Scream! & Misty Special

Writers: Guy Adams; Grainne Mcentee; Feek; Kek-W; Hannah Berry; Alec Worley
Artists: John Stokes; Fraser Irving; Tristan Jones; Henry Flint; Simon Colby; Warwick Fraser-Coombe; Ben Willsher; Dani; Mike Hoffman; Glen Fabry
Colourists: Len O'Grady
Letterers: Simon Bowland; SG; Jim Campbell; Annie Parkhouse; Maz Smith



Scream! and Misty were British horror comics published by IPC Publishing in the late 70s and early 80s. Aimed at younger readers, both comics were famous for original and often lighthearted tales from respected creators including John Wagner, Simon Furman and Alan Moore.

Both comics were included in the vast back catalogue obtained earlier this year by Rebellion, publishers of 2000AD, with the intention of republishing and updated some classic tales. Several stories have already been reprinted in collected editions, but the Scream! & Misty Special does something new, with entirely original stories. Classic characters and scenarios are brought thundering into the present.

In the Dracula File the vampire count, who previously escaped to Britain from the other side of the Iron Curtain, has become a respected doctor. Now a guest at a dinner party, a trap has been set...but who is the hunter and who is the prey? This interesting short makes intelligent use of colour, with pages dowsed in the red of dinner party wine.

The insane AI known as Max is still terrorising unwelcome visitors in his mission to protect the residents of Maxwell Tower in a darkly psychedelic Thirteenth Floor.  A teenage girl does battle with the trapped soul of a WW2 German fighter pilot in Return of Black Max. A doorway is opened to an alternative Nazi Britain in The Return of the Sentinels, whilst Wanda Hannigan battles fairies in Fate of the Fairy Hunter

Most interestingly, Death Man: The Gathering brings together a rag tag bunch of previously unrelated heroes to form a very British Avengers-style superteam, including such bizarre characters as The Leopard (who was scratched by a radioactive leopard. Take that, Peter Parker), Death Wish (a suicidal stunt man), and Paddy McGinty (whose best friend is a magical goat).

In true 1980s kid’s comic fashion, we also get a spot-the-difference, horoscope and letters page.

For readers who have fond memories of the original strips, Scream! & Misty will be a welcome shot of nostalgia. The feel of the original stories is respected, whilst the settings have been updated to an age of mobile phones and youtube.

For readers for whom the adventures of Paddy McGinty and his magic goat are entirely unknown, Scream! & Misty might be a bit of a curiosity. These stories are written as prologues for ongoing adventures rather than self contained tales. Rebellion might be testing the waters here, checking which of these stories might drawn the interest of new readers and be able to sustain longer adventures and it would be a real shame if these aren't developed further. Standing alone, the stories feel a litle incomplete.  However, as the opening chapter of something greater, each of these tales offers great potential.