The Energon Pub

News Credits: 226 · by **Burn** » Sat Jul 28, 2007 5:42 am

With the Transformers and New Avengers team-up currently under way, could there be a potential for Deaths Head to return to the Transformers universe to not only face off against his old Cybertronian foes, but also his old Gallifrean foe The Doctor?

Outpost Gallifrey wrote:Newsarama.com has announced that IDW will begin publishing a new title based on the tenth Doctor, with stories written by TV show script editor Gary Russell and art by Nick Roche.

IDW chief Chris Ryall told Newsarama that in addition to the new Tenth Doctor comic book, IDW would be reprinting classic Doctor Who comics drawn by Dave Gibbons, with all-new coloring.

Gary Russell told Newsarama's interviewer:
"Can't get enough Martha. As for Tennant, 'cos he's the current one, simple as that. It's about putting characters from one medium into a totally different, and utilizing the strengths (and weaknesses) the new medium has to offer. So I gain from a bigger budget, more extras and louder bangs, yet the storytelling has to be as concise, clever and charming as the TV show is, but in a wholly different way. I have now just scared myself beyond belief..."

" Old monsters are all very well, but using the big guns like Daleks, Cybermen, the Master - it's a bit gauche. If you're going to use recognizable elements from the show - and I think you should where the story allows it - [it should be] a story that enables you to go "oooh I could put MONSTER X in here, that'd be cool" over to "oooh I need to write a story about MONSTER X" now and again, because people like to spot elements they're familiar with, then they need to be fun. Our first issue does feature something from the current show, and a later issue or two features something from waaaaay back in the series history, but these things should be done sparingly or it's no longer an event, it's the norm. And normal is dull."

For those who don't know, Deaths Head debuted in Marvel UK Transformer comics, once his story arc ended he popped up later in the Doctor Who comics.

Now with IDW set to produce both Transformers and Doctor Who comics, and having already worked with Marvel for a cross-over, here's hoping Marvel are kind enough to let Deaths Head return to his roots. :grin:

by **Loki120** » Sat Jul 28, 2007 7:34 am

Hmmmm, interesting. But I thought a lot of the Marvel UK characters ended up in litigation after Marvel UK went belly up. This one may have some serious unraveling to do before being seen again.

News Credits: 226 · by **Burn** » Sat Jul 28, 2007 8:45 am

Marvel used Deaths Head last year in a one-off comic which practically reinvented the character.

So they have the name, maybe not the look.

News Credits: 7 · by **waaaaghlord** » Sat Jul 28, 2007 7:33 pm

Last year's stuff was actually version 3 of Death's Head (and written by Furman to boot, woohoo!). While DH's first proper outing was in the UK TF comics the understanding at the time was that a character that debuted in TF was a TF character and thusly owned by Hasbro, a character that already had Marvel credentials was a Marvel character. The very first appearance of DH was as a one page story that was put out across all the Marvel UK titles at the time, cementing him as a Marvel character. Chris Ryall has said that he'd love to use the old freelance peacekeeping agent but it's a big no from Marvel at the moment, probably largely due to the fact that they recently relaunched him themselves. It would be tre cool but is unfortunately unlikely to happen at any point in the foreseeable.

Like Cyberstrike on Facebook · by **Cyberstrike** » Sat Jul 28, 2007 8:17 pm

Loki120 wrote:Hmmmm, interesting. But I thought a lot of the Marvel UK characters ended up in litigation after Marvel UK went belly up. This one may have some serious unraveling to do before being seen again.

IIRC in Titan TPB Fallen Angel said that Death's Head was copyrighted and trademarked to Simon Furman and Geoff Senior so who knows?