Back in 1605, Guy Fawkes and a group of fellow English Catholics plotted to blow up the Houses of Parliament—the Gunpowder Plot. They were caught on the fifth of November, and ever since then, the British have celebrated the day by setting off fireworks and burning Fawkes in effigy (although they have also been known to toast him, satirically, as “the last man to enter Parliament with honest intentions”). His image became synonymous with protest against the government and the oppressions of society after Alan Moore and David Lloyd had the lead character in V for Vendetta wear a Guy Fawkes mask; the mask was later picked up by the protest group Anonymous and has become a major cultural icon.
Now the man behind the mask is getting his own comic: The UK publisher Eco Comics has announced that Fawkes will be a major character in their new series The Englishman and will then get his own title.
Writer Chris Bunting sheds a bit of light on how he will handle the character: “The predictable approach for a writer in today’s climate would be to portray Guy Fawkes as a terrorist. He is as complicated as he is extreme. He’s not a dastardly villain twirling his moustache, but nor is he a hero in the traditional sense – even though he may consider himself to be. What Guy has in mind is a plot of epic proportions. Which for an expert in explosives can only spell big trouble.”
You can see some preview art at the Guy Fawkes Facebook page.
Eco Comics is the comics and graphic novels arm of Mohawk Media, which first made a splash in 2008 with a graphic novel about Mr. T; the “eco” in their name comes from the fact that they are solely digital, so no trees are killed to make their comics. The comics don’t seem to be on any of the major platforms but they are available for direct download from several sources, including the publisher itself.
A former book editor and newspaper reporter, Brigid Alverson started MangaBlog to keep track of her daughters¹ reading habits and now covers comics and graphic novels for Comic Book Resources , School Library Journal, Publishers Weekly Comics World, Robot 6, and MTV Geek. She also edits the Good Comics for Kids blog at School Library Journal. Brigid was a judge for the 2012 Eisner Awards. Send her an email to wordballoons@gmail.com