As trailed yesterday, Blink Twice artist Lawrence Etherington appeared on BBC Breakfast this morning, as part of the BBC’s coverage of Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s role in Marvel’s new Captain Britain and MI13 comic, written by Paul Cornell. (Brown is not, by the way, a superhero in the comic, but we thought our headline would grab your attention and is less long winded and boring than “Gordon Brown features in new Marvel Comic”).
Not to be outdone, Robin was asked to turn the BBC Breakfast presenters into a comic strip during the show, which he did with his usual panache.
News that Gordon Brown appears in the top selling new Captain Britain comic has been picked up by both UK and overseas papers, from Newcastle’s Journal (which notes the huge sales of the first issue) to the Daily Telegraph, the Mirror, the Mail, (helpfully pointing out Brown is not the charater in skin tight lycra in the comic), Variety and others.
The newspapers generally report Paul Cornell is “quite a fan” of Gordon Brown who, as far as we know, is not thought to be one of the hideous gree-skinned shape-shifting Skrull invaders Captain Britain is fighting in the comics.
“I’m pleased we’ve given him a PR boost on both sides of the Atlantic and around the world,” says Paul adding that he wanted to se him portrayed as an effective leader.
“He’s marshaling the troops, showing leadership and acting heroically,” he said of the alien-busting Brown. “I feel quite sorry for him, so I’m glad I’ve contributed a bit.”
Along with pop stars and other celebrities (a Skrull looking like John Lenon features in the new comic, too), US presidents have regularly appear in Marvel Comics – even discredited ones such as Richard Nixon, seen here in The Incredible Hulk #174 with Henry Kissinger, sourced by none other than cartoonist Fred Hembeck for his web site way back in 2004. But British PMs have also featured: Labour PM Jim Callaghan featured in Marvel UK’s Captain Britain Weekly back in the 1970s (as did the Queen!) and their have been numerous other political cameos down the years.
Whether such appearances inprove their standing in the polss with younger voters is unclear. Appearing in a Marvel Comic didn’t save Nixon…
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John is the founder of downthetubes, launched in 1998. He is a comics and magazine editor, writer, and Press Officer for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He also runs Crucible Comic Press.
Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine and Overkill for Marvel UK, Babylon 5 Magazine, Star Trek Magazine, and its successor, Star Trek Explorer, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics; and has edited several comic collections and graphic novels, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”, and Hancock: The Lad Himself, by Stephen Walsh and Keith Page.
He’s the writer of comics such as 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: Television
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