Marshal Law

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So I was in a comic book store right next to Alex In SF's apartment a few weeks ago, and I saw a framed panel on the wall that featured a dead man hung on the front of an abandoned BART train. It looked familiar and I asked the comic book guy what it was from. It turns out that this was MARSHAL LAW, and when he showed me the book I realized I may have read it in another form during my previous life as a comic nerd. I don't recall much of it. Was it published in another magazine like 2000ad? Isn't it by ex-2000AD people? Where else would I have seen it? Does it ALL take place in San Francisco (I hope so!)? Is it good?

General discussion please.

― I'd still rather be in Tokyo (nordicskilla), Wednesday, 13 July 2005 16:10 (twenty years ago)

It's written by Pat Mills and drawn by Kevin O'Neill, who are 2000AD people. The original series was published in six issues by a Marvel subline, and reprinted in some UK title.

The original series is brilliant, one of my favourite comics ever. It manages to be extreme, politically aware, ultra-violent, and ultimately poignant as well. And it's funny too.

The subsequent serieses were written by Pat Mills evil twin brother, and are the rub.

― DV (dirtyvicar), Wednesday, 13 July 2005 16:16 (twenty years ago)

Reprints are available through Titan now, though DV's right in that the first series ("Fear and Loathing") is really the only one you need. The other stuff doesn't quite measure up. Though the MARSHAL LAW vs. THE MASK is great for derange-o action.

And that comic store you were in was the (sorta) world-famous Isotope. I know James, the guy who runs it. He's a good guy and snappy dresser.

― Matt Maxwell (Matt M.), Wednesday, 13 July 2005 18:33 (twenty years ago)

WOAH...yeah! B-b-but it just opened, did it move location? Yeah, that guy had some CRAZY threads and he was very nice to me and Alex! Weird.

― Felix Leiter (nordicskilla), Wednesday, 13 July 2005 18:55 (twenty years ago)

Yeah, it used to be in the Sunset (Noriega and 26th or so). James was there for about 4 years. Before that, it was Comics and da Kine, I believe. Not that I'm a native or anything...

James is crazy about comics. Just crazy, and he does his best to infect folks with his brand of craziness. We need more like him.

― Matt Maxwell (Matt M.), Wednesday, 13 July 2005 19:27 (twenty years ago)

I think the two one-shots which followed the original series are both pretty good. "Marshall Law Takes Manhattan" (?) wherein he basically kills the Marvel Universe.
The other one may be called "The Kingdom Of the Blind" or it may not. Its basically Marshall Law kills Batman.

― David N (David N.), Thursday, 14 July 2005 00:32 (twenty years ago)

I love you people!

― Felix Leiter (nordicskilla), Thursday, 14 July 2005 02:00 (twenty years ago)

That "...another magazine like 2000ad..." where you think you might have seen Marshall Law could well have been the short-lived UK anthology Strip.

And yes, ML is by "...ex-2000AD people..." i the very real sense that Mills co-created the comic; and, er, still writes for it, so I guess not technically "ex".

― David Simpson (David Simpson), Thursday, 14 July 2005 08:24 (twenty years ago)

I think Marshall Law ran in Toxic for a while as well.

― kit brash (kit brash), Thursday, 14 July 2005 10:30 (twenty years ago)

I must dig this up and read it again.

― DV (dirtyvicar), Thursday, 14 July 2005 11:29 (twenty years ago)

I haven't read or even thought of ML for years. The first 6 part series was printed in the US by Epic- which was pretty edgy for them at the time (it was still Marvel after all). That series is really the only one you need. The story was relatively interesting, the setting was crazy (San Francisco becomes "San Futuro") & art was strong, esp the coloring IIRC.

Subsequent stories (the Batman knock-off one-shot had a few decent jokes) were each more awful than the last, and I would be surprised if they did a "Marshal Law vs Aliens" at some point. The whole thing began to stink and made me wonder if the original series was as good as I had remembered it.

When somebody re-reads this, please report.

― Sparkle Motion's Rising Force, Thursday, 14 July 2005 19:42 (twenty years ago)

yeah i have the toxic issue kit. or is it two? i was thinking of reading this again recently but then i remembered "pat mills". i also thought i might read through those old crisis mags.

― mullygrubbr (bulbs), Thursday, 14 July 2005 21:21 (twenty years ago)

hmmmnah, thinking, it was probably Strip that only managed a couple of reprints, and Toxic serialised one of the later stories for a while. maybe had the odd short as well? I think Mills was the editor of Toxic or something.

and I don't think that Law ever took on Aliens, but I'm sure it was just corporate protectiveness, as he was frothing at The Mask and Savage Dragon and Hellraiser around the time Dark Horse were milking Aliens for all they could.

Crisis got pretty good by the time the page count expanded, though I've mostly only got the ones with Grant Morrison strips in.

― kit brash (kit brash), Thursday, 14 July 2005 23:38 (twenty years ago)

yeah true. was sad to see it go. and revolver.

― mullygrubbr (bulbs), Friday, 15 July 2005 00:29 (twenty years ago)

I went back and said hi to James.

― L@@K !! *RARE*!! (nordicskilla), Friday, 15 July 2005 04:40 (twenty years ago)

Revolver ruled so hard! Wish I had them now.

― kit brash (kit brash), Friday, 15 July 2005 04:55 (twenty years ago)

Law did take on Aliens (and a Legion of Super-Heroes type group), it was around the same time as he took on Hellraiser/Pinhead. Strip reprinted the Epic mini-series and Toxic had a brand new series, where all the dead heroes came back as zombies and a JSA type group got involved.

― stewart k, Friday, 15 July 2005 08:05 (twenty years ago)

i have revolver kit. we do a comix swap next time. you find flex mentallo ;).

― mullygrubbr (bulbs), Friday, 15 July 2005 08:33 (twenty years ago)

Fear and Loathing is an amazing piece of work. Kev O'Neill's hand painted colours are some of the best he's ever done, and the script is packed full of black comedy... you can tell they had a lot of fun when they were working on it.

Cant believe I forgot to nominate it for the greatest comics poll last year though.

― droid, Friday, 15 July 2005 11:52 (twenty years ago)

yeah, the LSH one was a bit feeble as I recall. and ahh, did he take on a Thinly Veiled Analogue of Aliens, rather than the real thing as with the Pinhead/Dragon/Mask ones?

I never bought Revolver because it actually had distribution here so I could just read a strip at a time in the newsagent after school...

― kit brash (kit brash), Friday, 15 July 2005 12:03 (twenty years ago)

Yeah, now I think about it you're right about it being an analogue and not a real Alien.

― stewart k, Friday, 15 July 2005 14:22 (twenty years ago)

So, at the San Diego Comic-Con this year, I'm walking into the hall, and I see a guy sitting with his girlfriend at a bench outside the doors. He's wearing a black T-shirt that has the SFPD logo and a huge FEAR AND LOATHING on it. I ask him where he got it, turns out it's homemade and he's sending me the template for it. But the best part is, he wasn't just wearing a Marshal Law shirt, but he had the WHOLE DAMN COSTUME going. Kapital K Krazy!

I'll post a picture once I get the roll developed.

― Matt Maxwell (Matt M.), Monday, 18 July 2005 20:09 (twenty years ago)

Please do!

― kit brash (kit brash), Tuesday, 19 July 2005 01:57 (twenty years ago)

I'm so proud that *I* started an ILC thread, and it reached over 20 posts!

― Adam In Real Life (nordicskilla), Tuesday, 19 July 2005 02:23 (twenty years ago)

four weeks pass...

ah rummaging through my comics the toxic one-shot is kingdom of the blind c.1990 - somewhere between takes manhatten and super babylon

― mullygrubbr (bulbs), Thursday, 18 August 2005 06:44 (twenty years ago)

i believe i may take the time to reread these.

― mullygrubbr (bulbs), Thursday, 18 August 2005 06:53 (twenty years ago)

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