Pat Mills is a legend in the comic industry, referred to as the “the godfather of British comics.” His works include legendary titles Charley’s War, Marshal Law, Nemesis the Warlock and many more. His series Accident Man was just collected for the first time by Titan Comics and features artwork by a murderer’s row of lost talent, and a cover by the indomitable Howard Chaykin!
Accident Man stars Mike Fallon a smooth, suave and sexy, and a genius at the subtle art of making an assassination look like one of those unfortunate, all-too-frequent accidents. Handsome as James Bond, lethal as Carlos the Jacket, discrete as an air bubble to the he art. Broken neck in the shower? Poor guy probably slipped on the soap!
The collection features four darkly humorous tales of sex, revenge, brutal violence, and people drowning in the bath! It’s also packed full of never-before-seen sketches and art, as well as creator commentaries.
We got a chance to talk to Pat Mills about the collection, comics as a reaction to Thatcherism, ultra-violence and the explosion of British creators over the years.
Graphic Policy: Where did the idea for Accident Man come from?
Pat Mills: My writing partner, Tony Skinner, told me he’d heard there were assassins who specialized in making their murders look like accidents. That was a great idea. But it also meant there wasn’t the action you might expect in a comic. So we had him suffer from PMT – post murder tension – where he had to go and pick a fight after an accident.
GP: This is the first time the series has been collected, what interested you in bringing it back for potentially a new audience?
PM: We’ve been trying to bring it back for ages and it was a matter of getting a publisher interested. It’s message and story style is as relevant today as when it was written
GP: When it comes to the artwork, there was a murderer’s row of talent who worked on the series. What do you think each of the artists brought to the series and character?
GP: They’re all excellent. Martin Emond actually left the series because he said it wasn’t violent enough! Readers loved his humorous work and also John Erasmus for similar reasons. Tony and my favorite was Duke (Mighten) because we saw Accident Man as GQ Man and Duke’s sense of fashion was the strongest. But they are all great
GP: It struck me that the main character Mike Fallon was a mix of the excess of the 80s mixed with a bit of the 90s. How do you see the time this came out influencing your writing and character?
GP: Yes, it’s a comment on the vapid, empty consumerism of the Thatcher and post-Thatcher era. Not only is Mike Fallon GQ Man, he’s also Thatcher Man. We gloried in his shallow values which we found hilarious to write. And we rather liked his and sympathized with his empty soul
GP: Fallon also reflects a lot about his ex’s throwing herself into the environmental movement and political awareness while he himself is a man of material items and wealth, again a theme you see that’s often discussed about the 80s. Where did that come from?
GP: We needed to show there was an alternative to his deliciously shallow life. In dramatic terms, the possibility of redemption. In a film, this would be vital. In comics, it’s often an irritant for the reader if their hero seeks more from life or starts questioning his reality. They’re quite happy for just a quick, amusing hit. That works on a weekly, but not on anything longer. It’s a nettle that weekly comics have often failed to grasp on important comic characters. But challenges, introspection and real problems are essential for the long term development of a character, even if he doesn’t redeem, as Fallon is unlikely to. The reader who wants the quick superficial hit has to be accommodated, of course, but bypassed, preferably without being aware of it. The ecology in Accident Man is an example of this.
GP: There’s also a subversive feel concerning the over the top violence and death throughout the series, something that sticks out to me about the comics of the time. Was this commentary about that or just how you wanted to portray Fallon and his associates?
GP: Martin Emond’s work was especially savage. And funny. It was that era. Duke’s work too had a sophisticated violence. But our core stories were written with a Bond sensibility. Not the Bond of the time, I hasten to add! But Connery and Craig Bond. How the artists interpreted our stories was their call and we were delighted with them.
GP: You were also involved in the launch of Crsis which was very politically aware and for it your wrote Third World War which was about global capitalism and how it exploits the developing world. I see some of those same themes in Fallon’s materialism and his focus on money and the job. Did that earlier work influence this?
GP: Yes, they were around the same time. So I was reading a lot about the machinations of capitalism and could feed that into the stories. The Marconi Suicides, for example, where a number of scientists in the arms industry mysteriously committed suicide in a short space of time. In effect, Mike Fallon was the flip side of Third World War.
GP: There was talk of an Accident Man movie, including a Kickstarter campaign that didn’t work out. Is there still work being done to make a movie happen?
GP: Yes. Tony and I are looking at a contract we’ve been offered just now. If we’re happy with the small print we think this will happen. Because it’s low budget and therefore so much more attainable than high concept stories.
GP: You’ve been referred to as the “the godfather of British comics.” What are your thoughts about the explosion of British creators in the comics scene?
GP: There’s been so many for so long, I guess I’ve gotten used to it. It’s clearly very encouraging. My own preference is towards detailed art in the French style – Metal Hurlant, Bilal etc – which I used as the basis for 2000AD. And also towards strongly anti-establishment stories. So those choices rather separate me from the majority of UK writers who often have different criteria and motivations.
GP: Can we expect to see more of your classic work coming back to print in the future?
GP: Hoping to see more Finn appearing soon. We tried getting Metalzoic back into print with DC. Currently drawn a blank, but we keep trying. Same applies to Third World War. And my girls comic serials in Misty. I don’t know why it’s so difficult. I guess – as always – it comes down to publisher’s preferences, rather than reader’s preferences. If an editor or publisher likes a series, then somehow all those difficulties magically disappear.
