See you at Stoke Con Trent!

Here's the floor plan of where you'll find us all at Stoke Con Trent tomorrow (Sunday 17th April). I'll be doing sketches and bringing along copies of Brickman Returns so drop by my table, even if its just for a chat. It's always good to meet readers. 

It's a great guest list which includes Mike Collins, Simon Donald, Peter Davison, Claudia Christian, Colin Baker, Nicola Bryant and many more! See you there!
More info:
http://stokecontrent.co.uk/stoke-con-trent-4-event-guide/

Stand and deliver for FLINTLOCK Book One!

The newest release from Time Bomb Comics, Flintlock Book One is available to order now directly from the publisher's website. There's also a digital edition too.

Set in a shared 18th Century timeline Flintlock features a wide and diverse range of characters in a shared historical timeline. Each book in this critically acclaimed  series features highwaymen, pirates and more – and the most talented artists in comics!

To order your copy, click here:
http://www.timebombcomics.com/Flintlock.html

Publisher Steve Tanner is also the organiser of the Birmingham Comics Festival which takes place next Saturday, 23rd April. For more details of that great event, see here:
http://www.thecomicfestival.com/

Battle Picture Weekly, IPC's big launch of 1975

Cover art by Oliver Frey. (Thanks to David Roach for that info.)

Surprisingly, although this blog is now in its 10th year I seem to have neglected one of the most popular comics of the late 20th Century. Let's put that right with a look at the first issue of Battle Picture Weekly.

By the mid-1970s, IPC hadn't been having much success with their adventure comic launches. Both Thunder and Jet had bombed after 22 weeks each, the revamped Smash! was gone, as was the long-running Lion, and even their most successful new comic, Scorcher, had folded after nearly five years of publication. DC Thomson still had a fair number of comics, and the expansion of Marvel UK's line of reprints was also a threat. Then, in 1974, Thomson's launched Warlord, a new, dynamic-looking comic filled with war stories. It became an immediate hit. Knowing the company's old formula was no longer working, IPC hired freelance writers John Wagner and Pat Mills to produce a rival comic to Warlord, - and they succeeded admirably. 

Battle Picture Weekly No.1 was published on Thursday 6th March (or possibly the day before, as "Every Thursday" comics usually appeared on Wednesdays). The title was derived from IPC's long-running Battle Picture Library pocket-comics. (Most kids, and contributors, would just refer to the weekly as Battle, so that's the name I'll use here.) One of Warlord's visual strengths was its limited use of colour for the covers with fiery reds and yellows (although that may also have been a budgetary consideration). Battle competed by upping its game to utilise the more expensive Web Offset printing methods. This enabled fully painted cover art and better paper than standard newsprint. (Although it downgraded to cheap newsprint after the first 12 months.)

Inside, page two kicked off the comic with a short and snappy message to welcome the readers. No pseudonymous 'Pete/Mike the Office Boy' types with fictional anecdotes as had been the norm on Scorcher and Smash! This was clearly a new no-nonsense kind of IPC comic for a modern generation. The stories would also have a more direct approach to dialogue and action, making them exciting and fast paced.

Page three brought us Battle's first character; D-Day Dawson written by Gerry Finley-Day and drawn by Colin Page I believe. (Sadly, the comic was uncredited at this point.) Dawson was "a man with nothing to lose" due to a bullet lodged near his heart and would prove to be a popular strip for quite a while. 

Lofty's One-Man Luftwaffe saw a pilot officer escape a prison camp and adopt a dead German's identity to join the Luftwaffe so he can secretly shoot down German planes. 

The Flight of the Golden Hinde was perhaps the most old school (and daftest) of the contents, with a replica sailing ship embarking on its war against German shipping. Superb artwork though, which looks like that of Vanyo to me but I'm unsure.

The full colour centre pages featured Day of the Eagle, introducing us to British secret agent Mike Nelson, code-named the Eagle. Written by Eric Hebden and drawn by Pat Wright. By the end of chapter one, Nelson had been assigned his mission; kill Adolph Hitler! 

The Bootneck Boy by Gerry Finley-Day and drawn by Giralt was about the trials and tribulations of young recruit Danny Budd...

Rat Pack was Battle's main feature with six pages devoted to the strip. (A luxury back then, when most strips ran to half that amount.) A straightforward premise inspired by The Dirty Dozen; criminals with specialist abilities commissioned to work as a crack commando unit. Story by Gerry Finley-DAy, art by Carlos Ezquerra.

The Terror Behind the Bamboo Curtain closed out the comic; a tense story of prisoners of war in Burma. 

On the back page, a regular feature called This Amazing War! Perhaps too jolly a title for the image of death shown beneath it. 

Although Battle was unashamedly influenced by Warlord it definitely had its own approach to the stories. Warlord's main character was a pillar of the establishment, Lord Peter Flint, whereas Battle's main strip featured four hardened criminals. Overall, Battle had a grittier, tougher (and more violent) edge than its rival, an aspect that Pat Mills and John Wagner would also bring to Action and 2000AD of course.  

Battle was also far tougher than its companion comics Tiger and Valiant, although Valiant would later undergo a revamp by John Wagner to bring it up to date. (A move that was sadly too late to halt its cancellation but at least made it more suitable to merge into Battle in late 1976.) The only drawback perhaps was the use of typeset lettering instead of hand lettering, although I suspect that was a misguided attempt to make Battle feel less juvenile than its predecessors.

Battle enjoyed a good long run of well over 600 issues, lasting until January 1988. It lost some of its edge in later years, except for the standout strip Charley's War of course (which debuted in 1979) but 13 years is an impressive run for any comic.

The rights to Battle are now with Egmont and Titan Books have published several volumes reprinting strips from the comic, including Charley's War, Johnny Red, Rat Pack, Darkie's Mob, and more. There's also The Best of Battle which reprints a selection of strips. Well worth checking out. 

Sharp Art

Liam Sharp is an artist who's been in the business a long time, including work for Marvel UK, Marvel US, his own excellent Madefire company, and much more. This week he's illustrated the cover of 2000AD Prog 1976, in the shops today! 

...and in June, Liam becomes the new artist on Wonder Woman as the comic is relaunched with No.1. 

It's all part of the 'DC Rebirth' that sees all their comics revamped. Again? Yep, but I must admit I'm intrigued by several of the titles, and I'm definitely buying Wonder Woman now Liam's on board. Keep an eye on top comics news blog The Beat for more info about this and other U.S. comics.
http://www.comicsbeat.com/

Liam Sharp's Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/Liam.R.Sharp

Convention updates

Don't forget it's Stoke Con Trent this Sunday, featuring guests from film, TV, and comics, including me! Drop in and say hello. http://stokecontrent.co.uk/

I'm a guest at quite a few events right across the summer so try and get to some if you can. Here's an updated list of the one's I'm attending. The comic con community has never been so busy! Don't miss out!

Stoke Con Trent

Sunday 17th April, 2016

LRV

Staffordshire University

Leek Road

Stoke -on-Trent

Staffordshire

ST4 2DF

http://stokecontrent.co.uk/

The Birmingham Comics Festival

Saturday 23rd April, 2016

Edgbaston Stadium, Birmingham.

http://www.thecomicfestival.com/

Enniskillen Comic Fest

6th and 7th May, 2016

Enniskillen, Northern Ireland

https://www.facebook.com/Enniskillen-Comic-Fest-1030761763641321/

Manchester Film and Comic Con

21st and 22nd May, 2016.

Event City.

Phoenix Way,

Barton Dock Road,

Urmston,

Manchester

M41 7TB.

http://www.filmandcomicconmanchester.com/

Lancaster Comics Day

Sunday June 5th, 2016.

(Not much info about this so far so stay tuned!)

http://downthetubes.net/?page_id=21591

Macc-Pow!

25th June 2016

Charles Roe House,

Chestergate,

Macclesfield SK11 6DY

https://www.facebook.com/maccpow/

Shrewsbury International Comic Art Festival

15th to 17th July 2016

The Quarry Park,

Shrewsbury

http://www.thecomicsshow.co.uk/Shrewsbury-Comic-Art-Festival.htm

London Film and Comic Con

29th to 31st July 2016.

Olympia,

Hammersmith Road,

London

W14 8UX.

http://www.londonfilmandcomiccon.com/

Bristol Comic Expo

Saturday August 6th, 2016.

Double Tree by Hilton,

Redcliffe Way, Bristol.

https://www.facebook.com/events/1613954822203865/

ICE (The International Comic Expo)

Saturday September 10th, 2016.

The Studio, Cannon Street, Birmingham.

https://internationlcomicexpo.wordpress.com/