UNION JACK

"TRADITION" | "FAITH" | "FATE"
Writers: Ben Raab & John Cassaday | Artist: John Cassaday
Colors: Dave Stewart | Letters: Richard Starkings & Comicraft/OS
Editor: Tom Brevoort | Editor-in-Chief: Bob Harras
With Acknowledgment to the Work of Roy Thomas & Frank Robbins

In the final few years of the twentieth century, Marvel put out several mini-series which read like "pilot episodes" for revivals of various series. There was a WARLOCK series by Tom Lyle. Two MOON KNIGHT series by his creator, Doug Moench. But the brightest gem among these, so to speak, was UNION JACK by Ben Raab and John Cassaday.

Raab seems to have a rep as a typical hack writer from the nineties. While I was not enamored with his one ongoing series, EXCALIBUR, I found his numerous limited series and one-shots to range from good to great. His dialogue is fine -- I would go so far as to say a cut above some of his contemporaries from this era. And the trait I value most in any comic book writer -- his knowledge of past continuity and/or developments in concurrent series, coupled with a great ability to use that knowledge for springboards to new stories -- is outstanding.