Main Menu

CRISIS and New Statesmen: the little comics nobody loved

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

Previous topic - Next topic

Frank


SUGGESTED FOR MATURE READERS, by Janean Patience, offers a great overview not just of Third World War, New Statesmen, and all the Garth Ennisry and Amnesty which followed, but of the brief period where publishers mistakenly thought comics might be a thing grown ups might buy, in general.

Patience is refreshingly frank about what works and what was absolutely risible, and the depth of the analysis lavished upon John Smith's New Statesmen means this is probably the definitive text on what Patience points out is a strip which is as neglected today as it was at the time of original publication.

This is the best writing on comics I've read since the demise of Douglas Wolk's incredible Dredd Reckoning blog - a Megazine text feature from her would make a refreshing change from creator interviews:

General overview: Crisis Of Identity

New Statesmen: In the context of the eighties fad for adult superheroes

New Statesmen: In the context of post-modernism and team books

New Statesmen: Complexity, redundancy and the way the old always strangles the new in comic books



Colin YNWA

I've never hidden my love of New Statesmen in these parts and I know I'm not alone in that. Its nice to see it discussed so fully elsewhere. There's certainly a heck of a lot to chew over here and while some I don't agree with, its great to be made to examine the thoughts I've had about this too long out of print comic again... if tempts me to reach for my collection and read it again as I have many times before.

As said this comic is too long overlooked and Tharg should role it out again for all to see and admire (that's if Tharg has ownership of it... which actually I suspect he might not?)

IndigoPrime

New Statesmen would be owned by Fleetway, wouldn't it? Rebellion only got ownership of characters and strips that remained part of 2000 AD. (So Rebellion has ownership of Strontium Dog, but not characters from Starlord that didn't transfer—and nothing transferred from Crisis, bar the character Finn.)

Richard

As Finn was in Third World War, does Rebellion own TWW or not?

IndigoPrime

I've no idea, but I doubt it. They'd presumably own the rights to the character, but to the backstories of any full strips that transferred.

M.I.K.

I've read more than once before that Fleetway own the rights, but wonder if that's actually the case when it has "2000 A.D. PRESENTS" at the top of the front cover.

Big_Dave

QuoteYou returned to (2000ad) to write Helter Skelter – how and why?

Well... A deal had been worked out whereby the rights to Troubled Souls, which I did for Crisis, were available. Rebellion bought them from Fleetway and agreed to return them to me in return for a twelve-episode Dredd strip.

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

credo

Adore New Statesmen. Will get round to reading the linked articles, but, reading back over the post-modern reimagination of superheroes texts, I think that John Smith's work stands up well as a really grounded take on the issue. While I love some of the other stories that played with the superhero idea (Zenith, Miracleman, Watchmen, Marshall Law), New Statesmen stands out as being neither in love with the source material (Zenith, Miracleman), nor determined to bludgeon the reader with the big, all encompassing 'meaning' of the piece (Alan Moore, Pat Mills, I'm looking at you).  The New Statesmen characters always felt like they were characters first, rather than pieces for the author to move around to make their grand point.

AlexF

Wow - great find, thanks for sharing! I've long suspected that talking about Crisis and the strips within may well be more fun than actually reading the comic itself...

New Statesmen is definitely one of the better offerings, but it's so dense!

Skullmo

great find!


I have never read the new statesman - is it worth finding?
It's a joke. I was joking.

Jim_Campbell

Quote from: Skullmo on 15 June, 2015, 02:09:23 PM
I have never read the new statesman - is it worth finding?

Even if you don't like the story, there's uniformly great art by Jim Baikie with fill-ins by no lesser talents than Sean Phillips and Duncan Fegredo. There was a five-issue US-format reprint which seems to be patchily available from eBay:

Issues 1, 2 and 5

Issue 3

Issue 4

There are a couple of complete sets and a copy of the collected TPB on eBay as well, but they're being sold from the States and want silly amounts of money for the postage.

Cheers

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

sheridan

Quote from: credo on 15 June, 2015, 11:22:18 AM
While I love some of the other stories that played with the superhero idea (Zenith, Miracleman, Watchmen, Marshall Law), New Statesmen stands out as being neither in love with the source material (Zenith, Miracleman), nor determined to bludgeon the reader with the big, all encompassing 'meaning' of the piece (Alan Moore, Pat Mills, I'm looking at you).
That's just about every superhero comic I've ever liked in that list...

If you discount Batman 'coz he's not superhuman then I'm pretty sure that's all the ones I like :-)

credo

Quote from: sheridan on 15 June, 2015, 09:26:38 PM
Quote from: credo on 15 June, 2015, 11:22:18 AM
While I love some of the other stories that played with the superhero idea (Zenith, Miracleman, Watchmen, Marshall Law), New Statesmen stands out as being neither in love with the source material (Zenith, Miracleman), nor determined to bludgeon the reader with the big, all encompassing 'meaning' of the piece (Alan Moore, Pat Mills, I'm looking at you).
That's just about every superhero comic I've ever liked in that list...

If you discount Batman 'coz he's not superhuman then I'm pretty sure that's all the ones I like :-)

That's very much the case for me too. Supremely anti-cape (and I've no love for Batman either). I'd add Paradax too, even if it's really just a bit of fun.

Hawkmumbler

I could list all the superheroics comics I love on two hands. New Statesmen is one of these. Such a fantastic series and really hope it get's a second resurface with a new TPB (though i'll stick with my Fleetway volumes).

Colin YNWA

On the flip-side I adore many, many fine superhero tales AND still think New Statesmen is one of the best comics on the subject out there.