The Braddock Family Appreciation 2023

[JB]

Minor spoilers for Heralds of Apocalypse below, FYI.

Dear Mr. o-:[A]:-o,



I understand there is a war coming and you are going to be gathering forces. Hear me out. First and foremost if you're going to be dealing with the likes of Coven Akkaba and your wife who knows magic, you could really use your apprentice, your protégé, and king of the druids.



He's been practicing mutant magic and studying your grimoire since you left. He's been following your lead and I think it's time to bring him back into the spotlight.

And then there's Captain Britain. Did you know that she had nice things to say about you in a letter to the Corps at the end of her book?



You probably do know because you know everything. Allow me to remind you that you fully supported her in the role of Captain Britain and I'm sure you didn't go through the trouble of orchestrating Mercator to guard and later activate the Siege Perilous for nothing, right? Captain Britain is now in charge of Otherworld (which I'm sure will please you) and behind her, as you know, is an army.

[JB]

Betsy holds the magic of the Starlight Citadel in her sword so that's helpful. Not to mention there's a variant of her that has chosen the path of sorcery!



The Corps has experience fighting Amenthi demons and I bet they'd like another shot at severing demon heads from their demon bodies.

Plus there's one more very big reason why you should enlist the aid of Betsy Braddock but I won't mention it yet because it'd be almost too good to be true if it happened so I want to see where Ewing is going with the story first.

Anyway, thanks for your time and you're not just a "lecturer" in my eyes. Think and choose wisely because war is on the horizon.

[Panic]

Throwback Thursday

This week it’s Brian’s first meeting with Dane Whitman, the Black Knight, in the Black Knight comic strip from Marvel UK’s Hulk Comic.



Brian is amnesiac, having leapt out of a plane due to either psychic attack from the forces of evil (according to the Black Knight strip), or mental breakdown from the strain of the clash of science and sorcery inherent in being Captain Britain (Moore’s Captain Britain strip). He’s wearing his Captain Britain costume under his raincoat (not actually obvious in these pages, it’s shown in the following issue), suggesting that he’s in his transformed state, but doesn’t seem to have his superhuman strength or agility (Merlin restores these to him near the end of the BK adventure); his staff/sceptre never displays the ability to grant him flight or generate a forcefield whilst he’s adventuring with BK, making him just a fit guy with a magic weapon, and as such a perfect companion to Dane, who is the same. Coincidence? I think not.

The Black Knight strip drew on The Lord of the Rings and Arthurian legend for it’s backdrop, and the theme of a hero temporarily going mad and living as a hermit was common in the latter.

We get the classic super-hero first meeting where they fight each other due to a misunderstanding.

Brian practices stand-your-ground in defence of his cave.

The Black Knight is using ye olde speech patterns, despite coming from 20th century Massachusetts; probably because he has been spending time in 12th century, possessing the body of his ancestor - very Assassin’s Creed.

Although his Marvel UK strip was published several years before the Avengers issue in which he re-teams with the Avengers to battle the Fomor (The Avengers vol 1, #255), Wikipedia places the Avengers adventure before the UK strip, and it seems like the Avengers story was partly to explain how Dane could be in the 20th century to go adventuring with Captain Britain when his consciousness was supposedly trapped in the past inhabiting Sir Eobar Garrington.

[JB]

Throwback Thursday

This week it’s Brian’s first meeting with Dane Whitman, the Black Knight, in the Black Knight comic strip from Marvel UK’s Hulk Comic.



Brian is amnesiac, having leapt out of a plane due to either psychic attack from the forces of evil (according to the Black Knight strip), or mental breakdown from the strain of the clash of science and sorcery inherent in being Captain Britain (Moore’s Captain Britain strip). He’s wearing his Captain Britain costume under his raincoat (not actually obvious in these pages, it’s shown in the following issue), suggesting that he’s in his transformed state, but doesn’t seem to have his superhuman strength or agility (Merlin restores these to him near the end of the BK adventure); his staff/sceptre never displays the ability to grant him flight or generate a forcefield whilst he’s adventuring with BK, making him just a fit guy with a magic weapon, and as such a perfect companion to Dane, who is the same. Coincidence? I think not.

The Black Knight strip drew on The Lord of the Rings and Arthurian legend for it’s backdrop, and the theme of a hero temporarily going mad and living as a hermit was common in the latter.

We get the classic super-hero first meeting where they fight each other due to a misunderstanding.

Brian practices stand-your-ground in defence of his cave.

The Black Knight is using ye olde speech patterns, despite coming from 20th century Massachusetts; probably because he has been spending time in 12th century, possessing the body of his ancestor - very Assassin’s Creed.

Although his Marvel UK strip was published several years before the Avengers issue in which he re-teams with the Avengers to battle the Fomor (The Avengers vol 1, #255), Wikipedia places the Avengers adventure before the UK strip, and it seems like the Avengers story was partly to explain how Dane could be in the 20th century to go adventuring with Captain Britain when his consciousness was supposedly trapped in the past inhabiting Sir Eobar Garrington.

I really love this story so thank you for the reminder and for the additional information! The first time I read through the Captain Britain omnibus the tonal change from the bouncy superhero stories to this story was neat. The Arthurian figures and the entire landscape are so good and I appreciate how both characters get lead focus. I love the artwork which if I'm not mistaken changes a bit towards the end. I especially like the two panels that split Brian's face and his expression.

[Panic]

I really love this story so thank you for the reminder and for the additional information! The first time I read through the Captain Britain omnibus the tonal change from the bouncy superhero stories to this story was neat. The Arthurian figures and the entire landscape are so good and I appreciate how both characters get lead focus. I love the artwork which if I'm not mistaken changes a bit towards the end. I especially like the two panels that split Brian's face and his expression.

Yes, from what I understand the initial art-team was Paul Neary inked by John Stokes, but near the end writer Steve Parkhouse did the pencil layouts, with Stokes inking. I don’t think the change is very noticeable, probably because Stokes’ inks are strong. I assume the reason that Paul Neary stepped away from art duties was to shepherd the upcoming Captain Britain strip, which I know he was heavily involved with.

[JB]

Fanart Friday!

Mr. Alan Davis himself was at the Heroes Convention two weeks ago here in the US where a lucky fan picked up this beautiful commission.



By ZhaxRa


By Wilton Santos


This last image by Santos makes me really want a one-shot or mini featuring the twins in action. An adventure where they fly, fight, and laugh together.

[JB]

Bringing this over from the LGBTQ thread. It's a promo image for Marvel's very popular Contest of Champions game.



"Log in now & claim your FREE 4-star Champions, Iceman & Captain Britain! Celebrate Pride with these incredible heroes who embody courage, strength, & inclusivity." (Unlocking 4-star characters requires a lot of "crystals" = spending a lot of money). Cute timing too as her solo just ended and Bobby's starts in August.

Also, Amazon has listed the Betsy Braddock: Captain Britain TPB, due for release in January. Trades historically sell much better than single issues in large part because they're available in MANY more stores. Here in the US you can find them in big box stores like Walmart and Target. Not to mention that they're easier to store/display and the cost per issue is usually less than floppies.

Here's hoping for some strong sales telling Marvel that the people want More Betsy!

[JB]

It's Meggan and Maggie Monday!

By James "Squeegool" Claridades.



Beautiful piece by Philip Tan.



And a cute Maggie Braddock by Wolf aka @lego_x-men_unlimited

[Panic]

Throwback Thursday: that first time Merlyn had to bring Brian back to life.




This sequence from Hulk Comic’s Black Knight strip (I’ve edited it for space) is very different from the two later occasions when Captain Britain was killed and resurrected (in Alan Moore’s Marvel UK CB strip, and Paul Cornel’s Captain Britain & MI:13), in that it isn’t being used to ‘reboot’ the character, but is simply a cool action sequence to show Merlyn in trippy mystical action. I’ve just watched the original Clash of the Titans again for the first time in decades and looking at these issues it’s easy to imagine Ray Harryhausen filming this content with plenty of stop-Motion animation. It would have been cool.

[Daedra]

Throwback Thursday: that first time Merlyn had to bring Brian back to life.




This sequence from Hulk Comic’s Black Knight strip (I’ve edited it for space) is very different from the two later occasions when Captain Britain was killed and resurrected (in Alan Moore’s Marvel UK CB strip, and Paul Cornel’s Captain Britain & MI:13), in that it isn’t being used to ‘reboot’ the character, but is simply a cool action sequence to show Merlyn in trippy mystical action. I’ve just watched the original Clash of the Titans again for the first time in decades and looking at these issues it’s easy to imagine Ray Harryhausen filming this content with plenty of stop-Motion animation. It would have been cool.

Looking at these pages and reading your comments is making me very nostalgic, I feel like humanity has lost so much creativity and imagination in the last 50 years or so…..nowadays I watch movies and read comics and I just see blatant cashgrabs with little to no artistic vision and a fixation on formulaic structures

[JB]

Throwback Thursday: that first time Merlyn had to bring Brian back to life.




This sequence from Hulk Comic’s Black Knight strip (I’ve edited it for space) is very different from the two later occasions when Captain Britain was killed and resurrected (in Alan Moore’s Marvel UK CB strip, and Paul Cornel’s Captain Britain & MI:13), in that it isn’t being used to ‘reboot’ the character, but is simply a cool action sequence to show Merlyn in trippy mystical action. I’ve just watched the original Clash of the Titans again for the first time in decades and looking at these issues it’s easy to imagine Ray Harryhausen filming this content with plenty of stop-Motion animation. It would have been cool.

Such a great story and it's no wonder people hold a special place in their hearts for this strip. Despite the stories being short, there's a magic (no pun intended) in the work that we seldom see today. Merlyn is great in this and the high stakes are palpable.

Death and resurrection are so Braddock.

[JB]

A little late but happy belated Fanart Friday! The new commission by Wilton Santos posted last week of the twins inspired me to pull up some of his previous work. Enjoy!

[MentalManipulator]

A little late but happy belated Fanart Friday! The new commission by Wilton Santos posted last week of the twins inspired me to pull up some of his previous work. Enjoy!

These three are gorgeous! Thanks for sharing them. I specially love the FA one. She looks gorgeous in it. I love this look with longer hair. Like when Silvestri drew it.

[JB]

These three are gorgeous! Thanks for sharing them. I specially love the FA one. She looks gorgeous in it. I love this look with longer hair. Like when Silvestri drew it.

Santos does some really beautiful commissions. I'm super tempted to order one but I'm not sure exactly what I want yet lol.

[JB]

Meggan Monday!

It's true.