Written by As far as iconic comics go, it’s arguable whether a publication such as The Establishment could be included in that group. It was a very short lived series of comics, running from only November 2001 until November 2002 and covering only 13 issues. Ian Edginton and Charlie Adlard were the creative team behind the work. Edginton began his career in the U.K. and then became a success in the United States before returning home to do some more work for 2000AD. Adlard is an accomplished artist also with many issues of 2000AD behind him as well as other well received work.
Front Cover Issue 1
Although a fantastically well-drawn comic, much of the appeal of The Establishment was the numerous references to 1960s television series. Each character appeared to based on a persona from some cult programme or other. Check out the characters below:
Jon Drake: shares his name with the central character from Danger Man and The Prisoner.
Scarlet: bears definite similarities to Emma Peel from The Avengers.
Equus: again, John Steed, the main man from The Avengers seems to be the basis for this character.
Mister Pharmacist: the only character with a more modern influence; seems to be based on the Tom Baker version of Doctor Who.
The Golden: three gifted superhero children apparently based on the three protgonists from The Champions.
George Bulman and Christopher Truelove: would seem to be related to the characters from Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased).
Aside from these interesting references, the story revolves around a group of diverse superheroes who work for the British government to protect the nation from a variety of enemies, most of which are alien in origin. Villains have included the Daemonites, zombies and other little green men. The Daemonites are one of the links between The Establishment and the Wildstorm Universe, in which the comic is set. Edginton and Adlard have both been connected with the Wildstorm Universe, which was a product of DC Comics from 1992 until 2010.