''The Liberators'' was a

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 ...

comic book A comic book, comic-magazine, or simply comic is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panel (comics), panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are often accompanied by descriptive prose and wri ...

story based on concepts created by

Dez Skinn Derek Graham "Dez" Skinn (born 4 February 1951) Miller, John Jackson"Comics Industry Birthdays" ''Comics Buyer's Guide'', 10 June 2005. Accessed 14 August 2010WebCitation archive is a British comic and magazine editor, and author of a number of ...

and Will Simpson for the British

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 ...

title ''

Warrior A warrior is a guardian specializing in combat or warfare, especially within the context of a tribal society, tribal or clan-based warrior culture society that recognizes a separate warrior aristocracy, social class, class, or caste. History ...

''. It was among the first mainstream comic strips written by

Grant Morrison Grant Morrison (born 31 January 1960) is a Scottish comic book writer, screenwriter, and producer. Their work is known for its nonlinear narratives, Humanism, humanist philosophy and counterculture, countercultural leanings. Morrison has writt ...

Creation and publication

The series was intended as a far-future continuation of Skinn's proposed shared continuity 'Warrior-verse', established in the ''

Big Ben Big Ben is the nickname for the Great Bell of the Great Clock of Westminster, and, by extension, for the clock tower itself, which stands at the north end of the Palace of Westminster in London, England. Originally named the Clock Tower, it ...

'' strip which also ran in ''Warrior''. ''The Liberators'' first featured in ''Warrior'' #22, cover dated September 1984 in a stand-alone story called "Death Run", written by Skinn himself and drawn by John Ridgway, the scripting of the series was handed over to Grant Morrison. Morrison's first 5-page installment, "Night Moves", saw publication in ''Warrior'' #26, which would be the final issue of the series Unusually, "Night Moves" was a prequel to "Death Run". After Quality Communications took over

Fleetway Fleetway Publications was a magazine publishing company based in London. History It was founded in 1959 when the Mirror Group acquired the Amalgamated Press, then based at Fleetway House, Farringdon Street, London. It was one of the companies t ...

's overseas licence from Eagle Comics, Skinn announced a ''Liberators'' series in 1986. However, the title would not appear. In 1996 a previously unpublished ''Liberators'' strip by Morrison and Ridgway, "Angels and Demons", was published alongside a reprint of "Night Moves" in the ''Warrior Spring Special'', issued as a flipbook with ''

Comics International ''Comics International'' was a British news and reviews magazine about comic books. Founded in 1990, it was published monthly by Quality Communications until 2006, and then by Cosmic Publications Ltd. until 2010. Over time, ''Comics International ...

'' #67. The introduction for the story claimed '' Bogey'' also shared a timeline with ''The Liberators'' and ''Big Ben''.

Plot

In 2470,

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 ...

has been devastated by shape-shifting aliens called Metamorphs, who have the technology to turn captive humans into superpowered, mindless Wardroids. Kris leads a misfit band of superhumans to one of the Metamorph's ships, but the mission is compromised when one of their members is revealed to be a Metamorph, and he is captured After the disastrous guerilla assault on one of the invaders' living ships, the protagonists are attacked by the unstoppable Wardroids. Meanwhile, in the ruins of the Houses of Parliament, secrets are unearthed that may be the key to understanding the aliens' true motives. Kris' telepathic sister Shanni leads a desperate assault to prevent her brother being converted into a Wardroid, ending with both groups dying in an explosion.

References

External links

Quality Communications homepage

Grant Morrison's homepage
1984 comics debuts British comics characters British comic strips Comics by Grant Morrison Comics set in London Dystopian comics Works set in the 25th century Warrior (comics) titles {{UK-comics-stub