''Scream!'' was a weekly

British comics A British comic is a periodical published in the United Kingdom that contains comic strips. It is generally referred to as a comic or a comic magazine, and historically as a comic paper. As of 2014, the three longest-running comics of all time w ...

periodical published by

IPC Magazines TI Media Ltd. (formerly International Publishing Company, IPC Magazines Ltd, IPC Media and Time Inc. UK) was a consumer magazine and digital publisher in the United Kingdom, with a portfolio selling over 350 million copies each year. Most of it ...

from 24 March to 30 June 1984. A horror comic

anthology In book publishing, an anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs, or related fiction/non-fiction excerpts by different authors. There are also thematic and g ...

comic, the title lasted for 15 editions before being merged with another title, ''

Eagle Eagle is the common name for the golden eagle, bald eagle, and other birds of prey in the family of the Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of Genus, genera, some of which are closely related. True eagles comprise the genus ''Aquila ( ...

''.

Creation

Horror comics had a chequered history in Britain; the term was strongly tied into the salacious

penny dreadful Penny dreadfuls were cheap popular Serial (literature), serial literature produced during the 19th century in the United Kingdom. The pejorative term is roughly interchangeable with penny horrible, penny awful, and penny blood. The term typical ...

s of the

Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the reign of Queen Victoria, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. Slightly different definitions are sometimes used. The era followed the ...

. When the post-

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

American comic industry saw a drop in superheroes the horror genre output of

EC Comics E.C. Publications, Inc., (doing business as EC Comics) is an American comic book publisher. It specialized in horror fiction, crime fiction, satire, military fiction, dark fantasy, and science fiction from the 1940s through the mid-1950s, nota ...

and their imitators led to a moral panic when imported to the UK, led by ''

'' founder John Marcus Harston Morris. A year after

Fredric Wertham Fredric Wertham (; born Friedrich Ignatz Wertheimer, March 20, 1895 – November 18, 1981) was a German–American psychiatrist and author. Wertham had an early reputation as a progressive psychiatrist who treated poor black patients at his Lafa ...

's controversial study ''

Seduction of the Innocent ''Seduction of the Innocent'' is a book by German-born American psychiatrist Fredric Wertham, published in 1954, that warned that comic books were a harmful form of popular literature and a serious cause of juvenile delinquency. The book was tak ...

'', British parliament passed the

Children and Young Persons (Harmful Publications) Act 1955 The Children and Young Persons (Harmful Publications) Act 1955 ( 3 & 4 Eliz. 2. c. 28) is an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom Parliament that prohibited comics that were thought to be harmful to children. The Act was introduced by the Ho ...

, under which the first prosecution occurred in 1970. The law effectively banned the sale of horror comics, an effectively stopping importing of American comics full-stop. Instead, homegrown British titles gravitated towards war, adventure and humour, a combination that remained steadfast even when the Silver Age saw superhero sales rebound in America. IPC were one of the biggest British comic publishers and in the 1970s considered a horror anthology named ''Scream'' at the potential gap in the market. Dummy copies were made of the title, which advanced enough that a full-length episode of planned dark fantasy story " Black Beth" was produced, drawn by Spanish artist

Blas Gallego Blas Gallego (born 1941 in Barcelona) is a Spanish artist, painter and illustrator with a career spanning six decades. He has created and drawn comic books and strips, book covers, film posters, role-playing game cards, and portraits, among other ...

. However the company found themselves in the midst of controversy in 1976 when the influential

Mary Whitehouse Constance Mary Whitehouse (; 13 June 1910 – 23 November 2001) was a British teacher and conservative activist. She campaigned against social liberalism and the mainstream British media, both of which she accused of encouraging a more permis ...

of the

National Viewers and Listeners Association Mediawatch-UK, formerly known as the National Viewers' and Listeners' Association (National VALA or NVLA), was an advocacy group in the United Kingdom, which campaigned against the publication and broadcast of Mass media, media content that it v ...

and the

tabloid press Tabloid journalism is a popular style of largely sensationalist journalism, which takes its name from the tabloid newspaper format: a small-sized newspaper also known as a half broadsheet. The size became associated with sensationalism, an ...

were among the groups to criticise IPC's hard-edged ''

Action Action may refer to: * Action (philosophy), something which is done by a person * Action principles the heart of fundamental physics * Action (narrative), a literary mode * Action fiction, a type of genre fiction * Action game, a genre of video gam ...

''. This culminated in managing editor John Sanders being criticised for his poor moral character by presenter

Frank Bough Francis Joseph Bough (; 15 January 1933 – 21 October 2020) was an English television presenter. He was best known as the host of BBC sports and current affairs shows including '' Grandstand'', '' Nationwide'' and '' Breakfast Time'', which he l ...

BBC1 BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and Flagship (broadcasting), flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includ ...

's flagship magazine show '' Nationwide'', and any thoughts on a horror title were shelved. Long after the controversy had died down, the company explored the idea again in 1984. The success of '' 2000 AD'' suggested there was an audience for more mature comics, and boys ' adventure group editor Barrie Tomlinson was commissioned to put together such a title on the back of his successful relaunch of ''

'' in 1982. As Tomlinson had a wide range of titles he was responsible for (including ''Eagle'', ''

Tiger The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is a large Felidae, cat and a member of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Asia. It has a powerful, muscular body with a large head and paws, a long tail and orange fur with black, mostly vertical stripes. It is ...

'', ''

Roy of the Rovers ''Roy of the Rovers'' is a British comic strip about the life and times of a fictional association football, footballer and later Manager (association football), manager named Roy Race, who played for Melchester Rovers. The strip first appeared ...

'' and ''2000 AD'' - though in practice he left the latter largely to the devices of

Steve MacManus Steve MacManus (sometimes credited as Ian Rogan; born 1953) is a British comic writer and editor, particularly known for his work at '' 2000 AD''. Biography Born in London and educated in Devon, MacManus joined IPC in 1973, aged 20, as a sub- ...

), he hired Ian Rimmer as editor. Rimmer in turn brought in

Simon Furman Simon Christopher Francis Furman (born 22 March 1961) is a British comic book writer who is best known for his work on Hasbro's ''Transformers'' franchise, starting with writing Marvel Comics's initial comic book to promote the toyline worl ...

, an aspiring

copywriter Copywriting is the act or occupation of writing text for the purpose of advertising or other forms of marketing. Copywriting is aimed at selling products or services. The product, called copy or sales copy, is written content that aims to incre ...

in the competitions department, as his assistant. The editorial approach to ''Scream!'' was to de-emphasise the horror label and deliberately not repeat the style of its more controversial precursors, making it more tongue-in-cheek for younger readers, as evidenced by its cover strap-line "not for the nervous". Like ''2000 AD'' and ''

Tornado A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that is in contact with the surface of Earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. It is often referred to as a twister, whirlwind or cyclone, although the ...

'' the decision was taken to create a

fictional Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying character (arts), individuals, events, or setting (narrative), places that are imagination, imaginary or in ways that are imaginary. Fictional portrayals are thus inconsistent ...

editor-cum-host for the comic in the form of Ghastly McNasty. Rimmer devised the name after being inspired by a

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

bad called Filthy McNasty. Ghastly's face was concealed by a hood, and a regular feature of the comic involved readers sending in drawings of what they believed he looked like, with any 'correct' entrants being rewarded with £50.

Publishing history

Despite these attempts the tone was more horrific than Sanders had anticipated; he and the IPC board were wary of a repeat of the ''Action'' controversy, especially as the horror genre was closely linked to the video nasties outcry. Sanders was so shocked at the first episode of "Terror of the Cats" that he had writer Chris Lowder removed from the serial, which was instead hurriedly completed by Furman. Lowder subsequently left the comics industry. Furman also remembered that management were unhappy with the story and requested it be concluded swiftly while Tomlinson recalled he and Gil Page presented an issue to an executive only to see it "pulled to pieces". Sanders would later recall the title attracted complaints from

Liberal Democrat Several political parties from around the world have been called the Liberal Democratic Party, Democratic Liberal Party or Liberal Democrats. These parties have usually followed liberalism as ideology, although they can vary widely from very progr ...

leader

Paddy Ashdown Jeremy John Durham Ashdown, Baron Ashdown of Norton-sub-Hamdon (27 February 194122 December 2018), better known as Paddy Ashdown, was a British politician and diplomat who served as Leader of the Liberal Democrats from 1988 to 1999. Internation ...

, who sent him several letters of complaint - a year after the title had ceased regular publication. Ironically, Sanders felt the title perhaps didn't go far enough - he reminisced that focus groups felt the stories were tame compared to what they regularly saw on TV and video. He ultimately felt ''Scream!'' was a disappointment. ''Scream!'', along with five other IPC titles, ceased publication was in response to an industrial dispute. Tomlinson felt the 1984

National Union of Journalists The National Union of Journalists (NUJ) is a trade union supporting journalists in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The NUJ was founded in 1907 and has 20,693 members. It is a member of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), Trades ...

strike gave upper management an excuse to cancel ''Scream!'' after just 15 issues. He remained proud of the title, reflecting "people still talk about it now". As a result of the industrial action many of the strips were stopped at short notice instead of being brought to a natural end; Furman had produced a conclusion for "The Nightcomers" that was ultimately not used. Rimmer and Furman both left IPC to go freelance shortly afterwards; Rimmer would land a job at

Marvel UK Marvel UK was an imprint (trade name), imprint of Marvel Comics formed in 1972 to reprint United States of America, US-produced stories for the United Kingdom, British weekly comic market. Marvel UK later produced original material by British cr ...

and later hire Furman to write for the company's licensed ''

Transformers ''Transformers'' is a media franchise produced by American toy company Hasbro and Japanese toy company Tomy, Takara Tomy. It primarily follows the heroic Autobots and the villainous Decepticons, two Extraterrestrials in fiction, alien robot fac ...

'' title in 1985, beginning a long association with the franchise for the writer. ''Scream!'' subsequently merged with ''

'' (#128, 1 September 1984) to form ''Eagle and Scream!'', in which the series "Monster" and "The Thirteenth Floor" were continued. Max would eventually take over as 'editor' of the ''Eagle''. There were also five seasonal Halloween specials released from 1985 to 1989, mostly consisting of reprints of horror-themed stories from IPC's back catalogue. This included the release of the "Black Beth" strip prepared for the mooted 1978 incarnation of ''Scream''.

Stories

The Dracula File

:Published: 24 March to 30 June 1984 :Writers:

Gerry Finley-Day Gerry Finley-Day (born 1947, in Broughty Ferry, Dundee) is a Scottish comics writer, prolific from the 1960s to the 1980s, best known as the creator of "Rogue Trooper". Career He began his career at D.C. Thomson & Co., before becoming the ...

:Artist: Eric Bradbury The lead strip, about

Dracula ''Dracula'' is an 1897 Gothic fiction, Gothic horror fiction, horror novel by Irish author Bram Stoker. The narrative is Epistolary novel, related through letters, diary entries, and newspaper articles. It has no single protagonist and opens ...

returning to hunt in 1980s England.

Fiends and Neighbours

:Published: 24 March to 30 June 1984 :Writer: Les Lilley :Artist: Graham Allen A family of monsters live next door to an ordinary couple. *Cartoon strip, originally printed in ''

Cor!! ''Cor!!'' was a British comic book launched in June 1970 by IPC (International Publishing Corporation), their sixth new comic in just over a year. ''Cor!!'' was edited by Bob Paynter. The comic had 32 pages and included full-colour front and b ...

''.

A Ghastly Tale

:Published: 24 March to 30 June 1984 Standalone horror stories introduced by host Ghastly McNasty. *The stories were uncredited.

Library of Death

:Published: 24 March to 30 June 1984 :Writers: Barrie Tomlinson, Chris Lowder (under the

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true meaning ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individual's o ...

John Agee),

, Angus Allan :Artist:

Cam Kennedy Campbell "Cam" Kennedy is a Scottish comics artist. He is best known for his work on '' 2000 AD'', especially the flagship titles ''Judge Dredd'' and ''Rogue Trooper''. Biography Following work in commercial art in his hometown of Glasgow, Ke ...

, Ron Smith, Julio Vivas, John Cooper,

Brendan McCarthy Brendan McCarthy is a British artist and designer who has worked for comic books, film and television. He co-wrote the film '' Mad Max: Fury Road''. He is the brother of Jim McCarthy. Life and career Early life and work Brendan McCarthy was ...

Steve Dillon Steve Dillon (22 March 1962 – 22 October 2016) was a British comic book artist, best known for his work with writer Garth Ennis on ''Hellblazer'', ''Preacher (comics), Preacher'' and ''The Punisher''. Early life Dillon was born in London i ...

, Mario Capaldi, José María Casanovas,

Steve Parkhouse Steve Parkhouse is a comics creator, writer, artist and letterer who has worked for many British comics, especially ''2000 AD (comics), 2000 AD'' and ''Doctor Who Magazine''. Biography Parkhouse has worked in comics since 1967, when he drew the ...

, Rafael Boluda Vidal One-off morality tales.

Monster

:Published: 24 March to 30 June 1984 :Writers:

Alan Moore Alan Moore (born 18 November 1953) is an English author known primarily for his work in comic books including ''Watchmen'', ''V for Vendetta'', ''The Ballad of Halo Jones'', Swamp Thing (comic book), ''Swamp Thing'', ''Batman: The Killing Joke' ...

, John Wagner and Alan Grant (under the

Rick Clark) :Artist: Jesús Redondo A deformed man ('Uncle Terry') who grew up locked in an attic inevitably escapes, tending to murder people he didn't like due to his inhuman strength and lack of social restraint. *Continued in ''

''. Moore only wrote the first episode.

The Nightcomers

:Published: 5 May to 30 June 1984 :Writer:

Tom Tully Thomas Kane Tulley (August 21, 1908 – April 27, 1982) was an American actor. He began his career in radio and on the stage before making his film debut in ''Northern Pursuit'' (1943). Subsequently, he was nominated for an Academy Award for Be ...

:Artist: John Richardson A husband-and-wife investigator team are killed mysteriously at the haunted house Raven's Meet; their children Rick and Beth are drawn to the house to solve the mystery, and have unusual abilities themselves. *Beth Rogan subsequently returned in "

Rebellion Rebellion is an uprising that resists and is organized against one's government. A rebel is a person who engages in a rebellion. A rebel group is a consciously coordinated group that seeks to gain political control over an entire state or a ...

-verse" series '' The Vigilant''.

Tales from the Grave

:Published: 24 March to 30 June 1984 :Writers:

, Ian Rimmer, Scott Goodall :Artist: Jim Watson Short stories illustrating the depravity of

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

Terror of the Cats

:Published: 24 March to 28 April 1984 :Writers: Chris Lowder (under the

John Agee),

:Artist: John Richardson An ill-fated experiment to harness the psychic energy of

cat The cat (''Felis catus''), also referred to as the domestic cat or house cat, is a small domesticated carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species of the family Felidae. Advances in archaeology and genetics have shown that the ...

s results in local felines becoming enraged and attacking people in a small town.

The Thirteenth Floor

:Published: 24 March to 30 June 1984 :Writers: John Wagner and Alan Grant (under the

Ian Holland) :Artist: José Ortiz Crazed computer Max in charge of an elevator in a 17-storey apartment building - when someone bad or evil steps inside, Max would take them to The Thirteenth Floor, a virtual reality where they would be tormented or killed. *Continued in ''

''. Max subsequently returned in both revival material and '' The Vigilant''.

Spinoffs

*''Scream! Holiday Special'' (4 issues, 1985 to 1988) *''Scream! Spinechillers Holiday Special'' (1 issue, 1989)

Revival

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 ...

purchased the rights to the post-1970 IPC library in 2016, and editor Keith Richardson soon began looking at ways of reactivating the classic properties available. The first fruit of this was a joint ''Scream! & Misty Halloween Special'' in October 2017, featuring creators from ''2000 AD'' and independent comics working on the properties. Many agreed due to their strong memories of the title and its characters; Guy Adams wrote a new story for "The Thirteenth Floor" and recalled ''Scream!s "grimy, finger-staining sense of the illicit", while co-artist

Frazer Irving Frazer Irving (born 1970) is a British comic book artist known for the series '' Necronauts'', published by the British magazine '' 2000 AD''. After breaking into the American market he has worked on a number of superhero titles, including a s ...

noted the darker tone fitted in with his tastes at the time and interest in horror via video nasties. Irving would draw the nightmare sequences projected by Max, with veteran John Stokes drawing the 'normal' pages on either side. The other ''Scream!'' feature revived for the special was "The Dracula File", written by Grainne McEntee and drawn by Tristan Jones. The special caused a minor controversy; due to the ''Scream!'' logo being larger on the cover of the special, ''Misty'' creator

Pat Mills Patrick Eamon Mills (born 1949) is an English comics writer and editor who, along with John Wagner, revitalised British boys' comics in the 1970s, and has remained a leading light in British comics ever since. He has been called "the godfath ...

complaining it made the title seem like a "poor relation" and that Rebellion perhaps didn't understand the female market. In response, the 2017 special eventually had a ''Misty & Scream!'' variant made available, but only through specialist stores. A second special followed in 2018; to avoid a repeat variant covers as both ''Scream! & Misty'' and ''Misty & Scream!'' were produced. Adams, Irving and Stokes provided another new Max story, while Alec Worley and DaNi provided a strip reviving "Black Beth", a character with whom the writer had become fascinated with after reading the 1988 ''Scream! Special''. In 2019 the Halloween Special entirely focused on "The Thirteenth Floor". Richardson noted that one of the few complaints about previous specials had been the year wait between instalments, and the special - titled ''Scream Presents the Thirteenth Floor'' - was designed to rectify this. Adams, Irving and Stokes all contributed again, with Tom Paterson,

Vince Locke Vincent Locke () is an American comic book artist known for his work on '' Deadworld'' and ''A History of Violence'' and for his ultraviolent album covers for death metal band Cannibal Corpse. Biography Locke began work in 1986 illustrating '' ...

, Kelley Jones and Kyle Hotz among the other artists featured. ''Scream! and Misty'' did return in 2020 and this time there would only be one version of the cover with the title given as ''Misty and Scream!'' with a separate ''Misty Winter Special 2020'' also available. 2021 then saw what was marketed as a ''Scream! One-Shot Special'' in US comic book size under the title of ''Black Beth and the Devils of Al-Kadesh''; this saw Worley and DaNi again return to the swordswoman. The legacy of ''Scream!'' continues in the ''Treasury of British Comics Annual''s, with both the 2024 and 2025 editions containing a new "Black Beth" comic as well as one ''Scream!'' one-shot comic reprint each. Both the 2024 and 2025 annuals have 2 variant covers, all of them having representation of "Black Beth". A ''Scream! 40th Anniversary Special'' has been announced for 6 November 2024.

Collected editions

''Monster'', ''The Dracula File'', and ''The Thirteenth Floor'' have been collected in omnibuses by

. They also issued both "The Nightcomers" and "Terror of the Cats" as a supplement packed free with ''

Judge Dredd Megazine ''Judge Dredd: The Megazine'' is a monthly British comic magazine, launched in September 1990. It is a sister publication to '' 2000 AD''. Its name is a play on words, formed from "magazine" and Judge Dredd's locale Mega-City One. Content L ...

'' #417 in 2020.

References

External links

*
The ''Scream!'' Comic Files
{{Buster 1984 comics debuts Fleetway and IPC Comics titles Horror comics British comics Defunct British comics

Creation

Publishing history

Stories

The Dracula File

Fiends and Neighbours

A Ghastly Tale

Library of Death

Monster

The Nightcomers

Tales from the Grave

Terror of the Cats

The Thirteenth Floor

Spinoffs

Revival

Collected editions

Further reading

References

External links