A1 (comics)

A1 is a graphic novel anthology series published by British company Atomeka Press. It was created in 1989 by Garry Leach and Dave Elliott. In 2004 it was restarted, publishing new and old material.

Publication history

The first series (from the late 1980s) comprised six issues, plus the A1 Bikini Confidential. Page-count varied around the 64-128 range. Most stories were one-off showcases, sometimes featuring characters that had publishing history elsewhere (e.g. Concrete, Mr. Monster, Mr. X, the American, Flaming Carrot). "Bricktop" was the one ongoing serialized story, though The Bojeffries Saga by Alan Moore and Steve Parkhouse appeared as self-contained stories in almost every issue. Issue 6 was numbered "6A" and a proposed "6B" never saw print, although most of the stories did see print in other publications, such as Heavy Metal magazine.

In 1992 a second series of A1 appeared under Marvel Comics's Epic Comics imprint, edited by Dave Elliott. These were four 48-page color books featuring work from Dave McKean, Kent Williams, Scott Hampton, George Pratt, P. Craig Russell, Glenn Fabry, Pedro Henry, and many others, including the late Martin Emond.

In 2004 Atomeka started publishing A1 again starting with A1 Big Issue Zero. It featured a Bojeffries Saga story that had originally appeared in two parts in Warrior with an introduction that was produced for the U.S. market to introduce the tone of the material. The new material for that issue was a strip by Steve Pugh called Shark-Man. Shark-Man eventually had a three issue run in full colour in 2008 published by Image Comics.

Titles

Book 1

ISBN 1-871878-05-5

• The Big Button, Barry Windsor-Smith
• Warpsmith: "Ghostdance", Alan Moore and Garry Leach
• Deadface: "The Fall of Angels and Other Misfits", Eddie Campbell and Phil Elliott
• Bad Bread, Graham Marks, and John Bolton
• The Ear of Seeing, excerpt from Goethe's Faust, illustrated by John Bartlett-Bolton
• Survivor, Dave Gibbons and Ted McKeever
• The Actress and the Bishop go Boating, Brian Bolland
• Wayfarer: "A Taste of Gold", Paul Beher and Una Fricker
• Bojeffries: "Festus: Dawn of the Dead", Alan Moore and Steve Parkhouse
• Mr X:
  • "Mr X", Bill Sienkiewicz
  • "Heartsprings and Watchstops", Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean
  • "Prologue Epilogue", Dean Motter
• Libretto, Ted McKeever and Dave Gibbons
• The Return of the Purple Claw - Blazin' Glory No. 5, Oct 1942
• Blazin' Glory: "Ol' Glory, a Tribute", Paris Cullins and Dave Elliott
• Brick Top, Glenn Fabry
• Flaming Carrot: "The Bandit Moons", Bob Burden
• The Hollow Circus, Peter Milligan, Brendan McCarthy and Tom Frame
• Morelli-9: "Lobster Rumpus", Dom Regan

Book 2

ISBN 1-871878-11-X

• Big Death, Peter Milligan and David Lloyd
• King Pant, Philip Bond and Jamie Hewlett
• Mr X: "Windows", panels by Nick Abadzis, Mark Badger, Simon Bisley, Brian Bolland, Philip Bond, Bob Burden, Paul Chadwick, Brett Ewins, Mark Farmer, Dave Gibbons, Paul Grist, Jamie Hewlett, John Higgins, Michael Kaluta, David Lloyd, Ted McKeever, Mike Mignola, Kev O'Neill, Paul Rivoche, William G. Simpson, Bryan Talbot, Charles Vess and Matt Wagner
• Bojeffries: "Sex with Ginda Bojeffries", Alan Moore and Steve Parkhouse
• This Really Happened!, Bambos
• A Death on the Beach, Phil Elliott
• Pressbutton: "A Long Time Dead", 'Pedro Henry' and Glenn Fabry
• Morelli-9: "Sperm Warfare", Dom Regan
• Elephant's Graveyard, Raymond Ward, Dougie Braithwaite, and Rex Ward
• Empty Chairs, Graham Marks and John Bolton

Book 3

ISBN 1-871878-90-X

• The American, Mark Verheiden, Dougie Braithwaite, and Chris Warner
• Deadface: "The Bookkeeper From Atlantis", Eddie Campbell
• The Actress and the Bishop throw a Party, Brian Bolland
• My Closest Friend, John Kaiine and Dave McKean
• Leone Ryder, Gary Pleece and Warren Pleece
• Bricktop: "Walton Pig Girls", Chris Smith and Glenn Fabry
• Endless Summer, Philip Bond
• The House of Hearts Desire, Grant Morrison and Dom Regan
• Point of View, Graham Marks and John Bolton
• Bojeffries: "A Quiet Christmas With the Family", Alan Moore and Steve Parkhouse
• Monsieur Mouche: "Lighter than Air", Jean-Luc Coudray and Moebius

Book 4

ISBN 1-871878-56-X

• Grendel: "Devil's Whisper", James Robinson and D'Israeli
• Hellcity, Alan Martin and Jamie Hewlett
• The Funeral, Andrew Strickland and Richard Barker
• Bricktop: "Balls", Chris Smith and Glenn Fabry
• The Moebius Portfolio (translated by Jean-Marc Lofficier & Randy Lofficier)
  • In the heart of the impregnable meta-bunker, Alejandro Jodorowsky and Moebius (see Incal)
  • Carnet 3: the Moebius Sketchbook
  • Moebius circa '74
• The Last Party on Earth, Jean-Marc Lofficier and Steve Whitaker
• The Day the General Came, James Robinson and Phil Elliott
• Emily, Almost, Bill Sienkiewicz
• Dalgoda: "The Hero of the Tale", Jan Strnad and James Nowlan
• A Lot on his Plate, Graham Marks and John Bolton
• Bojeffries: "Song of the Terraces", Alan Moore and Steve Parkhouse

Book 5

ISBN 1-871878-39-X

• Cover Story, Neil Gaiman and Kelly Jones
• Bricktop: "Sunglasses", Chris Smith and Glenn Fabry
• In the Penal Colony, Peter Milligan and Brett Ewins (adapted from Franz Kafka)
• The Contact, Brett Ewins and Shaky Kane
• Tor: "Food Chain", Joe Kubert
• Jeff Hawke: "The Devil at Rennes-le-Chateau", Sydney Jordan, Trevor Goring and Thayed Rich
• Knuckles the Malevolent Nun, Cornelius Stone and Roger Langridge
• Bic: "Party Piece", Ed Hillyer
• Reasons, Jeff Jones
• The Boy Who Defied Gravity, Nick Abadzis
• Take One Capsule Every Million Years, Bruce Jones, Jim Sullivan, and William Stout
• Elvistein: "Yin and Yankee", Bambos Georgiu
• The Proxy, Ramsey Campbell and David Lloyd
• Trypto the Acid-Dog: "Pet Sounds", Miguel Ferrer, Bill Mumy, Steve Leialoha
• Kathleen's House, Steve Dillon

Awards

• 1990: Won "Best Anthology" Harvey Award^[1]

• 1992: Nominated for "Best Anthology" Eisner Award. for A1 #5^[2]

Notes

References

External links

• Review of A1 issue zero at Comics Bulletin
• Interview with Dave Elliott at the Lottery Party