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 made a second attempt to return Batman to UK comic stands with Batman Guardian of the Night. Featuring two US comic issues but without the cardboard cover the Collectors Editions are known for. This change knocked the cover price down to £2.99. It was 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.

Unfortunately Batman Guardian of the Night was cancelled after issue 22 in 2023. Not quite lasting two years. It's sad to be without a UK Batman comic on shelves again like the late 1990s. 

Batman Returns to Panini Comics UK

Batman returns to Panini Comics UK 17 years after they published the first issue of  Batman Legends.

In 2003, Panini comics in the UK published the first issue of Batman Legends. The first DC comic to copy the ''collectors edition'' style comics Panini had been publishing since 1995 starting with Essential X-Men and Astonishing Spider-man. These comics collected three or four issues of the American comics, wrapped in a cardboard cover. 

The title lasted 41 issues until Panini lost the DC license to Titan Comics UK in 2006 who promptly published their own Batman Legends Volume 2. This would  later be rebranded as simply ''Batman'' and then again as Rebirth: Batman. 

The Titan DC comics always struggled with sales and poor marketing leading to Titan cancelling all their DC titles, including Batman in December 2018. Luckily now Panini have regained the rights to publish DC comics in the UK and have started with Batman: Tales of the Dark Knight. Now however the Collected Editions only contain two issues of the American comics rather than the previous three due to cost restraints. The title has also been prematurely put on hold due to the global pandemic interfering with production of the comic. DC titles just don't seem to have much luck in the UK!

Death's Head

Death's Head returns to Marvel comics with his own title again, returning to his original design. After his introduction in the 80s Marvel UK comic his design was updated for his own series. He then underwent a radical make over with an EXTREME 90s look in the Death's Head II series. It's good to see him back in his original design. The over the top muscular 90s cyborg look is so out.

Ghostbusters EC Comics Homages

IDW homaged EC with their Mars Attacks comics and continue the trend with the cover of Ghostbusters Get Real issue 2. Inspired by The Vault of Horror issue 25.

The Real Ghostbusters animated series also gave a nod to EC with a Weird Science style comic book cover featuring in the episode Mr Sandman, Dream me a Dream. 

The Real Ghostbusters UK Comics

 The 80s saw multiple titles for The Real Ghostbusters, extending all the way into the early 90s.
In 1988 the main weekly The Real Ghostbusters title launched. The title lasted until 1992 with 193 issues

 Various issues were reprinted in bumper sized Collected Comics for 13 issues ending in 1994

 Slimer also had his own short lived comic starting in 1989 to tie in with the changes to the animated series which had by this time become Slimer and The Real Ghostbusters. Slimers solo outing lasted an unlucky 13 issues.

 1989 saw another Slimer-centric title. It's Wicked was a Beano and Dandy style comedy comic but dedicated to supernatural and horror themed characters with Slimer being the face of the series much like Dennis the Menace was to Beano and Desperate Dan was to Dandy. This lasted 11 issues.

A fun spin off from the main Ghostbusters comic was Puzzlebuster. A puzzle magazine themed around the Ghostbusters and included short comic strips featuring the characters.

Masters of the Universe Adventure Magazine

                     Masters of the Universe issue 8 from 1988 published by London Editions.

Spider-man Children in Danger

 At around 1990 Marvel UK produced a short PSA comic strip in the UK that was handed out for free around some primary schools to help make children aware of stranger danger. The story features Spider-man on a trip to the UK helping to stop a criminal kidnapping a young boy before giving some advice to children about not talking ot strangers or accepting gifts from them. The mini comic was written by Simon Furman, best known for his work on Transformers.

Judge Dredd Lawman Of The Future

Judge Dredd: Lawman of the Future is a comic from the mid 90s that came out to tie in with the Stallone movie and used the designs from the film. However it didn’t seem to be particularly set in the movie universe. They wisely never had Dredd remove his helmet and no reference was made to the events of the movie. It lasted 23 issues and ended with an Action Special which contained an index of every issue released and the stories in them. The covers had some nice art work and some of the stories were illustrated by Geoff Senior who is a personal fave from his days on Marvel UK’s Transformers comic.

Transmasters UK Transformers the Continued Generation 2

 

Transformers The Continued Generation 2 issue 29 published by Transmasters UK, a UK based Transformers fan group back in the 90s features a christmas wrap around cover. A tradition harking back to the Marvel UK days in the 80s where every 50 issues the title would feature a wrap around poster cover.

Batman Monthly 6

London Editions Batman Monthly issue 6 features two christmas stories. First off is 1979's Have Yourself A Deadly Little Christmas from the US Batman issue 309 featuring Blockbuster. Next up is Silent Night, Deadly Night, originally published in the US Batman issue 239 from 1971.

Spider-man Annual 1994

The Marvel UK Spider-man annual 1994 features a christmassy cover and feature story 'The Big X-mas Blackout' where we see Spider-man save christmas from Electro!

The Astonishing Spider-man 35

Marvel UK/Panini's Collectors Edition Astonishing Spider-man issue 35 features a christmassy cover. not only reprinting the cover and story from the Marvel US Spider-man/Deadpool issue 12 but also featuring Spider-man sprting a Santa hat and snow covering the title. A common sight on comic book covers of the 80s but rare now, especially in the UK.

An American Batman in London

Batman Monthly issue 35 reprints the Detective Comics 590 story An American Batman in London. Where we see Batman on a rare trip outside Gotham but to a similarly appropriate city, London in England. After preventing an attack in Gotham by two criminals shouting ' Allahu Akbar!' Batman has tracked down a islamic terrorist organization to the England capital and tries to prevent them from doing what Guy Fawkes failed to by blowing up the houses of parliment on the 5th of November.

 At the end of the story, Batman is faced with a possible uncomfortable truth that our Western society may well provoke some of these terrorist attacks and attitudes. 
Even though this story is over 25 years old, it still holds relevance today. With islamic terrorist attacks on London and other major Western cities still prevelant. Though with our cultural sensitivity, the depiction of someone shouting Allahu Akbar whilst commiting a crime would probably never appear in a modern comic book.

Combat Colin

 

Combat Colin was created by Lew Stringer and originally featured as a half page comedy strip in Marvel UK's Action Force comic, the UK version of G.I Joe, starting from issue 5. Once that title was cancelled at issue 50, Colin moved along with G.I Joe to the successful Transformers comic with issue 153 and stayed with that title till it ended with issue 332. Now Colin and his side kick Semi-automatic Steve return with their own title. Available from Lew Stringer's site the series will last six issue until every story from the Action Force and Transformers era have been collected and published together.

He-man and the Masters of the Universe UK Comics

 

 Published in the UK by London Edition Magazines, the fortnightly comic series lasted for 72 issues with an additional monthly comic (Masters of the Universe Adventure) running for 28 issues and featured The New Adventures of He-Man for the last part of it's run before reprinting classic MOTU strips from the fortnightly comic. The 'Secret Files of Scrollos' strip featured origin stories for many characters including Sy-Klone, Rio Blast and Snout Spout, and the series included the characters Horde Prime and Scrollos. There was also a short-lived She-Ra comic title, that lasted for 14 issues.

In late 2003 to tie in with the then new Master of the Universe cartoon (now known as 200X) a comic was published by Toontastic Publications reprinting the US MVC MOTU comic which lasted 18 issues.

 

Marvel UK also publsihed two Master of the Universe specials for summer 1985 and winter 1988. The first reprinted the US DC mini series. This was a strange occurance as London Editions had the license to publish DC comics in the UK and published the UK original MOTU comic series so it seems odd that Marvel UK would then reprint the DC MOTU series.  The second special published reprinted the Marvel/Star US adaptation of the 1987 Master of the Universe motion picture but using the traditional cartoon designs for the characters rather than the movie outfits. All except Beast Man who for some reason still sported his movie design.

Batman 465

 Batman issue 465 from July 1991 featured the first outing of Tim Drake as the new Boy Wonder sporting an updated, more modern Robin costume. The cover was later used for the 1993 UK Batman annual though the story from issue 465 was not featured.

Transformers UK 100

Issue 100 of the Marvel UK Transformers comic marked the start of a tradition that would be carried on every 50th issue of having a wrap around cover poster.

Transformers UK 300

Marvel UK's Transformers issue 300 was the last time we would see a wrap around cover poster as the comic was unfortunately cancelled 32 issues later before it could reach 350.

Transformers UK 200

Marvel UK continues it's tradition of a wrap around cover poster every 50 issues of Transformers with issue 200, containing one of the final parts of the epic Time Wars storyline. Inside we see the Autobot Wreckers and Decepticon Mayhem Attack Squad combine forces to combat Megatron and his future incarnation, Galvatron. Meanwhile Rodimus Prime with the help of Optimus tries to unite the rest of the Autobots and Decepticons past and present to take on the threat Galvatron poses to the universe.

Transformers UK 150

From issue 100 onwards it was a tradition with Marvels UK Transformers comic that every 50 issues there would be a wrap around poster cover. For issue 150 we see Rodimus Prime unleashing the power of the Matrix as Unicron attacks Cybertron.