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CRISIS and New Statesmen: the little comics nobody loved

Started by Frank, 14 June, 2015, 02:33:03 PM

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Jim_Campbell

Quote from: Jimmy Baker's Assistant on 16 June, 2015, 09:55:49 PM
New Adventures of Hitler was an amusing idea, but it's not much more than a curio, really.

I disagree. There's an excellent point at its core, which is: if we allow history to turn Hitler into a demon, into the devil himself, we blind ourselves to the banality of evil. NAoH was mildly controversial at the time for seeming not unsympathetic to the man, but the fact that he WAS a man, a frustrated painter plagued with bowel problems, is fantastically important. If we forget that, we allow ourselves to believe that someone like him could never rise to such heights of power again.

I thought that the [spoiler]sequence where he looks into the bathroom mirror, after shaving his moustache into the now-iconic toothbrush style [/spoiler]is one of the most chilling things you'll read in a comic.

Cheers

Jim
Stupidly Busy Letterer: Samples. | Blog
Less-Awesome-Artist: Scribbles.

Big_Dave

Quote from: Jimmy Baker's Assistant on 16 June, 2015, 09:55:49 PM
I have a hankering to read Troubled Souls. If Ennis has the rights back now, why isn't there a rush to get this back on the shelves?

"Obviously, I have no desire for Troubled Souls ever to see print again"

http://viciousimagery.blogspot.co.uk/2007/02/28-days-of-2000-ad-181-garth-ennis-pt.html

maryanddavid

I think a lot of people think of Criris as a failed experiment, something that didn't do what it set out to do.

While it was not the success that McManus wanted it to be, it achieved most of its aims.
It presented  stories that adults could read, and not really have any previous comic reading habits.
It was republished in an American Format, too and then  collected then in TB's. It lasted 63 issues, nearly four years, for a British comic that's not bad.
Third World War gets neglected a bit, and some of it rightly so, but the first Ezquerra arc and the Hicklenton Ryan stories are superb.
New Statesmen, NAH, Troubled Souls, True Faith, Bible John, all well worth reading. I still always think of Skin as a Crisis story.
Probably one of the most important thing it did was give countless creators their start.
I always felt that Deadline were different sides of the same coin. Both were 'born' out of 2000ad, both trying to do the  more adult stories, to different grown up audiences.
Crisis was not one of the best comics, but it was a good attempt at something radically different, and had some great moments.
Egmont own most of Crisis.

IndigoPrime

If anyone's interested in Crisis, I have the entire run in the loft somewhere. Feel free to make an offer via DM. (They'll be going on classifieds in here at the end of the summer anyway, once I can actually get into said loft, which isn't possible at the mo'.)

robert_ellis

I loved CRISIS - Third World War may have been too "on the nose" but much of it was bloody exciting with great Ezquerra art. The Sean Phillips & Fegredo painted art was bloody beautiful. I love john smith but I've always found New Statesmen impenetrable - perhaps his fabled Hicklenton Tyranny Rex would have been awesome. I remember my parents being annoyed at a police chief being openly racist - for a while 2000ad looked a bit safe & toothless. Garth Ennis "true faith" was perhaps the best combination of fun & social commentary - plus SKIN - even if it never actually appeared in Crisis.

sheridan

Quote from: Big_Dave on 16 June, 2015, 10:29:32 PM
Quote from: Jimmy Baker's Assistant on 16 June, 2015, 09:55:49 PM
I have a hankering to read Troubled Souls. If Ennis has the rights back now, why isn't there a rush to get this back on the shelves?

"Obviously, I have no desire for Troubled Souls ever to see print again"

http://viciousimagery.blogspot.co.uk/2007/02/28-days-of-2000-ad-181-garth-ennis-pt.html
Pity he doesn't say why it's 'obvious', as I regard Troubled Souls as one of his best works (all downhill from there) - especially as he actually thought that Helter Skelter stood up!  A typical entry in the dark era of Dredd stories.

Skullmo

I bought the first 50 or so issues from a charity shop about 5 years ago for £20. I need to find them and read them
It's a joke. I was joking.

Jim_Campbell

Quote from: sheridan on 17 June, 2015, 07:37:06 AM
Pity he doesn't say why it's 'obvious', as I regard Troubled Souls as one of his best works

Very few writers would agree that their very first published work is their best, particularly one like this, plucked from the slush pile without the writer even having much (any?) history of small press/fan work. I'm sure, for Garth, it has all his inexperience writ large on every page.

I can completely understand his feelings. Like you, however, I disagree with his opinion, because I like it better than the vast majority of his later work (that I've read, and I'll freely admit to not actively seeking out his work in a good many years).

Cheers

Jim
Stupidly Busy Letterer: Samples. | Blog
Less-Awesome-Artist: Scribbles.

Jimmy Baker's Assistant

Ah I see, so Ennis got the rights to Troubled Souls so he could suppress it.

I hate it when people do stuff like that.  >:(

Jim_Campbell

Quote from: Jimmy Baker's Assistant on 17 June, 2015, 11:41:52 AM
Ah I see, so Ennis got the rights to Troubled Souls so he could suppress it.

I thought he wanted Troubled Souls/Few Troubles More back so he could re-use some of the characters in something else? (My frequently faulty memory wants to say 'Dicks', but I'm not 100% on that.)

Cheers

Jim
Stupidly Busy Letterer: Samples. | Blog
Less-Awesome-Artist: Scribbles.

maryanddavid


Skullmo

Quote from: Jim_Campbell on 17 June, 2015, 11:44:22 AM
Quote from: Jimmy Baker's Assistant on 17 June, 2015, 11:41:52 AM
Ah I see, so Ennis got the rights to Troubled Souls so he could suppress it.

I thought he wanted Troubled Souls/Few Troubles More back so he could re-use some of the characters in something else? (My frequently faulty memory wants to say 'Dicks', but I'm not 100% on that.)

Cheers

Jim


Yeah, it was so that he owned the dicks characters. His two favourite characters

It's a joke. I was joking.

Link Prime

Thread summary;

New Statesmen is underrated (and very good).
Garth Ennis loves Dicks



credo

Quote from: The Cosh on 16 June, 2015, 05:54:48 PM
the sense of being dropped into the world of story and left to make sense of it for yourself;

That right there might very well be the thing I love most about John Smith's work.*



* It's also one of the reasons (along with his sci-fi brilliantness, and ability with horror) that I think he should write for Dr Who.

Colin YNWA

Quote from: credo on 17 June, 2015, 01:23:07 PM
Quote from: The Cosh on 16 June, 2015, 05:54:48 PM
the sense of being dropped into the world of story and left to make sense of it for yourself;

That right there might very well be the thing I love most about John Smith's work.*



* It's also one of the reasons (along with his sci-fi brilliantness, and ability with horror) that I think he should write for Dr Who.

Yeah there's a Titan title or two I'd love him to have a crack at. That said he does seem to be happy working on his own creations?