Jaspers' Warp
Encyclopedia
"Jaspers' Warp", also known as "Crooked World", was a Marvel UK
storyline featuring primarily the character Captain Britain
. It was originally published between 1982
and 1984
in Marvel Superheroes
, #387-388, The Daredevils
, #1-11 and The Mighty World Of Marvel
, volume 2, #7-13.
The story is a multiverse
-spanning tale, which introduced a number of new characters and concepts into the Marvel Universe
.
strip in Hulk Weekly
. After that story (called The Otherworld Saga) Captain Britain and his companion, the elf
called Jackdaw
, are dispatched by Merlyn
back home to Captain Britain's Earth from the Otherworld
, which is in another dimension.
During this journey through dimensions, Captain Britain's costume changes and Jackdaw gains a superhero costume, and he and Jackdaw find themselves on Earth. However, the pair found that this Earth is not quite as Captain Britain knew it.
They have various weird encounters, including fighting a monster made out of junk and a group of insane villains called The Crazy Gang and the mysterious Saturnyne
and her henchmen, the Avant Guard.
During the course of his adventures he discovers he is on an alternate Earth called Earth-238 which is under the control of Sir Jim Jaspers
, the leader of The Crazy Gang and a powerful mutant
with the ability to warp and change reality.
Captain Britain discovers that Jaspers was a British MP
who had been in charge of regulating and eventually eliminating the superheroes of Earth-238. To carry out this massacre of this world's superheroes, Jaspers had created The Fury
, an incredibly powerful creature able to destroy any super powered person with the exception of Jaspers himself.
Jaspers had become insane, a side-effect of his reality warping powers, and altered this Earth to fit his own insane ideas, hence why Captain Britain had not recognized this world. After seeing The Fury
kill Jackdaw and Saturnyne
flee this Earth, Captain Britain is confronted by Jaspers and is killed by The Fury.
Captain Britain however, is saved by Merlyn and reconstructed from virtually nothing and improved and returned to his Earth, which is called Earth-616
.
After moving back into Braddock mansion and meeting his old enemy, Slaymaster
, in a battle in the streets of London
he discovers that Saturnyne
has been placed on trial for her part in the Earth 238 disaster after a battle with The Special Executive.
Returning with The Special Executive to act as a witness for Saturnyne, the Captain encounters various alternate version of himself (later to be called the Captain Britain Corps) and sees the destruction of Earth 238 to stop the Jaspers Warp spreading from that reality.
's massacre of her Earth's superheroes.
Captain UK warns him that his world's Jim Jaspers plans to regulate his planet's heroes as his Earth 238 counterpart had. As they discuss this they are attacked by The Fury, who has managed to escape the destruction of its reality and has come to Earth-616 to complete its mission to kill every superhero.
Captain Britain and The Special Executive (Captain UK is unable to fight as she is still scared after seeing The Fury kill her husband on Earth-616) battle The Fury and several of The Special Executive are killed but they manage to defeat The Fury for the time being.
The Special Executive leave Earth to return to their own world, this leaves Captain Britain, Captain UK, Saturnyne, Betsy Braddock
, her lover Tom Lennox and Alison Double (these last three are all powerful telepaths) to confront the threat of Jaspers on their own.
Jaspers is elected British Prime Minister
and his promises to outlaw super humans is carried out by S.T.R.I.K.E.
Concentration camps are built to imprison and execute super humans but Captain Britain and his companions remain free but in hiding. Jaspers has also shown signs of the same powers his Earth-238 version showed and this world begins to slowly alter, warping reality darkly.
Shortly after Jaspers election, the Vixen, one of his former allies, enters his office with two henchmen in an attempt to stop Jaspers by assassinating him. However, he quickly disposes of the two henchmen by warping their bodies horribly and then uses his reality warping ability to transform the Vixen into a real vixen, a female red fox
.
Immediately after this, Captain Britain decides to confront Jaspers (it is revealed that Merlyn had tested him on Earth-238 against a lesser version of Jaspers in order to prepare him for this greater menace) but he leaves his companions who are later discovered by Jaspers henchmen. Tom Lennox is killed; Betsy Braddock and Alison Double are captured, leaving Captain UK and Saturnyne to flee.
Captain Britain battles Mad Jim Jaspers
in 10 Downing Street
but Jaspers proves too powerful for him. However The Fury
enters the battle, beating Captain Britain before tackling Jaspers himself in a battle which distorts reality itself. During Captain Britain and the Fury's battle, Jaspers takes his time to create an Earth-616 version of the Crazy Gang out of the Earth's soil. Captain Britain would later run into the Crazy Gang on a few occasions in later comics. While it was the Earth-238 Jaspers who constructed the Fury and had programmed it so it couldn't kill him, the Fury recognised that the Jaspers it was now facing was not the same Jaspers who had built it but an alternate reality counterpart. Thus its rules did not apply to the Earth-616 Jaspers and the Fury attacked him by incinerating him, something that Jaspers was able to undo with his powers. Also observing this battle were Saturnyne and Captain UK, who had now been convinced to wear her costume by Saturnyne.
The Fury eventually beats Jaspers by transporting him into an interuniversal void (where he couldn't use his reality warping powers since there was no reality to warp) and used Jaspers moment of surprise to fry his brain with a powerful electric shock, but is itself nearly destroyed in the process. Captain Britain takes advantage of this and attacks The Fury, nearly defeating it but The Fury still proves too powerful for him. However, recalling the death of her husband, Captain UK attacks The Fury and tears it apart in a fit of rage and anger. The Fury is defeated and wouldn't resurface until many years later, in Uncanny X-Men #445, where it appears to have regenerated and attacked the X-Men
. Captain Britain, Captain UK and Saturnyne are then transported to Otherworld by Roma
, Merlyn's daughter.
Merlyn had died during the battle between The Fury and Jaspers and Roma had transported Captain Britain, Captain UK and Saturnyne for Merlyn's funeral. During their time at the funeral, Roma reveals that Merlyn had used Captain UK as bait to draw The Fury to Earth-616 and help defeat Jaspers. Roma shows them that Earth is returning to normal and transports Captain Britain and Captain UK (Saturnyne returns to her own world) to Dartmoor
on Earth-616.
The story ends with both Captains sharing a kiss and heading their separate ways.
successor agency R.C.X.
was charged with the duty to retrieve these babies (often prying them forcefully from their families), control their powers, and eventually train them as agents. During one such mission the African agent Joshua Ndingi later known as Doc Croc received his disfiguring burns and mutilation (a warpy baby literally exploding close to him). Later the R.C.X. tried to use a warpy-squad to subdue Captain Britain and his partner Meggan
, prompting instead her shift from her original monstrous form to the voluptuous, attractive appearance she maintained since then.
(2007
), which brought the death of Roma and the end of the New Excalibur title.
's revamped Marvel UK
line, which tried to avoid much of the formulaic superhero tales which Captain Britain had appeared in previously. Although reaction to Alan Davis
's work was positive, reaction to Dave Thorpe
's story was less so, the main criticism being that many fans considered his work to be confusing to read. This changed when Alan Moore
took the story over from Marvel Superheroes
#387. Moore was still new in comics at this time with just a handful of credits under his belt for the likes of 2000 AD
and Doctor Who Weekly
and this was one of the first times he handled an ongoing story. Moore and Davis quickly found they worked well together and the strip includes some early examples of postmodernism
writing in superhero comics, including references to such British adventure heroes such as the Steel Claw
. Moore and Davis also include a character called Miracleman
(at this time they were working on Marvelman
in Warrior) as a homage
.
Proving very popular the strip helped cement Moore and Davis as a creative team during its run. However Moore left after The Mighty World Of Marvel
, #13 due to an increase in his workload and Jamie Delano
replaced him upon Moore's own recommendation.
In 2002, the colorized version of the story was collected as a trade paperback
. The trade paperback, simply titled "Captain Britain". Controversially, the series omits the opening chapters of the storyline as written by write Dave Thorpe, opting to start the story midway through with Alan Moore's first issue on Captain Britain.
Though Alan Moore gave his blessing over the reprinting of the arc, he later rescinded it when Marvel omitted crediting Alan Moore as co-creator for several characters introduced in the arc (most notably the Special Executives and the Fury). Later publications corrected this omission.
Recently Marvel has announced plans to release an Alan Moore/Alan Davis "Omnibus" hardcover of their respective works on Captain Britain. As such, the omnibus will feature the full and complete version of the "Jasper's Warp" storyline.
Die By The Sword was also collected in April 2008 (ISBN 0-7851-2791-7).
Marvel UK
Marvel UK was an imprint of Marvel Comics formed in 1972 to reprint US produced stories for the British weekly comic market, though it later did produce original material by British creators such as Alan Moore, John Wagner, Dave Gibbons, Steve Dillon and Grant Morrison.Panini Comics obtained the...
storyline featuring primarily the character Captain Britain
Captain Britain
Captain Britain , briefly known as Britannic, is a fictional character, a superhero appearing in the comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Chris Claremont and Herb Trimpe, he first appeared in Captain Britain Weekly, #1...
. It was originally published between 1982
1982 in comics
-Year overall:* San Diego-based independent publisher Pacific Comics makes a strong push in the marketplace, following Jack Kirby's Captain Victory and the Galactic Rangers with four new ongoing titles, Starslayer, Ms...
and 1984
1984 in comics
-Year overall:* The independent publishing boom continues, as Antarctic Press, Continuity Comics, Deluxe Comics, Matrix Graphic Series, and Renegade Press all enter the arena...
in Marvel Superheroes
The Mighty World Of Marvel
The Mighty World Of Marvel was Marvel UK's first-ever title, debuting in 1972, and is also the name of a similar current comic printed by Panini Comics, which bought the Marvel UK titles....
, #387-388, The Daredevils
The Daredevils
The Daredevils was a comics magazine and anthology published by Marvel UK in 1983.Aimed for a more sophisticated audience than typical light superhero adventures, The Daredevils featured Captain Britain stories by Alan Moore and Alan Davis, as well as new Night Raven text stories, and reprints of...
, #1-11 and The Mighty World Of Marvel
The Mighty World Of Marvel
The Mighty World Of Marvel was Marvel UK's first-ever title, debuting in 1972, and is also the name of a similar current comic printed by Panini Comics, which bought the Marvel UK titles....
, volume 2, #7-13.
The story is a multiverse
Multiverse
The multiverse is the hypothetical set of multiple possible universes that together comprise all of reality.Multiverse may also refer to:-In fiction:* Multiverse , the fictional multiverse used by DC Comics...
-spanning tale, which introduced a number of new characters and concepts into the Marvel Universe
Marvel Universe
The Marvel Universe is the shared fictional universe where most comic book titles and other media published by Marvel Entertainment take place, including those featuring Marvel's most familiar characters, such as Spider-Man, the Hulk, the X-Men, and the Avengers.The Marvel Universe is further...
.
Earth-238
The Crooked World Storyline spun directly out of the events of the Black KnightBlack Knight (comics)
The Black Knight is the alias of several fictional comic-book characters that appear in the Marvel Comics universe.The first is a medieval knight created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Joe Maneely. The second is a supervillain descendant of the original, created by writer-editor Stan Lee and...
strip in Hulk Weekly
Hulk Weekly
Hulk Comic was a black-and-white Marvel UK comics anthology published under the editorship of Dez Skinn starting in 1979.-Publication history:...
. After that story (called The Otherworld Saga) Captain Britain and his companion, the elf
Elf
An elf is a being of Germanic mythology. The elves were originally thought of as a race of divine beings endowed with magical powers, which they use both for the benefit and the injury of mankind...
called Jackdaw
Jackdaw (comics)
Jackdaw is a fictional character featured in Marvel Comics publications.-Fictional character biography:A now-deceased hero, the sidekick of Captain Britain. Jackdaw was an Otherworld elf. Jackdaw had been mortally wounded earlier in his adventures, but was revivied by Merlin and given new powers...
, are dispatched by Merlyn
Merlyn (Marvel Comics)
Merlyn is a fictional character in the Marvel Comics universe. He claims to be the Merlin of British Legends and has served for many years as the Omniversal Guardian, a function his daughter Roma took from him...
back home to Captain Britain's Earth from the Otherworld
Otherworld (Marvel Comics)
Otherworld is a fictional dimension in the Marvel Comics Marvel Universe. It is more commonly known as, and based on, the mythical Avalon from Celtic and more specifically Welsh mythology....
, which is in another dimension.
During this journey through dimensions, Captain Britain's costume changes and Jackdaw gains a superhero costume, and he and Jackdaw find themselves on Earth. However, the pair found that this Earth is not quite as Captain Britain knew it.
They have various weird encounters, including fighting a monster made out of junk and a group of insane villains called The Crazy Gang and the mysterious Saturnyne
Saturnyne
Opal Luna Saturnyne is the name of a fictional comic book character created by Dave Thorpe and Alan Davis for their Captain Britain stories. She is the Omniversal Majestrix of Otherworld, and a servant of Roma, charged with the safety of the Omniverse....
and her henchmen, the Avant Guard.
During the course of his adventures he discovers he is on an alternate Earth called Earth-238 which is under the control of Sir Jim Jaspers
Mad Jim Jaspers
Sir James Jaspers is a fictional character created by Dave Thorpe and Alan Davis for the Captain Britain stories in Marvel UK comics and later developed by Alan Moore....
, the leader of The Crazy Gang and a powerful mutant
Mutant (Marvel Comics)
In comic books published by Marvel Comics, a mutant is an organism who possesses a genetic trait called an X-gene that allows the mutant to naturally develop superhuman powers and abilities...
with the ability to warp and change reality.
Captain Britain discovers that Jaspers was a British MP
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
who had been in charge of regulating and eventually eliminating the superheroes of Earth-238. To carry out this massacre of this world's superheroes, Jaspers had created The Fury
Fury (Marvel Comics)
The Fury is a fictional character created by writer Alan Moore and illustrator Alan Davis as an antagonist for the Marvel Comics hero Captain Britain...
, an incredibly powerful creature able to destroy any super powered person with the exception of Jaspers himself.
Jaspers had become insane, a side-effect of his reality warping powers, and altered this Earth to fit his own insane ideas, hence why Captain Britain had not recognized this world. After seeing The Fury
Fury (Marvel Comics)
The Fury is a fictional character created by writer Alan Moore and illustrator Alan Davis as an antagonist for the Marvel Comics hero Captain Britain...
kill Jackdaw and Saturnyne
Saturnyne
Opal Luna Saturnyne is the name of a fictional comic book character created by Dave Thorpe and Alan Davis for their Captain Britain stories. She is the Omniversal Majestrix of Otherworld, and a servant of Roma, charged with the safety of the Omniverse....
flee this Earth, Captain Britain is confronted by Jaspers and is killed by The Fury.
Captain Britain however, is saved by Merlyn and reconstructed from virtually nothing and improved and returned to his Earth, which is called Earth-616
Earth-616
In the fictional Marvel Comics multiverse, Earth-616 or Earth 616 is the name used to identify the primary continuity in which most Marvel Comics titles take place.-Origin of Earth-616:...
.
After moving back into Braddock mansion and meeting his old enemy, Slaymaster
Slaymaster
Slaymaster is a fictional comic book character from Marvel Comics's Captain Britain series.-Publication history:The Slaymaster's first appearance was in Super Spider-Man and Captain Britain #243 , a weekly Marvel UK title which featured a mix of reprint and original material.He was created by Jim...
, in a battle in the streets of London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
he discovers that Saturnyne
Saturnyne
Opal Luna Saturnyne is the name of a fictional comic book character created by Dave Thorpe and Alan Davis for their Captain Britain stories. She is the Omniversal Majestrix of Otherworld, and a servant of Roma, charged with the safety of the Omniverse....
has been placed on trial for her part in the Earth 238 disaster after a battle with The Special Executive.
Returning with The Special Executive to act as a witness for Saturnyne, the Captain encounters various alternate version of himself (later to be called the Captain Britain Corps) and sees the destruction of Earth 238 to stop the Jaspers Warp spreading from that reality.
Earth-616
Eventually returning home with The Special Executive and Saturnyne (who has been exiled) in tow, Captain Britain is confronted by Captain UK in Braddock Manor. Captain UK is his analogue from Earth 238 who was sent to Earth 616 during The FuryFury (Marvel Comics)
The Fury is a fictional character created by writer Alan Moore and illustrator Alan Davis as an antagonist for the Marvel Comics hero Captain Britain...
's massacre of her Earth's superheroes.
Captain UK warns him that his world's Jim Jaspers plans to regulate his planet's heroes as his Earth 238 counterpart had. As they discuss this they are attacked by The Fury, who has managed to escape the destruction of its reality and has come to Earth-616 to complete its mission to kill every superhero.
Captain Britain and The Special Executive (Captain UK is unable to fight as she is still scared after seeing The Fury kill her husband on Earth-616) battle The Fury and several of The Special Executive are killed but they manage to defeat The Fury for the time being.
The Special Executive leave Earth to return to their own world, this leaves Captain Britain, Captain UK, Saturnyne, Betsy Braddock
Psylocke
Psylocke is a fictional character depicted in comic books published by Marvel Comics, most notably those comics featuring the superhero team the X-Men. The character has also appeared in licensed adaptations. Created by writer Chris Claremont and artist Herb Trimpe, she first appeared in the UK...
, her lover Tom Lennox and Alison Double (these last three are all powerful telepaths) to confront the threat of Jaspers on their own.
Jaspers is elected British Prime Minister
Prime minister
A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...
and his promises to outlaw super humans is carried out by S.T.R.I.K.E.
S.T.R.I.K.E.
S.T.R.I.K.E. is a fictional, comic book counter-terrorism and intelligence agency in the . The organization, that often deals with superhuman threats, was introduced in Captain Britain Weekly #17, as the United Kingdom's version of the United Nations' S.H.I.E.L.D.The acronym stands for Special...
Concentration camps are built to imprison and execute super humans but Captain Britain and his companions remain free but in hiding. Jaspers has also shown signs of the same powers his Earth-238 version showed and this world begins to slowly alter, warping reality darkly.
Shortly after Jaspers election, the Vixen, one of his former allies, enters his office with two henchmen in an attempt to stop Jaspers by assassinating him. However, he quickly disposes of the two henchmen by warping their bodies horribly and then uses his reality warping ability to transform the Vixen into a real vixen, a female red fox
Red Fox
The red fox is the largest of the true foxes, as well as being the most geographically spread member of the Carnivora, being distributed across the entire northern hemisphere from the Arctic Circle to North Africa, Central America, and the steppes of Asia...
.
Immediately after this, Captain Britain decides to confront Jaspers (it is revealed that Merlyn had tested him on Earth-238 against a lesser version of Jaspers in order to prepare him for this greater menace) but he leaves his companions who are later discovered by Jaspers henchmen. Tom Lennox is killed; Betsy Braddock and Alison Double are captured, leaving Captain UK and Saturnyne to flee.
Captain Britain battles Mad Jim Jaspers
Mad Jim Jaspers
Sir James Jaspers is a fictional character created by Dave Thorpe and Alan Davis for the Captain Britain stories in Marvel UK comics and later developed by Alan Moore....
in 10 Downing Street
10 Downing Street
10 Downing Street, colloquially known in the United Kingdom as "Number 10", is the headquarters of Her Majesty's Government and the official residence and office of the First Lord of the Treasury, who is now always the Prime Minister....
but Jaspers proves too powerful for him. However The Fury
Fury (Marvel Comics)
The Fury is a fictional character created by writer Alan Moore and illustrator Alan Davis as an antagonist for the Marvel Comics hero Captain Britain...
enters the battle, beating Captain Britain before tackling Jaspers himself in a battle which distorts reality itself. During Captain Britain and the Fury's battle, Jaspers takes his time to create an Earth-616 version of the Crazy Gang out of the Earth's soil. Captain Britain would later run into the Crazy Gang on a few occasions in later comics. While it was the Earth-238 Jaspers who constructed the Fury and had programmed it so it couldn't kill him, the Fury recognised that the Jaspers it was now facing was not the same Jaspers who had built it but an alternate reality counterpart. Thus its rules did not apply to the Earth-616 Jaspers and the Fury attacked him by incinerating him, something that Jaspers was able to undo with his powers. Also observing this battle were Saturnyne and Captain UK, who had now been convinced to wear her costume by Saturnyne.
The Fury eventually beats Jaspers by transporting him into an interuniversal void (where he couldn't use his reality warping powers since there was no reality to warp) and used Jaspers moment of surprise to fry his brain with a powerful electric shock, but is itself nearly destroyed in the process. Captain Britain takes advantage of this and attacks The Fury, nearly defeating it but The Fury still proves too powerful for him. However, recalling the death of her husband, Captain UK attacks The Fury and tears it apart in a fit of rage and anger. The Fury is defeated and wouldn't resurface until many years later, in Uncanny X-Men #445, where it appears to have regenerated and attacked the X-Men
X-Men
The X-Men are a superhero team in the . They were created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, and first appeared in The X-Men #1...
. Captain Britain, Captain UK and Saturnyne are then transported to Otherworld by Roma
Roma (comics)
Roma is a fictional character featured in numerous Marvel Comics titles. She is the daughter of Merlyn. Roma is the Omniversal Guardian, charged with the safety of the Omniverse...
, Merlyn's daughter.
Merlyn had died during the battle between The Fury and Jaspers and Roma had transported Captain Britain, Captain UK and Saturnyne for Merlyn's funeral. During their time at the funeral, Roma reveals that Merlyn had used Captain UK as bait to draw The Fury to Earth-616 and help defeat Jaspers. Roma shows them that Earth is returning to normal and transports Captain Britain and Captain UK (Saturnyne returns to her own world) to Dartmoor
Dartmoor
Dartmoor is an area of moorland in south Devon, England. Protected by National Park status, it covers .The granite upland dates from the Carboniferous period of geological history. The moorland is capped with many exposed granite hilltops known as tors, providing habitats for Dartmoor wildlife. The...
on Earth-616.
The story ends with both Captains sharing a kiss and heading their separate ways.
Warpies
The Jaspers' Warp affected Earth-616's England in a more profound way than it seemed at first glance. Due to the implications of reality having been bended, ripped and seamed again several times a sudden increase in the birth of bizarrely gifted, mutated and deformed babies (dubbed "warpies") was experienced in the following years. S.T.R.I.K.E.S.T.R.I.K.E.
S.T.R.I.K.E. is a fictional, comic book counter-terrorism and intelligence agency in the . The organization, that often deals with superhuman threats, was introduced in Captain Britain Weekly #17, as the United Kingdom's version of the United Nations' S.H.I.E.L.D.The acronym stands for Special...
successor agency R.C.X.
R.C.X.
The Resources Control Executive is a fictional British intelligence agency in the Marvel Comics universe. It first appeared in Captain Britain vol...
was charged with the duty to retrieve these babies (often prying them forcefully from their families), control their powers, and eventually train them as agents. During one such mission the African agent Joshua Ndingi later known as Doc Croc received his disfiguring burns and mutilation (a warpy baby literally exploding close to him). Later the R.C.X. tried to use a warpy-squad to subdue Captain Britain and his partner Meggan
Meggan
Meggan Puceanu is a fictional character, a mutant superhero in the . She first appeared in Mighty World of Marvel #7, , and was created by Alan Moore and Alan Davis....
, prompting instead her shift from her original monstrous form to the voluptuous, attractive appearance she maintained since then.
Sequel
A sequel to this story is told in the X-Men: Die by the SwordX-Men: Die by the Sword
X-Men: Die by the Sword is a five-issue comic book limited series published by Marvel Comics in 2007. It was written by Chris Claremont, drawn by Juan Santacruz, and inked by Raul Fernandez.The story featured the teams New Excalibur and Exiles...
(2007
2007 in comics
-January:*January 10: Superman & Batman vs. Aliens & Predator released.*January 24: The Boys is canceled with issue #6.-February:*February 2: Newsarama reports that The Boys has been picked up by Dynamite Entertainment....
), which brought the death of Roma and the end of the New Excalibur title.
Critical reaction
This story started out as part of Dez SkinnDez Skinn
Derek "Dez" Skinn is a British comic and magazine editor, and author of a number of books on comics. As head of Marvel Comics' operations in England in the late 1970s, Skinn reformatted existing titles, launched new ones, and acquired the BBC license for Doctor Who Weekly...
's revamped Marvel UK
Marvel UK
Marvel UK was an imprint of Marvel Comics formed in 1972 to reprint US produced stories for the British weekly comic market, though it later did produce original material by British creators such as Alan Moore, John Wagner, Dave Gibbons, Steve Dillon and Grant Morrison.Panini Comics obtained the...
line, which tried to avoid much of the formulaic superhero tales which Captain Britain had appeared in previously. Although reaction to 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:...
's work was positive, reaction to Dave Thorpe
Dave Thorpe
Dave Thorpe is a British writer who is best known for his work on Captain Britain.-Biography:Thorpe's career began with Marvel UK's Captain Britain character in the early 1980s. He created many of the characters later used by Alan Moore...
's story was less so, the main criticism being that many fans considered his work to be confusing to read. This changed when 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...
took the story over from Marvel Superheroes
The Mighty World Of Marvel
The Mighty World Of Marvel was Marvel UK's first-ever title, debuting in 1972, and is also the name of a similar current comic printed by Panini Comics, which bought the Marvel UK titles....
#387. Moore was still new in comics at this time with just a handful of credits under his belt for the likes of 2000 AD
2000 AD (comic)
2000 AD is a weekly British science fiction-oriented comic. As a comics anthology it serialises a number of separate stories each issue and was first published by IPC Magazines in 1977, the first issue dated 26 February. IPC then shifted the title to its Fleetway comics subsidiary which was sold...
and Doctor Who Weekly
Doctor Who Magazine
Doctor Who Magazine is a magazine devoted to the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who...
and this was one of the first times he handled an ongoing story. Moore and Davis quickly found they worked well together and the strip includes some early examples of postmodernism
Postmodernism
Postmodernism is a philosophical movement evolved in reaction to modernism, the tendency in contemporary culture to accept only objective truth and to be inherently suspicious towards a global cultural narrative or meta-narrative. Postmodernist thought is an intentional departure from the...
writing in superhero comics, including references to such British adventure heroes such as the Steel Claw
Steel Claw
The Steel Claw was one of the most popular comic book heroes of British weekly adventure comics of the 1960s and 1970s. The character was revived in 2005 for Albion, a six issue mini-series published by the Wildstorm imprint of DC Comics....
. Moore and Davis also include a character called Miracleman
Miracleman
Marvelman, also known as Miracleman for trademark reasons in his American reprints and story continuation, is a fictional comic book superhero created in 1954 by writer-artist Mick Anglo for publisher L. Miller & Son. Originally intended as a United Kingdom home-grown substitute for the American...
(at this time they were working on Marvelman
Marvelman
Marvelman, also known as Miracleman for trademark reasons in his American reprints and story continuation, is a fictional comic book superhero created in 1954 by writer-artist Mick Anglo for publisher L. Miller & Son. Originally intended as a United Kingdom home-grown substitute for the American...
in Warrior) as a homage
Homage
Homage is a show or demonstration of respect or dedication to someone or something, sometimes by simple declaration but often by some more oblique reference, artistic or poetic....
.
Proving very popular the strip helped cement Moore and Davis as a creative team during its run. However Moore left after The Mighty World Of Marvel
The Mighty World Of Marvel
The Mighty World Of Marvel was Marvel UK's first-ever title, debuting in 1972, and is also the name of a similar current comic printed by Panini Comics, which bought the Marvel UK titles....
, #13 due to an increase in his workload and Jamie Delano
Jamie Delano
Jamie Delano is a British comics writer. He was part of the first post-Alan Moore "British Invasion" of writers. Best known as the first writer of the comic book series Hellblazer, starring John Constantine.- Biography :...
replaced him upon Moore's own recommendation.
Collected editions
The story was originally reprinted in 1995 as a seven issue mini-series called "X-Men Archives: Captain Britain". The mini-series reprinted the story in full color for the first time.In 2002, the colorized version of the story was collected as a trade paperback
Trade paperback (comics)
In comics, a trade paperback is 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 more titles...
. The trade paperback, simply titled "Captain Britain". Controversially, the series omits the opening chapters of the storyline as written by write Dave Thorpe, opting to start the story midway through with Alan Moore's first issue on Captain Britain.
Though Alan Moore gave his blessing over the reprinting of the arc, he later rescinded it when Marvel omitted crediting Alan Moore as co-creator for several characters introduced in the arc (most notably the Special Executives and the Fury). Later publications corrected this omission.
Recently Marvel has announced plans to release an Alan Moore/Alan Davis "Omnibus" hardcover of their respective works on Captain Britain. As such, the omnibus will feature the full and complete version of the "Jasper's Warp" storyline.
Die By The Sword was also collected in April 2008 (ISBN 0-7851-2791-7).