Comics UK

BristleKRS wrote:

David McDonald wrote:Doomlord is really the only story for Eagle that could have made the transition

Beg to differ!

How about...

• Detective Zed
  Computer Warrior
  Thirteenth Floor
  Bloodfang (vs Flesh!)
  Manix (vs MACH One/Zero!)

Thirteenth Floor I agree but not the others. Bloodfang and Manix were just pale imitations (IMHO) to their 2000AD counterparts. Detective Zed - I couldn't see it. Maybe Computer Warrior but only if the story went into a completely different direction and got darker too.

SID

Re: "...Judge Dredd/Major Eazy crossover..."

I don't see that happening, sadly; however, there was a character in the Megazine called Cursed Earth Koburn, who was clearly a reworking of Major Eazy; his adventures have been collected, alongside a bunch of Dredd stories, in Judge Dredd: The Carlos Ezquerra Collection, the cover of which shows Dredd and Koburn together.
That's as close as we're likely to come to seeing Dredd/Eazy

I think the 2000AD editorial team would have strongly resisted any merger with Eagle. It was bad enough when they were forced to take in Tornado, but they compromised and made a decent job of it. However by 1994 when Eagle folded, 2000AD had evolved into a more sophisticated comic for older readers. The tone of the Eagle strips (written for children) would have been out of place in 2000AD. Reworking the Eagle strips to make them suitable for older readers would have defeated the object of a merger (ie: bringing over the readers from the failed comic).

Mmmm. I would tend to agree with you, Lew. Definitely 2000AD 1994 was already a different comic compared to 2000AD 1979.

Saying that, I can't help but think that Dan, Doomlord and possibly the Thirteenth Floor would have fitted in well within the pages of the Galaxy's Greatest Comic. There was already evidence that Dan was maturing (naked treens coming out of men's baths, characters being summarily executed and then there were signs of a budding relationship between him and Miss Peabody - a concept that would have been totally alien in the original Eagle). Doomlord would have just fitted in nicely and an evil Max would have been great (IMHO of course). But whether Eagle readers would have liked that is a different kettle of fish altogether.

davidandrewsimpson wrote:SID

Re: "...Judge Dredd/Major Eazy crossover..."

I don't see that happening, sadly; however, there was a character in the Megazine called Cursed Earth Koburn, who was clearly a reworking of Major Eazy; his adventures have been collected, alongside a bunch of Dredd stories, in Judge Dredd: The Carlos Ezquerra Collection, the cover of which shows Dredd and Koburn together.
That's as close as we're likely to come to seeing Dredd/Eazy

As you say David, they basically did it by reinventing Eazy as Koburn. Some would argue that they are related.

having never read Eagle, I can't really comment, but what about Crisis? That was a mature title that could have merged with 2000 ad. Around that time, wasn't Button Man doing the rounds in 2000 ad? This series was by no means a sci-fi or fantasy-based story, so maybe 2000 ad could have incorporated a such a left-wing title into its fold... hmm... maybe it was too left-wing, but still, it was contentious. Looking back, Starlord was the best merger; it gave 2000 ad the likes of Strontium Dog, Ro-Busters (later - ABC Warriors) which are still running in 2000 ad now. Tornado gave the likes of Wolfie Smith, a revamped Black Hawk and Captain Klep... long forgotten... although Black Hawk has somewhat being resurrected with the present series of Aquila. Thinking about it, couldn't Roy of the Rovers have merged with 2000 ad (by this time, Roy Race must have used a couple of time machines - he began his career in Tiger in the fifties, didn't he?) and present a futuristic take on football? I think he'd lost a leg or a foot by the end of his run, but 2000 ad could have easily remedied this.

Crisis mawy not have merged with 2000AD, but the title character of the 2000AD series Finn originated in Crisis, in the Third World War series.

I have a funny feeling had roy of the rovers merged with 2000ad that it would not be around today as im sure that would have been a jumping of point for some readers.

The trouble with mergers it that it can dilute the host comic too much and eventually causing it to fail.

It would have been nice if there was a more general adventure comic running alongside 2000AD which could have incorporated all the IPC/Fleetway characters. As I have said a million times before, I would love a comic out there featuring the cream of IPC/Fleetway characters such as (and in no particular order) Adam Eterno, Kelly's Eye, Roy of the Rovers, Dan Dare (okay there is Spaceship Away), Captain Hurricane, Hookjaw, Doomlord, Cursitor Doom, etc... But most of these characters wouldn't be able to exist in 2000AD else it wouldn't be 2000AD anymore or the characters in most cases would have to be so heavily changed, they wouldn't be them anymore.

That's why I was so enthusiastic about Strip. It had all the makings of a good adventure comic.