The magazine's origins lie in the earlier publication
Strange Days, an anthology title created by Ewins,
Brendan McCarthy and
Peter Milligan. Much of the non-strip content centred on alternative and indie music. Coupled with the subversive nature of many of the comic strips, the magazine had a distinctive
counterculture ethos and post-punk sensibility. The magazine was owned and financed by Tom Astor (grandson of
Nancy Astor), and initially edited by Steve Dillon and Brett Ewins before transferring editorship to Dave Elliott, then
Si Spencer and finally
Frank Wynne (a former staff member of
Crisis and subsequently translator of
Michel Houellebecq). Alongside original material, Elliott and Wynne also introduced reprints of American
alternative comics such as
Love and Rockets,
Bob Burden's
Flaming Carrot and
Evan Dorkin strips such as
Milk and Cheese. Elliott also arranged for content from the magazine to be reprinted in the
US by
Dark Horse Comics as
Deadline USA.
Deadline enjoyed the patronage of those who would not normally purchase comics and the support of several key bands of the time, with
Blur making regular appearances in the
Tank Girl strips (
Tank Girl artist
Jamie Hewlett was good friends with Blur's
Damon Albarn), and covers including
Ride,
Curve,
Carter USM and the
Senseless Things. However, the commercial failure of the
Tank Girl film and the crossing over of the alternative scene into the mainstream (around the time of
Britpop, a movement it had helped to champion) saw the magazine eventually fold at the end of 1995. In the late 2000s,
Alan Grant edited the title
Wasted, which owed much to the style and ethos of
Deadline a decade and a half earlier.
Comic strips published in Deadline (selected) •
Tank Girl, created by the young team of writer
Alan Martin and artist
Jamie Hewlett •
Johnny Nemo by
Brett Ewins and
Peter Milligan •
Wired World, by
Philip Bond •
Planet Swerve, by Alan Martin and
Glyn Dillon •
Hugo Tate, by
Nick Abadzis •
Cheeky Wee Budgie Boy, created and written by Jon Beeston, and drawn by Beeston and Philip Bond •
Timulo, by
D'Israeli •
A-Men, by
Shaky Kane •
Space Boss, by Shaky Kane •
Fireball by Jamie Hewlett •
Exit by Nabiel Kanan • several early works by
Al Columbia •
Box City,
Ruby Chan by Rachael Ball == References ==