Cover to Albion issue 1, by Dave Gibbons.

Albion is a six-issue comic book series plotted by Alan Moore, written by his daughter Leah Moore and her husband John Reppion, with covers by Dave Gibbons and art by Shane Oakley and George Freeman. As a result of a deal forged by Vice President Bob Wayne of DC Comics and Publishing Director Andrew Sumner of IPC Media, it was published through DC Comics' WildStorm imprint. The series aimed to revive classic IPC-owned British comics characters such as Captain Hurricane, Robot Archie, The Steel Claw and The Spider (as well as minor characters like Fishboy and Faceache), all of whom appeared in comics published by Odhams Press and later IPC Media during the 1960s and early 1970s, such as Valiant and Lion. Image File history File links Albion_comic_issue1. ... Image File history File links Albion_comic_issue1. ... A comic book is a magazine or book containing the art form of comics. ... For other persons named Alan Moore, see Alan Moore (disambiguation). ... Leah Moore (born February 4, 1978, in Northampton, England) is a British writer. ... John Reppion (born 1978, in Liverpool, England) is a British writer. ... Dave Gibbons (born April 14, 1949) is a British writer and artist of comics. ... Shane Oakley is an illustrator and comic book artist from Stoke On Trent, England. ... George Freeman (born 1951) is a Canadian comic book artist. ... DC Comics is an American comic book and related media company. ... Andrew Sumner Andrew Sumner is a British magazine publisher and movie journalist, currently employed by IPC Media as Publishing Director of their weekly celebrity title, Now. ... IPC Media the UKs leading consumer magazine publisher, with an unrivalled portfolio of brands, selling over 350 million copies each year. ... DC Comics is an American comic book and related media company. ... WildStorm Productions, or simply WildStorm or Wildstorm, is a publishing imprint and studio of American comic book publisher DC Comics. ... British comics is the art form of comics as practiced within the United Kingdom. ... Robot Archie is the name of a fictional comic book character who first appeared in Lion #1 published in February 1952. ... The Steel Claw was one of the most popular comic book heroes of British weekly adventure comics of the 1960s and 1970s. ... The Spider is a comic book character who started out as a a supervillian before becoming a superhero. ... Fishboy: Denizen of the Deep was a black and white strip appearing the British comic book Buster between 1968 and 1975, written by Scott Goodall and drawn by John Stokes and others. ... Faceache was a comic strip in, originally, the UK comic Jet, first appearing in issue 1, dated 1 May 1971. ... Odhams Press was a British publishing firm. ... IPC Media the UKs leading consumer magazine publisher, with an unrivalled portfolio of brands, selling over 350 million copies each year. ... The cover of the Valiant annual of 1975. ... Robot Archie featured on the cover of Lion. ...

The logo is similar to the one used by Scottish car manufacturer Albion Motors, renowned for their superior engineering and slogan "Sure as the Sunrise". Albion Motors logo Workers at Albion Motors in 1911 Albion Motors of Scotstoun, Glasgow was a Scottish automobile manufacturer, later it concentrated on building commercial vehicles. ...

Fictional setting

The story revolves around a modern-day Britain where comic book characters have turned out to really exist. The British public had been largely unaware of their existence throughout the '60s and '70s, thinking them to be fictional.

Most of the IPC heroes are now interned within an asylum (comparisons are drawn with Camp X-Ray), and the daughter of one of the inmates - who calls herself Penny is determined to reveal their existence to the larger public. Using a similar narrative device to that which Alan Moore employed in Supreme and Tom Strong, flashbacks are related in the style of comics of yesteryear. Ergo, Penny Dreadful's childhood is drawn in a style similar to Dennis the Menace or the Bash Street Kids. Camp X-Ray, shown here under construction, was a temporary holding facility for detainees held at U.S. Naval Base Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. ... Supreme is a fictional superhero created by Rob Liefeld. ... Tom Strong was a bi-monthly comic book created by writer Alan Moore and artist Chris Sprouse published by Americas Best Comics, an imprint of DC Comics Wildstorm division. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... The Bash Street Kids is a comic strip in the UK comic The Beano. ...

Plot details

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Image File history File links Emblem-important. ...

Albion # 1

This introduces the main characters, including Danny, Penny (Dolmann), Charles Love (Charlie Peace), Janus Stark, Grimly Feendish, Tim Kelly and Louis Crandell (The Steel Claw). Charlie Peace was a comic strip in the UK comic Buster. ... Grimly Feendish (alias The Rottenest Crook in the World) is a villainous character in the British Wham! and Smash! childrens comics from the 1960s. ... The Steel Claw was one of the most popular comic book heroes of British weekly adventure comics of the 1960s and 1970s. ...

The solicitation text for this issue reads - "Britain never had any super-heroes. It had something much stranger: a collection of paragons, monsters, and clowns that vanished a quarter century ago, never to be seen again. Who were Robot Archie and The Steel Claw? Who was Captain Hurricane, or The Spider? And where have they been for 25 years? Find out in the spectacular and historic first issue of Albion!" Robot Archie is the name of a fictional comic book character who first appeared in Lion #1 published in February 1952. ... The Spider is a comic book character who started out as a a supervillian before becoming a superhero. ...

Albion # 2

This reveals more about Penny's background, and introduces Zip Nolan, Mole, Togo, Eric Dolmann, Brian's Brain, Maggot Malone and Captain Hurricane.

The solicitation text for this issue reads - "Alan Moore’s 6-issue miniseries reimagining classic British heroes continues! While Penny and Danny do their best to repair and refurbish Robot Archie to his past glory, they share with each other stories of a bygone heroic era. Meanwhile, Grimly Feendish is imprisoned and thrown into solitary confinement. Plus, the introduction of the mysterious character known as Captain Hurricane."

Albion # 3

This tells about Danny's and Captain Hurricane [ better known as simon worrall's ] backgrounds, and identifies two key protagonists that had been previously introduced. The solicitation text for this issue reads - "The 6-issue miniseries reimagining classic British heroes continues! If Penny and Danny were familiar with the prison where Grimly Feendish, Captain Hurricane and The Steel Claw were kept, they might have been little more prepared for what they discover in Charles Love's nostalgia shop…"

Albion # 4

The solicitation text for this issue reads - "Penny is determined to rescue her father, and her new allies are almost convinced that it's worth the risk. After all, if the government kept the old comics folk around, surely there's one heck of a weapons cache to be found, too. But will the prisoners of The Castle be waiting when their small band arrives?"

Albion # 5

The solicitation text for this issue reads - "Our heroes — if they are heroes — have made it to the Castle. Inside, the Brain is still predicting disaster...and when Robot Archie attacks, he's proved right! But where are Penny, Danny and Charlie Love? Could there be more trouble than even the Brain is expecting?"

Albion # 6

The solicitation text for this issue reads - "This is it — the final thrilling chapter of Albion, as only Alan Moore could conceive it! Robot Archie, Penny, Danny, and Charlie release most of the inmates in the armory. But all Hell breaks loose when the prison guards must release their horrible secret weapon: Captain Hurricane!"

Characters

Characters who appear in Albion include;

• Bad Penny
• Brian's Brain
• Captain Hurricane
• Charlie Peace
• The Cloak
• Cursitor Doom
• The House of Dolmann
• The Dwarf
• Eagle-Eye
• Faceache
• Grimly Feendish
• Janus Stark
• Jason Hyde
• Kelly's Eye
• Martha's Monster Make-Up
• Mytek the Mighty
• Queen of the Seas
• Robot Archie
• Rubberman
• The Spider
• Tri-Man
• Zip Nolan

Charlie Peace was a comic strip in the UK comic Buster. ... The first page of a House of Dolmann strip The House of Dolmann (sic) was a British comic strip from the pages of Valiant. ... Faceache was a comic strip in, originally, the UK comic Jet, first appearing in issue 1, dated 1 May 1971. ... Robot Archie is the name of a fictional comic book character who first appeared in Lion #1 published in February 1952. ... The Spider is a comic book character who started out as a a supervillian before becoming a superhero. ...

Spinoffs

Albion Origins

A new spinoff entitled Albion Origins will be released by Titan Books in October 2007, featuring reprints of Cursitor Doom, Tim Kelly, Janus Stark and Dolmann. This collection will also feature new articles exploring the history of these characters’ comics. ^[1] Titan Books is a UK publisher of graphic novels. ...

Thunderbolt Jaxon

Thunderbolt Jaxon, a "spinoff" of Albion - written by Dave Gibbons and drawn by John Higgins, with covers by Gibbons - was launched as a five issue mini-series in 2006. A trade paperback was released in 2007, ISBN 1401212573, which contained some additional info on the original character. This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Dave Gibbons (born April 14, 1949) is a British writer and artist of comics. ... John Higgins is an English comic book artist and writer. ...

Battler Britton

Battler Britton, a five-part series (starting in July 2006) based on IPC's classic WWII air ace, Wing Commander Robert "Battler" Britton. Britton was the star of such comics as Sun, Knockout and the long-running digest titles Air Ace Picture Library and Battle Picture Library. The script is by well-known comics author (and WWII expert) Garth Ennis, with art by New Zealand's Colin Wilson. Covers are by Garry Leach. A trade paperback was released in 2007, ISBN 1401213782, which contained some additional info on the original character. Garth Ennis (born January 16, 1970 in Holywood, Northern Ireland) is a Northern Irish comics writer, best known for the DC/Vertigo series Preacher, co-created with artist Steve Dillon. ... Colin Wilson is a comic book artist, born in Auckland, New Zealand on the 31st of November, 1949. ... Miracleman#2, art by Garry Leach. ...

Bibliography

A trade paperback was released on December 13th, 2006 collecting together all six issues (ISBN 1-4012-0994-7) In comics, a trade paperback (TPB or simply trade) specifically refers to a collection of stories originally published in comic books reprinted in book format, usually capturing one story arc from a single title or a series of stories with a connected story arc or common theme from one or...

Trivia

Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines. The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones.

• This comic book has been spotted by eagle-eyed fans in the new Die Hard movie, Live Free or Die Hard.

Image File history File links Broom_icon. ... Live Free or Die Hard (released as Die Hard 4. ...

References

External links

• International Hero - A website devoted to British comics heroes.
• Andrew Sumner of IPC Media on Albion
• More detail about the IPC comics universe and the history of Albion from Andrew Sumner
• An article on the history of the IPC/DC Comics deal that launched Albion
• The Homepage of Leah Moore & John Reppion
• In The Fifty-Pee Box: An ALBION Website
• ALBION Annotations