Review: ONE-EYED JACK

If there's one lesson to be learned from the long history of British comics it's that they've had to evolve to survive. As with the human condition, change is necessary to cope with the traumas of life, and comics have had to experiment and change to adapt to new environments and situations too. By the early to mid-1970s, IPC comics were struggling to appeal to their audience. New comics such as Thunder and Jet were so rooted in the style of the past they failed after 22 weeks, and even the long-running Lion met its demise in 1974. 

The generation of comic-buyers of the Seventies were used to a tougher tone of entertainment in TV, books and films but the comics were not reflecting that. Then along came D.C. Thomson's Warlord, a grittier, more dynamic comic, spurring IPC into action with an even tougher rival, Battle Picture Weekly. The new, no-nonsense storytelling style of Battle was a big success with readers, and so IPC tried the same technique by revamping one of its oldest titles, Valiant. The experiment came too late to keep Valiant afloat for long, but that final year of the comic gave us One-Eyed Jack, the hard-as-nails New York cop created by John Wagner and John Cooper. 

All of those One-Eyed Jack strips from Valiant have now been collected in the first book in Rebellion's new Treasury of British Comics line. One-Eyed Jack is a marvellous 156 page volume of tightly written crime thrillers that make a refreshing change to the slow "deconstructed" writing style of many modern comics. There's no fat on these stories, and each episode only runs to three pages, so the reader is plunged straight into the action. 

The scripts by John Wagner are a masterclass of short-story writing; a technique that seems rare these days. John Cooper's artwork is perfect for such a fast paced action strip. There's definitely a Frank Bellamy influence to Cooper's art, but he adopts it so well and makes it his own. 

One-Eyed Jack swiftly became the most popular strip in Valiant, and although it didn't halt Valiant's demise, it laid the groundwork for a new breed of tougher heroes such as Judge Dredd. It's therefore the ideal choice to kick off the Treasury of British Comics volumes. 

There are also bonus features in the book, with a full colour One-Eyed Jack story from Valiant Annual 1978 and a colour gallery of all the Valiant covers that featured the character. 

Although paperback, the book features 'French folds' that make the covers feel sturdier. See the flattened out version below to show you what I mean...

One-Eyed Jack will be published on 15th June at £14.99. There's also a signed limited edition bookplate edition at £19.99 that you can order from the 2000AD shop:
https://shop.2000ad.com/catalogue/RCA-B0019

Available in print from: book stores, Amazon, and comic book stores via Diamond Available in digital from: 2000 AD webshop, 2000 AD iPad app, 2000 AD Android app, 2000 AD Windows 10 app