Scots influence on costume dramas

Artwork from Batman RIP, which involved Grant Morrison.

Storylines and artwork of some of the USA's best-known comic book superheroes have been crafted by Scots.

Mark Millar, Frank Quitely, Alan Grant and Grant Morrison are among those influencing the adventures and some of the characters' historic episodes.

Their input has seen Spider-Man reveal his identity to the public and killed off Batman's alter ego Bruce Wayne.

Scotland has also provided the backdrop for Hellboy - recently adapted for two films - and X-Men stories.

In November, the last issue of the Batman RIP series was published by DC Comics.

Its writer, Morrison, said ahead of its release that fans would see "the end of Bruce Wayne as Batman".

In the build up, there were rumours Bruce Wayne would retire from his duties or be killed by a mystery villain known as the Black Glove.

"What I am doing is a fate worse than death - things that no one would expect to happen to these guys at all," Morrison said in the recent interview with Comic Book Resources.

It later transpired that is Batman shot by villain Simon Hurt, who claims to be Wayne's father Dr Thomas Wayne.

Meanwhile, in 2006, Millar and fellow writer Paul Jenkins had Spider-Man publicly reveals his true identity for the first time.

Coatbridge-born Mark Millar wrote the series, Wanted, recently adapted for Hollywood. The film stars Angelina Jolie and Scots actor James McAvoy. The demon Hellboy is summoned on the Scottish island, Tarmagant. In Batman: The Scottish Connection, the Dark Knight goes to Rosslyn Chapel in Midlothian. Hot debate on cult comic

In the story, the wall crawling icon removed his mask and told reporters at a packed press conference that he and Peter Parker are one and the same.

The storyline in the Marvel: Civil War series involved a new Superhero Registration Act that requires fantasy creatures to disclose their identities.

Spider-Man was part of the faction supporting registration.

"I've guarded my secret identity pretty carefully over the years," he says. "But I'm proud of who I am, and I'm here right now to prove it."

The story was intended to reflect concerns about civil liberty issues.

Artist Quietly has drawn All Star Superman and New X-Men, which were written by his frequent collaborator Morrison.

He also illustrated Batman: The Scottish Connection, written by comic book legend Grant and sees the Caped Crusader come to Scotland to trace his roots.

Edinburgh and the Scottish landscape has set the scene for several famous fictional characters.

Local Hero - scripted by Edinburgh-based writer Ferg Handley - features the capital's castle and the old Edinburgh Royal Infirmary building and has Spider-Man in pursuit of a werewolf.

And Hellboy, the subject of two Hollywood blockbusters, is a demon summoned by Grigori Rasputin for the Nazis during World War II in a ritual ceremony staged on a Scottish island.