Looking back at VALIANT No.2 (1962) - updated

I showed a few pages from Valiant No.1 in my previous post so I thought you might like to see some pages from issue 2 today. 

It kicked off with another striking cover by Geoff Campion, with Captain Hurricane about to lob a terrified Nazi. Good for him! Inside, R.Charles Roylance illustrated the three and a half page Captain Hurricane strip. As you can see, this was before Roylance exaggerated Hurricane's physique and "Ragin' Furies" to more cartoonish levels.

The second episode of The Steel Claw by Ken Bulmer (writer) and Jesus Blasco (artist) saw Louis Crandell embark on his life of crime...

Although it was a new comic, Valiant contained a few reprint pages from the outset. One of which was Paladin the Fearless, a British translation of the French strip Belloy, drawn by Albert Uderzo. (More info: 
https://bearalley.blogspot.co.uk/2007/04/paladin-fearless.html )

Another reprint was from a source closer to home. Jack O'Justice was a renamed Dick Turpin strip that had appeared in Sun comic in 1953. Art by the very versatile Hugh McNeill.  Valiant would continue to reprint more renamed Dick Turpin strips like this for a while, before commissioning brand new Jack O'Justice strips at a later date. Towards the end of the Sixties, the strip was brought into the present day with the character's descendant, Jack Justice. 

The back page of Valiant No.2 featured another Famous Fighters article illustrated by Geoff Campion.

I hope you've enjoyed these brief glimpses at the early issues of one of Fleetway's leading comics. 


UPDATE 5/9/17: My thanks to 'matrix' of the Comics UK Forum for these photographs of the free booklet from Valiant No.2. 

Front cover.

Back cover.

Interior pages.

A look back at VALIANT No.1 (1962)

Fleetway Publications launched Valiant No.1 on Saturday 29th September 1962 (cover dated 6th October). Like Buster, launched two years earlier, Valiant was part of Fleetway's determination to modernise the comics line for a new era, with a bolder, cleaner look than the dated (and long-dead) comics such as Comic Cuts and Chips that had been produced by their predecessors The Amalgamated Press. Valiant actually replaced Film Fun on the schedule when that long-running comic merged into Buster a month before Valiant debuted. There was no doubt that Fleetway intended to clear the decks for their new style comics. 

The cover of Valiant No.1 was bold and effective; a single image of Captain Hurricane welcoming the readers, set against primary colours. I've already shown the first episode of Captain Hurricane in an earlier post (see here) so I won't show that again, but I was lucky to recently win Valiant No.1 on eBay so I thought I'd show a few of the other pages today. 

Valiant's 32 pages featured adventure strips with a few humour pages added to balance things out. One of those funnies was The Nutts, drawn by Angel Nadal, that would prove so popular it would remain in the comic until the final issue in 1976. 

One of the most memorable series that appeared in the comic was The Steel Claw, written by Ken Bulmer and illustrated by Jesus Blasco. This atmospheric first episode reveals how Louis Crandell gained the power of invisibility. In these early tales, Crandall was a villain! When the strip proved popular, it was decided he should become a hero, and his evil ways were explained away as the result of the lab explosion. However, as can be seen in this first episode, Crandall was resentful and greedy before the accident...

Valiant No.1 featured a high standard of talent, including the great Roy Wilson illustrating Percy the Problem Child. Wilson was considered the main humourist of the old A.P. comics, with the "house style" that others were encouraged to emulate. By 1962 he was sadly nearing the end of his life (he passed away in 1965) and his style was no longer flavour of the day of the fickle comics industry but he could still draw as well as anyone in the business. 

The centre pages of Valiant's first issue were taken up with episode one of To Glory we Steer, distinctively illustrated by Eric Parker. I must confess I found his style too 'heavy' for my liking as a child, but now I can appreciate what a skilled and unique artist he was.

The editor's letter welcomed the readers on It's All Yours, a page inviting kids to send in their jokes and anecdotes. But how did they get submissions for the first issue? It was hardly a trade secret; they were simply made up as an example to show they type of material they wanted readers to submit. (EDIT: On the other hand, some jokes were spare ones that had been submitted to Buster. See Phil Elsham's comment below. Thanks for the info, Phil!)

The struggles of working class heroes were always a good theme for British comics, and in Valiant No.1 we had Kid Gloves, the story of a boxer from the rough end of town. Superb artwork by Geoff Campion, one of Fleetway's finest artists.

Campion also drew the back cover feature, Famous Fighters, that would graduate to the front cover after the first few issues. 

Valiant got off to a great start with this issue, with a strong line-up by the top talent in the business. It's no wonder the comic lasted as long as it did, running for 14 years in total before merging into Battle Picture Weekly. 

...and if you'd like to see a few pages from the second issue of Valiant, you'll find them here:
https://lewstringer.blogspot.co.uk/2017/09/looking-back-at-valiant-no2-1962.html

Preview: 2000AD Prog 2047

Courtesy of Rebellion, here's a preview of a few pages from next week's 2000AD, on sale Wednesday 6th September...

• UK & DIGITAL: 6th September 2017 £2.65
• NORTH AMERICA: 6th October 2017 $7.99
• DIAMOND CODE: JUL172071
• COVER: ALEX RONALD

In this issue:
Judge Dredd: War Bugs by John Wagner (w) Dan Cornwall (a) Abigail Bulmer (c) Annie Parkhouse (l)

The Alienist: Inhuman Natures by Gordon Rennie, Emma Beebie (w) Eoin Coveney (a) Ellie De Ville (l)

Greysuit: Foul Play by Pat Mills (w) John Higgins (a) Sally Hurst (c) Ellie De Ville (l)

Tharg's 3rillers: Mechastopheles by Gordon Rennie, Lawrence Rennie (w) Karl Richardson (a) Annie Parkhouse (l)

Hope: ... For The Future by Guy Adams (w) Jimmy Broxton (a) (c) Simon Bowland (l)

Available in print from: UK newsagents and all good 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

Convention memories of 1987

Thirty years ago this week, over the weekend of 5th/6th September 1987, a few of us appeared on a comics panel at UKCAC'87, the United Kingdom Comics Art Convention that was held annually in London. 

From left to right: moderator Theo Clarke, me (in Oink! T-shirt), Ed McHenry (swigging pop), David Leach, Davy Francis (hidden behind David Leach), Jeremy Banx. 

We were there to promote Oink! comic, which was in the middle of its two and a half year run by that stage and firing on all cylinders. It was the first time that most of us had met and I still keep in touch with David Leach to this day. A great friend. 

We shared the panel with editors/creators from Viz, (off picture here) and the theme of the panel was to try and set up some sort of rivalry but none of us were really into that. We were all on the same side; making comics we enjoyed. 

Does it seem like 30 years ago? Yes, definitely. A lot has happened in life since then and 1987 feels like a lifetime ago. They were good days; most of us were relatively new to the business and full of enthusiasm and ideas. Thankfully, Oink! happened at just the right time as an outlet for those ideas. There's been nothing quite like it since, and that's a shame. However, the enthusiasm and ideas are still there. Long live comics! 

The Wonderful World of Tank Girl is coming!

This October, Titan Comics will launch another monthly Tank Girl mini-series with all-new material. Unlike the previous mini-series, Tank Girl Gold and World War Tank Girl, this one won't feature a story arc but will instead be comprised of four self-contained issues. 

Under the series title of The Wonderful World of Tank Girl, each issue will have its own sub title. Issue No.1 will be Tank Girl Strikes Again, issue 2 will be The Importance of Being Tank Girl, and so on. Here's the info and covers of the first two issues...

The Wonderful World of Tank Girl #1 - Tank Girl Strikes Again!
Writer: Alan Martin Art/cover art: Brett Parson
Tank Girl and the gang are back, in this, the first of four brand-new, epic, stand-alone stories! 
In Tank Girl Strikes Again, our anti-heroes try to pull off their biggest caper ever, but, thanks to Booga's gormless plotting, they barely escape with their lives. This is Tank Girl on true classic, chaotic, idiotic form!
Issue 1 in comic shops: Oct 04, 2017

The Wonderful World of Tank Girl No.2 - The Importance of being Tank Girl.
Writer: Alan Martin Art/cover art: Brett Parson
Tank Girl and the gang are back in the second installment of four brand-new, epic, stand-alone stories! The gang spend a farcical weekend at one of Jet Girls numerous stately homes. Tea is drunk, crumpets are dunked, antique dresses are worn, a secondary character dies in excruciating pain, more tea, and a startling revelation about one or more of our heroes ancestries is revealed!
Issue 2 in comic shops: Nov 22, 2017

Source: Previews catalogue https://www.previewsworld.com