Treasury of British Comics
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 | |
| Parent company | Rebellion Developments |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2016 |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Key people | Keith Richardson Oliver Pickles |
| Publication types | Comic books Trade paperbacks |
| Official website | Treasury of British Comics |
Treasury of British Comics is a line of comic book collections published by Rebellion Developments, collecting British comics stories from the libraries of Amalgamated Press/Fleetway Publications/IPC Magazines.
History
[edit]Rebellion Developments had purchased 2000 AD and Judge Dredd Megazine from Fleetway Publications in 2000.[1] At the time, ownership of the library of material the later had published in its various incarnations was split, with characters who had appeared before 1 January 1970 sold to Danish publisher Egmont as part of TI Media (the latest incarnation of IPC Magazines, who made short-lived licensing deals for the characters with WildStorm (via Time Warner) and Titan Books in 2006. Dan Dare meanwhile was sold off separately to the Dan Dare Corporation, while the fact-based contents of Look and Learn and Ranger were purchased by Look and Learn Magazines Ltd. Fleetway meanwhile licensed occasional reprint collections of the post-1970 material they still owned, notably to small Irish publisher Hibernia Comics.[2][3]
In 2016, Rebellion purchased the material still owned by Fleetway (then known as the Fleetway/IPC Youth Group), and announced they would be beginning reprints shortly afterwards.[4] The Treasury of British Comics series began later that year, with the collection of "Monster" from the pages of Scream!. Due to the masters being lost, the comic had to be remastered from scans of original issues.[5] Keith Richardson was editor for the range.[6]
In 2018, Rebellion purchased the pre-1970 material from TI Media, and began adding it to the Treasury of British Comics reprint series.[7] In 2019, the first of a series of books reprinting Hugo Pratt's British work was announced.[8] The same year a Funny Pages special was produced for Free Comic Book Day.[9]
In 2020, Rebellion editor Oliver Pickles described the "mission statement" of the imprint as "bringing these ignored masterpieces back to the forefront of the public’s consciousness" when referring to the company's schedule for the year, which included collections of strips including "Third World War", "Billy's Boots", "The Rise and Fall of the Trigan Empire" and "The Thirteenth Floor".[10]
In May 2023 a revival of the traditional British annual with the Treasury of British Comics Annual, which included new material based on vintage properties such as the Spider, the Leopard from Lime Street and Black Beth, backed with reprints of classic material.[11]
Collections
[edit] |
| Title | ISBN | Pages | Release date | Contents | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The 10,000 Disasters of Dort | 9781786189493 | 80 | 3 May 2023 | Material from Lion 18 May to 23 November 1968 & 23 May 1974 and Lion Annual 1970 & 1971. | Paperback. Cover by Staz Johnson. |
| Adam Eterno: A Hero for All Time | 9781781088692 | 110 | 27 May 2021 | Material from Thunder 17 October 1970 to 13 March 1971 and Thunder Annual 1972 to 1974. | Paperback. Cover by Chris Weston. |
| The Astounding Jason Hyde | 9781786186386 | 208 | 1 September 2022 | Material from Valiant 15 May to 18 December 1965 and Valiant Annual 1968. | Paperback. Cover by Jimmy Broxton. |
| Badtime Bedtime Stories | 9781786185310 | 96 | 1 September 2022 | Material from Monster Fun 1975 to 1976. | Hardback. Cover by Leo Baxendale. |
| The Beatles Story | 9781781086179 | 56 | 21 February 2018 | Material from Look-In | Hardback. Cover by Arthur Ranson. |
| Bella at the Bar, Book One | 9781781086254 | 114 | 12 July 2018 | Material from Tammy 1974 to 1975. | Paperback. Cover by John Armstrong. |
| Birdman and Chicken | 9781786184924 | 192 | 17 March 2022 | Material from Krazy December 1976 to 1978 and Krazy Annual 1978-1985. | Paperback. Cover by Trevor Metcalfe. |
| Black Beth: Vengeance Be Thy Name | 9781786186355 | 80 | 9 June 2022 | Material from Scream! Holiday Special 1988, Scream! & Misty Halloween Special 2018, Misty & Scream! Halloween Special 2020 andBlack Beth and the Devils of Al-Kadesh. | Paperback. Cover by DaNi. |
| Black Max Volume One | 9781781086551 | 114 | 4 October 2018 | Material from Thunder 17 October 1970 to March 13, 1971, Lion March 20 to May 8, 1971, Lion and Thunder Special 1971 and Thunder Annual 1972. | Paperback. Cover by Alfonso Font. |
| Black Max Volume Two | 9781781088623 | 112 | 14 October 2021 | Material from Lion May 15 to December 25, 1971 and Thunder Annual 1973. | Paperback. Cover by Ian Kennedy. |
| The Best of Cat Girl | 9780785110798 | 128 | 4 August 2022 | Material from Sally June 14 to September 13, 1969; January 24 to May 30, 1970; Sally Annual 1971 and Tammy & Jinty 2020 Special. | Paperback. Cover by Elkys Nova. |
| Charley's War Volume 1: Boy Soldier | 9781781086193 | 320 | 18 April 2018 | Material from Battle January 6, 1979 to October 25, 1980 | Paperback. Cover by Joe Colquhoun. |
| Charley's War Volume 2: Brothers in Arms | 9781781086209 | 336 | 17 May 2018 | Material from Battle November 1, 1980 to July 10, 1982 | Paperback. Cover by Joe Colquhoun. |
| Charley's War Volume 3: Remembrance | 9781781086216 | 368 | 14 June 2018 | Material from Battle October 2, 1982 to 26 January 1985. | Paperback. Cover by Joe Colquhoun. |
| Clash of the Guards | 9781781086216 | 96 | 26 July 2023 | Material from Battle 26 September 1981 to 20 February 1982. | Paperback. Cover by Joe Colquhoun. |
| Classic Gums: The Monster Fun Years | 9781786189998 | 128 | 22 November 2023 | Material from Monster Fun February to October 1976[volume & issue needed] and Monster Fun Annual 1977 to 1985. | Paperback. Cover by Robert Nixon. |
| The Concrete Surfer | 9781781087633 | 80 | 17 September 2020 | Material from Jinty 28 January to 10 June 1978 and Jinty Special 1978. | Paperback. Cover by Christine Ellingham. |
| Death Squad | 9781781087688 | 128 | 4 November 2020 | Material from Battle 12 July 1980 to 4 June 1981, and Battle Annual 1982. | Paperback. Cover by Eric Bradbury. |
| Death Wish Volume One: Best Wishes | 9781781086803 | 116 | 11 July 2019 | Material from Speed 23 February to 25 October 1980 and Speed Annual 1980 to 1981. | Paperback. Cover by Vanyo. |
| Dr. Mesmer's Revenge | 9781781086872 | 128 | 3 October 2019 | Material from Lion 16 October 1971 to October 21, 1972.[a] | Paperback. Cover by Carlos Cruz. |
| The Dracula File | 9780785110798 | 96 | 19 October 2017 | Material from Scream! 24 March to 30 June 1984 and Scream! Holiday Special 1985 to 1988. | Paperback. Cover by Chris Weston. |
| Faceache Volume 01: The First Hundred Scrunges | 9781781086018 | 112 | 19 October 2017 | Material from Jet 1 May to 25 September 1971 and Buster 2 October 1971 to 24 March 1973 | Hardback. Cover by Ken Reid. |
| Fran of the Floods | 9781781086728 | 112 | 20 March 2019 | Material from Jinty January to September 1976 | Hardback/Paperback. Cover by Phil Gascoine. |
| Hellman of Hammer Force | 9781781089422 | 112 | 8 December 2021 | Material from Action 14 February to 18 December 1976 | Paperback. Cover by Carlos Ezquerra. |
| Hellman of Hammer Force: Downfall | 9781837860982 (p/b)
9781837862542 (h/b) |
128 | 27 March 2024 | Material from Battle 19th November 1977 - 8th July 1978. | Standard paperback edition. A limited hardcover edition with a new cover by Mike Dorey was available from the 2000 AD and Treasury of British Comics webstores. |
| The House of Dolmann | 9781786184917 | 144 | 14 April 2022 | Material from Valiant 8 October 1966 to 6 May 1967 | Paperback. Cover by Brian Bolland. |
| The Incredible Adventures of Janus Stark | N/A[b] | 52 | 8 April 2020 | Material from Smash! 15 March to 7 June 1969 | Paperback. Cover by Francisco Solano Lopez. |
| The Incredible Adventures of Janus Stark, Volume II | N/A[b] | 52 | 26 May 2020 | Material from Smash! 14 June to 27 September 1969 | Paperback. Cover by Francisco Solano Lopez. |
| The Incredible Adventures of Janus Stark, Volume III | 9781786185631 | 52 | 30 June 2021 | Material from Smash! 4 October 1969 to 28 February 1970 | Paperback. Cover by Francisco Solano Lopez. |
| Invasion 1984! | 9781781086759 | 128 | 2 May 2019 | Material from Battle 26 March to 31 December 1983 | Paperback. Cover by Eric Bradbury. |
| The Best of Jane Bond | 9781786188021 | 96 | 12 April 2023 | Material from Tina 25 February to 16 September 1967, Princess Tina 2 March 1968 to 6 April 1969 & 6 December 1969 to 28 February 1970 | Paperback. Cover by Mike Hubbard. |
| Jinty - The Land of No Tears & The Human Zoo | 9781781086247 | 112 | 28 June 2018 | Material from Jinty 5 November 1977 to 11 February 1978 and 12 August 1978 to 13 January 1979 | Paperback. Cover by Guy Peeters. |
| The John Steel Files | 9781781088463 | 128 | 11 November 2020 | Material from Thriller Picture Library #371 and #379. | Paperback. Cover by V. V. Glass. |
| The Complete Johnny Future: The Missing Link | 9781781087589 | 208 | 30 April 2020 | Material from Fantastic 18 February 1967 to 3 February 1968. | Hardback. Cover by Luis Bermejo. |
| Karl the Viking - Volume I: The Sword of Eingar | 9781786184627 | 242 | 20 January 2020 | Material from Lion 29 October 1960 to 1 December 1962 | Paperback. Cover by Don Lawrence |
| Karl the Viking - Volume II: The Voyage of the Sea Raiders | 9781786187338 | 244 | 22 December 2020 | Material from Lion 1 December 1962 to 29 September 1964 and Lion Annual 1963-66 & 1969. | Paperback. Cover by Don Lawrence |
| Ken Reid's Creepy Creations | 9781781086605 | 96 | 29 November 2018 | Material from Shiver and Shake 10 March 1973 to 5 October 1974[volume & issue needed] | Hardback. Cover by Ken Reid. |
| Ken Reid's Football Funnies: The First Half | 9781781088838 | 144 | 5 August 2021 | Material from Scorcher and Score 1970 to 1972[volume & issue needed] | Hardback. Cover by Ken Reid. |
| The Leopard from Lime Street: Volume 1 | 9781781085974 | 160 | 12 July 2017 | Material from Buster 27 March 1976 to 11 June 1977 | Paperback. Cover by Mike Western. |
| The Leopard from Lime Street: Volume 2 | 9781781086780 | 176 | 12 June 2019 | Material from Buster 18 June 1977 to 15 July 1978 | Paperback. Cover by Mike Western. |
| The Leopard from Lime Street: Volume 3 | 9781786188304 | 192 | 15 March 2023 | Material from Buster 22 July 1978 to 29 September 1979 | Paperback. Cover by Mike Western. |
| Loner | 9781781086841 | 224 | 4 September 2019 | Material from Wildcat 22 October 1988 to 7 April 1989, Wildcat Winter Special 1989, Wildcat Holiday Special 1990, Eagle 29 April 1989 to 21 April 1990, Eagle Holiday Special 1990 and Eagle Annual 1991 | Paperback. Cover by Eric Bradbury. |
| Major Eazy vs. Rat Pack | 9781781088555 | 48 | 30 September 2020 | Material from Battle 29 January to 23 April 1977. | Hardback. Cover by Carlos Ezquerra. |
| Major Eazy Volume One: The Italian Campaign | 9781781089811 | 160 | 4 March 2021 | Material from Battle 10 January 1976 to 22 January 1977. | Paperback. Cover by Carlos Ezquerra. |
| Marney the Fox | 9781781085981 | 160 | 5 October 2017 | Material from Buster 22 June 1974 to 11 September 1976 | Hardback. Cover by John Stokes. |
| El Mestizo | 9781781086575 | 64 | 15 November 2018 | Material from Battle 4 June to 17 September 1977 | Hardback. Cover by Carlos Ezquerra. |
| Misty | 9781781084526 | 112 | 7 September 2016 | Material from Misty 4 February to 29 April & 17 June to 2 September 1978 | Paperback. |
| Misty Vol. 2 | 9781781086001 | 112 | 15 November 2017 | Material from Misty 4 February to 22 April & 12 August to 18 November 1978 | Paperback. |
| Misty Vol. 3 | 9781781086513 | 96 | 19 September 2018 | Material from Misty 31 March & 5 May to 18 August 1979 | Paperback. |
| Misty Presents the Jordi Badia Romero Collection | 9781781086896 | 128 | 16 October 2019 | Material from Misty | Hardback. |
| Misty Presents the Jaume Rumeu Collection | 9781781089378 | 128 | 10 November 2021 | Material from Misty[volume & issue needed] | Hardback. |
| Monster | 9781781084533 | 192 | 13 July 2016 | Material from Scream! 24 March to 30 June 1984, Eagle 1 September 1984 to 30 May 1985, Scream Holiday Special 1986 to 1988 | Paperback. Cover by Jesus Redondo. |
| One-Eyed Jack | 9781781085721 | 160 | 14 June 2017 | Material from Valiant 20 December 1975 to 16 October 1976, Battle 23 October to 28 May 1977, Valiant Annual 1978 | Paperback. Cover by John Cooper. |
| Robot Archie and the Time Machine | 9781837861699 (p/b)
9781837862443 (h/b) |
144 | 22 May 2024 | Lion, 20th April 1968 - 11th January 1969; Lion & Valiant Special Extra! 1969; Lion Summer Special 1970 | Standard paperback edition. A limited hardback edition (with a cover by Bert Bus) was available exclusively from the 2000 AD and Treasury of British Comics webstores |
| The Rise and Fall of the Trigan Empire Volume I | 9781781087558 | 304 | 19 March 2020 | Material from Ranger 18 September 1965 to 18 June 1966 and Look and Learn 25 June 1966 to 17 May 1968 | Paperback. Cover by Don Lawrence. |
| The Rise and Fall of the Trigan Empire Volume II | 9781781087756 | 288 | 24 December 2020 | Material from Look and Learn 24 May 1968 to 14 November 1970 | Paperback. Cover by Don Lawrence. |
| The Rise and Fall of the Trigan Empire Volume III | 9781781087756 | 256 | 22 July 2021 | Material from Look and Learn 21 November 1970 to 10 February 1973 | Paperback. Cover by Don Lawrence. |
| The Rise and Fall of the Trigan Empire Volume IV | 9781786185648 | 240 | 26 October 2022 | Material from Look and Learn 17 February 1973 to 4 January 1975 and Ranger Book 1967 | Paperback. Cover by Don Lawrence. |
| The Sarge Volume 1 | 9781786186331 | 146 | 12 May 2022 | Material from Battle 25 June 1977 to 18 March 1978 | Hardback. Cover by Mike Western. |
| A Spell of Trouble | 9781786186126 | 80 | 12 October 2022 | Material from Jinty 9 April to 2 July 1977 and 5 July to 30 September 1980 | Paperback. Cover by Trini Tinturé. |
| The Spider's Syndicate of Crime | 9781781089057 | 144 | 15 April 2022 | Material from Lion 26 June 1965 to 18 June 1966 and Lion Annual 1967. | Paperback. Cover by Reg Bunn. Due to copyright reasons, the volume was released as Jerry Siegel's Syndicate of Crime in North America.[12] |
| The Spider: Crime Unlimited | 9781786184658 | 256 | 3 February 2023 | Material from Super Picture Library - Fantastic Series #2 and Super Picture Library - Stupendous Series #4 | Hardback. |
| The Spider's Syndicate of Crime versus the Crook from Outer Space | 9781786189738 | 144 | 5 July 2023 | Material from Lion 25 June 1966 to 28 January 1967 | Paperback. Cover by Reg Bunn. Due to copyright reasons, the volume was released as Jerry Siegel's Syndicate of Crime versus the Crook from Outer Space in North America.[12] |
| The Steel Claw - Invisible Man | 9781781089064 | 128 | 2 February 2021 | Material from Valiant 6 October 1962 to 21 September 1963 and Valiant Annual 1965 to 1966. | Paperback. |
| The Steel Claw - Reign of the Brain | 9781786186812 | 112 | 10 November 2022 | Material from Valiant 28 September 1963 to 19 September 1964. | Paperback. |
| The Steel Claw - The Cold Trail | 9781786186591 | 128 | 19 January 2023 | Material from Super Picture Library - Stupendous Series #5 | Hardback. |
| Steel Commando - Full Metal Warfare | 9781781086810 | 160 | 22 August 2019 | Material from Thunder 17 October 1970 to 27 February 1971; Lion 20 March 1970 to 16 December 1972, Valiant 25 May to 22 June 1974 and Thunder Annual 1972 to 1974. | Paperback, digest-sized. |
| The Best of Sugar Jones | 9781781087701 | 112 | 26 November 2020 | Material from Pink[volume & issue needed] | Paperback. |
| Sweeney Toddler | 9781781087268 | 112 | 25 July 2019 | Material from Shiver and Shake and Whoopee![volume & issue needed] | Hardback. Cover by Leo Baxendale. |
| Third World War Book One | 9781781087510 | 208 | 9 January 2020 | Material from Crisis #1-14 | Paperback. Cover by Carlos Ezquerra. |
| Third World War Book Two: Back to Babylon | 9781781089293 | 256 | 5 January 2021 | Material from Crisis #15-34 | Paperback. Cover by Carlos Ezquerra. |
| The Thirteenth Floor Vol. 01 | 9781781086537 | 176 | 18 October 2018 | Material from Scream! 24 March to 30 June 1984 and Eagle 1 September 1984 to 13 April 1985. | Paperback. Cover by José Ortiz. |
| The Thirteenth Floor Vol. 02 | 9781781087725 | 176 | 15 October 2020 | Material from Eagle 20 April 1985 to 22 January 1986, Scream! Holiday Special 1982 and Eagle Holiday Special 1986. | Paperback. Cover by José Ortiz. |
| The Thirteenth Floor Vol. 03 | 9781781089347 | 176 | 16 September 2021 | Material from Eagle 1 March 1986 to 28 February 1987 and Eagle Annual 1987. | Paperback. Cover by José Ortiz. |
| The Thirteenth Floor - The Return of Max | 9781837860180 | 80 | 28 September 2023 | Paperback. | |
| Turbo Jones | 9781781086841 | 224 | 10 January 2019 | Material from Wildcat 22 October 1988 to 7 April 1989, Wildcat Winter Special 1989, Wildcat Holiday Special 1990 and Eagle and Wildcat 29 April to 7 October 1989 | Paperback. Cover by Ian Kennedy. |
| Treasury of British Comics Annual:2024 | 9781837860258 | 8 November 2023 | Hardback. Cover by Henry Flint. | ||
| A Very British Affair: The Best of Classic Romance Comics | 9781786187710 | 228 | 2 February 2023 | Material from various issues of Mirabelle, Valentine, Marilyn, Serenade, Roxy and Mates | Paperback. |
| Von Hoffman's Invasion: Book 1 | 9781781086261 | 128 | 23 August 2018 | Material from Jet 1 May- to 25 September 1971 and Buster 2 October 1971 to 5 February 1972 | Paperback. |
| War Picture Library - Battle Stations | 9781781087527 | 64 | 20 February 2020 | Material from War at Sea Picture Library #34 | Hardback. Cover by Hugo Pratt. |
| War Picture Library - Battle of Britain | 9781781087794 | 128 | 16 April 2020 | Material from Air Ace Picture Library #65 & #182 | Hardback. Cover by Ian Kennedy. |
| War Picture Library - Battler Britton | 9781781087664 | 64 | 8 July 2020 | Material from Thriller Picture Library #297, Battler Britton Annual, and Hurricane Annual 1965. | Hardback. Cover by Hugo Pratt. |
| War Picture Library - Night of the Devil | 9781781089033 | 144 | 16 February 2021 | Material from Battle Picture Library #62 and War Picture Library #91. | Hardback. Cover by Hugo Pratt. |
Footnotes
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Davison, Joshua (July 19, 2018). "Treasury of British Comics: Can a Forgotten Archive Teach Us About Comics in the 21st Century? [SDCC]". bleedingcool.com.
- ^ "Classic British Comics: Who Owns What?". downthetubes.net. October 4, 2018.
- ^ "Treasury of British Comics".
- ^ "2000AD publisher bags Roy of the Rovers and other classic British comics". Wired UK – via www.wired.co.uk.
- ^ Flood, Alison (January 8, 2016). "Alan Moore's early comic Monster to be republished". The Guardian.
- ^ McMillan, Graeme (August 15, 2017). "Alan Moore to Write Introduction to Collection of Classic British Comic Strip 'Faceache'". The Hollywood Reporter.
- ^ McMillan, Graeme (September 28, 2018). "'2000 AD' Publisher Acquires TI Media Comic Archive". The Hollywood Reporter.
- ^ McMillan, Graeme (November 14, 2019). "'Battle Stations' Rediscovers Lost Hugo Pratt Art After More Than 50 Years (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter.
- ^ "Treasury of British Comics to Produce Special FCBD Issue". 15 January 2019.
- ^ "Syndicated Comics". 20 January 2020.
- ^ "Rebellion Revive an Old UK Comics Tradition with the Treasury of British Comics Annual 2024 - Broken Frontier". 31 May 2023.
- ^ a b Oliver, Andy (May 7, 2021). "The Spider's Syndicate of Crime – The 1960s King of Crooks Returns to Print in Stories by Ted Cowan, Jerry Siegel and Reg Bunn - Broken Frontier". www.brokenfrontier.com.