Numerous replaces reported it and then the founding editor confirmed it. The British comics magazine, Comics International, has ceased to be. I’ve read a lot of comic book magazines over the years, from The Comics Buyer’s Guide and The Comics Journal to Wizard and Hero Illustrated. My favorite of all of them was Comics International, which was founded by Dez Skinn and under his guidance ran for 200 issues.

Dez was no stranger to comics before CI – he worked on the magazines Doctor Who Weekly and House of Hammer and founded his own company, Quality Communications. From there he launched the acclaimed Warrior magazine which featured the revival of Marvelman/Miracleman as well as the original V For Vendetta. He started CI back in 1990.

Before everything came available on the internet, CI had news about comics from all over, with a huge pile of stuff on the British comics scene – shows, creators, independent comics, newsstand comics, small press, interviews, dozens of reviews, just a great mix of material and without too much fanboy cheerleading or retro navel gazing. A very slick and professional product. There was always something in each issue that could point me to a new, interesting and previously undiscovered project. I looked forward to each issue because they were so dense with tightly packed info that I’d read through it for weeks just to make sure I didn’t miss anything.

Dez loved comics and the people who created them and you could feel that in each issue. Dez and I bumped into each other on the convention circuit when he made his way to the US and he was always a worthy chat – lots of humor and good fun. He would make an excellent talk-show host, if the whole intellectual property business dries up.

Dez sold Comics International a couple of years ago and moved on. He has this knack for knowing when it’s time to shift gears and do the next thing and he got out just before the magazine business started rapidly going downhill.

Dez is still around, thank goodness. He just launched his own website, which he jokingly calls a work in progress and a showcase “of my crimes against humanity, well visual literature at the very least.”

And he has a regular column in the new British comics magazine Comic Heroes, that looks like it’s gotten a pretty successful launch. I’ll be reading…and starting first with whatever it is Dez sez.

[Artwork: Cover to Warrior #11, featuring V For Vendetta, Miracleman/Marvelman, Pressbutton and Big Ben, yanked from Comics Magazines]