Return of the Captain!

By Regie Rigby

Hi folks. Sorry I’m late again. Eventually this PC will either be fixed or replaced, but since I can’t quite afford either option at the moment I’ll just have to be erratic for a while yet.

Anyway, excuse me for a second.

YEEEEEEEEHAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!

CAPTAIN BRITAIN! THERE’S GOING TO BE A CAPTAIN BRITAIN STORY!

>ahem<

Sorry about that, but I’m a little bit happy. Actually no. I’m a huge bit happy. It’s been what? Thirteen years or so since Captain Britain appeared in an all British comic and I’m not being controversial if I suggest that the dear Captain’s most recent appearances in comics produced beyond these shores have met with less than universal acclaim.

But in a few weeks the British comic Spectacular Spider-Man (which should not be confused with the American comic of the same name) will feature the right version of Captain Britain in a story involving Spider-Man and Captain America’s old adversary the Red Skull.

Now, I don’t want to seem as though I’m over excited about this, but since I am a little over excited I guess I can’t help it. Now, it is the case that the UK Spectacular Spider-Man is published by the UK arm of the Italian company Pannini (who, as a thirty something Englishman I remember fondly as the producers of the Football sticker albums of my childhood) and exist wholly outside mainstream Marvel continuity but to be honest, I rather regard this as a good thing.

After all, mainstream Marvel continuity hasn’t been kind to the good Captain, so ignoring it seems to be the way to go. On the Comics Casual e-mail list the comic’s regular writer Jim Alexander (who some of you might know from his rather excellent work on Metal Hurlant), who is clearly a long standing fan of Captain Britain, explained how he developed the story:

“ My intention initially was to go with the original look amulet et al. It soon became clear when speaking to the editor that he was looking for the Alan Davis version.

Having said that the amulet does make an appearance in the story. I achieve this by employing the Skull's cosmic cube or by sending them to the disco, or a subtle blend of both. The only way to find out is by picking up a copy, or something :-)”

Well, I know I’ll be doing just that – with a song in my heart for the fact that the fact that this is a story from outside continuity means that Chuck Austen’s abuse of the character can be ignored.

If this is all seeming a little “Brit-Centric”, well, I’m sorry but this is FoolBritannia after all. And if you’re on the big side of the Atlantic I have more bad news for you – unless you check out e-bay or somewhere similar you may never get to read the Captain Britain story, or any of the other stories published in these UK based books. When I asked Jim Alexander about this he was as in the dark as any of us stating:

Of all the questions I've been asked this is the one that comes up most. I don't know. Who knows. Such decisions are not made by the creative types.

From what I understand non-American original stories featuring Marvel characters (of which it seems there are rather a lot, produced for the local markets in a reasonable number of countries around the world) tend not to see print Stateside. This strikes me as something of a shame – we’re talking about good stories here and since we get all the US stuff on this side of the Atlantic it hardly seems fair that American readers should be denied a chance to read their favourite characters as seen through the lens of a different culture.

Mind you, a far bigger crime to my mind is the number of UK based fans who will also miss these stories simply because they don’t know they’re out there. Apparently there are two British comics which feature original, never seen before material. This came as news to me, and to many other comics readers I’ve spoken to. I mean, I’ve seen the titles on the news stand and the supermarket rack, but I’d always assumed that they were just reprint books.

Apparently not.

Jim Alexander confirmed:

“Ok, at this very moment in time Panini/Marvel UK have two titles out with all-original material. These comprise of comic strips, factfiles, articles, a free gift, advice from (Agony) Aunt May, etc, etc. They are:

Spectacular Spider-Man and Rampage”

The former, unsurprisingly, features the Web Head and an assortment of guest stars (like Captain Britain – sorry to keep mentioning him, but I’m still quite excited) while the latter is currently pitting the X-Men against the Sentinels and the Fantastic Four against Galactus himself.

Who wouldn’t want to read that? Why don’t UK comics readers know about it?

Well, the desperate state of the UK news stand comics scene means that most of us don’t pay a lot of attention to what’s on the newsagent’s shelf. Add to that the fact that both of the above titles are aimed at “younger readers” and you have a recipe for invisibility.

Not that aiming stories as younger readers should be regarded as a bad thing – far from it. I’ve been complaining for ages that once UK kids grow out of the Beano there isn’t really much else for them to get into comics wise until the teen-oriented fayre of 2000AD and the “mainstream” US books. Marvel UK/Panini seem to be out to fill that gap and I for one applaud them for that.

Besides, as Alexander pointed out:

” The strips are intended for a younger audience, although that's no reason to think they talk down to anyone. They are designed for people familiar with the characters but not necessarily from the comics. They have no bearing on Marvel continuity. So they won't be everyone's cup of tea. What they do represent is compact story telling in the tradition British action comic style. Personally I love that, I think there's a place for it. In Marvel Rampage # 5 (out now true believers) I have an FF story where the group are given a complete doing from Galactus. The story suits the six page format and people seem to have dug the story. As far as meriting a higher profile, you mention an all new Captain Britain story published in a British publication and the reaction just blows you away.”

Too right. Spectacular Spider-Man is out in the UK every three weeks with issue #114 featuring the return of Captain Britain (YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY) is due to hit the stands on March 17th 2005. Script: Jim Alexander (Metal Hurlant, Deathwatch)Pencils: Jon Haward (Tales of Telguuth, Of Ancient Blood)
Inks: John Stokes (Classic Marvel UK artist, Black Knight)Colours: Alan Craddock (Mercy Heights, Judge Dredd).

It’s going to be great – I can just tell.

More in seven…

All Spider-Man and Captain Britain art used in this column is (c)MARVEL COMICS CHARCTERS