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Goldtiger
Goldtiger (subtitled Goldtiger: The Poseidon Complex) is a British graphic novel, first published by Rebellion Developments in 2016, and promoted in conjunction with the company's 2000 AD comic. The book tells the history of short-lived and controversial spy-themed newspaper comic strip "Goldtiger" by acclaimed Italian artist Antonio Barreti and science fiction novelist Louis Schaeffer, interspersed with the strips themselves. It was the first comic to bear the 2000 AD branding without having appeared in the comic previously.
The graphic novel is a false document; Barreti, Shaeffer, "Goldtiger" and their histories were created by writer Guy Adams and artist Jimmy Broxton, who use a variety of pseudonyms and pastiche various comic and magazine styles across the book. Beyond absurd and occasionally implausible turns in the purported history of the strip, the graphic novel features no overt disclaimers.
In response to the massive success of "Modesty Blaise", the Baskerville Newspaper Group commissioned minor science fiction author Louis Schaeffer and talented but eccentric Italian artist Antonio Barreti to create a spy thriller newspaper strip for syndication. To the surprise of the publisher, the first serial - "The Poseidon Complex" - was handed over to them as a completed work. More surprisingly, the work was permissive even by the progressive Swinging Sixties' standards - primary characters Lily Gold and Jack Tiger were both openly homosexual. Left with a story most newspapers would not print, both the publishers and writer Schaeffer (who needed the strip to succeed for financial reasons) tried to bring Barreti's excesses under control, without success. With English newspapers unwilling to run the strip, Baskerville only manage to sell the rights to a few obscure publications - European newspapers The Daily Clarion of Malta and Diario Moraira of Spain, and German left-wing magazine Ausflippen - and pulled the plug. Barreti subsequently suffered a nervous breakdown.
Having only discovered how far the uncommunicative Barreti had strayed from his scripts when reading the strip in print, Schaeffer attempted to regain control by sketching several strips himself. In protest, Barreti simply submitted Schaeffer's crude drawings as the finished art. Exasperated, Schaeffer instead wrote a novelisation of "The Poseidon Complex" for publisher Club Books before quitting; an excerpt from the book is used to bridge one of the gaps in the narrative caused by Barreti's disregard for storytelling. A film based on the comic commenced production under an Italian exploitation studio, starring Edwige Fenech and Terence Stamp, but was abandoned during filming for unclear reasons.
The strip did however prove a surprise success in Malta, and the Clarion commissioned Barreti to continue the work after Baskerville withdrew. Even though Barreti had been committed, Schaeffer continued to send him scripts to work on. Despite the stories growing ever-more surreal "Goldtiger" ran in the Daily Clarion until 1975, only ending when sporadic communication with the artist suddenly ended. The following year Schaeffer, having failed to carve out the serious literary career he craved, reportedly died in a boating accident off the coast of Corsica.
In 1977, Barreti reappeared when word reached him that IPC Magazines were launching a new science fiction weekly comic called 2000 AD. Updating the characters to a futuristic setting, Barreti submitted "Goldtiger 2000" unsolicited. As with his dealings with Baskerville, Barreti submitted a large number of pages as a finished work rather than working with the editorial team in any way. From the start "Goldtiger 2000" had heavy sexual overtones, and was rejected out of hand. An attempt to ship the strip to a less discerning publisher as part of a mooted comic called Roller also came to nothing, and Barreti returned to obscurity.
Following the collapse of "Goldtiger 2000", Baretti returned to psychiatric care; nothing further is known of his life. "Goldtiger" retained a considerable cult following in Malta, and later among comics historians. One such fan was Leonard King, who attempted to compile the strip for small publishing company Humdrumming Books in 2002; however, he found the original artwork had been lost and had to work from incomplete newspaper cuttings saved by a young Maltese fan, before the volume was abandoned.
Some years later 2000 AD artist Jimmy Broxton was approached by a man only known as Marcelo at a Maltese comic convention who gave him a huge parcel of Barreti's original artwork. He alerted collaborator Guy Adams and the pair began extensive research into "Goldtiger". While finding much of the documentation missing and many of those involved in the strip died, the pair were able to discover some material during research for the book. These included a Wave Radio interview with Schaeffer (during which he consistently attempts to steer conversation away from "Goldtiger" in favour of his literary works), the manuscript for Schaeffer's unfinished autobiography Words for Money, a biographical article on Barreti from Peter Floyd's 1982 book Three Panels Away - The History of the British Newspaper Strip, correspondence between various parties; and a rare interview with Barreti from British underground magazine Deadbeats. Most of the materials reveal the difficulties of dealing with the idiosyncratic artist, while also suggesting the death of Barreti's sister Adriana in 1966 was a major factor in his deteriorating mental health.
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Goldtiger
Goldtiger (subtitled Goldtiger: The Poseidon Complex) is a British graphic novel, first published by Rebellion Developments in 2016, and promoted in conjunction with the company's 2000 AD comic. The book tells the history of short-lived and controversial spy-themed newspaper comic strip "Goldtiger" by acclaimed Italian artist Antonio Barreti and science fiction novelist Louis Schaeffer, interspersed with the strips themselves. It was the first comic to bear the 2000 AD branding without having appeared in the comic previously.
The graphic novel is a false document; Barreti, Shaeffer, "Goldtiger" and their histories were created by writer Guy Adams and artist Jimmy Broxton, who use a variety of pseudonyms and pastiche various comic and magazine styles across the book. Beyond absurd and occasionally implausible turns in the purported history of the strip, the graphic novel features no overt disclaimers.
In response to the massive success of "Modesty Blaise", the Baskerville Newspaper Group commissioned minor science fiction author Louis Schaeffer and talented but eccentric Italian artist Antonio Barreti to create a spy thriller newspaper strip for syndication. To the surprise of the publisher, the first serial - "The Poseidon Complex" - was handed over to them as a completed work. More surprisingly, the work was permissive even by the progressive Swinging Sixties' standards - primary characters Lily Gold and Jack Tiger were both openly homosexual. Left with a story most newspapers would not print, both the publishers and writer Schaeffer (who needed the strip to succeed for financial reasons) tried to bring Barreti's excesses under control, without success. With English newspapers unwilling to run the strip, Baskerville only manage to sell the rights to a few obscure publications - European newspapers The Daily Clarion of Malta and Diario Moraira of Spain, and German left-wing magazine Ausflippen - and pulled the plug. Barreti subsequently suffered a nervous breakdown.
Having only discovered how far the uncommunicative Barreti had strayed from his scripts when reading the strip in print, Schaeffer attempted to regain control by sketching several strips himself. In protest, Barreti simply submitted Schaeffer's crude drawings as the finished art. Exasperated, Schaeffer instead wrote a novelisation of "The Poseidon Complex" for publisher Club Books before quitting; an excerpt from the book is used to bridge one of the gaps in the narrative caused by Barreti's disregard for storytelling. A film based on the comic commenced production under an Italian exploitation studio, starring Edwige Fenech and Terence Stamp, but was abandoned during filming for unclear reasons.
The strip did however prove a surprise success in Malta, and the Clarion commissioned Barreti to continue the work after Baskerville withdrew. Even though Barreti had been committed, Schaeffer continued to send him scripts to work on. Despite the stories growing ever-more surreal "Goldtiger" ran in the Daily Clarion until 1975, only ending when sporadic communication with the artist suddenly ended. The following year Schaeffer, having failed to carve out the serious literary career he craved, reportedly died in a boating accident off the coast of Corsica.
In 1977, Barreti reappeared when word reached him that IPC Magazines were launching a new science fiction weekly comic called 2000 AD. Updating the characters to a futuristic setting, Barreti submitted "Goldtiger 2000" unsolicited. As with his dealings with Baskerville, Barreti submitted a large number of pages as a finished work rather than working with the editorial team in any way. From the start "Goldtiger 2000" had heavy sexual overtones, and was rejected out of hand. An attempt to ship the strip to a less discerning publisher as part of a mooted comic called Roller also came to nothing, and Barreti returned to obscurity.
Following the collapse of "Goldtiger 2000", Baretti returned to psychiatric care; nothing further is known of his life. "Goldtiger" retained a considerable cult following in Malta, and later among comics historians. One such fan was Leonard King, who attempted to compile the strip for small publishing company Humdrumming Books in 2002; however, he found the original artwork had been lost and had to work from incomplete newspaper cuttings saved by a young Maltese fan, before the volume was abandoned.
Some years later 2000 AD artist Jimmy Broxton was approached by a man only known as Marcelo at a Maltese comic convention who gave him a huge parcel of Barreti's original artwork. He alerted collaborator Guy Adams and the pair began extensive research into "Goldtiger". While finding much of the documentation missing and many of those involved in the strip died, the pair were able to discover some material during research for the book. These included a Wave Radio interview with Schaeffer (during which he consistently attempts to steer conversation away from "Goldtiger" in favour of his literary works), the manuscript for Schaeffer's unfinished autobiography Words for Money, a biographical article on Barreti from Peter Floyd's 1982 book Three Panels Away - The History of the British Newspaper Strip, correspondence between various parties; and a rare interview with Barreti from British underground magazine Deadbeats. Most of the materials reveal the difficulties of dealing with the idiosyncratic artist, while also suggesting the death of Barreti's sister Adriana in 1966 was a major factor in his deteriorating mental health.