ALBION #1

By: Kurt Amacker
Review Date: Thursday, July 07, 2005

Alan Moore has a penchant for taking old superheroes (or at least the idea of old superheroes) and both literalizing and deconstructing them. First MIRACLEMAN, then WATCHMEN, then TOM STRONG, and now, ALBION. Moore starts with old characters or creates similar-in-spirit characters and contextualizes their more innocent Golden or Silver Age exploits to comment upon whatever he pleases. That may be politics or the comic medium, but regardless, it never fails to fascinate. ALBION resurrects a generation of British superheroes by first explaining their sudden absence by realizing them in a world like our own.

Ne'er-do-well Danny wiles away his young adulthood reading old comics featuring the very characters ALBION resurrects. Slowly, he notices real individuals similar to the superheroes and villains he reads about. Within the narrative, the Moores and John Reppion explain where all those British heroes went by offering that they were quite real and the comics merely reported their exploits. Danny meets Penny a young woman who's made the same discovery and they begin a hunt for the lost heroes. You probably noticed that I said "Moores" a few sentence back as in, more than one Moore. In this case, the second is Leah Moore Alan's daughter. She co-scripted ALBION with John Reppion and, while I don't know how detailed her father's plot was, the two did a fine job creating an accessible narrative out of admittedly weighty subject matter. Their script references British music and culture that some will understand ("Grimly Fiendish/Wears a coat that's black and long" I guess), but will likely slide past most American readers. I know I missed a few things, so don't feel ashamed.

Shane Oakley and George Freeman did a fine job with the art, though those looking for the second coming of WATCHMEN will feel disappointed. The art sports jagged angles and heavy use of negative space throughout a stark contrast to Dave Gibbons's more realistic, cinematic characters. Their black and white comics within the comic emulate the old British works well, and I commend their versatility. How I wish I could draw.

For those that can't suppress comparisons to WATCHMEN, Gibbons did draw the cover, further evoking the similarity between ALBION and its classic predecessor. But, ALBION holds its own as an independent work, both visually and textually.
By all means, pick up ALBION when you get your books today. Comic books of this caliber don't come along very often.

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