The final part of the Armando Iannucci-narrated documentary three-parter Comics Britannia focuses on then modern era, beginning in the late-70s. It's a timespan I can identify with more, meaning X-Rated - Anarchy In The UK was less surprising and informative than the previous episodes, but more relevant to my own dalliances with comics.
1979, the year I was born, was coincidentally the year Viz first hit the newsagents. Fuelled by the anarchist sensibility of the time, popularly demonstrated by punk music, Viz was basically a dirty-minded version of the Beano -- full of swearing, sex, violence and the kind of sick-minded humour that was (and is) popular amongst most men, but rarely aired in the mass media.
Inspired by the DIY spirit of punk bands and fanzines, brothers Chris and Simon Donald wrote Viz from their Newcastle bedroom as a sarcastic piss-take politically-correct comics. Their characters were a mix of the grotesque, the disgusting and the unlikeable; from lust-driven Fat Slags and Sid The Sexist, to potty-mouthed TV presenter Roger Mellie and Johnny Fartpants. Viz sold just 150 copies of its first issue, but sales soon skyrocketed to over 1,000,000 -- making it the third biggest-selling magazine in Britain!
The 70s attitude also gave rise to Action comic in 1976, from writer-editor Pat Mills. Action was essentially the comic book response to the gritty Hollywood realism at the time, in films like Dirty Harry. The resulting comic was a hit with teens, thanks to its anti-authority attitude, but Action was dealt a blow when one issue was banned -- because the cover seemed to show an armed delinquint assaulting a policeman. Action returned after the media panic had died down, but with a sanitized style that failed to keep its readership.
Reeling from this upset, Mills decided to transpose Action's gritty style to a science fiction setting, where you could get away more because of the genre's fictional setting and outlandish characters. In 1977, the year Star Wars became a global phenomenon, 2000AD released its first issue. The strip was a big hit, particularly with its most popular character -- Judge Dredd; an unforgiving, futuristic, fascist cop on a monster motorcycle.
2000AD was a significant step for serious-minded British comics, but independent publishers could afford to take the medium into even braver territory. Warrior, released in 1982, took a risk by running a strip by writer Alan Moore and artist David Lloyd called V For Vendetta. It told the story of an imagined near-future where Britain is a fascist state influenced by Margaret Thatcher's regime. In the strip, an anarchist called V (dressed as historical rebel Guy Fawkes), tries to restore freedom by terrorizing the authorities. This was a complex, original and political work from Moore, which signalled a seismic shift in audience appreciation of comics as a genuine artform.
1988's Deadline was a comic-book respons to the acid-house rave culture of the time, most notable with its iconic character Tank Girl, a bald, tattoo'd feminist who slept with a kangaroo! She was the face of "Girl Power" when the Spice Girls were playing with their Barbies.
It was in the 1980s that Americans began to really notice the trailblazing British movement. Various corporations began to head-hunt our writers and artists from, with the resulting "Brit Pack" invading the US with their fresh ideas. They successfully supplanted their British cynicism, political viewpoints and complex storylines into traditional American comic-book heroes and themes.
Alan Moore made the biggest splash, working alongside artist Dave Gibbons to create Watchmen; a celebrated epic that put a real-world spin on caped superheroes. Moore's ideas had a psychology, depth and texture that was unheard of in the genre. The 12-issue run of Watchmen was later compiled into one book -- and the "graphic novel" was born. British talent had inspired a new wave of comics, with stories and artwork becoming ever more intelligent and multi-faceted.
These days, the humble kid's comic has evolved into hefty works of literature, tackling controversial topics and finding wider respect. Bryan Talbot's Alice In Sunderland took him four years to complete, longer than it takes to craft a big-budget Hollywood movie. Moore went on to breathe life into American heroes like Swamp Thing and Batman (his work inspiring Batman Begins' realistic tone), and recently pushed the envelope again with Lost Girls; a pornographic epic following the adult, sexual adventures of Wendy (Peter Pan), Dorothy (The Wizard Of Oz) and Alice (... In Wonderland).
X-Rated: Anarchy In The UK was of the usual high standard; simple to understand, entertaining throughout and even eliciting intelligent comment from the interviewed writers, artists and celebrities like Stewart Lee and Frank Skinner. It was particularly great to hear legendary Alan Moore's views, and his gravelly reading of vigilante Rorschach from Watchmen was a treat for fans.
Above all, it was just nice to hear about a success story in British comics. The previous two episodes had their basis in nostalgia and lamented the passing of a Golden Age -- with they heydays of Beano, Dandy, Eagle and Bunty all sputtering to an end by the 80s.
But here, in the final part of Comics Britannia, we saw that comics simply moved with the times, into fresh areas. Teenagers wanted the adult naughtiness of Viz, not the kid-friendly Dandy, while kids who grew up in the 50s/60s were now ready for the grown-up graphic novels of the 80s.
Today, 2000AD is still going strong, and the comic's Judge Dredd character starred in his own Hollywood movie, albeit a bad one. The same grizzly fate awaited Deadline's Tank Girl. Even Viz has a series of short cartoons and an awful live-action adaptation of The Fat Slags to its "credit".
Meanwhile, comic-book writer Neil Gaiman (Sandman) is trying to transfer his written genius to the big-screen, with Mirror Mask and this year's Stardust -- to little success, so far. Alan Moore's cherished output is also yet to be adapted decently, although V For Vendetta was a marked improvement over From Hell and The League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Maybe Zack Snyder's upcoming live-action Watchmen will do for Moore's adaptations what the source novel did for comics?
24 September 2007
BBC Four, 9.00pm
1979, the year I was born, was coincidentally the year Viz first hit the newsagents. Fuelled by the anarchist sensibility of the time, popularly demonstrated by punk music, Viz was basically a dirty-minded version of the Beano -- full of swearing, sex, violence and the kind of sick-minded humour that was (and is) popular amongst most men, but rarely aired in the mass media.
Inspired by the DIY spirit of punk bands and fanzines, brothers Chris and Simon Donald wrote Viz from their Newcastle bedroom as a sarcastic piss-take politically-correct comics. Their characters were a mix of the grotesque, the disgusting and the unlikeable; from lust-driven Fat Slags and Sid The Sexist, to potty-mouthed TV presenter Roger Mellie and Johnny Fartpants. Viz sold just 150 copies of its first issue, but sales soon skyrocketed to over 1,000,000 -- making it the third biggest-selling magazine in Britain!
The 70s attitude also gave rise to Action comic in 1976, from writer-editor Pat Mills. Action was essentially the comic book response to the gritty Hollywood realism at the time, in films like Dirty Harry. The resulting comic was a hit with teens, thanks to its anti-authority attitude, but Action was dealt a blow when one issue was banned -- because the cover seemed to show an armed delinquint assaulting a policeman. Action returned after the media panic had died down, but with a sanitized style that failed to keep its readership.
Reeling from this upset, Mills decided to transpose Action's gritty style to a science fiction setting, where you could get away more because of the genre's fictional setting and outlandish characters. In 1977, the year Star Wars became a global phenomenon, 2000AD released its first issue. The strip was a big hit, particularly with its most popular character -- Judge Dredd; an unforgiving, futuristic, fascist cop on a monster motorcycle.
2000AD was a significant step for serious-minded British comics, but independent publishers could afford to take the medium into even braver territory. Warrior, released in 1982, took a risk by running a strip by writer Alan Moore and artist David Lloyd called V For Vendetta. It told the story of an imagined near-future where Britain is a fascist state influenced by Margaret Thatcher's regime. In the strip, an anarchist called V (dressed as historical rebel Guy Fawkes), tries to restore freedom by terrorizing the authorities. This was a complex, original and political work from Moore, which signalled a seismic shift in audience appreciation of comics as a genuine artform.
1988's Deadline was a comic-book respons to the acid-house rave culture of the time, most notable with its iconic character Tank Girl, a bald, tattoo'd feminist who slept with a kangaroo! She was the face of "Girl Power" when the Spice Girls were playing with their Barbies.
It was in the 1980s that Americans began to really notice the trailblazing British movement. Various corporations began to head-hunt our writers and artists from, with the resulting "Brit Pack" invading the US with their fresh ideas. They successfully supplanted their British cynicism, political viewpoints and complex storylines into traditional American comic-book heroes and themes.
Alan Moore made the biggest splash, working alongside artist Dave Gibbons to create Watchmen; a celebrated epic that put a real-world spin on caped superheroes. Moore's ideas had a psychology, depth and texture that was unheard of in the genre. The 12-issue run of Watchmen was later compiled into one book -- and the "graphic novel" was born. British talent had inspired a new wave of comics, with stories and artwork becoming ever more intelligent and multi-faceted.
These days, the humble kid's comic has evolved into hefty works of literature, tackling controversial topics and finding wider respect. Bryan Talbot's Alice In Sunderland took him four years to complete, longer than it takes to craft a big-budget Hollywood movie. Moore went on to breathe life into American heroes like Swamp Thing and Batman (his work inspiring Batman Begins' realistic tone), and recently pushed the envelope again with Lost Girls; a pornographic epic following the adult, sexual adventures of Wendy (Peter Pan), Dorothy (The Wizard Of Oz) and Alice (... In Wonderland).
X-Rated: Anarchy In The UK was of the usual high standard; simple to understand, entertaining throughout and even eliciting intelligent comment from the interviewed writers, artists and celebrities like Stewart Lee and Frank Skinner. It was particularly great to hear legendary Alan Moore's views, and his gravelly reading of vigilante Rorschach from Watchmen was a treat for fans.
Above all, it was just nice to hear about a success story in British comics. The previous two episodes had their basis in nostalgia and lamented the passing of a Golden Age -- with they heydays of Beano, Dandy, Eagle and Bunty all sputtering to an end by the 80s.
But here, in the final part of Comics Britannia, we saw that comics simply moved with the times, into fresh areas. Teenagers wanted the adult naughtiness of Viz, not the kid-friendly Dandy, while kids who grew up in the 50s/60s were now ready for the grown-up graphic novels of the 80s.
Today, 2000AD is still going strong, and the comic's Judge Dredd character starred in his own Hollywood movie, albeit a bad one. The same grizzly fate awaited Deadline's Tank Girl. Even Viz has a series of short cartoons and an awful live-action adaptation of The Fat Slags to its "credit".
Meanwhile, comic-book writer Neil Gaiman (Sandman) is trying to transfer his written genius to the big-screen, with Mirror Mask and this year's Stardust -- to little success, so far. Alan Moore's cherished output is also yet to be adapted decently, although V For Vendetta was a marked improvement over From Hell and The League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Maybe Zack Snyder's upcoming live-action Watchmen will do for Moore's adaptations what the source novel did for comics?
24 September 2007
BBC Four, 9.00pm
