Dez Skinn
Encyclopedia
Derek "Dez" Skinn is a British comic
and magazine
editor
, and author of a number of books on comics. As head of Marvel Comics
' operations in England
in the late 1970s, Skinn reformatted existing titles, launched new ones, and acquired the BBC
license for Doctor Who Weekly. After leaving Marvel UK
, Skinn founded and edited Warrior, which featured key works by Alan Moore
.
Called by some the "British Stan Lee
," Skinn is one of British comics' most influential figures. He has also caused no small amount of controversy in his career, specifically related to legal issues regarding his publishing new adventures of the 1950s character Marvelman
, as well as charges of plagiarism about Skinn's 2004 book Comix: The Underground Revolution.
) in 1970
, where he was sub-editor on Whizzer and Chips
, Cor!!
, and Buster. Also Father of Chapel of the local branch of the National Union of Journalists, he became an editor before leaving, on the Buster Book of Spooky Stories (1975 and 1976).
publishing. He took over editing MAD UK, Tarzan
, Korak
, and Laurel and Hardy
, revived Monster Mag, and launched House of Hammer, which won the 1976 Eagle Award for Best UK Title. (Skinn also won the 1977 Eagle Award for Best Editor for his revamping of MAD UK.)
, Skinn independently created the science fiction monthly Starburst
, published under Skinn's own Starburst Publishing Ltd. Sporting the tagline "Science Fantasy in Television, Cinema and Comix," Starburst contained news, interviews, features and reviews of science fiction material in various media (including TV, film, soundtracks, multimedia, comics and "collectibles"). Starburst won the 1978 Eagle Award for Best UK Title.
by Stan Lee
to reshape Marvel's floundering UK reprint division. (With issue #4, Marvel also bought and began to publish Starburst.) In his 15 months as editorial director for Marvel UK
, Skinn reported directly to Lee; he reformatted existing titles Marvel Comic, Star Wars
Weekly, and Spider-Man
Comics Weekly, plus monthlies Rampage and Savage Sword of Conan
. In addition, Skinn launched Doctor Who Weekly
and Hulk Comic, among many other titles (Frantic, Marvel Pocket Books, Star Heroes, TV Heroes, summer specials, winter specials...).
In 2010 Skinn received a Guinness World Records
certificate and credit for creating the world's longest-lasting TV tie-in magazine for Doctor Who Weekly
.
, where Skinn founded and edited the comics anthology Warrior. Warrior went on to win 17 Eagle Awards
, introduce V for Vendetta
, and revive Marvelman
/Miracleman
.
In 1990, Quality Communications launched the comics trade magazine Comics International
, which Skinn published and edited for the following 16 years. His "Sez Dez" column was a regular feature in issues #100–#200, at which point Skinn sold the magazine in 2006 to Cosmic Publications. Since 2005, Quality has published The Jack Kirby
Quarterly and The Art of John Watkiss
.
, telling him that "Marvelman
's copyright had belonged to the publisher L. Miller & Son
, ... that they had gone bankrupt in 1963[,] and that the rights to Marvelman had passed to the Official Receiver
[and therefore] could be purchased for a very small amount...”; and asked Moore if he “would ... like to ... contribute to this new retelling of Marvelman.”
A quarter-century later Moore found out that Marvelman creator “Mick Anglo
had always owned the copyright, that it had never been owned by L. Miller & Son, and that they had not gone bankrupt, but had concluded their affairs quietly in 1963 .... Basically, Mick Anglo had been robbed of his ownership of [Marvelman].” According to Moore, “I was not on the best of terms with Dez Skinn by the end of the Warrior experience. I didn’t trust the man, and my opinion — for what that is worth — is that there was knowing deceit involved in the Marvelman decision.”
But according to Skinn, he had met with Anglo three times before assigning creators to Marvelman and Anglo had expressed no problem with the relaunch then or for the following 20+ years. Skinn cites quotes by Mick Anglo from George Koury's 2001 book Kimota: "[Regarding ownership] I don't know; that was Miller's sort of thing ... Dez contacted me and he wanted to revive it and I said go ahead and do what you like."
After Warrior magazine folded due to poor sales, Skinn signed a deal with independent American publisher Eclipse Comics
to reprint the Marvelman stories (under the title Miracleman) before continuing the storyline with new material by Moore and later Neil Gaiman
. According to an editorial by then-Eclipse editor Cat Yronwode in Miracleman #24:
For Kimota!:The Miracleman Companion George Khoury interviewed both Skinn and Yronwode—separately—and asked each about the claims published in Miracleman #24. Skinn claimed to Khoury that “[a]bout ten years after that Miracleman #24 letters page,” he and Yronwode had a “conversation via e-mail about that outrageous stuff.” According to Skinn, Yronwode informed him that “Dean [Mullaney, Eclipse Comics
co-founder,] had filled her head with those stories” and apologized to him. But when Khoury relayed this to Yronwode during his interview with her she denied it, maintaining that the “conversation with Dez Skinn about that” never happened and that she never apologized.
. Rosenkranz alleged that "Skinn’s book extensively “borrowed” from [his own book] Rebel Visions: The Underground Comix Revolution 1963-1975" by using as its title "the same four words, cleverly rearranged, [used] as the subtitle of [his] book," "helping himself to quotes from many interviews [he] conducted, repeating facts and figures that [he] dug up," and "reprint[ing] seven of [his] photographs without permission." Skinn responded by insisting that "No theft was intended". According to Skinn, those seven photographs had been implemented by one of the ghost writers subcontracted by him and when Skinn found out about it, he apologized to and paid Rosenkranz. Also according to Skinn, the book title was chosen by the commissioning publisher.
Robbins noted that she wrote Chapter 6, "Girls on Top?" for Comix: The Underground Revolution but was not given credit. "... Dez e-mailed me with a request to contribute a chapter on women in the underground ... I did get paid for it ... one usually expects to be credited for what one writes". Skinn informed Robbins that no sub-contractors were credited in any of the publisher's titles, and that as the chapter was primarily about her, any such credit would have completely undermined its apparent objectivity.
, again voted for by the general public, and presented by Jonathan Ross and Paul Gambaccini.
Skinn also received a Guinness World Record award in 2010 for his Doctor Who Weekly creation being the world's longest-running TV tie-in.
Comics
Comics denotes a hybrid medium having verbal side of its vocabulary tightly tied to its visual side in order to convey narrative or information only, the latter in case of non-fiction comics, seeking synergy by using both visual and verbal side in...
and magazine
Magazine
Magazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...
editor
Editing
Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, and film media used to convey information through the processes of correction, condensation, organization, and other modifications performed with an intention of producing a correct, consistent, accurate, and complete...
, and author of a number of books on comics. As head of Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
' operations in England
Marvel UK
Marvel UK was an imprint of Marvel Comics formed in 1972 to reprint US produced stories for the British weekly comic market, though it later did produce original material by British creators such as Alan Moore, John Wagner, Dave Gibbons, Steve Dillon and Grant Morrison.Panini Comics obtained the...
in the late 1970s, Skinn reformatted existing titles, launched new ones, and acquired the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
license for Doctor Who Weekly. After leaving Marvel UK
Marvel UK
Marvel UK was an imprint of Marvel Comics formed in 1972 to reprint US produced stories for the British weekly comic market, though it later did produce original material by British creators such as Alan Moore, John Wagner, Dave Gibbons, Steve Dillon and Grant Morrison.Panini Comics obtained the...
, Skinn founded and edited Warrior, which featured key works by Alan Moore
Alan Moore
Alan Oswald Moore is an English writer primarily known for his work in comic books, a medium where he has produced a number of critically acclaimed and popular series, including Watchmen, V for Vendetta, and From Hell...
.
Called by some the "British Stan Lee
Stan Lee
Stan Lee is an American comic book writer, editor, actor, producer, publisher, television personality, and the former president and chairman of Marvel Comics....
," Skinn is one of British comics' most influential figures. He has also caused no small amount of controversy in his career, specifically related to legal issues regarding his publishing new adventures of the 1950s character Marvelman
Marvelman
Marvelman, also known as Miracleman for trademark reasons in his American reprints and story continuation, is a fictional comic book superhero created in 1954 by writer-artist Mick Anglo for publisher L. Miller & Son. Originally intended as a United Kingdom home-grown substitute for the American...
, as well as charges of plagiarism about Skinn's 2004 book Comix: The Underground Revolution.
IPC
Skinn started at IPC Magazines (now known as IPC MediaIPC Media
IPC Media , a wholly owned subsidiary of Time Inc., is a consumer magazine and digital publisher in the United Kingdom, with a large portfolio selling over 350 million copies each year.- Origins :...
) in 1970
1970 in comics
This is a list of comics-related events in 1970.- Events and publications :* Denis Kitchen founds Kitchen Sink Press in Princeton, Wisconsin-January:...
, where he was sub-editor on Whizzer and Chips
Whizzer and Chips
Whizzer and Chips was a British comic magazine that ran from 18 October 1969 to 27 October 1990, when it merged with the comic Buster. As with most comics of the time, Whizzer and Chips was dated one week ahead....
, Cor!!
Cor!!
Cor!!, a British comic book Was launched in June 1970 by IPC , their sixth new comic in just over a year. Cor!! was edited by Bob Paynter....
, and Buster. Also Father of Chapel of the local branch of the National Union of Journalists, he became an editor before leaving, on the Buster Book of Spooky Stories (1975 and 1976).
Warner Bros.
Skinn left IPC to expand the comics arm of Warner Bros.Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
publishing. He took over editing MAD UK, Tarzan
Tarzan (comics)
Tarzan, a fictional character created by Edgar Rice Burroughs, first appeared in the 1912 novel Tarzan of the Apes, and then in 23 sequels. The character proved immensely popular and quickly made the jump to other media, including comics.-Comic strips:...
, Korak
Korak
Korak [long "O"] is the ape name of John 'Jack' Clayton, the son of Tarzan and Jane.-History:Jack first appeared in the original Tarzan novels by Edgar Rice Burroughs. He was introduced as an infant in the non-Tarzan novel The Eternal Lover , in which the Ape Man and his family played supporting...
, and Laurel and Hardy
Laurel and Hardy
Laurel and Hardy were one of the most popular and critically acclaimed comedy double acts of the early Classical Hollywood era of American cinema...
, revived Monster Mag, and launched House of Hammer, which won the 1976 Eagle Award for Best UK Title. (Skinn also won the 1977 Eagle Award for Best Editor for his revamping of MAD UK.)
Starburst
In January 19781978 in comics
This is a list of comics-related events in 1978.- Year overall :* DC suffers the DC Implosion, the abrupt cancellation of more than two dozen ongoing and planned titles, with the vast majority of the books leaving uncompleted storylines .* Archie Goodwin resigns as Marvel Comics editor-in-chief,...
, Skinn independently created the science fiction monthly Starburst
Starburst (magazine)
Starburst is a British science fiction online magazine published by Starburst Magazine Limited. The magazine is published every month on the 14th, with news and reviews being published daily.-History:...
, published under Skinn's own Starburst Publishing Ltd. Sporting the tagline "Science Fantasy in Television, Cinema and Comix," Starburst contained news, interviews, features and reviews of science fiction material in various media (including TV, film, soundtracks, multimedia, comics and "collectibles"). Starburst won the 1978 Eagle Award for Best UK Title.
Marvel UK
Thanks in part to the success of Starburst, Skinn was headhuntedExecutive search
Executive search is the consultative process of recruiting individuals to fill senior executive positions in organizations. Executive search may be performed by an organization's board of directors, or by an outside executive search organization....
by Stan Lee
Stan Lee
Stan Lee is an American comic book writer, editor, actor, producer, publisher, television personality, and the former president and chairman of Marvel Comics....
to reshape Marvel's floundering UK reprint division. (With issue #4, Marvel also bought and began to publish Starburst.) In his 15 months as editorial director for Marvel UK
Marvel UK
Marvel UK was an imprint of Marvel Comics formed in 1972 to reprint US produced stories for the British weekly comic market, though it later did produce original material by British creators such as Alan Moore, John Wagner, Dave Gibbons, Steve Dillon and Grant Morrison.Panini Comics obtained the...
, Skinn reported directly to Lee; he reformatted existing titles Marvel Comic, Star Wars
Star Wars
Star Wars is an American epic space opera film series created by George Lucas. The first film in the series was originally released on May 25, 1977, under the title Star Wars, by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, followed by two sequels, released at three-year...
Weekly, and Spider-Man
Spider-Man
Spider-Man is a fictional Marvel Comics superhero. The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and writer-artist Steve Ditko. He first appeared in Amazing Fantasy #15...
Comics Weekly, plus monthlies Rampage and Savage Sword of Conan
Savage Sword of Conan
The Savage Sword of Conan was a black-and-white magazine-format comic book series published beginning in 1974 by Curtis Magazines, an imprint of Marvel Comics, and then later by Marvel itself. Savage Sword of Conan starred Robert E...
. In addition, Skinn launched Doctor Who Weekly
Doctor Who Magazine
Doctor Who Magazine is a magazine devoted to the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who...
and Hulk Comic, among many other titles (Frantic, Marvel Pocket Books, Star Heroes, TV Heroes, summer specials, winter specials...).
In 2010 Skinn received a Guinness World Records
Guinness World Records
Guinness World Records, known until 2000 as The Guinness Book of Records , is a reference book published annually, containing a collection of world records, both human achievements and the extremes of the natural world...
certificate and credit for creating the world's longest-lasting TV tie-in magazine for Doctor Who Weekly
Doctor Who Magazine
Doctor Who Magazine is a magazine devoted to the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who...
.
Quality Communications
Leaving Marvel in 1980 for his own company, the London West End Studio System, Skinn worked primarily in advertising design for both the film and fashion industry. In 1982 he returned to publishing with his own company, Quality CommunicationsQuality Communications
Quality Communications is a British publishing company founded by Dez Skinn in 1982. Quality was initially formed to publish the award-winning monthly comics anthology Warrior. The company has been involved with comics in both the UK and the U.S., mainly with reprint material from Warrior and...
, where Skinn founded and edited the comics anthology Warrior. Warrior went on to win 17 Eagle Awards
Eagle Awards
The Eagle Award is a series of awards for comic book titles and creators. They are awarded by UK fan voting for work produced during the previous year. Named after the UK's Eagle comic, the awards were set up by Mike Conroy, Nick Landau, Colin Campbell, Phil Clarke and Richard Burton, and launched...
, introduce V for Vendetta
V for Vendetta
V for Vendetta is a ten-issue comic book series written by Alan Moore and illustrated mostly by David Lloyd, set in a dystopian future United Kingdom imagined from the 1980s to about the 1990s. A mysterious masked revolutionary who calls himself "V" works to destroy the totalitarian government,...
, and revive Marvelman
Marvelman
Marvelman, also known as Miracleman for trademark reasons in his American reprints and story continuation, is a fictional comic book superhero created in 1954 by writer-artist Mick Anglo for publisher L. Miller & Son. Originally intended as a United Kingdom home-grown substitute for the American...
/Miracleman
Miracleman
Marvelman, also known as Miracleman for trademark reasons in his American reprints and story continuation, is a fictional comic book superhero created in 1954 by writer-artist Mick Anglo for publisher L. Miller & Son. Originally intended as a United Kingdom home-grown substitute for the American...
.
In 1990, Quality Communications launched the comics trade magazine Comics International
Comics International
Comics International was a British news and reviews magazine about comic books. Founded in 1990, it was published monthly by Quality Communications until 2006...
, which Skinn published and edited for the following 16 years. His "Sez Dez" column was a regular feature in issues #100–#200, at which point Skinn sold the magazine in 2006 to Cosmic Publications. Since 2005, Quality has published The Jack Kirby
Jack Kirby
Jack Kirby , born Jacob Kurtzberg, was an American comic book artist, writer and editor regarded by historians and fans as one of the major innovators and most influential creators in the comic book medium....
Quarterly and The Art of John Watkiss
John Watkiss
John Watkiss is an artist who has worked in both comics and film. Born in England in 1961.After growing up in the Midlands in England, John Watkiss graduated from The Faculty of Arts and Architecture, Brighton University with a bachelor of Fine Arts degree...
.
Columnist
Skinn now writes a column called "The Skinny" for Future plc’s comics trade magazine Comic Heroes and because of his strong beliefs in education through entertainment and the increasing world levels in illiteracy, he has recently begun working with the Abu Dhabi Music and Arts Foundation, initially chairing a discussion there on Comics and Literacy in the Middle East which has led to his becoming curator of the newly-created Middle East Film and Comic Con.Marvelman (a.k.a. Miracleman)
Before launching Warrior, Skinn contacted writer Alan MooreAlan Moore
Alan Oswald Moore is an English writer primarily known for his work in comic books, a medium where he has produced a number of critically acclaimed and popular series, including Watchmen, V for Vendetta, and From Hell...
, telling him that "Marvelman
Marvelman
Marvelman, also known as Miracleman for trademark reasons in his American reprints and story continuation, is a fictional comic book superhero created in 1954 by writer-artist Mick Anglo for publisher L. Miller & Son. Originally intended as a United Kingdom home-grown substitute for the American...
's copyright had belonged to the publisher L. Miller & Son
L. Miller & Son, Ltd.
L. Miller & Son, Ltd. was a British publisher of magazines, comic books, and pulp fiction intended primarily to take advantage of the British ban on importing printed matter. Between 1943 and 1966, the firm published British editions of many American comic books, primarily those of Fawcett Comics...
, ... that they had gone bankrupt in 1963[,] and that the rights to Marvelman had passed to the Official Receiver
Official Receiver
An officer of the Insolvency Service of the United Kingdom, the Official Receiver is an officer of the court to which he is attached. The OR is therefore answerable to the courts for carrying out the courts' orders and for fulfilling his duties under law...
[and therefore] could be purchased for a very small amount...”; and asked Moore if he “would ... like to ... contribute to this new retelling of Marvelman.”
A quarter-century later Moore found out that Marvelman creator “Mick Anglo
Mick Anglo
Michael "Mick" Anglo was a British comic book writer, editor and artist, as well as an author. He is best known for creating the superhero Marvelman, later known as Miracleman.-Biography:...
had always owned the copyright, that it had never been owned by L. Miller & Son, and that they had not gone bankrupt, but had concluded their affairs quietly in 1963 .... Basically, Mick Anglo had been robbed of his ownership of [Marvelman].” According to Moore, “I was not on the best of terms with Dez Skinn by the end of the Warrior experience. I didn’t trust the man, and my opinion — for what that is worth — is that there was knowing deceit involved in the Marvelman decision.”
But according to Skinn, he had met with Anglo three times before assigning creators to Marvelman and Anglo had expressed no problem with the relaunch then or for the following 20+ years. Skinn cites quotes by Mick Anglo from George Koury's 2001 book Kimota: "[Regarding ownership] I don't know; that was Miller's sort of thing ... Dez contacted me and he wanted to revive it and I said go ahead and do what you like."
After Warrior magazine folded due to poor sales, Skinn signed a deal with independent American publisher Eclipse Comics
Eclipse Comics
Eclipse Comics was an American comic book publisher, one of several independent publishers during the 1980s and early 1990s. In 1978, it published the first graphic novel intended for the newly created comic book specialty store market...
to reprint the Marvelman stories (under the title Miracleman) before continuing the storyline with new material by Moore and later Neil Gaiman
Neil Gaiman
Neil Richard Gaiman born 10 November 1960)is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, graphic novels, audio theatre and films. His notable works include the comic book series The Sandman and novels Stardust, American Gods, Coraline, and The Graveyard Book...
. According to an editorial by then-Eclipse editor Cat Yronwode in Miracleman #24:
For Kimota!:The Miracleman Companion George Khoury interviewed both Skinn and Yronwode—separately—and asked each about the claims published in Miracleman #24. Skinn claimed to Khoury that “[a]bout ten years after that Miracleman #24 letters page,” he and Yronwode had a “conversation via e-mail about that outrageous stuff.” According to Skinn, Yronwode informed him that “Dean [Mullaney, Eclipse Comics
Eclipse Comics
Eclipse Comics was an American comic book publisher, one of several independent publishers during the 1980s and early 1990s. In 1978, it published the first graphic novel intended for the newly created comic book specialty store market...
co-founder,] had filled her head with those stories” and apologized to him. But when Khoury relayed this to Yronwode during his interview with her she denied it, maintaining that the “conversation with Dez Skinn about that” never happened and that she never apologized.
Comix: The Underground Revolution
In 2004 Skinn "authored" the book Comix: The Underground Revolution for publisher Collins & Brown. Skinn's authorship of the book was contested by Patrick Rosenkranz and Trina RobbinsTrina Robbins
Trina Robbins is an American comics artist and writer. She was an early and influential participant in the underground comix movement, and one of the few female artists in underground comix when she started. Both as a cartoonist and historian, Robbins has long been involved in creating outlets for...
. Rosenkranz alleged that "Skinn’s book extensively “borrowed” from [his own book] Rebel Visions: The Underground Comix Revolution 1963-1975" by using as its title "the same four words, cleverly rearranged, [used] as the subtitle of [his] book," "helping himself to quotes from many interviews [he] conducted, repeating facts and figures that [he] dug up," and "reprint[ing] seven of [his] photographs without permission." Skinn responded by insisting that "No theft was intended". According to Skinn, those seven photographs had been implemented by one of the ghost writers subcontracted by him and when Skinn found out about it, he apologized to and paid Rosenkranz. Also according to Skinn, the book title was chosen by the commissioning publisher.
Robbins noted that she wrote Chapter 6, "Girls on Top?" for Comix: The Underground Revolution but was not given credit. "... Dez e-mailed me with a request to contribute a chapter on women in the underground ... I did get paid for it ... one usually expects to be credited for what one writes". Skinn informed Robbins that no sub-contractors were credited in any of the publisher's titles, and that as the chapter was primarily about her, any such credit would have completely undermined its apparent objectivity.
Eagle Award
He has won a number of Eagle Awards:- 1976: "Best UK title", for House of Hammer (editor)
- 1977: "Best Editor", for revamping MADMad (magazine)Mad is an American humor magazine founded by editor Harvey Kurtzman and publisher William Gaines in 1952. Launched as a comic book before it became a magazine, it was widely imitated and influential, impacting not only satirical media but the entire cultural landscape of the 20th century.The last...
magazine - 1978: "Best UK title", for Starburst MagazineStarburst (magazine)Starburst is a British science fiction online magazine published by Starburst Magazine Limited. The magazine is published every month on the 14th, with news and reviews being published daily.-History:...
(editor) - 1982: "Best UK title", for Warrior
- 1983: "Best UK title", for Warrior
- 1984: "Best UK title", for Warrior
National Comics Awards
After a decade or so, the Eagle Awards became dormant and were replaced in 1997 by the National Comics AwardsNational Comics Awards
National Comics Awards are given out on an annual basis for comic book and related material published in the United Kingdom the previous year.-History:...
, again voted for by the general public, and presented by Jonathan Ross and Paul Gambaccini.
- 1997: "Role of Honour"
- 1999: "Best specialist magazine or website", for Comics InternationalComics InternationalComics International was a British news and reviews magazine about comic books. Founded in 1990, it was published monthly by Quality Communications until 2006...
- 2001: "Best specialist magazine or website", for Comics International
- 2003: "Best specialist magazine or website", for Comics International
Society of Strip Illustration
- 1982: "The Frank BellamyFrank BellamyFrank Bellamy was a British comics artist, best known for his work on the Eagle comic, for which he illustrated Heros the Spartan and Fraser of Africa. He reworked its flagship Dan Dare strip....
Award for Lifetime Achievement"
Skinn also received a Guinness World Record award in 2010 for his Doctor Who Weekly creation being the world's longest-running TV tie-in.