''Nikolai Dante'' is a comic book series published in the weekly British

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

anthology '' 2000 AD'' from March 1997 until July 2012.

History

''Nikolai Dante'' was created by writer

Robbie Morrison Robbie Morrison is a Scottish comic book writer known for his work in the weekly anthology '' 2000 AD'', where he co-created the long-running serial '' Nikolai Dante'' with artist Simon Fraser. Career Morrison began his career in '' 2000 ADs ...

and artist Simon Fraser. The lead character, Dante, first appeared in 1997 in Prog 1035, and he made his final appearance in 2012 in Prog 1791. Fraser was the primary artist for the first three years of the series, with support from artists including

Charlie Adlard Charles Adlard (born 4 August 1966) is a British comic book artist known for his work on books such as '' The Walking Dead'' and '' Savage''. Career Adlard began his work in the UK on ''White Death'' with Robbie Morrison and '' 2000 AD'' serie ...

Henry Flint Henry Flint is a British comic book artist who has worked mainly for British science fiction comic '' 2000 AD''. Biography Flint has established a following for his work on series such as '' Judge Dredd'', '' Zombo'', ''ABC Warriors'', '' ...

Chris Weston Chris Weston (born 1969) is a British comics artist who has worked both in the US and UK comics industries. Biography Weston was born in January 1969 in Rinteln, Germany, and lived in various countries as a child. His career began when he w ...

and Andy Clarke. From 2000, the majority of the stories were painted by

John Burns John Elliot Burns (20 October 1858 – 24 January 1943) was an English trade unionist and politician, particularly associated with London politics and Battersea. He was a socialist and then a Liberal Member of Parliament and Minister. He was ...

, until Fraser returned to the character in October 2006, when the two artists began to alternate on different stories. Morrison is now working on a spin-off series set in the same universe.

Plot

In the 27th century after a resurgent Imperial Russia has seized control of Earth and an interstellar domain, Dante, a swashbuckling young thief and ladies' man, discovers he is an illegitimate scion of the Romanov Dynasty, aristocratic rivals to the Tsar. Dante's Romanov genes bond him with a sentient "Weapons Crest", a biological weapon that gives superhuman abilities—in Dante's case, the ability to extend bio-blades from his hands and hack into computer systems. He outrages aristocratic society and enjoys a turbulent relationship with Tsarina Jena. Dmitri, the Romanov patriarch and bitter enemy of the Tsar, tries to mold Dante into an aristocrat and killer worthy of the Romanov name. Dmitri's underhanded political maneuvering prompts his war between the Makarov and Romanov dynasties, despite Jena's and Dante's attempts to prevent it, and the lovers break off their burgeoning romance. The civil war rips the empire apart, and Dante is forced to commit many atrocities. Vladimir triumphs, Dmitri dies by his own hand, and the power of the Romanovs is broken. Dante, now the most wanted man in the empire, returns to thieving, joining his mother, Katarina Dante, and her pirate crew. After spending time in the Pacific, he is forcibly recruited into the Imperial Service. In his new role as Sword of the Tsar, Dante works against everything he once held dear, though he secretly abuses his position in order to plot against his employer as he begins to build a secret army. A massacre in the oppressed state of Amerika prompts Dante to try to kill the tsar. Imprisoned and tortured, Dante escapes from jail with the help of Jena, and the two renew their relationship and raise an army of thieves and whores to win a revolutionary war against the tsar. Tsar Vladimir is put on trial for his crimes and Dante proposes to Jena. Their happiness is cut short by the return of Dmitri Romanov. Dmitri embarks on a rampage, murdering several of Dante's close allies, capturing Jena and destroying Dante's weapons crest. He tightens his grip on the empire, planning to marry Jena and execute Vladimir on their wedding day, Dante fights the same war against a different enemy. On the day of Jena's forced wedding to Dmitri, Dante leads his army to a second, final triumph that leaves Dmitri dead and a new era of peace and prosperity set to begin.

Characters

* Nikolai Dante – thief, ladies' man and illegitimate son of Dmitri Romanov. Dante's mother is Katarina Dante, a feared pirate. Abandoned at a young age, Dante was forced to survive by turning to crime. He inadvertently becomes bonded with the weapons crest, intended for Arkady Romanov, which allows Dante to generate bio-blades and provides him with limited regenerative abilities. The crest is also able to access and hack most computer systems used by both civilian and military society. Finally, recognising that Dante is of common birth, it constantly attempts to educate Dante on the correct manners of a nobleman.

The Romanovs

The Romanovs are one of the most powerful dynasties in Russia, descended directly from

Peter the Great Peter I (, ; – ), better known as Peter the Great, was the Sovereign, Tsar and Grand Prince of all Russia, Tsar of all Russia from 1682 and the first Emperor of Russia, Emperor of all Russia from 1721 until his death in 1725. He reigned j ...

, and rivalling the Makarovs in influence and military power. The main sources of the family's power are its "Weapons Crests,"

cybernetic Cybernetics is the transdisciplinary study of circular causal processes such as feedback and recursion, where the effects of a system's actions (its outputs) return as inputs to that system, influencing subsequent action. It is concerned with ...

symbionts Symbiosis (Ancient Greek : living with, companionship < : together; and ''bíōsis'': living) is any type of a close and long-term

genetic engineering Genetic engineering, also called genetic modification or genetic manipulation, is the modification and manipulation of an organism's genes using technology. It is a set of Genetic engineering techniques, technologies used to change the genet ...

, the mother of his legitimate children, she is killed by Dimitri when he reveals to still be alive. These are: ** Valentine – the "blunt instrument" of the Romanov Dynasty, scarred physically and mentally by his prototype crest, killed by his own weapon crest. ** Konstantin – a born leader, his crest generates

nuclear fusion Nuclear fusion is a nuclear reaction, reaction in which two or more atomic nuclei combine to form a larger nuclei, nuclei/neutrons, neutron by-products. The difference in mass between the reactants and products is manifested as either the rele ...

energy. Although he is believed to have been killed (by Dante) during the Battle of New Moscow, he survives and becomes the

Lord Protector Lord Protector (plural: ''Lords Protector'') is a title that has been used in British constitutional law for the head of state. It was also a particular title for the British heads of state in respect to the established church. It was sometime ...

. He is the final Romanov that Dante kills, in a one-on-one fight to the death. ** Andreas – a womaniser and hellraiser, his crest gives him throwable bio-blades. Similar in many ways to Dante, he is the closest to a friend Dante has in the Romanov dynasty. He is killed during the civil war, when he is the only Romanov to help Dante defend Rundinshtein from the Tsar's army. ** Lulu – a seductive vamp and a

high priest The term "high priest" usually refers either to an individual who holds the office of ruler-priest, or to one who is the head of a religious organisation. Ancient Egypt In ancient Egypt, a high priest was the chief priest of any of the many god ...

ess of the Cadre Infernale. Her crest creates swarms of vicious demons. At the end of the civil war, Lulu surrenders to the Imperial forces, but escapes shortly after and begins waging a terrorist campaign against the empire. She is believed to have been killed by Dante after the war on the orders of Vladimir, but later resurfaces as part of Dante's revolutionary army. After the fall of Vladimir and Dimitri's return, she appears to accept her father's offer of rejoining him by capturing Dante, which is later revealed to be a ruse to get Dante to the heart of the Imperial Palace. She, Viktor and Dante are the only Romanovs to survive the saga. ** Nastasia – a narcissistic sexual predator. Her crest allows her to spit deadly venom and acids, killed by the Lord Protector. ** Alexandr and Alexandra – twins whose crests allow them to combine into one super-being, as well as produce explosive nano-mines. They are the first of the Romanovs in the saga to be killed by Dante after they attempt to take his and Jena's lives. ** Arkady – youngest of Dmitri's sons. The crest intended for him bonded with Dante instead. Always the closest to Dmitri, Arkady survives the war and is made a ward of the Imperial Court. He is later promoted to commander of the Scarlet Wraiths, part of the empire's intelligence agency. It is revealed that before he killed himself Dmitri secretly downloaded his consciousness into Arkady, so he could return six years later. This seems to have transferred Dmitri's Crest and its abilities to him as well. He is also killed in the final battle when Katrina Dante shoots him twice with the Huntsmans Rifle, however being that Dmitri stole his body, it could be argued that Arkady had been long dead before this. ** Viktor – a mute, enigmatic loner whose crest transforms him into a Romanov eagle. Viktor forms a close bond with Dante early on. After Dmitri (as Arkady) murders his wife Galya, he renounces his birthright as a Romanov and, taking the name of Viktor ''Dante'', joins Nikolai on a mission to bring about his father's downfall. His final act is to abandon his humanity and take eagle form permanently. He only says two words in the whole 15-year series: "Goodbye, Nikolai". This shows he was mute by choice. He, Lulu and Dante are the only Romanovs to survive the saga.

The Makarovs and their allies

* Tsar Vladimir the Conqueror – ruthless ruler of the Russian empire. Though he hates the Romanovs, he has feelings for Jocasta, and he retains these feelings through their family's wars. When they were younger, Vladimir, Jocasta and Dmitri liberated Russia from Tsar Ivan The Oppressor, who Vladimir strangled to death with his bare hands. When Vladimir proposes to Jocasta and declares himself the new Tsar, Dmitri is angered because he believes only Romanovs have the right to be Tsars. Vladimir and Dimitri duel, and Vladimir wins. Jocasta rejects his proposal, recognising Vladimir's cruelty whilst he humiliated her brother, and says they can never be together. Vladimir is proud of his daughters, but acts with cruelty towards them when they are young to show them what they must do when they are rulers. He is the final antagonist to die in the saga after challenging Dante to a game of Russian Roulette. * Tsarina Eugenia (Jena) Vladimirovna Makarova – the tsar's eldest daughter and Dante's on again-off again love interest. She has a love-hate relationship with Dante, both attracted to him and disgusted with his flings with other women. A capable commander, she plays a major role in her father's empire, and eventually, she grows disenchanted with the empire to throw in with Dante's rebellion. * Lady Juliana Makarov – the tsar's younger daughter. When she is killed by Konstantin Romanov, her death starts the civil war. * Count Pyre – shape-changing alien, Lord Protector of the tsar and commander of the Scarlet Wraiths. Killed by Dante and replaced by Arkady and Konstantin Romanov. * The Lord Protector – a mysterious armoured warrior who serves the tsar, he kills several members of the Romanovs. The Lord Protector reveals himself to be Konstantin Romanov, joining Tsar Vladimir The Conqueror to get his revenge when Dante tries to kill him. * Mikhal Deriabin – head of the House of Bolshoi. He intended to marry Jena in a marriage arranged by her father, Tsar Vladimir the Conqueror. He secretly conspired with Sir Richard Hawksmoor (former tsarist warrior) to kidnap Princess Jena and start a civil war between Tsar Vladimir the Conqueror and the Romanovs so they could take power when the war was over. Unfortunately for both of them, Princess Jena's bodyguard was Nikolai Dante. * The Arbatov family – male members of the family always seem to be on the wrong end of Dante's escapades.

The Rudinshtein Irregulars

During the war, Dante is given command of a regiment raised in his own

fief A fief (; ) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form of feudal alle ...

dom, Rudinshtein. Initially made up of regular soldiers, the regiment is eventually supplemented by troops drawn from

penal military unit A penal military unit, also known as a penal formation, disciplinary unit, or just penal unit (usually named for their formation and size, such as ''penal battalion'' for battalions, ''penal regiment'' for regiments, ''penal company'' for companie ...

s. * Sergeant Elena Kurakin – half Russian, half Mongolian swordswoman, she was imprisoned for killing her superior officer for cowardice. Following the war, she is captured by the tsar and sent to a

gulag The Gulag was a system of Labor camp, forced labor camps in the Soviet Union. The word ''Gulag'' originally referred only to the division of the Chronology of Soviet secret police agencies, Soviet secret police that was in charge of runnin ...

, where she is later freed by Dante, who makes her his bodyguard. * Lord Peter Flintlock – a former British officer and a somewhat foppish coward. He survives the war and later (along with Spatchcock) joins Dante's pirate crew. Killed in the final battle. * Private Yuri Spatchcock – described as the filthiest man in the empire due to his complete lack of personal hygiene and lack of trustworthiness. Survives the final battle and lands somewhat on his feet, embarking on a whirlwind romance with Lady Felicity Flintlock, wild child of London Town and sister of his late friend Lord Peter, and making off with a sizeable proportion of the Flintlock family valuables. * The Grozny Gang – a family of violent criminals who are drafted into the Irregulars. ** Boris Grozny – eldest member and leader of the gang. ** Foma "the Coma" Grozny – a fragment of metal in his brain makes him impervious to pain. ** Ursa Grozny – the only female in the gang.

Other recurring characters

* Katarina Dante – pirate queen and Dante's mother. abandoning Nikolai as a child, because of her all-female pirate crew, years later Nikolai discovers he is the result of rape by Dimitri Romanov, after the civil war Nikolai joins her crew, she later joins Nikolai's revolutionary army, during the final battle she is fatally wounded by Vladimir, she survives long enough to kill Dimitri. * The Countessa de Winter – a beautiful and manipulative con-artist. She first meets Dante when he is trying to rob the Hotel Yalta and she manages to steal the jewels from him, after which they pull a heist on the Church of the

Skoptsy The Skoptsy (, ; ) were a cult within the larger Spiritual Christianity movement in the Russian Empire. They were best known for practising emasculation of men, the mastectomy and female genital mutilation of women in accordance with their teac ...

. She cheats him out of the jewels from "the Romanov Job" then, years later, she hires the Solnkin Assassin Society to start a war between Tsar Vladimir the Conqueror and Papa Yeltsin so she can take over Yeltsin's criminal empire and New Moscow. * Eloise de Janissaire – the leader of the mercenary Warlords and Dante's wife. Killed by Valentine Romanov. * Akita Sagawa – a Japanese yakuza leader. Killed by The Kraken. * The Kraken – the leader of the Pacific Rievers, killed by the Lord Protector. * Alexander "Papa" Yeltsin – the leader of the criminal elements in New Moscow. Killed by Dimitri Romanov. * Lauren Stone – Dante's childhood sweetheart (though Dante describes her as "more like the girl next ship"). Killed during the Battle of St. Petersburg. * Henry Winsdor Mckray – The legendary "Mad King" of

Britannia The image of Britannia () is the national personification of United Kingdom, Britain as a helmeted female warrior holding a trident and shield. An image first used by the Romans in classical antiquity, the Latin was the name variously appli ...

and close friend of Nikolai Dante. He believes Nikolai is an attractive woman. * Princess Marie-Anne – King Henry's scheming daughter, constantly trying to overthrow her father, her plans are always being thwarted by Nikolai Dante. * Major Liberty – the leader of the Amerikan rebels in Imperial-occupied Russia.

Other characters and imperial factions

* The White Army and the Red Guard – warring factions from a parallel dimension, the White Army created the Weapons Crest technology, while the Red Guard fight to preserve their humanity. In ''Sword of the Tsar'', the White Army has begun inserting themselves into Dante's dimension. Their agents claim to have defeated the Red Guard. * Lieutenant Khara – A female member of the Red Guard, she first meets Dante when Dmitri orders him to take her to the planet Samovar, one of the Romanov Dynasty's off-world territories, and the harshest prison colony in the empire, Khara explains to Dante that long ago the Red Guard and Dimitri Romanov made a deal, the Red Guard gave the Romanovs the technology for their weapon crests and in return, Dimitri sent prisoners to fight for the Red Guard after they created a portal between there dimensions, Khara gives Dante The Huntsman's Rifle 5000, as a gift for saving her life, some years later Khara returns to Dante's dimension, turning out to have joined the White Army, who now plan to conqueror his dimension, Dante kills her after she tries to assassinate Tsar Vladimir. * Jason Futura – former weapons designer, founder and CEO of Futura Consciousness, a Virtual Reality company that most Amerikans use to escape the depression of the Russian occupation, Tsar Vladimir The Conqueror plans to withdraw his forces from the country, and Futura its first President in 50 years (though it is made clear he'll be a puppet President), Futura turns out to be a member of the White Army, who have integrated themselves into Amerikan society, so they can overrun the country, he is defeated when Dante and the Amerikan Insurgents team up and stop him. * Sir Richard Hawksmoore – former Tsarist warrior turned mercenary, obsessed with Jena Makarov. He secretly conspires with Mikhail Deriabin to kidnap Jena and start a civil war between Tsar Vladimir the Conqueror and the Romanovs so they can take power when the war is over. Unfortunately for both of them, Dante goes as Jena's personal bodyguard. * Major Elizabeth Hawksmoore- daughter of Sir Richard Hawksmoore. She is arrested after she kills a member of the Arbatov family, but Arkady Romanov makes her head of the Order of the Dragon, the greatest strike force in the empire. She is killed by Sergeant Elena Kurakin in the final battle, when she tells Kurakin that she killed her father. * Captain Luther Emmanuel – former agent of Britannia Intelligence and member of the Cadre Infernale. A powerful

psionic In American science fiction of the 1950s and '60s, psionics was a proposed discipline that applied principles of engineering (especially electronics) to the study (and employment) of paranormal or psychic phenomena, such as extrasensory percept ...

, he uses his abilities both to interrogate prisoners and swindle casinos. After the war, he supports Lulu Romanov's terror campaign before being captured and killed by the Lord Protector.2000AD Prog 1528 – 14 March 2007 * Odessa Zhiriovsky A young girl with the power to see into the future, because of this Tsar Vladimir The Conqueror adopts her, making her call him Uncle Vlad, using her powers to gain the upper hand on everyone, however when Dante tries to kill him after he destroys New York City, angered by the fact she didn't warn him about this, he has the Lord Protector blind her, when the revolutionary army overthrows Vladimir she is given robot eyes, however can no longer see into the future, she then writes the definitive autobiography of Nikolai Dante called Too Cool To Kill. *Jim Di Grisov – Legendary con artist, thief and tutor of Nikolai Dante in the thieves' world. His name is an homage to The Stainless Steel Rat, Slippery Jim DiGriz.

Bibliography

British computer games company and comic book publisher

Rebellion Developments Rebellion Developments Limited is a British video game developer based in Oxford. Founded by Jason Kingsley (businessman), Jason and Chris Kingsley in December 1992, the company is best known for ''Sniper Elite'' and multiple games in the ''Lis ...

collected the entire saga into a series of

trade paperbacks A paperback (softcover, softback) book is one with a thick paper or paperboard cover, also known as wrappers, and often held together with glue rather than stitches or staples. In contrast, hardback (hardcover) books are bound with cardboar ...

. *''Nikolai Dante: The Romanov Dynasty'' (November 2004, ), republished as ''Nikolai Dante: Too Cool to Kill'' (July 2011, ): ** "The Adventures of Nikolai Dante" (with Simon Fraser, in ''2000 AD'' #1035–1041, 1997) ** "The Romanov Dynasty" (with Simon Fraser, in ''2000 AD'' #1042–1049, 1997) ** "Russia's Greatest Love Machine" (with

, in ''2000 AD'' #1066, 1997) ** "The Gentleman Thief" (with Simon Fraser, in ''2000 AD'' #1067–1070, 1997) ** "The Full Dante" (with

, in ''2000 AD'' #1071, 1997) ** "Moscow Duellists" (with Simon Fraser, in ''2000 AD'' #1072–1075, 1997) ** "The Gulag Apocalyptic" (with

, in ''2000 AD'' #1079–1082, 1998) *''Nikolai Dante: The Great Game'' (March 2005, ): ** "The Trouble with Arbatovs" (with Simon Fraser, in ''2000 AD'' #1083, 1998) ** "Cruel Britannia" (with Simon Fraser, in ''2000 AD'' #1084, 1998) ** "The Great Game" (with Simon Fraser, in ''2000 AD'' #1101–1110, 1998) ** "The Octobriana Seduction" (with Andy Clarke, in ''2000 AD'' #1113–1116, 1998) ** "Masque of Dante" (with Charlie Adlard, in ''2000 AD'' #1125–1127, 1999) ** "The Moveable Feast" (with Simon Fraser, in ''2000 AD'' #1128–1130, 1999) ** "Tour of Duty" (with Charlie Adlard, in ''2000 AD'' #1131–1133, 1999) ** "The Cadre Infernale" (with Simon Fraser, in ''2000 AD'' #1134–1137, 1999) ** "The Hunting Party" (with Andy Clarke, in ''2000 AD'' #1139–1140, 1999) *''Nikolai Dante: The Courtship of Jena Makarov'' (January 2006, ), republished as ''Nikolai Dante: Love and War'' (October 2014, ): ** "Fists of Fury" (with Charlie Adlard, in ''2000 AD'' #1141, 1999) ** "Last Dance on the Trans-Siberian Express" (with Charlie Adlard, in ''2000 AD'' #1142–1143, 1999) ** "Cruel Seas" (with

, in ''2000 AD'' #1148–1149, 1999) ** "Requiem for Lost Love" (with John Burns, in ''2000 AD'' #1150, 1999) ** "The Courtship of Jena Makarov " (with Simon Fraser, in ''2000 AD'' #1161–1172, 1999) ** "Love and War" (with Simon Fraser, in ''2000 AD'' Prog 2000, 1999) *''Nikolai Dante: Tsar Wars Volume 1'' (September 2006, ): ** "Rudinshtein Irregulars " (with John Burns, in ''2000 AD'' #1183–1190, 2000) ** "Love and War" (with John Burns, in ''2000 AD'' #1200–1207, 2000) ** "Battleship Potemkin" (with Simon Fraser, in ''2000 AD'' #1213–1220, 2000) *''Nikolai Dante: Tsar Wars Volume 2'' (March 2007, ): ** "One Last Night in the House of Sin" (with John Burns, in ''2000 AD'' Prog 2001, 2000) ** "The Beguiling" (with

Steve Yeowell Steve Yeowell () is a British comics artist, well known for his work on the long-running science fiction and fantasy weekly comic '' 2000 AD''. Biography Having trained in 3D design (specialising in silversmithing and jewellery), Yeowell beg ...

in ''2000 AD'' #1234–1235, 2001) ** "Fiends" (with Steve Yeowell in ''2000 AD'' #1236–1239, 2001) ** "The Romanov Empire" (with John Burns, in ''2000 AD'' #1250–1262, 2001) *''Nikolai Dante: Hell and High Water'' (April 2008, ): ** "The Return of the Gentleman Thief" (with Simon Fraser, in ''2000 AD'' Prog 2002 and #1273–1274, 2001–2002) ** "The Romanov Job" (with Simon Fraser, in ''2000 AD'' #1280–1287, 2002) ** "Hell and High Water" (with John Burns, in ''2000 AD'' Prog 2003 and #1322–1328, 2002–2003) ** "The Sea Falcon" (with John Burns, in ''2000 AD'' Prog 2004, 2003) ** "Agent of Destruction" (with John Burns, in ''2000 AD'' Prog 2005 and #1420–1427, 2004–2005) *''Nikolai Dante: Sword of the Tsar'' (July 2008, ): ** "How could you believe me when I said I loved you when you know I've been a liar all my life?" (with John Burns, in ''2000 AD'' #1428–1431, 2005) ** "Primal Screams" (with John Burns, in ''2000 AD'' #1433–1436, 2005) ** "Devil's Deal" (with John Burns, in ''2000 AD'' Prog 2006, 2005) ** "Usurper" (with John Burns, in ''2000 AD'' #1487–1489, 2006) ** "The Depths" (with John Burns, in ''2000 AD'' #1500–1501, 2006) ** "Dragon's Island" (with John Burns, in ''2000 AD'' #1502–1507, 2006) ** "Sword of the Tsar" (with Simon Fraser, in ''2000 AD'' #1511–1516, 2006) *''Nikolai Dante: The Beast of Rudinshtein'' (February 2009, ): ** "The Road of Bones" (with John Burns, in ''2000 AD'' Prog 2007, 2006) ** "Deadlier than the Male" (with John Burns, in ''2000 AD'' #1518–1520, 2007) ** "Hellfire" (with Simon Fraser, in ''2000 AD'' #1526–1531, 2007) ** "The Beast of Rudinshtein" (with John Burns, in ''2000 AD'' #1532–1535, 2007) ** "The Dissenter" (with John Burns, in ''2000 AD'' #1537, 2007) ** "Thieves' World" (with Simon Fraser, in ''2000 AD'' #1538–1544, 2007) ** "The Chaperone" (with John Burns, in ''2000 AD'' #1560–1564, 2007) ** "Destiny's Child" (with John Burns, in ''2000 AD'' Prog 2008, 2007) ** "The Tsar's Daughter" (with John Burns, in ''2000 AD'' #1578–1580, 2008) *''Nikolai Dante: Amerika'' (January 2010, ): ** "Amerika" (with Simon Fraser, in ''2000 AD'' #1589–1599, 2008) ** "Prisoner of the Tsar" (with John Burns, in ''2000 AD'' #1612–1616, 2008) ** "Bring Me the Head of Nikolai Dante" (with John Burns, in ''2000 AD'' Prog 2009, 2008) ** "An Army of Thieves and Whores" (with Simon Fraser, in ''2000 AD'' #1629–1634, 2009) ** "Lulu's War" (with Paul Marshall, in ''2000 AD'' #1651–1654, 2009) *''Nikolai Dante: Hero of the Revolution'' (July 2011, ): ** "Hero of the Revolution" (with John Burns, in ''2000 AD'' Prog 2010, #1666–1675, 2009–2010) ** "Heroes Be Damned" (with Simon Fraser, in ''2000 AD'' #1679–1684, 2010) ** "A Farewell to Arms" (with Simon Fraser, in ''2000 AD'' #1685, 2010) ** "City of the Damned" (with Simon Fraser, in ''2000 AD'' #1700–1704, 2010) ** "The Master of Kronstadt" (with John Burns in ''2000 AD'' #1705–1708, 2010) *''Nikolai Dante: Sympathy For the Devil'' (October 2012, ): ** "The Memoirs of Nikolai Dante" (with Simon Fraser, in ''2000 AD'' #1731, 2011) ** "Bad Blood" (with Simon Fraser, in ''2000 AD'' #1732–1736, 2011) ** "The Wedding of Jena Makarov" (with Simon Fraser, in ''2000 AD'' #2012,1764–1773, 2012) ** "The Dante Gambit" (with John Burns, in ''2000 AD'' #1774–1779, 2012) ** "Sympathy for the Devil" (with Simon Fraser, in ''2000 AD'' #1786–1791, 2012) In February 2017 a one-off new story was published (set during the series early years) in the comic's 40th-anniversary special issue: * "Devil May Care" (with Simon Fraser) a. This Prog was a special edition outside the comic's normal numbering scheme released to mark the start of a new year. An issue with the equivalent issue number was published within the comic's normal numbering scheme years later.

Cultural references

* The title of one of the stories, ''Russia's Greatest Love Machine,'' is taken from a lyric from the

Boney M. Boney M. is a German reggae, funk and disco music group founded in 1974. It achieved popularity during the disco era in the second half of the 1970s. The band was created by German record producer Frank Farian, who was the group's primary song ...

song "

Rasputin Grigori Yefimovich Rasputin ( – ) was a Russian mystic and faith healer. He is best known for having befriended the imperial family of Nicholas II, the last Emperor of Russia, through whom he gained considerable influence in the final ye ...

" about the mystic

Grigori Rasputin Grigori Yefimovich Rasputin ( – ) was a Russian Mysticism, mystic and faith healer. He is best known for having befriended the imperial family of Nicholas II of Russia, Nicholas II, the last Emperor of all the Russias, Emperor of Russia, th ...

who, in the 1900s and 1910s, was an associate of the real

Romanov The House of Romanov (also transliterated as Romanoff; , ) was the reigning dynasty, imperial house of Russia from 1613 to 1917. They achieved prominence after Anastasia Romanovna married Ivan the Terrible, the first crowned tsar of all Russi ...

s, including Tsar

Nicholas II Nicholas II (Nikolai Alexandrovich Romanov; 186817 July 1918) or Nikolai II was the last reigning Emperor of Russia, King of Congress Poland, and Grand Duke of Finland from 1 November 1894 until his abdication on 15 March 1917. He married ...

and the healer of Nicholas' son, Tsarevich Alexei. * In ''The Great Game'' we are introduced to Agent Kaine, a parody of

Harry Palmer Harry Palmer is the name given to the anti-hero protagonist of several films based on spy novels written by Len Deighton, in which the main character is an unnamed intelligence officer. For convenience, the novels are also often referred to a ...

as played by

Michael Caine Sir Michael Caine (born Maurice Joseph Micklewhite, 14 March 1933) is a retired English actor. Known for his distinct Cockney accent, he has appeared in more than 160 films over Michael Caine filmography, a career that spanned eight decades an ...

. This is not the first time ''2000 AD'' has parodied Michael Caine; in Bix Barton the eponymous hero had a sentient walking stick as a companion called Michael Cane. * In ''The Octobriana Seduction'' a version of

Octobriana Octobriana is a Russian superhero created by Petr Sadecký by modifying the work of Czech artists Bohumil Konečný and Zdeněk Burian for an unpublished comic book series Sadecký commissioned them to do, under the working title of Amazona. As ...

appears. * In ''The Hunting Party'',

Sinister Dexter ''Sinister Dexter'' is a long-running comics series in British comics anthology '' 2000 AD'', created by Dan Abnett and David Millgate. Overview Set in the near future, it features the exploits of gun sharks (hitmen) Finnigan "Finny" Sinister ...

and Slaine appear as thinly disguised parodies. * In ''The Romanov Job'', there are cameo appearances by thinly disguised characters from other comics including: **

The Spider The Spider is an American pulp-magazine hero of the 1930s and 1940s. The character was created by publisher Harry Steeger and written by a variety of authors for 118 monthly issues of '' The Spider'' from 1933 to 1943. ''The Spider'' sold well ...

– "Abel Ganz, The Tarantula, Anarchist, Assassin and all-round master criminal" ** Janus Stark – "Janos Starak, escapologist extraordinaire" **

Catwoman Catwoman is a character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Bill Finger and Bob Kane, she debuted as "the Cat" in ''Batman (comic book), Batman'' #1 (spring 1940). She has become one of the superhero Batman' ...

– "Selina Solaris, The Panther" ** Crusher Creel – "Grushko Kreel" ** Luther Arkwright – Captain Luther Emmanuel * The "bio-weapon" creature who appears in "Agent of Destruction" is a version of the monster from the ''Phantoms'' film and

novel A novel is an extended work of narrative fiction usually written in prose and published as a book. The word derives from the for 'new', 'news', or 'short story (of something new)', itself from the , a singular noun use of the neuter plural of ...

. *

Captain America Captain America is a superhero created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby who appears in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in '' Captain America Comics'' #1, published on December 20, 1940, by Timely C ...

is lampshaded in the story ''Amerika'', projectile shield and all, by the character Major Liberty. This installment of the Dante saga also references NBA team the

New Jersey Nets New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 1 ...

before their move to Brooklyn. The pre-Brooklyn logo is featured on the front of the President Shawn C Carter Memorial Stadium – itself a reference to the rapper

Jay-Z Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American Rapping, rapper, businessman, and record executive. Rooted in East Coast hip-hop, he was named Billboard and Vibe's 50 Greatest Rappers of All Time, the ...

, who owned a stake in both the team and its arena at the time; both have since been sold on to other parties. The terrorists who appear on the start pages are versions of

Thing Thing or The Thing may refer to: Philosophy * An object * Broadly, an entity * Thing-in-itself (or ''noumenon''), the reality that underlies perceptions, a term coined by Immanuel Kant * Thing theory, a branch of critical theory that focuses ...

and

Human Torch The Human Torch (Jonathan Lowell Spencer "Johnny" Storm) is a fictional superhero character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is a founding member of the Fantastic Four. He is writer Stan Lee's and ar ...

from

Fantastic Four The Fantastic Four, often abbreviated as FF, is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The team debuted in '' The Fantastic Four'' #1 ( cover-dated November 1961), helping usher in a new level of realism i ...

. * In ''Devil May Care'', there is a parody of Black Widow called "Scarlet Spider".

Other media

Novels

A number of Nikolai Dante novels have been written by David Bishop and published by Black Flame. Each is a new Dante story, set in between events depicted by the comic serials. The first novel, ''The Strangelove Gambit'', details Dante's misadventures as a tutor in a boarding school for young ladies that hides a deadly secret. In the second, ''Imperial Black'', Dante is forced to seek out an ancient

citadel A citadel is the most fortified area of a town or city. It may be a castle, fortress, or fortified center. The term is a diminutive of ''city'', meaning "little city", because it is a smaller part of the city of which it is the defensive core. ...

on the roof of the world. The final Dante novel to date, ''Honour Be Damned'', is a romp set in future Britain that spoofs "The 39 Steps". They include: * ''From Russia with Lust: The Nikolai Dante Omnibus'' (672 pages, March 2007, ): ** ''The Strangelove Gambit'' (January 2005, ) ** ''Imperial Black'' (August 2005, ) ** ''Honour Be Damned'' (March 2006, )

Notes

References

Nikolai Dante
at 2000 AD online * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dante, Nikolai 2012 comics endings Fictional gentleman thieves Fictional cyborgs Fictional Russian people Works set in the 27th century 2000 AD characters Fictional characters from the 3rd millennium