Jack Staff
Encyclopedia
Jack Staff is a British
superhero
created by comic book
writer/artist Paul Grist
. Billed as "Britain's Greatest Hero", it is known for being in the style of an anthology
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
. Comics International
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.
character, only to be rejected. He reworked the story to make it more of an original, self-contained comic that Grist published through his own press, Dancing Elephant Press. After twelve issues in black and white, Grist restarted the title with Image Comics, now with colour provided by Phil Elliot. Jack Staff comes out roughly three times a year.
What has also made the character very popular is Grist's use of many popular characters from British comics, some taken wholesale, others inspired by them. (See Supporting cast in Jack Staff
)
A crossover is planned between this title and Invincible
, 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
, and later appeared helping to defend the Earth from an army of other-dimensional Invincible doubles during the globe-spanning Invincible
#60. A crossover with Savage Dragon
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.
. While he has revealed he has been around since the Victorian Age and gained his powers there, its 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 prophesised 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).
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.
:
Image Comics has also collected the comics:
There is a one-shot collection of shorter stories:
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
superhero
Superhero
A superhero is a type of stock character, possessing "extraordinary or superhuman powers", dedicated to protecting the public. Since the debut of the prototypical superhero Superman in 1938, stories of superheroes — ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long sagas —...
created by comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
writer/artist Paul Grist
Paul Grist
Paul Grist is a British comic book creator, noted for his hard-boiled police series Kane and his unorthodox superhero series Jack Staff.-Biography:...
. Billed as "Britain's Greatest Hero", it is known for being in the style of an anthology
Anthology
An anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler. It may be a collection of poems, short stories, plays, songs, or excerpts...
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
Image Comics is a United States comic book publisher. It was founded in 1992 by high-profile illustrators as a venue where creators could publish their material without giving up the copyrights to the characters they created, as creator-owned properties. It was immediately successful, and remains...
. Comics International
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...
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 basing on a story which he had written to make use of Marvel's Union JackUnion Jack (comics)
Union Jack is the name of three fictional characters that appear in comic books published by Marvel Comics.-James Montgomery Falsworth:The original Union Jack, James Montgomery Falsworth, first appears in comics in The Invaders #7. He was created by writer Roy Thomas and artist Frank Robbins. He...
character, only to be rejected. He reworked the story to make it more of an original, self-contained comic that Grist published through his own press, Dancing Elephant Press. After twelve issues in black and white, Grist restarted the title with Image Comics, now with colour provided by Phil Elliot. Jack Staff comes out roughly three times a year.
What has also made the character very popular is Grist's use of many popular characters from British comics, some taken wholesale, others inspired by them. (See Supporting cast in Jack Staff
Supporting cast in Jack Staff
Jack Staff is a comic book by writer/artist Paul Grist, currently published by Image Comics. Its large supporting cast are based upon other British comic characters and archetypes, and its main character is the eponymous Jack Staff....
)
A crossover is planned between this title and Invincible
Invincible (comics)
Invincible is a superhero in the . Created by writer Robert Kirkman and artist Cory Walker, the character first appeared in Tech Jacket #1 , before graduating to his own self-titled regular series in 2003, as a title in Image's then-new superhero line.Invincible is the teenaged son of Omni-Man, an...
, with Grist drawing and Robert Kirkman
Robert Kirkman
Robert Kirkman is an American comic book writer best known for his work on The Walking Dead and Invincible for Image Comics, and Ultimate X-Men and Marvel Zombies for Marvel Comics. He has also collaborated with Image Comics co-founder Todd McFarlane on the series Haunt...
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
The Guardians of the Globe are a fictional superhero team in the , appearing primarily in the comic Invincible. The original team was based on DC Comics' Justice League of America.-The original Guardians of the Globe:...
, and later appeared helping to defend the Earth from an army of other-dimensional Invincible doubles during the globe-spanning Invincible
Invincible (comics)
Invincible is a superhero in the . Created by writer Robert Kirkman and artist Cory Walker, the character first appeared in Tech Jacket #1 , before graduating to his own self-titled regular series in 2003, as a title in Image's then-new superhero line.Invincible is the teenaged son of Omni-Man, an...
#60. A crossover with Savage Dragon
Savage Dragon
Savage Dragon is an ongoing American comic book series 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...
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.
Fictional character biography
Jack Staff, Britain's Greatest Hero, has been active since at least World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. While he has revealed he has been around since the Victorian Age and gained his powers there, its 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
Supporting cast in Jack Staff
Jack Staff is a comic book by writer/artist Paul Grist, currently published by Image Comics. Its large supporting cast are based upon other British comic characters and archetypes, and its main character is the eponymous Jack Staff....
.
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 prophesised 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 only clearly defined power of Jack Staff 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 paperbacksTrade paperback (comics)
In comics, a trade paperback is a collection of stories originally published in comic books, reprinted in book format, usually capturing one story arc from a single title or a series of stories with a connected story arc or common theme from one or more titles...
:
- Yesterday's Heroes (collects Jack Staff (vol. 1) #1-4, Dancing Elephant Press, April 2002, ISBN 0954226402)
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, ISBN 1-58240-335-X)
- Volume 2: Soldiers (collects Jack Staff (vol. 2) #1-5, 160 pages, November 2005, ISBN 1-58240-392-9)
- Volume 3: Echoes of Tomorrow (collects Jack Staff (vol. 2) #6-12, 200 pages, January 2007, ISBN 1-58240-719-3)
- Volume 4: Rocky Realities (collects Jack Staff (vol. 2) #13-20 and one-shot Special, March 2010, ISBN 1607061481)
There is a one-shot collection of shorter stories:
- "The Weird World of Jack Staff King Size Special" (collects Jack Staff strips from Comics InternationalComics InternationalComics International was a British news and reviews magazine about comic books. Founded in 1990, it was published monthly by Quality Communications until 2006...
#185-191, 193-199, one-shot, Image Comics, July 2007)
Awards
- 2001: Won "Favourite British Small Press Title" Eagle Award
- 2004: Nominated for "Favourite British Small Press Title" Eagle Award
- 2007: Nominated for "Favourite Colour Comicbook — American" Eagle Award