FEATURES:ALBION & FEED AMERICA'S CHILDREN

15th November 2005

A look at the much hyped ALBION,the charity comic FEED AMERICA'S CHILDREN [nope,no one asked me!] and BOTULISM BANQUET by Mark Stafford.

ALBION -Wildstorm Studio's "Re-imagining" of old IPC characters.

It seems that since this item was originally posted the reaction to ALBION has been,shall we say,not very good. Described as "the most over-hyped,disappointing" series this year,and that's the cleanest version I can put onsite!

The series seems to wander and jump around with the only saving grace being the art of Oakley and Freeman.

Well,were we disappointed?  Many were,it seems. Muthu Comics forum [India] ,where characters such as THE SPIDER,STEEL CLAW,ROBOT ARCHIE et al still get reprinted and have a massive following [almost fanatical at times] ,had more than a few disgruntled readers.   One even suggesting that those with the money to purchase comics from outside India boycott the series.

Many fans are also wondering why all the hype about "Alan Moore's new series"?  After all,he gave a plot line only  to his daughter,Leah and John Reppion. To be honest the plotline is similar to many scripted Moore comics of the past -as well as those of others. Of course,Moore has retired from comics [again].

At the UK comic convention in Bristol,May 2005,there seemed to be at least five people all claiming to have thought about using the characters in a unique way. I think it ought to be pointed out that there are only two writers of the series!

Ms Moore and Mr Reppion seemed to be,shall we say,very unknowledgeable about the old IPC characters -fair enough since they were created and last saw print before either were born.  So,who is really the guiding light behind the series?

Loki,master of the wonderful internationalheroes web site,was given a mention as being a good source of info. However,one name kept popping up.............

SHANE OAKLEY!

Both writers noted how Oakley was very well "up" on the characters and how he sent them bundles of old comics and notes that they used.  Some of us know that Alan Moore and Shane had been working on a project idea involving old characters long before ALBION.

Take a look at the amount of detail in ALBION #2,page 4. This shows the work of someone who loves old British comics,TV childrens series and much more. There are also more than two D.C.Thomson character cameos there!

At one point,a good few years ago now,both I,and Paul H.Birch,stated that Shane could be a big name in comics one day -this proves it!

The script? Mediocre. A pity but there it is -though issue 3 onward might throw up some delights!

However,Shane's pecil work combined with the superb inking of former CAPTAIN CANUCK artist,George Freeman makes you want to open the comic book again and again to soak it all in.

JUST WHAT IS GOING ON?

What is going on,indeed! Distribution of the title seems to be in very limited numbers. Had it not been for a rather grubby copy left under the comic shop counter I would have missed ALBION #1!

When I asked what the problem was I was told "we only received a few -about 15". I asked about re-orders but was told it was very unlikely any more copies would be available.

The same story came from the other Bristol comic stores and within a week I was hearing a similar problem existed around the UK. Issue #2 appeared and I saw them taken from the box -15 copies. These were gone within the day,even though some were damaged.

reports came through of other copies being damaged -one shop had to return its copies due to damage.

The internet is currently buzzing with people asking why so few copies? Why are so many damaged comics being sent out?

Answers range from "Wildstorm obviously over-estimated response",which does not hold much water.  The main opinion seems to be that Wildstorm/DC are creating problems for Moore because he has left the company after one of his famous disagreements -discussions with the company had to be through a go-between.

Would a company do this and lose money?

I mailed and even tried phoning Wildstorm to try to find out what was going on..........they won't respond!

"WHO THE HELL ARE THESE CHARACTERS??!!"

I haven't just been contacted by American comic readers but also readers from the UK to whom many of the characters featured are new.  Many Americans say they won't buy the series because they have no idea who or what is who/what!

So....

FEED AMERICA'S CHILDREN

So,with the US being the richest country in the world and more money going to each refugee there from such disasters as the recent floods than a whole camp full of starving,disease ridden Africans or even to survivors of the Pakistan earthquake where thousands of survivors are expected to die this Winter,we ask:"Why American children?".

Back in the 1980s we had HEROES FOR HOPE with comic book creators contributing to a comic to raise money for the starving in Africa. Two decades later we are asked to pay money to a comic to raise money for America's starving children.

Starving children in the United States? Well,you would think that a country spending billions a year on a war in Iraq [oops. Sorry -"peace-keeping"]could not possibly have any poor people. Well,America does. It has homeless people,many throught choice,mental illness or for other reasons. Others are just plain poor but -BUT- do we see enlarged stomaches from malnutrition in the US? Not that I'm aware.

People have put this same arguement to me and I'm afraid the publicity has strongly featured words on the contributors and story but with the reason for the comic raising funds consigned to a small note at the bottom of the press release.

Don't get me wrong:helping to feed or look after vulnerable children is a great cause whether in the US,Mexico,Africa,Europe or the UK. BUT you need to tell people who you want to buy this comic just why it's being produced and then about contributors,story and so on -and importantly,to which organisation the money raised will go. I still don't know that.

I would urge you to look into the subject of child poverty/homelessness whichever country you are from. But the press release will fill you in -my thanks to Paul Birch for keeping me up-dated on the project.

FEED AMERICA’S CHILDREN

Runaway children are being found dead in the gutter. That’s not something new alas. But when the superhero known as Major Impact visits a shelter for the homeless destiny takes an unexpected turn: the despicable monster choosing these ripe young lambs for his spiritual slaughter has decided he’s developed a taste for the choicest of mutton… the Major himself!

Recurrent nightmares leave Major Impact questioning himself and as those self-doubts increase in number so to do the mistakes he begins to make. When your job is crime fighting that can cost lives.

As the hero sinks further into depression, his colleagues within the government sanctioned superhero affiliation that is The World Espionage Bureau (W.E.B.) refuse to look the other way. Tomfoolery takes a back seat for the super-scientific Sonic as he seeks a cure for his best friend, the ethereal entity that is Shade seeks a logical reason behind the whole mysterious affair, and Amethyst and the Lady Zonta bide their time, each with their own personal agenda, waiting to see which way the cruel wind blows.

All too soon they find what they are looking for and then the true nightmare begins. Through trials and tribulations they journey to very heart of evil, giving all that they have in the name of friendship. Could anyone do less? Perhaps, when there’s a shape-changing soul-sucking demon waiting for you at the end of an inter-dimensional tunnel!

Mel Smith, Clark Castillo, with Paul H Birch, have created a tale that uses the fantastic to cast light upon the all too real: the forgotten homeless youth of America! To tell their epic comic book story they have gathered the biggest names in comics, along with a smattering of bright new future stars who all deliver some great artwork.

Combining classically dexterous storytelling skills and post-modern delineations over the book’s 45 color pages, readers can enjoy the visual tour de force of Darick Robertson, Ron Lim, Tone Rodriquez, Paul Smith, Dan Brereton, Joe Jusko, Jimmy Palmiotti, Phil Winslade, James Hodgkins, C.P. Smith, Kieron Dwyer and countless others in a story that counts with profits going to a well deserving cause… Feeding those homeless kids!

For further information check out www.feedamericaschildren.com

Okay,I'm a pain but "FEEDING HOMELESS KIDS" is,surely,the message to be put across here. If you are charitable buy a copy -check out the web site.   This really is a good comic that doesn't preach at you and the artwork is very good.  

I'd recommend it.  Terry

BOTULISM BANQUET

Way back in the dark days when the evil Thatcher's shadow covered all in gloom and despair,a slightly heavier-than-he-is-now small press publisher received a package of artwork. The package contained single illoes and strips and one in particular struck him [well,me]:GARBAGE WORLD by someone called Mark Stafford. This young fellow contributed a great deal to Black Tower including covers;anyone I met I showed his work to and said "If he carries on like this he's going to be big!".

Then nothing. I feared we'd lost an amazing talent in the making but,this May,at the comic convention in Bristol,I spotted this comic with the name Mark Stafford on it. I mentioned to Shane Chebney,of Small Zone,that I knew a Mark Stafford once. "Well there he is -is that him?" came the response. I rushed up to the hat wearing figure,tapped him on the shoulder and said:"Does 'Garbage World' mean anything to you?"

"***** me!  Bloody hell!"

It was Mark Stafford.

I can tell you that over the years his style has improved vastly. The talent has shown through.  The sample pages below speak volumes.  This is a must buy!  So where can you get a copy?  Well....

You can try and see if Shane Chebney at

http://smallzone.co.uk

has any copies left or send an e-mail to the publishers at Hocus Baloney Books and see if they have copies left. Their e-mail is:~

leo.rex@virgin.net

or

www.hocusbaloney.com

Tell there Terry Hooper sent you!