The A to Z of British Newspaper Strips

Because newspapers are more likely to have an adult audience, the comic strips that appear in their pages are also more likely to be aimed at an older age group, whether that's adventure strips with smarter and more complex plots (Modesty Blaise, Jeff Hawke, etc.), satirical strips taking on politics (If, Maggie's Farm, No.10, etc.), or strips that put the 'strip' in strips (Jane, George and Lynne, Ben & Katie, etc.). They tend to be taken a little more seriously, have sometimes been collected in book form, and (thanks to syndication) might be well known beyond these shores, while the vast majority of strips in comics are lost to history.

It is surprising therefore that so little research has been put into cataloguing their existence. The story of British newspaper strips has previously been covered only in limited depth by Denis Gifford, who wrote Stap Me! The British Newspaper Strip back in 1971, and Denis continued to be deeply interested in collecting examples of newspaper strips for the next three decades. But, with Mark Bryant an admirable exception, nobody has made any effort beyond a few half-hearted lists that can be found on the internet, all woefully inadequate.

Paul Hudson should be congratulated for tackling a subject that not even I have been mad enough to contemplate. Comic strips have been a feature of newspapers since before the First World War, with the 16 episodes of W. K. Haselden's 'Mr Simkins on his Holidays' appearing in 1908, and the book covers a broad cross-section of newspapers and magazines from the last century, from Haselden's 'Big and Little Willie' — about the Kaiser and his son — dating from 1914 to strips still running.

Along the way you'll find the famous — since we were a Daily Mirror household I grew up on Andy Capp, Garth and The Perishers — to more obscure strips like The Big Yin, co-written by Billy Connolly in the 1970s, and Summer of Love by Pete Milligan & Brendan McCarthy in the short-lived News on Sunday. For every Rupert that you've heard of there's a Rex Ascot or a Rick Martin for you to discover.

This is not an encyclopedia, so don't expect to discover the dates a strip ran or the number of episodes. Information is usually brief, listing artist and writer where known, where and roughly when a strip appeared, and a short description, occasionally a longer description, the aforementioned Rupert getting two pages. All but a small handful are illustrated with an example or two, in colour if that was how they appeared.

It has been fifty years since the last book celebrating homegrown newspaper strips. Hopefully it won't be another fifty years before the next... but in the meantime Paul Hudson's A to Z is an enjoyable, alphabetical romp through a century of strips that don't deserve to be forgotten. Some you'll recall with half-remembered nostalgia, but, if you're like me, you'll spend half the book wishing that there were collections of many, many more of these strips than there are.*

The A to Z of British Newspaper Strips by Paul Hudson
Book Palace Books ISBN 978-191354824-7, July 2022, 316pp, £55.00. Available via Amazon.

* I've done my bit, reprinting London Is Stranger Than Fiction by Peter Jackson a few years ago. It's still available.

The 77 #7 (April 2022)

I try to avoid reviewing new comics here as it usually takes me so long that they're often already two or three issues ago or (worse) sold out. But for once I'm going to break the rules.

The 77 has come a long way since its first issue in 2020. Evolved, I should say, as the magazine set the bar high for quality from the start. Now, strips that launched with the debut issue ('Division 77'. 'V', 'enny Pentagram', 'The Screaming Hand') have disappeared and a whole new line-up has evolved over seven issues. If memory serves, only 'Sgt. Shouty', Lew Stringers' Moon Force maniac has the muscles of a Desperate Dan and the temper tantrums of a Captain Hurricane.

The new paper has been kept in the public eye by a rolling programme of Kickstarters, the latest for Pandora, a companion comic that is due out this summer, and the tireless efforts of editor Ben Cullis (aka Benksy) and his talented team on social media and at conventions. But that effort would be wasted if the product wasn't good, and it is the quality of the comic itself that means it continues to survive and thrive.

The 64-pages (plus covers) are full colour, way beyond the abilities of the "small press" back in the days of Fast Fiction, Harrier, et al, but at the same time the anthology format does mean that stories lurch along at five or six pages every three months. I haven't decided which is best: the pleasure of having a lot of different stories/styles or the satisfaction of a longer story with a beginning, middle and end—anthologies risk having a lot of middle and few intriguing openings or satisfying conclusions.

Debuting this issue, 'Black Dog Lane' (Kit Bodhi / Mac [Ben McLeod]) starts off in lighthearted mode as, one by one, an old rocker's band mates die and he finds himself working as a security guard at a laboratory. A year later, what should have been his happiest day is disrupted by the opening of a portal.

There are plenty of excellent strips amongst the other eleven on display here. A couple stand out: 'Extinction 2040' (Paul Goodenough / Ian Stopforth) is a futuristic thriller with spies captured by climate activists after a bungled operation; 'Division 77: Terra' (Dave Heeley / Hal Laren) reaches an explosive conclusion; 'Galactic Geographic' (Noel K. Hannan / Warwick Fraser-Coombe) sees TV journalist Ryan Quark fall pregnant on the planet Phallux, opening up an opportunity for a new Reality show;  and 'Mister Meeker, Monster Maker' (Bambos Georgiou / Andy Meanock) visits Vladimir Valkarian, the renowned occultist to obtain a grimoire that will aid his quest to create artificial life.

Other stories in the anthology are just as good, but I've picked these out to show the diversity of the stories and the artwork ranges from the colourful, chaotic dynamism of Ian Stopforth's 'Extinction 2040' to the Hunt Emerson-inspired packed panels of Andy Meanock.

Those of you who weren't involved in the Kickstarter can still buy copies of the latest issue and back issues (with a reissue of #1 available this summer), and the recent The 77 Annual, from Get My Comics. 77 Publications also publish Blazer, a throw-back to the old days of Action from the pen of ex-Tharg Steve MacManus.

Review: Battling Britons

Justin Marriott has built himself a publishing empire, with Paperback Fanatic, Men of Violence, Hot Lead and The Sleazy Reader as a backbone to a range of one-shots like last year's Pulp Apocalypse. I take my hat off to him.

His latest publication is Battling Britons, a 162-page collection of reviews by various hands of various war-themed strips published in British comics. The earliest date from the early Sixties (issues of War Picture Library, War at Sea Picture Library) and the latest from only a few years ago (an issue of Commando). His introduction reveals that Justin was an irregular reader of comics, but rediscovered them while compiling reviews for another book, Paperbacks at War. Planning to include a handful of comics, he bought some back numbers of pocket libraries, only to re-discover their quality. Thus the seeds for Battling Britons were sown.

The volume looks at strips from the pages of War and Battle picture libraries, Commando, Battle Picture Weekly, Victor, Warlord, Valiant, Eagle, and elsewhere. It begins with a whistlestop history of war comics in the UK before it reaches the meat of the book: over 200 reviews across 140 pages. The strips are listed in alphabetical order, which helps randomize them, so a 1964 Air Ace Picture Library is followed by stories from Battle Picture Weekly, War Picture Library, Commando and Warlord.

The reviews are written by a handful of contributors: Marriott himself, Steve Myall, Jim O'Brien and James Reasoner, with introduction and afterword by Paul Trimble and Gary Martin Dobbs respectively. It's a book that's best dipped into, so let's dip in... Justin isn't keen on 'Beware the Cat', a 1978 issue of Commando involving an astrologer targetted by Hitler because he didn't predict an assassination attempt... 'Johnny Red' gets five grenades (that's the star system) for its gritty storylines and likeable hero... 'Nazi Nightmare' (another Commando) is described as "A souped-up version of the famous thriller The Boys From Brazil"... 'Cope's Crusaders' (from Wizard, 1975) are a group of Brits caught unarmed on a Greek island, holed up in a castle that they defend using ancient weapons... 'Winged Vengeance (Spike, 1983) features a good Luftwaffe pilot, but doesn't impress Jim O'Brien as he begins opposing his own side... 'Cadman' gets four well-deserved grenades, a backstabbing, self-serving weasel who tries to avoid danger at every turn...

You get the picture. There are one or two surprising omissions ('Darkie's Mob' and 'The Sarge' being two instances) but thanks to these descriptive and entertaining reviews, I now want to find and read almost every one of these unlikely yarns. You will, too.

Battling Britons, edited by Justin Marriott
Justin Marriot, 6 April 2021, 162pp, £8.00. Available from Amazon.

Illustrators #29 (Spring 2020)

Issue 29 is Illustrators in a lighter mood than usual. From its cover illustrations – Charles Addams on the front and Lawson Wood on the back – through most of its 96 pages, the latest outing offers a bit of comic relief from the daily stresses of the lockdown.

"Chas" Addams was a master of the darker side of humour, which he depicted with ghoulish delight. His most famous creation, The Addams Family, and his macabre sense of humour made Addams the subject of several odd rumours and he could not live up the expectations of what he was like in real life. Tall and well-dressed, Addams was thin-lipped and had a bulbous nose and small eyes – nothing like Gomez or Morticia or even Uncle Fester, although they shared the large nose and prominent ears.

His cartoons appeared in The New Yorker, Collier's and TV Guide, but it was the two seasons of The Addams Family (1964-66) that made him a household name. The TV series was dropped after only two seasons; a similar fate befell another family of monsters, The Munsters, at the same time, both black & white shows losing out to the popularity (and colour) of Batman. His editor felt that the TV series was too low brow for The New Yorker and wanted no more of the family in his pages.

While Addams died in 1988, his characters survived, through syndication and in animation, feature films and a recent (2019) CGI animated movie.

The work of Lawson Wood couldn't be more different. His fame rests on the shoulders of monkeys, chiefly those of Gran'pop, an elderly monkey, and his family who became the star of The Sketch and, in America, Collier's, appearing in colour and quickly establishing an audience that went out and bought Gran'pop postcards, posters, calendars and Gran'pop Annuals.

Wood was trained at a specialist school of animal painting in London where he followed in the footsteps of Alfred Munnings, Cecil Aldin and George Studdy. From illustrating popular magazine stories in the pages of Pearson's, The Strand, Boy's Own Paper and The Captain, Wood turned to illustrating books and leading illustrated magazines The Graphic and The London Illustrated News. His talents were recognised by galleries and even the Royal Academy.

Another change of pace brings us to Roy Wilson, although Wilson, too, had the talent to bring animals to life in his watercolour covers for annuals. Wilson's ability to depict motion and movement was unequaled in comics in the 1930s. He began his career in comics as an assistant, but had surpassed the abilities of Don Newhouse by the time he went solo in 1933. Wilson was often tasked with producing the front covers of Amalgamated Press's comics – Butterfly, Merry and Bright, Sparkler, Puck, Golden and, most notably, 'At Chimpo's Circus' for the beautifully gravure printed Happy Days.

Post War, he brought life to the adventures of Morecambe and Wise and Terry-Thomas and other celebrities, never skimping on the detail and always including little visual extras ‐ a cat clutching its sides at the antics of the star of the strip, a rat sniffing a flower, a startled dog peering around a fence, etc., etc.

One of the earliest creators of bizarre caricatures was the French illustrator J. J. Grandville, who was one of the most influential fantasy and science fiction artists, drawing whimsical images of animals in human clothing and remarkable futuristic cityscapes. His series Les Metaphorphosis du Jour brought him fame and ran to 70 prints and led to a new law censoring cartoons and caricatures in France.

Grandville's Un Autre Monde (1844) explored social and scientific advances combined with surreal dreamscapes. The artist continued his depictions of human-animal and flower-human hybrids until his death in 1847.

Another darkly comic cartoonist wraps up the issue. Ersin Karabulut is a Turkish digital illustrator and graphic designer who co-founded the prestigious satirical weekly magazine Uykusuz in 2007, although he now lives in Los Angeles.

For more information on Illustrators and back issues, visit the Book Palace website, where you can also find details of their online editions, and news of upcoming issues. Issue 30 will have features on Mort Kunstler, Earl Norem, Norman Saunders and men's adventure magazines. There are two specials also due shortly: a Crime Comics special, featuring the works of Sean Phillips, Jordi Bernet and Charles Biro, and The Art of John M. Burns.

Masters of British Comic Art by David Roach

Masters of British Comic Art

Steve Winders reviews David Roach’s new book about the history of British comics.

With a specially commissioned cover by Brian Bolland showing four of Britain’s most iconic characters, Dan Dare, Judge Dredd, Rupert Bear and Tank Girl responsibly crossing Abbey Road using the Zebra crossing in the finest tradition of the Beatles and with Kolvorok from Jeff Hawke, slipped discreetly into the picture behind them, this epic tome which runs to 384 pages, tells the history of British comics and in my view leaves no stone unturned. The artist and comics authority David Roach makes the bold claim that comics started in Britain and proceeds to prove it. Referring back to the work of Hogarth in the eighteenth century, he concludes that one of his successors, Thomas Rowlandson was really the first cartoon strip artist and provides an example. Taking readers through examples in the next century, he reaches Ally Sloper who first appeared in 1867 and then on to Chips in 1896, which featured Weary Waddles and Tired Tim, immediately recognisable as a comic strip which predated America’s main claim to the first comic strip The Yellow Kid by several months. Although created earlier, The Yellow Kid originally featured in single illustrations.

David Roach moves on from the Victorian era to first explore the humorous comics as they predate those of other genres. Despite the vast range, he manages to include every significant publication and his engaging and informative text is accompanied by examples of pages from many weeklies. Later chapters cover pre-school comics, adventure comics, the influence of artists’ agencies, girls’ comics, newspaper strips, the influence of American comics, underground comics, 2000AD comic and its stable, comic developments from the 1980s, the British invasion of American comics and comics in the 21st century. All of these include many reprinted pages and pictures, in colour and black and white. There is also a large gallery of full page examples of quality artwork, often reprinted from originals and covering the whole range of British comic strip art. Included in the gallery is work by such diverse talents as Bryan Talbot, Mary Tourtel, Leo Baxendale, Reg Bunn, Jamie Hewlett, Frank Bellamy, Sydney Jordan, Shirley Bellwood and Rufus Dayglo, among many others. The book is so thorough that I tested it by listing a group of random significant artists to see if they were mentioned. Only two of my random fifteen were missing, which is remarkable in a publication which covers such a vast area.

I have few criticisms and they are minor. I picked up small errors in my own particular area of interest. Frank Hampson’s strip for Eagle about the life of Christ, is called 'The Road of Courage', not 'The Road to Courage'. The Dan Dare strip moved from the cover to the inside pages of Eagle in March 1962 and not October 1961 as stated and the artists Richard Jennings and Martin Aitchison did not "move on elsewhere" from Eagle in March 1962. Aitchison drew 'The Lost World' and then 'Hornblower', finally leaving in 1963. Jennings scripted 'The Lost World' and then drew 'Earthquake Island' before leaving. However, the very fact that these details are even mentioned in such a broad work is an indication of the depth that David Roach has gone to in his narrative. Most works which cover such a huge area tend to skate over the finer details or make broad misleading statements. This book does not.

A small number of names are spelled incorrectly: Oswald Mosely should read Mosley; Ian Flemming should have just one ‘m’, like his Secret Intelligence Service does; Steven Hawkins is Stephen Hawking; and Alberto Gilolotti is Giolotti. One or two dates given for artists are also wrong. Reg Bunn, for instance, died in 1971, not 1970. Finally such a detailed work would have benefited from an index.

This is a well researched and ambitious book which succeeds admirably in its bold aim of exploring the long and varied history of British comics. Any fan of Britain’s comics will derive great pleasure and learn much from it. It has been written by someone who really knows the comic industry and his knowledge and enthusiasm are evident on every page.

Masters of British Comic Art by David Roach
Rebellion ISBN978-1781-08759-6, 2 April 2020, 384pp, £39.99 / $50 (hardcover, cover by Brian Bolland) Available via Amazon.

Comic Scene #11 (February 2020)

The latest issue of Comic Scene celebrates the best of 2019 and rewards the best of the year in its inaugural ComicScene Awards. I won't run through all the winners in all its many categories, but I will just say congratulations to all the winners and its nice to see some British titles getting some recognition, from Aces Weekly and Rebellion to Ramsey's Raiders and Combat Colin.

This issue contains Richard Bruton's excellent review of 2019, a fascinating, sprawling look back at everything from what has been happening in the major American comics universes (Marvel, DC) to the highlights of British publishing, including the wide range of material being published by Rebellion supporting its 2000 AD and Treasury of British Comics brands. That there is still life in the old dog yet can be seen from this year's celebration of 4,000 issues of The Beano and 400 issues of The Phoenix. Even Commando, which will publish its 5,300th issue in January, has been in experimental mood, reintroducing characters and experimenting with historical and horror tales.

Bruton also covers the small presses, comic shops and conventions, making recommendations along the way. It's entertaining, informative and probably the best thing the magazine has published this year.

Another retrospective looking at 40 years of Doctor Who strips in Doctor Who Weekly and Doctor Who Magazine begins in 2005 with the arrival of the ninth Doctor in the pages of DWM. Ian Wheeler's article weaves in interviews with Mike Collins, Scott Gray, Tom Spilsbury and others, who offer plenty of first hand insight.

Viz also celebrates its 40th birthday with an all-too-brief interview with Simon Thorp. Then we're into the reviews of small press comics, the coverage being as good as ever.

It seems a little odd to complain about comics dominating a magazine about comics, but comics now take up almost 50 of the magazine's 80 pages. The heart of Comic Scene is now a pull-out 24-page comic, Corker!, containing the adventures of 'Gallant & Amos', 'Slash Moron' and 'Megatomic Battle Rabbit'. Of these, 'Slash Moron' continues to be the most entertaining. Outside of the pages of Corker!, there are still more comics, reprints of 'Rok of the Reds', 'Lady Flintlock' and 'Captain Cosmic.

Out now, Comic Scene is available for £5.99 per issue at selected comic shops, W H Smiths, McColls/Martins, Easons (Ireland) and can be ordered at any comic shop.  The magazine is also now on sale in Australia, Canada and the USA. Details about subscriptions can be obtained from Get My Comics: £29.94 for 6 issues (save £6 plus free digital copy); £55.20 for 12 issues (save £16.68 plus free digital copy). Digital copies can be had for £2.99, on £30 for 12 issues (save £5.88‬).

Comic Scene #10 (January 2020)

The big news for Comic Scene is the introduction of a new comic supplement to its pages. Corker has be trailed for a few issues, so its arrival isn't unexpected. A 24-page all-ages comic is a nice idea, but will live or die on the strength of the strips.

Richard Bruton takes a cold, hard look at whether your comic shop is likely to survive based on a simple test. Bruton reveals some astonishing figures for the sale of graphic novels aimed at children and argues that these need to be available in your shop, or you're cutting off a huge revenue stream.

There follows 10 pages of Rok of the Reds, reprinting the opening episode of the John Wagner / Alan Grant aliens meet football comic drawn by Dan Cornwell. For an independent comic, albeit written by two of our best, it became a surprise hit and a sequel (Rok the God) has just started publication. If you've not seen it before, this is your chance to play catch-up.

There is an extract from Julia Round's new book about Misty and other girls' comics, Gothic For Girls (University Press of Mississippi, 2019), aimed at academics but, from this brief look, very accessible to the everyday reader who has an interest in the subject. The opening extract chiefly deals with "The Cult of the Cat" and I assume that somewhere in the book it will mention that "Homero" is a pen-name and not the artist's real name.

There follows 8 pages of Lady Flintlock (by Steve Tanner and Andy Summey), follow-up to the fine highwayman yarn from previous issues of Comic Scene, and 24 pages of Corker. The latter is made up of three strips: Gallant and Amos by Rob Barnes, about a medieval knight and his dragon; Slash Moron by Bambos Georgiou and the late Jim Hansen, originally published in the digital comic Aces Weekly; and Megatomic Battle Rabbit by Stu Perrins and Israel Huretas, about an alien member of the Intergalactic Clean-Up Corp. who crashlands on Earth. The one-page Whackoman  by Marc Jackson wraps up the comic.

This issue concludes two features started last time with parts two of Steve Ray's interview with Andy Diggle (covering Batman, his work for French publisher Delcourt and ComiXology, and why he likes to control a script) and Russ Sheath's interview with metal musicians Scott Ian and Kirk Hammett.

There follows 6 pages of The Adventures of Captain Cosmic by Andy W Clift, an old-fashioned superhero yarn that wouldn't have looked out of place alongside CC Beck's Captain Marvel. (A review reveals that the series develops in interesting ways over its three (to date) issues.)

Alex Thomas (I believe) overseas what is still one of the best review sections currently around and there's the now regular Euro Scene review section.

Barrie Tomlinson wraps up with a look back at the 65th anniversary of Tiger, talking about some of the famous names that appeared in the paper over the years.

If you're here for the articles, you might feel that too much of the new issue – about 5/8ths – is dedicated to comics. Personally, I enjoyed all of them. 

Print copies can be had in newsagents for £5.99 per issue. Details about subscriptions can be obtained from Get My Comics: £29.94 for 6 issues (save £6 plus free digital copy); £55.20 for 12 issues (save £16.68 plus free digital copy). Digital copies can be had for £2.99, on £30 for 12 issues (save £5.88‬).

For other options, and for international rates for the print edition, visit the website.

Comic Scene #9 (December 2019)

The latest Comic Scene has big news for the next issue, with the release of Corker!, an all-ages comic that will be appearing as a pull-out supplement. It, and other promo material dominate the first few pages where we would normally find the editor's chatty introduction and a list of contents. Expecting to find them a few pages on, it was a surprise to find myself in the middle of a 2000AD timeline celebrating 42 years of the comic.

What do you buy for a comic on its 42nd anniversary? The general consensus is 'real estate'. Well, it got you four pages in the latest issue of Comic Scene... that'll have to do.

Chris Hallam, timeline compiler, also has a feature on Halo Jones and a third on Watchmen.

Irmantas Povilaika concludes his 2-part look at Ken Reid's strips for Scorcher & Score, an article full of detail that makes me hope that its author is busy on his promised Ken Reid biography.

Steve J. Ray interviews Andy Diggle, which has some interesting insights into his career and work, including a period as Tharg the Mighty and as a writer on 2000AD, and then in the USA on such diverse titles as Swamp Thing, Action Comics, Batman Confidential and Daredevil. By coincidence, I recently read and enjoyed his Green Arrow origin series. We will have to wait to see what else he has to say, as this is part one of a two-parter.

The centrepiece of this issue is the Hidden Histories project, a National Lottery Heritage Fund project that has resulted in a booklet entitled Great War Dundee. The project, organised through the University of Dundee's Scottish Centre for Comic Studies, involved collecting stories of Dundonians and their experiences during the First World War.

As well as local events, the booklet—included as a pull-out section with his issue of Comic Scene—has a new story by Pat Mills about a Black Watch soldier returning to Dundee. It was pencilled by Gary Welsh and inked by Phillip Vaughan. Other stories in the booklet are 'The Women's Toon' by Erin Keepers & Hailey Austin, with art by Anna Morozova, and 'Casualties of War' written by Calum Laird with art by Elliot Balson. The cover is by Ian Kennedy.

Russ Sheath interview Scott Ian and Kirk Hammett of metal bands Anthrax and Metallica, both avid comics fans. This, too, ends in the dreaded "to be continued next issue". I championed longer articles in the magazine in its early days and it seems churlish to complain, but you would think that, with 80 pages to play with, not every article would need to be split.

The issue wraps up with the usual excellent reviews section, which covers primarily independent comics but now with a European reviews section that was added recently.

Print copies can be had in newsagents for £5.99 per issue. Details about subscriptions can be obtained from Get My Comics: £29.94 for 6 issues (save £6 plus free digital copy); £55.20 for 12 issues (save £16.68 plus free digital copy). Digital copies can be had for £2.99, on £30 for 12 issues (save £5.88‬).

For other options, and for international rates for the print edition, visit the website.

The Thirteenth Floor - Home Sweet Home

The latest Rebellion one-shot is a "Scream! Presents" special continuing the storylines begun on the Scream & Misty Specials for 2017 and 2018. This new story is written by Guy Adams, with a wraparound story drawn by John Stokes, and various other pages drawn by Hanrik Sahlstron, Tom Paterson, Abigail Harding, Frazer Irving, Vince Locke, Jimmy Broxton, V.V. Glass and Kelley Jones.

Max, the computer that runs Maxwell Tower, has been trying to restore himself after so long being dormant, and has teamed up with a young lad named Sam Bowers, who lives unhappily in a flat in the building. His parents argue constantly, but this might not be his biggest problem: Max is using his ability to control people to perform repairs to his system and Sam doesn't know what will happen to them afterwards.

There is also the problem of police officer Hester Benedict who believes too many people have gone missing in the vicinity of the towerblock and has been suffering bad dreams after she, too, experienced Max's Thirteenth Floor, where he punishes wrongdoers.

In the latest installment, Max must turn to Hester when the entire population of the tower find themselves on the Thirteenth Floor. The trigger for the storyline isn't what you might expect and all the more interesting for it (I'm desperately trying to make this spoiler free!).

Because this is a fairly linear story, the changes in style between artists isn't as jarring as you might imagine, leaping as it does from the realism of the opening few pages by Sahlstron to John Stokes' classic British comics' style and abruptly switching to the cartoon insanity of Tom Paterson. The previous two episodes of this story established the convention of artists working on different elements of the tale, bringing their talents to the sometimes gruesome settings for Max's Thirteenth Floor vengeance.

The artists range from the Swedish Sahlstron to Americans Locke and Jones, from illustrator Glass to veteran comic strip artists (Broxton, Irving) and a newcomer (Harding). Andreas Butzbach provides the artwork for a rather more humorous take on the Thirteenth Floor and a reprint of the very first episode (drawn by Spaniard, the late Jose Ortiz) wraps up this 52-page special.

The slowly building reintroduction of Max and the Thirteenth Floor strip takes another solid step forward. We can't be far off a new weekly comic surely?

Comic Scene #7 and #8 (October and November 2019)

I've rather fallen behind with Comic Scene (blame it on desperately trying to keep up with a regular Ebay posting schedule), which is a shame because it has been a consistently entertaining read—and lord knows we need some entertainment these days.

I'm catching up with the latest two issues here, which is quite handy as there are quite a few features that continue from one issue to the next in Comic Scene and I now have the opportunity of reading the conclusion of the Milford Green comic strip, a Victorian era thriller in which an alien, pursued by enemies, crashlands on Earth and hands over a mysterious object to inventor Alfie Fairfield, who consults his neighbour, author H. G. Wells over what to do.

Also concluding is 18th century highwayman adventure Flintlock, although its writer, Steve Tanner, has promised that the story will continue in the pages of Comic Scene in the future.

Grouping these two issues together has an unexpected consequence of pitching Batman against The Joker. Issue 7 (October 2019) has articles by Richard Bruton on a lighthearted run of Detective Comics created by Mike W. Barr & Alan Davies in the 1980s and by Peter Gouldson on the malevolent Batman of Frank Miller's Dark Knight books.

British comics are covered in three features: Philip Vaughan concludes his review of the "new" Eagle, Lew Stringer looks back at Pow!, and Irmantas Povilaika celebrates Ken Reid's monstrously fun 'Martha's Monster Make-up'.

Ken Reid also features in issue 8 (November 2019) with a glance back at the football strips he did for Scorcher—the little known 'Sub', 'Football Forum' and 'Manager Matt'. The latter was still running when Scorcher absorbed Score, but Reid's work continued unabated with Matt succeeded by 'Hugh Fowler'. You'll have to wait for part two to learn what happened after that.

On the Batman/Joker front, we have Joel Meadow's preview of The Joker movie, Richard Bruton on Batman Adventures, the spin-off from the Batman Animated series, and Martin Dallard taking on Tim Burton's 1989 Batman movie.

Of this month's other features, Lew Stringer flies through 33 years of the history of TV Comic in two pages while Stephen Jewell has five pages to study Marvel #1000, admittedly a landmark 96-page issue involving 80 creative teams. It's a packed issue, but in this (suit)case it's like discovering your kid has packed five bath towels and only one pair of pants for his holiday.


The issue concludes with an extract from Steve MacManus's The SheerGlam Conspiracy (reviewed here) and both issues have the usual excellent reviews section, covering a wide range of mostly independent titles. Two pages are now dedicated to European comics.

Details about subscriptions can be obtained from www.comicscene.org. Rates for print issues for the UK are £5.99 for one issue; £35 for 6 issues; £68 for 12 issues.You can get a pdf version for £3.99 (1), £22 (6) or £40 (12).

Payment can be made via PayPal to comicsceneuk@gmail.com. For other options, and for international rates for the print edition, visit the website.

FanScene #4 (September 2019)

The fourth issue of FanScene , the free-to-download British comics' fanzine, is for the most part a tribute issue following the deaths of Stan Lee and Mike Noble in late 2018. Various articles on these famous creators fill the first 40% of the new issue in a variety of ways, ranging from an interview with graffiti artist Ejek (Danny McDermott), who painted (sprayed?) a mural in tribute to Lee on a wall in the Gorbals area of Glasgow to celebrity reaction to his death.

Of the tributes paid to Mike Noble, my favourite** is Norman Boyd's 'Mike Noble in Focus: "Wide World" (1962)', which features Mike's contributions to the long-running adventure pulp Wide World. I doubt if even the most ardent Mike Noble fan—bar one, of course—has seen this artwork, which appeared 57 years ago. As someone who has been knocking about for the same number of years, it's nice to see something new (to me) from one of my favourite artists.

Perhaps the best piece in the whole 88-page magazine is Robert Menzies' interview with Alan Murray, who worked for Marvel UK in its early days. After a period working in advertising agencies, a fellow commuter told him of a possible job on magazines that were being published out of an office in High Holborn. Thus Murray came to work for Marvel, then just starting to make inroads into the UK market with titles like Spider-Man Comics Weekly.

At that time I was still a Fleetway fanatic, so Murray's revelations about his time at Marvel are new and fascinating and this is the kind of article that we need to see more of in British fanzines.

The issue concludes with a grab-bag of articles and art. Richard Sheaf takes a look at Spaceship Away as it reaches 50 issues and Peter Duncan dips into the Power Comics merger into Eagle, and there are articles about an Anime convention, collecting old comics, and a lengthy biographical comic strip from Neal Burton & Mark Wayne Barrett.

This isn't really a review—I'm only here to pique your interest. Fanscene costs nothing to pick up, so everyone can afford to try it for yourself. For copies, visit David Hathaway-Price's website, where you can also download earlier issues.

(** well... second favourite, as one of the features is an article I co-wrote with Bill Storie back in 1993 which I'm still proud of.)

The SheerGlam Conspiracy by Steve MacManus

The sudden death of Peregrine Goodenough in 1973, elevates his son, Godric, to the chairmanship of Goodenough Publications, whose line of comics has been bringing action, adventure and humour to the shelves of newsagents for forty years.

As the novel opens, a young Irish girl named Sinead becomes a junior at the company, hoping to find work there as an artist. First she falls into the hands of sour Bob Buerk and his equally awful assistant (and lover), Janice Ballpinch, having been assigned to help in the office responsible for office furniture. She is rescued from their ghastly clutches by Gloria SheerGlam, who has her assigned as art assistant on Patsy, but with a roving brief to get experience on other papers published by Goodenough.

Thus Sinead becomes the readers' guide as she passes through the various offices to learn the ropes, sorting through readers letters, going through the slush pile of uncommissioned scripts and 'bodging' artwork on Goodenoughs colourfully titled comics Frightful, Whaddagoal! and Destroyer for boys, the youthful Jamboree, and Patsy for girls 

Meanwhile, Patsy sub Thisbe Thwaite-Jones lusts after muscular Ted; editor Marion Mildmay is secretly the author of the hugely popular Patsy strip 'Saints v Sinners'; and Glora SheerGlam is involved in something very dodgy into which she wants to lure new assistant, Sinead—the daughters of Brünhilde, a cult mixing elements of Norse mythology, Wagner and the Bund Deutscher Mädel (League of German Girls).

Lurking unseen in the background, hidden away in room 401, a pair of Scotsmen are putting together a dummy for a new comic (known only as GNP13) that Goodenough hopes will blow away the opposition, Tartan Comics.

Anyone with a passing knowledge of comics will recognise the two powerhouse publishers of British comics, IPC (Fleetway Publications) and DC Thomson, behind these thinly veiled rivals. Whether you can recognise individuals fictionalised in the pages of his novel I guess will depend on whether you, too, worked at IPC as MacManus did, originally as a sub-editor on Valiant and subsequently as Tharg of 2000AD between 1979 and 1987.

The occasional name crops up that insiders will recognise—Eric Western is a portmanteau of Eric Bradbury and Mike Western, for instance—but whether there are direct equivalents to the likes of Geoff Kemp, Stewart Wales and David Hunt, contemporary editors when MacManus joined, or grandees like Jack Le Grand and Sid Bicknell, it's difficult to say. I'm sure elements of all went into the clay from which MacManus created each character. You don't need to be a comics fan to enjoy the book, but that certainly adds to the pleasure, and I can speak from experience that you can roam the environs of Farringdon Street, home of Goodenough Publishing, and find yourself in the Hoop and Grapes or Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese, just around the corner in Fleet Street, as some of the characters do in the novel.

As for the book itself, it's a 40,000-word fun ride. There's plenty of humour, a bit of sex, and lots of lust, jealousy and quirkiness amongst the staff. It's written in a pleasing, undemanding style that, oddly, reminds me of some of the books I was reading in the 1970s that set out to entertain without becoming bloated and bogged down in plot. Perfect books for a train journey. As Sinead visits each comic, you get a taste of each titles' contents, with a string of perfectly-pitched homages of the kind of strips that were running at that time, some hilarious tributes, others excoriating parodies. You can also read the scripts that make up the newly created dummy, Blaze, as a kind of DVD extra at the back of the novel. All I'll say is: I want to read that comic!

Steve promises that the series will continue in The SheerGlam Succession. Good.

Wildcat: Loner

Loner is the second character to be rescued from the pages of the now obscure fortnightly Wildcat comic, which ran a mere 12 issues between October 1988 and April 1989. The adventures of the various crewmen and crewwomen continued in the merged Eagle and Wildcat, Loner having a good run, appearing every few issues (the various crew members rotating) for a while, and then regularly between October 1989 and April 1990.

The premise of the comic was covered in my review of the previous Wildcat compilation featuring Turbo Jones. There is a brief, one-page recap in the new book that outlines the basics: a potential new planet has been discovered and with Earth gone it is up to the crew of the Wildcat to explore the new world for potential hazards.

There are plenty of hazards (what did you expect?) for Loner as he touches down on an unexplored plain. A former mercenary, "mean, tough... ruthless!", his only weapon an antique six-gun converted to fire an assortment of bullets.

Having a black hero in British comics wasn't a first, but it was still unusual. The storylines were also unexpected, with the ultra-masculine Loner first facing a race of alien furballs – fuzzballs, as Loner calls them – with spines like cattle prods. Electric tribbles are the least of his worries: before long he encounters a rather more savage-looking lizard creature in an underworld beneath the planet's surface. Captured, Loner learns that the lizard-creature is an alien, trapped on the planet, who has made slaves of the fuzzballs with its telepathic powers. The creature can also use Loner's own memories against him.

Sent to destroy another alien creature that is threatening the underworld, Loner undergoes a process to evolve his brain so he can use advanced weaponry by telepathy. He'll need to... the monster is the size of a high rise flat.

Thus begins Loner's adventures on the unexplored planet, a very different set of situations that face Turbo Jones and the other explorers sent down to the planet's surface. However, therein lies part of the problem with Wildcat: although aimed at a younger age group than 2000AD, it limited itself to planetary exploration, specifically one planet, and while the individual stories were varied, they were still only variations on a single theme. Look at the early issues of 2000AD with its space travel, near future invasion, violent sports game, a bionic man, time travel, dinosaurs and fascistic future cop – if you didn't like one future, you were probably captivated by another. 

Still, as a concept, Wildcat was an interesting one. Loner, a Jimi Hendrix lookalike (even moreso after gaining a headband), was a tough, no nonsense hero who owed more to Richard Roundtree for his attitude and, according to artist David Pugh, both Hendrix and the Senegalese singer Baba Maal.

Barrie Tomlinson, the writer, managed to keep the series racing along with a lengthy tale that began as The Incredible Shrinking Man, but which took a surreal turn when tiny Loner meets a giant version of himself. By now, Wildcat had merged with Eagle and the strip went through a period of complete stories before returning to serials in the new planet's post-colonisation era. Loner leaves the planet and returns to being a bounty hunter in a now busy galaxy full of inhabited planets, this left turn in the plot coinciding with a change of artist, David Pugh giving way to Eric Bradbury.

This period saw one of Loner's finest stories, as he tries to help an alien friend foil a plan to reconstruct an ancient stone that is also a weapon of terrible power. It's a long tale packed with plenty of interplanetary action, aliens that appear genuinely alien, and plenty of heroics and wisecracks from our hero.

The book includes a complete selection of Loner's appearances in specials and annuals. With over 200 pages of stories, there's plenty to enjoy in this latest volume from the Treasury of British Comics, especially once Loner breaks away from the bounds of exploring a single planet and enters his interplanetary phase.

Wildcat: Loner by Barrie Tomlinson, David Pugh and Eric Bradbury.
Rebellion ISBN 978-1781-08684-1, 5 September 2019, 224pp, £14.99. Available via Amazon.

Leopard From Lime St. Volume 2

Originally published between June 1977 and July 1978, these six stories continue the adventures of the Leopard from Lime Street in a second volume of reprints from the pages of Buster. There's not much back story to catch up on if you missed the first volume, and that's neatly summarized in the opening panel:

After being scratched by a radioactive leopard, 13-year-old Billy Farmer found that he had somehow developed the strength and agility of the mighty jungle cat, and the ability to lick his own anus.

I may have made that last bit up.

Billy was Britain's answer to Peter "Spider-Man" Parker, an orphan living with his aunt Joan and uncle Charlie, the latter a conniving waster always on the look-out to score a quick reward for the little effort as he can muster. As the latest story opens, Charlie has his eye on a £1,000 reward offered by local newspaper owner Thaddeus Clegg and is convinced that Billy will lead him to the lair of the Beast of Selbridge. By coincidence, £1,000 is also the price of a hip operation at a specialist clinic in Austria that Aunt Joan needs in order to walk properly again.

The publicity attracts a chancer by the name of Bert Flanagan who own a run-down travelling fun-fair. He wants the Leopard as a sideshow attraction and, captured, Billy finds himself on exhibition behind bars at Campbell's Circus.

It's surprising that Uncle Charlie doesn't twig that Billy is the Leopard. It takes only one glance for new girl Debra Stevens to realise that there's something strange about Billy, a natural athlete who runs scared of doing athletics. (Two firemen find it suspicious that he calls a cat a "friend" when Billy has only just met the cat... that's the level of suspicion the Beast has caused in Selbridge!)

Over the coming weeks, Billy is catnapped by an eccentric millionaire, tracks down an escaped leopard ahead of a hunting party, struggles to control violent urges when he dons a new leopard costume, is blamed for a series of muggings in the local area, goes ghost hunting at a haunted cinema and foils a gang of would-be bank robbers.

Billy's acrobatic and action-packed adventures were penned by one of Britain's best scriptwriters, Tom Tully, who knew just how to keep his audience on the edge of their seat and anticipating next week's exciting installment. Combined with artwork by the twin talents of Mike Western penciling and Eric Bradbury inking, and you'll soon be swept along by Billy's efforts to help his aunt, avoid being bullied at school and by his uncle, and do right by the unappreciative citizens of Selbridge. The Leopard From Lime St. ran for almost a decade, so there are plenty of other stories waiting to be re-told in further volumes. Fingers crossed.

The Leopard From Lime St. by Tom Tully, Mike Western & Eric Bradbury. Rebellion Publishing ISBN 978-1781-08678-0, 13 June 2019, £14.99. Available via Amazon.

ComicScene #3 (Jun 2019)

The third issue of ComicScene hit the newsstands last week with a one-two double punch from cover star Frankie Stein, setting up this month's theme of "The Funny Pages".

With the recent reprinting of  some classic Ken Reid strips and the upcoming Sweeny Toddler reprint, plus Rebellion's two specials (the Cor!! Buster and the free comic book day freebie, Funny Pages), it's a good time to look back at the traditional weekly British humour titles and celebrate some of the best, with Martin Dallard wandering down memory lane to discuss Cor!! and David Crookes looks back at the history of Buster, while Stephen Jewell and Lew Stringer reveal all about The Cor!! Buster Humour Special through interviews with some of the participants. An interview with Keith Richardson and a look back at the revamped (for Shiver & Shake) Frankie Stein by Irmantas Povilaika wrap up the funny pages for this issue.

There's still space for a great deal more in the 64-page Comic Scene. The issue launches with an interview with one of Britain's longest-serving – and still amongst the best – artists, Ian Kennedy, discussing the launch of The Art of Ian Kennedy with Richard Sheaf. After seventy years in the business, Kennedy has been enjoying a little limelight recently, a well-deserved "three cheers" from both fans and the industry for a man who has toiled so ceaselessly and, for the most part, anonymously. I defy anyone to find an illustration by Ian Kennedy where he has put in anything less than 100%.

My complaint in early reviews about the lack of longer articles in the magazine has been answered; the Kennedy piece is an excellent example of giving someone the space to discuss their art. Peter Gouldson's sprawling history of Marvel UK in the 1970s reaches its third episode, covering the likes of Star Wars Weekly, Hulk, and Doctor Who Weekly.

Other features include an interview with Doctor Who script writer Jody Houser by Ian Wheeler, Batman of the 1950s by Martin Dallard (continuing the series from last issue), and a look at Thor's "War of the Realms" by Stephen Jewell.

There's the usual TripWire section covering comics in other media (interviewing Will Simpson about his storyboards for Game of Thrones, and a preview of  Avengers: Endgame) and an interview with Roy Thomas

The issue is wrapped up with the ongoing comic strips "Our Land" and "Whackoman!", a reviews section that proves the diversity of comics available here in the Independent sector outside the mainstream and Pat Mills' always opinionated "Last Word" column, in which he discusses the vital 8 to 14-year-old age group of comics.

It's another fine issue and I hope editor Tony Foster can keep up the good work. Next month's issue will be taking a look at "To the Death" by Simon Furman & Geoff Senior, which debuted in the ComicScene Annual.

Details about subscriptions can be obtained from www.comicscene.org. Rates for print issues for the UK are £5.99 for one issue; £35 for 6 issues; £68 for 12 issues.You can get a pdf version for £3.99 (1), £22 (6) or £40 (12).

Payment can be made via PayPal to comicsceneuk@gmail.com. For other options, and for international rates for the print edition, visit their website.

Space Ace vol.12 (April 2019)

The final issue! This ought not to be a chock to regular readers, as it was announced in the previous issue that this twelfth number would be the last. But don't panic, dear readers, as there are plans to continue reprinting Ron Turner's work in colour in the future.

Before we get to that, the latest issue is a bumper 48 pages with a square spine and four stories, as well as a couple of bits of bonus material. As ever, the stories are the meat of the issue, and these are, as always, gorgeously coloured by John Ridgway, who has taken Turner's original black & white images and brought them beautifully to life in colour without losing the underlying art that is still recognisably Ron Turner.

Turner was also his own scriptwriter, but with only between seven and nine pages to play with – these stories coming from the pages of Space Ace (1960-61) – the plots could only ever be limited in scope and never so complicated they would confuse the juvenile audience they were aimed at. Despite this, Turner's imaginative chiaroscuro artwork made the simplistic stories memorable and, even almost sixty years later, they still entertain.

In 'Space Ace and the Two Enemies', Ace and Bill stumble upon a space battle between the Zakarons and Balkorians over a technology that keeps the Zakaron seas free of ice and the climate habitable. When the Balkorians steal the Thermovak, it is up to Ace and Bill to disguise themselves and head into the lion's den to get it back.

The barrier of 'Space Ace and the Barrier' is a protective force field stopping a corrosive gas that has surrounded a planet – and which causes Ace's Interstellar Patrol spaceship to disintegrate – from making planetfall.

'Space Ace and the Hollow Planet' begins with an emergency message sending Ace and Bill to Medron, a hollow planet with a sun at its centre, which a neighbouring race plans to destroy by drawing the central sun up to the inner surface.

Finally, and aptly as it was the last Space Ace Turner drew, 'Space Ace and the Arizona Crater' sees something mechanical exit a mile-wide crater in the wilds of America. Similar machines appear on the surface of all the planets in the solar system and begin systematically destroying everything in their path. Ace and Bill are captured as specimens of Earth.

As I said, they're thoroughly entertaining little yarns and I'm glad editor John Lawrence has brought them back from the brink of obscurity. John also provides a checklist of Turner's Space Ace stories and a feature on what Turner went on to draw in the aftermath of leaving Space Ace behind.

The good news is that John has announced that while Space Ace is coming to an end, he already has plans for a replacement, namely Ron Turner's Tit-Bits SF Comics, which will reproduce, with John Ridgway's superb colouring, Turner's contributions to the scarce 1953-54 Pearson comic. The smaller paperback format made it impossible to reprint the stories in the same format as Space Ace without extensive cropping and resizing. One story from the first issue will be the previously unpublished (in English) 'Diamonds of Death', which has only ever appeared in France.

You can get hold of this latest volume of Space Ace for £8.95 (UK) or £12.50 (Europe) and £14.50 (International) including p&p — and that's pretty much at cost, I can assure you — with payments through Paypal via spaceace.54 AT virginmedia.com or by cheque or postal order to John Lawrence, 39 Carterweys, Dunstable, Beds. LU5 4RB.

John tells me that he has some back issues available from volume 7 onwards, but it is best to check for availability before trying to order.