New Statesmen

From Hey Kids Comics

New Statesmen
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Publication information
Publisher Crisis
Publication date 1988 - 1989
Number of issues 15
Creative team
Writer(s) John Smith
Artist(s) Jim Baikie
Collected editions
New Statesmen ISBN 1-85386-217-7

New Statesmen was a "political superhero series" [1] featured in British comic Crisis, created by John Smith and Jim Baikie, which lasted for fourteen episodes from 1988 to 1989.

Publications history[edit | edit source]

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 format 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.[2] In 1990 the story was collected into a trade paperback.

Plot[edit | edit source]

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.

While in some ways the series could be considered "ahead of its time" (two of the leading male characters were in a gay relationship) in most respects the series was a typical product of its time, heavily derivative of the early 80s work of Alan Moore and Frank Miller.

Publication[edit | edit source]

Collected editions[edit | edit source]

It was collected into a trade paperback:

  • New Statesmen (240 pages, Fleetway Quality, November 1990, ISBN 1-85386-217-7)

Notes[edit | edit source]

References[edit | edit source]