Comic Cuts — 1 August 2025

OK, some good news to start with. The backlog of orders caused by the equipment failure at the printers is slowly getting sorted. I had an order dating back to June 30th arrive on July 30th, so hopefully that means that the books ordered between 3rd and 12 July, which I think has been the most badly affected period, should start arriving with readers shortly.

I think part of the hold-up has been that the earlier orders had to be fed back into the system so began their journey all over again. I'm having a think about how I can prevent this from happening again in the future. It hasn't been the best book launch I've managed!

Looking forward, the next comic mart in Colchester is going to be on the 4th of October at the usual venue. There are already plans for a broader art show and I imagine the same dealers will be turning up with some interesting stock. I believe Keith Burns is already confirmed as a guest, so it'll be worth coming down just for the chance to meet Keith. 

Before that, I should have the next volume of MYTEK THE MIGHTY out and hopefully also the AIR ACE PICTURE LIBRARY COMPANION. I've just finished writing some pocket biographies of all the artists and writers who don't have a full-length biography in the volume—don't forget that I'm planning a couple more volumes covering the Fleetway war libraries, so potentially there will be another twenty or thirty biographies to write. I'm not sure how quickly I'll be able to get them out as it has taken probably four months to write and design the AIR ACE and now I've got another month of proofing, correcting and getting printed copies.

I'm not sure what I'm doing next, but it's likely to be finishing off a project that I started a few years ago. It'll be good to get one of the many titles I've announced over the years finished. Which one though?

I haven't been up to much else. We're having problems with one of our two tomato plants which is suffering from Blossom End Rot—caused by a lack of calcium getting through to the fruits, either through the too tight packing of the roots in the pot we have it in, or a lack of water (which I don't think is the problem as I have been watering them regularly). I wonder if the fact that the plant pot was attacked by ants the week we got the tomatoes. I'm watering the plants more often, and we're looking to buy some bone meal (which will require a trip into Colchester as there's nothing locally), but I'm not hopeful that we'll get a good harvest this year.

I'm thinking that next year we might get the plants out of the pots and replant them, but it's difficult to know where they'll get the same level of sunlight. But I guess anything is better than having them rot on the vine.

We're off this evening to see Jessica Fostekew. Wish us luck—it's an outdoor venue and there's a threat of rain!

• 2 Aug. JD Wetherspoons have taken the opportunity of refurbishment of The Navigation pub in Kings Norton to celebrate the work of Reg Bunn and The Spider.
• 30 Jul. Rich Johnston reports on Alan Moore's charitable work in Northampton, which has allowed two community hubs to reopen.
• 25 Jul. James Bacon is among the academics discussing the history of Irish comics at the National Library of Ireland in Dublin on Friday, 8 August. "Discover a selection of extremely rare comics dating from the 1930s -1960s, ranging from Greann — “The Only Irish Comic” – published in 1934, by Joe Stanley, 1916 Veteran and Printer, to 1968’s “Éamon de Valera, Hero Of Ireland” as drawn by legendary Fantastic Four artist, Joe Sinnott."
• 24 Jul. Showrunner Allan Heinberg discusses how the finale of The Sandman Netflix series lays the groundwork for a possible return to the Sandman universe. SPOILERS. "No comic book property I’ve ever encountered goes as deep or as wide as Sandman. It’s not an inexpensive show to make. And if we had a viewership that really demanded it and it made financial sense for Netflix, I could happily go on writing Sandman forever."
• 23 Jul. Si Spurrier discusses his departure from The Flash after 25 issues. (video 16m)
• 17 Jul. The Hollywood Reporter has revealed that Taika Waititi (Thor: Ragnarok) is to direct a new Judge Dredd movie, from a script by Drew Pearce (The Fall Guy, Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation). Can I be the 10,000th person to call for Karl Urban to be reinstated as Dredd.
• 14 Jul. Rich Johnston has noted that a scene in the new Superman movie seems to have been lifted from an episode of The Authority by Mark Millar and Frank Quitely. (Spoilers)
• 13 Jul. Loving the Alien is a new podcast, the first episode featuring Sean Phillips talking about his past work, Criminal and the upcoming Criminal TV series from Amazon Prime. (1h 5m)
• 13 Jul. David Lloyd, Carlos Yacolca and Alberto Rayo discuss the webcomic Aces Weekly at AIPT. "Apart from basic maintenance costs, online comics have no need to pay for repro, printing, packaging, and distribution. The pages are just files to be slotted in, sometimes just before the day they’re due to be read, and it’s all just sent down the super highway. And it looks better on screen — no bad printing to worry about — and you can have it really big on your smart TV! Sadly, the mass of comics readers are still hopelessly in love with their customary form on paper and cling to it with annoying tenacity, so despite all the good things we offer for a good cause, we’re still battling for it.”
• 10 Jul. Chris Weston reveals that the MCU is still using comics as concept art, writing on Facebook: "Wow. They've literally reproduced my cover from "Fantastic Four: First Family"! Come on, Marvel Studios, that's got to be worth a couple of free tickets, surely!
• 7 Jul. Al Ewing and Dan Cornwell take Judge Dredd on holiday in the upcoming 2000AD Sci-Fi Special. Ewing: "In some ways, it was like slipping back into an old and comfortable pair of shoes – or tight boots, maybe. Part of that is that it was quite a light brief ... I don’t have to worry that much about what Dredd’s been up to in the years since I last handled the character, or how the politics of Mega-City One have developed – it’s just Dredd being Dredd..."
• 7 Jul. The Sandman showrunner Allan Heinberg explains how the edecision to end the Netflix series after two seasons came about. "I had always thought of 'The Sandman' as a three-season show with 11 episodes in each season," Heinberg admits, but that plan changed once they made Tom Sturridge's Dream their protagonist.
• 5 Jul. Glenn Fabry and Simon Furman have been honoured at the London Film and Comic Con at Olympia and have been inducted into the LFCC Hall of Fame. Rich Johnston has photos at the link.
• 4 Jul. Comics by Perch interviews Mark Millar about his new project with John Romita Jr., Psychic Sam, which is available on Kickstarter now. (video, 59m)

Commando 5875-5878

Torpedoes, gliders, sharks and the return of ace pilot Braddock! All in issues 5875-5878 on sale from today, Thursday 31st July 2025!

5875 Braddock: Escape 

The daredevil bomber pilot returns! Now that his squadron had converted to Vickers Wellingtons, Sergeant Matt Braddock couldn’t wait to get airborne. But a hairy first mission soon left him without a navigator – luckily, the impressive Sergeant George Bourne was looking for a new crew. Bourne and Braddock were soon thick as thieves, but it wasn’t long before Braddock’s gung-ho attitude landed them in an Italian POW camp. Braddock was going to have to rely on more than his flying skills to get out of this one!
    Bomber Braddock returns in another Commando adventure! Ferg Handley’s intrepid pilot soon finds himself in hot water but never fear Braddock’s got it all covered – right?! With amazing artwork from the legendary Carlos Pino! 

Story: Ferg Handley
Art: Carlos Pino
Cover: Carlos Pino

5876 The Human Torpedo

The Japanese submarine commander grunted with satisfaction as he gazed across the moonlit sea. There, turned turtle, was the British destroyer he’d torpedoed, her crew clinging to her hull. Her guns and her torpedo tubes were all underwater. He could relax – the British could do nothing to his submarine now.
    Yet, already gliding through the sea, leaving no ripples, making no noise, came a British secret weapon – the man they called ‘The Human Torpedo’.
    Speedos and torpedoes ahead in this submariner Commando! With Powell’s storytelling brought to life by Sostres and Ken Barr’s wonderful art – this is one you don’t want to miss!

Story: Powell
Art: Sostres
Cover: Ken Barr
First published 1968 as No. 321

5877 Feeding Frenzy

The crew of the USS Annapolis had had a bad day. A surprise attack by a Japanese submarine had left them stranded at sea, at the mercy of the gnashing jaws of ravenous sharks! From within the thrashing ranks, a monster emerged – a great white larger than anything the sailors had seen before.
    Separated from their crewmates in the chaos, Gabriel, Sal and Tank were rescued by the very sub that had sunk them in the first place. What nefarious scheme did its shadowy commander have in store for them?
    Inspired by the true story of the USS Indianapolis, Julian Michael Carver’s debut to Commando comics certainly has some BITE! And with jaw-dropping artwork by Juan Fernadez and Simon Pritchard – this issue is certified jaw-some! 

Story: Julian Michael Carver
Art: Juan Fernadez
Cover: Simon Pritchard

5878 Mission Accomplished

“Mission Accomplished!” – that was the signal which would send a fleet of gliders swooping down into enemy territory to pick up a daring band of jungle raiders. For the men on the ground, it was the only way home – if they could reach the rendezvous in time!
    Classic Commando incoming! You can’t go wrong with RA Montague story and Blasco and Jeff Bevan on art!

Story: RA Montague
Art: Blasco
Cover: Jeff Bevan
First published 1985 as No. 1861

Rebellion Releases — 30 July 2025

Rebellion has announced that the incredible work of one of comics' greatest ever artists – Carlos Ezquerra – is to be showcased in the Judge Dredd by Carlos Ezquerra: Apex Edition.

When you think of Judge Dredd, one artist comes to mind before any other – “El Maestro”, Carlos Ezquerra.

The artist who co-created and designed Dredd with writer John Wagner in 1977, Ezquerra not only set the tone – and the bar – for adventure and action in Dredd’s world, but also created the design framework for Mega-City One, a legendary locale for one of the all-time great characters to deliver justice and punish Lawbreakers!

This November, Rebellion will be publishing a collection of his stunning original artwork for the next volume of their Apex Editions.

Ezquerra undeniably drew the first and definitive Judge Dredd – and this collection of his art will do justice to his vision of the character, printed at the size that he drew each page, and newly-scanned directly from the original artwork to present it to the reader at the best resolution possible.

This book contains seven complete colour stories – 'Behold the Beast', 'The Big Itch', 'It’s Happening on Line 9', 'The Other Slab Tynan', 'The Big Bang Theory', 'Tarantula', 'John Brown’s Body') from the early 1980s Judge Dredd annuals, when Ezquerra was at the peak of his power, in addition to many other classic pages and cover art from stories including the epic 'The Apocalypse War'. It will also include pages from Strontium Dog in the book – if we’re going APEX, we’re not going to do things by halves!

The Judge Dredd by Carlos Ezquerra: Apex Edition will be released in 2025 both as a Standard Edition and the 2000 AD webshop; and as a webshop-exclusive edition with special slipcase.

The Apex Edition series is a deluxe, over-sized facsimile edition reproducing his original art pages at their actual size. Each page of this book has been scanned directly from Carlos’s art and presents each page as if you were looking at it in person.

Measuring a huge 19 x 14 inches, this is a landmark collection of El Maestro’s staggering career in comics, running across 128 incredible pages. Now Ezquerra finally joins the critically-acclaimed Apex lineup which also features editions from titans of the industry including Kevin O’Neill, Steve Dillon, Mick McMahon, Brian Bolland and more.

The Judge Dredd by Carlos Ezquerra: Apex Edition will be released on 26th November 2025, with pre-orders available now on the 2000 AD webshop for both the standard edition (available from comic book stores via Diamond Distribution) and the webshop-exclusive slipcase editions.

And now, this week's release...

2000AD Prog 2443
Cover: Tazio Bettin.

JUDGE DREDD // TUNNELS by Rob Williams (w) RM Guera (a) Giulia Brusco (c) Simon Bowland (l)
THE RAVILLIOUS PACT by T.C.Eglington (w) Steven Austin (a) John Charles (c) Simon Bowland (l)
THARG'S 3RILLERS // RELICT: INVASIVE SPECIES by Honor Vincent (w) Lee Milmore (a) Simon Bowland (l)
AZIMUTH // ABANDONED BY GOD by Dan Abnett (w) Tazio Bettin (a) Matt Soffe (c) Jim Campbell (l)
SCARLET TRACES // EMPIRE OF BLOOD by Ian Edginton (w) D'Israeli (a) Annie Parkhouse (l)

Comic Cuts — 25 July 2025

While some copies of the MYTEK THE MIGHTY books have escaped into the real world, there was a problem with the printer this week, described as "equipment failure" which has since been fixed but which has caused a backlog for orders placed on or after 6th July. All I can do is apologise; I've been told that the problem has been fixed, but the backlog will take a little while to get through.

It does mean that I'm extending the early bird offer to save some cost off the cover price for a bit longer as the books are still not available on the usual platforms yet. I'll keep the offer open until the end of the month.

I'm progressing well with the AIR ACE COMPANION, which hit 120 pages earlier this week and still a couple of pieces to go. The checklist of issues has expanded to 20 pages, which I'm going to have a look at to see if I can save some space. The reason is that Air Ace published 545 issues, and I'm looking forward to future volumes. I was casually talking about doing War and Battle picture libraries as a single volume—Air Ace started as a separate title to War, with different staff, while Battle was launched from the same office as War, so I link them together—but I'm beginning to realise that might be impractical as the two titles had over 3,800 issues between them, which enlarges the checklists and the creator index greatly to over 150 pages. 

It's looking like I'll have to do the books as a pair, with maybe an introduction covering the history of both in one volume and additional biographical sketches in the second. I'm looking forward to the latter as there are some of the great names in comics that I'd love to cover, people like Gino D'Antonio, Jose Ortiz (his brother appears in Air Ace), Victor de la Fuente and Hugo Pratt, about whom I've never written before.

That'll keep me busy for some while...

Back in April I mentioned (actually dedicated a whole column, with photos) that we had been to see the band Solstice at the Colchester Arts Centre. Now comes the surprise news that the whole show is to be made available to download from the band's website and from Bandcamp. Clann Live: The Colchester Gathering is to be made available from 1 August as a digital download.



We spotted the cameras the moment we walked into the venue, and I asked whether we would see any of the concert on Youtube, as the band often release songs. I was told at the time that the band would look at the footage and decide what they wanted to do with it... and clearly they liked it!

The release is apparantly the whole 1hr 45 mins concert, unabridged, so you'll be able to see the birthday cake handout and the puppet hedgehog appearance. Will you see me? Yes you will. The band released one of the songs ('Plunk') on Youtube recently and it's from that concert. And right at the end, the camera pans around and you can see me and Mel just as the credits come up at around the 7m 37s mark. There we are in the lower left hand corner of the screengrab.

I get the feeling that the first watch through will just be me looking out for myself. But after that I'll be able to enjoy the music as it was an incredible evening. Oh, and Jess Holland (in the above credits), no relation; our bit of the Holland 'clan' has no vocal talent at all. 

Mention of Youtube reminds me that there is some very good paperback content appearing at the moment. Jules Burt is the king of paperback videos as he has been a long-time collector of Penguins, Pans and the like, with a particular interest in Agatha Christie and others. He has been doing videos for about six years, I believe, so he's got it down to a slick, professional performance, although you can still see his enthusiasm bubble through. His channel is well worth a look, and you might consider subscribing to his member's only channel.

A recent addition has been Mick Cocksedge's channel, in which Mick takes viewers through his collections of various publishers that have so far included Banner Books, World Distributors' Quarter Books, Paladin Press' Yankee Books, Scion, and Red Seal. Again, Mick is hugely enthusiastic and you can't help but get carried along as each new cover is revealed. 

If you want to explore further into the world of vlogging about paperbacks, you could do worse than Phil Harbottle's 77 videos about 1950s British SF, with a special emphasis on Phil's trio of interests, John Russell Fearn, E.C. (Ted) Tubb and artist Ron Turner. I'll also mention Gary Lovisi, publisher of Gryphon Books, who occasionally discusses old British paperbacks that he's picked up along the way.

Rebellion Releases — 23 July 2025

UPCOMING RELEASES FROM 2000AD AND THE TREASURY OF BRITISH COMICS:

And now, this week's release...

2000AD Prog 2442
Cover: Cliff Robinson with Dylan Teague

JUDGE DREDD // TUNNELS by Rob Williams (w) RM Guera (a) Giulia Brusco (c) Simon Bowland (l)
THE RAVILLIOUS PACT by T.C.Eglington (w) Steven Austin (a) John Charles (c) Simon Bowland (l)
THARG'S 3RILLERS // RELICT: INVASIVE SPECIES by Honor Vincent (w) Lee Milmore (a) Simon Bowland (l)
AZIMUTH // ABANDONED BY GOD by Dan Abnett (w) Tazio Bettin (a) Matt Soffe (c) Jim Campbell (l)
SCARLET TRACES // EMPIRE OF BLOOD by Ian Edginton (w) D'Israeli (a) Annie Parkhouse (l)

Bob Haberfield & His Art

In his introduction to the latest book from Jayde Design, Ben Haberfield relates his father's story: Bob Haberfield was raised by his mother in Melbourne, Australia, after his father was killed during WW2, leaving school at 13 to become an apprentice mechanic. Quitting after a couple of years, he attended Melbourne Tech from the age of 16 doing a night course in graphic design and life drawing while working as a layout and design trainee with an advertising firm.

He was taught and influenced by artists Clifton Pugh and Ian Stone who encouraged him to paint, particularly abstract painting, which he first exhibited in 1964 to positive reviews. He met Melanie, a young Englishwoman who had worked as an au pair in Paris, and she became his second wife in 1967; their honeymoon was Bob's first experience of travel outside Australia.

Renting an apartment in Paris, Bob painted record sleeves and perfected his talents as a flamenco guitarist, but moved to London when Melanie fell pregnant. The strain of having to earn a living yet to not compromise his artistic vision proved too much; while Melanie took their son Ben on holiday to Italy, Bob emptied their flat in Elgin Avenue and disappeared. Introduced to Buddhism, he joined a commune in Wales.

He was by then regularly painting covers for Mayflower, and the Buddhist influence can be seen in many of these painted in the early 1970s. Although Melanie tracked him down and joined him in Wales, commune life became increasingly controlling and she left. Bob also left, destitute (all his earnings from painting went to the commune) and living on the streets around King's Cross until a friend paid his fare back to Australia.

He returned to advertising, working hard and drinking hard. The loss of his girlfriend to breast cancer saw him heartbroken and he returned to London in 1981 to try to reconnect with his son, whose mother was running a clothes shop in Camden Road. Shortly after, he moved to a commune in Manchester, and later to a house in Wales, but his drinking was getting worse. A blazing row with his son meant he cut off contact for a year before phoning to admit that he had been wrong and that he had been sober ever since. The two developed a relationship that was to last.

Retiring from his career in illustration, Bob spent his time painting and listening to music until his death in 2021, aged 83.

This semi-tragic tale lay behind the dozens of covers and illustrations that Bob Haberfield painted for records, books and magazines, as well as his years in advertising between the early 1960s and his death 60 years later. Across the pages of two books, hundreds of pieces are presented for the first time for anyone outside of Bob's family as—beyond a handful in his early days—he never exhibited or sold his work. 

In the first book we are introduced to Bob Haberfield The Man, with essays by his son Ben Haberfield and friend Garry Kinnane, and some 300 pages of artwork; in the second we have Bob Haberfield His Art, which is a curated gallery of his career, including books—memorable and instantly recognisable from the covers of Moorcock, Jack Vance, Cordwainer Smith, Brian Aldiss, Robert Silverberg, Roger Zelazny, etc.—records and an incredibly diverse range of illustrations and advertisements. This volume also includes the reminiscences of various friends and followers.

This is the volume for me. Bob Haberfield's covers were a mix of surrealism, Hindi and Buddhist imagery and bright, rainbow colours. If your knowledge of the surreal is Dali or Ernst, these are more subtle pieces in a trippier headspace. It lends itself to horror stories, of which he illustrated plenty, most notably Clark Ashton Smith and HP Lovecraft for Panther in around 1973-74, and one of his most outstanding images, the motorcycle-riding Hitler on Norman Spinrad's The Iron Dream. But from the same brush came covers for children's books by Enid Blyton and Paul Galico, and it is a treat just to wander through the rich imagination on show throughout both books, whether you want something realist or something abstract.

This is a beautifully printed pair of books designed by John Coulthart, that slip into a sturdy case, published by Jayde Design who you'll have met here at Bear Alley as they published James Cawthorn: The Man and His Art and Cawthorn's The Stormbringer Sessions some years ago. The quality of the books is up to that earlier standard.

Bob Haberfield: The Man and His Art compiled by Ben Haberfield, with John Davey and John Guy Collick. Jayde Design ISBN 978-106838612-1, 28 July 2025, 376+232pp, £52.00 [slipcase edition, price includes shipping within the UK]. Order from Jayde Design.

Note: Bob Haberfield has an official website.

Comic Cuts — 18 July 2025

I'm starting to hear from people who have received their copies of the MYTEK THE MIGHTY volumes and I'm pleased to say that I haven't heard a bad word said against them. Lots of positive reviews, which fills me with joy because it means that putting the time and effort into making the books as good as I could was all worth the effort.

I'll be honest, the best bits of the book-making process for me are re-reading the strips after a long break and writing the introductions; the bit in the middle (scanning, cleaning, and occasionally re-lettering the artwork) can get a bit boring a project as big as MYTEK. Designing the book can also be stressful as I'm  not trained, using old software and have to do everything from scanning images to writing captions.

Fifteen years or so ago when I dreamed up this daft idea of publishing my own books, the design was almost a hill too far to climb. If I could have passed that on to anyone else I would have, but the simple fact is that I couldn't get it to work; I'd still be sorting out scans, writing captions and all the rest of it. At least doing it myself means I'm only scanning and cleaning up the images I'm using, which saves a considerable amount of time.

And time is quite important. The less time I spend on each book, the more books I can get out. The target for Bear Alley Books was 100 books, mostly written by me but with some licensed books thrown into the mix. Well, I've published over 40 books now, so I'm well on my way. I'm not earning a fortune, hence the occasional disappearance while I work elsewhere to earn a bit of money to top up the bank account, but I enjoy what I do, and that counts for a lot.

At the moment, orders are taking somewhere around 10-12 days between processing and delivery. I can't always let everyone know when books are on their way because Paypal does not supply me with a contact email address and going through their messaging system with individual tracking numbers is too time consuming. I do, however, try to supply tracking information to anyone outside the UK. (But please forgive me if I don't. It's not always convenient to do it immediately, and sometimes I forget.)

Progress on the AIR ACE COMPANION is good. I'm working my way through the main introduction at the moment with only maybe another six or eight pages to go. All the biographical sketches are now finished and that just leaves the index and the creators' index to complete. No idea how long that will take, but most of the tricky pages are done.

I've also decided on my favourite issue from the whole run. It's 'Fighter, Fighter!' (Air Ace 39, February 1961) with some frankly astonishing artwork by Ian Kennedy. I was a huge fan of this story as it was one I had in my collection. When I was editing books for Carlton, they asked for an Air Ace volume and I made sure this one was included, so it's a story that you should be able to find and read. It was reprinted as Battle 798. You should find this story if you get a chance—your eyes will thank you and fill your brain with dopamine.

That sounds like a damn fine idea... I think I'm going to take another look!

Commando 5871-5874

It’s that time again Commando fans!  We’ve a bumper crop of World War 2 action for this round – as much bravery and derring-do as you can handle! Issues 5871-5874 will go on sale from today, Thursday 17th July 2025!

5871 V-1 Conspiracy 

After the crushing defeat of D-Day, Germany had resorted to launching so-called vengeance weapons to terrorise the British. In response, Helen McGrath of the SOE and Captain Tim Lidster of the OSS, had been tasked with tracking down the architect of the latest portable V1 launchers – Major Walter Himpel of the Luftwaffe. Little did they know, their mission would prove to be far more than they bargained for, Himpel had a much more diabolical plan in mind - one that would target the mainland of the United States!
    Better hail a cab because we’re off to the Big Apple! Rossa McPhillips makes his second appearance of the month with a story that spans continents, made all the grander by the interior art of Alejandro Perez Mesa and Marco Bianchini’s explosive cover – think this is one to miss? Forget about it!

Story: Rossa McPhillips
Art: Alejandro Perez Mesa
Cover: Marco Bianchini

5872 River Raiders

Officially, it’s a D.U.K.W. but it’s always called a DUCK. It’s a six-wheeled truck that can speed over land at 50 mph or move through water at five or six knots. Normally, they’re used for carrying cargo, but Sergeant Mick Nelson turned his D.U.K.W. into a floating battleship and made a name for himself as boss of the jungle rivers of Burma!
    Delving back into the deep waters of Commando’s past, we’ve fished out this beauty from way back in 1969. Focused on the iconic D.U.K.W. amphibious vehicle, there’s no ducking the action in this one!

Story: Staff
Art: R. Fuente
Cover: Penalva
First published 1969 as No. 418

5873 Escape Act

US General Pete McAvoy wasn’t much of a fan of the theatre. He thought it was a useless distraction and waste of time when there was a war to be won. 
    Then the aircraft he was in was shot down on its way to the front. Now he would have to play the part of Flight Lieutenant Giles Bastow to stop the Germans working out who he was and how much intel he had. In order to escape the prison camp, he would have to put on the biggest performance of his life!
    Here’s one for the thespians among you! We’re not shy about our love for drama here at Commando, but it’s never been quite so literal as in this theatrical extravaganza from Sean Mason, with spectacular interior art by Paolo Ongaro and a sensational cover by Marco Bianchini.

Story: Sean Mason
Art: Paolo Ongaro
Cover: Marco Bianchini

5874 You Need Courage

If you were ever looking for Martin Baxter, you’d always find him where the fighting was thickest and fiercest. Everyone agreed it took courage to do the things he did – all except one man that is. But even that man would soon have cause to change his tune!
    Rip-roaring classic Commando reprint incoming! With incredible art AND script by Anglo and outstanding cover from Philpot to boot, this is one issue you won’t want to miss!

Story: Anglo
Art: Anglo
Cover: Philpot
First published 1984 as No. 1789

Rebellion Releases — 16 July 2025

The 2000 AD Annual 2026 brings Thrill-Power home for Christmas with a standard-edition cover from superstar artist Ladronn (Final Incal) and webshop-exclusive cover from 2000 AD legend Simon Bisley (Sláine)!

Inside, we’ve got all-new stories for you featuring Judge Dredd, Rogue Trooper and Judge Anderson – from an all-star lineup of 2000 AD writers and artists including Rob Williams, Joe Currie, T.C. Eglington, Staz Johnson and more. We also have some surprises from the archives for you this year, readers – but we’ve been sworn to secrecy for now! 

With over a hundred pages, The 2000 AD Annual 2026 contains a hearty mix of all-new stories, features and hidden gems from the archives – making it the ultimate stocking Thriller.

Tharg The Mighty blesses us once more with such nuclear-powered comics to keep your fires burning! Who needs a winter fuel allowance?

The 2000 AD Annual is now available to pre-order from the 2000 AD webshop, as either standard hardcover or webshop-exclusive editions!

And now, this week's releases...

2000AD Prog 2441
Cover: Colin Macneil.

JUDGE DREDD // TUNNELS by Rob Williams (w) RM Guera (a) Giulia Brusco (c) Simon Bowland (l)
THE RAVILLIOUS PACT by T.C.Eglington (w) Steven Austin (a) John Charles (c) Simon Bowland (l)
THARG'S 3RILLERS // RELICT: INVASIVE SPECIES by Honor Vincent (w) Lee Milmore (a) Simon Bowland (l)
AZIMUTH // ABANDONED BY GOD by Dan Abnett (w) Tazio Bettin (a) Matt Soffe (c) Jim Campbell (l)
SCARLET TRACES // EMPIRE OF BLOOD by Ian Edginton (w) D'Israeli (a) Annie Parkhouse (l)

The 2000AD Sci-Fi Special 2025
Cover: Chris Weston.

JUDGE DREDD // COSTAFERATU by Al Ewing (w) Dan Cornwell (a) Pippa Bowland (c) Annie Parkhouse (l)
THE OUT // THE WAR OF ART by Dan Abnett (w) Mark Harrison (c) Simon Bowland (l)
FUTURE SHOCKS // G.A.R.I. by Andi Ewington (w) Nick Dyer (a) Jim Campbell (l)
AMPNEY CRUCIS INVESTIGATES... // EVIL UNDER THE SUN by Ian Edginton (w) D'Israeli (a) Annie Parkhouse (l)
STRONTIUM DOG // THE HOLLIDAY JOB by Karl Stock (w) Jake Lynch (a) Jim Boswell (c) Rob Steen

Judge Dredd Megazine 482
Cover: John McCrea with Mike Spicer.

JUDGE DREDD // A TRUE TASTE by Alec Worley (w) Clint Langley (a) Quinton Winter (c) Annie Parkhouse (l)
MEGA-CITY 2099 // ANGER MACHINE by Karl Stock (w) Conor Boyle (c) Simon Bowland (l)
CADET DREDD // THE HAUNTING OF ISO-BLOCK 8 by Paul Starkey (w) Nick Brokenshire (a) Jim Campbell (l)
TALES FROM THE BLACK MUSEUM by James Peaty (w) Warren Pleece (a) Annie Parkhouse (l)
ROK THE GOD by John Wagner & Alan Grant (w) Dan Cornwell (a) Abby Bulmer & Jim Boswell (c) Jim Campbell (l)
BARREL & HAMMER // HAMMER TIME by David Barnett (w) Luke Horsman (a) Simon Bowland (l)

Rogue Trooper: The Complete Collection volume 2 by Gerry Finley-Day, Alan Moore, Simon Geller, Steve MacManus (w) Cam Kennedy, Brett Ewins, Boluda, Jesus Redondo, Robin Smith, Trevor Goring (a
Rebellion ISBN 978-183786535-2, 16 July 2025, 368pp, £24.99. Available via Amazon.

The Complete Rogue Trooper series continues to collect every adventure of one of 2000 AD’s most popular characters, originally created by Gerry Finley-Day and Dave Gibbons (Watchmen), this second volume features the work of veteran artists Cam Kennedy (Star Wars: Dark Empire) and Brett Ewins.
    The hunt for the Traitor General, who betrayed Rogue and caused the deaths of his fellow soldiers, comes to a conclusion, bringing to an end the first phase of Rogue’s storyline. [Previously announced for 4 June 2025]

The Rise and Fall of the Trigan Empire: Volume 6 by Mike Butterworth, Ken Roscoe (a) Oliver Frey, Gerry Wood (a)
Rebellion ISBN, 16 July 2025, 240pp, £24.99/ Available via Amazon.

This penultimate omnibus collection of the original The Rise and Fall of the Trigan Empire stories, collecting all the strips originally published in Look & Learn from 1977 through to 1980. This book contains Oliver Frey and Mike Butterworth’s final work on the series, as they pass the baton to Ken Roscoe and Gerry Wood who will work on the remainder of the series.
    This volume collects for the first time thirteen classic, fast-paced, yet beautifully painted, stories featuring the Emperor Trigo, ruler of the Trigan Empire, holding the line against monsters, alien threats, and internal usurpers, with the help of his nephew Janno, and the scientist Peric.

Comic Cuts — 11 July 2025

I've been kept busy with advance orders for MYTEK THE MIGHTY, which is going pretty well. I'm not measuring like for like precisely, but I think it will do better than PHANTOM PATROL but won't hit the dizzying heights of my COUNTDOWN index, which took off like a rocket. But it's going to wipe its face. 

Which is a relief, because with these licensed titles you have to pay the fees up front, there have been proofs to pay for and then a print run, which will be my sales stock for the next few months. Most of this is paid for before I see a penny, and I'm also going to be carrying quite a bit of stock because print prices are to rise in about three weeks. I'll absorb the increases where I can, but I might have to charge a little more for one or two of my books... I still need to sit down with a pen and the back of a fag packet to get my head around the implications.

The launch of MYTEK was a bit of a mad dash. I usually do a small printing of maybe 10 copies to make sure the books print consistently, and these had just arrived when my friend Jules Burt asked for some cover scans as he was launching a video review on Wednesday. I was thinking that I had until Friday and could amble through a few jobs that needed doing; this was not to be and I had to bring everything forward a day, writing up a column for the Bear Alley Books page, making sure I let people know through Facebook's Bear Alley Book page, and setting up various links from one to the other. It might not sound like much, but it all takes time — and I do have other things to do, too. (Write this blog being one of them.)

Once the news was let loose on the world, I had some fun filming a little video. I don't know if I'm getting any better at these, but I think the 13 minute video only took 20 minutes to film. I tend to do these off the cuff with only a broad idea of what I want to say. This time I got most of it right first time, remembered to have copies of the book next to me so I could show them on camera, made sure I could wear that t-shirt without causing the camera to go crazy. I had problems once during an interview and since then I've always worn a colour t-shirt for Comic Cuts videos and other video recordings.

Many years ago, I was asked to be part of a show called For Love or Money on, I think, Channel 4, to talk about old gangster paperbacks. I took up a hold-all full of them and hung around the office where we were to film but nobody was answering the door. After about 15 minutes of panic, someone arrived—I'll call her the runner as I can't recall her actual position—and said that the crew was running late, so we trotted around the corner to the pub. 

While I was relaxing into a pint, this girl asked: "Do you have a change of shirt?" This was unexpected, so I told her "No." My pale blue shirt might be a problem, she explained, because they wanted to blue-screen images of books behind me while I talked. "But don't worry, we'll sort something out."

The crew arrived and set up in the office, so there was now a couple of blokes (cameraman, sound engineer) and a couple of girls (the producer/director and the runner I'd been to the pub with). The shirt thing was still an issue as the only suitable clothing I could wear belonged to the director... but she had nothing on underneath (it was a warm summer evening). Some clothes juggling later, I'm in her t-shirt, she is in the blouse belonging to the runner, which was quite a tight fit, and the runner was in her bra, sat just to one side of the producer. 

I'm surprised I managed to answer any of their questions. Also, the t-shirt had a small, circular logo, which was cut out by the blue-screen effects, so it looked like I had been shot in the chest. That was my first ever TV interview. I don't think any since have matched it!

I'm sixty pages into the AIR ACE COMPANION and it's turning into a bit of a monster. I was aiming for under 100 pages, but it might creep over that. There are just too many brilliant artists who need illustrating! I've already increased the number of biographies from 10 to 15. The full list now includes F. Solano Lopez, Nino Caroselli, George Stokes, Aldo Di Gennaro, Ian Kennedy, Fernando Fernandez, Juan Zanotto, Pino Dell'Orco, Victor Hugo Arias, E.L. Blandford, Juan Abellan, Graham Coton, Marcello Ralli, Alan Willow, Luis Martinez Mira, Leopoldo Ortiz and Leopoldo Sanchez.

If you're wondering why Giorgio Di Gaspari or Alessandro Biffignandi, two of the chief cover artists, are missing... there will be plenty of room for them when I get around to the WAR AND BATTLE COMPANION. Oh, boy... I've just committed myself to yet another book!

Rebellion Releases — 9 July 2025

3900 AD. Rollo Stones and Danny Charters are the ‘Legend Testers’ – employees of the Central Knowledge Museum, tasked with taking exhibits back through time to see if they are genuine or not. Using the world’s only time machine called, ‘The Time Chamber’, Rollo and Danny throw themselves into peril, seeking out the truth behind myths and legends. From werewolves to Greek Gods, the Legend Testers are ready to face any supernatural challenge!

This collection includes the entire run of The Legend Testers strip from Smash!, all beautifully illustrated by Spanish art superstar, Jordi Bernet.

You can pre-order The Legend Testers in paperback or hardback now. To be published 14 January 2026.

And now, this week's releases...

2000AD Prog 2440
Cover: Tazio Bettin.

JUDGE DREDD // TUNNELS by Rob Williams (w) RM Guera (a) Giulia Brusco (c) Simon Bowland (l)
THE RAVILLIOUS PACT by T.C.Eglington (w) Steven Austin (a) John Charles (c) Simon Bowland (l)
THARG'S 3RILLERS // FAR FROM EDEN by Alan Kerr (w) Ian Richardson (a) Pippa Bowland (c) Simon Bowland (l)
AZIMUTH // ABANDONED BY GOD by Dan Abnett (w) Tazio Bettin (a) Matt Soffe (c) Jim Campbell (l)
SCARLET TRACES // EMPIRE OF BLOOD by Ian Edginton (w) D'Israeli (a) Annie Parkhouse (l)

The inevitable launch video for MYTEK!

Comic Cuts — 4 July 2025

As someone who dislikes insects (I can't sleep if there's a fly or a moth in the room) I didn't have the best start to the week. We discovered we had been colonised by moths — little flying pieces of dust that we'd spot flitting across the TV screen of an evening in increasing numbers. It meant we had to spend Sunday and Monday moving everything and spraying the carpet with moth killer. We ran out of spray with some areas still to go, so I've just spent another £50 to eradicate the little bastards, so we can go over the whole house a couple of times.

I will say that our first attack on the problem seems to have made a difference. Far fewer visible by midweek, but clearly we need to eradicate them all. Moving boxes, beds and book cases on the hottest day of the year so far wasn't what we had planned.

And on the second, even hotter day I was sat indoors with the windows closed because July 1st was "Flying Ant Day" here in Wivenhoe. We've had ants under the patio for years and it grew to such a problem that we had to have the patio around the back door redone. But they didn't do the whole of the patio, which has had weeds burrowing into every crack and ants tunneling under every slab probably since the day the patio was laid. 

On Tuesday, they came out in force, a writhing sea of insects that will haunt your nightmares if you dare to watch the video below. Meanwhile, I was sat indoors with the windows shut to make sure they didn't fly into the house...

It wasn't all insects. We did some useful things around the house like defrost the fridge and the freezer and mow the lawn. Then we collapsed into a sweaty heap and cooled ourself down with Magnums and ice lollies. I've even taken to eating an apple as a snack rather than a couple of biscuits. 

The lack of snacking (or maybe the increase in sweating) has meant I've achieved a little milestone. My weight has been a problem for years: it soared after I gave up smoking in 2012 and peaked at over 17 stone. It took me two years to lose two stone, before my weight went back into reverse and I put on a stone. Then, in 2019 I started to lose weight again, and again lost two stone before it bounced back a stone. I managed to lose a bit last year, then bounced straight back to where I had been over winter.

Now I've managed to lose half a stone since January. That's not a huge amount, but I'm losing it steadily, as that (I'm told) is the best way to make sure the weight stays off. I'm not setting any targets, and I'm still ten pounds heavier than I was in June 2020, but hopefully I can keep up the exercise and, more importantly, stop eating quite so many snacks.

Progress has been slow but steady on the Air Ace book because I'm still designing some of the biographical pages — I also replaced one that I'd already written as it turned into a bit of an epic about someone who contributed only one issue. Picking out illustrations is a problem with some of the more prolific artists, too... for instance, I'm going through the Air Ace contributions of Solano Lopez, and that means trawling through over 1,500 pages to pick maybe 40 examples, which I'll whittle down to two dozen in the final design. It all takes time.

And today (Thursday) was a bit manic as Bear Alley launched MYTEK THE MIGHTY — finally! It seems to have taken forever, especially as I completed work on all four books back in April. The bulk of the time since then has been spent waiting on printed proofs, corrected proofs and final proofs. The latter arrived last Saturday and I've been trying to think how best to launch the books. I was thinking maybe at the weekend.

However, my hand was forced by Jules Burt, who was doing a video and wanted to post it on Wednesday.. Who am I to argue with one of Booktube's finest (it's like Booktok for Youtube). that meant I spent today (yes, it's still Thursday) dodging about trying to sort out a few images and covers to launch the regular information column that gets posted on the Bear Alley Books site, posting details on Facebook and wondering whether I should do a little launch video as I've done for some books in the past. Maybe I can do that for the weekend. 

The first orders have come in and I'm processing them as they arrive. In between I've been reading my Prog magazine and playing Hall of the Mountain Grill by Hawkwind in memory of Simon House, who died recently. I went there once, the Mountain Grill in Notting Hill, and had a rather greasy cup of tea. 

But that's a story for another day. Now it's back to MYTEK... and hopefully there will be more over the weekend.