Charles Shaar Murray, Alan Mitchell and Alan Moore. Photo: Mitch Jenkins (Used with his kind permission)
Although we met only a couple of times in the flesh – last during the Kapow 2012 convention in London, where we had a long and entertaining chat about digital comics – he always struck me as an ideas powerhouse, constantly thinking through the opportunities new ways to deliver comics to readers and new ideas to involve young people in our medium, science fiction and more.
When we last communicated – just days before he died as the result of a long-term heart condition that was only diagnosed after his death – he was busy researching black comic creators in British comics history. I was looking forward to seeing the results of his researches, and I hope someone is able to recover them to publish posthumously.
“I can’t remember the first time I met Alan but it’s felt like he’s always been in my life popping at various events, conventions and the like,” editor and writer Tim Pilcher recalls. “Alan was a big man. Big in stature, big in heart and big in ideas. The term ‘gentle giant’ often gets banded around too frequently, but Alan truly was the epitome of this.”
Alan Mitchell and Pat Mills on stage at North Wales Comic Con. Photo: Lisa Mills
Art from Third World War Book 3
“He was looking for a co-writer to bring social and political authenticity to the direction he was planning to take the story,” notes Steve Holland. “Mitchell did more than add perspective: the character of Chief Inspector Ryan, who embodied racism in the police force, was based on a PE teacher Mitchell remembered from primary school: ‘A military man. Dark, tall, lean and muscular with an angular, hawk face. About thirty-five years old. A disciplinarian who loved to use the slipper and the cane. A brute whose name was Ryan.'”
“I wanted to write about black issues and I figured the only way to do this properly was to work with a black writer, so I went out looking for one and eventually found Alan Mitchell,” Pat recalls of his work with Alan on the Pat Mills Lost Stories group in 2010. “Inspector Ryan was his idea and we worked together on bringing in the Mau Mau.
“Alan… reminded me recently how the printers whose relatives had apparently suffered at the hands of the Mau Mau (who were viewed like Al Quaida) refused to print that issue where the British gun them down. [Robert] Maxwell had to intervene. Alan also told me how he met a Brit sergeant major who took sadistic delight in telling him how they crushed the Mau Mau. Tony Skinner was a kind of role model for Finn when I was using a Mike Leigh technique of basing stories on real people.”
Alan worked on Books Two and Three of the story between April 1989 and December 1990, working with Carlos Ezquerra, Duncan Fegredo, Sean Phillips, Richard Piers Rayner, Glyn Dillon, Steve Pugh and Robert Blackwell. It was a complex, hard-hitting tale that pulled no punches in covering issues such as police racism, no-go areas, private police forces, class war, and black resistance, anticipating Britain’s “surveillance society”, and these were themes Alan would return to in the Crisis Amnesty International special story “Prisoner of Justice” drawn by Glenn Fabry, who called him his “best friend” in a short tribute after his death.
A spread from Raptorz by Alan Mitchell and Glenn Fabry, which Alan and I discussed at Kapow in 2012. We were unable, incredibly, to find a home for the strip. © Alan Mittchell & Glenn Fabry
“He was a genuine original,” concurred author Robert Dee.
One of Alan’s favourite drawings of Judge Dredd, a masterful piece of art by the late and very great John Hicklenton.
This was not his first text-based project. “Alan and were friends from the late 1980s,” Steve Hooker recalls. “He took over New Blood, a collection of short stories from first time writers and we worked on that. I had many, many a happy time with Alan, including watching the first episode of Spitting Image together and his introduction to me of the world of Philips Laser Discs…”
Post-Crisis, Alan co-wrote “Coffin” for Toxic in 1991, drawn by Morak Oguntade and worked with artist Jonathan Akwue, who he’d also met while working at Acme on “Scrolls of Imhotep”, published in an Africentric magazine The Alarm in the mid-1990s.
Although he moved away from writing comics to concentrate on work involving working with young people, including work for as an intensive support personal adviser with West Sussex County Council, it was a medium that he would return to in 2009, co-founding Buzz Comics in 2009 with Steve Huckle, an attempt to create an online comics community for creators of all ages where they could post artwork and receive feedback and encouragement. It included tutorials and online comics and was supported by artists Warren Pleece and Glenn Fabry and writer Indra Shann.
Steve Holland notes the project, which made its public debut at the Strange New Worlds one-day convention in Worthing on 24th July 2010, an event he co-founded,
Alan working behind the scenes at a Strange New Worlds event. Photo: Jim Precious – used with permission
Art from a story called “Jagged Emma” drawn by Steve Kane, part of a horror anthology title Alan Mitchell had developed called Fierce.
Art from a project by Alan called “The Bonemen”, drawn by Italian artist Francesca Ciregia from Italy, pitched to several publishers in 2013. “The Boneman was first conceived years ago when I tried for a stab at Vertigo,” Alan told his social media followers. “Pat Mills was involved at the time, when we developed a story about covens. I have always had this character at the back of my mind to start to fully explore African magic as well as African history going back to before ancient Nubia and the Twi.”
Before his untimely death in the works – as yet unpublished – was Rumplestiltskin, a children’s novel co-written with Indra, due to be published in 2016 under the pen-name Joe Leonard with a cover by Glenn Fabry. The story centres on a witch who wants to raise a demon out of hell, and a young girl — Miranda — and her husband and son who are caught up in the witch’s plans to systematically destroy their world.
Alan was happy to use this suitably doctored image as a profile picture on social media, reflecting his love of SF
“A great writer and a real loss,” he says. “We had some intense debates about Gerry Haylock and Doctor Who at the Sci Fi Weekender the last time I saw him and I’ll treasure those memories.”
“Alan was constantly developing new concepts, stories, plots, characters and comics every time I saw him,,” says Tim Pilcher. “In fact, we were talking about a pitch of his just before he died. He seemed to have an endless well of creativity he could constantly drawn upon.
“And he was very generous with his creativity, sharing, developing and collaborating with all and sundry, working with established gurus like Pat Mills and then passing that knowledge onto the younger generation, actively encouraging aspiring artists and writers.
“Ironically, for a man who cared so much for others, he was never that great at looking after himself,” Tim continues, “and I feel terrible that I wasn’t there to kick him up the backside to go to the doctor’s. But then again, he was a great charmer who’d always convince you that no matter what woes he had, he was always doing fine.
“Ironically the last time I saw Alan was at our mutual friend (Tony Luke)’s funeral, just a few months ago. Alan and I hadn’t seen each other for a good six months, and despite the sad circumstances it was great to catch up with him. As always, he had a million different plans running around in his head. Plans that now only exist in some alternate, more forgiving, universe. I’ll miss his smiling face, his sharp wit and that deep booming, laughing voice!”
• Alan Mitchell, born 1960, died Wednesday 22nd June 2016. He is survived by his children Liatt Kwame, age 30, Lateef Che, age 28, Nyasha Ruth, age 25, Shani Efia, age 25, Annu Roshin, age 11 and Olanna Niamh, age 8
• If you remember Alan and would like to support them in financing his funeral costs then please donate here on YouCaring
“Third World War” Book 2 – The Rhythm of Resistance begins in Crisis Issue 30
Web Links
• Read Steve Holland’s obituary on Bear Alley
• Suggested for Mature Readers: Preach to the yout’ dem
An appraisal of “Third World War”, the ‘tentpole’ strip featured in Crisis – which Alan himself responds to, as does Igor Goldkind
• Reprint This! Third World War
Grant Coggans began urging for a reprint of the strip back in 2009 and offers his appraisal of the story. (Carlos Ezquerra still has all his art and Titan have looked at collecting the tale)
The home of the digital comics project founded by Steve Huckle and Alan Mitchell
The Facebook page for the SF convention Alan co-founded, which takes place in Worthing
• Crisis: Remembering the Comic That Changed the Game
Pat Mills looks back on the title in an interview with Ian McQuaid
A guide to Crisis stories and an overview of “Third World War”
• Comic Vine Directory: Crisis
A listing of all 52 issues of Crisis, with covers and some credits
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.
Categories: British Comics, Creating Comics, downthetubes Comics News, downthetubes News, Featured News, Obituaries
Six siblings named are actually the children of Alan.
Thanks, fixed.