It’s been ten years since cartoonist Lew Stringer last published a Brickman collection, assembling stories featuring his seriously silly superhero, who made his debut way back in the 1970s. For those of you who missed out on Brickman Returns back in 2015, however, good news! The dopey vigilante is back – again!
Lew is re-presenting the best of Brickman in a three-issue mini series, and the first issue is available from his online shop now. Lew will also bringing copies to Macc-Pow in Macclesfield this Saturday, and the London Comic Festival, part of London Film and Comic Con on 5th – 6th July.
And just who is Brickman? He’s zillionaire Loose Brayne, who was stuck for something to do one night when suddenly a brick was lobbed through his window! Naturally, as it’s a comic strip it instantly inspired him to become… the Brickman!
Yes, it’s a Batman parody, but the daftest parody you’ll ever see, who last appeared, regularly in Image Comics’ Elephantmen, reaching its conclusion with Issue 24.
The character originally appeared in Lew’s own fanzine, After ImageIssue Three, way back in November 1979. Initially his name was “Brick-Person” for the first few strips, but Lew settled on the snappier “Brickman” after a while.
“The character was originally conceived as a short term Batman spoof, and never envisioned with longevity in mind, but his popularity has brought him back time and time again over the decades,” says Lew.
Over the last forty years, Brickman has appeared in fanzines, small press comics, a one-off 1986 comic, the graphic novel collection Brickman Begins!, published by Active Images, and became a recurring full colour strip in most issues of Image Comics’ Elephantmen with Issue Two in 2006 – the collection and his US appearance thanks to former Marvel UK editor Richard Starkings, founder of the lettering company Comicraft and creator of Hip Flask and Elephantmen.
Lew published a sequel to Brickman Begins!, Brickman Returns! in 2015, featuring the 20-page full colour Brickman saga collecting the strips that ran in Image Comics’ Elephantmen monthly between 2006 and 2009.
“I’m not reprinting the very early stuff from 1979, or the early 1980s,” says Lew of his new mini-series, “as I consider those too crudely drawn; so we kick off in 1986, with the three pager from Swiftsure No. 6, followed by the 20-page ‘Brickmania Caper’, from the Brickman Special originally published by Harrier Comics back then.
“That includes the guest pages that were part of the story, so there’s wonderful work by Dave Gibbons, Kevin O’Neill, Mike Collins (inked by Mark Farmer), plus a ‘Brickman and The Cloak’ pin up by Mike Higgs!”
The new Brickman series is, Lew cautions, labelled ‘For Mature Readers’.
“Brickman was never aimed at children, although some kids did buy it.,” the cartoonist, whose many credits include his own popular creation, Combat Colin, along with strips for BEANO, The Dandy, Oink!, VIZ, and more.
“My inspiration for Brickman was Monty Python and the Airplane movies rather than the Beano. However, by 2025 sensibilities have changed and some jokes about body shaming, sexism, and images of bricks walloping into heads might not sit well with some parents. No nudity or bad language though! Unless you regard ‘pillock’ as bad language, in which case just buy the Daily Mail instead!”
• Grab a copy of the new Brickman #1 here
• Check out Lew’s latest work at lewstringercomics.blogspot.com
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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.
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