HE IS the legendary English hero whose story is synonymous with Southampton.

Now Sir Bevis of Hampton is getting a comic book makeover.

The classic medieval hero will soon become the hero of his very own comic book Marcus Pullen, of Blue Donut Studios, based in the Eastleigh Tech Hub, and writer Matt Beames are penning the medieval knight’s epic tale, thanks to a programme from Eastleigh Borough Council.

Marcus will design and draw the illustrations based on a script worked on by him and Matt, which aims to breathe new life into the character.

The comic, called Blood and Valour, is part of Eastleigh Borough Council Culture Unit’s Digital Arts Programme Eastleigh (DAPE), which aims to support new talent and emerging businesses working with digital arts.

The comic will depict the medieval adventures of Sir Bevis, as well as his love Josian and his giant companion, Ascupart, who were popular in the Middle Ages.

His adventures featured battles with lions, giants and even dragons the size of cities, making Sir Bevis one of the earliest examples of an action heroes.

The comic will form part of the two-year Road to Agincourt project, marking the 600th anniversary of the battle in France, as King Henry V was known to have read and loved tapestries depicting Sir Bevis’s adventures.

Marcus said: “Comics can be a very useful tool to kindle interest in a subject, and they're now taken more seriously than in the past.

“The UK has an excellent reputation for producing comics, and our intention with this is for people to buy into it as an example of great British story-telling in its own right that will sit well in comic book stores and libraries.”

Matt added: “This is the sort of story that lends itself so well, because of its scope and size and the melodrama within it. Bevis fights dragons, giants, and serpents, so there’s so much material to work with from an artwork perspective.

“It's a medium I love as a form of storytelling, and I'm relishing the opportunity of having a go at writing something for it.”

Bevis of Hampton or Sir Bevois, was a legendary English hero and the subject of Anglo-Norman, Dutch, French, English, Venetian and other medieval metrical romances that bear his name.

He was the son of Guy, count of Hampton, now Southampton. Guy’s wife plots his murder with a former lover, Doon, and marries him.

Bevis, then aged 10, threatens vengeance so she determines to do away with him also, but he is saved from death by a faithful tutor, is sold to heathen pirates, and ends up in exile in Egypt.

The exploits of Bevis and his final vengeance on his stepfather are all part of the legend. There are many locations around Southampton named after the legend including Bevois Valley and Ascupart Street.