Rebellion Releases — 6 November 2024

A bit of a change of pace this week as we look ahead to some of the Treasury of British Comics releases you can expect to see next year.

Adam Eterno: Grunn the Grim by E. George Cowan, Chris Lowder (w), Solano Lopez (a)
Rebellion 978-183786470-6, 27 February 2025, 112pp, £14.99. Available via Amazon.
FOR THE FIRST TIME - ADAM JOURNEYS INTO THE FUTURE!
    Cursed by an old alchemist to live forever - unless struck from a weapon made of gold - Adam Eterno has gained the power to travel through the ages, fighting evil and injustice.
    Now Adam has been transported into a dystopian future where a cruel police regime led by Grunn the Grim, rule over the population with an iron fist...
    Written by Edward George Cowan (Robot Archie) and Chris Lowder (Dan Dare), with stunning art by Solano Lopez (Janus Stark), this book features Adam's first adventures published in Lion.

The Haunting of Jilly Johnson by Rafael Busóm Clúa (a)
Rebellion 978-183786539-0, 8 May 2025, 80pp, £14.99. Available via Amazon.
From the very first night in her new flat, Jilly Johnson is haunted by nightmares and calls out the name of a man who Jilly does not know. Spooked by a fortune teller, and by what she sees as the flat itself sending her messages, she becomes determined to find out more about the previous tenants, and the accident that led to the death of one of them. And then in The Island of Stones, two English tourists on holiday on a Greek island meet a modern master sculptor, known for his stone statues of the human form, and discover the secret of his success – the head of Medusa. This story acts as a showcase for Rafael Busom Clua, who initially caught the reader's eye with his incredibly stylish work on Sugar Jones.

Maroc the Mighty by Don Lawrence (a)
Rebellion 978-183786517-8, 22 May 2025, 96pp, £16.99. Available via Amazon.
Originally serialised in Lion, Maroc the Mighty is a action-packed adventure story about a thirteenth century superhero! A knight fighting in The Crusades, John Maroc comes into possession of the 'The Hand of Zar' - a magic amulet which grants its wearer superhuman strength, but only when bathed in the sun's rays.
    This medieval supehero strip was illustrated by Don Lawrence and published in Lion between his work on the Karl the Viking series and his beautifully-painted The Trigan Empire.

The Rise and Fall of the Trigan Empire Volume VI by Mike Butterworth (w), Oliver Frey (a)
Rebellion  ‎ 978-183786534-5, 17 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.

Rat Pack: Convict Commandos by Alan Hebden (w), Cam Kennedy, Eric Bradbury,
Rebellion 978-183786537-6, 17 July 2025, 128pp, £19.99. Available via Amazon.
Major Taggart leads the squad of four soldiers, court martialled for various offences and dubbed the Rat Pack. These soldiers are sent on do-or-die missions for the Allies during World War II, and despite them resent Taggart and not trusting each other, they must still complete their missions against the Nazi forces.
    With stories ranging from finding stolen diplomatic papers, destroying German-held dams in Norway, and hijacking Hitler’s personal train in order to steal Nazi war plans, this collection brings together the ultimate, and greatest, Rat Pack stories in one volume, with stunning art by Cam Kennedy and Eric Bradbury.

And now, this week's bumper crop of releases...

2000AD Prog 2407
Cover: Paul Williams.

JUDGE DREDD // THE COMFORT ZONE by Mike Carroll (w) Ben Willsher (c) Annie Parkhouse (l)
THE OUT // BOOK FOUR by Dan Abnett (w) Mark Harrison (a) Simon Bowland (l)
NIGHTMARE NEW YORK by Kek-W (w) John Burns (a) Annie Parkhouse (l)
AZIMUTH // THE FABLED BASILISK by Dan Abnett (w) Tazio Bettin (a) Matt Soffe (c) Jim Campbell (l)
ROGUE TROOPER // WHEN A G.I. DIES by Garth Ennis (w) Patrick Goddard (a) Rob Steen (l)

Scream! 40th Anniversary Special
Cover: Dani.

THE DRACULA FILE // HOMO SACER by Alex Paknadel (w) Alejandro Aragon (a) Jason Wordie (c) Jonathan Stevenson (l)
THE THIRTEENTH FLOOR by Torunn Gronbekk (w) Emily Schnall (a) Jonathan Stevenson (l)
AND HIS SKIN IS COLD by George Pooley & Anna Readman (w) Anna Readman (a) JP Jordan (c) Rob Steen (l)
INVERTED BURIAL by V.V. Glass (w & a) Jonathan Stevenson (l)

Treasury of British Comics Annual 2025 by Paul Grist, Alec Worley, Simon Furman, Ian Rimmer, Tom Tully, John Smith, Donne Avenall, Steve Moore (w) Simon Williams, Mike Collins, Anna Morozova, Carlos Ezquerra, Mike Western, Mick McMahon, Leo Baxendale, Ian Kennedy, John Burns, Frank Langford, Massimo Belardinelli, Eric Bradbury (a)
Rebellion 978-183786498-0, 6 November 2024, 112pp, £25.00. Available via Amazon.

Due to popular demand, Rebellion are celebrating the holiday season with another thrill-packed Treasury of British Comics Annual!
    We have delved in the IPC/Fleetway archive to bring you a selection of some of the greatest strips ever to appear in British comics, specials and annuals, from such esteemed titles as Scream!, Battle, Tiger, Valiant and Lion.
    This collection features three brand new stories from industry superstars including Simon Furman and Mike Collins on Kelly's Eye Vs The White Eyes, Alec Worley and Anna Morozova on Black Beth and Paul Grist and Simon Williams on Robot Archie.

Essential Judge Dredd: Tour of Duty Book Two by John Wagner, Al Ewing, Gordon Rennie (w) Simon Fraser, Carl Critchlow, Colin MacNeil, Cliff Robinson, PJ Holden, Mike Collins, Paul Marshall (a)
Rebellion 978-183786198-9, 6 November 2024, 224pp, £24.99. Available via Amazon.

The essential Judge Dredd graphic novel series – this is the ultimate introduction to the Lawman of the Future!
    After Dredd and Hershey’s decision to restore mutant access to Mega-City One is confronted with widespread criticism, Dan Francisco - a reality TV star who holds the people’s favour - challenges Hershey’s leadership as Chief Judge. Under his rule, the conditions of mutants across the Big Meg would be worse than ever. But when Judge Francisco is gunned down on camera in an alleged mutant attack, Dredd begins to suspect someone else might be masterminding the rushed election…

Eagle Times v37 no3 (Autumn 2024)

David Britton begins a new series studying the true historical backgrounds of various Jeff Arnold stories, much as he did in his previous series, about the Indian Wars. There can be downsides—I wrote an introduction to a story earlier this year, and discovered that the date given in the first line of the first panel was wrong. Similarly, Britton points out that the setting of the very first episode of Jeff Arnold—"Texas 1870—the Pecos County"—did not exist... Pecos County was created in 1871.

If you're like me, you won't let the odd inconsistency or error spoil the telling of a good story, and Jeff Arnold's creator Charles Chilton could certainly spin a good yarn. But it's still fun to pick at the loose threads as David does here.

Steve Winders offers a similarly detailed account of 'Danger Unlimited', a 1961-62 strip that featured two former Royal Marine Commandos hired to take a dispatch bag from Jamaica to Buenos Aires. The story was by radio and TV scriptwriter Leonard Fincham and Steve reveals that the basic plot was also used by the author for an episode of The Avengers.

Steve is back again for a look at the back page biography of 'Lincoln of America', which spanned 26 episodes in 1955. It takes the story from his tough childhood to his first job as a ferryman, his involvement in the Black Hawk War (pointing out a highly inaccurate image of Lincoln in uniform) and his work as a lawyer. The story will conclude next issue.

A change of pace brings us to Marie Severin, nothing to do with Eagle but an active artist in the 1950s, including colouring work for E.C. and drawing 'Doctor Strange' and 'Spider-Woman' amongst many others.

And another change of pace takes us to the Royal Oak, a Royal Navy battleship that was attacked by a German U-Boat at Scapa Flow. (Earlier this year, I dug out my copy of Gunther Prien's I Sank the Royal Oak, written shortly before his death in 1941, the cover of which appears on page 26 of my book Beyond the Void.)

Steve Winders begins another P.C. 49 story while David Britton rounds out the issue with an obituary of Ron French, a stalwart of the Eagle Society and regular at many Eagle Dinners, who died in July, aged 87.

This issue introduces a queries column and a quiz amongst its shorter features.

The quarterly Eagle Times is the journal of the Eagle Society, with membership costing £30 in the UK, £50 (in sterling) overseas. You can send subscriptions to Bob Corn, Mayfield Lodge, Llanbadoc, Usk, Monmouthshire NP15 1SY; subs can also be submitted via PayPal to membership@eagle-society.org.uk. Back issues are available for newcomers to the magazine and they have even issued binders to keep those issues nice and neat.

The Redemption of Andy Capp by Paul Slade

I doubt if there is a reader of this blog who hasn't heard of Andy Capp and I imagine nine out of ten has an opinion of the strip, good or bad. The strip began appearing in 1957 and is still a part of the Daily Mirror. I grew up in a house where the Mirror was our daily newspaper, but my favourite strips were 'The Perishers' and 'Garth'. As a kid I didn't need to read about a hard-drinking northerner, always arguing with his wife. I had enough of that at home.

Andy Capp has often been denounced as a drunken wife-beater and that's an accusation Paul Slade dives straight into in his essay collection The Redemption of Andy Capp. There must be more going on for the strip to have lasted almost seventy years, 15,000 strips drawn by his creator Reg Smythe, who died in 1998, at which time the strip was being syndicated to over 1,700 newspapers around the globe, translated into 14 languages and read daily by an estimated 250 million in 52 countries. There has to be more.

"It was a different time," some will argue, and indeed it was, with slapping and smacking far more acceptable than nowadays. Let's not forget that one in eleven women over the age of 16 suffers domestic abuse even now; things were a lot worse in the 1950s and 1960s. But Smythe was already cutting back on strips that involved violence by the early 1960s... or at least disguising the violence as a cloud of dust with a couple of fists and feet sticking out—impossible to know whether Andy or Flo was getting the better of the other.

Slade quotes Smythe, his niece (Helene de Klerk, author of My Dancing Bear) and others on the subject that Flo is no doormat in their relationship but the fact is that the strip has moved away from domestic violence  to the occasional thrown pan. Co-author Lawrence Goldsmith says of Andy's violent past "People still refer to Andy like that, but he hasn't actually been that way for over 40 years."

Slade's account of Smythe's upbringing paints the artist's parents as the models for Andy and Flo, Richard Smyth a heavy-drinking boat-builder in a flat cap  and Florrie Smyth (née Pearce) an argumentative barmaid, her hair in curlers and held in place with a scarf. Young Reg saw nothing more of his father after joining the army at 18., but his mother would later confirm that it was her relationship with Richard that was the basis for Andy and Flo.

After the war, Smythe found work as a clerk with the G.P.O., but his interest in drawing led him to approach editors and an agent, Charles Gilbert, who managed to sell two of his cartoons to Everybody's, earning the artist more than he earned from the Post Office. Thereafter, he churned out 60 cartoons a week in his evenings which meant he could marry and set up home.

He added the 'e' to his signature in the 1950s because he thought it looked classier and was soon working regularly for the Daily Mirror. In July 1957, while visiting his mother at 37 Durham Street, Hartlepool (later to become Andy & Flo's address), he received a telegram: "Mr Cudlipp needs a cartoon to appeal to Northern readers. You are wanted straight away." This was to appear on the 'Laughter' cartoon page of the Manchester edition of the paper.

Andy first appeared on 5 August 1957... but the rest of Andy's (and Reg Smythe's) story is for Paul Slade to tell, as he does in detail in his essay that takes up over 70 pages of his latest 190-page book. While Andy gives his name to the book's title, the eight essays and reviews in the book cover a broad range of comic-related subjects, including Tintin, Frank Miller's Born Again and Elektra: Assassin, and Peter Jackson's London is Stranger Than Fiction (full disclosure: there's a quote from me in the latter essay which caught me by surprise because I'd forgotten all about Paul mailing me some questions about Jackson).

The final piece was inspired by a nature talk given by David Attenborough about a caterpillar that fools ants into thinking it is an ant larvae; they treat it like a Queen until a butterfly emerges... but sometimes wasps lay their eggs in the caterpillar larvae and wasps emerge. It all sound horrifying and Slade has turned it into a very creepy comic strip (drawn by Hans Rickhelt).

Along the way there's a look at superhero court cases between Marvel and various creators (Jack Kirby, Siegel & Schuster, Steve Gerber, etc.) and a brief interview with 'Alex' co-creator Russell Taylor.

There should be something here for everyone and the centrepiece essay on Andy Capp is a fully-referenced and compelling argument that the character should be reassessed and not condemned for how he was—a wastrel born out of Smythe's own experiences—but appreciated for the world famous character he is.

The Redemption of Andy Capp by Paul Slade.
Self published, 26 August 2024, 191pp, £9.80. Available via Amazon.

• 6 Nov. Book Palace are to publish a collection of sample strips produced by John M. Burns and John Dakin over a period of 15 years.  JMB: The Unseen Art of John M. Burns is 68 pages and includes the 25-page unfinished epic 'A Surfeit of Assassins'.
  
• 3 Nov. Questions, questions: was Bernie Jaye the first British female writer for Marvel?  Or is it Alison Sampson, whose upcoming She-Devils project will appear in 2025? Rich Johnson sets out the arguments.
  
• 26 Oct. Alan Moore ponders on fandom, superheros and Trump. "The only thing uniting the assembly was its passion for an undervalued storytelling medium and, for the record, the consensus verdict of the gathered 15-year-old cognoscenti was that costumed musclemen were the main obstacle preventing adult audiences from taking comics seriously."
  
• 24 Oct. Good Omens will no longer have a third season, but will be ending with a 90-minute episode. Neil Gaiman is stepping back and will no longer be involved with the production in order for it to go forward and conclude the story. Filming will begin in Scotland next year. The Hollywood Reporter also reports that Anansi Boys has completed production nad is likely to be some time in 2025.
  
• 23 Oct. John Freeman has expanded his comprehensive look at the history of the Dan Dare TV show proposed by ATV in the late 1970s and how it tied in with the DD strip in 2000AD. Plus production art by Brendan McCarthy and Brian Bolland amongst others. Andrew Pixley has established that some test footage was shot: "An initial day in Studio A on Monday 8th September 1980 was cancelled, but two more test days were apparently spent recording in Studio B on Tuesday 9th and Wednesday 10th." I wonder if that footage will ever surface?
  
• 17 Oct. Yet another interview with Garth Ennis, with more about 'Johnny Red', 'Strontium Dog' and 2000AD. "I do enjoy the shorter episodes on Battle Action and 2000 AD– less space means more focus, and it’s nice to exercise that particular muscle again. That doesn’t mean I don’t write with the eventual collection in mind- that’s how stories like Rogue Trooper and Johnny Red are going to exist long-term, after all- but there’s still a particular pleasure to be found writing one-offs like Dredger, Hellman, or Strontium Dog/Robo Hunter."
  
• 15 Oct. Garth Ennis discusses bringing together two of 2000AD's most iconic characters, Strontium Dog and Robo-Hunter.  "John [Wagner] put enough original ideas into both characters that readers were constantly curious about them, we were always left wanting more. Their personalities, settings, supporting casts, technology and so on were endlessly intriguing, and their individual motivation meant we'd be getting plenty more."
• ... Garth is also interviewed on Word Balloon, the vodcast by John Siuntres. Follow along with the transcript. (video, 1h 4m)
  
• 15 Oct. Dave Gibbons is interviewed about 'For The Man Who Has Everything', the Alan Moore-scripted Superman story. “We sort of brought our own British sensibility towards the American material. So although we loved the notion of this distant Babylon that was New York City where you could make comic books, we rather liked being the people outside the city throwing rocks at it.”
  

Comic Cuts — 1 November 2024

23 days to go before the Paperback & Pulp Book Fair and the release of my latest book, DREAMING OF UTOPIA. The race is on!

I mentioned last week that I had a deadline if I was to guarantee publication of the book, which was that day, 25 October. Actually, to make allowances for the weekend, it should have been the 23rd or 24th. But I was still working on the final article last Friday, had it finished on Saturday, and designed on Sunday. Finished up a checklist and index on Monday, put in the page numbers and gave the whole thing a very quick check.

I was up nice and early on Tuesday to finish off the cover, which I usually have problems with. That proved to be the case here, as I uploaded the image as a wraparound only to discover it was slightly oversized despite me following the guideline about how big the spine should be. Resized the cover, reuploaded and now the change of size had moved the spine lettering slightly onto the front cover.

That was when George and John arrived — both Bear Alley Books writers. John is the subject of AND THE WHEELS WENT ROUND (the link takes you to Amazon) and George wrote A LAVERDA JOURNEY, about his trip around the world, which I designed for him. George is handling sales himself (which is why the book is "currently unavailable" on Amazon, but you can see the cover at the link) and if you want a copy, just drop me a line and I'll pass your request along to George.

It was just a social call, so we had a chat and then headed down to the pub for lunch, which was most enjoyable.

Later that afternoon, I was working on the cover again.... a slight nudge of the spine lettering to the left and everything was... not OK because I'd accidentally reworked the original, which was the slightly too big version despite me renaming it so that I didn't do precisely that. After tinkering with the resized version (and with the rejected version now deleted), I had the lettering almost right, but decided to take it down a couple of points to allow for the slight movement of the printing machines. 

I finally got everything just so and now I'm waiting on a printed proof to see how the colours come out.

Of course, ten minutes after paying for the printed proof, I realised I'd forgotten to put in the little end-stop I always create for the last line of articles. D'oh.

So, Tuesday the 29th was the day I ordered proofs. I will probably need a second proof before ordering a print run and I have 25 days rather than 30. Should be do-able (he says confidently), but I had a mare of a job getting the Badger Books book just so... so I'm not counting all my chickens before they hatch. But I'm hopeful—and keeping my fingers crossed—that you'll see copies on sale at the Book Fair.

I managed to catch up on a few things on Wednesday and Thursday, including backing-up quite a lot of files that had built up while I was nose to the grindstone, catching up on e-mail, looking into the background of an artist called 'Dubarry', which is obviously not his real name, but neither was his 'real' name as he was born under another name entirely. I also mowed the lawn and read a bit of a book, because that's how exciting my life is when I'm not writing. Oh, I am going to visit a little local art gallery shortly because we met and liked the artist who is exhibiting a while back and it will be great to see what she has come up with in the meantime.

A bit of culture after dealing with some of those old Utopian covers with their naked ladies. It is amazing to think that they could get away with this during and just after the war. These slim booklets are incredibly scarce nowadays and included highly collectable authors like Robert Bloch and John Wyndham (hiding behind the pen-name Johnson Harris).

Notice that I have yet to reveal the cover... that's a deliberate choice. I'm waiting to see that the colour proof looks OK before I show it off! Hopefully next week...

In the meantime, I have the text to proof.

Rebellion Releases — 30 October 2024

It's a bumper issue of 2000 AD which features a standalone Judge Dredd, as well as The Out, Nightmare New York, and Rogue Trooper's latest instalments. Add to that a mad crossover by Garth Ennis and Henry Flint which pits Robo-Hunter Vs Strontium Dog, a Tharg's Thriller by the winner of last year's Thought Bubble Talent Search, Ed Whiting, as well as artist Dave Taylor - oh, and Azimuth returns as well??

Tharg's got this one fit to bursting!

2000AD Prog 2406 — BUMPER-SIZED ISSUE
Cover: John McCrea / Mike Spicer (cols).

In this issue:
JUDGE DREDD // RETURN OF THE DEAD CHIEF JUDGES’ SOCIETY by Ken Niemand (w) Dan Cornwell (a) Matt Soffe (c) Annie Parkhouse (l)
THE OUT // BOOK FOUR by Dan Abnett (w) Mark Harrison (a) Simon Bowland (l)
New! THARG'S TERROR TALES // CELL THERAPY by Ed Whiting (w) Dave Taylor (a) Jim Campbell (l)
NIGHTMARE NEW YORK by Kek-W (w) John Burns (a) Annie Parkhouse (l)
New! AZIMUTH // THE FABLED BASILISK by Dan Abnett (w) Tazio Bettin (a) Matt Soffe (c) Jim Campbell (l)
New! ROBO-HUNTER VS STRONTIUM DOG by Garth Ennis (w) Henry Flint (a) Rob Steen (l)
BRINK // CONSUMED by Dan Abnett (w) INJ Culbard (a) Simon Bowland (l)
ROGUE TROOPER // WHEN A G.I. DIES by Garth Ennis (w) Patrick Goddard (a) Rob Steen (l)

Comic Cuts — 25 October 2024

I'm in a race to get the next book finished. It's called Dreaming of Utopia, a history of Utopian Publications and some related publishers that involved Lloyd Cole and Benson Herbert, whose publishing careers were briefly entwined. So this will be short.

I'm seventy or so pages in with one article to go, so I'm getting close. However, I know how long the proofing and printing process takes, and it's unlikely that I'll have everything right straight out of the gate, so that's two proofs before I hit the button to get copies for the Paperback & Pulp Book Fair on November 24th. Working backwards, and allowing 8-10 days for each printing to arrive, that means I should finish work on the book TODAY. Unfortunately, there's still one article left to finish and design before I start checking through everything.

I can jump one step and upload the book and order myself a proof just to check that all the colour in the book works. Then proof the text while I wait for that to arrive. If the colours look fine, I can make any last-minute corrections and upload the (should it need to be) revised version and order the second proof. Normally I'm aiming to get everything right first time, but the turnaround time means doing this arse about face.

That's about it for news... Hibernia have a new book out collecting 'Slave of the Screamer' which I wrote the introduction for, so please support that so they ask me back. Rebellion have announced the 'Maroc the Mighty' reprint, which, again, I've written the intro for. PHANTOM PATROL continues to sell, maybe a copy a day, so it's not making me rich in monetary terms, but it does my heart good to know that the book is finally available to readers. We got a great review in SFX, where it was described as "the perfect blast from the past" and given four stars. There's a link to my eBay shop to the left—let your spouse/significant other know you want a copy for Christmas!

That's the lot. I'm rushing to get this posted Friday morning. By this evening I need to have that final article written and in place. Wish me luck!

Commando 5795-5798

As Halloween approaches, we’ve got the next creepy crop of boo-tifully illustrated Commandos to make you howl at the moon! Issues 5795-5798 go on sale from today, 24th October, 2024.

5795: Strange Frequencies

The camp is deserted, no sign of life anywhere. But what’s that you hear among the shifting sands in the barren North African desert? Maybe in the distance there is the drum and thump of artillery like a heartbeat, but not here, not even the howls of the wind interrupt the horrible stillness.
    That is until you hear it… the crackling of a radio set to a strange frequency, and the rasping, ghoulish voice calling your name…
    “Listen.…You must listen…You must listen…”
    This fangtastic story of a haunted radio from creepmeister Dan McGachey features fa-BOO-lous art by Juan Fernandez and a bone-chilling cover by Marco Bianchini. Definitely not one to read with the lights off!

Story: Daniel McGachey
Art: Juan Fernandez
Cover: Marco Bianchini

5796: Castle of Doom

They stood face to face and shook hands like the best of friends. One was Major Pete Lambert and the other, Franz Becker, an officer in the hated German SS. And all around them were hot guns smoking and the acrid smell of war...
    This is one castle you don’t want to trick or treat at! A classic Commando adventure written by writer Allan to get the blood pumping – just watch out for vampires! Featuring some grisly cover and interior art by Gordon C Livingstone.

Story: Allan
Art: Gordon C Livingstone
Cover: Gordon C Livingstone
First published as No. 474

5797: The QM’s Storeroom of Secrets

Ey up, ghouls and creeps! Feast your eyes on Commando’s first‑ever anthology of horror!
    Included in this creepy Commando are six supernatural tales I’ve collected from my storeroom!
    From crows to bats, from thieves to murderers and from witches to vampires — there’s something for everyone here in Commando!
    From queen of scream Georgia Standen Battle comes an anthology of terrifying tales to give you more fang for your buck. This issue is a Commando first – featuring art from six different artists and six different stories, it’s a veritable coven of spooktacular artists! PLUS there’s a haunting cover by Manuel Benet!

Story: Georgia Standen Battle
Art: Various
Cover: Manuel Benet

5798: Ghost Tiger

Deep in the steaming jungle of India, where the tiger is king, there dwelt a sinister spirit. It was known as Thuggee Raj, a ghost tiger which nightly prowled the forest paths, striking terror into every heart.
    Any man who scoffed at it was foolish indeed, for Thuggee Raj had a power no man could overcome — the power of life and death!
    What’s worse than a man-eating tiger? A man-eating tiger that also happens to be a ghost! This clawsome story was dug out of the deep jungle of the Commando archives especially for you to sink your teeth into this spooky season!

Story: Lomas
Art: Boluda
Cover: Ian Kennedy
First published as No. 1084

Rebellion Releases — 23 October 2024

Battle Action #3 features Johnny Red and Hookjaw!

In A Couple of Heroes part 3, Johnny Red must pilot the Flying Gun over the Arctic Ocean on a mission to stop the development of a strain of cholera as a weapon of mass murder. But with the conclusion of the war seemingly inevitable, Johnny cannot help but think about his missing partner, Nina Petrova, and what he needs to do to be reunited with her. Garth Ennis and Keith Burns ramp up the stakes in this final Johnny Red story.

And in the bonus feature, the star of Action – Hook Jaw, the great white shark, is back! Brought to you by Steve White and John McCrea, Hook Jaw must face off against a Killer Whale, as a nature documentary team and a group of shark conservationists get between them. Who will make it out alive?…

Battle Action #3 is out on the 30th October.

And now, this week's releases...

2000AD Prog 2405
Cover: INJ Culbard

In this issue:
JUDGE DREDD // HATER by Ken Niemand (w) Silvia Califano (a) Giulia Brusco (c) Annie Parkhouse (l)
THE OUT // BOOK FOUR by Dan Abnett (w) Mark Harrison (a) Simon Bowland (l)
NIGHTMARE NEW YORK by Kek-W (w) John Burns (a) Annie Parkhouse (l)
BRINK // CONSUMED by Dan Abnett (w) INJ Culbard (a) Simon Bowland (l)
ROGUE TROOPER // WHEN A G.I. DIES by Garth Ennis (w) Patrick Goddard (a) Rob Steen (l)

Comic Cuts — 18 October 2024

Photo: Andy Yates

The big event this week was the Colchester Comic Swap Meet that took place on Saturday. I had been preparing for this for some while, but there were still some last minute bumps in the road to deal with.

The first was solved by Swap Meet organiser Karl Kennedy, who, knowing of the over-stretched tendons in my shoulder, offered to pick up a couple of boxes of books from Wivenhoe and drop them off at the venue, the Baptist Chuch in Eld Lane, in Colchester. I packed up most of the copies that I carry as stock... which is where the second bump occurred. Karl picked up the books on Thursday evening, and on Friday morning, I had three book orders which immediately cleared me out of three titles.

I'd tried to avoid shutting down my shops, but there was no option but to pause both Amazon and eBay sales until after the show.

There was a second question as to whether I would have enough copies of THE PHANTOM PATROL to hand as I had two orders in with the printer and the first had only just arrived. It looked like the second might not turn up until Monday, but, thankfully, it turned up on Friday. Rather than lug twenty copies in on the bus, it was agreed that Mel would bring them in later as she was getting a lift into town by car.

Saturday started with me hopping on the bus and arriving in the city (yes, Colchester is a city!) just as the shops were opening up. First port of call was a shoe shop to buy some new shoes, which I wore out of the shop, carrying the other pair to Timpson's in the hope that they could be sole and heeled—at the very least made waterproof so that they could be used as "gardening shoes", which is the fate of two earlier pairs of shoes.

Things were already busy at the venue when I walked in. I was to have one of the tables nearest the door and I could see the three boxes I'd packed up two days earlier. It didn't take long to lay out the books in a sensible order, with the new books and other comic strips as a first row nearest the customer, then indexes as a second row and then everything else. I'd taken a few examples of other things I've produced, including THE TRIALS OF HANK JANSON, so that people could see the range.

I think I had over twenty books available, but the comic strip reprints were the ones I expected to sell on the day, and THE PHANTOM PATROL especially. Which proved true. Almost immediately, I sold two, three, and then four copies. Over the next half hour a handful of others were sold, and I was on the phone to Mel asking whether it would be possible for her to bring ALL of the copies we had in the house.

Like last year, it's a fairly quiet, but steady show, but people are there to buy. I sold more books this time than last, but it's almost impossible to predict what people will want. I sold out of one book last year so I made sure I had copies to hand this time... didn't sell a single one. But that was made up for by sales of other books that I almost hadn't brought because there seemed to be no interest last time.

I ended the day £480 better off.  OK, that might not be all profit, because of the cost of printing and getting the books to me, but it was a very satisfying amount, and more than paid for my new shoes, which was my target for the day. I celebrated quietly with myself by buying a book and a sausage bap.

The book—a copy of DAN DARE ON MARS in a nice dust jacket—was one I'd only ever seen in the collection of John Allen-Clark, my late Eagle-collecting pal, who had most of the Eagle novels and from whom I bought a collection of the girls' titles (Susan of St. Bride's, etc.) thirty years ago. I've always wanted to read Basil Dawson's novel, although I gather it's not the greatest SF novel of the era (1956). It is, however, one of the few Dan Dare stories I've never read, so the chance to pick it up at what I thought a very reasonable price was too good to miss.

The art show by Stuart and Ed was a highlight, as was getting to meet Keith Burns, Commando and Johnny Red artist extraordinaire. I also met Andy Sawyers, an exceptional artist from The 77. Stephen Hume, who writes for Commando, was also selling comics, as was my swap meet neighbour, Vic Whittle, who runs the British Picture Libraries website. It was good to chat to people I met at the last Meet, such as James Bacon and Andy Yates; although it was a steady day rather than frenetic, there was still never enough time to chat to everyone at length.

I spent Sunday doing a stock take, reordering books, catching up on sleep, lazing around and moaning about how my new shoes had torn my heels up. That's new shoes for you.

Monday: good day of work on the new book, which is called DREAMING OF UTOPIA; Tuesday, was spent writing one of the last two essays for the book and cleaning up artwork to illustrate it; unfortunately, Wednesday was a write-off as large parts of the day were taken up shopping and attending an eye test at an inconvenient clinic two miles from the bus route. For that I put on an old pair of shoes that I knew would be more comfortable than the new ones. Thursday has also been a write-off as I spent the morning shuffling files around various external drives to create some space on my laptop and the afternoon... well, I'm writing this and sorting out pictures for you as we're heading out this evening to see Kiri Pritchard-McLean at the local Arts Centre.

Hopefully I can get back onto the book tomorrow...

Rebellion Releases — 18 October 2024

This December, if you hear the sound of tiny feet pattering across your roof, then cower in fear: the Thrill-Suckers are predicted to be out in force this Christmas! The only known way to blast them away and ensure you keep your Thrill-Power levels at the accepted hyper-dangerous level required to keep the festive spirit blazing?

The 2000 AD Christmas Mega-Spectacular, out on the 18th December and featuring over 100 pages of the finest comics excitement imaginable!

The Galaxy’s Greatest Comic marks the end of another year with the traditional festive blowout – featuring the start of several new ongoing stories for the Prog, alongside a hearty host of special surprises! Tharg’s Thrills for this year’s special include:

    Judge Dredd: Life Lessons by Ken Niemand and David Roach
    Fiends of the Western Front: Wilde West by Ian Edginton and Tiernen Trevallion
    Portals and Black Goo: A Quorum of Fiends by John Tomlinson and Eoin Coveney
    Hawk the Slayer: The Last of Her Kind by Alec Worley and Simon Coleby
    The Out: Book Four by Dan Abnett and Mark Harrison

But that’s not all! In addition to these all-new Thrills, the Christmas Mega-Special will also include some one-off surprises and familiar faces, including:

    Azimuth: Santa’s Little Helpers by Dan Abnett and Tazio Bettin
    Rogue Trooper: The Hot Zone by Karl Stock and Ilias Kyriazis
    Thistlebone: The Eel of Harrowvale Pond by T.C. Eglington and Simon Davis
    Tharg’s Future Shocks: Tis The Season for Taking by Rob Williams and Pye Parr
    Strontium Dog: Doghouse Roses by Garth Ennis and Henry Flint

A stacked sampling of the most stupendous stories imaginable, we’re sure you agree!

All this, and the glowing emerald visage of The Mighty One himself welcoming readers old and new to the issue, thanks to a festive cover from Andy Clarke?

Grud bless us, every one!

The 2000 AD Christmas Mega-Spectacular will be out on the 18th December – pre-order yours now to save yourself the sleigh ride and have it delivered straight to your door! If you already have a 2000 AD subscription, you will receive this issue automatically with no additional charge – blessings be!

And now, this week's releases...

2000AD Prog 2404
Cover: Dan Cornwell / Dylan Teague (cols)

In this issue:
JUDGE DREDD // HATER by Ken Niemand (w) Silvia Califano (a) Giulia Brusco (c) Annie Parkhouse (l)
THE OUT // BOOK FOUR by Dan Abnett (w) Mark Harrison (a) Simon Bowland (l)
NIGHTMARE NEW YORK by Kek-W (w) John Burns (a) Annie Parkhouse (l)
BRINK // CONSUMED by Dan Abnett (w) INJ Culbard (a) Simon Bowland (l)
ROGUE TROOPER // WHEN A G.I. DIES by Garth Ennis (w) Patrick Goddard (a) Rob Steen (l)

Judge Dredd Megazine #473
Cover: Cliff Robinson / Dylan Teague (cols)

In this issue:
JUDGE DREDD // LAWMEN OF THE FUTURE by Ken Niemand (w) Dan Cornwell (a) Matt Soffe (c) Annie Parkhouse (l)
DEATH CAP // FRONTIER JUSTICE by T.C. Eglington (w) Boo Cook (c) Simon Bowland (l)
FARGO & MCBANE // NEW YORK'S FINEST by Ken Niemand (w) Anna Readman (a) Quinton Winter (c) Annie Parkhouse (l)
DEVLIN WAUGH // TWO MONTHS OFF by Alex Kot (w) PJ Holden (a) Jack Davies (c) Jim Campbell (l)
JUDGE DREDD: FALSE WITNESS by Brandon Easton (w) Kei Zama (a) Eva De La Cruz (c) Shawn Lee (l)
PANDORA PERFECT: PERFECT SOUNDS by Roger Langridge (w) Gary Welsh (a) John Charles (c) Simon Bowland (l)
CADET RICO // THE CYCLE by Liam Johnson (w) Rob Richardson (a) Jim Campbell (l)
LAWLESS // A TOWN CALLED BADROCK by Dan Abnett (w) Phil Winslade (a) Simon Bowland (l)

Comic Cuts — 11 October 2024

It was a dark and stormy night—or Tuesday as we call it here in Wivenhoe. We were meant to be catching the 6.57 bus that evening and for the previous 20 minutes it had been bucketing down, the rain accompanied by long rumbles of thunder.

We were off to see Rhys Nicholson, Aussie comedian we know from various panel shows, The Week and the new Australian Taskmaster series. It looked like we were going to arrive wet and uncomfortable, but the rain eased and, apart from a couple of startling lightening flashes—counting between the flash and the growls in the clouds showed that the storm was moving further away—we stood waiting for the bus in a light drizzle and stepped off the bus in Colchester where it was wet underfoot but no longer raining.

I mention "wet underfoot" because I'd discovered that the sole of my shoe had a worn patch, and the underside of my sock was starting to feel damp. Thankfully that was the worst of our soggy trip up to the Arts Centre and it was a shame the rain put off so many because Nicholson deserved more than the slim audience who braved the storm.

Nicholson packed more words into an hour and a half than any other comedian we've see; frenetic but precise, they deliver funny line after funny line about their life, their marriage, their attitude to having children, all of which veer off into sidetracks and wanders down alleyways at the drop of a hat with ADHD.

Fast and occasionally furious, sardonic and sometimes sarcastic, they had us in stitches.

Wednesday I went to visit the physio again about my shoulder tendon. After being prodded a couple of times and then doing some avant garde ballet ("lift up your arm like this... now bend it back like this... any pain? Now hold your arm like this...") the physio confirmed that it was a rotator cuff problem, which we knew; I discussed the exercises I had been doing for the past month which have had no positive effect, so I was told to keep doing them and if any of them hurt, stop doing that one. It'll take time.

Well, it's already been seven months, and I'm not sure if mixed messages like "Give your arm plenty of rest, but keep it moving and keep up the exercises" helps.

On a happier note, I've started designing the next book. Haven't got very far yet, and it's way too early to start showing things off yet, but I have a front cover and a title page and an opening spread. And hopefully, but the time you read this, I'll have a few more pages done.

The header teases a couple of cover illustrations by the remarkable H.W. Perl that I'll be using in the book.

Commando 4791-4794

As we charge once again into Halloween territory, we find ourselves faced with some spooktacular new stories over our next couple of sets! Issues 5791-5794 go on sale from today, 10th October, 2024!

5791: The Mummy’s Tomb

Four British soldiers stood on ground untouched for centuries. While the battle for North Africa raged above them, their greedy eyes fixed on the treasure of the ancient Egyptian tomb. Each man took a prize to cash in once the war had ended — canopic jars containing the mummy’s organs.  
Four men, four jars…each doomed to suffer the mummy’s curse.
    From acclaimed writer of Commandos Vs Zombies, Georgia Standen Battle, comes a creepy tale of murder, betrayal and ancient curses that’ll leave you asking for your mummy. With terrific hieroglyphics from Jaume Forns and Marco Bianchini, there’s plenty to get wrapped up in!

Story: Georgia Standen Battle
Art: Jaume Forns
Cover: Marco Bianchini

5792: Ghost Pilot

Piloting a lurching bomb‑loaded Lancaster through the flame‑lit, shell‑torn night skies of Germany needed nerves of steel. Bomber pilots were a tough, cheery bunch. They had to be.
Then into a squadron came the strange, young pilot with pure white hair and burning, bitter eyes, and raids began to go wrong. Bombs were wasted on grass fields. Nazi Ack‑Ack guns and fighters were ready and waiting for our bombers, even on surprise raids. Plane after vulnerable plane was lost without trace.
The time came when questions had to be asked — and the answers given by the white-haired pilot started up the whisper of “Traitor!”
    The first classic reprint this week is a hair-raising story by Gardener. Last published in 1972, the artwork by Peter Ford is a cut above the rest, and the wig-nificent Ken Barr cover is so scary good, it’ll turn your hair white!

Story: Gardener
Art: Peter Ford
Cover: Ken Barr
First published as No 117

5793: The Demon of Selva Oscura

July 1943. As war rages across Europe, the Italian village of Selva Oscura has grown eerily quiet. Troubled SOE captain, Simon Peters, has been tasked with securing the strategic territory. Unbeknownst to him, the sadistic Oberst Faustmann rules over Selva Oscura with a strange power. Why can none of the villagers escape through the surrounding forests? What was it that the Nazis uncovered in the catacombs beneath the ancient church?
    Our next ghoulish offering features both a truly demonic cover and unholy artwork by the prince of darkness himself, Carlos Pino. Alongside a delightfully hellish script by Kate Dewar, this is one Commando worth selling your soul for.

Story: Kate Dewar
Art: Carlos Pino
Cover: Carlos Pino

5793: River of Death

They took Jim Chalmers off Hurricanes because they reckoned he’d lost his nerve, fought too many dogfights with Zeroes. They gave him a lumbering Dakota on a routine job ferrying supplies from one base to another. Jim didn’t like this at all, but he needn’t have worried. There were wilder days coming, days when he would have no plane at all, when he’d be up against the Japanese and jungle on the…RIVER OF DEATH
    We’re off to the jungle for our final reprint of the week, this time from 1971. With yet another iconic cover from the legendary Ian Kennedy, oar-some art by Gonzalez and a script by Fitzsimmons with more twists and turns than the mighty Rio Grande, this is one that’s sure to make a splash!

Story: Fitzsimmons
Art: Gonzalez
Cover: Ian Kennedy
First published as No. 582

Rebellion Releases — 9 October 2024

Christmas just got Thrill-powered again – Rebellion is proud to announce the return of the 2000 AD Annual!

After an absence of three decades, the first 2000 AD Annual of the 21st Century arrives in November – in plenty of time to make it under the tree – from all good comic book stores, as well as the 2000 AD webshop!

This gorgeous hardcover collection will feature a mix of brand new and classic stories from top creators – but what’s actually inside the Annual? Let’s take a look under the cover:

JUDGE DREDD: CHIMPSURRECTION by Chris Condon (w), Fernando Blanco (a), Edward Teach (c), Jonathan Stevenson (l)
STRONTIUM DOG by Simon Spurrier (w), Hayden Sherman (a), Jonathan Stevenson (l)
ROGUE TROOPER by Alex Paknadel (w), Jake Lynch (a), Dylan Teague (c), Jonathan Stevenson (l)
LAWLESS by Dan Abnett (w), Phil Winslade (a)
ANDERSON: SPA DAY by Maura McHugh (a), Emma Vieceli (a), Barbara Nosenzo (c), Ellie De Ville (l) reprinted from 2000AD Sci-Fi Special 2018
TALES FROM THE BLACK MUSEUM: CULT STATUS by Rory McConville (w), Staz Johnson (a), Simon Bowlalnd (l) reprinted from Judge Dredd Megazine 381, 2017
MEAN MACHINE: JUDGEMENT ON GOSHAM by John Wagner (w), Mike McMahon (a), Gordon Robson (l) reprinted from Judge Dredd Yearbook 1994
ROGUE TROOPER by Gerry Finley-Day (a), Dave Gibbons (a/l) reprinted from 2000AD Prog 228, 1981
JUDGE DREDD: HEARTBEAT by John Wagner & Alan Grant (w), Ian Gibson (a) reprinted from Daily Star, 1989

And now, this week's releases...

2000AD Prog 2403
Cover: Andy Clarke.

JUDGE DREDD // HATER by Ken Niemand (w) Silvia Califano (a) Giulia Brusco (c) Annie Parkhouse (l)
THE OUT // BOOK FOUR by Dan Abnett (w) Mark Harrison (a) Simon Bowland (l)
NIGHTMARE NEW YORK by Kek-W (w) John Burns (a) Annie Parkhouse (l)
BRINK // CONSUMED by Dan Abnett (w) INJ Culbard (a) Simon Bowland (l)
ROGUE TROOPER // WHEN A G.I. DIES by Garth Ennis (w) Patrick Goddard (a) Rob Steen (l)

Fiends of the Eastern Front Volume 2 by Ian Edginton & Tiernen Trevallion
Rebellion ISBN 978-183786258-0, 8 October 2024, 176pp, £19.99. Available via Amazon.

In 1970, Lieutenant Tim Wilson is haunted by the memories of war – not just the bloodshed of the battlefield, but the horrors witnessed at the hand of Captain Constanta, who rescued him after a gruesome encounter with the King-Bats of Maximilian Von Klorr – the Black Max himself! Years later, Lt. Wilson sets out on a journey to hunt down Constanta in his native Romania, and uncovers his origins among beasts and creatures of magic.
    Collecting the work of Ian Edginton and Tiernen Trevallion, the second omnibus of Fiends of the Eastern Front follows Constanta’s bloody trail across history, and brings monstrous terror from the skies of wartime France to the streets of 1960s London.