- The Tower King
"The Tower King" was a
comic series published in the Britishcomic book "Eagle", from issue 1 (datedMarch 27 1982 ) to issue 24 (datedSeptember 4 1982 ).It was written by
Alan Hebden and drawn by José Ortiz.Plot
The story was set in a post-apocalyptic modern-day
London . Escaping from thecliché of nuclear war, the apocalypse was caused by a malfunctioning solar-poweredsatellite , somehow bathing theEarth in radiation that made the production ofelectricity in any form impossible. Without heating, transport, food, or communication, and in the middle of a heavywinter , London swiftly fell to mass panic, resulting in pseudo-medieval anarchy; the state of the rest of Britain or other countries was not explored during the strip.Unlike many of the early Eagle strips, "The Tower King" was in drawn rather than photographic format; the strip's creators made use of the opportunity by juxtapositioning jarring visual elements, such as historic London landmarks strewn with the rubble of modern buildings, or soldiers in patchwork armor complete with pocket watches and
police helmets , armed with bothhalberd s andgrenade s.The main character was Mick Tempest, a natural-born
soldier and leader, with a down-to-earth demeanour (and a more than passing resemblance to depictions ofJesus ). He organised his neighbourhood into a group, sharing protection and food in the face of rioters and looters, and then negotiated entry into theTower of London for protection, Britain'smonarchy apparently having been killed in the chaos. He was captured in an assault on the Tower by Lord Spencer, a self-styledfeudal warlord , who tried to publiclybehead Tempest onTower Green when he refused to swear fealty. They were attacked by Tube Rats, a vicious group who had taken over the defunctLondon Underground system; in the battle, Tempest proved his worth to Spencer as an equal rather than a lieutenant.Tempest, Spencer, and their army slowly regained control over parts of central London, encountering a
hospital containing medical staff who had becomeinsane due to events and had started acult around worship of human organs; a group called the Wreckers who drove hand-crankeddiesel -poweredtanks andtrains ; and an 'electric temple' inside apower station , within which another deranged group of people worshipped electricity, pretending it to still exist.The electricity-interfering satellite had been destroyed by
meteor impact shortly before, a fact Tempest discovered when he switched the station's generators on to prove electricity was never coming back. The strip ended with Tempest vowing to re-create the world without the many social problems wrought by moderntechnology .
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