| Albion | |
|---|---|
Cover to Albion issue 1, by Dave Gibbons. |
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| Publication information | |
| Publisher | WildStorm |
| Format | Limited series |
| Publication date | August, 2005 - November, 2006 |
| Number of issues | 6 |
| Creative team | |
| Writer(s) | Leah Moore & John Reppion |
| Artist(s) | Dave Gibbons (covers) |
| Penciller(s) | Shane Oakley |
| Inker(s) | George Freeman (with Richard Friend, Sandra Hope and Peter Guzman) |
| Letterer(s) | Todd Klein |
| Colorist(s) | Wildstorm FX |
| Creator(s) | Alan Moore (plot) |
| Editor(s) | Scott Dunbier Kristy Quinn |
| Collected editions | |
| Albion | ISBN 1401209947 (US) |
| Albion | ISBN 1845763513 (UK) |
Albion is a six-issue comic book limited series plotted by Alan Moore, written by his daughter Leah Moore and her husband John Reppion, with covers by Dave Gibbons and art by Shane Oakley and George Freeman. As a result of a deal forged by Vice President Bob Wayne of DC Comics and Publishing Director Andrew Sumner of IPC Media, it was published through DC Comics' WildStorm imprint. The series aimed to revive classic IPC-owned British comics characters such as Captain Hurricane, Robot Archie, The Steel Claw and The Spider (as well as minor characters like Fishboy and Faceache), all of whom appeared in comics published by Odhams Press and later IPC Media during the 1960s and early 1970s, such as Valiant and Lion.
Debuting with a cover date of August, 2005 the first two issues were released monthly, with the third issue delayed two months (Moore & Reppion cited delays in scheduling impacting the art production[1]). Initially solicited release between October 2005 and January 2006, issues 4-6 were subsequently resolicited, and finally released throughout 2006, with cover dates between June and November. The TPB collection followed swiftly after #6 was released in both the US and UK, from WildStorm and Titan Books respectively.[2]
The logo is similar to the one used by Scottish car manufacturer Albion Motors, renowned for their superior engineering and slogan "Sure as the Sunrise".
Contents |
The story revolves around a modern-day Britain where comic book characters have turned out to really exist. The British public had been largely unaware of their existence throughout the '60s and '70s, thinking them to be fictional.
Most of the IPC heroes are now interred within an asylum (comparisons are drawn with Camp X-Ray), and the daughter of one of the inmates (who calls herself Penny) is determined to reveal their existence to the larger public. Using a similar narrative device to that which Alan Moore employed in Supreme and Tom Strong, flashbacks are related in the style of comics of yesteryear. For example, Penny Dreadful's childhood is drawn in a style similar to Dennis the Menace or the Bash Street Kids.
A number of characters from UK comics appear in Albion, some are prisoners, others prison guards, others are at large include;
A World War II hero who is the final line of defense in the government prison. He has an old-fashioned style about him; he uses quaint phrases ("The whole ruddy lot of us", "I could do with forty winks", etc.) and is casually racist. Captain Hurricane's origin is revealed in Albion, he is the result of hundreds of experiments to create a supersoldier through the use of drugs. His assistant 'Maggot' Malone is a medical doctor monitoring his condition.
Ian Eagleton, as a child he had many encounters with Grimly Feendish who terrified him. When he grew up, he became the Warden of the government prison that held all the heroes.
Jason Hyde was exposed to radiation that resulted in him developing x-ray vision and mind reading abilities. He currently works as a security guard in the prison.
Once a police detective, who served in both Korea and Vietnam, is now a member of Special Operations, who is investigating problems in the Castle.
A computer in the shape of a human head, Brian's Brain is an "inmate" in the government prison who has become integrated with the prison computer systems, and has predicted an upcoming disaster.
The Cloak was a secret agent who admired The Shadow and was arrested and placed in the government prison.
Cursitor Doom is a psychic investigator who has been in a coma for the past “twenty-something years”. His castle is being used as a prison by the government.
Eric Dolmann is a master inventor and robotics expert, he has created a range of robots to fight crime. Over twenty years ago he was arrested by The Spider, an event that is witnessed by his daughter Penny. He died in prison.
In prison.
Faceache, Frederick Akeley has the ability to change his features. He is a trustee in the prison, and does impressions of Bruce Forsyth for the guards. He is dating Martha of the Monster Make-Up.
Grimly Feendish (aka Grymleigh Gartside Fiendstien) began his life of crime over thirty years ago, committing crimes including theft, arson, murder and acts of gross indecency. He is eventually arrested and imprisoned in the government prison.
Tim Kelly discovered a jewel, the Eye of Everlasting Life, which granted him invulnerability. He is currently a prisoner in the government prison, much aged after the jewel's confiscation. The Eye itself is shown to be in the possession of the British Prime Minister.
Better known as the Steel Claw, a prisoner and friend of Tim Kelly. Crandall has the ability to turn invisible, except for his prosthetic right hand.
Martina has make up that can transform her face into that of a monster, she is in prison and is dating Faceache.
A giant robot ape.
James Hollis, had a curse placed on him that turned his bones to rubber. He attempted an escape with Tri-man which failed. He is being stored in a cooled cell.
The Spider was a master criminal who was employed by the UK government to arrest all superheroes and inventors, as his reward he was also imprisoned. He loves playing mind games and is always looking for ways to escape.
Johnny Small obtained superpowers from Professor Meek’s ray, he had supersight, superspeed, and superstrength. He was a prisoner until The Spider encouraged him to attempt an escape with Rubberman, and was killed during the attempt.
Penny Dolmann, daughter of inventor Eric Dolmann, was a child who loved to get in trouble and play with her father's robots. She was put into foster care after her father was arrested by the government and had a very difficult time in school. She has inherited her father's inventive genius, and has been locating her father's missing "dolls" since she was 18. At the start of Albion she is looking for allies to find and rescue her father and the other heroes.
A Victorian thief who travelled forward in time to the 1970s when he stole a magical watch from Cursitor Doom. He set up a music shop under the alias "Charles Love" and later took over an antique store. He became aware that the government was arresting unique individuals and is very careful about revealing his identity.
A Victorian hero, born with rubber bones and who is a brilliant escapologist, and also solves crimes and fights evil.
The Queen of the Seas is a reliable old ship.
Robot Archie was a hero who was deactivated and served as a display in a cafe until Penny and Danny rescued and reactivated him.
A tie-in volume entitled Albion Origins was released by Titan Books in November 2007 in hardback, with a cover by Brian Bolland. This volume was designed to showcase the characters featured in Albion as they originally appeared in various IPC, Fleetway and other British comics. It featured reprints of several Cursitor Doom, Tim Kelly, Janus Stark and Dolmann stories, as well as newly written articles exploring the history of these characters' comics.[3]
Thunderbolt Jaxon, a "spinoff" of Albion - written by Dave Gibbons and drawn by John Higgins, with covers by Gibbons - was launched as a five issue mini-series in 2006. A trade paperback was released in 2007, ISBN 1-4012-1257-3, which contained some additional info on the original character.
Battler Britton, a five-part series (starting in July 2006) based on IPC's classic WWII air ace, Wing Commander Robert "Battler" Britton. Britton was the star of such comics as Sun, Knockout and the long-running digest titles Air Ace Picture Library and Battle Picture Library. The script is by well-known comics author (and WWII expert) Garth Ennis, with art by New Zealand's Colin Wilson. Covers are by Garry Leach. A trade paperback was released in 2007, ISBN 1-4012-1378-2, which contained some additional info on the original character.
A trade paperback collection of the six-issue miniseries was released in the US on December 13, 2006 by WildStorm (ISBN 1-4012-0994-7). Titan Books published the UK edition a month later, on January 26 (ISBN 1-84576-351-3).
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