Bostin battle lines drawn in comics

As far as Batcaves and fortresses of solitude go, most super heroes would not think of setting up a base at Dudley Castle.

But that is exactly what the Bostin Heroes, in a special series of comic books, have done.

The brainchild of Donato Esposito, the man behind the Bostin T-shirt range, the comic tells the tale of a group of heroes from Wolverhampton, Dudley, Walsall and Moseley who fight the forces of evil – and talk in Black Country dialect. Their arch-nemesis is a claret-clad villain from Aston called GodVilla.

Landmarks such as the castle and various shops and streets feature in the graphic novels as the heroes do battle with their nemesis.

The Bostin Heroes can also count Sarah Brown, wife of the Prime Minister, among their fans after creator Donato sent her a copy.

Donato, aged 48, started the Bostin group nine years ago and is behind the T-shirts that bear the Black Country word.

Despite living in Rubery he has always maintained an affinity with parts of the Black Country where he spent much of his childhood.

The characters in the comic are shape-shifter Carl from Dudley, Antonio from Wolverhampton who has the power to bend and stretch, weather controller Samantha from Walsall and Juliette from Moseley who can fly and shoot plasma bolts.

The comic started as Donato was driving to Wednesbury's Ikea with son Alesandro, 12, two years ago and heard Express & Star historian Carl Chinn on the radio taking to comics writer Matthew Craig from Telford.

Donato contacted Carl for Matthew's details and the pair got together and started bringing Donato's ideas to life in a first issue last September. The other illustrators involved now are Jack Davies, Luke Myatt, Paul Eldridge and John Davison.

For details on how to get copies see www.bostin heroes.com