''Powerman'' is a British comic book series that was initially distributed in
Nigeria
Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...
in the mid-1970s. ''Powerman'' was written by Don Avenall (aka Donne Avenell) and Norman Worker, and illustrated by
Dave Gibbons
David Chester Gibbons (born 14 April 1949) is an English comics artist, writer and sometimes letterer. He is best known for his collaborations with writer Alan Moore, which include the miniseries ''Watchmen'' and the Superman story "For the Man ...
and
Brian Bolland. Rendered in a simple style reminiscent of the
Golden Age
The term Golden Age comes from Greek mythology, particularly the '' Works and Days'' of Hesiod, and is part of the description of temporal decline of the state of peoples through five Ages, Gold being the first and the one during which the G ...
Captain Marvel, the series starred a
superhero named Powerman. When the comics were re-published in the United Kingdom the character's name became ''Powerbolt''.
The ''Powerman'' comics also feature a backup series called ''Jango'', about a black
sheriff.
Publication history
Historically, comics in Nigeria were imported and had white protagonists.
An executive from Pikin, a Nigerian advertising agency, approached English art agency Bardon Press Features to discuss the idea of creating a series with a black superhero,
[Salisbury, Mark, ''Artists on Comic Art'' (]Titan Books
Titan Publishing Group is the publishing division of Titan Entertainment Group, which was established in 1981. The books division has two main areas of publishing: film and television tie-ins and cinema reference books; and graphic novels and c ...
, 2000) , p. 11[Bolland, "1970s – Powerman" in ''The Art of Brian Bolland'', p. 37] that would be used to promote
literacy
Literacy in its broadest sense describes "particular ways of thinking about and doing reading and writing" with the purpose of understanding or expressing thoughts or ideas in written form in some specific context of use. In other words, hum ...
in Nigeria.
Aspiring comic book artists
Dave Gibbons
David Chester Gibbons (born 14 April 1949) is an English comics artist, writer and sometimes letterer. He is best known for his collaborations with writer Alan Moore, which include the miniseries ''Watchmen'' and the Superman story "For the Man ...
and
Brian Bolland were connected to Bardon Press Features and were tapped for the job. When Gibbons asked why African creators did not work on the strips, he was told that African artists would likely emerge once comics become popular in Africa.
With comics purportedly being new to Nigeria,
Bolland recalls this work being created specifically to be "really simple; six panels on a page and
llthe panels had to be numbered".
Gibbons also recalls there was difficulty adjusting to writing for a
Nigerian culture
The culture of Nigeria is shaped by Nigeria's multiple ethnic groups. The country has 527 languages, seven of which are extinct. Nigeria also has over 1150 dialects and ethnic groups. The three largest ethnic groups are the Hausas that are pre ...
; for instance, he was told that a fat stomach indicated "success and power" instead of "gluttony or greed" and that having Powerman "always get off with the girls" was not considered sexist.
[Pilcher, Tim and Brad Brooks. (Foreword: Dave Gibbons). ''The Essential Guide to World Comics''. '']Collins and Brown
HarperCollins Publishers LLC is one of the Big Five English-language publishing companies, alongside Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, Hachette, and Macmillan. The company is headquartered in New York City and is a subsidiary of News C ...
''. 2005. 298-299.
Gibbons designed the character and the series logo. Gibbons and Bolland were to draw alternate issues, though they worked closely together. Together, they produced one 14-page issue per month, which was published every fortnight. Bolland's first issue was ''Powerman'' #2,
and he recalls that "soon Dave had drawn his entire story and I had produced just a few pages".
This knowledge — "that Dave could produce a page a day... and that I was going to have to do the same" — was a shock, but proved to be "the very best kind of training ground".
Ultimately, Bolland "drew around 300 pages of that very straightforward, simple-to-follow work, and I guess the storytelling flowed naturally from that".
[Salisbury, p. 12] Even so, he "was always struggling to get the last eight or ten pages finished" and was occasionally helped by friends, including Gibbons and future-''
2000 AD'' and ''
League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
League or The League may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band
* ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football
Sports
* Sports league
* Rugby league, full contact footba ...
'' artist
Kevin O'Neill.
[Bolland, "The 1970s – Help from Friends" in ''The Art of Brian Bolland'', p. 42]
By 1977 ''Powerman'' dropped to a monthly schedule.
[Bolland, "The 1970's – 2000AD" in ''The Art of Brian Bolland'', p. 57]
In 1988, the British publisher
Acme Press reprinted the series to capitalize on the popularity of the artists, both of whose careers had since taken off. ''Power Comics'' was a four-issue
bimonthly limited series Limited series may refer to:
*Limited series, individual storylines within an anthology series
*Limited series, a particular run of collectables, usually individually numbered
*Limited series (comics), a comics series with a predetermined number of ...
of 32 pages each,
and was overseen by
Bambos Georgiou
Charalambos ''"Bambos"'' Xanthos is a Greek Cypriot hotel and restaurant owner based in London, England. Following on from being a backgammon player, he became a semi-professional poker player in 1993.
Xanthos learnt poker from his father in ...
.
Powerman's name was changed to "Powerbolt" to avoid confusion with the character
Luke Cage
Lucas "Luke" Cage, born Carl Lucas and also known as Power Man, is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He first appeared in ''Luke Cage, Hero for Hire'' #1 (June 1972) and was created by Archie Go ...
(also called "Power Man"), published by
Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...
.
As part of Acme's deal with
Eclipse Comics
Eclipse Comics was an American comic book publisher, one of several independent publishers during the 1980s and early 1990s. In 1978, it published the first graphic novel intended for the newly created comic book specialty store market. It was ...
, ''Power Comics'' was distributed in the U.S. by the Californian publisher.
Fictional character history
Powerman protects Nigeria from dinosaurs, robots, and other threats. One white character, a dishonest blond property developer, is named Boss Blitzer. Blitzer faces defeat at the hands of Powerman.
Powers and abilities
Powerman has superhuman strength and can fly. His only apparent weakness is
snakebite
A snakebite is an injury caused by the bite of a snake, especially a venomous snake. A common sign of a bite from a venomous snake is the presence of two puncture wounds from the animal's fangs. Sometimes venom injection from the bite may occu ...
.
">Index to Comic Art Collection: "Nigel" to "Night Out"
See also
* African characters in comics
Notes
References
*
*
{{Eclipse Comics
British comic strips
1975 comics debuts
1977 comics endings
Defunct British comics
Eclipse Comics superheroes
Fictional Nigerian people
Black people in comics
Comics set in Nigeria
Comics characters with superhuman strength