Comics/Issues That Never Got Published

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SID
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Comics/Issues That Never Got Published

Post by SID »

Most of the threads talk about comics that exist or have existed. But what about the ones that "got away"? Comics that were planned but never implemented. I am also including issues of existing comics that never printed (e.g. premature cancellation).

To start the ball rolling, here are my two example:

Comic that never got printed (not by this firm anyway): Captain Britain from IPC Magazines. Interesting information on Dez Skinn's website (http://dezskinn.com/projects/) for those who haven't read it.

Issue of a comic that never got printed: Strip Issue 3 (Volume 2).
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Strip Volume 2 Issue 3.jpg
Reading comics since 1970. My Current Regulars are: 2000 AD (1977-), Judge Dredd Megazine (1990-), Spaceship Away (2003-), Commando (2013-), Monster Fun (2022-), Deadpool and Wolverine (2023-), Quantum (2023-).

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ISPYSHHHGUY
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Re: Comics/Issues That Never Got Published

Post by ISPYSHHHGUY »

D C Thomson put together a dummy issue of a comic very similar to OINK! ---complete with a cartoon pig motif central character, very like Uncle Pigg-----in the mid-80s, but I am damned if I can remember what it was called---I saw this, it was all original artwork in a leather bound folder in full colour, some cartoons by Henry Davis, it looked like it was intended to be a photograuve job like PLUG. with properly-painted colour.

This one never saw the light of day for some reason---perhaps they were waiting to see how OINK fared.

Wish digital cameras had been around then.

Billythecat
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Re: Comics/Issues That Never Got Published

Post by Billythecat »

Ahhhhhhhh Strip you heart-breaker...........

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Digifiend
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Re: Comics/Issues That Never Got Published

Post by Digifiend »

Quite a lot of Amalgamated Press comics have unpublished and probably lost issues from the 1940s, cancelled due to wartime rationing. Some stories in the DC Thomson titles suffered the same fate (owing to pagination reduction), though only two titles from them closed outright (Magic and Skipper - were those planned enough in advance to wrap up, or do they have unseen material too?).

Several issues of IPC's Action never got published after that title got banned. When it reappeared, some stories were gone and others had been chopped to bits.

Uncle Joshua
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Re: Comics/Issues That Never Got Published

Post by Uncle Joshua »

In 2004/05 Tom Cruise was part of a remake of War of the Worlds..

The film was expected to be huge so Pete Nash (Striker) invested a fair amount of money gained from shareholders (readers) buying the pictorial rights from Jeff Wayne. the film was a bust so Nashy didn't complete the artwork. I have seen a few panels and loved them.

geoff42
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Re: Comics/Issues That Never Got Published

Post by geoff42 »

How about comic issues that never got filmed? There has been two Judge Dredd movies so far and still (for heaven's sake) no sign of Judge Death. It's a no-brainer. It's a given... but who am I to advise?

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Re: Comics/Issues That Never Got Published

Post by Phoenix »

Digifiend wrote:Some stories in the DC Thomson titles suffered the same fate (owing to pagination reduction), though only two titles from them closed outright (Magic and Skipper - were those planned enough in advance to wrap up, or do they have unseen material too?).
All the serials in the final issue of The Skipper ended naturally, Digi, without any indication that they had been ended prematurely. I can't of course comment on The Magic Comic.

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ISPYSHHHGUY
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Re: Comics/Issues That Never Got Published

Post by ISPYSHHHGUY »

geoff42 wrote:How about comic issues that never got filmed? There has been two Judge Dredd movies so far and still (for heaven's sake) no sign of Judge Death. It's a no-brainer. It's a given... but who am I to advise?

I am sure that with today's film technology, effective 'live action' [oh, allright---CGI] versions of Death and his unholy disciples could be attained for onscreen action.

The problem I reckon is that although the character of Judge Dredd is undoubtedly known even to millions of non-comics fans, his world is criminally marginilized by the masses, and the astonishing events in and around Mega City One are really just known to the comics enthusiast, unlike, say, Batman or the Hulk, who are instantly recognizable [including their worlds] to almost every Tom, Dick, and Harry.

It is much easier to get funding for Marvel or DC properties, because they were already truly famous once the movie technology to film them this Century became availible-----poor Dredd is still something of a cult figure in comparison, which is a shame.

The recent Dredd flick was good, but modestly-mounted compared to the outlandish events in his comic strip, which often play with more of a Star Wars Grandeur with a huge cast and densely-detailed backdrop, ---the recent Dredd film was more Dirty Harry than an epic saga. [I repeat, it was good for what it was].

Convincing film companies to put up the substantial money required to do Dredd in the way it deserves is a tall order,---the character is not well enough known to the wider masses------- perhaps Rebellion should 'do a Terninator One' and get funding for another 2000 AD property that could be more economically made but still generate big profits---and then maybe THIS could provide funds for an all-out Dredd film, more akin to the ambitious visuals seen in the Prog.


---say a STRONTIUM DOG film shot in real-life, desolate locations, or maybe a FUTURE SHOCKS compendium. These could be filmed cheaply but effectively [neccessarry for unproven properties, the big bucks come later, for the sequels, a la Terminator]

Just my two-creds' worth......

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Shaqui
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Re: Comics/Issues That Never Got Published

Post by Shaqui »

Issues 1 and 2 of the 1975 volume of Look-in were never published owing to industrial action. The cover for issue 1, featuring Elton John, was later used for issue 10 that year. Presumably the cover for issue 2 was also used later though we'll probably never know what it was. With the exception of the two-part Bless This House strip which was later used in one of the Look-in TV Comedy Annuals, the strips from those issues have never been published in the UK. However, the ones for Black Beauty and Kung-Fu were published in Germany where both series were equally popular.

There was a similar occurrence in 1979 when issues were doubled up and published every other week owing to industrial action, and the cover for one featuring the Incredible Hulk series was 'lost' owing to one double-up but was used later.

There were also 'lost' issues during early 1974, as publishing became sporadic (roughly every other week) because of - you've guessed it - more industrial action. But as the published issues were still sequential, just undated, it's more a matter of some volumes not having the full 52 or 53 issues.

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Digifiend
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Re: Comics/Issues That Never Got Published

Post by Digifiend »

Didn't Look-In carry TV schedules? Those would serve to date the issues.

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Re: Comics/Issues That Never Got Published

Post by David McDonald »

I have a piece on this very subject nearly finished, to be published at some point in the future, titles include, Judge Dredd comic, Zarjaz, Blackjack, Captain Britain(as noted above) Earthside 8/Alternity, Fantastic Adventure, and others too!

Never heard of a DCT version of Oink!, I'd love to know more!

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SID
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Re: Comics/Issues That Never Got Published

Post by SID »

David McDonald wrote:I have a piece on this very subject nearly finished, to be published at some point in the future, titles include, Judge Dredd comic, Zarjaz, Blackjack, Captain Britain(as noted above) Earthside 8/Alternity, Fantastic Adventure, and others too!

Never heard of a DCT version of Oink!, I'd love to know more!
I would love to read that, David, when it is finally published.
Reading comics since 1970. My Current Regulars are: 2000 AD (1977-), Judge Dredd Megazine (1990-), Spaceship Away (2003-), Commando (2013-), Monster Fun (2022-), Deadpool and Wolverine (2023-), Quantum (2023-).

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Shaqui
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Re: Comics/Issues That Never Got Published

Post by Shaqui »

Digifiend wrote:Didn't Look-In carry TV schedules? Those would serve to date the issues.
These issues, owing to delays etc, didn't carry listings in them as there was a good chance they would be out of date by the time they were printed/on sale. In 1979, ITV was off the air for a period of months owing to a strike. In both cases, the listings were replaced by photo features until normal publishing/transmission was resumed.

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johnfreeman96
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Re: Comics/Issues That Never Got Published

Post by johnfreeman96 »

SID wrote:Issue of a comic that never got printed: Strip Issue 3 (Volume 2).
Most of STRIP Issue Three - and stuff lines up for future issues - is still sitting on my hard drive...
John Freeman
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Re: Comics/Issues That Never Got Published

Post by colcool007 »

I got a Fleetway dummy from Tony O'Donnell a few years back. I think it was called Thunder and was either later 80's or early 90's. I will find it again one of these days!
I started to say something sensible but my parents took over my brain!

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