Valkyrie Press was a British publisher of

comics a Media (communication), medium used to express ideas with images, often combined with text or other visual information. It typically the form of a sequence of Panel (comics), panels of images. Textual devices such as speech balloons, Glo ...

that operated from 1987 to 1989. It published

Fox Foxes are small-to-medium-sized omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull; upright, triangular ears; a pointed, slightly upturned snout; and a long, bushy tail ("brush"). Twelve species ...

's ''

Redfox RedFox (formerly SlySoft) was a software development company based in Belize. The company is most prominently known for its software AnyDVD, which can be used to bypass copy protection measures on optical media, including DVD and Blu-ray Disc m ...

'', and

Bryan Talbot Bryan Talbot (born 24 February 1952) is a British comics artist and writer, best known as the creator of '' The Adventures of Luther Arkwright'' and its sequels '' Heart of Empire'' and '' The Legend of Luther Arkwright'', as well as the ''Gra ...

's ''

The Adventures of Luther Arkwright ''The Adventures of Luther Arkwright'' is a nine-issue comic book limited series written and drawn by Bryan Talbot in the period 1978–1989. The story is adult in tone, with many mythological, historical, and political references, and a little ex ...

'', both of which won

Eagle Awards The Eagle Awards were a series of British awards for comic book titles and creators. They were awarded by UK fans voting for work produced during the previous year. Named after the UK's seminal boys' comic ''Eagle'', the awards were launched in ...

. Valkyrie Press was owned by ''Redfox'' co-writer Chris Bell and jointly operated by Bell and ''Redfox'' artist Fox."Valkyrie Press,"
An International Catalogue of Superheroes. Retrieved Dec. 6, 2022.

History

Valkyrie Press begin in 1986 as an imprint of

Harrier Comics Harrier Comics (officially known as Harrier Publishing) was a British comic book publisher active in the mid-to-late 1980s. Harrier was notable for putting out black-and-white comics in a mold more similar to American comics than to typical Brit ...

, established to collect the first four issues of ''Redfox'' (which had been published by Harrier) in a trade paperback. ''Redfox'' co-writer Chris Bell launched Valkyrie as a standalone publisher in 1987, initially solely to continue publishing ''Redfox''. As Bell described it, "the

board Board or Boards may refer to: Flat surface * Lumber, or other rigid material, milled or sawn flat ** Plank (wood) ** Cutting board ** Sounding board, of a musical instrument * Cardboard (paper product) * Paperboard * Fiberboard ** Hardboard, a ...

of Valkyrie Press, which is ...

limited company In a limited company, the Legal liability, liability of members or subscribers of the company is limited to what they have invested or guaranteed to the company. Limited companies may be limited by Share (finance), shares or by guarantee. In a c ...

, consists of five people: one

solicitor A solicitor is a lawyer who traditionally deals with most of the legal matters in some jurisdictions. A person must have legally defined qualifications, which vary from one jurisdiction to another, to be described as a solicitor and enabled to p ...

...; one accountant...; one company secretary and transport manager...; one Chairman /nowiki>Fox/nowiki>...; and me." ''Redfox'' won the 1987 Eagle Award for Favourite New Comic (reflecting its run with Harrier). The company then took on ''

'', publishing nine issues — the first six of which were reprinted from ''

Near Myths ''Near Myths'' was a comic magazine published in Edinburgh during the late 1970s that only ran for five issues. The initial editor was Rob King and it was produced by Galaxy Media. ''Near Myths'' featured the first professionally published work of ...

'' #1-5 (Galaxy Media, 1978–1980) & '' pssst!'' #2-10 (Never–Artpool, 1982) with extra pages; Méalóid, Pádraig Ó
"Interview with Bryan Talbot,"
BryanTalbot.com (Started 6th May 2009. Finished 21st September 2009). and the last three with all-new material; followed, at readers' request, by a tenth issue, entitled ''ARKeology'', containing articles about the history and production of the comic and some extended back story and character information. During this period, Valkyrie also published the trade paperback ''The Adventures of Luther Arkwright Book 2: Transfiguration'', the money for printing of which was put up by Serge Boissevain, publisher of the cancelled ''pssst!'' anthology.Bell, "Arkeology," ''ARKeology'': "Serge Boissevain ... has been waiting for the complete ''Adventures'' for about ten years now, patiently encouraging Bryan, publishing the first Book, putting up the money for the second...; without him, Bryan might well never have managed to make time to complete ''Luther''." Valkyrie's ''The Adventures of Luther Arkwright'' won four 1988 Eagle Awards — for Favourite Character (UK), Favourite New Comic (UK), and Favourite Comic Cover (UK) (for ''The Adventures of Luther Arkwright'' #1); with Talbot winning the Eagle for Favourite Artist (UK). Valkyrie's titles were printed by Wiltshire Ltd. of

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

, and were distributed by

Titan Distributors Titan Distributors was a British comic book distributor which existed from 1978 to 1993, when it was acquired by a larger U.S. distributor. Operated by Nick Landau, Mike Lake, and Mike Luckman, Titan Distributors supplied comics, science fiction ...

.Bell, "Arkeology," ''ARKeology''. In 1989, Bell announced her retirement from publishing as she wanted to focus on raising a family. After publishing all nine issues of ''The Adventures of Luther Arkwright'' and the last ten issues of ''Redfox'' (as well as co-publishing two ''Redfox'' trade paperbacks and the ''Luther Arkwright'' TPB), Valkyrie Press ended its publishing operations.

Titles published

* ''

'' (9 issues, Oct. 1987–Feb. 1989) plus one issue of ''ARKeology'' in early 1989 ** ''The Adventures of Luther Arkwright Book 2: Transfiguration'' (Nov. 1987), — introduction by

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' ...

* ''

'' (10 issues ssues #11–20 Sept. 1987–June 1989) — numbering continued from

series ** ''The Book of Redfox'' (Dec. 1986), co-published with

, — collects Harrier issues #1–4 as well as the story "Fair Exchange," by

Martin Lock Martin Lock (born 1950Willis, Russell"AN INTERVIEW WITH MARTIN LOCK (PART THREE , THE HARRIER COMICS YEARS),"''Under the Stairs'' (2013). Accessed Feb. 8, 2020. in the United Kingdom) is a British comic book critic, writer, and publisher. As pu ...

, Fox, and Carl Cropley, from ''Swiftsure and Conqueror'' #9 (Harrier Comics, July 1986) ** ''Redfox Book II: The Demon Queen'' (Dec. 1988), co-published with Harrier Comics, — collects Harrier issues #5–8

References

Notes

Sources consulted

*''

'' editorials *''

'' editorials * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Valkyrie Press 1989 disestablishments in the United Kingdom British companies established in 1987 British companies disestablished in 1989 British small press comics Comic book publishing companies of the United Kingdom Defunct comics and manga publishing companies Publishing companies established in 1987