Zones #1

1990. Cover price £1.75.
68 pages. Colour & B&W.
London Editions Magazines / Egmont

Cover (uncredited).

Contents:

 2 Definitely Collectable - Superman Monthly • Batman Monthly • DC Action! • Zones in-house advertisement.

 3 Introduction text (uncredited). / Contents

 4 The Shadow text introduction (uncredited). a: Howard Chaykin.

r: cover detail from The Shadow (DC Comics) #01 (May 1986).

 5 The Shadow Blood & Judgment w:/a: Howard Chaykin, c: Alex Waid; lettering by Ken Bruzenak.

r: The Shadow (DC Comics) #01 (May 1986).

33 Close to the Edge text feature (uncredited)
34 The Bizarre text feature (uncredited).
35 In the Comics Zone Swamp Thing Big is Stirring... in-house advertisement.
36 Mars Attacks text feature (uncredited)

38 Swamp Thing text introduction (uncredited); a: Bernie Wrightson.

r: interior panel from Swamp Thing (DC Comics) vol.1 #01 (Oct 1972-Nov 1972).

39 Swamp Thing Dark Genesis! w: Len Wein; a: Berni Wrightson, colouring by Tatjana Wood.

r: Swamp Thing (DC Comics) vol.1 #01 (Oct 1972-Nov 1972).

54 Shades of the Shadow text feature by Anthony Tollin.

56 Wasteland text introduction (uncredited); a: Bill Wray.

r: interior panel from Wasteland (DC Comics) #13 (Dec 1988).

57 Wasteland Tipped Toes w: John Ostrander & Del Close; a: Bill Wray, lettering by John Workman, colouring by Lovern Kindzierski.

r: Wasteland (DC Comics) #13 (Dec 1988).

66 A Trip to the Far Side text feature (uncredited).

Under a remarkably uninspiring cover, made up mainly of the name of the title, there is a healthy range of intelligent material.

COMICS HAVE GROWN UP! Or so the media is constantly telling us. In ZONES we hope to present strips which truly deserve the 'mature' label: stories with sophisticated scripts, and artwork that breaks the frontiers of the comics medium. We'll also be setting them in context by giving you articles dealing with the past, present and future of the industry and areas of related interest; science fiction, music, films and such-like.

With an impressive mission statement - notwithstanding the lack of Oxford commas - it is immediately clear that this really was a serious title, but placing such aggressively clever concepts alongside an advert for Superman, Batman, and DC Action! - all aimed firmly at an audience which would not immediately appear to be the same as readers of Zones - undermines the intent.

Next to DC's own BATMAN, THE SHADOW has remained one of the world's best known Dark Avengers. With his slouch hat pulled low and his twin revolvers blazing death for evil's minions, he was born almost a decade prior to Gotham's Guardian, back in the troubled '30s of America. What if this ruthless, dominating mystery man were to suddenly appear in amongst today's hi-tech criminal fraternity? This was the angle writer / artist Howard Chaykin decided to take in his controversial "Blood and Judgement" series, breathing new life into the 60 year old character...

I've always liked The Shadow, and the Howard Chaykin incarnation reprinted here - even if it is firmly a mid-eighties story - retains a freshness. This is largely thanks to the larger pages, beautiful paper stock, and clean, bright printing, allowing the artwork to really shine. The revitalization of The Shadow's mythology is a perfect way to open a title presented for a more mature audience, and there's even a feature on the history of the character for those of us who have a fond spot for his pulp adventures.

Close to the Edge covers the developments in non-superhero comic strips which were appearing in the late eighties, and notes that even The Face and Cut had begun commissioning material. While displaying an awareness of the landscape into which the title was emerging, there isn't any indication that the safety net of DC Comics reprints is going to give way to more obscure material. A suspicion reinforced by the following piece on Rex the Wonder Dog.

Though it doesn't make up for the inclusion of creaky DC history, the feature on Mars Attacks trading cards is a welcome treat. It is difficult to sum up the entire history of the cards in two pages, but the attempt is appreciated nonetheless.

The 20th Century has seen a whole tribe of horrific monsters from the pages of popular fiction, lurching through the night. Comics' own contender, SWAMP THING, began in 1971. Today, as his own magazine approaches its 100th issue, ZONES takes you back to his origin at the hands of creators Wein and Wrightson...

I'm not so sold on the inclusion of Swamp Thing, whose early adventures have been reprinted enough that any casual reader might have seen them previously. That Titan had begun collecting the stories renders the decision even more remarkable, though the (relatively recent) video release of The Return of Swamp Thing, along with the US title hitting 100 issues, most likely tipped the scales in its favour.

My main concern with the inclusion of Swamp Thing is how it is handled. While there is a two-page scatter-shot history of The Shadow, no such feature is allocated to the single most intriguing behind-the-scenes story to touch the DC property - Rick Veitch's treatment at the hands of DC due to his story featuring Swamp Thing travelling back in time to meet Christ. The background to then-current DC continuity would have allowed for an open and honest criticism of the censorship of creators working for the publisher. It is a frustrating omission.

Wit this strange new "mature readers" comic market opening up in the States and even here in the U.K. attempts are still being made by creators to define the boundaries. DC's WASTELAND series presented a strange mixture of fantasy and horror, with a dash of black humour thrown in. With our mystery man in black shooting out people's spines and a muck monster terrorising the swamplands, ZONES presents the lighter seasoning to "adult entertainment" The best of WASTELAND...

Tipped Toes, which takes a ludicrous conceit and runs with it for maximum humor, shows just how far DC had moved from the traditional base of their publishing endeavors. It is wonderfully illustrated, and despite being rather brief manages to contain the best lines in the issue.

With over five years worth of seriously-considered mature material having been published (though mostly outside of DC and Marvel), the contents feel very thin when examining the state of the available material. Miracleman isn't mentioned, and both Trident and Savoy - actually pushing boundaries, rather than stating they were doing so - are ignored in favour of Penguin. If someone at LEM had the nerve to represent the true state of available material the tone of the title would have been significantly more satisfying.

A fine start, managing to justify its' presence alongside the more traditional Batman and Superman titles. A very impressive looking issue, though not one which was ever seriously going to challenge an audience which was beginning to move away from material presented in companion titles. If only it had tried a little harder with the material.