Comic Cuts — 13 June 2025

I'm back on track with the Air Ace Companion. I mentioned a fortnight ago that I might have something to show you within the fortnight and I have actually started doing layouts. Admittedly, as of writing I haven't got very far but I have got through the sitting in front of a blank page, trying to think of an easy-on-the-eye style that I can lay the pages out in. 

I've adapted slightly the way I've designed my recent books on Badger and Utopian Publications and, like them, the book will be printed in colour. It'll cost a bit more, but I want to make best use of the Air Ace cover artwork that I have photographs of—while they would reproduce OK in black & white, you wouldn't get the full, glorious impact that you get in colour.

I finished what should be the last of the biographical essays on Monday—I say should be because it isn't unknown for me to change things or add things at the last minute: for Forgotten Authors vol. 5 I wrote a last-minute essay because one of the intended essays was written in too much the same style as another; there was nothing wrong with the piece that was dropped and it will turn up in a later volume.

Where was I? Oh, yes, the last essay... I think there's one piece that needs some rewriting and some have yet to be checked through, but the book will run to roughly 40,000 words. 

Air Ace aside, it has been a deadly quiet week. Yes, I spent a little time in the garden, but not much—enough to fill the bin that we have to use nowadays and which we pay extra for... so I make sure I don't waste any of the collections. I wanted to clear one area in particular which is a popular pathway for cats. Since our neighbours moved away, taking their two cats with them, we've seen an increase in the number of other cats wandering through now they've realised our garden is unclaimed territory. There's a big, fluffy grey cat that looks a bit of a bruiser that we've seen on a couple of mornings, although there is also a second cat, a tortoiseshell, that we've seen in the evening. Maybe they're both claiming territory and their schedules are not overlapping.

One interesting find: a little while back, I mentioned a trip to IPC's artwork storage warehouse in Camden Town. That's where all the artwork for the war libraries was discovered. Well, I've found a short video that I filmed at the time. I'm not quite sure what to do with it but I'll figure out some way of letting everyone see it. In the meantime, I grabbed a couple of screenshots of War Picture Library artwork. If you saw how it was stored you'd probably cry!

Time to get back to laying out a few more pages... the next essay is about Graham Coton, so you can guarantee that there will be at least one full page pic. I really like Graham Coton's work.

Codename Warlord Volume 2

Britain’s best spy and most well-known coward, Lord Peter Flint is back in Codename: Warlord Volume 2 – out 16th July!

Storming onto the comic book market in 1974, Warlord soon became a fast and firm favourite of young readers in Britain and further afield. 

Well remembered for its eponymous strip, Codename: Warlord featured the secret agent Lord Peter Flint – Britain’s best spy and most well-known coward! Flint’s tales of derring-do along with his identity card and codebook thrilled readers of Warlord for over 600 issues before it ceased publication in 1984.

In 2019, Flint graced the comic world once again with his reboot in Britain’s longest running war comic, Commando , proving that you just can’t keep a man like Flint down! Codename: Warlord returned to Commando in 2024 and again in 2025. Both rip roaring issues have been collected alongside continuing adventures from the original 1974 comic run as DC Thomson’s Heritage Comics and Commando present… Codename: Warlord Volume 2!
 
200 pages of red hot comic artwork and behind-the-scenes looks at the iconic covers and strips as featured in the legendary Warlord !

Preorder now for delivery in late July from Amazon, www.Magsdirect.co.uk or DC Thomson Shop here: www.dcthomsonshop.co.uk/warlord2 

Rebellion Releases — 11 June 2025

BATTLE ACTION RETURNS WITH A COLLECTION OF NINE NEW STORIES, NOW WITH MORE ACTION!

This compendium features the return of Action favourites Hook Jaw and the controversial Death Game, one of the stories responsible for the suspension of Action in 1976, alongside new adventures for Angel of Death Nina Petrova, and El Mestizo- the Civil War-era bounty hunter on the trail of a double agent whose loyalty cannot be assumed to belong to either army. Hellman takes A Walk in the Woods – and discovers the terrible truth of the cause he’s been fighting for. Major Eazy assists American commandos with the invasion of Sicily, and with protecting Malati Bridge. And find out how Dredger became the stone-cold agent that everyone fears and only a mother could love.

Writer Garth Ennis (Preacher, The Boys) is joined by an incredible roster of top-tier talent, with stories by original Battle Action writer John Wagner (Judge Dredd, Robo-Hunter), Brian K. Vaughan (Saga, Y: The Last Man), Torunn Gronbekk (Thor, Red Sonja), Rob Williams (Suicide Squad, Petrol Head) and Dan Abnett (Guardians of the Galaxy, Lawless), and featuring art by industry greats including Chris Burnham (Batman, Doom Patrol), Henry Flint (Hawk The Slayer) and John Higgins (Watchmen, Dreadnoughts).

For this third collection of stories, readers can pick up either the standard edition hardback which features characters including Hookjaw, El Mestizo, Major Easy and Nina Petrova – or a special webshop-exclusive edition with all-new cover artwork from Nina Petrova artist Patrick Goddard! There’s blazing Battle Action on every page!

Battle Picture Weekly was where the revolution in British comics began. Created in 1975 by writers and editors Pat Mills and John Wagner, it introduced new grittiness into comics with its cast of anti-heroes and misfits. Its bombast and energy sparked a sea-change in what comics could do, leading to Mills’ creation of the controversial Action and the globally influential 2000 AD.

The new Battle Action mini-series celebrates the merging of this landmark title with its controversial stablemate, Action, a combination that took the two comics to even greater heights. Now, more than forty years after the original, some of the cream of British comics talent are bringing these classic characters back to life.

This volume contains:

    KIDS RULE OK by Brian K. Vaughan and Chris Burnham
    HMS NIGHTSHADE by John Wagner and Dan Cornwell
    HOOKJAW by Steve White, PJ Holden and John McCrea
    EL MESTIZO by Rob Williams and Henry Flint
    DEATH GAME by Dan Abnett and Tom Foster
    HELLMAN by Garth Ennis and Mike Dorey
    MAJOR EAZY by Rob Williams and Henry Flint
    DREDGER by Garth Ennis and John Higgins
    NINA PETROVA AND THE ANGELS OF DEATH by Torunn Grønbekk and Patrick Goddard

Available from 24 September in standard hardback edition and web exclusive hardcover both of which can be pre-ordered now.

And now, this week's releases...

2000AD Prog 2436
Cover: Joe Currie.

JUDGE DREDD // THE FIRST 100 by Dan Abnett (w) Colin MacNeil (a) Chris Blythe (c) Annie Parkhouse (l)
ROGUE TROOPER // TIDES OF WAR by Andi Ewington (w) Paul Marshall (a) Pippa Bowland (c) Jim Campbell (l)
GHOSTED // BOOK ONE by Guy Adams (w) Megan Huang (a) Simon Bowland (l)
SILVER // PERFIDIOUS by Mike Carroll (w) Joe Currie (a) Simon Bowland (l)
SCARLET TRACES // EMPIRE OF BLOOD by Ian Edginton (w) D'Israeli (a) Annie Parkhouse (l)

Battle Action #10
Cover: Keith Burns

JOHNNY RED // A COUPLE OF HEROES by Garth Ennis (w) Keith Burns (a) Jason Wordie (c) Rob Steen (l)

Johnny Red’s final adventure comes to an end in “A Couple Of Heroes”. With the odds stacked against him, and the fate of the war in the balance, will he make it out alive?

Comic Cuts — 6 June 2025

I'll not lie: June has not started well. A cock-up at the printers meant that I didn't receive my final proof copies of the Mytek books as expected. Instead, I received the copies of Phantom Patrol I ordered and, eventually, a refund... but that was not what I wanted.

So the order for the proofs is in again, which puts me at the back of the queue once more. Hopefully I'll have them in enough time to take some copies to Stoke, as I'm due to appear at the next Comic Mart run by the Commando and British Weeklies comics group.

In the meantime I've been busy on the Air Ace companion doing a lot of the dull stuff, like looking through the old lists looking for typos and spelling mistakes, double-checking (where I can) the information David Roach and I compiled over the years to make sure any mistakes are corrected.  (I should add that there haven't been many given the huge scope of the book we did, but I've found a handful.)

I also scanned a handful of copies of Air Ace that I had sitting in the living room, which adds to the pile of images I will have to draw from when I start laying out the book. I'm writing up another little essay that I thought would be a useful one to have in the book — and which I need to get back to because I've about two dozen tabs open on the laptop at the moment with a dozen pages in Spanish and a dozen Google translates on the go!

Since the Paperback & Pulp Book Fair (now a fortnight ago... how time flies!), it has been a case of inching slowly forward with the Air Ace Companion, sometimes inching backwards when I discover something is wrong or some new information, and then inching forwards again. Unfortunately, that makes rather dull reading in these columns, for which I apologise. 

The warm weather has allowed me to continue my war with the alkanet, the pervasive wildflower/weed that has plagued our garden for years. There was an area at the bottom of the back garden where I allowed it to grow, as it is a bee friendly plant. What I didn't know was that if you let it get a toe hold, it will try to take over the garden, as you can see from this picture taken in May 2023.

Back in April 2023, I decided I would try to get rid of it and extend the grass down to the bottom fence. After clearing the whole area, I put down a load of grass seed and hoped for the best. A year later, we had a reasonable lawn, but it was dotted with alkanet, which was still well established along the line of the fence (its shaded, damp, stony ground, which the alkanet loves), so I spent hours again digging out the roots as best I could and putting down more grass seed.

This year there it was less of a problem, but there was still quite a lot around the pond, along the fence and in patches throughout the lawn, not helped by the fact that it can grow out of every crack in the patio or pathway. However, two years on and you can see the difference... although this photo was taken after I'd cleared some of the area at the front of the pond...

The whole area has again been cleared and more grass seed has gone down. The threat of rain gave me a useful deadline to get the work done.

I also want to do a similar job on the front lawn, which I attacked a year ago in May 2024. I cleared quite an area along the treeline — something like 100 square feet — and put down grass seed. Although it has established itself in some areas, there are still large bald patches that I need to re-seed.

Incidentally, I'm not a keen gardener. I'd rather not have to do all this digging and sowing, but it can't be left to its own devices or the weeds take over. It gets me outside and forces me to exercise a little, neither of which fills me with joy. But there is one good thing about it. Books can take months to complete and the work can seem neverending, but I can get out in the garden for forty minutes and I can see the difference I've made. Over a period of four or five days, that whole area in the back garden has been cleared and the results of the work are there for all to see.

I'm treating the Air Ace Companion in somewhat the same way. I approached it as a collection of shorter essays rather than thinking of the book as a whole. OK, so I had to start with some 18 blank pages that I had to fill, but it's easier to write a 1,000-2,000 word essay than be faced with writing 25,000 words, which can be quite daunting, especially when you're double-checking every word and the sources are often Spanish, Italian or Argentinian. Thankfully, I've made some very useful contacts who have helped where my knowledge was lacking.

Time to get back to it. I need to know the name of Leopoldo Sanchez's mum, but I have a feeling I might be on a fruitless search.

Commando 5859-5862

It’s officially summer! We hope you’ve all switched out to your tropical uniforms and are posted somewhere warm and sunny where you can relax with this latest batch of blistering adventure stories. Issues 5859-5862 will go on sale from today, Thursday 5th June 2025!

5859 HMT Garnet 

Who would come out on top in a battle between a sleek, deadly U-Boat, armed with the latest German technology, and an antiquated fishing trawler with a deck gun scrounged from the last war? Bet you think you know the answer, don’t you? 
    Well, the unlikely story of the HM Trawler Garnet might just surprise you!
    You won’t want to miss the boat on this one, there’s nothing fishy about this classic underdog story! It’s not always smooth sailing for our heroes, but this issue doesn’t drop anchor when it comes to action and adventure! With stunning cover by Marco Bianchini!

Story: Suresh Ramasubramanian
Art: Jaume Forns
Cover: Marco Bianchini

5860 Cowboy in Khaki 
Meet Kit Larson - the toughest, fastest-shooting, two-fisted cowboy in the British army. 
    Wait a minute… a cowboy? In the British Army? 
    You said it, pardner!
    Can we get a yee-haw? This is one rootin’ tootin’ issue you won’t want to miss! Mosey along with us while we follow Gentry’s yarn about the cowpoke with the fastest draw in Europe – it’s a ten-gallon hat full of fun with art from Galindo and Penalva!

Story: Gentry
Art: Galindo
Cover: Penalva
First published as No. 641 in 1972

5861 Falken – Russian Roulette 

Major Heinz Falken is playing a dangerous game of chance. His life and those of his men hang in the balance as they fight for survival. The battle on the Eastern Front between German and Russian armies has become a war of attrition, with both sides lacking resources. When their supplies are hijacked by the Russians, Falken is forced to recover them by systematically searching Soviet stronghold bunkers. But guessing which one is the right bunker is like playing a game of Russian roulette – and they’re running out of bullets.
    Warlord’s Kampfgruppe Falken returns once again to stick to the Russians and the Germans alike! Dominic Teague’s razor-sharp dialogue pairs perfectly with Manuel Benet’s interior artwork and cover – this one’s a safe bet!

Story: Dominic Teague
Art: Manuel Benet
Cover: Manuel Benet

5862 When Time Runs Out

The Dutch Resistance had no room for traitors. Yet, with every day that passed, someone in their midst was giving information to the enemy. Who was he, and how did he operate if the group seemed so united? 
They were soon to find out. Time was running out for that man, and in a very peculiar way indeed...  
    They say time flies when you’re having fun, so reading this issue should take no time at all! Another timeless classic with a story by CG Walker and interior artwork by Carrion – and watch out for that Ian Kennedy cover!

Story: CG Walker
Art: Carrion
Cover: Ian Kennedy
First published as No. 1782 in 1984

Rebellion Releases — 4 June 2025

JUST WHEN YOU THOUGHT IT WAS SAFE!

After our massive 40 Years of Scream Archival Collection brought together every single strip published in Scream! between issues 1-15, the fans howled out for more, selling out the print run TWICE in short succession! And we hear your cries of terror: this Halloween we’re publishing a second collection which rounds out the Scream Archival Collection with every single Scream! Holiday Special published since the 1980s!

Produced ‘from the depths’ of King’s Reach Tower by the mysterious ‘undead’ editor Ghastly McNasty, the first issue of Scream! was unleashed by IPC on 24th March 1984. More tongue-in-cheek than horrific, the comic was an immediate hit with younger fans as it included a pair of fake vampire fangs attached to the cover and a number of fantastic new strips from such talents including Alan Moore, John Wagner, Jose Ortiz, Cam Kennedy, Tom Tully, Alan Grant and Eric Bradbury.

This new collection — due in October but available to pre-order now — features every Scream! Holiday Special, making this a historical record which traces the evolution of British horror from 1985 right through to the modern day. Classic comics and stories from creators including Dave Gibbons, Robin Smith, Barrie Tomlinson, Ian Gibson, Eric Bradbury and more are joined by contemporary chills from Frazer Irving, Henry Flint, Torunn Gronbekk, Alex Paknadel and more.

This volume is also designed as a companion piece for the previous volume, creating two thrilling tomes of terror to fill your shelf with fear!

To make the release even more ghoulishly exciting, true horror afficionados can take home a webshop-exclusive slipcase edition which pays homage to the classic style and design of the Scream! Holiday Specials of old.

The full list of specials included in this Archival Collection are:

SCREAM! HOLIDAY SPECIAL #1 (1985)
SCREAM! HOLIDAY SPECIAL #2 (1986)
SCREAM! HOLIDAY SPECIAL #3 (1987)
SCREAM! HOLIDAY SPECIAL #4 (1988)
SCREAM! PRESENTS: SPINECHILLERS HOLIDAY SPECIAL (1989)
SCREAM 2017 HOLIDAY SPECIAL
SCREAM 2018 HOLIDAY SPECIAL
SCREAM! PRESENTS THE THIRTEENTH FLOOR: HOME SWEET HOME
SCREAM 2020 WINTER SPECIAL
SCREAM! 40TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL

And now, this week's releases...

2000AD Prog 2435
Cover; Toby Willsmer

JUDGE DREDD // THE FIRST 100 by Dan Abnett (w) Colin MacNeil (a) Chris Blythe (c) Annie Parkhouse (l)
ROGUE TROOPER // TIDES OF WAR by Andi Ewington (w) Paul Marshall (a) Pippa Bowland (c) Jim Campbell (l)
GHOSTED // BOOK ONE by Guy Adams (w) Megan Huang (a) Simon Bowland (l)
SILVER // PERFIDIOUS by Mike Carroll (w) Joe Currie (a) Simon Bowland (l)
SCARLET TRACES // EMPIRE OF BLOOD by Ian Edginton (w) D'Israeli (a) Annie Parkhouse (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, 4 June 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.

Thistlebone Book Three: The Dule Tree by T.C. Eglington (w) Simon Davis (a)
Rebellion ISBN  ‎ 978-183786536-9, 4 June 2025, 80pp, £18.99. Available via Amazon.

After the death of Malcolm Kinniburgh, who had previously kept the Thistlebone legend alive, the local Harrowvale constabulary find clues that lead them to investigate the abandoned film production of a 1970s folk horror film, The Dule Tree.
    Based on a harrowing account from the seventeen hundreds where thirteen innocent women and one man were hanged during the witch trials, the film itself ran into production problems, the source of which has remained a mystery for fifty years...

• 4 Jun. Comix Experience interviews Chris Weston about "the strange and sensational world of Paranoid Gardens, where nurse Loo battles cults, cosmic chaos, and her own inner demons in a care-center that’s anything but ordinary. It’s part haunted hospital, part interdimensional madhouse..." (video, 1hr 4m)
• 3 Jun. Rich Johnson carries the news that the long-delayed Good Omens graphic novel is at the printers. The book raised £2.4 million on Kickstarter, but was held up due to artist Colleen Doran's health. It has, however, been expanded to over 200 pages.
• 3 Jun. Meanwhile, The Sandman season 2 will have a bonus 12th episode on top of the 11-part series already announced (a similar bonus episode was a surprise addition to season 1). Six episodes will drop on 3 July, followed by five more on 24 July, with the bonus episode — based on Neil Gaiman's Death: The High Cost of Living — arriving on 31 July.
• 3 Jun. Bryan Talbot's Grandville: Force Majeure has won the ActuSF Prize for Uchronia, given at the Hypermonde Festival in France. The award honours the best in alternative history.
• 2 Jun. John Siuntris's Word Balloon had its first Bendis Book Club edition with Brian Michael Bendis and others offering their thoughts on the first volume of Criminal: Coward by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips. (video, 1h 42m)
• 31 May. Remembering Sonic the Comic. John Freeman notes The Kintobor Computer has new additions about the fondly-remembered British comic spin-off. John highlights Nigel Kitching's original pitch documents. "Along with a new Sonic the Comic Zone archive section, fan dedication to the title continues with a not for profit tale 'Sonic the Comic: All Good Things…', a story picking up after issue 281 of Sonic the Comic Online that will take the comic up to a conclusion at issue 300."
• 29 May. Hibernia Comics is celebrating its 20th anniversary since the release of Doomlord, the Deathlords of Nox. David McDonald looks back... "Doomlord was a financial disaster, but a fantastic learning ground."
• 21 May. Ian Edginton and D'Israeli talk 'Scarlet Traces' , recently returned to 2000AD. Edginton: "Getting a twenty-part series up and running from concept to completion takes a while! The new series is set directly after the end of H.G. Wells‘ novel, The War of the Worlds, and just before our first Scarlet Traces series. We see how the one dovetails into the other."
• 16 May. The Moomins in search of a home. The Guardian on why Moominland is more relevant today than it has ever been. "In their themes of loneliness, a search for identity and freedom, the Moomin books speak to anyone who feels that they don’t belong."
• 15 May. In the wake of the problems at Diamond Distributors, Rebellion has signed a deal with Lunar Distribution in addition to their deal with Diamond Distributors which will expand their reach in the US Direct Market. Selected titles will begin appearing in Lunar's catalogues from June. Meanwhile, Universal Distribution and Ad Populum have completed their acquisition of Diamond Comic Distributors and assets. Rumours of massive layoffs have begun circulating.
• 13 May. Congratulations to Jamie Smart, whose Bunny vs Monkey was the joint winner in the Audiobook Fiction section of the Bookseller's British Book Awards. "Jamie Smart also takes the crown in this category for Bolinda's “breathtaking” audio adaptation of his anarchic comic book, Bunny vs Monkey. The iconic duo are brought to life by voiceover artist Ciaran Saward, who infuses his narration with all the energy and verve of Smart’s text. Our judges were blown away by the “effort, skill and detail” to transform Smart’s comic into an audiobook, declaring it a "fantastic” triumph of ingenuity. Bolinda collaborated closely with Smart to distil the essence of his comic panels into key sounds and phrases that would capture both the action and the characters’ personalities in audio format. The result is an immersive audio experience that successfully translates the joy and chaos of the print edition.

H J Campbell (Herbert James Campbell) cover gallery

H J Campbell was a popular figure in SF fandom in the early 1950s when he was also editor of Authentic Science Fiction. I wrote a piece about him in 2024, so you can find out more about his career as a scientist and author by picking up a copy of Forgotten Authors Volume 5. I have a good run of his books, so I thought it about time I did a cover gallery. Enjoy!

Gold Men of Aureus (by Roy Sheldon)
Hamilton & CO. (Authentic SF #3), (Feb) 1951, 124pp, 1/6. Cover by D.L.W.

Phantom Moon (by Roy Sheldon)
Hamilton & Co. (Authentic SF #6), (Mar) 1951, 117pp, 1/6. Cover by D.L.W.

Energy Alive (by Roy Sheldon)
Hamilton & Co. (Authentic SF #7), (Apr) 1951, 101pp, 1/6. Cover by D.L.W.

World in a Test Tube
Hamilton & Co. (Authentic SF #8), (Apr) 1951, 106pp, 1/6. Cover by D.L.W.

The Last Mutation
Hamilton & Co. (Authentic SF #11), (Jul) 1951, 105pp, 1/6. Cover by George Ratcliff

Beam of Terror (by Roy Sheldon)
Hamilton & Co. (Authentic SF #13), (Sep) 1951, 110pp, 1/6. Cover by George Ratcliff

The Moon is Heaven
Hamilton & Co. (Authentic SF #16), (Dec) 1951, 110pp, 1/6. Cover by George Ratcliff

Chaos in Miniature
Hamilton & Co. (Authentic SF #18), (Feb) 1952, 109pp, 1/6. Cover by George Ratcliff

Mammoth Man (by Roy Sheldon)
Hamilton & Co., (Feb) 1952, 110pp, 1/6. Cover by George Ratcliff

Two Days of Terror (by Roy Sheldon)
Hamilton & Co. (Panther Books nn), (May) 1952, 112pp, 1/6. Cover by Ron Turner

Mice--or Machines
Hamilton & Co. (Authentic SF #22), (Jun) 1952, 109pp, 1/6. Cover by Gordon C. Davis

The Menacing Sleep (by Roy Sheldon)
Hamilton & Co. (Panther Books #16), (Aug) 1952, 126pp, 1/6. Cover by Gordon C. Davis

The Plastic Peril (by Roy Sheldon)
Hamilton & Co. (Authentic SF #25), (Sep) 1952, 109pp, 1/6. Cover by John Pollack

Star of Death (by Roy Sheldon)
Hamilton & Co. (Authentic SF #27), (Nov) 1952, 108pp, 1/6. Cover by Gordon C. Davis

Beyond the Visible
Hamilton & Co., (Nov) 1952, 189pp, 2/-. Cover by Vann

Atoms in Action (by Roy Sheldon)
Hamilton & Co. (Panther Books #47), (Mar) 1953, 159pp, 1/6. Cover by Gordon C. Davis

House of Entropy (by Roy Sheldon)
Hamilton & Co. (Panther Books #59), (Jun) 1953, 160pp, 1/6. Cover by John Richards

Another Space--Another Time
Hamilton & Co. (Panther Books #67), (Jul) 1953, 158pp, 1/6. Cover by John Richards

The Red Planet
Hamilton & Co. (Panther Books #77), (Sep) 1953, 159pp, 1/6. Cover by John Richards

Brain Ultimate
Hamilton & Co. (Panther Books #86), (Nov) 1953, 157pp, 1/6. Cover by John Richards

Once Upon a Space
Hamilton & Co. (Panther Books #160), (Nov) 1954, 142pp, 1/6. Cover by John Richards

Comic Cuts — 30 May 2025

Sunday was my Big Day Out as I headed off to the Paperback & Pulp Book Fair at Bloomsbury's Holiday Inn in Coram Street, London, just around the corner from the Royal National, where the Book Fair was held for many years. The renewed Fair has been running for a couple of years (I think November 2023 was the first) in association with the Ephemera Fair run by Etc Fairs.

I was up nice and early, although I had everything planned out pretty well, my bag packed with copies of BEYOND THE VOID, DREAMING OF UTOPIA and some sample copies of MYTEK THE MIGHTY to show people. Still quite hefty to carry: my shoulder has never quite recovered from the March 2024 show where I took up a load of books in a shopping trolley, forgetting that I would have to carry it up stairs at one of the underground stations; my ligaments still twang when I try to lift boxes and throwing things is painful (which, admittedly, I don't often need to do).

This time I was able to sling the bag over my good shoulder and all I had to put up with was the weight bouncing onto my hip. A vast improvement!

I had no particular aims travelling up to the Fair. I've just spent a significant sum licensing Mytek and I'm about to spend more on printing the first two books, so I knew I wasn't going to be spending too much. As long as the trip (£50 for the trains; I took my own food and drink) didn't cost a huge amount. Hopefully selling a couple of books would cover that. (It did.)

I managed to pick up a small selection of books I wanted, ranging from fairly modern SF Masterworks (I still have a few gaps in the numbered series... thirteen shy of the 72 total, but I also need a couple with the original covers rather than the later reversed out covers) to filling some more gaps in my Fifties SF paperback collection thanks to Bob "mrbook451" Wardzinski who I've known since ye olde dayes when he was Bob "The Talking Dead" Wardzinski. He always has something on his stall that I want, and this time I was able to pick up a couple of Jon J Deegan novels that I need for a future article I'm planning.

Jamie Sturgeon had an old Piccadilly Novel that I decided I must have as soon as I spotted it. Just a slim little crime novel by a guy called Frank Griffin, who is surely in line for a Forgotten Authors essay if I can pick up a few more of his books (I only have three, I think, which isn't enough to get a good overview of his work). From Mick Cocksedge I picked up an old Denis Hughes western. Mick is someone I need to talk to: our collecting interests overlap (British "mushroom" paperbacks) but I've never had a chance to chat with him — and whenever I saw him on Sunday I was mid-conversation with someone or he was off looking at something or chatting to someone himself (I hate to interrupt!).

One nice surprise was amongst the books bought by dealers in the Ephemera hall — knowing that the book collectors are coming en masse they often bring a box or three of paperbacks, and someone had bought some old comics and pocket libraries, from which I extracted Combat Library #1 — the text library rather than the comic strip Picture Library. Written by Erroll Collins, the pen-name of Ellen Redknap. I've always found her output fascinating — I wrote an article once called 'On the Trail of Erroll Collins' — and I've always wondered how she came to write the first of the Futuristic Science Thriller series for Stanley Baker and the first Combat Library for Micron/GM Smith. Did they advertise for writers? And did she write more for them under different pen-names?

(A quick aside. Many years ago, when I was working on Vultures of the Void, I skim read the five Baker novels in the Futuristic Science Thriller series at the British Library and thought they were all by the same author. Since then, I have managed to pick up two of them for my collection and I also have a couple of Erroll Collins novels for comparison, and I now believe that she wrote only the first. If I ever get a chance to read all four of the remaining titles I might have an idea who did write them. I try to spread the word when I make mistakes, and in this case managed to get a correction into the SF Encyclopedia entry.)

As for the show itself, it was busy and I believe everyone did pretty well. Everyone's feeling the pinch, but I think we all came out to spend a bit of money and there were a lot of bargains to be had. I think this is the fourth of the Bloomsbury fairs (one in 2023, two last year, and this one) and many have realised that a few boxes of lower grade stock put out for a couple of quid will be eagerly riffled through by buyers and they'll happily take home a bag full as long as it doesn't cost the earth. Only two of the books I bought were over £4.

As usual, Jules Burt was there to document the day and he has a video which shows him searching through boxes of books, intercut with a number of interviews (including yours truly in a stunning new t-shirt) and commentary. I always enjoy these (and not just for my participation) and it really is the best way to visit the fair if it wasn't possible to come in person, or you want to see what was available but don't want to spend anything.

The column header is from his video, by the way. I think I'm trying to work some Jedi mind trick on Jules to feature my books. And I'm wearing that t-shirt (sorry: lifestyle recycled poly jersey) that cost me £32. No, it's not for sale — it's a one-off I made to promote the upcoming books. Looks good, tho'.

Jules joined David Hyman, Barry Hunter and myself on a trip to the pub for a quick pint as things started to wind down in the afternoon. A nice young lady took a photo for us, which you'll find below.

I was expecting to be knackered on Bank Holiday Monday, but we managed to get out in the garden... well, on the road as we cut back a hedge and our neighbour's tree. Our former neighbour has just moved out as their landlord is selling the house, so I've taken the opportunity to chop a tree back so that it's no longer hanging over the pavement. Anyone walking by had to step out into the road or walk into a tangle of branches; it bugged everyone who lived in the area but the people living there refused to cut it back. Now there's a seven foot or so tunnel in the overhanging branches and Richard Osman or Greg Davies could pass underneath without ducking.

I even managed to get a bit of work done. Most of the essays for the AIR ACE COMPANION are written or well under way. Some need some rewriting or some additional writing, but it's all heading in the right direction and I'm thinking about doing some layouts to see what it might look like. I might even have something to show you in the next fortnight or so.

Cheers!