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Cult comic creation Octobriana returns in ‘The New Amazons’

By John Freeman on September 12, 2013

Kult Creations, run by longtime comics creator John A. Short, has just announced The New Amazons – a new superhero team comic featuring the return of cult underground comic character Octobriana.

This public domain Russian superwoman, who some readers may recognise for her early appearance in Bryan Talbot’s The Adventures of Luther Arkwright, was created in the early 1970s and featured in the legendary title Octobriana and the Russian Underground.

The Russian She-Devil is joined by other super-women from around the global (like Britannia and America’s Liberty) to fight the ultimate super-villains… including (in the new Preview Special) Vladimir Putin…

Octobriana battles Putin in The New Amazons

Because Octobriana is supposed to have been developed by an illegal underground organisation in Kiev (although the Octobriana Society says she was actually the creation of Petr Sadecky, a spy for the Czechoslovak Secret Police), the character is in the public domain and therefore a select band of comics creators have used her image and name over the years, each putting their own interpretation on the legend.

Since her appearance in The Adventures of Luther Arkwright, she’s also featured in Larry Weltz’s Cherry’s Jubilee, Revolution Comics and Commie Zombie, also by John A. Short. Karen Ellis and Trina Robbins also drew an Octobriana strip for Womanthology: Heroic, a collection of comics and essays created entirely by women (there’s some information on that on octobrianaorg).

Written by John A. Short and illustrated in full colour by Gabby Noble (Savage! Jungle Princess/Spliffy: The Stoner Chick!), The New Amazons Preview Special features an exclusive comic strip adventure that will not feature in the forthcoming Graphic Novel.

John is a full-time comics creator who has worked for all sorts of different publications all over the world. He created Rex and Robin Hoodie for Egmont’s TOXIC and wrote for Hunt Emerson’s Ardnox High strip online. He’s had stories in Fantagraphics and Rip Off Comix anthologies in the US and strips published in the anthology titles, Soft Secrets and Wasted as well as writing for Artx and Men Only. But in comics fandom he’s best known as the self-publisher of the small press titles Octobriana (which won an award for Best New British Comic), Armageddon Patrol and Loxley.

As well as running Kult Creations he’s currently writing ‘Ms. Fortune’ for Mayfair Magazine.

• The New Amazons is available from Kult Creations: http://kultcreations.blogspot.com

• More on the Octobriana Myth here by the Octobriana Society

John Freeman

The founder of downthetubes, which he established in 1998. John works as a comics and magazine editor, writer, and on promotional work for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He is currently editor of Star Trek Explorer, published by Titan – his third tour of duty on the title originally titled Star Trek Magazine.

Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine, Babylon 5 Magazine, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics. He has also edited several comic collections, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”.

He’s the writer of “Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies” for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs” with Dave Hailwood.