1992: WARHEADS Issue 1 (Marvel UK)

From 1992: WARHEADS issue 1, the official start of the MARVEL UKverse!

This copy is still bagged and sealed with the original "Genesis Seal", a brief scheme by the British Bullpen to cross-promote the new fortnightly OVERKILL, an anthology of the original "Genesis Five" books (WARHEADS, MOTORMOUTH, HELL'S ANGEL, THE KNIGHTS OF PENDRAGON and DIGITEK).

What the sticky plug neglects to mention is that, in terms of strips, Overkill readers were under served: The US editions contained twice as many strip pages that each story received in Overkill.  But... were the Overkill versions (heavily) edited... or were the US versions padded?

Warheads were a team of dimension-jumping mercenary scavengers employed by Mys-Tech (the hitherto unknown movers and shakers of this part of Marvel Earth) to jump between worlds and dimensions to grab new technology for the benefit of their employers.  A really nice idea oft-undermined by their continuing encounters with existing sales-boasting Marvel characters.  

Nick Vince was the writer, Gary Erskine supplied the stunning art and John Freeman was editor.  

The book eventually ran for fourteen regular issues and a two-part limited series.  Plans for more were terminated (without mercy) in the Genesis Massacre. 

1993: MYS-TECH WARS House Ad (Marvel UK)

From 1993: Fight! Fight! Fight!  MYS-TECH WARS was an ambitious multi-book MARVEL UK crossover (then, as now, all the rage) that, in addition to the core four-issue limited series, also crossed over into a number of other UKverse books.  

I always got the impression, possibly entirely misplaced, that the British Bullpen had high hopes that they could bring some of the American books into the fold and make this a truly transatlantic event... but couldn't persuade the US editorial team to play along.  

The Genesis books that were official part of the arc were:

MOTORMOUTH AND KILLPOWER Issue 9 (the "it starts here" prelude)

DARK ANGEL Issues 10 and 11

WARHEADS Issue 11

KNIGHTS OF PENDRAGON Issue 12

DEATH'S HEAD II Issue 5

The black and white art in this House Ad was part of the massive, and most impressive, gatefold by Bryan Hitch.  

The series wasn't reprinted in OVERKILL, although it was considered for THE EXPLOITS OF SPIDER-MAN.  I can't recall whether the crossovers ever appeared either.