Fighting Figurines

''Revolver'' was a British monthly comic anthology published by Fleetway Publications from July 1990 to January 1991. The comic was designed as a monthly companion title to ''Crisis'' and was intended to appeal to older readers than other Fleetway titles in order to take advantage of a boom in interest in 'adult' comics. ''Revolver'' was not a commercial success, and lasted just seven issues before being cancelled and merged with ''Crisis''.

Creation

After a strong start and an alarming dip sales of Fleetway Publications' mature reader anthology ''Crisis'' had levelled out at a reasonable level. The title's editor Steve MacManus was also made group editor for the newly defined '2000 AD' group, consisting of the fortnightly ''Crisis'' and the long-running science fiction weekly '' 2000 AD'', as well as any spin-offs. ''Revolver'' had initially been conceived as a high-quality export title to run alongside ''Crisis'' some two years earlier, but internal upheaval had seen the book delayed repeatedly. However, Fleetway scored a major hit by licensing a ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' weekly just as the franchise hit critical mass, and MacManus was finally given the greenlight to make monthly companion titles for ''Crisis'' and ''2000 AD'' (the latter becoming ''Judge Dredd Megazine'') by managing director John Davidge. MacManus picked Peter Hogan, who had primarily been involved in the music industry working for the likes of Rough Trade and IRS Records as well as music magazines, feeling he would have "his finger on the pulse". For his assistant Hogan recruited Frank Wynne, an Irishman with a vast knowledge of European comics and was known to Michael Bennent, who was in turn being groomed to take over as editor of ''Crisis''. An unsuccessful applicant for the assistant editor of ''Revolver'' was David Bishop, who nevertheless impressed MacManus and would later become editor of ''Judge Dredd Megazine'' 1991-1992, and ''2000 AD'' itself from 1995-2000. With his design work for ''Crisis'' having received a positive response, Rian Hughes was assigned to style ''Revolver''. The name was chosen to emphasise the diverse content of the comic and in reference to the name of the acclaimed Beatles album.

The format was settled on as 52 pages, in full colour. Unlike the political bent of ''Crisis'', MacManus decided ''Revolver'' would have a more eclectic mix of genres more in line with the IPC Magazines anthologies he had begun working on, but aimed at an older readership. He began assembling stories for the comic, with the same improved creator benefits as used for ''Crisis''. A Jimi Hendrix biography by music journalist Charles Shaar Murray (based on his book ''Crosstown Traffic'') had been in the offing since the beginning, and was greenlit with Floyd Hughes (who had contributed some work to ''Crisis'') as artist, aided by the so-called Second Summer of Love giving a major spike in interest in psychedelia. Grant Morrison, well known to MacManus from his work on ''2000 AD'' and on good terms with MacManus after he stepped in to publish the controversial " The New Adventures of Hitler" after its original publication ''Cut'' folded, approached Fleetway with a plan for a revisionist take on Dan Dare; with the 40th anniversary of the character's debut in ''Eagle'' approaching, Morrison began working on the story with Hughes as artist. Hogan commissioned another psychedelic-influenced strip in the form of "Rogan Gosh" from Peter Milligan and Brendan McCarthy and "Happenstance and Kismet" from Marvel UK veterans Paul Neary and Steve Parkhouse, as well as recruiting Shaky Kane and Julie Hollings from ''Deadline'' to create "Pinhead Nation" and "Dire Streets" respectively. The final strip in each issue would be a rotating one-off, a format used by MacManus with some success in the pages of ''Crisis''.

Promoting the comic was difficult for publicist Igor Goldkind due to ''Revolver'''s diffuse subjects, and at MacManus' suggestion he eventually went with the slogan "Where Dan Dare meets Jimi Hendrix", making the same connection between comics and music as the well-received ''Deadline'' and to take advantage of a boom in sixties nostalgia.

Publishing history

At £1.65 per issue, ''Revolver'' was at the time the most expensive regular British comic ever put on sale. A buoyant MacManus announced "I don't think that there's any doubt in anybody's mind that it's going to be a success; the only question is how big it is going to be". As with the launch of ''Crisis'', the creative staff were sent on a nationwide signing tour.

However, despite high hopes ''Revolver'' was cancelled after just seven issues. The cancellation took most of the title's staff by surprise, though the final issue was able to include a farewell message, avoid starting any new stories and advertising that "Dare" and "Happenstance and Kismet" would be continuing in ''Crisis''. A planned update of "Tyranny Rex" by John Smith and John Hicklenton and "Forever England" by Morrison and Paul Grist were both switched over to ''Crisis'', but failed to crystallise before ''Crisis'' itself was cancelled in October 1991, while other commissioned material was placed in a pair of specials. MacManus was later told ''Revolver'' had lost Fleetway £750,000 over its brief run. The cancellation was swift enough that there was little chance to investigate why ''Revolver'' was selling poorly; MacManus would later speculate that it was being displayed with children's comics in some newsagents while in others the comic being marked for 'mature readers' saw it placed with pornographic magazines.

Stories

Dare

:Published: July 1990 to January 1991
:Writer: Grant Morrison
:Artist: Rian Hughes
Dan Dare is retired, and a puppet of regime intent on exploiting both humans and Treens alike.
* Continued in ''Crisis''.

Dire Streets

:Published: July 1990 to September 1990, November 1990 to January 1991
:Writer/artist: Julie Hollings
Disaster-prone Kaz negotiates the pitfalls of house sharing and university life.

Happenstance and Kismet

:Published: July 1990 to January 1991
:Writer: Paul Neary
:Artist: Steve Parkhouse
The misadventures of jazz musician Monty Happenstance and translator Lucius Kismet.
* Continued in ''Crisis''.

Pinhead Nation

:Published: July 1990 to January 1991
:Writer/artist: Shaky Kane
The rantings of a large man with a tiny head.

Purple Days

:Published: July 1990 to January 1991
:Writer: Charles Shaar Murray
:Artist: Floyd Hughes
A journey into the life and mind of Jimi Hendrix.
* 'Book One' concluded in the final issue of ''Revolver''.

Rogan Gosh

:Published: July to December 1990
:Writer: Peter Milligan
:Artist: Brendan McCarthy
Rogan Gosh is a loutish Indian time traveller and Karmanaut, out to stop Kali's attempts to destroy time and cause chaos all of his own.
* Later collected by Vertigo Comics.

One-off stories

*Nine Inches to the Mile
:Published: #1 (July 1990)
:Writer: Igor Goldkind
:Artist: Phil Winslade
*God's Little Acre
:Published: #2 (August 1990)
:Writer: Ian Edginton
:Artist: D'Israeli
*Plug into Jesus
:Published: #4 (October 1990)
:Writer: Gary Pleece
:Artist: Warren Pleece
*The Crossing
:Published: #4 (October 1990)
:Writer/artist: Al Davison
*Circular Motion
:Published: #5 (November 1990)
:Writer/artist: Simon Harrison
*Martello Nation
:Published: #6 (December 1990)
:Writer/artist: Keith Page
*The Secret Garden
:Published: #7 (January 1991)
:Writer: Terry Hooper
:Artist: Aiden Potts
*51 Stars
:Published: #7 (January 1991)
:Writer/artist: Ed Hillyer
*Zen and the Art of Shopping
:Published: #7 (January 1991)
:Writer: Tony Allen
:Artist: Shanti
*Did I? Did I? Did I in My Own Self Shine?
:Published: #7 (January 1991)
:Writer/artist: Brendan McCarthy
*All Around the World
:Published: #7 (January 1991)
:Writer: Si Spencer
:Artist: Sean Phillips

Spin-offs

* ''Revolver - The Horror Special'' (1 edition, 1990)
* ''Crisis Presents the Revolver Romance Special'' (1 edition, 1991)

Collected editions

Reception

Writing for ''Comics Bulletin'' in 2011, columnist Regie Rigby praised ''Revolver'' for its varied approach and laid-back demeanour, comparing it positively to ''Crisis''.Rigby, Regie. "Fool Britannia: 'These I Have Loved - Part Three: Six Shooting!'", ''Comics Bulletin'' (2011)
Archived at the Wayback Machine
/ref> Designer Rian Hughes would later opine the title was "too scattergun - Hendrix and Dare in one magazine?", and felt the stories were not all of good quality, though he had positive memories of working with Hogan, MacManus and Davidge.

Accolades

''Revolver'' was given the 1991 UK Comic Art Award for 'Best New Publication'.

References

External links

*

''Revolver'' contents listing at Barney database
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