The Captain Britain Extravaganza!

Welcome, welcome one and all to the CAPTAIN BRITAIN EXTRAVAGANZA!

This is something we are REALLY excited to bring you, with two awesome Cap Brit interviews. Just bellow this blurb we have an interview conducted by our roving reporter Marc, with the comic Legend Alan Davis!

Famous for of course Captain Britain, Clandestine and much much more. Alan also won an Eagle, the premier UK comic book awards. Alan is definitely deserving for the award of 'Favourite Comics Writer/Artist', well done!

In the show we review Captain Britain and MI: 13 Issue 1, we talk Captain Britain in general and of course a stunning interview with another comic master, Paul Cornell.

Famous not just in comics but his work on Doctor Who and Robin Hood. Oh and as you can see here, Captain Britain and MI:13 is doing very well with a second printing after the first totally sold out, well done Paul, looks like the success you were hoping for is happening!

I really hope you enjoy this show, my voice is coming direct from the future, as is the music, so it may be a little... Odd. Please leave a comment!

RIGHT CLICK: SAVE AS to download, or LEFT CLICK to listen!

Here are some of the many many faces of Captain Britain, including a zombie version!



These in order 1-4, are the covers for Captain Britain and MI:13, check them out, remember them and go out and purchase all the comics, that's an order!

Music in the show: Psydom Recordz, Psydom Revolutions, Asteroide-Melody Attack and Subversive Activity-Artificial Creation... Spot the deliberate (ed-yeh right, typo boy) mistake.

THE ALAN DAVIS INTERVIEW... With Marc

Me: Hello everybody, I’m sitting here with one of my hero’s of the comic book world, the one and only Alan Davis, for those of you who don’t know, he is an award winning artist and author. He’s worked for and with many of the greats... To be honest go out there and read some comics because this guy is amazing.

(Chuckling) That’s enough of my Fanboyism I’m actually going to get on and ask some questions now.

Right well where to start… You helped re-create a character that was very Americanised and you completely reworked him into something classically British, he is one of the best out there...

Alan Davis: Well I cant really take all the credit for it because it was originally Paul Neary and Dave Thorpe who originally wanted to re-launch Captain Britain. My brief was to do a new visual design. So that’s what I contributed. Paul Neary had a definite idea of where he wanted to go, Dave was slightly different and that caused problems later on, but I’d say it was Paul who had the initial vision.

Me: I must admit I love the costume and in the comic that’s being done right now (Captain Britain and Mi:13) they’ve gone back to your original design. I thought it was a really fun design.

Alan Davis: (Chuckling and shaking his head)

Me: You didn’t like it at all?

Alan Davis: No no no.

Me: (Laughing) Okay. So can I ask you what your influences for it were, was it just the design brief of what Paul and Dave wanted?

Alan Davis: Ah no, they said just basically carte blanche, just come up with a new interesting costume, thing is I never realised they wanted more then one version (chuckle) So I just did the finished version. What I based it on was the horse guards outside Buckingham palace coz you know with the long boots white trousers, the sash and the helmet it was that kinda idea.

Me: Ohhh, yea?

Alan Davis: Originally I had crossed sashes, they eventually developed into a broader pattern, Then there was the idea of having a union jack on his head but not obscuring his face in any way. Unlike the original Captain Britain’s that was kinda like Spidermans. It was really that trying to keep some elements that were recognisable and some that are more militaristic

Me: (nodding excitedly trust me I was) It really came across...

Alan Davis: He’s got the military baring, Captain Britain’s very upright he has the ridged neck he looked very (Alan Paused slightly and smiling) You know the British Bull dog thing.

Me: I really liked that in your comics the front part Captain Britain’s mask was a solid piece.

Alan Davis: Yea its meant to be solid, Its meant to be curved at the front, its not meant to follow the shape of his nose and contour of his nose which colourist unbearably try and render a nose into it.

(Both of us laugh at this on going problem)

Alan Davis: But its meant to be curved so its away from his face, and the eyes that you see expressing aren’t Brian Braddocks eyes (captain Britain) they’re the mask reacting to what he is doing underneath which is why they are cartoony and exaggerated.

Me: Those were some of the things I loved about him.

Alan Davis: But its meant to be Arcane technology so in a way its meant to be more akin to Iron Man armour than a costume.

Me: Yea I noticed it is more technology, as in your comic where Slaymaster managed to get a copy of it.

Alan Davis: Yup Arcane technology. I have to say though it was mostly Dave Thorpe who was the original instigator of that.

Me: Wow that’s cool to know. You’ve done a lot of edgy material, Captain Britain actually killing Slaymaster, the attempted rape of Pyslocke, some of the clandestine stories have a dark undertone, how do you feel that’s lived up to the modern comics where every thing is so dark and bleak?

Alan Davis: Well It really bothers me, the monotone nature of comics where everything is dark, every one is cool, every one wears leather and every ones sexy. You really need the light and darks to get contrast you need the guy whose kinky, the guy who’s plain, you need the contrasts to get the right shade and I just find modern comics monotonous because of that, I try to have characters that can have a laugh and a joke, try and live a normal life and the violence and the battles are an intrusion on the normality that they want.

Me: That’s what I love about “Clandestine”, its got beautiful artwork to start with, nice comic characters and the interaction between family and its dynamics.

Alan Davis: That’s all there is to the “Clandestine” because the one thing you learn when you’ve been in comics for even a short time, there is only so many cliché of characters, you’ve got the strong guy, the telepath, the fast guy the one who can fly then you’ve got a few quirky powers like the metamorph odd things like that. But there’s very little originality in the concepts the costumes and the names. So when I came up with the “Clandestine” it was the family mentality and interactions that were important. The actual powers and things came later; they evolved as I developed the rational of the group.

Me: So really the personalities came before the thoughts of their powers?

Alan Davis: Oh yes.

Me: Wow that’s really interesting.

Alan Davis: Well there was a certain amount of interaction between the evolution but when it comes to designing costumes and powers there are only so many things you can do. So when I first started there were characters and power traits that moved from one to another because it didn’t fit in with the personality. When it came to designing the actual costumes I did a few and thought I don’t want them to look like a group I don’t want them to look like this or that.

So I ended up designing costumes like one was a 70’s costume one was an 80’s. The kids are 50’s because that when the super hero’s were innocent so they looked like Legion of Super Hero’s or Robin, Marvel Girl, Super Boy that sort of thing, they were more like a generational thing which fitted in with the idea of them being a long lived family. The family came first

Me: So any hints you could give us to where “Clandestine” is going? I know you’ve said you have just finished writing and drawing it.

Alan Davis: Not really as I don’t know what my involvement with “Clandestine” will be in the future.

Me: Really? How do you feel when one of your vast catalogue of characters are taken on by other people?
Alan Davis: I don’t look. The thing is I know that over the years I’ve upset people with the way that I’ve carried on their characters and wound up some of their story lines. For instance on “Excalibur” I had no idea where Chris Claremont was taking anything. I was just put in charge of the book and told “wind these up”.

(Alan smiles and laughs) When I took over the “X-men” I was on them for 18 months and it was basically we have these story lines they must be wound up now. They were other people’s story lines I had no idea where they were going and as a professional you just basically have to do your job. The editor gave me benchmarks to hit and I just aimed for those.

Me: So a nice simple question... Actually not very simple, what was your favourite comic to work on?

Alan Davis: I think what ever I’m working on at the time; you have to believe in it or else you cant function. I think my most successful comic in the finished item matched my original conception was “Killraven” that was closest to how I imagined it.

Me: Unfortunately we’ve got wrap this up here, thank you very much for your time its been amazing speaking to you. Wow I’m still in a little shock and awe.

Alan Davis: Ahh that’s okay. Thank you very much.