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Underground > Comic Books >

Faction Paradox

Mister Six, whom all the girls

13:04 / 07.08.03

In 1774, a mastadon is presented to King George by a group wishing to smooth the edges of a treaty signed earlier that century.

A creature is brought by the Americans to take part in the hunt. "It might have a TONGUE, Ma'am, but I assure you it's no more human that a BARBARY APE." And it mustn't be fed with any meat that has a bone in it. For bones are the only connection between the living and the dead.

The group wishing to gain favor with the King's court is Faction Paradox, and the only translation which is sensible for their cause is the War in Heaven. But what else could the Faction tell them? How could those living in the 18th Century understand the use of history as a crime. How could they understand a war in which the historians win as many battles as the soldiers?

This is a comic that will slip past you. It's an Image book, it's art is less than impressive, it's sci-fi, and it's a loosly related Dr Who spinoff. But it's worth a read. Because it is wacked out and very inventive, with that slight lilt in its narrative that suggests it could be amazing or crap that us Lithers seem to like.

Two links:

Home Page
Review

11:28 / 08.08.03

Ta for the reminder. I'm keen to check this one out.

11:42 / 08.08.03

ooh! thanks for the heads-up!

11:50 / 08.08.03

oh, and despite the best efforts of one or two friends who were die-hard fans, i've never really gotten into Doctor Who. is that going to be a problem?

Earlier than I thought

13:44 / 09.08.03

Nah, you don't need to know a damn thing. Lawrence Miles created the Faction as part of the ongoing Doctor Who storyline. Primarily, they are a bit of a piss take about continuity since their presence tends to bugger established history/storylines up.
Sadly, this did not go down well with billions of fanboys who knew every last line of every last story and the Faction were summarily excised from the BBC storyline. There's a Faction novel out soon called 'This town will never let us go', which looks like it might have some points of interest for anyone into urban magic and that.

21:48 / 09.08.03

Sadly, this did not go down well with billions of fanboys who knew every last line of every last story and the Faction were summarily excised from the BBC storyline.

Er, actually the DW book fandom shat themselves with glee over Faction Paradox, and Miles' books tend to dominate the rankings. The FP weren't "excised" from the books at all; rather, their storyline came to a close and all previous continuity became off limits, so there was no opportunity to revisit them.
The massive popularity of the FP and Miles is the whole reason the new FP franchise is able to sustain itself through books, comics and CDs.

04:05 / 10.08.03

The FP weren't "excised" from the books at all; rather, their storyline came to a close and all previous continuity became off limits, so there was no opportunity to revisit them

so, wait, they closed off their storyline, and then closed off the rest of Dr. Who continuity to them?

Mister Six, whom all the girls

13:44 / 10.08.03

I used to read the Virgin books. I recall really liking most of them. But I dunno. I was, after all, 'between girlfriends' as the anorakzone site says. But I do know that the comic will not make references to whatever ties lie behind it.

... It's a really good comic.

I'm looking to get Book of the War as well. After reading issue 1, I'm cancelling 90% of my other comic purchases. It's kind of like when I read Invisibles back in '94 and no other comic would really do. It's not THAT good, but it has got a certain excitement to it.

And no previous references either! But I worry about it getting enough sales to keep going. Hence my post here.

13:54 / 10.08.03

they closed off their storyline, and then closed off the rest of Dr. Who continuity to them?

They closed the continuity to everyone. Old monsters/villains/planets/references are banned. Only looking forward now...

13:55 / 10.08.03

I'm looking to get Book of the War as well. After reading issue 1, I'm cancelling 90% of my other comic purchases. It's kind of like when I read Invisibles back in '94 and no other comic would really do. It's not THAT good, but it has got a certain excitement to it.

Lawrence Miles is going to be the new Grant Morrison. Only interesting.

Mister Six, whom all the girls

21:17 / 10.08.03

Funny you should say this... it was my feeling as well.

Sales permitting, Miles will be the new Grant.

Earlier than I thought

18:45 / 11.08.03

OK, so yes, it was a 50/50 thing with whining about/loving LMs contribution to the Doctor Who stuff. But you should have heard the whining when he shot SPOILER in the chest at the end of SPOILER.
If anyone can find a copy, his novel Dead Romance has been described as the best ever piece of Doctor Who related fiction, which is interesting given that it doesn't ever refer to anything related to the series by name (copyright once more). OK, I'm just a fan, alright?

18:49 / 11.08.03

Lawrence Miles is going to be the new Grant Morrison. Only interesting.

meeee-ow! ~laughs~

01:11 / 12.08.03

Dead Romance is one of the best SF novels of the past 10 years, franchise fiction or no...

Mister Six, whom all the girls

16:01 / 12.08.03

Why are the Dr Who fans only coming out of the woodwork now??

I read the first odd dozen new adventures books bty Virgin, but stopped after the Sherlock Holmes one because of money and interest.

Anyone heard the CDs of Faction Paradox or Dr Who?

The online 'cartoons' are very dire and I am very worried about its return in this format in Nov 03 with Doctor #10, Richard E Grant... you guys heard about this, right?

16:08 / 12.08.03

surely you mean doctor number 9... or have i missed something?

16:24 / 12.08.03

Paul (? - one of them anyway) McGann?

17:23 / 12.08.03

I read the first odd dozen new adventures books bty Virgin, but stopped after the Sherlock Holmes one because of money and interest.

A pity, because it's the last dozen or so that are the really amazing books in the line! They're difficult to get ahold of now, but I recommend Miles' Christmas on a Rational Planet, Russell "Queer as Folk" Davies' Damaged Goods and Marc Platt's Lungbarrow, the latter of which recasts Gallifrey as Gormenghast.

Mister Six, whom all the girls

20:55 / 12.08.03

OOps. Jumped one.

Paul McGann is Doctor #8, Richard E Grant was announced, oh, I think about a month ago as Doctor #9, with apparently little aplomb.

The first story is "The Scream of the Shalka" by Paul Cornell and picks up after Dr 9 has been about for a few years and is working with a military liaison similar to the Brigadier. The Master will be played by Derek Jacobi. BUT, before you get excited, let me remind you that it WILL be an online cartoon.

More info here: http://www.gallifreyone.com/ref-dw9.htm

I dearly wish to read Lungbarrow, but it is by far the rarest thing in the universe. Can't find a copy for under $250.00. No one is willing to sell their old Dr who books are they?

16:11 / 13.08.03

I appreciate the attention to this comic because it was something I would have just passed over, being an Image book. Sorry to Image fans out there.

but I have a couple of questions - my impression from the other comments, Amazon.com descriptions of the Dr. who books, and the Faction Paradox website is that they seem very similar to the Steel & Sapphire BBC series and the Void Indigo strip from 2000AD by John Smith. Perhaps those organizations participated in the War? Anyway, how is this Faction Paradox any different from those concepts, or...what does it bring new to the audience.

Also, it is correct to assume that the Jerry Cornelius stories are a touchstone (inspiration) for Lawerence Mills' work? The description of his Dr. Who books all strike me as reminiscent of Moorcock's experiments with narrative form and tropes.

Just wondering.

20:03 / 14.08.03

BTW what do you mean by VOID INDIGO? Steve Gerber writer a comic of that name for Epic Comics. I wonder what you mean by the feature in 2000 A.D.

Lawrence Miles writes nothing at all like Michael Moorcock. though he may admire him, I don't know...

SAPPHIRE & STEEL appeared on HTV or ITV.

21:05 / 14.08.03

Hey Mister Six I'll lend ya a copy of Lungbarrow if you promise to give it back...

Dead Romance is an utterly fantastic novel. Do read it.

The faction CDs are quite fab, only let down by the bizarre choice of music. It's very bombastic and quite inappropriate for such a thoughtful piece of fiction.

I'm quite intrigued by the premise that all of these works are meant to be read and understood in a stand alone fashion. I've not read The Book of the War, but the CDs and The Adventuress of Henrietta St all lend a better understanding of the events in the comic, and seem to be set in the same period etc.

23:35 / 14.08.03

Lawrence Miles did intend the comic book as a lead-in to the CD's. in terms of the characters' timeline I do not remember which comes first. *anyway* the comic book took longer to publish than he had thought. I find it novel (no pun intended) to have a multi-media series like this. books, CD's and comic books.

00:01 / 16.08.03

Void Indigo - ugh, my bad. The Steve Gerber is NOT what I meant. I believe I meant Indigo Prime, a 2000AD series created by John Smith about an agency that corrects broken reality and time. Obviously, Faction Paradox doesn't go around and fix time but they sound like they use similiar tropes - anachronistic creatures and questions of identity.

15:02 / 08.12.03

so, has anyone picked up #2 yet?

it's good. i still haven't managed to grab anything else in the FP mythos since #1 came out, so i still feel like i'm groping along in the dark, but i'm OK with it. i'm intrigued by the sense of just scratching the surface of a whole new fictional world.

however, it does seem to be going a bit slowly, and the vague hints of reality-bending craziness underneath the surface are tantalizing right now, though i'm worried that it will end up being disappointing as more info comes out, or that Miles will just end up blathering vaguely about things that sound profound but aren't really. i hope this might end up being something as cool as The Invisibles, but i'm worried that it will end up being a wankfest ont he level of Waking Life.

still, i am intrigued enough to continue. i keep meaning to order The Book of the War and maybe a few of the FP Doctor Who novels online.

also, maybe the ad in issue #2 is wrong, but is the listed price for the paperback version of This Town Will Never Let Us Go correct? seems pricey...

Mister Six, whom all the girls

12:02 / 09.12.03

"also, maybe the ad in issue #2 is wrong, but is the listed price for the paperback version of This Town Will Never Let Us Go correct? seems pricey... "

yeah, unfortunately it is. I tried looking on ebay and came up with largely the same prices. Ugh. I'm thinking of getting the novels if the series keeps my interest. But it needs to come out more often, yeah?

13:17 / 09.12.03

yes, it does. of course, seeing as how Miles has gone from being part of a major franchise to setting up shop with some dinky indie press as it is, and managed to make FP stand mostly on its own without overt reference to Doctor Who, i can't say i have any advice for him. i suppose it's kind of heroic that it's coming out at all, much less that it's actually really slick in terms of presentation and whatnot.

but i misplaced issue #1 at some point in the long interval, and now i'd like to go back and read them both together but i can't, and it's been so long that little details from #1 aren't really in the forefront of my mind when i'm reading #2. the gap is inhibiting my ability to appreciate the book, sadly.

as far as the cover price of This Town... goes... yikes.

i would dearly love to go bananas one day and order that and Book of the War, but money has gotten a little tight. between the costs and the delays and the fact that a lot of the Doctor Who FP books are rare or out of print, unfortunately, it seems like there are high barriers to entry as far as becoming a serious FP fan goes. i hope it survives the inevitable level of people dropping out and is able to continue publishing until they get up some steam...

Mister Six, whom all the girls

13:33 / 10.12.03

Issue two... WOW. This comic is really coming together.

Whereas at first I was put off by the two text sections, I find them to be so well-written that they actually add to the comic.

The idea of history being a weapon and ritual being a tool for revolution is so amazing... it's hard to believe that Miles pulls it off. Other writers would have come up with these ideas but not utilized them, you know?

I'm a comic snob, so I will mention that the art of FP is terribly lacking, but it is such a unique sci-fi series that I forgive it... I urge Lithers to at least leaf through and read the texty bits in the store. I think you'll be sold.

16:44 / 13.03.04

For anyone trying to get a copy of Dead Romance the same publisher as the comic, Mad Norwegian Press, is reprinting it later this year.

not sure where issue 3 of the comic is though.

18:12 / 13.03.04

I'll see if the store has the first two issues next time I'm there.