British comic book story
"The New Adventures of Hitler"
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![](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/6/68/New_Adventures_of_Hitler.jpg/220px-New_Adventures_of_Hitler.jpg) |
Publisher
| Complete Print International
1989
Fleetway Publications
1990
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Publication date
| July
1989
? July
1990
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Genre
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Title(s)
| Cut
1989
Crisis
#46-49
9 June to 21 July 1990
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Writer(s)
| Grant Morrison
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Artist(s)
| Steve Yeowell
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Letterer(s)
| Gordon Robson
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Colourist(s)
| Nick Abadzis
Steve Whitaker
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Editor(s)
| Alan Jackson
Steve MacManus
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"The New Adventures of Hitler"
is a
creator-owned
British comic
story. It was initially partially published in the magazine
Cut
in 1989, and then in its entirety in the adult-orientated comic
Crisis
. Written by
Grant Morrison
and drawn by
Steve Yeowell
, the story is based on
Bridget Dowling
's debated assertion that
Adolf Hitler
spent time in
Liverpool
shortly before the outbreak of
World War I
. "The New Adventures of Hitler" uses several
anachronisms
to comment on present-day politics at the time of publication, and caused some controversy in Britain.
Creation
[
edit
]
Grant Morrison
and
Steve Yeowell
had broken through to critical acclaim with the revisionist superhero story "
Zenith
" in
2000 AD
in 1987, and Morrison rapidly become one of the best-known British comic writers - including being headhunted by
DC Comics
. However, the writer continued to concurrently work on smaller-scale comics projects, as well as
plays
. With the boom in adult interest in comics following the mainstream success of
Watchmen
and
The Dark Knight Returns
, many different publications began showing interest in the medium - including Complete Print International, a Scottish publisher putting together a new music and culture magazine called
Cut
.
[1]
Inspired by what they saw as the worrying parallels between 1930s
Nazi Germany
and the policies of the then-incumbent Conservative government under
Margaret Thatcher
, Morrison and Yeowell devised "The New Adventures of Hitler" for serialisation in the magazine.
[2]
What I had done is put
Thatcherite
ideology into the mouth of Hitler, because some of the things I see happening around me I find disturbing. The things that Thatcher is doing and saying, destroying the unions,
Section 28
and the talked about camps for
AIDS
sufferers, are all things that Hitler talked about in
Mein Kampf
.
The premise that
Adolf Hitler
visited
Liverpool
is not given credence by most mainstream historians.
Bridget Dowling
's claims and unpublished autobiography
My Brother-in-Law Adolf
, detailing his stay with Dowling and her then-husband
Alois Hitler
, as an invention to make money following the end of
World War II
. Nevertheless, the idea had led to the 1978 satirical novel
Young Adolf
by
Beryl Bainbridge
and
John Antrobus
' 1980 play
Hitler in Liverpool
; Morrison was likewise uninterested in the historical veracity of the story, and used the idea to create a satirical story. As such, "The New Adventures of Hitler" featured numerous anachronistic devices - including appearances by
John Lennon
singing "
Working Class Hero
",
Morrisey
(then of
The Smiths
) singing "
Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now
" and a spectral vision of Thatcher herself.
[1]
Morrison used socialist and Jewish friends as a sounding board for the script and to identify any potential issues. The story was set to be serialised in four-page black-and-white chapters in each issue of
Cut
for the magazine's first year.
[2]
Publishing history
[
edit
]
The strip was instantly controversial. One of
Cut
's columnists was singer
Pat Kane
, then part of the group
Hue and Cry
, who were enjoying chart success at the time. Upon learning of the strip, he threatened to resign on the grounds that the strip was using
Nazi
iconography for shock value. Publisher Bill Sinclair attempted to quell Kane's concerns by showing him the initial chapter but the singer remained unmoved, feeling the downtrodden portrayal of Hitler risked attracting reader sympathy and trivialised his crimes.
[1]
Contacted by comics magazine
Speakeasy
for comment, Morrison defended the work, attacked middle class liberals for "running away" from Hitler and personally excoriating Kane as an example of the latter - feeling "the things he has done have been indescribable".
[2]
The involvement of Kane saw the spat picked up on by the British
tabloid press
, with Morrison receiving phone calls from
Sun
reporters masquerading as staff of the
Wakefield Inquirer
[3]
and accused of being a
Nazi
.
[4]
The argument became ugly, with the magazine's editor Alan Jackson siding with Kane while
Cut
publisher Bill Sinclair backed Morrison, describing the comic as "a brilliant piece of work" and questioning those who felt it should be suppressed.
[2]
The first chapter of the story was published in the first issue of
Cut
(dated July 1989) but the row refused to die down, culminating in Kane using his column in the third issue to directly attack the subject's unsuitability for the medium
[5]
before quitting the magazine along with Jackson.
[3]
The following issue Morrison was given the vacated page for an open letter to Kane, attacking his "fashionable socialist credentials" and signing off with the invitation to "Fuck off and die."
[5]
However, it was to be the final issue of
Cut
, which folded afterwards.
[3]
[1]
The travails of the strip had attracted sympathy from elsewhere in the industry, and Yeowell recalled the pair received several offers from publishers to continue publication.
[3]
[1]
A first run agreed with
Fleetway Publications
' fortnightly adult-orientated anthology
Crisis
in 1990.
[6]
Ironically, during the initial controversy Morrison had stated the ambition for the story was "to write a political strip that didn't turn into a dour tract, without hitting them over the head with it, like
Crisis
does".
[2]
[3]
For the run in
Crisis
, the story was split into four 12-page chapters, appearing in #46 to #49 from 9 June to 21 July 1990. The strip was coloured by
Nick Abadzis
and
Steve Whitaker
, who used a series of
pseudonyms
- The Spock Whitney Quintet;
Brian, Dougall and Mr. Rusty
; and
Your Mum
- for the first trio of issues before being credited under their real names on the last part.
[7]
The publication in
Crisis
largely passed without comment.
[3]
While Fleetway were interested in publishing a collected edition,
Crisis
editor
Steve MacManus
revealed the company had only paid for the first run British rights, and other publishers were also bidding for further rights.
[6]
Morrison and Yeowell later considered setting up their own label to release some of their creator-owned work,
[8]
while Yeowell noted several small publishers had approached him intermittently.
[3]
However, as of 2024 no collected edition has been produced.
Plot summary
[
edit
]
In 1912,
Adolf Hitler
is staying with his brother Alois and sister-in-law Bridget, in their
terraced house
at 102 Upper Stanhope Street,
Liverpool
. Adolf - whose career as a painter met with critical scorn - is troubled by strange visions and unemployed, but remains convinced he will make his mark on the world and becomes obsessed with
horoscopes
and discovering the
Holy Grail
. Alois, an evangelical seller of
safety razors
, is given to giving demagogic speeches on his plans to take over
Europe
with 'Hitler International' and an army of salesmen marching out of
Germany
, criticising Adolf for his own lack of plans as he and his wife tire of the drifter. Adolf's visions intensify, and he undertakes a long discussion with
John Bull
. The latter feels the country has gone downhill since the death of
Queen Victoria
and needs "a mad vicious bitch in the driving seat."
[a]
The following day Bull again appears to Adolf, convincing him humans need tyranny and that he should follow the example of the
British Empire
in this regard, causing Hitler to abandon any thoughts of resurrecting his art career. He has a heated argument with Alois, outlining his plans to seize control of a country by attacking
Marxist
trade unions, indulging the enterprising
middle class
, outlawing
freedom of the press
, criminalising amoral 'tendencies' and putting absolute power in the ruling body. Alois scoffs at Adolf's plans, believing "no-one in his right mind would ever fall for that". A reading with local
astrologer
Mrs. Prentice convinces Adolf his message isn't being taken seriously because of his
walrus moustache
, so he shaves it into a
toothbrush
shape. After Christmas 1912, Alois announces he and Bridget will be leaving Liverpool in an attempt to get rid of Adolf. Bull leads Adolf to a fishmonger's, convincing him the Holy Grail is the establishment's fetid, overflowing toilet. While the proprietor ejects him, Adolf is convinced he has touched the Grail and is destined for greatness. On
Saint George's Day
1913 he leaves Liverpool, Alois having arranged accommodation for him in
Munich
as Adolf attempts to avoid military service in
Austria
. Adolf's resolve to make his mark on the world has been restored, and he vows to return to England in triumph.
[9]
Reception
[
edit
]
In a 2020 overview of "The New Adventures of Hitler" for
Medium
, Reed Beebe felt that Morrison's pop-culture sensibilities lifted the story above others with the same theme.
[1]
Notes
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
External links
[
edit
]
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Pre-War humorous comics
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Post-War humorous comics
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Power Comics
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Adventure comics
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Girls' comics
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Pre-school comics
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Comic strips
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Notable staff
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See also
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2000 AD
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DC Comics
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Marvel Comics
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Vertigo
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Boom! Studios
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Early work
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Notable characters
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Related articles
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