Harrier Comics
| Status | defunct (1989) |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1984 |
| Founder | Martin Lock |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Headquarters location | Northwood, Middlesex |
| Key people | Martin Lock Phil Elliott |
| Publication types | Comic books |
| Fiction genres | Superheroes, science fiction, adventure, humor |
| Imprints | New Wave |
Harrier Comics (officially known as Harrier Publishing) was a British comic book publisher active in the mid-to-late 1980s. Harrier was notable for putting out black-and-white comics in a mold more similar to American comics than typical British fare. During their short existence, Harrier published more than 120 issues of over 30 titles.
Harrier was founded in 1984 by Martin Lock, a former member of the British Amateur Press Association. The success of Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles led to a short-lived explosion of black-and-white independent comics in the United States in the mid-1980s. The U.K. publisher Harrier's titles followed the same mold (unlike most British comics publishers, who favored the comic magazine format). Harrier's aesthetic was also inspired in some ways by the bold design of the UK's Escape magazine. The company's name was an homage to the famous British-designed military jet the Harrier.
Harrier's first title was Conqueror, written by Lock, which ran for nine issues. Its popularity spawned a number of spin-offs and one-shots, published throughout 1984 and 1985. 1985 also saw the first volume of Swiftsure (also written by Lock), which ran for six issues and was followed by a second volume in 1987.
In 1986, Harrier released Avalon, which ran 14 issues, and Redfox, which ran ten issues before being picked up by Valkyrie Press. Second City and Shock Therapy also debuted in 1986. That same year, Harrier published one issue of Lew Stringer's Brickman (a parody of Batman), which featured pages drawn by notable British creators Dave Gibbons, Mike Collins, Mark Farmer, and Kevin O'Neill, and an introduction written by Alan Moore. (A number of top UK professional comics artists gave their support to Harrier by contributing covers to various Harrier titles.)
...
Wikipedia