Durham Red

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Durham Red

The cover of 2000 AD #1078.
Art by Mark Harrison
Publication information
Publisher IPC Magazines/Rebellion Developments
First appearance 2000 AD #505 (1987)
Created by John Wagner
Alan Grant
Carlos Ezquerra
In story information
Alter ego Durham Red
Team affiliations None, Strontium Dogs
Notable aliases Red, The Blood Queen, Empress Redwina, Saint Scarlett, The Abomination, The Blasphemy, Brite Red
Abilities Super-strength
Super agility
Bloodlust
Regenerative powers
Long Lifespan
Superhuman senses

Durham Red was originally created in 1987 as a female sidekick and lover for Johnny Alpha in the long-running British comicbook series Strontium Dog. She was a sexy bounty hunter with a mutation that gave her a vampiric lust for blood.

Durham Red proved popular from her first appearance, and following the death of Johnny Alpha she was given a leading role in the spin-off series Strontium Dogs. Following the sacking of writer Peter Hogan, the series was handed to Dan Abnett. Abnett's first action was to place Red in suspended animation and have her awake a thousand years after Strontium Dog continuity, in a universe where she was worshipped as a mythical saint of mutants.

Aided by some strong art from Mark Harrison, the series enjoyed a long run. However, in 2004, the final story of the arc was printed, envisioning Durham Red surviving another thousand years, watching over the end of the human race and the beginning of a mutant universe.

Contents

[edit] Bibliography

She has appeared in a number of strips and featured in her own Durham Red title:

[edit] Appearances

[edit] Featured

[edit] Novels

Peter J. Evans has written a number of Durham Red novels that have been published by Black Flame:

[edit] Trivia

 Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines.
The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones.
  • When the character was being devised, there was some debate over whether she should be called Durham Red or Chelsea Blue.[citation needed]
  • The Strontium Dog stories Red originally appeared in have since been deemed non-canonical, as part of Johnny Alpha's revival. This leaves Red in an unusual position in terms of continuity. The original Strontium Dog stories have been reclassified as tellings of the legend of Johnny Alpha, while the current stories are the "truth". As such, it is possible that the whole Durham Red saga spins off from events that never actually happened in the Strontium Dog universe. Some fans call this "Knots Landing continuity", echoing that television show's crossover into episodes of Dallas which were later revealed as part of a dream sequence.
  • Certain critics have said[citation needed] that Rayne, from the videogame series BloodRayne shows a strong similarity to Durham Red, having the same weapons and distinctive red hair, although that claim has been denied by the TRI representatives.[1] In a posting on the then active BloodRayne.co.uk fan forums Joe Wampole, a developer for BloodRayne had this to say,

"Durham Red looks like a cool character but we've never heard of her. It is coincidence that her and BloodRayne look so similar. The symbol on the hair is similar but looks more like a target, while Rayne's looks a little like Prince's symbol. Also, it looks like Durham is set in some alternate super sci-fi future. I think it is just natural to put a vamp chick in black leather and either color her hair black or red."[2]

[edit] References

  1. ^ AT's Top 10 Video Game Chicks Actiontrip. Retrieved on December 2, 2007
  2. ^ Bloodrayne.co.uk (October, 2002). Retrieved on 2007-12-11.

[edit] External links