Sketch by Paul Moore

 I have had a few sketches commissioned of Faiza Hussain over the years, and the latest is this fantastic rendition from Paul Moore. So who is the mysterious Faiza?

It was Paul Cornell who created the character of Faiza in the pages of Captain Britain and MI-13. Faiza was a doctor who gained the magical sword Excalibur and powerful healing abilities. In her few appearances she has been known as Excalibur and was briefly an early female Captain Britain.

Faiza is a fascinating and unusual character, who is currently terribly underused. Her character shows an aspect of real life, modern Britain that is not always seen in comics. A British Muslim woman, you could meet someone like Faiza in any British town or city, so why not in the pages of your favourite Marvel comic battling vampires, skrulls and red Hulks? Crucially, in the hands of the writers like Paul Cornell and Al Ewing she has always been well written, with an interesting plot as part of a wider cast of characters.

She was a Mighty Defender of the realm in Secret Wars/Battleworlds in Captain Britain and the Mighty Defenders where she went up against some law enforcers who looked suspiciously like they might have come from Mega City One, in a great tale from Al Ewing and Alan Davis.

Recently during Secret Empire she was one of the Champions of Europe alongside cool Euro-heroes like Guillotine and Peregrine (but not the other Contest of Champions created heroes like Shamrock or Germany’s Blitzkrieg – maybe Marvel realised no post-war German government would have a hero named Blitzkrieg!). You can find that in the U.S.Avengers comic.

Ever the queen of the crossover event she appeared briefly in War of the Realms, albeit in a defeated heap. Al Ewing again brought back Faiza to join with some other medics in the Valkyrie comic recently. In Valkyrie Faiza again represented some British values that don’t get talked about enough – like the great work of national solidarity represented by the National Health Service.

I’ve also had a quick sketch from John Allison of Giant Days fame and one from David Wynne, artist in residence of Jay and Miles Explain the X-Men.

So, let’s have more Faiza! Let’s see a cameo in the new Excalibur or of course the mini-series everyone is waiting for, sure to be the next Marvel movie hit: Faiza and the Champions of Europe featuring Shamrock and Blitzkrieg!