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New Statesmen (comics)
Encyclopedia
New Statesmen was a "political superhero series" featured in British comic Crisis, created by John Smith
and Jim Baikie
, which lasted for fourteen episodes from 1988 to 1989.
limited series
that was released in 1989. This had been part of the business plan for Crisis from the start but only the early series, like New Statesmen, got this treatment. In 1990 the story was collected into a trade paperback
.
The series depicted a dystopian future in which Britain had become the 51st state of America and the world is in the grip of fear of genetic engineering and political warmongering.
In many ways the series was ahead of its time. Two of the leading male characters were in a gay relationship.
:
John Smith (comics)
John Smith is a British comics writer best known for his work on 2000 AD and Crisis.Smith's work is characterised by intricate, sometimes obscure plots and an interest in taboos and the occult, told in an elliptic, fractured narrative style reminiscent of Iain Sinclair or the cut-up technique of...
and Jim Baikie
Jim Baikie
Jim Baikie is a British comics artist, who is best known for his work with Alan Moore on Skizz.-Biography:Baikie began his career illustrating Valentine for Fleetway. Over the next twenty years, he built a solid reputation working for TV comics such as Look-in, including adaptations of The Monkees...
, which lasted for fourteen episodes from 1988 to 1989.
Publications history
The series was published in Crisis from issue #1-14 with a reappearance in issue #28. It was also repackaged for the American market as a five-issue prestige formatPrestige format
Prestige format is a term coined by DC Comics and later came into wider use to refer to a square-bound comic book with cardstock covers. A prestige format comic book is usually longer than a normal, stapled 32-page comic...
limited series
Limited series
A limited series is a comic book series with a set number of installments. A limited series differs from an ongoing series in that the number of issues is determined before production and it differs from a one shot in that it is composed of multiple issues....
that was released in 1989. This had been part of the business plan for Crisis from the start but only the early series, like New Statesmen, got this treatment. In 1990 the story was collected into 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...
.
Plot
Set in America in 2047, the series told the story of a number of genetically modified "optimen", created with superhuman 'hard' and 'soft' talents, who were essentially biological weapons. The series asked what 'superheroes' would be like if they were far more human than traditional heroes.The series depicted a dystopian future in which Britain had become the 51st state of America and the world is in the grip of fear of genetic engineering and political warmongering.
In many ways the series was ahead of its time. Two of the leading male characters were in a gay relationship.
Publication
- New Statesmen (by John SmithJohn Smith (comics)John Smith is a British comics writer best known for his work on 2000 AD and Crisis.Smith's work is characterised by intricate, sometimes obscure plots and an interest in taboos and the occult, told in an elliptic, fractured narrative style reminiscent of Iain Sinclair or the cut-up technique of...
):- "Halcyon Days" (with Jim BaikieJim BaikieJim Baikie is a British comics artist, who is best known for his work with Alan Moore on Skizz.-Biography:Baikie began his career illustrating Valentine for Fleetway. Over the next twenty years, he built a solid reputation working for TV comics such as Look-in, including adaptations of The Monkees...
, in Crisis, #1, 1988) - "Perspectives" (with Jim BaikieJim BaikieJim Baikie is a British comics artist, who is best known for his work with Alan Moore on Skizz.-Biography:Baikie began his career illustrating Valentine for Fleetway. Over the next twenty years, he built a solid reputation working for TV comics such as Look-in, including adaptations of The Monkees...
, in Crisis, #2, 1988) - "Behind the light" (with Jim BaikieJim BaikieJim Baikie is a British comics artist, who is best known for his work with Alan Moore on Skizz.-Biography:Baikie began his career illustrating Valentine for Fleetway. Over the next twenty years, he built a solid reputation working for TV comics such as Look-in, including adaptations of The Monkees...
, in Crisis, #3, 1988) - "Shadowdancing" (with Jim BaikieJim BaikieJim Baikie is a British comics artist, who is best known for his work with Alan Moore on Skizz.-Biography:Baikie began his career illustrating Valentine for Fleetway. Over the next twenty years, he built a solid reputation working for TV comics such as Look-in, including adaptations of The Monkees...
, in Crisis, #4, 1988) - "Downtime" (with Sean PhillipsSean PhillipsSean Phillips is a British comic book artist.He is best known in the American comic book industry for his work on DC Comics' Sleeper, WildC.A.T.s, Batman and Hellblazer.-Career:...
, in Crisis, #5, 1988) - "Holding the fist" (with Sean PhillipsSean PhillipsSean Phillips is a British comic book artist.He is best known in the American comic book industry for his work on DC Comics' Sleeper, WildC.A.T.s, Batman and Hellblazer.-Career:...
, in Crisis, #6, 1988) - "Where the railroad meets the sea" (with Duncan FegredoDuncan FegredoDuncan Fegredo is a British comic book artist born in Leicester in 1964.-Career:Fegredo first managed to get into comics after showing his portfolio around UKCAC in 1987 and meeting Dave Thorpe. Together they worked on a strip for a short lived British magazine called Heartbreak Hotel...
, in Crisis #7, 1988) - "Memories on Ice" (with Duncan FegredoDuncan FegredoDuncan Fegredo is a British comic book artist born in Leicester in 1964.-Career:Fegredo first managed to get into comics after showing his portfolio around UKCAC in 1987 and meeting Dave Thorpe. Together they worked on a strip for a short lived British magazine called Heartbreak Hotel...
, in Crisis #8, 1988) - "All doors lead to the Minotaur" (with Jim BaikieJim BaikieJim Baikie is a British comics artist, who is best known for his work with Alan Moore on Skizz.-Biography:Baikie began his career illustrating Valentine for Fleetway. Over the next twenty years, he built a solid reputation working for TV comics such as Look-in, including adaptations of The Monkees...
, in Crisis, ##9, 1989) - "Life during wartime" (with Jim BaikieJim BaikieJim Baikie is a British comics artist, who is best known for his work with Alan Moore on Skizz.-Biography:Baikie began his career illustrating Valentine for Fleetway. Over the next twenty years, he built a solid reputation working for TV comics such as Look-in, including adaptations of The Monkees...
, in Crisis, ##10, 1989) - "Riding the tiger" (with Jim BaikieJim BaikieJim Baikie is a British comics artist, who is best known for his work with Alan Moore on Skizz.-Biography:Baikie began his career illustrating Valentine for Fleetway. Over the next twenty years, he built a solid reputation working for TV comics such as Look-in, including adaptations of The Monkees...
, in Crisis, ##11, 1989) - "The power and the glory" (with Jim BaikieJim BaikieJim Baikie is a British comics artist, who is best known for his work with Alan Moore on Skizz.-Biography:Baikie began his career illustrating Valentine for Fleetway. Over the next twenty years, he built a solid reputation working for TV comics such as Look-in, including adaptations of The Monkees...
, in Crisis, ##12, 1989) - "White Death" (with Sean PhillipsSean PhillipsSean Phillips is a British comic book artist.He is best known in the American comic book industry for his work on DC Comics' Sleeper, WildC.A.T.s, Batman and Hellblazer.-Career:...
, in Crisis, #13-14, 1989) - "Epilogue" (with Jim BaikieJim BaikieJim Baikie is a British comics artist, who is best known for his work with Alan Moore on Skizz.-Biography:Baikie began his career illustrating Valentine for Fleetway. Over the next twenty years, he built a solid reputation working for TV comics such as Look-in, including adaptations of The Monkees...
, in Crisis, ##28, 1989)
- "Halcyon Days" (with Jim Baikie
Collected editions
It was collected into a trade paperbackTrade 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...
:
- New Statesmen (240 pages, Fleetway Quality, November 1990, ISBN 1853862177)