After a rush sell out, Rebellion Publishing have announced a new printing of the 40 Years of Scream! collection for November. The Treasury of British Comics title had sold out almost immediately before hitting shelves in May.
40 Years of Scream! collected all fifteen issues of the controversial and short-lived weekly wry horror anthology. The original comic ran from March 24 to June 30, 1984. Despite proving popular with readers at the time, publisher Fleetway – still reeling from a tabloid inflicted comics scandal less than a decade prior and the ongoing campaign against “video nasties” – got cold feet and soft-cancelled it, merging it into their Eagle comic revival in September 1984.
The ‘Archival Collection’ represents an interesting potential new publishing initiative from Rebellion, as it reprints every issue in entirety (sans advertisements) with colour covers and interior pages retained. It is not inconceivable to think that this may provide incentive for a similar approach to other titles in the publisher’s vault – not least Starlord, Misty, the early years of 2000 AD.
According to a Rebellion press release:
“All copies of the hardcover collection sold out before it was due to hit shelves in May this year, but thanks to overwhelming popular demand a reprint is now its way and will arrive in the 2000 AD and Treasury of British Comics webshops and all good retailers in late November.
“Produced ‘from the depths’ of King’s Reach Tower by the mysterious ‘undead’ editor Ghastly McNasty, the first issue of Scream! was unleashed in March 1984. More tongue-in-cheek than horrific, the comic was an immediate hit with younger fans as it included a pair of fake vampire fangs attached to the cover and a number of fantastic new strips from such legendary talents as Alan Moore, John Wagner, Jose Ortiz, Cam Kennedy, Tom Tully, Alan Grant and Eric Bradbury.”
Rebellion Senior Graphic Novels editor Keith Richardson added:
“Scream! was such an iconic and beloved title, so it was gratifying to see just how many people remember it and wanted to revisit its incredible stories. We’ve had so many requests to reprint the hardcover edition and I’m delighted that bring such a sumptuous collection to even more people.”
