UNION JACK: LONDON FALLING

Writer: Christos Gage | Penciler: Mike Perkins | Inker: Andrew Hennessy
Colorist: Laura Villari | Letterer: Cory Petit | Production: Brad Johnson
Assistant Editor: Daniel Ketchum | Editor: Andy Schmidt
Editor-in-Chief: Joe Quesada | Publisher: Dan Buckley

After the UNION JACK mini-series by Ben Raab and John Cassaday, Jack fell dormant once again for a few years. He was picked up for the brief NEW INVADERS series, which continued the Baroness storyline from Raab's series, and which I may someday review here. But his next occasion headlining a mini-series came in 2006, when Christos Gage and Mike Perkins joined forces on UNION JACK: LONDON FALLING.

LONDON FALLING does not pack the emotional punch of the previous story, nor does it contain the moody, atmospheric artwork of John Cassaday. But that's okay, because it's just as entertaining in its own way. Where Raab's UNION JACK was a small, personal story focusing on character over all else, Gage brings us Union Jack as an action movie.

In a nice touch of continuity, the story begins with Joey Chapman more or less where we left him after the Raab/Cassaday series. The opening scene sees him battling a trio of vampires, his narration noting that taking on such creatures is a Union Jack tradition. Joey also spends some time reminiscing about his late father, a character element which was introduced in Raab's story.

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.

UNION JACK AND THE DAUGHTERS OF THE DRAGON

(No, sadly this is not the title of an upcoming Marvel team-up style series. But could you imagine...?)

Remember the other day when we covered CAPTAIN AMERICA #254, in which young Joey Chapman took on the guise of Union Jack? Well, that was in 1981. Not much came of Union Jack for several years afterward. He made some appearances in the Marvel U.K. comics, where he joined the super-group called the Knights of Pendragon, and he popped up in John Byrne's NAMOR series in the U.S. for a two-parter involving Spitfire and a reunion of the Invaders. But overall he was dormant for quite some time.

Then in 1998, Ben Raab and future superstar artist John Cassaday produced a limited series titled UNION JACK, which served as a sequel to the original Roger Stern/John Byrne origin. Jack remained relatively low profile in the years that followed, with only occasional appearances in CAPTAIN AMERICA and a brief stint as one of Chuck Austen's NEW INVADERS, until he again popped up to headline a mini-series in 2006.