Zenith (comics)
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''Zenith'' is a British superhero, who appeared in the British
science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...
comic '' 2000 AD''. Created by 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 narratives, humanist philosophy and countercultural leanings. Morrison has written extensively for th ...
and artist
Steve Yeowell Steve Yeowell () is a British comics artist, well known for his work on the long-running science fiction and fantasy weekly comic '' 2000 AD''. Biography Having trained in 3D design (specialising in silversmithing and jewellery), Yeowell bega ...
, with original character designs by Brendan McCarthy, the story first appeared in ''2000 AD'' #535 (22 August 1987). Zenith himself (real name Robert McDowell) did not appear until the second episode – the first episode set the backdrop for his introduction. Shallow and sarcastic, Zenith was a distinctly
Generation X Generation X (or Gen X for short) is the Western demographic cohort following the baby boomers and preceding the millennials. Researchers and popular media use the mid-to-late 1960s as starting birth years and the late 1970s to early 1980s a ...
superhero. Morrison used the ''Zenith'' serial to explore cultural differences between generations and criticise the Conservative Party. ''Zenith'' was featured regularly in ''2000 AD'' from 1987 until 1992, with occasional appearances since. The series was an early success for Morrison, who has since written popular works for DC and Marvel, using their own characters. The first series won the 1987 Eagle Award for Favourite Single or Continuing Story.


Publication history

''Zenith'' appeared in August 1987 during a period when editor and assistant editor,
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
Richard Burton Richard Burton (; born Richard Walter Jenkins Jr.; 10 November 1925 – 5 August 1984) was a Welsh actor. Noted for his baritone voice, Burton established himself as a formidable Shakespearean actor in the 1950s, and he gave a memorable pe ...
respectively, were shaking up ''2000 AD'' by publishing numerous new stories which gave fresh talent a chance.Bishop, 2007, page 120 Grant Morrison had been thinking along the lines of Zenith since 1982, but " e original version had a more traditional superhero costume and was a little grimmer in tone", and the final concept came together as "... a reaction against torment superheroes". Despite liking both '' Dark Knight'' and ''
Watchmen ''Watchmen'' is an American comic book maxiseries by the British creative team of writer Alan Moore, artist Dave Gibbons and colorist John Higgins. It was published monthly by DC Comics in 1986 and 1987 before being collected in a single-vo ...
'', they felt that "... both books felt pompous and concept albumy to me as a young man in the '80s". They found more of an influence in the work of Brendan McCarthy: "... tell the truth on to the page and let your psyche all hang out" and it was McCarthy who would provide the initial character designs, although he never drew the actual story, because Morrison said "... the story as it unfolded would have been too ponderous and long-winded for him". With hindsight, Morrison stated: "I like Phase I the least now –- it wears its influences a little too obviously on its sleeve".Bishop, 2007, page 157 They rated Phase III far higher, considered as "one of the greatest superhero crossover events ever".Bishop, 2007, page 129 In America, ''Zenith'' Phases I and II were reprinted in colour in Fleetway/Quality's monthly ''2000 A.D. Showcase'' title, beginning in the jointly-numbered issue #29/30, and running through issue #45 (September 1988-December 1989). These issues featured new covers by American comic book artists such as
Jackson Guice Jackson "Butch" Guice (born June 27, 1961) is an American comics artist who has worked in the comics industry since the 1980s. Biography Guice was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee.. Retrieved March 21, 2008. Growing up in the 1960s, Guice was fond o ...
,
Tom Lyle Thomas Stanford Lyle (November 2, 1953 – November 19, 2019) was an American comics artist, best known for his work on '' Starman'' and ''Robin'' for DC Comics, and ''Spider-Man'' for Marvel Comics. Career Tom Lyle's comics career began in th ...
, and
Bart Sears Bart Whitman Sears (born 1963) is an American comics artist, toy and packaging designer and author, known for his work on such books as '' Justice League Europe'', ''Legends of the Dark Knight'', '' X-O Manowar'', '' Turok'', '' Violator'', ''The ...
. According to the series' index at the
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, "the end of the Phase II storyline was also the end of the Zenith reprints, as Phase III was still in progress in the British weekly. It ended in March of 1990, but by that time 000AD Showcasewas about to be cancelled". ''Zenith'' returned for Phase IV in 1992 but Morrison's attention was elsewhere: "I'd moved on and was more excited by the possibilities of working with American superheroes. By 1992, ''Zenith'' seemed like something dragged up from my past". This however does not mean they think any less of the story: "I like a lot of things I write under duress. I actually really like the last book of Zenith. I'm very fond of it".
Titan Books Titan Publishing Group is the publishing division of Titan Entertainment Group, which was established in 1981. The books division has two main areas of publishing: film and television tie-ins and cinema reference books; and graphic novels and c ...
published five
trade paperbacks A paperback (softcover, softback) book is one with a thick paper or paperboard cover, and often held together with adhesive, glue rather than stitch (textile arts), stitches or Staple (fastener), staples. In contrast, hardcover (hardback) book ...
of ''Zenith'' between 1988 and 1990, collecting Phase I through III. For years after that, attempts to re-publish the series (including the never collected Phase IV) were prevented by a copyright dispute between the publisher and Morrison. In 2007, Morrison explained: "Fleetway have no paperwork to confirm their ownership of Zenith, so I'm currently involved in legal proceedings to clear things up". In 2013, British publishing company Rebellion Developments began publishing a complete collection as a hardcover book limited to 1000 copies. The book sold out within two days of being announced and the delivery date was brought forward to early October. The book collected all four phases and has a nearly exhaustive collection of covers and pin-ups. Whilst parties involved in ongoing legal proceedings are, as a rule, barred from speaking publicly of them, it appears that Morrison has been unsuccessful in halting that initial publication. ''Zenith Books'' 1 and 2 could be pre-ordered for a December 2014 launch through mainstream distribution chains. A new ''Zenith'' text story, "Permission to Land", appeared in prog 2050 in September 2017, with a new illustration by Steve Yeowell. Zenith also appeared in a story unconnected to the Zenith universe – "A Night 2 Remember", a strip about the comic's 25th anniversary celebrations, which appeared in prog 1280.


Plot

Robert McDowell, alias Zenith, was the son of two members of Cloud 9, a super-team of the 1960s assembled by the British military who had rebelled and become hippies and psychedelic fashion icons. Zenith himself used his Biorhythm dependant super-human abilities, not to fight evil, but to promote his career as a pop singer. Shallow, spoilt, self-centred and initially cowardly, he was reluctantly dragged into the struggle against malevolent, supernatural entities known as the Lloigor or "
Many-Angled Ones Lloigor is the name of a fictional deity and a fictional race in the Cthulhu Mythos. The entity first appeared in August Derleth and Mark Schorer's short story "The Lair of the Star Spawn" (1932 in literature, 1932), and has been used in subsequent ...
". The British superhuman project "Maximan" had emerged from work brought over by defecting
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scientists in
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, in turn, having been developed from knowledge obtained from the Lloigor. The Nazis had created "Masterman", but the real purpose of the project was to produce host bodies strong enough to house the Lloigor's spirits. Due to those circumstances, within the story's alternate history,
Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...
was the target of the first nuclear weapon, not Hiroshima or
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, mainly because both the British and Nazi supermen were fighting in Berlin at the time. The British superheroes came of age during the tumultuous '60s, and promptly rebelled, as did many teens of that time. Ultimately, Zenith's parents were killed (by American psychic agents – although that is not revealed until later in the storyline), other members of Cloud 9 disappeared, and the few remaining lost their powers and retreated into civilian life: Peter St. John (Mandala) became a
Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...
for the Conservative Party, and Ruby Fox (Voltage), a journalist and writer. Siadwell Rhys (Red Dragon) owned a
pub A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...
in Wales - where he apparently spent much of his time drunk. * In Phase I, Zenith reluctantly teamed up with surviving members of Cloud 9 to defeat the Many-Angled One called "Iok Sotot", although that proved fatal to Welshman Red Dragon. St John demonstrated his considerable mental powers by defeating Iok Sotot via a post-hypnotic suggestion previously implanted. Phase I showed that Cloud 9 only temporarily lost their powers and regained them under duress—or, in St John's case, never lost them at all. * Phase II detailed the efforts of a media tycoon modelled on Richard Branson to use Zenith and two female superhuman
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—Shockwave and Blaze—as breeding stock for a new group of super-powered humans he intended to use toward achieving world domination. Zenith was generally successful working on his own in Phase II, but he again relied on St John at times, and also a
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agent who was killed early on. Phase II describes more of the Zenith history, and introduces Chimera, a superhuman composed entirely of thought, who eventually transformed itself into a pyramid-shaped miniature universe. * An interlude between Phase II & III introduces the concept of alternate universes, and that members of Cloud 9 who were previously thought to be dead were in fact establishing themselves in the alternate realities with other-dimensional heroes, and developing their powers and abilities. It is also first suggested (and established later on) that the Zenith universe characters are among the most powerful of all other superheroes. * Phase III involved a multi-dimensional war against the Lloigor utilising comic-book characters from other British comics from the '50s, '60s and '70s (using either the actual characters or analogs, depending on their legal status). The Lloigor, close to "ascending" and dominating the universe(s), were waiting for the infinite alternate universes to align and form a universe-sized crystal – the "Omnihedron". The multi-universal heroes destroyed several alternate Earths to introduce a flaw into the Omnihedron and prevent the alignment, but discovered that they had been betrayed by Maximan: the destruction of the worlds ''removed'' a flaw already present in the Omnihedron. Only at the last moment did they succeed by destroying the alternate Earth that the Lloigor were using to ascend. Due to the vast cross-dimensional body count incurred in this series, a surviving superhero commented that it may have been "...a pyrrhic victory". * The final series, Phase IV, brought the story full circle as the remaining members of Cloud 9 eventually transformed into the very Lovecraftian horrors that Zenith battled in the first series - Iok Sotot, who was Zenith and Blaze's son. After destroying American society in retaliation for a psychic attempt on their own lives, they used the
Sun The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is a nearly perfect ball of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core. The Sun radiates this energy mainly as light, ultraviolet, and infrared radi ...
as an incubator for their final metamorphosis into The Many Angled Ones, and after destroying the Earth they ascended to the heavens, attempting to gain control of the multiverse. St John had, however (during part two – "The Eleventh Hour" episode), trapped the Lloigor in the pocket universe created by Chimera, with the "real" universe assumed to have been saved –- although it is implied that St John had his own agenda for taking control, as by that time he was already
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of Great Britain. Zenith since returned three times to the pages of ''2000 AD'': In ''zzzenith.com'', a one-off featured in "Prog 2001" set years after the end of the previous series. Zenith once again met with St John, who was still in control of the country via a telepathically-manipulated
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. Zenith, being aware of that, was not particularly bothered, and therefore, St John seemed equally unconcerned by Zenith's knowledge of the truth. St John was still in possession of the Omnihedron pocket universe containing the Lloigor, but Marconi had been experimenting with it, and St John was worried about the results gained.


Collected editions

''Zenith'' was printed as a series of (now out of print)
trade paperbacks A paperback (softcover, softback) book is one with a thick paper or paperboard cover, and often held together with adhesive, glue rather than stitch (textile arts), stitches or Staple (fastener), staples. In contrast, hardcover (hardback) book ...
by
Titan Books Titan Publishing Group is the publishing division of Titan Entertainment Group, which was established in 1981. The books division has two main areas of publishing: film and television tie-ins and cinema reference books; and graphic novels and c ...
. In 2013, ''2000 AD'' publishers Rebellion re-printed the entire series in a hardcover volume, limited to 1,000 copies. Priced at £100, the book was published on 1 December, and sold exclusively via their website. A series of 4 cheaper books began in 2014.Zenith graphic novels at 2000adonline
(retrieved 23 September 2017).


List of stories

* "Phase I" (written by Grant Morrison, art by Steve Yeowell, in ''2000 AD'' #535–550, 1987) * "Interlude 1: Whitlock" (written by Grant Morrison, art by Steve Yeowell, in ''2000 AD'' #558, 1988) * "Interlude 2: Peyne" (written by Grant Morrison, art by Steve Yeowell, in ''2000 AD'' #559, 1988) * "Phase II" (written by Grant Morrison, art by Steve Yeowell, in ''2000 AD'' #589–606, 1988) * "Interlude 3: Maximan" (written by Grant Morrison, art by M. Carmona, in ''2000AD Winter Special 1988'') * "Mandala: Shadows & Reflections" (written by Grant Morrison, art by Jim McCarthy, in ''2000AD Annual 1990'', 1989) * "Phase III" (written by Grant Morrison, art by Steve Yeowell, in ''2000 AD'' #626–634, 650–662 & 667–670, 1989–1990) * "Phase IV" (written by Grant Morrison, art by Steve Yeowell, in ''2000 AD'' #791–806, 1992) * "zzzzenith.com" (written by Grant Morrison, art by Steve Yeowell, in ''2000 AD'' Prog 2001, 2000) * "Permission to Land" (text story written by
Matt Smith Matthew Robert Smith (born 28 October 1982) is an English actor. He is best known for his roles as the eleventh incarnation of the Doctor in the BBC series '' Doctor Who'' (2010–2013), Daemon Targaryen in the HBO series '' House of the Dr ...
(credited as Martin Howe), illustration by Steve Yeowell, in ''2000 AD'' #2050, 2017)


Notes


See also

* List of fictional prime ministers of the United Kingdom


References


Zenith
at 2000 AD online * Bishop, David (2007) ''
Thrill-Power Overload ''Thrill Power Overload'', or ''TPO'' is a book about the history of the British comic '' 2000 AD'' written by David Bishop, one of its editors. History The book started life as series of articles written by David Bishop and serialised in the ...
''. Rebellion Developments, 260 pages, * Callahan, Timothy (2007
Grant Morrison: The Early Years
Masters of the Medium. Sequart Research & Literacy Organization. * Khouri, Andy
Grant Morrison: The Early Years - Part I: "Zenith" and "Animal Man"
Comic Book Resources ''Comic Book Resources'', also known by the initialism CBR, is a website dedicated to the coverage of comic book–related news and discussion. History Comic Book Resources was founded by Jonah Weiland in 1995 as a development of the Kingdom Co ...
, July 5, 2007
Zenith History
at the International Catalogue of Superheroes *


External links



The unofficial Zenith fansite {{Grant Morrison Fictional singers Characters created by Grant Morrison 2000 AD characters