Partners in Crime: Andy Diggle and Angela Cruickshank take “Control” in June

By John Freeman on May 4, 2016

1st June 2016 sees the launch of a new six-part miniseries, Control, written by Andy Diggle (The Losers, Thief of Theives) and partner Angela Cruickshank, with art from Andrea Mutti (Le Syndrome de Caïn, Iron Man, Noir) and Vladmir Popov (Darklight, Steed and Mrs Peel), published by US publisher Dynamite Entertainment.

In Control, Detective-Sergeant Kate Burnham isn’t making any friends in the Washington DC Police Department. That makes her the perfect scapegoat when a routine homicide investigation threatens to blow open a criminal conspiracy that reaches to the upper echelons of the DC power elite. Kate makes it go away, or they make her go away.

Cop or criminal, power is all about control, applied top-down from the penthouse elite to the hustlers on the street.

But what happens when the street pushes back…?

Control was first announced in 2013 as one of Dynamite’s first creator-owned titles with artist Ben Oliver attached, who remains as cover artist on #1.

“Police procedurals are massive in film, television, and fiction, but they’ve always been strangely under-represented in comics,” Andy Diggle said of the project when it was first announced. “Even the very best of them, like Gotham Central, Powers and Chew, often have an element of the weird, the supernatural, or the downright spandexy.

“With Control, we wanted to write a 100 per cent police procedural, the kind of smart, character-driven, real-world crime drama that rules on TV.

“Kate’s a detective-sergeant in the Washington DC Police Department, and she’s been there long enough to know that just being good at your job isn’t necessarily enough to get you to the top,” he recently told Diamond Previews. “She’s a very private person, and in order to make her way in a tough business, she’s had to build a protective wall around herself, which can make her seem a little stand-offish.”

“Kate’s partner describes her as a ‘mystery inside an enigma wrapped in a Versace trouser suit’,” adds Angela. “And it winds him up! We live in a world where people think nothing of sharing every part of their lives in public via social media. Everyone wants to be on TV, to be a celebrity, and to be seen.

“And so we get suspicious when somebody doesn’t play ball.”

“Fortunately,” Andy says, “she doesn’t particularly give a damn what others think of her, as long as she gets the job done. She’s not one for playing political games. Which could prove to be a problem, given the city she’s in.

“Kate’s colleagues, the media, everyone wants to know … what does she have to hide?”

• Control #1 goes on sale 1st June 2016 and will be available from all good comic shops. Andy Diggle is a guest at Lancaster Comics Day on Sunday 5th June, shortly after launch

• Find Andy online at www.andydiggle.com and follow him on Twitter @andydiggle

• Find Andrea Mutti at www.andrearedmutti.com and follow him on Twitter @andreamutti9

• More information on Control #1 from Dynamite Entertainment

Control #1 Cover C by Guiseppe Camuncoli

About the Author
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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.

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