OFFICER OUTBODY

Real Name: Unrevealed - Outbody may be a real surname.

Identity/Class: Unrevealed 

Occupation: Astral Plane Patrolman

Group Membership: Unrevealed - presumably Astral Plane Police? 

Affiliations: Dr. Strange (Stephen Strange)

Enemies: Ilc, Mys-Tech 

Known Relatives: None 

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: Astral Plane

First Appearance: (Announced) Comics International#35 (September 1993);
    (cover cameo) Body Count (October 1993)

Powers/Abilities: Able to transit the Astral Plane. Other powers unrevealed.

Height: 6' (by approximation)
Weight: 180 lbs.
Eyes: Unrevealed
Hair: Unrevealed

History:
(Officer Outbody#1-4) - Officer Outbody was a grump Astral Plane Patrolman trying to impose order on the surreal. He teamed up with Doctor Strange to stop the Ilc, a race of soul smugglers working for Mys-Tech.

Comments: Created by Glenn Dakin and Ross Dearsley.

   Officer Outbody was one of many characters and projects planned by Marvel U.K. in 1993 that were delayed and then ultimately cancelled when the comics market collapsed late in that year.

    In Outbody's case, he came about because Paul Neary showed Glenn Dakin artwork for a character armed with a blade that could cut through anything, and asked Glenn to provide a backstory. Glenn conceived of the idea that the blade could cut through dimensions, and that the character would be an Astral Plane Patrolman trying to impose order of the wacky astral realms Steve Ditko used to depict.

    Paul liked the concept but felt it didn't work for character in question. Glenn came up with a different background for that character, creating Die-Cut, and a new name for his astral cop concept, Officer Outbody. Ross Dearsley came up with a character design, as well as layouts and sequential black and white illustrations for a prospective four issue miniseries, and Marvel U.S. gave them permission to use Doctor Strange as a big-name guest star.

    The project was announced in Comics International#35 (September 1993), noting it was due to ship on November 16th 1993, but Comic World#22 (cover dated December 1993, but presumably released circa October 1993) announced that Officer Outbody was one of the titles being delayed by Marvel U.K.'s financial woes.

    Put on the back burner while Glenn worked on Die-Cut and Plasmer, Ross had only completed two pages of inked artwork when the final plug was pulled on Marvel U.K.

   Giving credit where credit is due: Though I'd read a little about the lost Marvel U.K projects in solicitations in the comics and comic news magazines back in 1993, I first learned more about them from the excellent blog Starlogged. This profile was put together with information from there, articles on Down The Tubes, and from interviews I did with creators for an entry on the lost projects for Eaglemoss' Marvel Fact Files. Space constraints for the Fact Files entries meant I could only use a tiny fraction of what was so kindly provided, so this and similar Appendix entries are a way of hopefully addressing that injustice, letting fans know more about some of the fun characters and concepts that were in the works. I have zero clue how the rights issues now lie, but assuming those wouldn't be a problem, I'd love to see all these characters eventually make it into proper publication; I want to read these stories!

Profile by Loki.

CLARIFICATIONS:
Officer Outbody has no known connections to:

images: (without ads)
Officer Outbody cover artwork (main image)
Body Count cover (color image)

Appearances:
Body Count (October 1993) - Alan Davis (cover artist)

First Posted: 01/25/2019
Last updated: 01/26/2019

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

Non-Marvel Copyright info
All other characters mentioned or pictured are ™ and © 1941-2099 Marvel Characters, Inc. All Rights Reserved. If you like this stuff, you should check out the real thing!
Please visit The Marvel Official Site at: http://www.marvel.com

Special Thanks to www.g-mart.com for hosting the Appendix, Master List, etc.!

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