British horror magazine Scream! is easy to explain. Another in the EC horror-inspired anthology series. Nothing could be further from the truth. This is as lazy and short-sighted an observation as claiming that Hammer Films were simply British versions of Hollywood’s Universal Monsters movies. Similar to its work in the film world, Scream! EC focused on some of the same classic horrors, but added its own flavor to create a separate identity. They were characterized by their national politics, satirical traditions, and definitions of fear.
Scream! was published weekly and ran from March to June 1984, featuring both ongoing and stand-alone stories in a similar style to another British comics classic, 2000AD (which began publication in 1977). A total of 15 issues were released, along with a series of special issues that followed the same format.
Rebellion, the current publisher of original material published in 2000AD and Scream (both formerly part of IPC Magazines), has released a new book collecting special issues of the magazines. It’s called Scream! The Specials 1985-2024 is a companion to their first book, 40 Years of Scream!: The Archival Collection.
By combining these two books, fans and new readers alike can get everything Scream-related in a comprehensive package adorned with an eerie black and silver cover. It’s like holding a piece of horror history in your hands.
scream! An interesting case in horror. The stories that accompanied each issue represented a variety of styles and tones, from macabre satires of British culture to comedic genre pieces that followed in the footsteps of old DC Thompson cartoons (such as Bash Street Kids and The Bruins), but only contained the ironic sensibilities of shows like The Addams Family and The Munsters.
Some of our current stories stand out for the original flair behind their concepts, putting new spins on well-worn tropes. For example, “The Dracula Files” follows the iconic titular vampire as he navigates the harsh political climate of the Cold War. The story, written by Jerry Finlay-Day and Simon Fuhrman and illustrated by Eric Bradbury, follows a KGB agent called Stachys as he crosses the Eastern Bloc in pursuit of a vampire.
The comic mixes folk horror, Bram Stoker-centric design, spy novels, and a bit of hippie culture for an experience as sharp as a political thriller and as intense as a Hammer family Christopher Lee Dracula movie.
On the other hand, the spirit of Grand Guignol is felt throughout, and gruesome vampire slayings are on offer galore. On the other hand, the cat-and-mouse game between Stachys and Dracula can dredge up memories of MAD Magazine’s spy-versus-spy strips, where two deadly enemies are locked in an endless slapstick battle. However, there’s no slapstick in “The Dracula Files.” Just some good old-fashioned neck-biting and heart-staking as a courtesy to two beings who won’t give up the fight.
“13th Floor” is also Scream! favorite. Conceived by John Wagner and Alan Grant (pseudonym Ian Holland), it centers on a residential building named Maxwell Tower, which is 13 stories short. The building is run by a flawed artificial intelligence that creates the Lost 13th Floor whenever it needs to punish those who bully or harass its residents.
The AI causes unimaginable fear in its victims, making them wish they had never touched anyone who calls Maxwell Tower home. “The Thirteenth Floor” harks back to a time when technology was still seen as a friendly psycho, a semi-genocidal machine trying to be fair. This shows us the AI we want, but given the way things are going, it’s clearly not what we’re getting.
Special books include issues published after Rebellion took over. Some of the stories are new takes on classic strips. It will be a special treat for those who have already spent time with the original story. Legends like Dave Gibbons, Ron Smith, and Barry Tomlinson will be joined by current star creators like Torunn Gronbekk, Alex Paknadel, and Anna Readman.
Reedman and George Pulley’s one-shot novel “And His Skin Is Cold” is one of the highlights of the Specials. This is a vicious rock’n’roll horror story centered around a seemingly invulnerable Jim Morrison-like lead singer. Is it a play on Faust, or is it something entirely different and more monstrous? Reedman’s design is the star here, with a sense of violence that is both gritty and scary at the same time.
scream! It shaped generations of readers and creators with its brand of terror. It has managed to carve out its own space in the horror field while still having its own influences. This was not a British copy of an American horror comic. The magazine spoke to a readership with its own dark tastes. Both Archives and Special Books are must-haves for fans of all genres. If you go on long enough, you might end up squealing once or twice before you turn the last page. It’s just not for the faint of heart.
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