Axel first appeared in the strip "Three-Eyes McGurk and his Death Planet Commandos," serialized in four issues of the British rock musicmagazineDark Star in 1979–1980. Further Axel storiesappeared in Sounds in the period 1980–1983; these were mostly written and drawn by "Curt Vile.". From that period onward, all Axel stories were written by "Pedro Henry". Warrior magazine, launched in 1982, featured Laser Eraser and Pressbutton stories in most issues, mostly drawn by Steve Dillon, in which Pressbutton was partnered with Mysta Mistralis, the "Laser Eraser". A few other stories featured the bizarre supporting characterZirk, drawn by such artists as Garry Leach and Brian Bolland. Axel got his own six-issue title in 1984 from Eclipse Comics, which contained reprints of the Axel stories and other back-up material from Warrior. This was followed by a further six issues of Laser Eraser and Pressbutton and a 3-D Special in 1985. This series contained new material written by "Henry" and drawn by Mike Collins. Axel and Mysta appeared in backup stories in Miracleman issues #9–12 ; later one-off stories appeared in anthology publications, always written by "Henry." In 2006, British comics artistJon Haward announced he was drawing a new story featuring Laser Eraser and Pressbutton. Written by Steve Moore and with his approval, the story would go online on Haward's website in October 2006. However, Steve Moore died in 2014 and the story remains unpublished.
Pressbutton's origin was given in a stand-alone story in the Warrior Summer Special, drawn by Steve Jackson. Originally a mild-mannered and plant-loving florist, he took delivery of plant matter which included a sentient, telepathic, anesthetic, carnivorous fungus which attacked his body from the feet upwards. All the time it was consuming him, it was empathising with him, apologising for eating him and preventing him from feeling the pain. By the time he was rescued, the only remaining parts of his body were his head, right arm and part of his chest. As a result of this damage, he became extremely embittered, especially against vegetation. When rebuilt as Pressbutton, he was fitted with a cleaver as a left arm and, because of his lack of genital equipment, an orgasm-inducing button on his chest clearly marked "Press". Unfortunately, this was sometimes used by later adversaries to disable him while he was attacking them.
