On this day, 30 June 1984: Scream!
Cover artwork: Eric Bradbury
Last week I looked at the final issue of Tammy, withdrawn from IPC's comics roster as part of a vindictive counter-play against striking NUJ members in the summer of 1984, and never to return. This week the same fate would befall horror classic Scream!, thrown from the ramparts after just 15 issues - a tragically sacrificed pawn in this industrial dispute. What a shame. The Wagner and Grant-scripted Monster and The Thirteenth Floor would be resurrected in Eagle after the summer holidays, but other potential classics - Eric Bradbury's The Dracula File and Tom Tully and John Richardson's moody The Nightcomers - finished not only before their time but before their natural conclusions. The losses were greater than those of particular serials, however; Scream! was a terrific comic, bleeding style and character, and satisfying what surely was an enthusiastic demand for a horror anthology. Kids love horror tales, don't they? What a shame that neither Scream! or Misty, nor even Monster Fun or Shiver and Shake, lasted for long.
The Dracula File: Simon Furman (writer), Eric Bradbury (artist)
The Dracula File: Simon Furman (writer), Eric Bradbury (artist)
The Dracula File: Simon Furman (writer), Eric Bradbury (artist)
Monster: John Wagner and Alan Grant (writers), Jesus Redondo (artist)
Monster: John Wagner and Alan Grant (writers), Jesus Redondo (artist)
The Thirteenth Floor: John Wagner and Alan Grant (writers), Jose Ortiz (artist)
The Thirteenth Floor: John Wagner and Alan Grant (writers), Jose Ortiz (artist)
The Thirteenth Floor: John Wagner and Alan Grant (writers), Jose Ortiz (artist)
Tales from the Grave: The Man They Called Doctor Death!: R Hunter (writer), Jim Watson (artist)
Tales from the Grave: The Man They Called Doctor Death!: R Hunter (writer), Jim Watson (artist)
Library of Death: Out of the Fog!: Angus Allan (writer), Boluda (artist)
Library of Death: Out of the Fog!: Angus Allan (writer), Boluda (artist)
The Nightcomers: Tom Tully (writer), John Richardson (artist)
The Nightcomers: Tom Tully (writer), John Richardson (artist)
The Nightcomers: Tom Tully (writer), John Richardson (artist)
Poster: Oliver Frey (artist)
