At the height of the 90s comic boom Marvel UK, launched its own range of British titles. The randomizer this month has landed on one of the last issues in this short explosion, Dark Guard #4.
I have never read one of these Marvel UK titles before and was only vaguely aware of their existence prior to this project. The cover itself looks very 90s with lots of rippling muscles and Liedfeldian tiny feet. But let’s see what’s inside:
I have to admit, part of my bias against this may be due to the art style. The Malibu-style does not really work for me. I find it overly busy, the same set of character designs reused and sacrificing coherent storytelling in favour of splashy images. As such, had trouble really getting into it.
The plot, such as it is, is very much a smash-fest. Four members of the team (Liger, Motormouth, Death’s Head & Killpower), are in the Technarchy bunkers on the planet Eopia, fighting living energy weapon Collapsar. Death’s Head destroys him by splitting open his torso.
At the same time, the rest of the team are in the war rooms beneath the mansion of the Egalitran Governor. Here Dark Angel argues with Tyburn, as Mys-Tech planned to harvest the souls of those who died in nuclear war on Eopia to pay a debt to Mephisto.
Tyburn, however, is not actually there, she is really a Golem that transforms into a smart weapon, which Dark Angel is able to quickly dispatch.
Contacting Death’s Head, Dark Angel is determined to stop the war from happening and sues for peace unconditionally. The Technarchy are uninterested, however, and launch a missile at Egalitran.
Dark Guard then spend their time trying to prevent the missiles from striking, with Peter and Kith taking them out of firing range and Liger taking down the Technarchy’s leader’s ship.
With the threat disrupted Eopia can begin peace negotiations and the Dark Guard head home. One last surprise awaits. Stacy Arnheim (a member of the team who apparently died in the first issue) is waiting for them, but has no memory of who they are. To be continued…
Or not. Dark Guard Gold never appeared, even though work had already begun on it. Apparently, the Spanish language trade has some details on it (special thanks to the brilliant Down The Tubes for excellent info on this) but we are now near the end of the Marvel UK line.
Dark Guard #4 came out in November 1993. Already past the peak of the Americans comics bubble and fallout is going to hit the market soon. According to Comichron the estimated value of the market was by year:
1993: $800-$850m
1994: $650-$700m
1995: $600-$650m
1996: $360-$400m
And by 1996 Marvel filed for bankruptcy. This combined with the fact that the domestic UK comics market had already been in decline before this and far too many titles launched, the entire line was basically wrapped up by February, with Death Metal II and Death Wreck both having their final issues coming out on 22nd February 1994.
But what did I think? It was fine, but nothing special. As I said before, this style of 90s art is not at all to my tastes, although it is at least more coherent than some of its big selling competitors like Stormwatch and X-Force.
The plot has some interesting ideas, but I do not feel they are deeply explored, with the focus instead being on the action. I would give the opening arc of George Perez’s Wonder Woman as an example of exploring similar themes and ideas in a more in-depth way.
Maybe I would gain more appreciation for it if I had more history of the title and the line? I am sure the randomizer will return me here soon so I can explore it in more detail later.
Next up, we are going earlier in Marvel UK’s history, to the legendary The Daredevils #6:
Will the title live up to its reputation? Find out next month.
Corner Shop Time Stop 