Having successfully permeated most other forms of media, it’s no great surprise to have seen him reincarnated in comic book form for a new generation. British comic book writer Christopher Bunting is the man responsible, having released a number of comics starring the big man. This limited advance edition 100-ish page graphic novel (just 4,000 copies are out there) plays on the myth of Mr.T, while also introducing new characters and placing him in a whole new fictional universe over four separate interlinked stories. However, there is the other, more serious side to Mr.T that he himself has always tried to keep in the spotlight. His caring attitude towards children is well documented, with the educational videos he has taken part in especially notable in this area. The foreword to the book sums up this mix of morals and nostalgia perfectly. So, while the first line is all about the catchprhases (‘Listen up, it’s me, Mr.T! That’s right, first name ‘Mr’, middle name ‘period’, last name ‘T’!), he also sees fit to preach about what would really make him happy is for readers to respect parents, stay off drugs and be faithful to your beliefs. Ultimately the book’s downfall is that the marriage of Mr.T’s morals and the heavy themes and levels of violence present throughout doesn’t work. In one breath he’s telling a kid off for graffiti (although hey, he sees he’s got talent so maybe he should just, like, use those talents elsewhere), the next he’s setting fire to some robotic contraption that’s about to kill all and sundry. In the end, I guess I’m just a little unsure as to whom it’s really aimed at. The suggestion from the foreword and the themes throughout would be that it’s for kids, but I’m not sure that the levels of violence and heavy themes of child abuse are appropriate if that’s the case. If it’s those looking for a bit of Mr.T nostalgia, the sentimental side of things will not appeal, for despite the catchphrases and the outfits, the stories are too blatantly packed with moral lessons and end up becoming a little tiresome. Perhaps the real issue though is that for all his muscles and bravado, Mr.T is a lover, not a fighter. He’s used his image in the past to try and do his best to teach kids how to live life with morals and how to do the right thing, and that’s fine. It’s just that in stories where he beats seven shades of crap out of people, takes some hallucinogenic substances (albeit unwittingly) and ends the whole shebang by shooting a decidedly unholy priest, the moral side of things sits uncomfortably with his take no prisoners shtick. The Mr.T Graphic novel is out now
