Bloody Mary #2
Bloody Mary #2 is the second chapter of the first miniseries Garth Ennis produced for DC's short-lived Helix science-fiction imprint, making it a document of one of the mid-1990s' most ambitious — and ultimately doomed — experiments in genre publishing by a mainstream superhero house. The issue deepens the backstory of Corporal Mary Malone and her parasitically enhanced antagonist Anderton, continuing Ennis and Carlos Ezquerra's war-comics sensibility into near-future territory at a moment when both creators were near the peak of their critical standing. As part of Helix's inaugural wave of titles, it represents the imprint's attempt to carve out a mature science-fiction space distinct from both the superhero mainstream and the dark-fantasy brand of DC's Vertigo line.
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The Helix imprint was conceived by editor Stuart Moore under DC publisher Paul Levitz, who had long wanted a dedicated science-fiction line; the imprint launched in July 1996 and was initially known internally as 'Matrix' before being renamed to avoid confusion with the then-upcoming film. Garth Ennis and Carlos Ezquerra — veterans of the British 2000 AD and war-comics tradition — were recruited as part of Helix's debut wave of creator talent, which also included Howard Chaykin, Warren Ellis, Walt Simonson, and Michael Moorcock. Bloody Mary #2, cover-dated November 1996, was lettered by Annie Parkhouse and colored by Matt Hollingsworth, with editorial oversight by Stuart Moore and Julie Rottenberg; a Dynamic Forces signed and numbered edition of the issue, limited to 300 copies, was also produced at the time of release.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Written by Garth Ennis; art and cover by Carlos Ezquerra; lettered by Annie Parkhouse; colored by Matt Hollingsworth.
- Published November 1996 by DC Comics under the Helix science-fiction imprint, edited by Stuart Moore and Julie Rottenberg.
- Second of four issues in the first Bloody Mary miniseries, which ran October 1996–January 1997.
- The issue advances the central conflict: Mary Malone and her ally 'the Major' pursue Anderton — a rogue former kill-team leader now enhanced by the Blood Dragon parasite — to Amsterdam for an aerial showdown, while the assassin known as the Vatman closes in.
- All characters (Mary Malone, the Major, Anderton, the Vatman) are original creations by Ennis and Ezquerra; the series has no connection to DC's superhero universe.
- A Dynamic Forces variant of issue #2 was signed and numbered by Garth Ennis, limited to 300 copies, and included a Certificate of Authenticity.
- Both Bloody Mary miniseries were later collected in a single trade paperback (DC/Vertigo, 2005, ISBN 1-4012-0725-1), and Image Comics issued a further reprint collecting both volumes in 2016.
- The Helix imprint, of which this series was a founding title, was discontinued in 1998 after low sales; Transmetropolitan, its only breakout title, transferred to Vertigo, and Helix's collected editions were later republished under the Vertigo brand.