Gordon Brown superhero

By Neil Elkes on Jun 4, 08 03:08 PM

PRIME Minister Gordon Brown's appearance in the new Captain Britain series from Marvel has caused quite a stir on the pages of our national broadsheets today.

It's great exposure for comics in general and our under siege Prime Minister needs the charisma injection provided by Captain Britain.

But deserving most credit is the creative genius behind this PR masterstroke Paul Cornell

I bumped into him when he arrived early for a signing session alongside Ultimate Fantastic Four writer Mike Carey and Watchman legend Dave Gibbons at the Birmingham Comic Show last autumn. He was a thoroughly nice chap.

We talked about his impressions of Birmingham, the convention (he was enjoying his stay and impressed with the Millennium Point venue). He was also under no illusions that Dave Gibbons was the man most were queing to see. Although the copies of Watchman under their arms might have given it away.

Having what is known as a 'fan moment' I was probably the 1,000th person that week to tell him how much I enjoyed his Human Behaviour/Family of Blood episodes for Doctor Who. "I liked the scarecrows," I remember saying.

He was also tolerant of my clumsy attempt to get spoilers or story tips for the next series.

Regarded by fans as one of the most talented comics/fantasy/sci-fi/television writers he thoroughly deserves this little added exposure from his brush with big Gordon.
It makes a change from the too regular appearances of George Bush in our favourite comics.