Missionary Man (comics)

Missionary Man is British comic strip. It debuted in the Judge Dredd Megazine in May 1993 with the introductory 7-page story "Salvation at the Last Chance Saloon", illustrated by Frank Quitely. It established that tall Preacher Cain rides the Cursed Earth performing "special sermons" in the radiation-poisoned towns, tutoring the damned with a bible and his guns. In this first outing, having educated and decimated a table of gambling mutant heavyweights he rides into the sunset, tossing a bible at the surviving townspeople - which contains a thermonuclear explosive.

Missionary Man
Cover of Judge Dredd Megazine vol. 2, 29 (29 May 1993), art by Frank Quitely
Created byGordon Rennie
Frank Quitely
Garry Marshall
Publication information
PublisherFleetway
Rebellion Developments
ScheduleMonthly/Weekly
FormatsOriginal material for the series has been published as a strip in the comics anthology(s) Judge Dredd Megazine and 2000 AD.
Genre
Publication dateMay 1993 – July 2002
Main character(s)Preacher Cain
Creative team
Writer(s)Gordon Rennie
Artist(s)Frank Quitely
Garry Marshall
Sean Longcroft
Simon Davis
Jon Beeston
Jamie Grant
Charles Gillespie
Christian Bravery
Henry Flint
Trevor Hairsine
Alex Ronald
Colin MacNeil
Dean Ormston
Wayne Reynolds
John Ridgway
Reprints
Collected editions
Missionary ManISBN 1-84023-465-2

In 1998 the strip transitioned to the weekly 2000 AD.

Stories

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All written by Gordon Rennie:

  • Missionary Man:
    • "Salvation at the Last Chance Saloon" (with Frank Quitely, in Judge Dredd Megazine (vol. 2) #29, 1993)
    • "A Town Called Intolerance" (with Frank Quitely, in Judge Dredd Megazine (vol. 2) #30, 1993)
    • "Legend of the Unholy Drinker" (with Garry Marshall, in Judge Dredd Megazine (vol. 2) #43, 1993)
    • "Bad Moon Rising" (with Frank Quitely, in Judge Dredd Megazine (vol. 2) #50-55, 1994)
    • "Season of the Witch" (with Garry Marshall, in Judge Dredd Megazine (vol. 2) #56-57, 1994)
    • "Sanctuary" (with Sean Longcroft, in Judge Dredd Megazine (vol. 2) #58-59, 1994)
    • "The Undertaker Cometh" (with Simon Davis, in Judge Dredd Mega-Special #7, 1994)
    • "Treasure of the Sierra Murder" (with Simon Davis, in Judge Dredd Megazine (vol. 2) #63-66, 1994)
    • "Medicine Show" (with Jon Beeston, in Judge Dredd Megazine (vol. 2) #81, 1995)
    • "Nightriders" (with Jamie Grant, in Judge Dredd Megazine (vol. 2) #82-83, 1995)
    • "Mississippi Burning" (with Simon Davis, in Judge Dredd Megazine (vol. 3) #1-3, 1995)
    • "Crusader" (with Charles Gillespie, in Judge Dredd Megazine (vol. 3) #17, 1996)
    • "The Big Sleazy" (with Simon Davis, in Judge Dredd Megazine (vol. 3) #18-20, 1996)
    • "Night of the Hunter" (in Judge Dredd Megazine (vol. 3) #26, 1996)
    • "Mortal Combat" (in Judge Dredd Megazine (vol. 3) #27, 1996)
    • "Juggernaut" (with Henry Flint, in Judge Dredd Megazine (vol. 3) #34, 1997)
    • "The Shootist" (with Christian Bravery, in Judge Dredd Megazine (vol. 3) #36-37, 1997)
    • "Storm Warnings" (with Trevor Hairsine, in Judge Dredd Megazine (vol. 3) #38, 1998)
    • "Missionary Man: Prologue" (with Simon Davis, in 2000 AD #1091, 1998)
    • "Mardi Gras" (with Alex Ronald, in 2000 AD #1092-1096, 1998)
    • "Goin' South" (with Alex Ronald, in 2000 AD #1118-1123, 1998)
    • "Apocrypha" (with Henry Flint, in 2000 AD #1124, 1998)
    • "The Promised Land" (with Alex Ronald (1-3, 8-9), Trevor Hairsine (4), Colin MacNeil (5-7), Simon Davis (10-12), and Dean Ormston (13-15), in 2000 AD #1174-1188, 2000)
    • "Mark of the Beast" (with Jesus Redondo, in 2000 AD #1201-1204, 2000)
    • "Silence" (with Wayne Reynolds, in Judge Dredd Megazine (vol. 3) #77, 2001)
    • "Place of the Dead" (with John Ridgway, in Judge Dredd Megazine (vol. 4) #9-13, 2002)

The character also makes a cameo appearance in the Judge Dredd novel Cursed Earth Asylum, by David Bishop (Virgin Books, December 1993, ISBN 0-352-32893-2).

Collected editions

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Some of the stories have been collected into a number of trade paperbacks:

  • Bad Moon Rising (112 pages, Rebellion Developments, August 2011, ISBN 1-907992-23-5) collects:
    • Missionary Man (80 pages, Titan Books, June 2002, ISBN 1-84023-465-2) collects:
      • "Salvation At The Last Chance Saloon"
      • "A Town Called Intolerance"
      • "Legend of the Unholy Drinker"
      • "Bad Moon Rising"
      • "Season of The Witch"
    • "Sanctuary"
    • "The Undertaker Cometh"

References

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