Review by Iskander Islam AKA IzzY World
WARNING: CONTAINS SPOILERS
The Book: Billy Farmer may look like your average teenager, but he has a big secret: he’s a super-hero! After being scratched by a radioactive leopard (happens all the time, right?), young Billy soon discovered he had the powers of the mighty jungle cat – but is there more to this power than he thinks?
Taking to the streets to fight crime as “The Leopardman”, Billy soon finds himself up against a whole horde of spooky villains intent on stopping him and hatching some evil plans. Teaming up with his long lost sister, the vigilant hero “Alleycat”, the dynamic duo must uncover the fate of their family and the source of their powers – before it’s too late!
The Review: I’m an old school “The Leopard of Lime Street” fan, having read it back in the day and more recently caught his more recent appearance in The Vigilant, and the three recent collections of the original comic strips from Buster, published by Rebellion. So when I heard that this collection of new tales, first published in the new Monster Fun, was coming out, I was both excited and intrigued.
I was aware Monster Fun had been rebooted for a new generation of comic readers, but unaware that “Leopard of Lime Street” was part of it, but when I saw a collection of the new stories was available, immediately pre-ordered it.
Written by the fabulous Simon Furman (an apt name, now I come to think of it…), who is a British comic legend (best known, perhaps, for his work on Marvel UK’s Death’s Head, and Transformers titles), I was curious to see how he would handle this.
Having seen the “Leopard Man” in the British superhero team “The Vigilant”, whilst it was nice to see him included, the character seen in the eponymous comic, also written by Simon, was a dark, unrecognisable version of the character I knew and whilst an interesting update, was a tad disappointing. Thankfully, his take on “The Leopard” for Monster Fun, which follows on the strips that first appeared in Buster between 1976 to 1985, is much much reminiscent of the original comic strip. The cast from the original series all feature, from Billy Farmer, aka “The Leopard”, his Aunt Joan, Uncle Charlie, newspaper editor Thaddeus Clegg, Inspector Craddock, through to nosey friend Debbie, and more.
The art on opening chapters, by Laurent LeFeuvre, is very reminiscent of the strips drawn by its original artists, Mike Western and Eric Bradbury, with some visual storytelling techniques that remind me of Alan Davis work on Captain Britain, too. His art offered some interesting layouts too, with reading being spread across to two pages, almost landscape rather than portrait.
Sadly, he doesn’t draw the complete collection (as he noted here, work commitments he was already committed to elsewhere necessitating moving on from the strip) and a more modern artists Nick Roche and PJ Holden take over, which was somewhat jarring. The art becomes more like the style you’d see in modern day 2000AD, and although they are great artists in their own right, it does make Birthright a less nostalgic book when they take over. (Although, perhaps that’s probably a good thing, as this is a book that is meant to be for a new generation?).
SPOILER ALERT!
Following on from the original stories, now collected by Rebellion, Birthright is an exploration of Billy Farmer’s family history and how his parentage was linked to another era of animal/ human hydrids – and how that lineage was actually unleashed by the scratch from a radioactively-infected leopard. So, like the original origin, which was heavily influenced by Spider-Man, we kind of go into similar Spidey territory. Farmer’s mother and father have a secret life, Billy has a new found sister, Iris. Our hero is pitted against a group of bad guys, The Cabal, whose connection to Billy reminded me of two Spider-Man storylines involving Ezekiel, and the original Spiderverse crossover featuring Morlun and his family, the Inheritors, attacking the Spider-Man variants.
Like those storylines were to Spider-Man, they throw some new background to the powerset and may upset old school fans into how much a magical, mystical and predetermined aspect there is to the Farmer family.
Iris becomes a new hero “Alley Cat”, a sort of Spider-Woman to his Spider-Man. I didn’t hate the idea as much as thought I would: she’s the usual sassy, edgy trope but does become more likeable when she joins Billy in his own home. Her look is reflective of the punk era of the 1970s but totally impractical for trying to get a mask over (she must use glue to get it that spikey).
Overall, I did enjoy Birthright. It’s nostalgic, but does try and expand on the original premise and whilst it’s not totally tearing up the past stories, it’s trying to give new storylines to springboard from.
One minor complaint: the cover artist, John Lucas, doesn’t get to do any interior art, which is a shame, as his rendition of the Leopard Man – just part of a cover for Monster Fun that was never used – is a modern take, but still in keeping with the original.
Iskander Islam AKA IzzY World
• The Leopard From Lime Street – Birthright (AmazonUK Affiliate Link) by Simon Furman (Writer), Laurent LeFeuvre, Nick Roche and PJ Holden (Artists) | Out: Now | Paperback, 144 pages, £9.99 | ISBN: 978-1837861910 | Buy it from Bookshop.org.uk (Affiliate Link)
• Monster Fun is online at monsterfun.co.uk
• The Leopard From Lime Street: Volume 1
By Tom Tully, Mike Western and Eric Bradbury
Billy Farmer lives with his Aunt Joan and Uncle Charlie in the when he is scratched by a radioactive leopard at the local zoo. Gaining leopard-like strength, speed, reflexes, and tree-climbing abilities, when he’s not fighting crime, Billy sells photographs of himself to the local paper, using the money to support his frail aunt while contending with his violent, greedy and lazy uncle. With warmth, wit, and stunning artwork by Mike Western and Eric Bradbury, The Leopard from Lime Street is a gem of 1970s and 1980s British comics.
• The Leopard From Lime Street: Volume 2
By Tom Tully, Mike Western and Eric Bradbury
The UK’s answer to Spider-Man returns in the second collection of this long lost classic from the hugely popular and long running Buster comic!
THE BEAST OF SELBRIDGE RETURNS!
After being scratched by a radioactive leopard, Billy Farmer discovered that he had somehow developed the powers of the mighty jungle cat.
Life is getting tougher for Selbridge’s premier crime-fighter. The criminals are getting tougher, his the local newspaper editor is out for his blood and now his new leopard skin costume is turning him into a savage beast! To make matters worse, a girl from his school suspects his true identity!
Is this the end for the Leopard from Lime Street…?
• The Leopard From Lime Street: Volume 3
By Tom Tully, Mike Western and Eric Bradbury
The third collection of Britain’s best-loved homegrown superhero, collects stories published in Buster from1978 through to 1979.
Billy Farmer, AKA the Leopardman continues to juggle his tough home life with his career as Selbridge’s premier superhero! As the Leopardman, Billy has managed to thwart countless dastardly villains, but now he faces an all new challenge as The Snow Beast is in town, intent on causing chaos during a cold winter…
Creator Links
Best known for writing Transformers comics, Simon Furman was integral to the success of Marvel UK in the 1980s, alongside Richard Starkings and others. During the 1980s and 1990s he worked on many titles for the publisher, including the aforementioned Transformers and also Action Force, Thundercats, Doctor Who Magazine as well as two series he helped create – Dragon’s Claws and Death’s Head. More recently, he has written the Annihilation: Rohan miniseries for Marvel US and the ten issue maxi-series To The Death series, drawn by his Transformers workmate, Geoff Senior.
Laurent Lefeuvre was born in Brittany in 1977 and grew up a comic book fan, including French reprints of the original “Leopard from Lime Street” series from Buster, which first ran in Sunny Sun, Antares in the 1970s and 80s, but were later reprinted in Janus Stark, in the 1990s.
He made his first mark on the industry illustrating the Franco/Belgium book Tom et William. Inspired by comics from his childhood, including “The Leopard from Lime Street”, he created the French superhero, Fox-Boy. The popular series is published by Delcourt – the premiere French publishing house.
A hot property in comic-world, Roche has been working with giant robots for a long time on the UK fan then professional scene, and is one half of the acclaimed Last Stand of the Wreckers writing team (and the full half for the two following arcs, Sins of the Wreckers and Requiem of the Wreckers).
He subsequently worked with Marvel comics for stints on Death’s Head, Machine Man, Iron Man, Avengers, and has worked on creator owned comics such as Monster Motors and, most recently, the Irish horror/family life series Scarenthood. Roche also holds the honor of closing the IDW Transformers run with his mini series, Last Bot Standing.
Away from comic books, Roche has also worked as a character designer for the animated series Transformers: Earthspark.
“Any chance to work on a Simon strip is a blast, and sinking my claws into some Leopard From Lime Street with him was no exception,” he has previously said of the project.
PJ Holden is a Belfast-based comic artist best known for his work for “Judge Dredd” for 2000AD, who, over the past twenty years, has built a reputation as a rock solid storyteller able to tell illustrate everything from grim dystopian futures, to over the top comedy adventures through war stories on land, sea and air.
His many credits include “The 86ers”, “Judge Dredd”, “Tharg’s Future Shocks”, “Rogue Trooper” and “Johnny Woo” for 2000AD and the Judge Dredd Megazine, and Battlefields for US publisher, Dynamite. He has also co-created a number of creator owned books, including with Dept of Monsterology, Gordon Rennie, and Numbercruncher, with Simon Spurrier.
• Stoked: The Spider-Man Ripoff That Wouldn’t Die
Leopard from Lime Street – The Creators
Tom Tully is one the most prolific writers ever to grace British comics. His diverse portfolio of work was produced over four decades. Born in Glasgow, Tully entered the industry in the sixties when he began working for Fleetway. One of his earliest strips, “Heros the Spartan”, ran in the original Eagle and was illustrated by the great Frank Bellamy. He also wrote “Mytek the Mighty” (for Valiant, reprinted in Vulcan) and “The Steel Claw” (for Valiant, reprinted in Vulcan) in the same decade. The 1970s saw Tully work on a variety of significant stories, including “Adam Eterno” (Thunder, Lion), “Johnny Red” (Battle), “Harlem Heroes” (2000AD), “The Leopard from Lime Street” (Buster) and “Roy of the Rovers” (Tiger), the strip he worked on longer than any other writer.
Eric Bradbury (4th January 1921 – May 2001) began his comic career at Knockout, working on such humour strips as “Blossom” and “Our Ernie”. He moved onto the adventure western, “Lucky Logan”, sharing art chores with Mike Western (Bradbury would go on to ink Western’s pencils on “The Leopard from Lime Street”). High profile work on “Mytek the Mighty” (Valiant), “The House of Dolmann” (Valiant), “Von Hoffman’s Invasion” (Jet!), “Death Squad” (Battle), “Hook Jaw” (Action) and “Doomlord” (Eagle) followed. Bradbury has been described as an ‘unsung hero’ of 2000AD, having contributed to many popular strips in the long-running sci-fi comic. His credits in the ‘Galaxy’s Greatest comic’ include “Rogue Trooper”, “Tharg the Mighty”, “Invasion” and “The Mean Arena”.
Widely regarded as one of the best artists to ever grace the British comic industry, Mike Western (4th February 1925 – 13th May 2008) began his career on Knockout, having already spent time working for GB Animation. During the 1950s he shared art chores with Eric Bradbury on the popular western strip “Lucky Logan”. In 1960 he moved onto TV Express, where he drew “No Hiding Place” and “Biggles”. Work on Buster and Valiant followed, where Mike found himself drawing long-running strips such as “The Wild Wonders”. In the 1970s he was very prolific, illustrating Buster‘s “The Leopard from Lime Street” and several key strips for Battle, including “Darkie’s Mob”, “The Sarge” and “HMS Nightshade”. Mike made an impact on the iconic “Roy of the Rovers”, illustrating the newspaper strip which ran in the Daily Star during the 1990s.
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