Dark Star and Sounds Axel first appeared in the strip "Three-Eyes McGurk and his Death Planet Commandos", serialized in four issues of the British
rock music magazine
Dark Star in 1979–1980. Further Axel stories appeared in
Sounds in the period 1980–1983; these were mostly written and drawn by "Curt Vile" (
Alan Moore). From that period onward, all Axel stories were written by "Pedro Henry" (
Steve Moore).
Warrior Steve Moore worked with editor
Dez Skinn at
Marvel UK, and when Skinn set up his own title
Warrior he asked the writer to join the project. Steve Moore struck on a revival of Axel Pressbutton for one of his contributions to the
anthology. Skinn requested a female co-lead be added to the strip, leading to the creation of
Mysta Mistralis a futuristic hit woman or "Laser Eraser". As Alan Moore had decided to focus on writing,
Steve Dillon came onboard as artist. Some stories featured the bizarre supporting character Zirk, drawn by such artists as
Garry Leach and
Brian Bolland. Zirk won the 1983
Eagle Award for Favourite Supporting Character.
Laser Eraser and Pressbutton was featured on the cover of the magazine's debut issue, and the fourth issue (also known as the
Warrior Summer Special) was detailed Axel's origin in a standalone story with art from David Jackson. Eclipse's promotion for the series linked it firmly to the
British Invasion, and claimed the first issue had "sold out". The title received positive reviews. Eclipse then continued the series with new material written by "Henry", also offering a free subscription to anyone who correctly guessed the writer's identity. While initially the company planned to continue the
Axel Pressbutton series, it was instead published as a new series, now named
Laser Eraser and Pressbutton. Dillon returned to draw the first issue, while
David Lloyd and Jerry Paris also contributed before
Mike Collins took over as regular artist. The book was initially announced as a 12-issue maxi-series, and part of Eclipse's short-lived 75¢ line, with Moore's
Twilight World as a back-up. Eclipse also produced the one-shot
3-D Laser Eraser and Pressbutton, featuring black-and-white stories treated in
stereoscopy by
Ray Zone. From #5, the price increased to 95¢, and the comic was cancelled after 6 issues. Axel and Mysta then appeared in back-up stories in
Miracleman #9–12.
Revivals Moore retained copyright to the characters, and later one-off stories appeared in anthology publications such as
A1 and
Blast!, always written by "Henry". In 2006, artist
Jon Haward announced a new story featuring Laser Eraser and Pressbutton. Written by Moore, the story was planned to go online on Haward's website in October 2006, but Steve Moore died in 2014 and the story remains unpublished. == Character biography ==