Jack Staff
Jack Staff is a British superhero created by comic book writer/artist Paul Grist. While the title character is billed as "Britain's Greatest Hero", the series is known for being in the style of an anthology title and featuring an ensemble cast, largely inspired by extant American and British characters from comics and other mediums. The series was first published in 2000 via Grist's own Dancing Elephant Press, before moving to American publisher Image Comics in 2003.
Creation
While various sources have stated the series began as a reworked pitch for a series about the Marvel Comics character Union Jack, Grist would later clarify that this was only partially true, having gone no further than an enquiry as to whether Marvel would be interested in a series featuring the character. Having previously worked for Marvel on the 1996 limited series The Daily Bugle, Grist had picked Union Jack off a list of obscure Marvel characters, and was unaware at the time that Union Jack had recently been revived in a 1998 mini-series by Ben Raab and John Cassaday. Serious work on the story did not begin until after the decision was made to create Jack Staff as an original series though part of the first arc was influenced by a 1980s Captain America storyline featuring Union Jack and Baron Blood; Grist was only able to find part of the storyline at the time, so built an alternate conclusion instead.The series was heavily influenced by the anthology format of British weekly comics produced by Fleetway Publications and DC Thomson, which featured several short serial episodes in each issue. The difference, Grist explained, was that the characters in Jack Staff frequently crossed over into each other's strips. This influenced by several characters being overt homages to classic British comic characters, including the Spider and the Steel Claw, while others were based on vintage television shows such as Steptoe and Son and Dad's Army.
Publication history
Grist initially published the series through his own Dancing Elephant Press imprint, with mainly black-and-white interiors. Strong reception led to the series being picked up by Image Comics, who switched it to full colour. The final Dancing Elephant issue was an extended 32 page special, finishing plot points from the first volume; unusually, it was published after the first issue of the Image series. The series soon became notorious for its irregular schedule, which remained unchanged after the move to Image. The second volume lasted 20 issues. In 2005, Comics International began exclusive publication of a monthly four-page strip featuring the supporting character Ben Kulmer ; this started in #185 of the magazine and ran for twelve episodes; these were subsequently collected in an Image one-shot called The Weird World of Jack Staff King-Size Special.A crossover was planned between Jack Staff and Invincible, with Grist drawing and Robert Kirkman writing, but scheduling problems prevented it. Jack Staff himself had 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 helping to defend the Earth from an army of other-dimensional Invincible doubles. A crossover with Savage Dragon also took place, in which Dragon visited Castletown as part of a storyline in which the character searched the world for his missing wife.
The series was relaunched as The Weird World of Jack Staff in 2010. Grist explained that the relaunch was driven partly by an attempt to allay confusion on the part of new readers to the anthology style of the series, noting that many were perplexed by issues often only featuring Jack Staff in a small role. Despite solicitations being published for two further issues, The Weird World of Jack Staff ended prematurely after six issues, with Grist instead focusing on Mudman.
In 2019, Grist would get his chance to actually work on Union Jack, writing new series The Union; after being delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic it was finally published in 2020. After an 11-year hiatus from the character, Grist contributed a new eight-page Jack Staff strip to the Image Comics 30th anniversary anthology Image! in 2022, appearing in the seventh issue.
Plot
''Yesterday's Heroes''
Castletown has recently been buffeted by a storm caused by supervillain Doc Tempest before he was taken down by hero Tom-Tom the Robot Man, while the city is also being haunted by a serial killer dubbed the Castledown Slasher. Reporter Becky Burdock meanwhile is narrowly saved from a falling sign thanks to the fast reaction of builder John Smith. Burdock is investigating the disappearance of British superhero Jack Staff for tabloid newspaper The World's Press. Jack Staff was a prominent figure of World War II who performed heroically in the aftermath of the 'Castledown Blitz' as part of the Freedom Fighters but who hasn't been sighted since 1980; however, her editor Gerald Skinner is unmoved and redirects her to reporting on the Slasher. The killings have also attracted the attention of Helen Morgan, Ben Kulmer and Harry Crane - Fortean investigators Q. Using Helen as bait, they draw out a suspect, who is cornered by Tom-Tom and confesses to the killings. However, Tom-Tom is able to detect that the man is lying. Tom-Tom and Becky both converge on a scream, and find Jack Staff standing over Helen's body. Before he can explain he is flattened by Tom-Tom, who only stops his attack when D.I. Maveryk of the police turns up to arrest Jack. However, Crane also arrives and pulls rank, getting Jack handed over to Q instead. Under interrogation, Jack tells Crane his name and that he has seen similar killings in 1940, and the archives of World War II intelligence agency Unit D confirm his story before American hero Sgt. States turns up to vouch for Jack. Burdock is informed of Jack's release, and begins to realise that he and Smith are one and the same. Back at his home, Jack tells his old comrade that he has returned to action to investigate Templar Richard. Burdock attempts to confront Smith, but is killed by a shadowy figure. She awakens to find local vampire hunter Albert Bramble about to drive a stake through her heart; Bramble had been saved from Templar Richard by the Freedom Fighters in August 1940. In the present, Jack Staff and Sgt. States head to Richard's old lair, with the American suffering bouts of nausea. Above ground, Bramble and his son Harold tell Becky she was killed by a vampire and is now one herself, though Harold refuses to let his father kill her. She claims her killer was Sgt. States, while below Jack finds Templar's body unmoved from 1940 as a vampiric Sgt. States leaps at him. The American military is complicit in his vampirism and turns back Maveryk and Q when they arrive at the caverns in pursuit of Jack, so Crane calls in Tom-Tom, while Becky is also drawn to the caverns. Their attacks give Jack a chance to kill Sgt. States. After the fight, John and Becky discover than inside Tom-Tom is a young girl, and get her to safety. Maveryk attempts to arrest Jack Staff for the murder of Becky, but is forced to let him go due to her survival, while American authorities cover up the Sgt. States fiasco.''Everything Used to Be Black and White''
Patricia 'Trisha' Carthy, the paraplegic pilot of Tom-Tom, is recuperating in Castledown Royal Infirmary, where Tempest - having deduced her identity - tries to kill her, only to accidentally propel her wheelchair into his face, paralysing himself. Crane meanwhile returns home to find Helen Morgan waiting for him, alive and well. Helen explains that Q brought her back to life, and persuades Crane to remain working for Q. John meanwhile arrives at the home of the elderly Alfred Chinard to carry out some building work, but the man leads him into a pit. He comes around to find he is now wearing his Jack Staff costume, and realises that Chinard is notorious criminal the Spider, who robbed the Bank of England in 1986, leading to the shutdown of Unit D. Maveryk gains a new partner in D.S. 'Zipper' Nolan as he investigates a theft. After finding the Spider's calling card he decides to set a trap for the super-criminal. The Spider himself is after Jack's help as one of his suits has been stolen, and could be dangerous in the wrong hands. Meanwhile Becky is being chased by the Hounds of Hell, set on her by the mysterious Man of Shadows; she tries to call Jack for help, but he and the Spider are busy walking into Maveryk's trap while tracking the thief to the Eisner Building. They capture him, but the Spider knocks Jack out and leaves him as the Maveryk arrives. Becky meanwhile is saved by Harold Bramble; the Man of Shadows tells her she has to pick a side in a war before vanishing.Another serial killer arrives in Castletown, this time seemingly mimicking the organ-stealing methods depicted in The Jigsaw Man by author Iain M. Angel, also in town. Maveryk arrests the writer at a signing, as his recent tour coincides with the killings. John is also arrested by Maveryk, but Helen and Ben realise the real killer is a mystical concept attempting to build itself a body. With help from the mystical Druid they are able to stop the Jigsaw Man from becoming corporeal. Becky angrily confronts John for not helping her when under threat of the Shadow, but their bickering is stopped when his colleague unearths a coffin. Becky's editor turns the opening of the coffin into a publicity event, involving a £10,000 prize for guessing the contents, model Lynda Jones and a host of others. Doctor Spex's x-ray eyes are unable to penetrate the casket, and neither are Morlan the Mystic's psychic senses before the event is crashed by thief the Claw and the Spider, who steals the prize in the resulting confusion. The coffin also comes open, revealing its contents to be the still-living Victorian escapologist Charlie Raven. Meanwhile Maveryk and Nolan are called to the town nursing home, where worker Hannah Noone has been found aged to death despite only being 22. Meanwhile Raven escapes from police custody. Raven was trapped by a Time Leech after he refused to ally with its plans for world domination, which were delayed when its human form - a dark-haired woman - suffered amnesia but has recently reawakened in Castletown, revitalising itself with Noone's life-force. Raven visits Becky for help. On their way through town they run into the woman in a bank that is in the process of being robbed. Acting on a tip-off from Becky, John is also in the bank and attempts to stop the robbers as Jack Staff but they take Becky hostage. Jack, Maveryk, Raven and the woman are locked in the vault together but Raven is able to get them out. Jack finds the mysterious woman not breathing, and she vanishes when he tries to resuscitate her. Raven also vanishes, while Becky dresses down Jack for the weirdness he brings to her life. Meanwhile, back in its original form the Time Leech plots its return.