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

ONE-EYED JACK ready to pre-order

Here's the cover to Rebellion's first book in their Treasury of British Comics series. One-Eyed Jack will be published on 15th June but you can pre-order it now from the 2000AD shop. 

As well as the standard £14.99 edition there's also a limited bookplate edition for £19.99 which is signed by the strip's creator/writer John Wagner. To order your copy, visit this link:
https://shop.2000ad.com/catalogue/RCA-B0019

The book will collect all of the One-Eyed Jack strips that originally appeared in Valiant weekly in the 1970s. There's also a new introduction by John Wagner and a colour gallery of the covers that featured One-Eyed Jack. 

Here's more info, courtesy of Rebellion...

• CREATIVE TEAM: John Wagner, Gerry Finley-Day (w) John Cooper (a) 
• REGIONS: UK, worldwide digital
• RELEASE DATE: 15 June 2017
• PAPERBACK - 156 pages
• PRICE: £14.99 (UK)
• ISBN: 9781781085721
• DIAMOND: APR171922


John Wagner's take-no-prisoners-cop and the forerunner to Judge Dredd is collected for the very first time! Part Dirty Harry, part Judge Dredd, all badass! Police Detective Jack McBane is the toughest, meanest law enforcer in 1970's New York City. Having lost his left eye in the line of duty, McBane will stop at nothing to rid the crime-infested streets of scumbags and villains - even if it means having to occasionally break the rules! This is the first collection from Rebellion's dedicated Treasury of British Comics line, collecting lost comics from the golden age of British comics.

The book will be 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

Faceache, Marney, Leopardboy, One-Eyed Jack... coming back!

Marney the Fox © Rebellion A/S. Art by John Stokes.

I've known about this for a while but was sworn to secrecy, but now the news is out there. Rebellion have announced which classic Fleetway strips they're bringing back to print this year, and they're all glorious. The collective name for the books is The Treasury of British Comics...

You already knew about One-Eyed Jack by John Wagner and John Cooper, but today Rebellion have announced that other books will include:

Misty Book 2: The Sentinels and End of the Line. 

The Leopard from Lime Street drawn by Mike Western and Eric Bradbury.

Marney the Fox: the wonderful adventure strip from Buster by Scott Goodall and John Stokes. 

...and... just drink in this great news...

Faceache by Ken Reid, from Jet and Buster. 

Are you excited yet? For more info, check out this link:
http://www.thebookseller.com/news/2000-ad-revive-childrens-comics-70s-and-80s-496121


UPDATE 28/2/17: Comics journalist Heidi MacDonald now has expanded details of the books, and more artwork, on her excellent blog The Beat:
http://www.comicsbeat.com/2000ad-launches-the-treasury-of-british-comics-line-with-classic-brit-comics/