Preview: DEATH WISH Volume 1

The next book from The Treasury of British Comics arrives on the shelves next week with the publication of Death Wish. A collection of every episode of the serial from Speed comic from 1980, Death Wish is written by Barrie Tomlinson and illustrated by Vanyo.

Death Wish told the story of Blake Edmonds, a famous Formula 1 driver who suffers a terrible crash leaving him disfigured. Instead of avoiding the spotlight, Edmonds takes on ever-more dangerous stunts, not caring if he lives or dies.

A tightly-written story with not a wasted moment, Death Wish hails from the days of British comics when serials had only three pages an episode. Just enough time to resolve the previous week's cliffhanger, develop the story a little more, before ending with another nail-biting cliffhanger. This technique served comics well for decades, and reading such stories today the hectic pace makes a refreshing change from the laborious "deconstructed" style of many modern comics. 

The crisp, solid artwork proved that Vanyo was the ideal choice to illustrate the series, showing his ability to convincingly draw vehicles and people with perfect skill.

Some episodes of Death Wish started on the covers of Speed, and those are all reproduced in full colour. The book also includes two complete episodes from Speed Annuals, so all in all it's a nice package. 

Here's the PR from Rebellion, plus a preview of the first episode...

• CREATIVE TEAM: Barrie Tomlinson (w) Vanyo (a)
• RELEASE DATE: 11th July 2019
• PAPERBACK, 112 pages
• PRICE: £14.99 (UK)
• ISBN: 9781781086803
• DIAMOND: MAY191881

Blake Edmonds had it all - fame, money, looks... and then the world-famous F1 driver suffered a terrible accident which left him hideously disfigured. Fashioning a mask to hide his terrible visage, Edmonds has taken on a new career as a stuntman, flirting with death on a regular basis. Mashing together the 70s F1 popularity wave with a macabre, uncanny horror and visceral action, Death Wish was a hit across the nation. Here the original strips are re-mastered in their entirety.
Available in print from: Treasury of British Comics webshop, book stores, Amazon, and comic book stores via Diamond.

Available in digital from: Treasury of British Comics webshop & apps for iPad, Android and Windows 10

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Death Wish goes on sale on 11th July, and later this month Comic Scene magazine No.6 includes a feature on the strip. You can subscribe to Comic Scene from this link:

https://getmycomics.com/ComicScene

Journey to the Stars (SPEED, 1980)

When IPC launched Speed in 1980 I must admit I was a bit cynical about it. The tone and look of the comic seemed to be a step backwards from what we'd seen with Battle, Action, 2000AD and Starlord. Maybe it was, as it only lasted for 31 issues before merging into Tiger. However, its run was interrupted for several weeks due to industrial action, which clearly didn't help sales.

Looking at it now, it's not a bad comic at all. Solid storytelling and great artwork. Speed was obviously intended for a slightly younger reader than some of IPC's other boys' comics and there's nothing wrong with that. (I was 21 at the time so didn't appreciate it in the same way an 8 year old would have.) I would still question the absence of credits on the stories though. That was definitely a step backwards, considering 2000AD and Battle were both running credit boxes by then. 

One of the standout strips in Speed was Journey to the Stars, with glorious colour artwork by Ron Turner. Pretty much inspired by 1960s TV show Lost In Space, the Redford family find themselves trapped on an unknown planet and encountering various beings and dangers. Here's a couple of sample strips I'm showing today. The episode above is from the issue dated 15th March 1980, and the one below from the issue dated 5th April 1980. 

Now that Rebellion own Speed and its strips, perhaps we'll see Journey to the Stars reprinted one day. It's probably too young in tone for the average comic fan but I think it'd make a nice book for children. What do you think?

More classics from the 1980s collected

Ireland-based publishers Hibernia Comics, who have previously published collections of strips such as The Tower King and The Thirteenth Floor (see here) have recently released two more books, - and they're the best yet. 

First up is The Best of Library of Death, which reprints the short self-contained horror shockers from 1980s weekly Scream! As the comic's editor Ian Rimmer explains in his introduction, the beauty of these stories is that he was able to commission a variety of writers and artists. And what talent! In this collection there are strips by Ron Smith, Mike Western, Cam Kennedy, Steve Parkhouse, José Casanovas and more. There's a couple of early Dave Gibbons strips too, which although used in the 1986 Scream! Holiday Special had originally been commissioned in 1973 for an aborted IPC horror comic.

I'd forgotten what a high standard of work had appeared in Scream! Although it wasn't a 'blood and gore' horror comic it certainly had some creepy moments of terror in its strips such as The Punch and Judy Horror Show illustrated by Brendan McCarthy.

Fans of Steve Dillon should be interested in this too, with the five page Beware the Werewolf strip illustrated by the artist from a script by Simon Furman.

The other book published by Hibernia this week is Baker's Half-Dozen, collecting the complete war serial from Speed comic (1980). 

Although 2000AD was already running credits at the time, Speed had more of a 'traditional' (ie: old fashioned) attitude about it and the creators of the strip were uncredited. There's no certainty who wrote Baker's Half-Dozen (possibly Angus Allen) but there's no mistaking the dynamic artwork by the excellent Mike Western.

The plot is typical boys' comic fare; fast moving, uncomplicated and full of potential for action at any given moment. "North Africa, 1942. Six allied soldiers led by the violent and mysterious Sergeant Baker - had formed themselves into a fast-moving desert raiding force." 

It's the powerful, tough artwork of Mike Western that makes the strip memorable. Western was one of Fleetway/IPC's top artists, - and one of the best comic artists the UK has seen. If you're already a fan of his work you'll know this book is essential for your collection. If you're not so familiar with him (he died in 2008) this is the chance to own some of his best material. 

Both The Best of Library of Death and Baker's Half-Dozen have excellent sharp printing and are squarebound softback books. Publisher David McDonald is doing a wonderful job bringing these classics back with the permission of Egmont UK. As I've said before, I think that independently licensed books like these are the only way we'll see certain British strips back in print. Let's hope Hibernia Comics continue to delight us with such productions.

You can order copies of the books from the Hibernia Comics website here:
http://www.comicsy.co.uk/hibernia/