Posted in: Comics, DC Comics, Rebellion / 2000AD | Tagged: Alan Moore, Albion, Dave Gibbons, ipc, john reppion, leah moore, Shane Oakley

20 Years Out Of Print, Alan Moore's Albion Comes To Rebellion In June

Twenty years out of print, Albion by Alan Moore, Leah Moore, John Reppion, Shane Oakley, George Freeman and Dave Gibbons is republished

It is the last work-for-hire comic book Alan Moore wrote, the last work for an IP owned by a multi-conglomerate company (Warner Bros. and DC Comics), and it was published in 2005. Alan Moore has never complained about his treatment on it, what he was doing and why he was doing it, twenty years after DC Comics did what they did over Watchmen and V For Vendetta. It was also published after Moore famously pulled League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen from DC Comics, after conflict over the V For Vendetta movie. But Alan Moore went back, for this project, courtesy of Wildstorm editor Scott Dunbier, DC VP Bob Wayne, and publishing director Andrew Sumner of IPC Media. He went in, eyes open, knowing he would own none of it, have no control over any of it, for no other reason than that he just really, really, really wanted to write these characters.

Albion, written with his daughter Leah Moore and son-in-law John Reppion, drawn by Shane Oakley and George Freeman, with covers by Dave Gibbons, still feels like an impossible artefact, given the time it was published. The series revived classic UK newsagent comics publisher IPC-owned British comics characters, all of whom appeared in comics published by Odhams Press and Amalgamated Press/Fleetway Publications/IPC Media during the 1960s and early 1970s, such as Smash!, Valiant, and Lion. And which, after mergers and buyouts, had found the rights parked, ignored, unmourned, and unloved at Warner Bros. As a result of a deal forged by Bob Wayne and Andrew Sumner, Albion was published through DC Comics' WildStorm. Characters included Danny Doom, Penny Dolmann, Charlie Peace, Robot Archie, Ian Eagleton, Grimly Feendish, Zip Nolan, Captain Hurricane, Maggot Malone, Brians's Brain,  The Spider, Faceache, Martina, Captain Enoch, The Steel Claw, Tim Kelly, Doctor Lazlo Gogra, Mytek the Mighty, Rubberman, Tri-Man and so many more, created in the fifties, sixties and seventies, a mixture of adventure and comedy characters, smashed together in Albion. The series was collected in 2006 by DC Comics and in 2007 by Titan, and that was it.

Until now, twenty years later as this reprint, in hardcover, was announced by Rebellion through their Treasury Of British Comics imprint, which bought up the IPC rights some time ago alongside 2000AD and Judge Dredd, and has been publishing many reprints and revivals since. And now that includes Albion. Don't expect Alan Moore to do anything new for this release; he swore off 2000AD and its owners a long time ago – though he did write an introduction for their collection of the work of Ken Reid's Faceache, a character he revived for Albion. He really has a soft spot for these characters. Rebellion has continued to reprint, adapt, and revive his work and characters since, including Skizz, Halo Jones, and Dr and Mr Quinch. But for those who had missed it for the last couple of decades, now is your chance… and it's even got the DC logo on the cover,

ALBION HC
(W) Alan Moore, Leah Moore, John Reppion (A) Shane Oakley, George Freeman (CA) Dave Gibbons
The Spider, The Steel Claw, Grimly Feendish, Captain Hurricane. Born in the pages of Lion, Valiant, Smash! and Wham!, these are some of the most beloved characters in the history of British comics. But what if they were all real people? Danny, a keen comics enthusiast, and his new friend, Penny, go in search of the long-missing heroes and villains from the classic comics of the past. But where have they been all these years? And what happens if they find them? From the mind of the legendary Alan Moore (The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen) with scripts by Leah Moore & John Reppion (Megadeth: Death By Design), and art by Shane Oakley (The Fall of the House of Usher).
$26.99 6/17/2026

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