Brickman
Encyclopedia
Brickman is a humour comic strip
and character created by UK cartoonist Lew Stringer
, and appears to be Stringer's most recurring character. A parody of Batman
, the spoof features the adventures of zillionaire Loose Brayne and his partner Tina Trowel who fight crime in Guffon City, fighting villains such as the Poker, the Mad Cobbler and Gnat-Woman. The strip's humour uses heavy amounts of puns, sight gags and absurdism.
The strip began in the fanzine
After Image No.3 in 1979, before moving on to other small press
fanzines and minicomic
s. Brickman then turned up in his own title published by short-lived UK independent Harrier Comics
in 1986, featuring guest pages drawn by Dave Gibbons
, Mike Collins, Mark Farmer
, and Kevin O'Neill
(with an introduction written by Alan Moore
). He also made a cameo, alongside discontinued Marvel UK comedy characters in a The Prisoner
homage, in Stringer's Combat Colin
.
After a ten-year gap while Stringer focused on his other comic characters, Brickman was revived in 1996 in the small press comic Yampy Tales; the character returned to a crime-stricken Guffon City to defeat the evil Mr Cheese and his own sidekick Tina, who had gone rogue. In 2005, the Los Angeles publisher Active Images
released a digest size
collection of all the Brickman stories under the title Brickman Begins!, with a brand-new opening story by Stringer and Brickman illustrations by guest artists including Hunt Emerson
, Alan Davis
, Tim Sale
and Charlie Adlard
.
A new Brickman series titled Brickman Returns, initially with new strips retelling Brickman's early days and then moving on to modern-day strips set after Yampy Tales, began running as full-colour back-up strips in Image Comics
/Active Images
' Elephantmen comic in 2006. It concluded in 2009.
Comic strip
A comic strip is a sequence of drawings arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions....
and character created by UK cartoonist Lew Stringer
Lew Stringer
-Biography:Stringer began his career from the late 1970s with a series of fanzines, many featuring his popular Brickman character; these were read by several pro creators who encouraged Stringer to try comics as a profession and Stringer recalls that "Alan Moore actually introduced me to one of...
, and appears to be Stringer's most recurring character. A parody of Batman
Batman
Batman is a fictional character created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger. A comic book superhero, Batman first appeared in Detective Comics #27 , and since then has appeared primarily in publications by DC Comics...
, the spoof features the adventures of zillionaire Loose Brayne and his partner Tina Trowel who fight crime in Guffon City, fighting villains such as the Poker, the Mad Cobbler and Gnat-Woman. The strip's humour uses heavy amounts of puns, sight gags and absurdism.
The strip began in the fanzine
Fanzine
A fanzine is a nonprofessional and nonofficial publication produced by fans of a particular cultural phenomenon for the pleasure of others who share their interest...
After Image No.3 in 1979, before moving on to other small press
Small press
Small press is a term often used to describe publishers with annual sales below a certain level. Commonly, in the United States, this is set at $50 million, after returns and discounts...
fanzines and minicomic
Minicomic
A minicomic is a creator-published comic book, often photocopied and stapled or with a handmade binding. In the United Kingdom and Europe the term "small press comic" is equivalent with minicomic reserved for those publications measuring A6 or less...
s. Brickman then turned up in his own title published by short-lived UK independent Harrier Comics
Harrier Comics
Harrier Comics was a British comic book publisher active in the mid-to-late 1980s. Harrier was notable for putting out black-and-white comics in a mold more similar to American comics than typical British fare...
in 1986, featuring guest pages drawn by Dave Gibbons
Dave Gibbons
Dave Gibbons is an English comic book artist, writer and sometime letterer. He is best known for his collaborations with writer Alan Moore, which include the miniseries Watchmen and the Superman story "For the Man Who Has Everything"...
, Mike Collins, Mark Farmer
Mark Farmer
Mark Farmer is a British comic book artist. He is best known as an inker, often working with Alan Davis.-Biography:Farmer got his start in the UK comics industry before becoming part of the British Invasion, the wave of UK creators that were an integral part of the DC Comics "new look" of the...
, and Kevin O'Neill
Kevin O'Neill (comics)
Kevin O'Neill is an English comic book illustrator best known as the co-creator of Nemesis the Warlock, Marshal Law , and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen .-Early career:...
(with an introduction written by Alan Moore
Alan Moore
Alan Oswald Moore is an English writer primarily known for his work in comic books, a medium where he has produced a number of critically acclaimed and popular series, including Watchmen, V for Vendetta, and From Hell...
). He also made a cameo, alongside discontinued Marvel UK comedy characters in a The Prisoner
The Prisoner
The Prisoner is a 17-episode British television series first broadcast in the UK from 29 September 1967 to 1 February 1968. Starring and co-created by Patrick McGoohan, it combined spy fiction with elements of science fiction, allegory and psychological drama.The series follows a British former...
homage, in Stringer's Combat Colin
Combat Colin
Combat Colin, a slapstick comedy adventure comic strip created, written and drawn by humour comic artist/writer Lew Stringer. It appeared in a number of Marvel UK titles.-Publication history:...
.
After a ten-year gap while Stringer focused on his other comic characters, Brickman was revived in 1996 in the small press comic Yampy Tales; the character returned to a crime-stricken Guffon City to defeat the evil Mr Cheese and his own sidekick Tina, who had gone rogue. In 2005, the Los Angeles publisher Active Images
Active Images
Active Images is a publisher of fonts and comic books based in the United States.Founded by Richard Starkings the company publishes fonts which are used by their commercial comic book lettering division Comicraft and comic books featuring the character Hip Flask....
released a digest size
Digest size
Digest size is a magazine size, smaller than a conventional or "journal size" magazine but larger than a standard paperback book, approximately 5½ x 8¼ inches, but can also be 5⅜ x 8⅜ inches and 5½ x 7½ inches. These sizes have evolved from the printing press operation end...
collection of all the Brickman stories under the title Brickman Begins!, with a brand-new opening story by Stringer and Brickman illustrations by guest artists including Hunt Emerson
Hunt Emerson
Hunt Emerson is a cartoonist living and working in Birmingham, England. He was closely involved with the Birmingham Arts Lab of the mid-to-late 1970s, and with the British underground comics scene of the 1970s and 1980s...
, Alan Davis
Alan Davis
Alan Davis is an English writer and artist of comic books, known for his work on titles such as Captain Britain, The Uncanny X-Men, ClanDestine, Excalibur, JLA: The Nail and JLA: Another Nail.-UK work:...
, Tim Sale
Tim Sale (artist)
Tim Sale is an American Eisner Award-winning comic book artist. He is primarily known for his collaborations with writer Jeph Loeb.-Early life:...
and Charlie Adlard
Charlie Adlard
Charles "Charlie" Adlard is a British comic book artist and penciller.He is best known for providing art on The Walking Dead and Savage.-Biography:...
.
A new Brickman series titled Brickman Returns, initially with new strips retelling Brickman's early days and then moving on to modern-day strips set after Yampy Tales, began running as full-colour back-up strips in Image Comics
Image Comics
Image Comics is a United States comic book publisher. It was founded in 1992 by high-profile illustrators as a venue where creators could publish their material without giving up the copyrights to the characters they created, as creator-owned properties. It was immediately successful, and remains...
/Active Images
Active Images
Active Images is a publisher of fonts and comic books based in the United States.Founded by Richard Starkings the company publishes fonts which are used by their commercial comic book lettering division Comicraft and comic books featuring the character Hip Flask....
' Elephantmen comic in 2006. It concluded in 2009.