Michael Carroll's timeline of Marvel UK comics (here) has an array of interestingly short-lived comics on that I thought I should create cover galleries for them. Sometimes this is easier said than done, but let's start a covers gallery for the short-lived Havoc comic from 1991...
Just like the equally short-lived Meltdown, launched simultaneously, Havoc was a test to see which distribution model - fortnightly or monthly - sold better in newsagents, part of the road testing ahead of the launch of the longer-running Overkill comic.
“If I recall correctly - and I edited both,” says John Freeman, “there was never any real commitment to keeping Havoc and Meltdown going long term. I was as surprised as readers the plug was pulled (although Meltdown’s lineup was odd. At 2200 pages as published, if MUK and Meltdown survived, Akira, running at eight pages a month would still have been featured until 2014!).
“They was more a test of frequency options, and, possibly, seeing how the editorial team coped with the work. The fortnightly frequency of Havoc paved the way for Overkill.”
Havoc, Marvel UK, issue #1, 13 July 1991, 55p
Cover by Jackson "Butch" Guice, first published as the cover of Marvel Comics Deathlok Special #1, cover dated May 1991
The first image includes the free gift given away with the debut issue.
Havoc, Marvel UK, issue #2, 20 July 1991, 55pCover by Mark Texeira, first published as the cover of Ghost Rider #15 (July 1991)
Havoc, Marvel UK, issue #3, 27 July 1991, 55p
Cover by Lee Sullivan, first published as the cover of Robocop #1, March 1990, story by Alan Grant
Havoc, Marvel UK, issue #4, 3 August 1991, 55pCover by Barry Windsor-Smith, first published as the cover of Conan Saga #8 in 1987, albeit with some reworking.
Havoc, Marvel UK, issue #5, 10 August 1991, 55pThe cover appears to be an adaptation of interior art from Ghost Rider #1 (1990) by Javier Saltares and Mark Texira.
Havoc, Marvel UK, issue #6, 17 August 1991, 55pThis may again be an interior page from the 1990 Deathlok series, repurposed as a cover. Can anyone help?
Havoc, Marvel UK, issue #7, 24 August 1991, 55pCover is by Joe Chiodo, first published as the cover of the Robocop 2 Movie Adaptation Magazine published by Marvel in 1990
Havoc, Marvel UK, issue #8, 31 August 1991, 55p
Cover by Bill Sienkiewicz, first published as one of the artworks featured in the Conan Event: 1984 Calendar, but also used by Marvel UK as the cover of
Savage Sword of Conan #92, published in June 1982. It's possible this was from a transparency Paul Neary may have provided
Havoc, Marvel UK, issue #9, 7 September 1991, 55p
Art by Bill Sienkiewicz, first published as the cover of Deathlok #2 (of 4) (1990 series)