Bessie , better known as Hellcow , is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics . The character, a vampire cow, was created by writer Steve Gerber and artist Frank Brunner . She made her first appearance in Giant-Size Man-Thing #5 (1975).
20-638: Bessie, or Hellcow, made her official debut in Giant-Size Man-Thing #5, published in August 1975. The creative team in charge of the issue comprised writer Steve Gerber, penciller Frank Brunner, and inker Tom Palmer. The same story is reprinted in the bonus pages of Silver Surfer vs. Dracula (February 1994). The character reappeared in April 2011's Deadpool Team-Up #885, written by Rick Spears, pencilled by Philip Bond and inked by Daniel Brown. Circa 1675, Bessie,
40-627: A British comic book artist , who first came to prominence in the late 1980s on Deadline magazine, and later through a number of collaborations with British writers for the DC Comics imprint Vertigo . Bond was born in Lancashire, England in 1966, and is the son of a preacher. His earliest comics work came out of his being "active in the British alternative comics scene from 1987," and he writes on his website that, in 1988: Atomtan , Bond's first work,
60-465: A character I have ever heard, or the greatest thing that has ever existed" in his 2012 article "Best/Worst: Marvel Heroes That Should/Should Never Get Movies". In 2022, CBR.com ranked Hell Cow 7th in their "10 Most Important Marvel Vampires" list. Hellcow appears as a playable character in Lego Marvel Super Heroes 2 . Philip Bond Philip John Bond (born 11 July 1966) is
80-459: A domesticated cattle living in a Swiss farm, becomes the prey of Count Dracula , who is unable to find any available humans to feed on. Bessie seemingly dies and her upset owner Hans lays her to rest. Unbeknownst to Hans, Bessie has become an undead monster known as Hellcow, and rises from her grave some three nights later, seeking revenge on Dracula. In the present day, Howard the Duck is investigating
100-576: A story written and illustrated by Bond entitled "Endless Summer"). In 1990, he illustrated (and co-created) the Garth Ennis -scripted comedy series Time Flies for the leading British science-fiction comic, 2000 AD . In 1995, Bond was involved in the hype surrounding the release of the Tank Girl movie, illustrating a number of new Tank Girl strips for various publications. With Tank Girl and American reprints of Deadline raising his US popularity, and
120-407: Is a British comics magazine published between 1988 and 1995 . Created by 2000 AD artists Brett Ewins and Steve Dillon , Deadline featured a mix of comic strips and written articles aimed at adult readers. Deadline sat at the forefront of the wave of British comics anthologies for mature audiences that included Crisis , Revolver and Toxic! , and had a cultural influence beyond
140-604: Is now Shelly Bond." Roeberg, a key editor of DC Comics ' Vertigo imprint titles, "had been coming over to the UK because she was the British liaison for Vertigo" after Karen Berger . Attending UK conventions, "when she came over in 1999 [she and Bond] really hit it off." Bond soon moved from the UK to New York City, and in 2004 the two had a son, Spencer. He lives with his wife and son in New Jersey . Pencils and inks, unless otherwise stated: Deadline magazine Deadline
160-536: Is recovered by insane scientist Doctor Kilgore, who revives her and attempts to use her milk to cure his tuberculosis and gain immortality. When this plan does not fully work, Kilgore abducts Deadpool and extracts his hypophysis to gain his healing factor. However, the mixture of Hellcow's milk and Deadpool's gland in Kilgore's body goes awry, damaging his mind. Deadpool and Hellcow subsequently join forces to stop him. Deadpool and Hellcow escape from Kilgore's abode, but
180-460: The DC Comics imprint Vertigo actively recruiting UK talent, Bond's skills were soon at work on American comics. Bond inked a Pre-Vertigo issue of Doom Patrol before co-penciling (with Glyn Dillon and Chris Bachalo ) two issues of Shade, the Changing Man and then penciling and inking an issue himself (issue No. 48, June 1994). In 1995, Vertigo released a number of one shot issues under
200-659: The Ed Brubaker and Warren Pleece series Deadenders (2000–01). He produced a handful of other miniseries and issues of various titles during the early 00s, including one of Morrison's most recent miniseries Vimanarama (2005). Bond says he was originally going to work on We3 , but Morrison – with whom Bond has "an understanding because we both like what one another does" – "had this other idea that he thought I would be great for," leading to Bond illustrating Vimanarama , and Frank Quitely drawing We3 . Over his career Bond has also illustrated comic strips for bands including
220-513: The Senseless Things . However, the commercial failure of the Tank Girl film and the crossing over of the alternative scene into the mainstream (around the time of Britpop , a movement it had helped to champion) saw the magazine eventually fold at the end of 1995. In the late 2000s, Alan Grant edited the title Wasted , which owed much to the style and ethos of Deadline a decade and a half earlier. This UK comics –related article
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#1732875825879240-627: The Smashing Pumpkins and Sum 41 , as well as T-shirts for bands such as Cud . Most recently, Bond has focused his output on providing covers, rather than internal artwork. He has produced all covers (to date) for Simon Oliver and Tony Moore's The Exterminators , as well as a cover for Harvey Pekar 's most recent American Splendor miniseries (all for Vertigo). Bond has also worked at another DC Comics imprint, Wildstorm on Red Herring with David Tischman . Around 1999/2000, Bond "got attached and then married to Shelly Roeberg , who
260-556: The average cow and hence was well-favored by her owner. As Hellcow, she possesses characteristics tantamount to that of Dracula's, such as being able to suck blood from humans and being immortal. She could transform into a half-cow, half-bat form, and an intangible gas cloud. In August 2009, Time listed Hellcow as one of the "Top 10 Oddest Marvel Characters". Similarly, Status Magazine included Hellcow in its list of "Top 5 Weirdest Marvel Characters" in April 2012. Bjarki Dagur of Filmophilia found Hellcow to be either "the worst idea for
280-549: The collective title "Vertigo Voices," written by Vertigo's "most outspoken writers." Bond illustrated (with additional inks by D'Israeli ) Grant Morrison 's offering: Kill Your Boyfriend . Between November 1995 and January 1996, Bond inked Alan Grant 's take on Tank Girl in Vertigo's Tank Girl: Apocalypse and worked on several issues of Morrison's The Invisibles in 1999/2000. In 2000 he illustrated Jamie Delano 's Hellblazer miniseries Bad Blood , and provided covers to
300-406: The comics world, most notably via its breakout star Tank Girl . Deadline was published by Deadline Publications Ltd. The magazine's origins lie in the earlier publication Strange Days , an anthology title created by Ewins, Brendan McCarthy and Peter Milligan . Much of the non-strip content centred on alternative and indie music. Coupled with the subversive nature of many of the comic strips,
320-457: The deaths of four farmers in Cleveland, Ohio. Howard initially concludes that the perpetrator must be a chicken. Later, early in the morning, he disguises himself as a human. Hellcow notices him and lunges for him. A scuffle commences and Howard prevails, driving a stake through her heart and apparently ending her reign of terror. However, Hellcow did not die, as her head remained intact. Her corpse
340-490: The latter is instantly burnt to a crisp as it is daytime. Deadpool travels back to the previous comic book panel and after a few tries, manages to rescue Hellcow. Hellcow later appears in Spider-Man/Deadpool , having assumed an anthropomorphic form and joined Deadpool Inc., a group assembled by Deadpool to steal and sell abandoned S.H.I.E.L.D. technology. Before becoming a vampire, Bessie could produce more milk than
360-657: The magazine had a distinctive counterculture ethos and post-punk sensibility. The magazine was owned and financed by Tom Astor (grandson of Nancy Astor ), and initially edited by Steve Dillon and Brett Ewins before transferring editorship to Dave Elliott, then Si Spencer and finally Frank Wynne (a former staff member of Crisis and subsequently translator of Michel Houellebecq ). Alongside original material, Elliott and Wynne also introduced reprints of American alternative comics such as Love and Rockets , Bob Burden 's Flaming Carrot and Evan Dorkin strips such as Milk and Cheese . Elliott also arranged for content from
380-463: The magazine to be reprinted in the US by Dark Horse Comics as Deadline USA . Deadline enjoyed the patronage of those who would not normally purchase comics and the support of several key bands of the time, with Blur making regular appearances in the Tank Girl strips ( Tank Girl artist Jamie Hewlett was good friends with Blur's Damon Albarn ), and covers including Ride , Curve , Carter USM and
400-525: Was a self-published fanzine created with Tank Girl creators Alan Martin and Jamie Hewlett , along with Luke Whitney and Jane Oliver . Bond's talent for comical, exaggerated anatomy and poses quickly led to professional work, mostly for now-defunct title Deadline , on strips such as Wired World . This in turn led to Bond's inclusion in Atomeka Press star-studded anthology A1 , with Bond contributing to issues No. 2 (with Hewlett) and No. 3 (in
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