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Dez Skinn

Dez Skinn
Birth name Derek Skinn
Born February 4, 1951 (1951-02-04) (age 57)
Nationality British
Area(s) Editor, writer
Notable works Warrior

Derek "Dez" Skinn (born 1951 in Goole, Yorkshire) is a British comic book and magazine editor and author of number of books on comics. Events 211 - Roman Emperor Septimius Severus dies leaving the Roman Empire in the hands of his two quarrelsome sons Year 1951 ( MCMLI) was a Common year starting on Monday. Events of 1951 January Warrior was a British anthology comic that ran for 26 issues between March 1982 and January 1985 Year 1951 ( MCMLI) was a Common year starting on Monday. Events of 1951 January Goole is a Town, Civil parish and port located approximately inland on the River Ouse in the East Riding of Yorkshire, Yorkshire is a historic county of Northern England and the largest in Great Britain. A comic book (often shortened to simply comic and sometimes called a comic paper or comic magazine) is a Magazine or Book of narrative Magazines, periodicals or serials are Publications generally published on a regular schedule containing a variety of articles, generally Editing Language, Images or Sound through correction condensation organization and other modifications in various media

Contents

Early career

Dez Skinn was born on February 4, 1951. Events 211 - Roman Emperor Septimius Severus dies leaving the Roman Empire in the hands of his two quarrelsome sons Year 1951 ( MCMLI) was a Common year starting on Monday. Events of 1951 January Following a journalistic stint on Yorkshire's Doncaster Evening Post and a comics apprenticeship producing various fan magazines including Fantasy Advertiser, Oracle and Eureka, Dez Skinn moved to London in February 1970 to pursue a career in comics and found work as a sub-editor with IPC for whom he worked on such titles as Whizzer and Chips, Cor!! and Buster. London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. Year 1970 ( MCMLXX) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link shows full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. IPC Media is one of the United Kingdom 's leading consumer Magazine and digital publisher with a large portfolio selling over 350 million copies each year Whizzer and Chips was a British comic that ran from the issues dated 18 October 1969 to 27 October 1990, when it merged Cor!! was a British Comic book that ran from (issues dates 6 June 1970 to 15 June 1974, when it merged with Buster. Buster was a long-running British comic ( 28 May 1960 - 4 January 2000) which carried a mixture of humour and adventure During this period be became Father of Chapel of the IPC Juveniles division of the National Union of Journalists. The comics publishing arm of Williams/Warner Bros headhunted him to work for them as managing editor of their fledgling Youth Group. A managing editor is a senior member of a publication's management team For them he edited MAD Magazine (UK Edition) winning two Eagle Awards for boosting the originated content which he achieved by bringing to print many of his old colleagues from IPC, while rejecting the more general one-off gag style covers in favour of more commercial film tie-ins on a regular basis. Mad is a monthly American Humor Magazine founded by editor Harvey Kurtzman and publisher William Gaines in 1952 He also edited the European editions of Williams' Tarzan, Korak and Laurel & Hardy and revived Monster Mag a horror films feature/poster magazine. Tarzan is a Fictional character, an archetypal Feral child raised in the African jungle by Apes who later returns to civilization only to Laurel and Hardy were the popular American -based comedy team of thin British-born Stan Laurel (1890-1965 and heavy American-born Oliver Hardy (1892-1957

The House Of Hammer

The House Of Hammer was a monthly magazine featuring articles on Hammer Films series of horror and science fiction films. Hammer Film Productions is a film production company based in the United Kingdom. Launched in October 1976, it also featured comic strip versions of its films, as well as new material, by creators such as Brian Bolland, Dave Gibbons, John Bolton, David Lloyd and Brian Lewis. Brian Bolland (born 1951 is a British Comics Artist, known for his meticulous detailed linework and eye-catching compositions Dave Gibbons (born April 14, 1949) is a British Comic book Artist, writer and sometime letterer David Lloyd (born 1950 is a British Comics artist best known as the Illustrator of the Graphic novel V for Vendetta, written by The magazine won numerous Eagle Awards and was hugely successful and with issue 19 received US distribution after an initial one-off compilation issue.

The title changed its name to Halls Of Horror after Warren Publishing had copyrighted the House Of Horror name in the US through publishing a single issue "ashcan" (500 copies, reprinting old Famous Monsters of Filmland material, in an attempt to prevent competition). Warren Publishing was an American Magazine company founded by James Warren, who published his first magazines in 1957 and continued in the business for Halls Of Horror lasted till issue 23 before it was abruptly cancelled, a cover for the unpublished issue 24 is in existence.

The title returned in 1982 from Quality Communications and lasted for 30 issues, plus a Dracula special. Year 1982 ( MCMLXXXII) was a Common year starting on Friday (link displays the 1982 Gregorian calendar) Quality Communications is the company formed by Dez Skinn in 1982 to publish Warrior, an anthology Comic book title

Starburst

In January 1978 Skinn launched the first issue of Starburst as an attempt to take advantage of the growth in the interest of science fiction and fantasy following on from the release of Star Wars. Year 1978 ( MCMLXXVIII) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link displays the 1978 Gregorian calendar) Starburst is a British Science fiction Magazine published every four weeks by Visual Imagination. Fantasy is a Genre that uses magic and other Supernatural forms as a primary element of plot, theme, and/or setting Star Wars is an epic Space opera franchise initially conceived by George Lucas during the 1970s and significantly expanded Skinn published it under the company name of Starburst Publishing Ltd. It lasted 3 issues before being bought by Marvel UK when he joined them as editorial director. Marvel UK was an Imprint of Marvel Comics formed in 1972 to reprint US produced stories for the British weekly comic market though

The magazine is still being published by Visual Imagination. Visual Imagination Ltd is a British company producing genre Magazines It was founded in 1985 by Stephen Payne and originally only published the Science

Marvel Comics

In 1978 Skinn was headhunted by Stan Lee to help the floundering Marvel UK publishing company. This is a list of Comics -related events in 1978. Related year entries List of years in comics | 1977 in comics | 1978 in comics Stan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber; December 28, 1922) is an American Writer, editor, creator of comic book characters Marvel UK was an Imprint of Marvel Comics formed in 1972 to reprint US produced stories for the British weekly comic market though Lee was concerned that sales were dropping and gave Skinn freedom to revitalise the company as he saw fit. Skinn did this by moving the company out of Sevenoaks, Kent and back to London, bringing in his own editorial team (at the expense of losing line editor Neil Tennant, for whom he found a job with his old employers IPC Magazines, on Smash Hits. Neil Francis Tennant (born 10 July 1954 is a English Musician, singer and songwriter who with his colleague Chris Lowe, make up the successful Tennent went on to form the Pet Shop Boys). The capitalisation of song titles in this article is disputed Under the collective banner of "The Marvel Revolution" Skinn repositioned the flagging company, renaming it Marvel UK instead of the previously known British Marvel. He launched new titles such as Doctor Who Weekly, Frantic Magazine (subtitled "Number Two in a Field of One", a MAD-imitator which featured very early artwork by Alan Moore and Alan Davis) and Hulk Weekly. Doctor Who Magazine (abbreviated as DWM) is a Magazine devoted to the long-running British Science fiction television Frantic Magazine is a Comic book series published by Marvel UK from 1979 to 1980. Mad is a monthly American Humor Magazine founded by editor Harvey Kurtzman and publisher William Gaines in 1952 Alan Moore (born November 18 1953 in Northampton) is an English Writer most famous for his influential work in Comics, including the acclaimed Alan Davis (born 1956 is a British writer and artist of Comic books Biography UK work Alan Davis was born on June 18, 1956 Hulk Comic (later The Incredible Hulk Weekly) was a black-and-white Marvel UK Comics anthology published under the editorship of All featured new material produced in the UK by British creators. Hulk Weekly is best remembered for reviving Captain Britain, which had previously been US-originated material. Captain Britain ( Brian Braddock) briefly known as Britannic is a Fictional character, a Superhero appearing in the comic books published by This character featured in a fantasy serial starring the Black Knight (by Steve Parkhouse, Paul Neary and John Stokes, with whom he had previously worked on Fishboy for IPC's Buster). Dane Whitman is a fictional Comic book Superhero in the Marvel Comics universe, the company's third person to bear the name Steve Parkhouse is a Writer, Artist and Letterer who has worked for a lot of British comics, especially 2000 AD and Paul Neary is a British Comic book artist writer and editor His first work was for Warren Publishing in the 1970s before working with Dez John Stokes is a British comics artist who has largely worked for IPC and Marvel UK and is best known for his work on Fishboy. Buster was a long-running British comic ( 28 May 1960 - 4 January 2000) which carried a mixture of humour and adventure He also created and commissioned Steve Parkhouse and David Lloyd to produce a precursor to V for Vendetta in Night Raven, an enigmatic masked character, set in Chicago during Prohibition. David Lloyd (born 1950 is a British Comics artist best known as the Illustrator of the Graphic novel V for Vendetta, written by V for Vendetta is a ten-issue Comic book Night Raven is a fictional Superhero appearing primarily in Marvel UK Comics a division of Marvel Comics.

With news trade confusion over the difference between glossy US and equally glossy UK Marvel Comics, Skinn successfully revamped existing weekly reprint titles such as The Mighty World Of Marvel into a more traditional-looking UK title as Marvel Comic and similarly adapted Marvel UK's Spider-Man reprint title. The Mighty World Of Marvel (commonly shortened to MWOM) was Marvel UK 's first-ever title published in 1972 and is also the name of a similar Marvel UK was an Imprint of Marvel Comics formed in 1972 to reprint US produced stories for the British weekly comic market though Spider-Man is a Fictional character appearing in Comic books published by Marvel Comics. With Star Wars Weekly he added photocovers and interior text features to widen the comic's appeal. Star Wars is an epic Space opera franchise initially conceived by George Lucas during the 1970s and significantly expanded He also boosted the UK monthly output and his line of digest sized Pocket Books also proved successful, inexpensively offering 64 pages each of early Marvel superhero, horror, and science fiction material.

His aim was to use Marvel UK weeklies to introduce new young British readers to the adventure comic concept, weening them off traditional humour titles. They could then graduate to the UK monthlies and/or the US imports, so there were titles available for all ages within the Marvel stable, all the way up to the film magazine Starburst. Starburst is a British Science fiction Magazine published every four weeks by Visual Imagination.

Despite lasting only 15 months, Skinn's tenure at Marvel was hugely productive, and in this time he provided the likes of Alan Davis and a 17-year old Steve Dillon their first published work. Alan Davis (born 1956 is a British writer and artist of Comic books Biography UK work Alan Davis was born on June 18, 1956 Steve Dillon is a British Comic book artist He is particularly known for his run on DC Comics Hellblazer and Preacher He also gave work to John Wagner, Pat Mills, Steve Moore, Dave Gibbons, John Bolton, David Lloyd and Alan Moore which gave them greater exposure. John Wagner is a Comics writer who was born in Pennsylvania in 1949 and moved to Scotland as a boy Pat Mills, nicknamed 'the godfather of British comics' is a Comics writer and editor who along with John Wagner, revitalised British boys comics in the 1970s and Steve Moore (born 11 June 1949 is a prolific British Comics writer Dave Gibbons (born April 14, 1949) is a British Comic book Artist, writer and sometime letterer David Lloyd (born 1950 is a British Comics artist best known as the Illustrator of the Graphic novel V for Vendetta, written by Alan Moore (born November 18 1953 in Northampton) is an English Writer most famous for his influential work in Comics, including the acclaimed Outside of launching Doctor Who Weekly, his best known decision was to return Captain Britain from limbo, first of all as a Black Knight supporting character in Hulk Weekly, then in his own strip in The Mighty World Of Marvel. Doctor Who Magazine (abbreviated as DWM) is a Magazine devoted to the long-running British Science fiction television Captain Britain ( Brian Braddock) briefly known as Britannic is a Fictional character, a Superhero appearing in the comic books published by Hulk Comic (later The Incredible Hulk Weekly) was a black-and-white Marvel UK Comics anthology published under the editorship of The Mighty World Of Marvel (commonly shortened to MWOM) was Marvel UK 's first-ever title published in 1972 and is also the name of a similar

Skinn left Marvel in 1981 to launch and co-own a London west end design group, Studio System, working primarily in film and fashion for Columbia Pictures, British Airways, Liberty's, Browns of South Moulton Street and various high profile clients. Events Year overall Big Rapids a major midwestern comics distributor goes under and two former employees (John Davis and Milton Griepp form Capital City Distribution Notable film work included assigning Martin Asbury his first storyboarding work, for Hugh Hudson's Greystoke. Comics-related work during this period included various strips for Columbia, ITC and 20th Century Fox, but his biggest project was the 500,000 print run Scalextric model racing catalogue, which was remodelled as a large format glossy comics magazine, starring Speedmaster, written by Skinn and drawn by Ian Kennedy, from a difficult brief asking for "All the Scalextric models to be included, in a Star Wars way but drawn like the old Eagle comic. " Two years later he returned to comics full time, reviving Starburst Magazines Ltd, renamed Quality Communications to remind him not to consider quantity his top priority, so he could relaunch House of Hammer as Halls of Horror and start his most influential comic, the anthology title Warrior. Quality Communications is the company formed by Dez Skinn in 1982 to publish Warrior, an anthology Comic book title Warrior was a British anthology comic that ran for 26 issues between March 1982 and January 1985

Warrior

Warrior was first published in March 1982 and ran 26 issues to January 1985. Warrior was a British anthology comic that ran for 26 issues between March 1982 and January 1985 Year 1982 ( MCMLXXXII) was a Common year starting on Friday (link displays the 1982 Gregorian calendar) Year 1985 ( MCMLXXXV) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link displays 1985 Gregorian calendar) It was a title where all the strips were creator owned, something unique in the British comics industry at the time. The title was a mass of creativity, creators such as Alan Moore, David Lloyd, Alan Davis, Brian Bolland and Garry Leach created and worked on many memorable stories. Alan Moore (born November 18 1953 in Northampton) is an English Writer most famous for his influential work in Comics, including the acclaimed David Lloyd (born 1950 is a British Comics artist best known as the Illustrator of the Graphic novel V for Vendetta, written by Alan Davis (born 1956 is a British writer and artist of Comic books Biography UK work Alan Davis was born on June 18, 1956 Brian Bolland (born 1951 is a British Comics Artist, known for his meticulous detailed linework and eye-catching compositions Garry Leach is a British Comics artist and publisher Biography Leach studied Graphic Design at St These included Marvelman, V for Vendetta, The Spiral Path, Axel Pressbutton and Father Shandor, Demon Stalker. Miracleman, originally known as Marvelman in his native United Kingdom, is a fictional Comic book Superhero created in 1954 by V for Vendetta is a ten-issue Comic book Axel Pressbutton is a Comics character who first appeared in the strip "Three-Eyes McGurk and his Death Planet Commandos" in the British Rock music

When Warrior was cancelled, many of the unfinished stories were completed by various US comic publishing companies. However several of these stories had problems being completed due to the complicated issue of just who owned what; the most famous example of this is Marvelman. Miracleman, originally known as Marvelman in his native United Kingdom, is a fictional Comic book Superhero created in 1954 by

Quality Communications

After Warrior ended, Quality Communications and Skinn carried on being involved in comics publishing for much of the remainder of the 1980s. Quality Communications is the company formed by Dez Skinn in 1982 to publish Warrior, an anthology Comic book title The 1980s was the decade spanning from January 1 1980 to December 31 1989. First of all they helped repackage several series from Warrior for Eclipse Comics, including Marvelman, Axel Pressbutton, John Bolton's Halls of Horror and Brian Bolland's Black Book. Eclipse Comics was an American Comic book Publisher, one of several influential independent publishers during the 1980s and early 1990s Miracleman, originally known as Marvelman in his native United Kingdom, is a fictional Comic book Superhero created in 1954 by Skinn's company also took over US reprints of 2000 AD and related material which were resized and coloured for the US market. These reprints continued till 1989. Year 1989 ( MCMLXXXIX) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link displays 1989 Gregorian calendar)

In 1990, Skinn produced the first issue of Comics International, a monthly comics news and reviews magazine which has enjoyed great success to the present day; Issue 200 of Comics International appeared in November 2006 as a giant sized final issue from the company. Year 1990 ( MCMXC) was a Common year starting on Monday (link displays the 1990 Gregorian calendar) Comics International is a monthly news and reviews magazine about Comic books which was published by Quality Communications from Comics International is a monthly news and reviews magazine about Comic books which was published by Quality Communications from A press release was issued by QCL in December 2006, stating that Skinn had sold Comics International to Cosmic Publications for an undisclosed sum. Comics International is a monthly news and reviews magazine about Comic books which was published by Quality Communications from

In 2003 Skinn also published a trial issue of Toy Max, a slick glossy upmarket magazine for the new breed of adult toy collectors, feeling this would achieve greater distribution success than the niche market of Comics International. Despite comprehensive content, including an exhaustive 16-page Star Wars toys price guide, this did not find a wider readership, due to a resistance by the UK federated newstrade to distribute an experimental non-corporate title.

In 2005 Skinn returned to the lecture circuit, as a guest at City College Brighton and Hove, where he encouraged the Foundation Art & Design students to produce an anthology comic around the theme of "Brighton: Tales of the City". His company, Quality Communications, then produced 20,000 copies of the end product, Ace Comics, for free distribution around Brighton's cafes, bars, restaurants and such. The comic was financed by advertisements from local companies and FE/HE educational establishments. The success of the innovative comic and its diverse work by 90% female students was such that it gained the college editorial in local and national radio & TV and newspaper coverage including the Times Educational Supplement.

Also in 2005, he attempted to raise the professionalism and outward appearance of UK comics conventions by staging a major outreach event at the Brighton Metropole Hilton, coining the phrase "Promoting Literacy and the Visual Arts". While the weekend event was considered a critical success by online reviews, with its emphasis on professionally built exhibitor booths and a luxurious setting, its financial failure through lack of trade support resulted in an attence not exceeding 2,000 and the experiment not being repeated. Skinn commented, in Comics International #192, "It feels like I hired Brighton's biggest hotel. . . for the best blow-out party in town since Fatboy Slim's do on the beach. "

Outside of his chosen field of comics, as Managing Director of Hagar Business Developments, in 1987 he launched group chatlines on a national basis, a telephone forerunner to internet chatrooms. Referring to such as a "social safety valve" he led their defence to the Monopolies and Mergers Commission, as chairman of the ITCA (the Independent Telephone Chatlines Association), successfully proving they were not "against the public interest". Following extensive TV, print and radio coverage, including a live BBC interview with Jeremy Paxman, Skinn spearheaded a campaign through Oftel (the Office of Telecommunications) against the M-rate expensive banding of such, but failed to get British Telecom to reband the service at a lower rate. His campaign to legitimise group chatlines, where up to ten people from around the UK could talk together, avoided the trap BT's earlier local Talkabout group lines fell into, through 100% monitoring of all groups. This enabled disruptive callers to be instantly intercepted and where required cut off from the group for any use of sexism, racism, profanity, obscenity, or such personal details as last names, addresses or phone numbers. His Speakeasy lines and Grapevine gay lines were nationally advertised on TV and in such broadsheets as The Guardian and the Independent resulting in Hagar, the country's largest operator of the service, netting over one million pounds profit in its first trading year.

Much to Skinn's bemusement, all companies with fully monitored group chatlines were finally banned while the totally uncensored one-to-one lines (which Skinn refused to be involved with) continue to this day.


Miscellaneous

Skinn's career in comics actually began in 1965 with his fanzine The Derinn Comicollector which led to his producing other titles including Eureka! (1969) and a comics news fanzine Oracle (1968) he also edited the British comic fan magazine Fantasy Advertiser from 1970 to 1975. Fantasy Advertiser was a British magazine which discussed Comic books.

Bibliography

Comics

Comics he has written include:

Books

References

External links

Big Ben is the name of a Comic book character who first appeared during Alan Moore's run on Marvelman in Warrior and then went on William ("Will" Simpson is a Northern Irish Comic artist who started off in British comics like Warrior and 2000 AD
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