel stories. Much like their Alien and Terminator comics which would feature supporting strips from relevant franchises such as Predator for Alien and Robocop for Terminator, Dark Horse International included Xenozoic Tales and Age of Reptiles in their Jurassic Park comic.

After 13 issues however, the title rights changed to Manga who sold the comic direct to consumers rather than it appearing in newsagents. This only lasted three issues and the comic was cancelled at issue 16. The comic rights then changed hands to Titan Publishing who also acquired the rights to Alien and Terminator from Dark Horse International. Titan would release their own Jurassic Park comic to tie in with Lost World. This was a four issue series reprinting the Topps Lost World comic adaptation from the US. As with Titans Alien Resurrection and Terminator Salvation movie tie in comics, after four issues it was cancelled,

Terminator Comics UK

 Terminator comics in the UK have followed an almost identical trajectory to Alien comics. Being initially published by Trident Comics who also published Aliens, both being reprints of the US Dark Horse comic strips. The series then went to Dark Horse International as Aliens and all Tridents titles did. Dark Horse International also incorporated Robocop into the Terminator comic as it had Predator into Aliens.

Once dark Horse International went under, the Terminator comic ceased publication with issue 17. Titan then picked up the rights (along with Aliens) and released a new Terminator comic to tie in with the release of Terminator Salvation, though this only lasted four issues. Reprinting the prequel story for Salvation originally published by IDW in the US.

Aliens Comics UK

In the UK Aliens has not had much success in comics. But in the 1990s it did spawn three volumes of a comic beginning with a series published by Trident Comics reprinting various Dark Horse Aliens stories. This lasted 17 issues until Trident was absorbed into Dark Horse International, the European branch of dark Horse Comics who published Aliens Volume 2 for 22 issues along with a 3 issue mini series comic adaptation of Alien 3. The main Aliens series eventually incorporated Predator stories as well.

After Dark Horse International folded, many of the franchise they held the rights to went to Titan Publishing. To coincide with the release of Alien Resurrection, Titan released a third Aliens title which reprinted the comic adaptation of Resurrection along with various other Dark Horse Alien stories. This time the comic only lasting 3 issues. It had a very similar lay out to the previous two volumes even though it was published by a different company and was basically set up as a third volume, continuing where Dark Horse international left off.

 

Weird Science visits Alien Worlds as Mars Attacks

 

The cover of Weird Science issue 17 was homaged by Eclipse Comics Alien Encounters issue 8 with a touch of the Mars Attacks trading cards style added.

 

Mars Attacks itself would homage the same EC cover in issue 3 of the First Born series published by IDW.

 

Creepshow All Hallows Eve

Creepshow episode 3 features a story called All Hallows Eve written by Bruce Jones. The story is adapted from the first issue of the Pacific Comics title, Twisted Tales which ran for ten issues from 1982 to 1984.

Twisted Tales was Bruce Jones attempt at a modern EC comics style series along with his sci-fi comic, Alien Worlds. Both comics were heavily influenced by EC horror and science fiction titles such as Tales From The Crypt and Weird Science Fantasy.

Twisted Tales, an update/homage to EC comics has now become part of the extended Creepshow franchise which is itself an update and homage to EC originating from George Romero and Steven Kings love of those comics which heavily influenced both in their careers in horror.