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Captain Britain #5, SFX and Doctor Who Puppets
This week, on Wednesday/Thursday depending on which side of the pond you're on, issue five of Captain Britain and MI-13 will be in your comic shops. It acts as both an epilogue to 'The Guns of Avalon' and a prologue to 'Hell Comes to Birmingham', and features the lovely art of Pat Olliffe, who's doing this one issue, very much in the spirit of our established art style, to keep us absolutely on schedule. It's been great to get Pat's pages and Leonard's for issue six arriving in my inbox at the same time. Leonard's with us for the duration, don't worry!
Here's an interview with six pages of Pat's art from the issue, including the first appearance of Blade, and the fantastic Bryan Hitch cover for issue seven:
http://comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=18038
And as always, this blog will be the issue's letter's page, so let me know what you think.
In other news, I've got a piece about my continuing love for Doctor Who, which appears with a number of other nostalgic and glowing features on the same subject in issue 176 of SFX magazine, on sale October 22nd.. Do look out for it.
And I was delighted to encounter, at the weekend, these puppets, made and operated by Julia Houghton and Jason Lythgoe-Hay, of the Tenth Doctor and Donna. Not for commercial purposes, mind: these are labours of love. I've only seen one other like this, the work of the fabulous Mrs. David in New York.
I hope to see some of you in Birmingham, the weekend after next. Until then, Cheerio!
Here's an interview with six pages of Pat's art from the issue, including the first appearance of Blade, and the fantastic Bryan Hitch cover for issue seven:
http://comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=18038
And as always, this blog will be the issue's letter's page, so let me know what you think.
In other news, I've got a piece about my continuing love for Doctor Who, which appears with a number of other nostalgic and glowing features on the same subject in issue 176 of SFX magazine, on sale October 22nd.. Do look out for it.
And I was delighted to encounter, at the weekend, these puppets, made and operated by Julia Houghton and Jason Lythgoe-Hay, of the Tenth Doctor and Donna. Not for commercial purposes, mind: these are labours of love. I've only seen one other like this, the work of the fabulous Mrs. David in New York.
I hope to see some of you in Birmingham, the weekend after next. Until then, Cheerio!
Labels:
Captain Britain,
Doctor Who,
puppets,
SFX
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Um... isn't that a puppet of the Tenth Doctor? It is late over here in New York, my eyes are blurry and such, but it doesn't look much like Doctor #9.
Loved the preview of #5 Paul. I noticed Union Jack says he's working for MI:5 again now but I was under the assumption that he stopped in the last issue of Christos Gage's (fantastic) Union Jack miniseries.
I've edited my mistake, thanks Christian. Since that last panel, Steve, there's been a change of leadership at MI5 and two alien attacks on London: I figure Joe was given certain assurances, and then really came onside when duty demanded.
http://gallifreyanembassy.org/portal/mediagallery/mediaobjects/disp/9/93ee034f5baad7ddfb541e4c5561b9c6.jpg
the above is a link to an image of campbel which gree seventh doctor and ace puppets I made after reading No Future.
and that clay zygon too... :)
tin-dog@hotmail.co.uk
Those puppets are brilliant!
Liking the preview pages. So Brian's powers are going to have some new boundaries? Interesting.
It's nice to see Oliffe's doing so well at keeping the 'house style', as it were. I actually didn't realise it wasn't Leonard at first glance.
Nice to see a certain winged horse back, too!
The final Doctor Who frontier -- a puppet version of Doctor Who! It has to be coming our way soon...
I can't wait to read the next issue. You really have done a great job of integrating the secret invasion and using it to set up England as a place of supernatural craziness. Awesome
And the puppet show would be called Avenue Who, right?
Those muppets are awesome. Who is this that made them?
Thanks, all. Ah, I loved that clay Zygon! Yes, I think Pat did a great job, entirely in the spirit. And the puppet makers are just guys who do this as a hobby.
Here's an advance review of the issue, for those interested:
http://www.comicsbulletin.com/reviews/122156889438819.htm
Great stuff as always!
In case that line doesn't work:
http://tinyurl.com/582qfp
Hi Paul,
Read the CBR interview couple of days before you posted it - great interview by the way and loving the image of Black Knight atop a winged horse. Puts me in mind of Clash of The Titans.
As to Doctor Who - I'd love to see them bring the Mad Monk back to the series for a one off or something.
I know he only did the one troughton episode before I was born - but when I saw that episode on UK Gold it made an impression.
I have neat Doctor Who story idea which i'm keeping to myself right now. It doesn't involve Mad Monks though. It has Gerbals dressed in black lace and leather riding motorcycles.
Nah not really.
Do you know if anyone has ever done a superhero take on the dirty dozen? You know but with a superhero type twist.
Thanks very much for the review. And that describes Gail Simone's Secret Six pretty well.
Just read issue #5 and I really enjoyed it. It reminded me of some old Avengers stuff, when our heroes would take a breather from saving the world and catch up with their "personal" lives. Since this is also our letter page, my question is- if the Black Knight was riding Strider (nothing beats a winged horse by the way), then what happened to his Avalon magic armor, the sword of light and the shield of night?
Wishing you great success!
Ian, DC's Suicide Squad is pretty Dirty Dozenesque, and it was a cool book. All about bad guys fighting for the government to commute their jailtime, and often not living to tell the tale.
Liked this issue, my favorite thing about it being the way CB's new powers work. Braddock's always been a guy who has had confidence problems both ways around it, there's been times we was petrified but is usually extremely brave, sometimes egotistical and stubborn.
I've always liked his sense of fatalistic humour in the face of doom, and the training battle in this issue parallels an early issue of Excalibur where he first found out his powers were failing because he was outside the UK, but he didn't know that yet. At this point, it seemed he might die.
Kitty Pryde's angle was the typical "move heaven and earth to find a way!" melodrama, and CB was just pragmatic. I'll either live or I'll die. Kitty called him a fatalist, but he responded that it was pragmatism. What am i going to do, bust out crying?
That wasn't the exact script of course but, you know, words to that effect.
Also liked that we got some dialogue about dying and coming back from Brian and Pete, both very much in character. Just what i wanted to see.
Good issue, and I'm so looking forward to the next storyline that i'm not reading any articles or interviews about it.
Dear Paul;
I enjoyed this issue very much and very eagerly looked forward to it for quite a while. It raised many good topics and ideas, especially the one that's been on my mind since I read your ideas about Faiza: Just why does this Muslim woman, of Asian origin, love British superheroes at all, especially since so many of them look nothing like her and her family? What's the story behind this? Mr. Hussain's comment about the Crusades was well taken. As a Bishop fan, I see Faiza as being another take on the idea of a superhero being a fan of other superheroes, and it's nice to see you craft this out and show her as a three-dimensional person.
When I first read about Faiza being from Essex, England and acting so much like Kitty Pryde, I also wondered just when or if Pete Wisdom would feel some kind of attraction towards her and how this would all get treated in your series. Especially given the cover for issue #7, I suppose this question can be asked of the Black Knight.
Blade really has a lot of potential in this book. Given your plans to make him a taciturn character, IMO he may need some scenes to make us all know what he's thinking or feeling inside -- especially given the ending of this book. Blade's really such a multi-varied character, with a background in investigation and team leading. For some reason, with him I keep wondering how must an accomplished warrior and jazz musician like he is, feel about losing a hand?? The idea of Blade taking orders from Pete Wisdom amuses me, and I can't wait to see how everyone's going to react to Blade after this book.
Also, I thought the idea of a superhero team mixing veterans and novices was done (for instance) with Len Wein's and Dave Cockrum's X-Men? But the X-Men were certainly "outlaws" at that time.
Thank you for this forum, and I wish you ongoing success.
-- DN
Hey Roko,
Thanks for the Dirty Dozen tip - regarding DC.
I only read Marvel lol. Nah am kidding - but by and large its Marvel and a few indi comics. If I spend anymore per month I will have to start using all the old Star Trek novels as kindling for the fire - to save me having to pay those extravegent gas bills which are helping the energy companys make £600 million profit each year.
Oops sorry I've gone into wicked mode.
Off topic here.
Just a general question.
If they were to say do a movie adaptation of Pauls MI13 stories. Who could you all see playing say the Black Knight - Capt Brit and Faiza and the other characters. I would think the lady from Robin Hood. I can't remember the actress name - but she plays the Muslin character who joined Robins Gang in tail end of season one - would be a good bet for Faiza.
As to CB what about a Daniel Craig type only say about 10 years younger than Craig because we will want sequels.
As for Black Knight a Sean Bean Type.
Spitfire I have no idea who would play that role. I'd think a slightly younger Jodie Foster type would be a good bet - only British. Perhaps Sophie Myles could do it some justice.
What you guys think.
Just butting in to reply to Rab & Lou... yes the puppet show was called Avenue Who and they were made by Jason Lythgoe Hay who operated DT on the night. I operated CT.
I presume we'll be finding out how Spitfire got (semi)vamped in the first place, yes? Given that - even though, yes, they came back later - all vamps (except Hannibal King, thanks to immediate medical help, including an oxygen tent and full blood transfusion, and the mystical fact that he'd never fed) were dusted by the Montesi Formula some years ago'n'all, and she carried on uninterrupted
Great issue, Paul, with a real "Whoa!" moment on the final page.
I'm intrigued by the Black Knight's heart of stone, which I assume is a result of that old spell of the Enchantress having followed him from his old body to his new. (For those unfamiliar with this, the Enhchantress turned Dane to stone in DEFENDERS #4 and Merlin gave him a new body in #11. The stone body was later reanimated by Ultron using Black Talon's voodoo in AVENGERS #158, and subsequently inhabited by a demon in a couple of issues of DOCTOR STRANGE.) We don't actually know the current status of the Enchantress since the relaunch of THOR so I imagine she doesn't figure in this directly.
- Rob Hansen
Hi Paul,
Another crackin' issue. And a big thank you for providing something that has been so badly missing from a lot of Marvel books over the last few years: The Downtime Issue. Yes, this one was both an epilogue for SI and a prologue for the next arc, but it also provided some strong cast interaction and gave a behind the scenes view of MI:13. Much appreciated.
Seeing the team flying out to Birmingham, with military back-up, had a certain Ultimates vibe about it (In a good way, you understand). I'll be interested to see just how the team operate together out in the field.
On other fronts, I hear a rumour that Psylocke might be making a return to the Marvel Universe proper, at some point in the coming months. Assuming that she might be available would there be any chance of seeing Brian's twin sister popping up, at some point?
Cheers, once again. We may be going to the Birmingham Con, in a couple of weeks. Might see you there.
Mark (Sword)
Paul: Your argument re: Joe's relations with "Five" make sense to me. More like two quick changes of leadership if my understanding of the continuity's right, but again, your broad strokes point works for me.
Anonynous: I get the sense from what we've seen thus far that Lady Jacqueline's situation as an apparent daywalker - like Blade - is a very recent development. If I'm wrong, we'll find out in short order.
Re: Spitfire - my reading was that because of the Torch blood transfusion, she was never 100% vamp (fangs n stuff but no vulnerability to sunlight, etc) so therefore the Montesi Formula didn't affect her.
Or maybe Paul has more of an indepth explaination planned for further issues.
btw Pat Ollife art very nice but what made it for me was Paul Neary inking it - that's an artist with a Captain Britain pedigree :)
Thanks, all. Govikes: he still has them, and may use them again. Rocko: great stuff. We're aware of many of the same books. Dr: I think Faiza's love of superheroes is exactly the same as that of many British people growing up. I don't see there's any barrier there. I was a fan of quite a lot of people that 'didn't look like me'. And yes, that's the Blade problem, let the reader know what the taciturn one is thinking. I think that's working out. Jac doesn't entirely know what's going on with her vampishness. She started showing signs of it, and kept them quiet, a few months before the Skrull invasion, to my mind. She's reconciled to it, as she says, because none of the negatives have so far come with it. Sword: I love Psylocke, but let's see who gets dibs on her. And yes, isn't Paul's inking lovely? And Pat did a great fill-in.
It's great to read a team book like this again, since New Avengers changed its dynamic once all the skrulls came into play and I slowly forgot what it was I was missing.
How Birmingham-y is the new arc going to be? An imagined Brum, or a real, photo-referenced one? I live there and I can't quite contain my excitement if I'm being honest. Captain Britain panning some guy's head in right next to real life tramp-piss underpasses? Amazing.
Just read the latest MI:13 - helluva ending man lol. You are really kickin butt on this comic. Congrats!
"Just why does this Muslim woman, of Asian origin, love British superheroes at all, especially since so many of them look nothing like her and her family? What's the story behind this?"
I actually took offence to this. I'm a Catholic, caucasian, non-superpowered male and yet is this supposed to prevent me from liking Faiza because she doesn't look like me? More than liking her, in fact, it's also easy to find Faiza relateable despite any differences. I don't see why Faiza wouldn't like British superheroes for the same reasons as this. Why would appearance be any kind of boundry for her than it is for us?
Loved the issue Paul, as always. I was blown away by Blade's dialogue in particular.
I'm not offended, but I'm with Steve in not quite getting why the Dr finds Faiza's love of superheroes so surprising - she's British and likes a bit of heroism with SFX. Islam happens to be her faith, it doesn't make her a natural enemy of other Brits. She's Muslim, not an alien . . .
And speaking of aliens, I liked the moment with Jaq at the graveside; I don't suppose that was simply Aragorn or whichever winged horse it is this week, swooping by?
And speaking of Jaq, doesn't the page 1 scene-setter need a tweak? She's a superhero turned (jolly decent) vampire, not vice versa.
And speaking of page 1, please tell those nice editors to stop telling us to write in when they're not running a lettercol. Toodle pip.
Thanks, all. We're staying on one housing estate in Birmingham, and Leonard's already made it look right. That wasn't just a winged horse sweeping by. And let's tone down the offence, I'm sure Dr. Noh meant nothing by it. And I do get to see email letters of comment, so they don't just go into the void!
THAT’S what I forgot to mention – how great it was to see a recognisably British home, courtesy of Pat, rather than the medieval hamlets so beloved of Seventies Marvel Team-Up (remember ‘Charing Cross?’). Nice one.
Speaking of puppets....
Next time you're in LA check to see if the show PUPPET UP is playing in Hollywood. It's an improv show all done by Muppets and performed by muppeteers. Hilarious show.
Right now they're only playing it once a month, but it's a treat if you can see it. Just silly fun.
Paul, on your MI:5 preview-interview I wouldn't say you seemed too "defensive" about Faiza's mother joking with her daughter about Dane - but I do think your enthusiasm for showing a positive depiction of a Muslim character was scrambling your logic circuits a bit when you replied.
A Brit who's just like everyone else except Muslim isn't just like everybody else at all, because being Muslim means they hold to certain principles and ideas that not everyone else does hold to.
If Faiza and her mother are headscarf-wearin' conservative Muslims, yeah, they'd almost certainly think Dane a completely unsuitable man for Faiza because he's not a Muslim. Which I understand completely, seeing as how I believe any non-Christian is a totally unsuitable mate.
I thought the explanation that the mother was just joking light-heartedly was perfectly fine, but the reader who took it literally - while perhaps misunderstanding your intention - was definitely not out of line to raise the question.
I must say, I'm still annoyed that you killed John. But all good drama has at it's heart life and death.
And, like Pete said, he went out mocking the invaders.
Issue #5 was brilliant, a "quiet moment" where we see Brian's powers (interesting concept) and how Pete is building his new look MI:13.
However, who was that bloke with Spitfire at the beginning? He was a "cape", so shouldn't he be part of MI:13 as per the PM's instructions at the start of the series?
Adam: There are degrees of conservatism, if my understanding of the range of thought practiced by Muslims is anywhere near accurate. Granted, I may be overly influenced by watching too many episodes of Little Mosque on the Prairie here in its home country.
DanielW: Not being Paul...that was Joe Chapman AKA Union Jack III. As Joe told Lady Jacqueline in that story and Paul himself mentioned up-thread here, Joe's already been working closely with MI-5.
Just read the new Comic Book Resources piece, nice one.
http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=18183
And blimey, don't some of the folks there want this to be a mutie book. To which I say BAH! You may be in the X-office but I like that you've set CB&MI13 up as the UK's superhero book rather than our X-book. I don't mind the odd mutant, but being totally mutant is too restricting - this is the UK, we don't need to be mutants to be weird.
On a similar note, good man, keeping away from Brian's origins. All that genetically engineered/mutant stuff that was tacked on later, who needs it - Brian is Merlin's champion, that's all we need to know.
Well, apart from, whatever happened to the boy's pipe?
Oh, and I agree that there are no Joeys who aren't budgies - and if Betsy comes back, I'd argue there are no Betsys either, that's way too American for an English aristo.
Just wanted to pop by and say, I'm loving the book and the choice of characters. To repeat what has been said already: this doesn't need to be an X-book! A guest appearance by Psylocke would be fine, but let's keep it that way.
Also pleased to see Meggan appear to an a cover, even in cameo ;)
I read the interview over at comicbookresources, and one thing I want to say: keep Tangerine out of 616! It was such a funny easter egg when she appeared in Ellis's "days of future tense" issues of Excalibur. If she ever appears again, hopefully it's in an alternate future scenario.
Faiza is becoming a great new addition. I'm just very excited to see where the book goes next.
Thanks, all. I'd heard about Puppet Up, and I'll pop along next time I'm there. Adam: you're right, I was hard on her, and now I have no way to get back to her. I think it was her saying 'do you have an explanation?' that got to me. It sounded like standard net rudeness, and the sense that only she knew the issues involved. Certainly a mis-step on my part, though. Mart: thanks for the link, put it on the main blog, and I think I'd call Betsy 'Elizabeth'. Which is like naming my children in advance of the possibility of having any!
Hopefully clarifying my questions & comments about Faiza to Paul and everyone:
As a fact, most comic book superheroes aren't people of color. Most superheroes are shown as white people and have white male leaders in particular. In many cases, any people of color (or women of *any* color) on superhero teams are still shown as sidekicks and "token" characters. Muslim superheroes of any gender, last I checked, are most scarce, if not nearly impossible to find. So that is part of what's at the heart of my question.
What does this particular character, Dr. Faiza Hussain, think of such things especially in these days and times, and especially when growing up and most likely seeing no heroes that looked like her? I'm not "shocked" by Faiza's love for British superheroes -- in real life, people like any heroes they choose. In real life, also, most people of color who collect mainstream comic books probably won't find but so many superhero leaders (for instance) who look like them. Since Dr. Hussain in part reflects real life fans, what would she think of such things?
I realize this is the Internet, and I have no intentions of insulting anyone, especially on this forum.
-- DN
Interesting, DrNoh - gawd, I hate that phrase 'people of colour'. It just sets up an oppositional. If we have to refer to pigmentation, can't everyone just have whatever's closest to their tone? Brown, black, sickly pink (in my case) . . . as for 'heroes that looked like her' there's more to looking like someone than skin tone, You might as well have 'heroes with the same sense of humour' or 'heroes who also have puppies and are the same height' etc. Maybe I just don't understand cos I've never seen the need for role models - I want to be the best me, 'not the best me based on someone else'.
Respectfully, do you know any Brits? We're a tiny nation, and our shared culture - that would be TV! - has made us far more alike than you might imagine.
Re: Superheroes What Look Like Us
Faiza probably got into comics fandom as a kid, the same way most of us did. I was a girl science fiction fan in the Eighties, and got my share of odd looks from grownups and/or boys, and read my share of books where the heroes didn't look like me, they RESCUED people who looked like me. Didn't stop me from liking SF.
So, if the question is "Why does Faiza like British superheroes?", I'd answer "Cos she's British."
And if the question is "Why does Faiza like superheroes?", I'd answer "Cos she's Faiza!"
To Paul;
I love this idea of this blog as an interactive comics letters page, and it would be wonderful if Marvel used this idea on their website. It's an awesome concept, and I for one am quite appreciative of it.
I also wish that somehow, you Paul, as well as writers Christopher J. Priest and Steven Barnes could do a project together, especially a comic book.
Belated thanks for your information regarding the Mandarin's mother.
Is Blade to become a core character in CB&MI:13?
Now that Blade is on the team, will Dai Thomas return?
Is there a translation on your blog regarding the actual Welsh dialog between Dai and Pete from the WISDOM Miniseries?
Despite their youthful looks, aren't Blade and Spitfire about the same age? Shouldn't their paths have crossed earlier?
Do you plan to include Meggan and Dr. Rory Campbell in your series, any time soon?
Please keep Alistaire in the book. I like the ongoing rivalry between Alistaire and Pete.
To Mart;
Thank you for your comments. I don't personally know any British people. I used the term "people of color" since I felt it covered the largest group of people I referred to. I think nearly any question I stated regarding Faiza could have been asked about John the Skrull as well. IMO, he and Faiza certainly had so much in common. You or I may not look to superheroes as role models, but some real life people do, and from what I can tell, so does the fictional Dr. Hussain.
I think Dr. Noh has a genuine complaint: there really aren't enough heroes who aren't white, and there still aren't even enough heroines. He's framed that complaint by asking why Faiza would relate so much to those who don't look like her. But as Nightsky pointed out, and this rings a bell with me, when you don't have such heroes visible, you pick your own, and that's what Faiza has done. My wife likes strong female lead characters, and finds some in anime, but will watch a minority of anime that are otherwise quite sexist in search of such characters. That is to say, she doesn't find enough of them in the normal course of events. So she makes do. It's a bad situation that the great Chris Claremont addressed in the past with a majority female X-Men team, without so much as saying he was doing that, which got him love from the readership that continues to this day. I'm not doing enough to help. I think Mart is generalising a little about British life. To address the Dr's other points: yes, Blade is now a permanent member of the team. Dai is certainly a possibility. Remind me to find that translation for you, I have it somewhere. It seems Blade and Spitfire never met before, which is a bit surprising, but these things happen. She only got vampy recently. Alistaire's not going anywhere. Everyone else: wait and see!
Dear Paul;
It's interesting how you mention Chris Claremont's X-Books and the contribution they've had on Marvel and beyond. Many of the ideas he contributed in the past you are actually having to deal with in one way or another with CB:MI13, especially regarding Blade as a character, and long-standing events perhaps leading up to why Captain Britain needed an overhaul, which led to the early idea of Pete Wisdom leading Excalibur.
You've only worked in the comic book field but for so long, so personally I wouldn't expect you to try and undo a lot of inequality, etc. that's been in many of these books for decades. That isn't possible (IMO), and I can see how an attempt to undo such things could perhaps stifle a person creatively. But you do have very lofty goals and truthfully, you're certainly doing more with your creative life than many people dream of and that should also continue to get congratulated.
There is also something that should be said about how you are basically starting from a more "Hollywood" enviorment and wish to write the best comic books you can, when the impression I've gotten over the past few years is that many comic book writers nowadays want to "go Hollywood" and seem ashamed of their profession.
As for Dr. Hussain, I can kind of see her almost as if she's a real life person in that if she's the kind of human being who deals with her life in her own way and not as a stock character or poster character for a cause, for instance, then that's fine with me. I'm not from the UK, so if it's as equal over there as Mart said (and judging by Faiza's comment on the vetting process for her it's not), then so be it. As you and Nightsky said in your comments, the traditional damsels of literature (and even in video games) are sadly very easy to come by. I also like the way you balance the intelligence and strengths of your male and female characters.
Re. Chris Claremont ideas: Mr. Claremont dealt with the idea of Dr. Stewart as part of the "Great Powers" group. Will this ever play into any future CB:MI13 stories, or is that idea done with for now?
Thank you for your time.
It's always good to hear from you, Doctor, but I'm afraid you've finally got me, continuity-wise. Dr. Stewart?
Hello Paul;
Sorry for my misspelling -- I meant Dr. *Stuart*, regarding Dr. Alistaire Stuart's relationship with the other Great Powers.
It is also not my intent to insult Chris Claremont regarding my statements about some of his earlier plots. Without his work, many stories and great characters would never exist.
Ah! Sorry, for some reason I had in my head that it must be a character from around the same time as Lifeguard. No, I don't know why either.