Jack Staff
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Jack Staff is a British
superhero A superhero or superheroine is a stock character that typically possesses ''superpowers'', abilities beyond those of ordinary people, and fits the role of the hero, typically using his or her powers to help the world become a better place, ...
created by
comic book A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...
writer/artist Paul Grist. Billed as "Britain's Greatest Hero", it is known for being in the style of an
anthology In book publishing, an anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs or excerpts by different authors. In genre fiction, the term ''anthology'' typically categ ...
title and for its multi-linear plotlines. He first saw print in comics published by Paul Grist's Dancing Elephant Press, and is now published by
Image Comics Image Comics is an American comic book publisher and is the third largest comic book and graphic novel publisher in the industry in both unit and market share. It was founded in 1992 by several high-profile illustrators as a venue for creator-ow ...
. ''
Comics International ''Comics International'' was a British news and reviews magazine about comic books. Founded in 1990, it was published monthly by Quality Communications until 2006, and then by Cosmic Publications Ltd. until 2010. Over time, ''Comics Internation ...
'' began exclusive publication of a monthly four-page strip featuring the supporting character Ben Kulmer (the Claw); this started in #185 of the magazine and was set to run for twelve episodes. These strips have since been reprinted by Image Comics in a special.


Publication history

Grist created Jack Staff based on a story he had written to make use of
Marvel Marvel may refer to: Business * Marvel Entertainment, an American entertainment company ** Marvel Comics, the primary imprint of Marvel Entertainment ** Marvel Universe, a fictional shared universe ** Marvel Music, an imprint of Marvel Comics ...
's
Union Jack The Union Jack, or Union Flag, is the ''de facto'' national flag of the United Kingdom. Although no law has been passed making the Union Flag the official national flag of the United Kingdom, it has effectively become such through precedent. ...
character, only to be rejected. He reworked the story to make it more of an original, self-contained comic which Grist then published through his own imprint, Dancing Elephant Press. After twelve issues in black and white, Grist restarted the title with Image Comics, now with colour provided by
Phil Elliott Phil Elliott (born 1960) is a British comic book creator who was published in ''Escape Magazine''. He was part of the British small press comics scene in the 1980s. Career After contributing spot illustrations to comic fanzines such as '' Bemusi ...
. This ran for 20 issues, then was ended. It was restarted as the ''Weird World of Jack Staff'' that has had 6 issues. Nothing new has been done since 2011. A crossover was planned between this title and ''
Invincible Invincible may refer to: Film and television * ''Invincible'' (2001 drama film), a drama by Werner Herzog about Jewish cabaret during the rise of Nazism * ''Invincible'' (2001 TV film), a fantasy / martial arts TV movie starring Billy Zane ...
'', with Grist drawing and Robert Kirkman writing, but their schedules have not yet allowed it. Jack Staff himself has already appeared in a cameo in an earlier issue of the title, at the memorial service for the slain
Guardians of the Globe Guardians of the Globe are a fictional superhero team in the Image Universe, appearing primarily in the comic, and further Amazon Prime series, ''Invincible''. The original team was based on DC Comics' Justice League of America. Fictional team ...
, and later appeared helping to defend the Earth from an army of other-dimensional Invincible doubles during the globe-spanning ''
Invincible Invincible may refer to: Film and television * ''Invincible'' (2001 drama film), a drama by Werner Herzog about Jewish cabaret during the rise of Nazism * ''Invincible'' (2001 TV film), a fantasy / martial arts TV movie starring Billy Zane ...
'' #60. A crossover with ''
Savage Dragon The Savage Dragon is a fictional superhero created by Erik Larsen, published by Image Comics and taking place in the Image Universe. The comic features the adventures of a superheroic police officer named the Dragon. The character first appeared ...
'' was also planned, in which Dragon would have visited Castletown as part of a storyline in which he searched the world for his missing wife.''
Savage Dragon The Savage Dragon is a fictional superhero created by Erik Larsen, published by Image Comics and taking place in the Image Universe. The comic features the adventures of a superheroic police officer named the Dragon. The character first appeared ...
'' #138-139 (September–October 2008)


Fictional character biography

Jack Staff, Britain's Greatest Hero, has been active since at least
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. While he has revealed he has been around since the
Victorian Age In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwardian ...
and gained his powers there, it is unknown if he was active as a superhero or similar adventurer. In his civilian identity, he works as a builder by the name of John Smith and has done since the 19th century. During World War II, he was active with the Freedom Fighters, a group of American and British superheroes: Sgt. States, Blazing Glory, and Tommy Twister. During the war they defeated a vampire, Templar Richard, but not before Sgt. States also became a vampire (unknown to the rest of the team at the time). They also battled villains such as Kapitan Krieg and Brain Head. After the war, Jack continued as a superhero in the UK. By the 1960s, he was helping a group called Unit D fight several menaces. After working to stop a British weapon of mass destruction, the Hurricane, in the early 1980s, Jack quit being a superhero. It has only been recently that Jack has come back as a superhero, fighting alongside Q, Commander Hawkes of the now defunct Unit D, Tom Tom the Robot Man, Becky Burdock: Vampire Reporter, and others. Jack Staff was also an ally of the mysterious Mister Green, an entity working for/leading a cosmic force called "the Green", but severed his ties after the Hurricane incident. A slow-building subplot concerns an upcoming war, with "the Green" on one side and "the Red" on the other, and several of the comic's cast being recruited for it. Green has previously recruited Jack, and was recently revealed to have recruited Helen Morgan as well (and possibly more of Q through her) and taken Becky Burdock's old toy rabbit — or perhaps, in so doing, chosen Becky herself — to serve as a champion; a figure called the Man of Shadow is trying to recruit Becky. It's been hinted the Shadow and similar forces want to keep Becky & Jack apart. In ''The Weird World of Jack Staff'' #4, it was revealed Becky was indeed the prophesied champion who would save the world, and that Jack Staff's destined role was to keep her alive until then. It has been noted by various characters (such as in ''Jack Staff Special'' #1) that Jack's record of success is a bit iffy; he often gets battered by supervillains and ends up in embarrassing or dangerous situations, such as being set up to be arrested by the Spider. In the future visions shown in ''Weird World'', in the final battle he will be battered by the adversary; when the seers Professor Fate and Morlan the Mystic watch this battle, Morlan notes that Jack is incapable of defeating such a foe "but he's going to try anyway" (#3).


Powers and abilities

Agile and acrobatic, the closest Jack Staff gets to a clearly defined power is his ability to move energy. This has been shown by his moving energy into his staff to break through solid walls, or move the anger from Hurricane. This ability is never clearly defined with regard to where the energy is moved from, or what kind of energy is involved. Jack appears to be either immortal or very long lived. He reveals that he has been around since the at least the Victorian era. He was active as Jack Staff during World War II up until the 1980s when he retired after the Hurricane incident. He looks no different today then he did during World War II. No further background on him has yet to be revealed, although in the twelfth issue of the second Image volume, there were hints of a connection with the "Eternal Warrior". He has had dreams of some future threat, most recently in ''Jack Staff Special'' #1 — Becky Burdock is plagued by the same thing, though more frequently.


Collected editions

The comics have been collected into
trade paperbacks A paperback (softcover, softback) book is one with a thick paper or paperboard cover, and often held together with adhesive, glue rather than stitch (textile arts), stitches or Staple (fastener), staples. In contrast, hardcover (hardback) book ...
: *''Yesterday's Heroes'' (collects ''Jack Staff'' (vol. 1) #1-4, Dancing Elephant Press, April 2002, ) Image Comics has also collected the comics: *''Volume 1: Everything Used to be Black and White'' (collects ''Jack Staff'' (vol. 1) #1-12, 352 pages, March 2004, ) *''Volume 2: Soldiers'' (collects ''Jack Staff'' (vol. 2) #1-5, 160 pages, November 2005, ) *''Volume 3: Echoes of Tomorrow'' (collects ''Jack Staff'' (vol. 2) #6-12, 200 pages, January 2007, ) *''Volume 4: Rocky Realities'' (collects ''Jack Staff'' (vol. 2) #13-20 and one-shot Special, March 2010, ) There is a one-shot collection of shorter stories: * "The Weird World of Jack Staff King Size Special" (collects ''Jack Staff'' strips from ''
Comics International ''Comics International'' was a British news and reviews magazine about comic books. Founded in 1990, it was published monthly by Quality Communications until 2006, and then by Cosmic Publications Ltd. until 2010. Over time, ''Comics Internation ...
'' #185-191, 193–199, one-shot, Image Comics, July 2007)


Awards

*2001: Won "Favourite British Small Press Title" Eagle Award * 2002: Nominated for "Best Self-Published/Independent"
National Comics Award The National Comics Awards was a series of awards for comic book titles and creators given out on an annual basis from 1997 to 2003 (with the exception of the year 2000) for comics published in the United Kingdom the previous year. The votes we ...
* 2003: ** Won "Best Self-Published/Independent"
National Comics Award The National Comics Awards was a series of awards for comic book titles and creators given out on an annual basis from 1997 to 2003 (with the exception of the year 2000) for comics published in the United Kingdom the previous year. The votes we ...
** Nominated for "Best New Comic" National Comics Award *2004: Nominated for "Favourite British Small Press Title" Eagle Award *2007: Nominated for "Favourite Colour Comicbook (American)" Eagle Award


See also

* Supporting cast in Jack Staff


Notes


References


Jack Staff
at the International Catalogue of Superheroes *


External links


Jack Staff discussion forum at Image comicsFull issue: ''Jack Staff'' (vol. 1) #1
Image Comics
Full issue: ''Jack Staff'' (vol. 2) #1
Image Comics {{Image Comics Comics characters introduced in 2000 British small press comics Fictional stick-fighters Image Comics titles Image Comics superheroes United Kingdom-themed superheroes