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!

Rebellion Releases — 28 May 2025

From his time apprenticed to one of British comics’ greatest talents, Don Lawrence, to his rocky start on Judge Dredd, to his move to American comics and work on films like The Book of Eli and Star Wars, Chris Weston’s career has been unique and diverse. With a hyper-detailed style and ability to create lived-in environments on the page, his art continues to reward repeat visits.

But in this episode of 2000 AD: The Creator Tapes, Chris talks to Molch-R about the challenges he has encountered, and how he has struggled to reconcile his work with his own self-criticism.

Hosted by 2000 AD Brand Manager Michael Molcher, The 2000 AD Creator Tapes brings you fascinating in-depth interviews with many of the biggest names in comics. With new episodes on the fourth Saturday of every month, The 2000 AD Creator Tapes is perfect for weekend listening, when you’re burning through your chores, or if you’re looking to learn more about the artists who make 2000 AD the Galaxy’s Greatest Comic! Subscribe now on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts or your favourite podcast app!

And now, this week's release...

2000AD Prog 2434
Cover: Clint Langley.

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)

Comic Cuts — 23 May 2025

After last week's great leap forward, I seemed to get nowhere fast this week. I fixed the problem with the covers for MYTEK THE MIGHTY (I'd added something and not made allowances for how close it was to the trim line) and I'm waiting on a set of final proofs to arrive.

From then on, I seemed to start moving in slow motion, although there were things getting done. I had to spend some time in the garden on this year's War With The Alkenet, an annual saga as I attempt to reclaim more of the lawn from the weeds and return it to grass.

We also got rid of some books to one of the online book buyers (we sell to two: World of Books and We Buy Books). They're the sort of thing I'd take to a Boot Fair, but I haven't had an opportunity for some years and had built up a few boxes that needed to be shifted. I think since Christmas we've dumped four boxes of books and earned maybe £36. They're all modern, non-collectable books that come my way and it pays a bill or two (or one 3XL all over printed t-shirt, in my case).

We took our trip to the seaside on Tuesday, visiting the charity shops of Clacton... oh, and we saw the beach, although I was the only one of the three of us brave enough to walk on the beach... which I instantly regretted as it has small, sharp stones that get under your feet as your sandals sink into the fine but stony sand. I gave up after two minutes.

And my book haul was one book. It's a sequel (The Coming Storm) to another book I found in a local charity shop (The Coming Darkness) by Greg Mosse. They seem to have been liked by reviewers and I like a fast-paced thriller. At the moment I've just finished one of the Mick Herron Slough House books and moved on to a SF/crime noir by Nick Harkaway, Titanium Noir, so it will be a while before I get on to anything else.

The weather on Tuesday was spectacular and we walked for miles, including at least half a mile when I led us all the wrong way and we had to cut back across and ask a couple of times if we were on the right road to get us to the station. We just managed to catch our train.

Wednesday we spent tidying up ahead of a visit from our landlady's rep. I find these things stressful as I don't mind a bit of clutter, and working on the new book has meant piles of old paperwork, letters, photocopies and folders strewn around so that I can just reach down to get what I want. Now some of it is back on shelves and other bits neatly piled and I don't have a clue where anything is.

In between all this I have managed to get an introduction to the book written. The main essay is almost done, and I need to tidy up some of the other pieces. But I'm getting there. I'm hoping to start laying some of the pages out next week or first week of June and coming up with some ideas about what the book should look like. I'm still doing little bits of research, and I think I can now answer the question: what brought about the demise of Air Ace in November 1970 and caused a lot of comics to disappear from the newsagents for a couple of months.

The house check was this (Thursday) morning and while I made what I thought was a good argument to have the patio replaced (the tiles around the doorway are becoming dangerously loose), the only confirmed work that's due to be done is a door handle that needs to be fixed before it becomes a problem. I'm sometimes told off for sharing too much in these columns, but its these little niggles and interruptions that send my concentration spinning and something that could be written quickly takes a week, two weeks longer than it should. And I always used to be so good at hitting tight deadlines!

I'm off to the book fair in London on Sunday. If you want copies of BEYOND THE VOID or DREAMING OF UTOPIA, let me know and I'll bring them along. I'm not planning to bring much up as on the first trip I buggered up my shoulder (which still pains me) and on the second some of the stitching on my big bag split. I'm not sure how safe it would be to fill it up. So do let me know if you want anything bought up (other books, too).

Commando 5855-5858

Summer is approaching fast, and with hotter days come ever-hotter issues of Commando! This round sees some of our most action-packed new stories yet – including the return of fan favourite Sergeant Moses Rayker! Issues 5855-5858 go on sale today, Thursday 22nd May 2025!

5855  Glory Hound

Algeria, 1942. American soldiers storm the beaches of North Africa as part of Operation Torch. Sergeant John Rock of Dog Company takes his responsibility for his men seriously and isn’t about to sacrifice any lives for a chance at glory. The same can’t be said for their new commanding officer, Lieutenant Hank Travers.
    The glory hound lieutenant soon puts the platoon in jeopardy, and Rock isn’t sure who’s the bigger threat – the Vichy or Travers!
    We’ve all had a boss who thinks they know what they’re doing, even when all signs point to the contrary. Now imagine that during the heat of battle, and you’ve got some idea of the conundrum our heroes find themselves in in this fantastic tale of hubris and heroism!

Story: Brent Towns
Art: Esteve Polls
Cover: Neil Roberts

5856 Tank Buster Ace

You’ve heard of the Hurricane IID, the mighty fighter that packed a killer punch. Its job was smashing the Afrika Korps tanks with its two huge cannons.
    Now, meet the men who flew these planes into action — especially Wing Commander Theodore Trigg, an ace among aces, and leader of the RAF’s toughest bunch of pilots.
    Finally, an answer to the age-old question of what would win in a fight – a tank or a plane? This is definitely one for the aircraft enthusiasts among you, and with yet another classic Ian Kennedy cover to boot, what’s not to love?

Story: McOwan
Art:  DS Gomez
Cover: Ian Kennedy
First published as No.531 in 1971

5857 Sergeant Rayker - Wasted

Italy, 1944. Drinking on duty and absence without leave are both punishable offences under the articles of war. One fateful evening though, that’s precisely what four US marines decided to do. Sergeant Moses Rayker of the 307th Military Police Company has been assigned the apparently easy task of rounding the vagabonds up. But it’s not long before Rayker finds himself under enemy fire with the drunken marines in tow. Perhaps this job isn’t as simple as it sounds!
    I hope you’re ready to rum-ble, because beerly beloved hero Sergeant Rayker is back, this time with a crowd of soused louts staggering along behind him. With any luck, they’ll help him tequila Nazi or two!

Story: Dominic Teague
Art: Mike Dorey
Cover: Mike Dorey

5858 Crossed Swords

Many centuries ago, two soldiers, both trained killers, fought to the death in the scorching heat of the North African desert. Their weapons – the short, stabbing swords of the Roman legionary.
    Hundreds of years later, the same burning sands were to witness another duel. For two pilots, one British and one German, history was about to repeat itself…
    We’re doing a spot of time travel in this final issue of the set – further back than we usually do anyway. This epic story takes us from the ancient world to World War Two. It’s got intrigue, betrayal, and even a couple of sword fights – after all, when in Rome!

Story: CG Walker
Art: Ruiz
Cover: Ian Kennedy
First published as No. 1457 in 1982

Rebellion Releases — 21 May 2025

To celebrate the return of Scarlet Traces to 2000 AD this month, Rebellion are giving readers the chance to catch up on this landmark series with 33% off the collected editions!

In the last years of the nineteenth century, England fell to the Martians. The population was devastated, but the Martians were wiped out and Britain survived. A decade later, the British Empire has rebuilt and expanded its influence using the alien technology that brought it to its knees. Scarlet Traces is the story of what happened next!

Across three stunning volumes, Edginton and D’Israeli take the world laid bare by HG Wells’ The War of the Worlds and create an epic of action, history, politics, and intrigue!

Click on the links to visit the 2000AD shop: Volume 1, Volume 2, Volume 3.

And now, this week's releases...

2000AD Prog 2433
Cover: Colin Macneil.

JUDGE DREDD // FAMILY TRADITION by Geoffrey D. Wessel (w) Rob Richardson (a) 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)

Judge Dredd Megazine #480
Cover: Boo Cook.

JUDGE DREDD // TRASHED by T.C Eglington (w) Karl Richardson (a) Annie Parkhouse (l)
DEATH CAP // FRONTIER JUSTICE by T.C. Eglington (w) Boo Cook (c) Simon Bowland (l)
CADET DREDD // THE HAUNTING OF ISO-BLOCK 8 by Paul Starkey (w) Nick Brokenshire (a) Jim Campbell (l)
ATOMFALL by Jonathan Howard (w) Anthony Williams (a) Steve Canon (c) Rob Steen (l)
ARMITAGE // MURDER. SETTING: AUTOMATED, EXPRESS by Liam Johnson (w) Warren Pleece (a) Annie Parkhouse (l)
ROK OF THE REDS by John Wagner & Alan Grant (w) Dan Cornwell (a) Abby Bulmer (c) Jim Campbell (l)
BARREL & HAMMER // CASTAWAY by David Barnett (w) Luke Horsman (a) Simon Bowland (l)

Judge Dredd Case Files 47 by John Wagner, Al Ewing, Pat Mills, Gordon Rennie, Ian Edginton (w) Simon Fraser, Vince Locke, Henry Flint, Paul Marshall, Ben Oliver, Carl Critchlow, Nick Dyer, PJ Holden, Dave Taylor, Colin Wilson, Mike Collins (a)
Rebellion ISBN, 21 May 2025, 288pp, £24.99. Available via Amazon.

MUTOPIA
Mega-City One is acclimatising to the new mutant laws, but integration isn’t easy and one man stands as the thin blue line between the norms and the muties – that man is Judge Dredd.
    The best-selling series collecting The Law in order continues as the ultimate lawman of the future brings his unique brand of policing to the streets and creeps of the dystopian nightmare he calls home.

Maroc the Mighty by Don Lawrence (a)
Rebellion ISBN, 23 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 superhero 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.

Comic Cuts — 16 May 2025

It has been a long time coming, but the contract is signed, the license fee paid, and I'm waiting on a final set of proof copies — MYTEK THE MIGHTY is coming soon!

The reason for the slight delay is down to me rushing to get things done and not doing them right. Enthusiasm got the better of me and, while I was fixing a small detail on the covers, I forgot that I also needed to extend the artwork a smidge because the logo — deliberately kept large (he is Mytek THE MIGHTY after all) — was very close to the trim line. I thought I'd get away with it, forgetting that there can be a small amount of movement on the printing presses.

The long and the short of it is that I spent Wednesday redoing the covers because the printed proofs came back with the logo right on the edge. You would think that, after forty odd books I'd have learned to be more careful... but clearly not.

Anyway, the problem will be solved. I'll have another set of proofs done just to double check and, once they're OK, I'll start taking orders. There will be the usual discount for early orders, which I'll announce here, on the Bear Alley Books page and on Facebook, which is my only social media platform, so you'll all know about it. 

The plan is to put out the first two books together, as one extremely long story-line had to be split over the two volumes and I didn't think it fair to make people wait. Once the first two have had a couple of months on sale, I'll do volume three and, a couple of months after that, I'll do volume four. They'll all be priced at £23.00, although you may see some variation depending on where they're sold (direct via PayPal, on Ebay or on Amazon) because of the differing charges and how they charge for postage & packing (Amazon, for instance, charges a fixed rate of £2.80, but it actually costs £3.39 + 41p for the envelope + 4p for the label = £3.84). I'm getting in some book wraps that will keep the books safe on their journey. A bit more expensive than the usual envelope but worth the expense.

I've had the same thoughts too often in the past couple of weeks. I wanted to get a card reader for use at shows and I'd heard about one a year or so ago that only cost £20. Well, it had doubled in price over the past year, but I wasn't sure that it was cost effective if I couldn't log into local secure WiFi. So I went for the next model up, which included a charging bay and a better data package, and the cost quintupled once you added VAT. And I'm still not set up, because it's taking longer to verify who I am than it did for the card reader to arrive all the way from the Netherlands!

I had the same kind of problem with a t-shirt I wanted printed up. When I released BEYOND THE VOID back in March 2024, I decided to print up a t-shirt for the Paperback & Pulp Book Fair at Bloomsbury where I was planning to sell copies. It went down well I was planning to get one done for the November fair and the launch of DREAMING OF UTOPIA, but I ran out of time. So I planned ahead for this launch and... well, I went a bit mad, deciding I'd order a shirt that had both front and back printing, which I had to send off for rather than having it printed locally, adding postage. So the price ballooned from £18 to £32. I hope it's worth it.

It'll be on display at the Paperback & Pulp Book Fair at Bloomsbury on Sunday, 25 May, which I'll be attending. If you want copies of any of my books, let me know and I'll bring them along, otherwise I'm not planning to be carrying huge bagfuls of stock — I still have some rotator cuff problems and not-very-flexible ligaments from a year ago, so I'm only have a handful with me.

What I need is a job like my dentist. Three minutes I was in his room and half that time was getting the chair to the right height. After prodding my gums with a sharp probe for a minute, he tells me my teeth are fine and to keep on doing what I'm doing. On the way out they charge me £27.40 and tell me I need to come back in six months. That's a rate of about £550 an hour. Three years ago I figured he was earning £150 an hour, which means prices have soared or my teeth have improved so much it takes him less time to look at them.

I'll be showing them off tonight — smiling and laughing — as we're going to see Angela Barnes tonight. We're also off to the seaside for the day next week. Let's hope the nice weather holds.

This week's header is by Chris Foss. I've been writing a bit about the Battle for Britain as part of the AIR ACE COMPANION, so this seemed apt as I'm about to mention some of the books that helped fuel the demand for Air Ace, including Reach for the Skies by Paul Brickhill, the story of Douglas Bader who was...? Anyone? The editor of the comic ROCKET, of course. Oh, and a very famous WW2 pilot.

Rebellion Releases — 14 May 2025

Following on from the success of Sugar Jones, The Haunting of Jilly Johnson is a masterclass in 1970 supernatural gothic comic storytelling, drawn with immense style by Rafael Busom Clua!

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, and is perfect for fans of both 1970s fashion and frights alike!

The Haunting of Jilly Johnson is out now!

And now, this week's releases...

2000AD Prog 2432
Cover: D'Israeli.

JUDGE DREDD // NO PLACE LIKE HOME by Dan Abnett (w) Rob Richardson (a) 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)
New! SCARLET TRACES // EMPIRE OF BLOOD by Ian Edginton (w) D'Israeli (a) Annie Parkhouse (l)

Comic Cuts — 9 May 2025

A week of ups and downs... but thankfully mostly ups.

On the downside, my new DVD drive is on its way back to the supplier. I've used an external drive on my laptop for many years — I used to watch films and TV shows on DVD at lunchtime and just before bed and had pretty much worn out a couple of drives. I've had one sitting by me since I moved office, but I've only used it for copying CDs (albums) onto the laptop (a) so as not to damage the CD by constant playing, and (b) because the drive was on its last legs. So I've used it a half-dozen times (I stream many albums, but buy only from my favourite bands, like Frost*, Big Big Train, Solstice, etc.) but I knew it needed replacing.

Because of the work on the Air Ace Companion, I dug out an old... hang on, let me rewind a bit... after two days fruitless searching for a specific DVD onto which I had burned an old film, I fortunately stumbled onto it (and some other I didn't know I'd misplaced). That's how that story actually goes. Anyway... I managed to copy the film (which I'll come back to in a minute) and thought it might be an opportunity to copy some others. So I copied about three discs worth.

Now, I've got a thousand discs, recorded off of old video tapes and off the TV, so I thought that, if I do a couple of every day, I could start transferring these old discs into something my PC could read. So, the next day I stick in a disc and the drive won't read it. Try another... same result. Try one of the discs it was happy to read yesterday... same result. The drive has finally given up the ghost.

So I ordered a new one online and it arrived a couple of days later. It worked fine and I transferred a couple of discs. On Wednesday, I plugged it in to transfer a few more and there was a terrific rattling sound. I couldn't get the disc to open I cut the power by yanking the power cable out of the laptop. Plugged it back in and quickly hit the 'open' button. Out popped the DVD and the spindle it had been sitting on, which had come loose.

Which is why I'm waiting on yet another external DVD drive after returning the damaged one. Different make, and hopefully a bit more robust.

On the upside, I've cleaned up something like 250 illustrations for the book—can we fit them all in, is the question now—and I've worked out what I think will be the line-up of biographical pieces that will appear in the book, which will include Juan Abellan, Victor Hugo Arias, Nino Caroselli, Graham Coton, Pino Dell'orco, Ferdinando Fernandez, Ian Kennedy, F. Solano Lopez, Julio Cesar Medrano, Marvello Ralli, George Stokes, Alan Willow and Juan Zanotto.

(And if you're thinking, "Well, where's Gino D'Antonio and Giorgio De Gaspari and all the other big names?"—this is just the first volume. I'm planning a War and Battle Companion that will cover some of the other titles and will have essays on many more artists and writers.)

There's an introduction which covers the history and introduces a lot more contributors. I'm still finding out new information and even this week I spent most of a morning trying to track down information on a one-off cover contributor who doesn't seem to have painted or drawn anything related to comics—so that's a morning that resulted in, I think, two sentences in the introduction, where you'll discover the name and, more importantly, be able to look at the cover he painted!

(I'm counting that as a downside. I love doing the research for these books, but sometimes the results are a bit thin.)

I almost forgot to say why I was looking for a film on that missing DVD. It was shot back in 1960 by an art bodger on Air Ace and included some shots of the staff. I've taken some screen grabs, so you'll be able to meet some of the behind-the-scenes folk who put the popular pocket library together, including editor Arthur Bouchier. As the film was shot on 8mm, then transferred at some point onto video and then to a DVD and now onto my computer, they're not great, but (at this moment in time) they're the only images I have.

Other bits of good news: the Netflix adaptation of El Eternauta was as good as I'd hoped it would be; Daredevil: Born Again is building up to a stunning climax... we only have a couple of episodes left; and we're looking forward to Andor; Mel went to see Thunderbolts and reckoned it to be very entertaining; I'm about to start the third season of Reacher, which I'm looking forward to; after that, the second season of Silo; and Mel and I are looking forward to the start of Poker Face season two, so there's some good TV coming up.

I've saved the best news to last: the contract for volumes one and two of Mytek the Mighty are signed. I'm just waiting on a second set of proofs to make sure that the few corrections I had to make have taken and that the printing is consistent. So they're due with me next week (at least they should be... but I'm remembering the problems I had with an order last November) and if I'm happy with the results, I'll start taking orders and the books should be released by the end of the month.

It's always good to end these columns on a happy note... and this week I'm very happy!

Commando 5851-5854

This year’s VE Day – always a special day here at Commando – marks 80 years since the end of the Second World War in Europe. To celebrate, we’ve got some extra special VE Day themed issues full of the usual action and derring-do you’ve come to expect! Issues 5851-5854 will go on sale from today, Thursday 8th May 2025!

5851 War-Torn! 

In 1939, war was declared, sparking six years of devastation known as World War Two. Two brothers, Michel and Hans Weber were torn apart by the conflict — separated and on opposite sides of the fighting, with one in Germany and the other in Canada. They had started the war as brothers — would they end it as enemies, or could their bond survive?
   Here's an issue that takes the concept of sibling rivalry to extremes! Think the argument over who gets the top bunk times a million - here’s hoping they can put their differences aside before Sunday lunch at mum’s.

Story: Ferg Handley
Art: Jaume Forns
Cover: Keith Burns

5852 The Last Days of the War

A Wehrmacht captain, a German scientist and an RAF pilot. This unlikely combination was thrown together in the crumbling ruins of a defeated Germany by a common aim — survival.
    If they could get to Allied territory, they’d be safe. But with vengeful SS men hot on their heels, their chances were very slim.
    Germany in the final days of WW2 is always fertile ground for storytelling. The uncertainty, the conflict, the evocative war-torn landscapes, it’s all here in this outstanding story from CG Walker!

Story: CG Walker
Art: Nebot
Cover: Jeff Bevan
First Published 1984 as No. 1854

5853 For You the War is Over

Germany, 1945. The end of the war is near. Commando Sergeant Alfred Millin and his comrades are forced to battle their way through what remains of the bitter German forces. Millin worries what awaits him when the fighting is over — will he be pulled back into his criminal past?
    Andrew Knighton’s brilliant script explores the difficult prospect of returning to life after war, and why that might not be so thrilling an idea for some. The legendary Mike Donaldson, of The Broons and Oor Wullie fame, does a stellar job with interior and exterior art in his Commando debut!

Story: Andrew Knighton
Art: Mike Donaldson
Cover: Mike Donaldson

5854 Steer for Action

From the first day of war in 1939, the soldiers, sailors and airmen of the countries opposed to Hitler’s Germany knew that it would be a long, bloody struggle before the Nazis were toppled to defeat. They couldn’t know then that the day of victory would come in May 1945, and for those six years of savage war, Clive Sterling, Royal Navy, would sail hostile seas and face deadly danger almost every day in that fight for freedom.
    We’re taking to the hostile seas to face deadly danger in this final issue of our special VE Day set! With both cover and interior art from Gordon C Livingstone and an outstanding script by Ian Clark, it’s definitely not one to miss.

Story: Ian Clark
Art: Gordon C Livingstone
Cover: Gordon C Livingstone
First published 1995 as No. 2857

Rebellion Releases — 7 May 2025

Whatever the weather, the 2000 AD Sci-Fi Special 2025 is filled with stories to supercharge your Summer! Featuring 48 pages of high-octane action and adventure from across the Galaxy, this year’s edition of the bestseller features the return of classic characters, alongside some of the most exciting new Thrillers this side of Nu-Earth!

Judge Dredd heads off on his hols thanks to writer Al Ewing, making his long-awaited return to Mega-City One after thrilling readers around the world on series like Immortal Hulk and Absolute Green Lantern! We’re sure it’ll be a nice and peaceful trip for him, and certainly nothing horrific will happen which will require the full force of the Law to be upheld!

Dredd’s followed through spaceport security by the return of Strontium Dog Johnny Alpha and his team of intergalactic bounty hunters! Best pack a few extra time grenades and make sure you’ve brought a spare charger for the Electro-Nux, because trouble always follows Johnny, Wulf, and the Search/Destroy Agency!

This packed issue also checks in Cyd Finlea for a one-off The Out story by creators Dan Abnett and Mark Harrison – if anyone knows about getting away from it all, it’s galactic photojournalist Cyd: nobody has gone further “Out” of the known universe than she has!

We’ve a brand new Future Shock from the team of Andi Ewington and Nick Dyer to get you panicking ahead of your own holiday this year… and this special is rounded out by the return of all-round gentleman and occult detective Ampney Crucis to the Galaxy’s Greatest for the first time in… what, a decade? Where the deuce has he been? Only Ian Edginton and D’Israeli know!

With five electric stories to get you crackling with Thrill-Power this summer, The 2000 AD Sci-Fi Special is an adventure into the unknown which you can’t afford to miss! All this and a truly zarjaz cover from Chris Weston? Seatbelts on, universal passports in hand, Earthlets – let’s go!

At only £4.99 for 48 pages of interstellar action, the 2000 AD Sci-Fi Special 2025 will be out on 16 July from all good newsagents and comic book stores, as well as the 2000 AD app and webshop!

And now, this week's releases...

2000AD 2431
Cover: Cliff Robinson / Dylan Teague.

JUDGE DREDD // NO PLACE LIKE HOME by Dan Abnett (w) Rob Richardson (a) 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)
FUTURE SHOCKS // THE TAKEOVER by James Peaty (w) Cam Smith (a) Annie Parkhouse (l)
SILVER // PERFIDIOUS by Mike Carroll (w) Joe Currie (a) Simon Bowland (l)

The Haunting of Jilly Johnson by Rafael Busóm Clúa
Rebellion ISBN 978-183786539-0, 7 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?

A Lilliput Magazine Anthology, edited by Chris Harte

Chris Harte was responsible for a history and bibliography of Lilliput, the famous pocket magazine that ran from 1937 to 1960. He has now edited two anthologies collecting some of the best stories and writing from the magazine.

The first volume covers the first ten years, 1937 to 1946 and includes work from an incredible range of authors, from Ernest Hemingway to George Bernard Shaw. There's an informative introduction about the how Lilliput came to exist and the background of its creator and first editor, Stefan Lorant. How it was put together by Lorant with the aid of Alison Blair and photographer Zoltan Glass is itself a fascinating story, expanded upon in Harte's History and Bibliography, which is still available.

The stories include some relatively well-known pieces, like Karol Capek's 'The Fortune-Teller', first published in 1929 about a woman who is taken to court after giving a card reading to a policeman's wife, but for the most part the stories are obscure and little known.

Some of the bigger names include journalist and novelist John Brophy, MP and campaigner George Lansbury, literary critic V. S. Pritchett, crime and science fiction novelist Margot Bennett and Hornblower-creator C. S. Forester. Forty-nine short pieces in all.

Volume two contains seventy-one pieces and is almost 100 pages longer, filled with the same mix of stories and features by names you'll know and others that are now obscured by time. Claud Cockburn, Bill Naughton, Hector Bolitho, Patrick Campbell, Paul Tabori, Richard Gordon, Eric Ambler and Dennis Bardens (probably the only Lilliput author I have a letter from). Maurice Richardson, who debuted in the earlier volume with one feature, here has fourteen, including the story of the Rev. Harold Davidson, nicknamed the prostitutes padre, who died in the jaws of a lion in 1937. Richardson had an important part to play in slowing the magazine's decline, a reliable hand while editors came and went during the 1950s.

These two volumes are a fascinating trip into history, charting the changing attitudes of a period that covered war, austerity, affluence and the emergence of terms ranging from "crumpet" to "the establishment". Social history aside, they are also great books to have on your bedside table as you can dip in whenever sleep eludes you.

Lilliput Magazine: A History and Bibliography by Chris Harte. Sports History Publishing ISBN 978-189801018-0, 3 June 2024, 362pp, £29.95. Available via Amazon.
A Lilliput Magazine Anthology by Chris Harte. Sports History Publishing ISBN 978-189801019-7, November 1924, 164pp, £14.95. Available via Amazon.
A Second Lilliput Magazine Anthology by Chris Harte. Sports History Publishing ISBN 978-189801021-0, April 2025, 258pp, £14.95. Available via Amazon.

Comic Cuts — 2 May 2025

It's very easy to get distracted when I'm researching and that has been hammered home this week thanks to the days I have spent re-reading old correspondence and just stumbling over little bits of information that has nothing to do with what I'm meant to be writing about—namely the Air Ace Picture Library.

Apart from a lot of gossip that I can for the most part ignore (some is too good not to repeat, so you'll be getting to hear some of it when the book is out), there's the occasional fact chucked in as an aside that I just have to go and look into.

For instance, I knew that best-selling author Minette Walters used to write romance novelettes when she worked at Fleetway prior to writing her first crime novel (The Ice Storm, 1992), but a little further digging proved that she'd worked at the firm between 1972 and 1977. She wrote her first romantic story in, I believe, 1973 as a way to show her contributors at Woman's Weekly Library how to combine romance, character, plot and suspense to make a first-rate 30,000-word romance. Writing hospital romances, she went on to pen 35 novelettes under about ten different pen-names, as well as short stories and serials. I don't think the pen-names have ever been revealed.

Lane Meddick

Something else I didn't know: Julian Clary used to work on the Underground as a guard on the District Line, and my correspondent recalls hearing him announce over the tannoy, "Oh, do mind the doors!"

Here's another: the actor Lane Meddick was actually Leonard John Meddick, a wartime Spitfire pilot who became an actor and sometimes writer for the War libraries. I managed to get this screen-grab of him in an uncredited role in Carrington V.C. (a.k.a. Court Martial in the US, 1954).

When the DIY magazine Easy: The His and Hers Do-It-Yourself Weekly was merged with another DIY mag, Homemaker in 1969, there was an idea at IPC to replace it with a boys' magazine containing a mix of stories, sport and some simple DIY ideas called Scope. Four of the staff from Easy were put on it, including deputy editor Denis Gray (who apparently later emigrated to New Zealand), two sub-editor, Susan and a guy whose name I don't know, and art editor Laurie Shrimpton.

The idea got as far as a dummy issue being printed, but after some consideration by management, the idea was scrapped and Scope never saw the light of day.

Last one for now: I'd heard that a young girl who worked at Fleetway was murdered and it took a while to track down the story, which I was sure had grown more lurid in the retelling. Not the case... it was as tragic as rumoured.

"One girl used to come from Old Fleetway across the bridge to outside our War Pic rooms to get tea," recalled Roy McAdorey in 2006. "One morning on the underground on my way in to work, I read a news item about a “glamorous red-head” getting killed in a lover’s tiff. Got to work to discover it was this girl who used to get tea from Florrie’s trolley."

The girl was Carol Ann Lester-Smith and the Evening News broke the story on 16 November 1964 under the headline "Girl, 18, Killed Then CID Keep Vigil" with a sub-heading "Friend And Father Hurt In Stabbing".

Detectives were waiting by the bedsides of two stabbed men, hoping to interview them about the death the previous night of 18-year-old Carol Lester-Smith outside her home in Kingsley Road, Wimbledon, the paper reported. The two men were 52-year-old Sidney Lester-Smith, the girl's father, and a friend, Godfrey Hodgett, a week shy of his 21st birthday. "Red-haired Carol started work with a magazine house a few months ago and hoped to make a career in journalism," said the paper. The next day, the Daily Mirror claimed that she "had worked in London for two years as a £10-a-week editorial assistant with Fleetway Publications."

The two hospitalised men survived, but by then it was clear to detectives that one was not a victim. Geoffrey Hodgetts was taken from hospital on November 27th and appeared at a special court at Wimbledon where he was charged with murder.

The court case took place in December, revealing more details. Hodgetts, a Post Office engineer, had been dating Carol, but she—two years younger—thought she was too young to marry or tie herself to an engagement. Hodgetts, besotted with Carol, had, a few days before, threatened to kill himself; as she tidied her desk ahead of the weekend, she had ominously remarked that "If you don't see me on Monday, you'll know I'm dead", according to the Mirror.

On Sunday, shortly before 10 pm, her father opened the front door and welcomed Hodgetts in, only for Hodgetts to stab him with a double-edged knife. He tried to defend himself with a broom, and the noise attracted Carol from upstairs. Running down the stairs, she attempted to grab Hodgetts from behind. Her father dropped the broom and also struggled with Hodgetts.

Carol ran out of the house to get help, and Hodgetts, leaving her father lying on the floor, chased her down and attacked her. When her father reached the street, he saw Carol slumped against the door of a house opposite, Hodgetts still striking at her with the knife.

Hodgetts then stood up, held the knife against his stomach, and ran against a wall, twice before collapsing.

Pleading not guilty to murder, he instead pleaded guilty with diminished responsibility to manslaughter and was sentenced to life imprisonment at the Old Bailey in January 1965.

With a company as huge as Fleetway Publications in the Sixties there are bound to be a enough stories over the years to fill a tabloid.

So, to the news... and it's good. The contract for Mytek the Mighty volumes 1 and 2 has been signed and I can now get going with the last few steps towards getting it into the hands of readers. Expect more news over the next couple of weeks.

I spent much of yesterday trying to match images to issue numbers as I have a large number of photos of original artwork from the war libraries that have yet to be matched with an issue number. I managed to track down quite a few yesterday, but there are still many more to go. Wish me luck!