Recently alerted to the existence of this comic by friend of the blog Michael Caroll's always useful 'Hatch, Match & Dispatch' post for February (check it out here), I felt a covers gallery was in order for this short-lived title from Manga Publishing, who also published titles such as Street Fighter II.
Manga Heroes, a 64-page magazine, Manga Publishing’s first original title, was planned as a monthly showcase of the hottest heroes from anime, manga, video games and movies. Timecop seems an odd choice for the first strip to feature in a new manga magazine, but its inclusion did tie in with the release of the film, released the same month in UK cinemas, and is undoubtedly connected with the company’s purchase of Dark Horse International’s portfolio, as a means to launch a ready-made publishing arm of its own.
Manga Heroes should not be confused with Manga Mania, a title initially published by the UK arm of Dark Horse, also published Manga Entertainment, followed by Titan, who later published Manga Max. The history of Manga Mania is documented here on the All the Anime Blog.
There are just the four issues of Manga Heroes to collect...
Manga Heroes, issue 1, February 1995, £1.95
Reprints both parts of Dark Horse's adaptation of the film, and was in newsagents three days prior to its UK cinema opening.
Manga Heroes, issue 2, March 1995, £1.95
Features the first part of a reprint of Masamune Shirow's “Prometheus Unbound”.
Manga Heroes, Issue 3, April 1995, £1.95
Features the second part of a reprint of Masamune Shirow's “Prometheus Unbound”.
The fourth and final issue was dedicated to Geno Cyber.
Check out all other mentions of Manga Publishing on the blog here