Comic Cuts — 8 November 2024

I have a fairly dull life punctuated by occasional moments of intense pleasure. As I spend most of my life writing and designing books as Bear Alley Books, most of those moments are tied to the completion of little essays, introductions, finishing the design of a book or a cover, or the arrival of the first printed copies.

Balanced against that is the tightening of the stomach moments: facing a blank page; trying to get an idea out of my brain and down my arm and onto the computer without it turning into a disaster; waiting for proofs to arrive. You catch me in that moment... I'm expecting a proof of the new book to arrive today. I know it isn't the final version because I've already made changes to the text, but that was expected. To get the book out in time for the Paperback & Pulp Book Fair in Bloomsbury on November 24 I had to get a proof copy of the book ordered so I could check how the colours print before I had finished proofing the text.

That I've now done, with only one or two sentences needing to be  rewritten, usually for explanation or clarity. It's useful to have that time spent on designing a book and worrying about images as it gives you a bit of distance from the text and you can read it with fresh eyes.

If the cover and the colours are OK, I should be able to re-upload the inside pages and produce a short run of copies, enough to cover my trip to London at the end of the month.

So it's cover reveal day. This one was relatively easy as I knew what I wanted from the start, and I put together the cover pretty much as you see it before I even started on the book, which was a great relief—normally I struggle with covers and leave them to last. Then I ask Martin Baines to perform some wizardry, as I did with BEYOND THE VOID, my history of Badger Books. I had the basic idea to do it as a film poster, but ran into the problem mentioned above: getting it onto the computer screen in any way similar to how I imagined it in my brain.

Thankfully this one worked out OK. But Martin will be back and is already working on some ideas for the next book.

Talking of which, I started the new book on Wednesday. It's going to take a while to get it all together, because it's going to run to four quite hefty volumes. It's a reprint of a classic strip, but I'm keeping it secret as to what it is, although if you really want to know, here's a cryptic clue: Untangle the gym kit, thyme to go ape (5,3,6). If you solve it, please just let me know in a comment (they all pass through my hands before being posted, so I'll see them) or email me (my address is in the left-hand column) and I'll let you know if you're right. But I'm not going to name names publicly until contracts are signed.

Once I've seen the proof, I should have a page up for DREAMING OF UTOPIA within a few days, so I should be able to start taking orders. I should have more news on that here next week, or you can keep an eye on my Facebook pages—mine and the page for Bear Alley Books.

Commando 5799-5802

We’re spanning both World Wars in this round of Commando adventures. Two new WW1 stories and two classics set in WW2 will hit the shelves today, on 7th November – right on time for Remembrance Day!

5799: Eagle-eyed Cadman

The Western Front, January 1915. When Lieutenant Gerald Cadman claims the credit for Private Tom Smith’s perfect shot, it creates a chance for him to escape the trenches and become a sniper.
Earning glory while hiding and never getting close to the enemy? It sounds just like the kind of fighting Cadman can get behind! But the life of a marksman proves more difficult and dangerous than Cadman could have ever expected!
    Keep a keen eye out for this latest caper from the Coward of the Fighting 43rd! With a high-calibre script from Andrew Knightley and artwork from Mike Dorey that’s bang on target, this is one issue you won’t want to miss!

Story: Andrew Knighton
Art: Mike Dorey
Cover: Mike Dorey

5800: Cannonball Casey

Meet Private Casey, the biggest scrounger in the army. He’d pinch anything unless it was nailed down — and while he was at it he let the other guys get on with the fighting.
The exact opposite of a hero, that was Private Casey.
So how come a guy like that managed to win a medal for bravery?
    This classic issue really is a blast. A real change of heart story from Fitzsimmons with heroic artwork by Aguilar and an explosive cover from Penalva. Not to bang on about it, but the twists and turns will blow your mind!

Story: Fitzsimmons
Art: Aguilar
Cover: Penalva
First published as no. 533

5801: Hold Until Relieved

Major John Lloyd read the message handed to him by the dispatch rider with his heart in his throat. His orders were to defend the strategic village of Vorrain, with only his inept Lieutenant Gordon Foreman and a handful of men in newly constructed pillboxes. They were hopelessly outnumbered and outgunned.
But he had his orders to ‘hold until relieved’ and against the odds they were going to.
    You’ll certainly be relieved to get a hold of this issue! This is another WW1 story that grips from start to finish and doesn’t let up. If it’s heart-in-your-mouth action you’re grasping for, you won’t be left empty-handed!

Story: Stephen Hume
Art: Jaume Forns
Cover: Marco Biachinin

5802: Winners Losers

Karl Von Hessler always had to win. A trophy held aloft or medal on his chest were prizes worth any sacrifice. His brother Ulrich had different rules. During the First World War, he’d sickened of the killing and vowed never to wear a uniform again. Instead, he’d turned to medicine and the fight against death.
But in 1939, war returned and sought Ulrich out in the shape of his hated brother. He knew then that he had one last duty to perform in German uniform — a duty far different from anything Karl could suspect.
    No medals for guessing how this one turns out! There’s no brotherly love lost in this epic story by CG Walker spanning both world wars. Friends become enemies, enemies become friends - so much for family values!

Story: CG Walker
Art: Blasco
Cover: Ian Kennedy
First published as no. 1634

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.