It only took, um, a little less than two years, but we have the conclusion of this one: from 1993, Pinhead vs. Marshal Law #2, "Hell to Pay" Written by Pat Mills, art by Kevin O'Neill. Shiny, embossed, super-great cover that's not going to scan properly: find yourselves a copy, pronto! Such sights to show you...

Pinhead has the Marshal and his girl Super Nova on the mat here, because the Marshal is as much as a tease to him: Pinhead's master Leviathan subsisted on mankind's suffering, and let's be honest: the Marshal had dispensed more than a little of it. The Marshal's deputy/assistant/undiscovered serial killer Razorhead led a batch of disposable cannon fodder super-heroes to rescue his boss; as both the Marshal and Super Nova (I think she may accidentally be called "Seraph" here, or maybe I misread it) rally against Pinhead: the Marshal admitting, he was basically a super-hero himself, while Super Nova believes the universe should be more than pain and sadism. Which reads as willful naivety here.

The Marshal manages to reach out to Pinhead's past life, as a World War One officer, where he had seen unimaginable suffering, in the name of gaining a mere six miles of ground. "The Best of British." Pinhead also alludes to the idea that the trauma of past deaths carried onto current physical ailments: acne was probably evidence of the bubonic plague in a past life, for example. As the super-heroes get brutally chewed up in the no-man's land of WWI, the Marshal basically sells those "costumed bozos" to Pinhead, as imposters, phonies ruining whatever heroism was to be had there. Back in the real world, Super Nova calls Razorhead out as a serial killer, which the Marshal downplays as mere fantasies. Which might be naivety on his part. Super Nova breaks up with him, realizing he was not going to stop hating heroes, and the Marshal finds if not new love, willing partners going forward, unrepentant. 

 The series as a whole leaves you to ask yourself: Super Nova would wonder, is this suffering absolutely necessary? While the Marshal and Pinhead seem to agree, those assholes have it coming.

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I read a friend's copies of this when it was first coming out; it may have been years before I got it for myself, but I'm making up for it by buying it every time I see one in the quarterbin, apparently. From 1987, Marshal Law #1, "Stars and Strippers" Created and written by Pat Mills, created and art by Kevin O'Neill.

Flipping through it just now, I was surprised how straight it was: later ML stories would be much more parody and more overtly funny, but this read as more traditional hard-boiled action. The caption boxes feel very much of their time, as we have an omniscient narrator, then narration from serial killer Sleepman, his victim, failed hero Sorry the Nearly Man, the Marshal himself, and Suicida. All of whom have problems. Short recap: the government put billions into creating super-soldiers, then apparently not a single thought to reintegrating them into society or what to do with them afterwards. Marshal Law polices the 'heroes' in post-earthquake San Francisco. He probably enjoys his job a little too much; but as the series goes on it becomes apparent he hates them because he hates himself. Still, he seems to have enough hate for everybody; he doesn't seem to be running short anytime soon.

If you check the TV Tropes page for the good Marshal, there's an amusing possible book endorsement quote from Alan Moore. Read more!

I was kind of hoping this would just be the guys, sitting around: "Isn't pain awesome?" "It's the best!"

Also, there's a shiny red foil cover, but while the Marshal has one of his traditional guns, I don't know what Pinhead is holding. T-square? Plunger? From 1993, Pinhead vs. Marshal Law #1, "Book One: Hell for Leather" Written by Pat Mills, art by Kevin O'Neill.

I spent a few minutes looking for sales numbers on this one, and came up empty, which isn't encouraging. Epic had put out multiple Hellraiser titles, including a few just under the title Pinhead, which seems to detract from his gravitas somewhat. This might've been the first new Marshal Law in a few years; and like a lot of these crossovers if you go with two issues, the first one is going to be more set-up than anything. In the dystopian future city of San Futuro, Law is the licensed vigilante that hunts "heroes" that commit crimes. Most, including Law himself, were former government super-soldiers, and were either murderous thugs or deluded lunatics; with many of the latter bearing unflattering resemblance to traditional superheroes. Law felt no pain, but hated the heroes, and himself; yet is flying high the start of this one; enjoying the hell out of his job and his new girlfriend, Super Nova. Her daddy issues might account for most of their relationship, as she's more esoteric and spiritual than Law. In fact, she was currently trying to contact "...the dark ones. Cenobites." Law figures Super Nova was "out to lunch," but she was hot, so...he's willing to accompany her to a "super hero therapy party," even if he's not sold on the treatments, and he still has a good laugh with her.

Unfortunately, the arrival of Super Nova's angelic friend Seraph steps on the moment: Law has an immediate knee-jerk reaction to the holier-than-thou, and S-N wonders if Law's negativity is good for her. Seraph has a little sermon-slash-sales pitch for transformation, with a familiar looking box: it's not named here, but I believe it's called the Lament Configuration. He convinces Law to try it, opening a gate to hell, where Law is run through a few fears, but none stick yet. Seraph grabs Super Nova, and takes on a more demonic appearance, as Pinhead arrives, to drop a bit of the Cenobites' mythology, and how they used fear to create order. Law is pleased to find his old foe the Public Spirit there, although he doesn't think he's being tortured enough: Law, like others, joined the army because he wanted powers like the Spirit's, and instead became a desensitized killing machine. Pinhead and his "War Cenobites" run Law through the gauntlet, then now feeling pain, Law is on the operating table for "limb modification procedure," an aphorism for amputation!

There's a lot going on this issue, and much of it still has some bearing today: Pinhead explains to Law how words are used to desensitize people to the horrors of war--otherwise, horrors, war might stop! And as usual for Marshal Law, O'Neill puts a ton of cameos, subtle nods, or blistering parodies in there. Keeping my eye out for the conclusion.
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Shortlist: In San Futuro, he is the Law!

On today's Shortlist, we have a character I don't have a lot of comics from, that isn't hugely popular or about to be made into a movie, and isn't appropriate for small children, the elderly, or the easily offended. But my god, he'd look cool on the action figure shelf: Pat Mills and Kevin O'Neill's Marshal Law.


(Cue booming voice:) In a world...where genetic manipulation, cybernetic implants and anabolic steroids (lots and lots of anabolic steroids...) gives rise to super-soldiers. After the war, the soldiers return home, some becoming super-heroes--glory hound, cult of celebrity, perverted super-heroes--and others becoming straight-up gangsters. Marshal Law is the guy they call when they go bad, the licensed "cape-killer." And while he hates his employers, the capes, and himself; the Marshal loves his work.


Marshal Law shares a lot with Mill's other (co-)creation, Judge Dredd: it's a satire disguised as an action book, and like Dredd, Law is kind of unlikable most of the time, but is still usually in the right. Coupled with O'Neill's frenetic, insane art; Law would be the lone sane man in an insane world, except he's probably a bit nutty himself.


But that costume--basically bondage gear in primary colors with a few slogans on it--and the giant guns--almost always with a little graffiti on them, like 'phone this' for fighting E.T.'s--would be eye-catching even on a shelf full of superheroes. A removable hat would be a necessity as well, although I don't think he looks quite right without it. Odds of it happening? Um, like negative none. Even if DC Comics collects and reissues Marshal Law, I still don't see DC Direct hopping on that one.

Scans from Marshal Law #4 (Epic) and Marshal Law: Secret Tribunal #1, both written and co-created by Pat Mills, art and co-created by Kevin O'Neill. Man alive, if a Nemesis the Warlock figure wouldn't look cool as hell too...
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