Weirdworld

"Weirdworld" was a fantasy series created by Doug Moench and Mike Ploog for American company Marvel Comics, set in a dimension of magic. A comic book series titled Weirdworld debuted in 2015 as a tie-in to the Secret Wars storyline.

Publication history

Marvel Super Action

"Weirdworld" debuted in the first issue of the black-and-white magazine Marvel Super Action.^[1][2] It then was featured in the color comic Marvel Premiere #38 (Oct. 1977).^[3][4] In late 1977 or early 1978, co-creator Ploog left Marvel in a contract dispute while in the midst of drawing a 60-page "Weirdworld" story, written by Moench, that the company had planned to publish as one of its Marvel Comics Super Special series of one-shots. Ploog recalled in 1998 he had "a disagreement with [editor-in-chief] Jim Shooter. I had moved to a farm in Minnesota, and agreed to do a hand-colored 'Weirdworld' story. Marvel backed out of the deal after I had started. I can't remember the details, but it doesn't matter. I think I was ready to move on. Marvel and I were both changing."^[5] Richard Marschall, the story's editor, said in 1978 that Ploog had been given four months to complete the art, and when it became evident the deadline would not be met, arranged to publish the story in two 30-page installments, giving Ploog two more months. Ploog sent Marvel photocopies of the first 31 pages, and was paid for them. During this time, Marvel had given work-for-hire contracts to its freelancers, many of whom, including Ploog refused to sign, resulting in cessation of work for Marvel. Ploog "took himself off the project," said Marschall, and retained his original artwork.^[6] Moench's script was eventually published as a 106-page story illustrated by penciler John Buscema, inker Rudy Nebres, and airbrush colorist Peter Ledger as the three-part "Warriors of the Shadow Realm" in Marvel Super Special #11-13 (Spring - Fall 1979).^[7][8][9] Additional Weirdworld stories were published in several issues of Epic Illustrated in 1981 and 1982.^{[10][11][12][13]}

Ploog returned to draw the first part of a "Weirdworld" trilogy, in Marvel Fanfare #24 (Jan. 1986),^[14] with Pat Broderick penciling the two subsequent issues.^[15][16]

Characters

The protagonists were two elves : Tyndall^[17] and Velanna,^[18] both from the floating ring-shaped island of Klarn, and an irascible dwarf dubbed Mud-Butt because he tended to land on his backside in a quarrel.

Weirdworld (2015)

As part of the 2015 Secret Wars storyline, a series titled Weirdworld starring Arkon was released in June 2015. Weirdworld is featured on the map of the storyline's version of Battleworld.^[19]

Weirdworld vol. 2

In August 2015, it was announced that Weirdworld will remain part of the Marvel Universe post-Secret Wars, and will be the setting for a new series starring Dane Whitman, the Black Knight^[20] as well as a new volume of Weirdworld.^[21]

Rebecca "Becca" Rodriguez was an American teenager who was flying from the United States of America to Mexico on board Flight 789 in order to spread the ashes of her late mother. While traveling through the Bermuda Triangle, the Boeing 747 crashed into Weirdworld where its surviving occupants were rescued by Arkon. Rebecca encountered the Ogeode who stated that he caused the plane to crash with the artifact called the Wuxian Seed. Ogeode was then killed by Goleta the Wizardslayer with a witnessing Warg informing Witch Queen le Fay about it and the Wuxian Seed falling into Rebecca's possession. Alone in Weirdworld, Rebecca agreed to become Goleta's squire and the two set off together unknowingly being tracked by the Catbeast that had emerged from Ogeode's corpse.^[22]

Collected editions

• Weirdworld collects Marvel Premiere #38, Marvel Super Action #1, Marvel Fanfare #24-26, Marvel Super Special #11-13, and Epic Illustrated #9, 11-13, 312 pages, April 2015, ISBN 978-0785162889

References

External links

• "Middle-Earth the Mighty Marvel Way: Weirdworld". From the Sorcerer's Skull. February 1, 2010. Archived from the original on August 28, 2014.