''Revolver'' is the title of a short-lived British

comic book A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...

magazine published by

Fleetway Publications Fleetway Publications was a magazine publishing company based in London. It was founded in 1959 when the Mirror Group acquired the Amalgamated Press, then based at Fleetway House, Farringdon Street, London. It was one of the companies that merg ...

in the early 1990s. Founded by

Steve MacManus Steve MacManus (sometimes credited as Ian Rogan) is a British comics, comic writer and editor, particularly known for his work at ''2000 AD (comic), 2000 AD''. Biography Born in London and educated in Devon, MacManus joined IPC Media, IPC in ...

and edited by

Peter Hogan Peter Hogan is an English writer and comics writer, best known for ''Resident Alien'', which he co-created with artist Steve Parkhouse. Hogan began his comics career as editor of cult British comic ''Revolver'' in 1990–1991, before workin ...

, ''Revolver'' was a spin-off from '' 2000AD''. ''Revolver'' attempted to take advantage of the 1960s revival which was sweeping

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

culture in the early 1990s, including the explosion of the British music scene at the time. The title of the magazine referred to its revolving, diverse content;Greg S. Baisden, Jean-Paul Jennequin, Jacques Dutrey, Nick Hasted, and Brad Brooks. "NEWSWATCH International: All Change at Fleetway", ''The Comics Journal'' #130 (July 1989), p. 45. it also alluded to

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

' album of the same name. ''Revolver'' gained a small following, but not enough for it to last beyond its seventh issue. It was given the 1991

UK Comic Art Award The UK Comic Art Award was a British awards for achievement in comic books. Winners were selected by an open vote among British comic book professionals (creators, editors, and retailers); the awards were given out on an annual basis from 1990 to 1 ...

for Best New Publication."British Awards Announced", ''The Comics Journal'' #142 (June 1991), p. 17.

Publication history

''Revolver'' was published between July

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of Humankind, humanity on Earth, Astroph ...

and January

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phil ...

, lasting for seven regular issues and two specials. After it was canceled, some sources blamed the magazine's poor sales on it being labeled "Mature Content", and thus being sold on

newsstands A newsagent's shop or simply newsagent's or paper shop (British English), newsagency (Australian English) or newsstand (American and Canadian English) is a business that sells newspapers, magazines, cigarettes, snacks and often items of local ...

next to

men's magazines This is a list of magazines primarily marketed to men. The list has been split into subcategories according to the target audience of the magazines. This list includes mostly mainstream magazines as well as adult ones. Not included here are autom ...

. Two of its stories were concluded in another Fleetway publication, ''

Crisis A crisis ( : crises; : critical) is either any event or period that will (or might) lead to an unstable and dangerous situation affecting an individual, group, or all of society. Crises are negative changes in the human or environmental affair ...

'' (''Crisis'' itself folded a few months later)."Crisis Folds, Fleetway Merges", ''The Comics Journal'' #146 (Nov. 1991), p. 22. The magazine's letters page was called "The Whole Wide Whirl".

''Revolver'' featured a wide range of graphic styles and contributors, everything from a surreal inside-the-mind-of

Jimi Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most ...

storyline (''Purple Days''), a

psychedelic Psychedelics are a subclass of hallucinogenic drugs whose primary effect is to trigger non-ordinary states of consciousness (known as psychedelic experiences or "trips").Pollan, Michael (2018). ''How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of ...

superhero in the form of

Peter Milligan Peter Milligan (born 24 June 1961) is a British comic book writer who has written extensively for both British and American comic book industries. In the UK, Milligan has contributed to numerous anthology titles including '' 2000 AD'', ''Revolv ...

and

Brendan McCarthy Brendan McCarthy is a British artist and designer who has worked for comic books, film and television. He co-wrote the film '' Mad Max: Fury Road''. He is the brother of Jim McCarthy. Life and career Early life and work Brendan McCarthy was ...

's '' Rogan Gosh'', distorted caricatures in ''Pinhead Nation'' (

Shaky Kane Michael Coulthard is a British writer and psychedelic artist who best known for his work as a comic and graphic artist under the pseudonym Shaky Kane, as well as Shaky 2000. Biography After working for independent comics and magazines like Ps ...

), plus ''Happenstance and Kismet'' (

Paul Neary Paul Neary (born 1949) is a British comic book artist, writer and editor. His first work was for Warren Publishing in the 1970s before working with Dez Skinn at Marvel UK as well as work for '' 2000 AD''. He later became editor-in-chief of Ma ...

and

Steve Parkhouse Steve Parkhouse is a writer, artist and letterer who has worked for many British comics, especially '' 2000 AD'' and ''Doctor Who Magazine''. Biography Parkhouse has worked in comics since 1967, when he drew the occasional "Power House Pin-Up" ...

), student-house antics in ''Dire Streets'' (Julie Hollings), as well as the resurrection of

Dan Dare Dan Dare is a British science fiction comic hero, created by illustrator Frank Hampson who also wrote the first stories. Dare appeared in the ''Eagle'' comic story ''Dan Dare, Pilot of the Future'' from 1950 to 1967 (and subsequently in repri ...

, this time in a story called simply ''Dare''. In ''Dare'', writer

Grant Morrison Grant Morrison, MBE (born 31 January 1960) is a Scottish comic book writer, screenwriter, and producer. Their work is known for its nonlinear narrative A narrative, story, or tale is any account of a series of related events or experiences, w ...

and artist

Rian Hughes Rian Hughes is a British graphic designer, illustrator, type designer, comics artist and novelist. Overviews Hughes has written and drawn comics for '' 2000 AD'', Vertigo CMYK and Batman: Black and White, and designed for DC Comics and Marv ...

gave a new interpretation to the original ''

Eagle Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just ...

'' character in a political story, setting Dan Dare against a thinly veiled caricature of the Thatcher government. Two ''Revolver Specials'' were also published, a ''Revolver Horror Special'' (including some material by

Neil Gaiman Neil Richard MacKinnon GaimanBorn as Neil Richard Gaiman, with "MacKinnon" added on the occasion of his marriage to Amanda Palmer. ; ( Neil Richard Gaiman; born 10 November 1960) is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, gr ...

and Mark Buckingham) around Halloween 1990, and a ''Revolver Romance Special'' in March 1991, two months after the cancellation of ''Revolver'' itself. After ''Revolver'''s cancellation, ''Dare'' and ''Happenstance and Kismet'' were completed in the pages of ''

''. ''Dare'' was collected into a four-issue

limited series Limited series may refer to: *Limited series, individual storylines within an anthology series *Limited series, a particular run of collectables, usually individually numbered *Limited series (comics), a comics series with a predetermined number of ...

in 1992 by

Fantagraphics Fantagraphics (previously Fantagraphics Books) is an American publisher of alternative comics, classic comic strip anthologies, manga, magazines, graphic novels, and the erotic Eros Comix imprint. History Founding Fantagraphics was found ...

. ''Rogan Gosh'' was compiled into a collected edition in 1994 by the

Vertigo Vertigo is a condition where a person has the sensation of movement or of surrounding objects moving when they are not. Often it feels like a spinning or swaying movement. This may be associated with nausea, vomiting, sweating, or difficulties w ...

imprint of

DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...

List of stories

References

Notes

Sources consulted

* Rigby, Regie. "Fool Britannia: 'These I Have Loved - Part Three: Six Shooting!'," ''Comics Bulletin'' (2011)
Archived at the Wayback Machine

External links

Brendan McCarthy interview

''Revolver'' contents listing at Barney database
{{Buster 1990 comics debuts Comics magazines published in the United Kingdom Magazines established in 1990 Magazines disestablished in 1991 Fleetway and IPC Comics titles Monthly magazines published in the United Kingdom Defunct British comics