On Reflection...

On my other blog, a look back at what 2019 meant to me:
http://lewstringercomics.blogspot.com/2019/12/reflecting-on-2019.html

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Preview: New Year BEANO for 2020

Here's the cover to look out for of Beano No.4016 which will be in the shops on Tuesday 31st December. Yes, a day earlier than usual because of the holidays. 

As you can see, it's the New Year issue and it's celebrated inside with a four page Tricky Dicky story written by Nigel Auchterlounie and drawn by Rianne Rowlands...

There are also 20 pranks from Tricky Dicky on following pages for readers to try out. (All harmless fun of course.)

All the regular characters are here too, including Minnie the Minx, Dennis and Gnasher, The Bash Street Kids and more. The mini-strips are back this week too, which means the return of Pup Parade...

Don't miss Beano No.4016. Out Tuesday! £2.75.

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My top five classic comics recommendations of 2019

This year has once again seen a load of books reprinting classic British comic strips of the past. Frankly, they've all been great, and this is just my personal top five although I enjoyed more books than that. It hasn't been easy to minimise it to just five titles though, and really I consider all of these to be of equal merit...

In fifth place...
Misty Presents the Jordi Badia Romero Collection.

A nice idea to see the Misty collections change their direction from small soft backs reprinting serials to a big hardback focusing on one artist. Jordi Badia Romero deserves this quality treatment and the book reproduces the strips sharply and distinctly. Well worth buying.


In fourth place...
Roy of the Rovers: The Best of the 1950s.

This is the first Rebellion book to venture this far back and it was a joy to read these earliest adventures of Roy of the Rovers from the 1950s, reprinted from Tiger. Frank S. Pepper was a master of serial storytelling and each episode is a gripping page turner to see what happened next on and off the field. (Think of the kids of the 1950s who had to wait a whole week between instalments!) It's so good to see the early work of Joe Colquhoun, over 20 years before he'd work on Charley's War but the solid foundations of his style were developing nicely here. Worth every penny! (The Best of the 1960s book is also well worth buying, and The Best of the 1970s is coming next year.)


in third place...
Ken Reid's World Wide Weirdies

How could a Ken Reid collection not be in my top five? Another winner from Rebellion, with Ken's gruesome back pages from Whoopee! and Shiver and Shake reprinted in full colour. 


In second place...
Leo Baxendale's Sweeny Toddler

At last, Rebellion publish a Leo Baxendale collection, and its the early misadventures of that baby from hell, Sweeny Toddler. The sharp reproduction is remarkable considering the pages were scanned from old Shiver and Shake and Whoopee! comics of a time when the printing wasn't much cop. This is one of the last series that Leo did before leaving mainstream comics in 1975, and it's still timeless. It also features six pages "ghosted" by anonymous artists. Well worth buying, and I hope it's not long before we see Rebellion reprint some of Leo's other strips too. 

...and in first place...
Beano and The Dandy 1937 to 1988 Classic Comic Covers.

A fantastic full colour selection of 160 memorable comic covers celebrating Bonfire Night, Easter, New Year, free gifts, and more (such as the very first Biffo strip and Keyhole Kate's only appearance as a Dandy cover star). I have a couple of reservations though as the reproduction isn't quite as distinct between the colours and the black inks compared to its previous volume and it repeats several covers from that previous Christmas Covers edition. Don't let those minor niggles put you off though. This is an unmissable book of vintage comics material that gives us a glimpse into bygone days, and for that reason it gets the top spot in my selection.

All great books, all out now. Don't miss them!
Sweeny Toddler, Roy of the Rovers, Misty, and World Wide Weirdies are all available from the Treasury of British Comics:
https://treasuryofbritishcomics.com/catalogue

Beano and Dandy Classic Comic Covers is available from Phil-comics:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/274077259164

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THIRD WORLD WAR arrives on January 9th

 

The next collection from the Treasury of British Comics will be Third World War, the series that ran in Crisis comic in the 1990s. Ahead of its time perhaps, but certainly relevant now, and it should appeal to a more politically engaged public than ever before. 

The book will be published on 9th January. Here's the PR and a preview of the first four pages...

• CREATIVE TEAM: Pat Mills (w) Carlos Ezquerra, D'Israeli, Angela Kincaid (a) 
• RELEASE DATE: 9 January 2020
• PAPERBACK, 208 pages
• PRICE: £19.99 (UK) $24.99 (US)
• ISBN: 9781781087510
• DIAMOND: NOV191852

Using brand new scans of the original artwork supplied by the family of the late Carlos Ezquerra, this definitive collection of Pat Mills and Carlos Ezquerra’s groundbrreaking, highly-political comic book classic of global capitalism, rebellion and exploitation is collected in its entirety for the very first time!

‘Third World War’ is suffused with economic, political, and social issues, and deals with ever-moreprescient issues around capitalism and global politics. Ezquerra’s painted colour artwork is a highlight of his long and distinguished career. A truly anti-establishment graphic novel from the late 1980s, this is unlike anything else published by the Treasury of British Comics so far!

Available in print from: 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

Remember that there will be a lot more classic reprints coming from The Treasury of British Comics in 2020 including this great bunch of books...

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Out Now: COMMANDO Nos.5291 to 5294

This has been a great year for Commando comics under the editorship of Georgia Battle. The surprise revivals of classic D.C. Thomson characters such as Code Name: Warlord and Braddock in new stories, and other great issues such as Commandos vs Zombies. This week, new characters A-Force return in another story. Here's the info on all four issues that are out now!

5291: Home of Heroes: A-Force: Aftershock

A-Force returns in part two of the raucous romp written by Ferg Handley! In Aftershock, Jack Ramsey — grandson of the infamous Ramsey Raider, has just gotten back from his first mission and is shook by the loss of one of his squaddies — Joe Bones! But when they’re sent back to Sarovia on another mission, there’s a surprising waiting!

| Story | Ferg Handley | Art | Carlos Pino | Cover | Carlos Pino |

5292: Gold Collection: One Moment of Glory

Jeff Bevan’s fourth ever Commando cover is laid bare on Gold reprint issue One Moment of Glory. An early cover for him but still a goodie — especially when it’s on this issue! A classic Commando tale of a posh boy versus a working-class lad, and the class rivalry comes to a head in the deserts of Libya! But will they each get their one moment of glory? Well you’ll have to read it, won’t you?

| Story | CG Walker | Art | Wright | Cover | Jeff Bevan |

Originally Commando No. 801 (1973).

5293: Action and Adventure: The Peregrine Falcons

As the tide of the war turned against Germany, they turned to dirty tactics and revenge weapons like the V-1 rocket. Britain, and London in particular, was besieged by the diabolical doodlebug bombs which actively sought to kill citizens and sow destruction. But one RAF squadron called The Peregrine Falcons, led by Henry Abercrombie, wasn’t going to let the buzz bombs get through. They were the best defence Britain had — and for Henry it was a personal battle! 

| Story | Brent Towns | Art | Jaume Forns | Cover | Ian Kennedy|

  

5294: Silver Collection: Outcast!

Ian Clark’s expansive plot of Outcast!takes you from Pre-war French Foreign Legion, all the way to World War Two Germany on the Eastern Front, then to Communist East Germany and even further on to the First Indochina War — all in the story of one man! Plus, with art from Denis McLoughlin and a stunning Phil Gascoine cover, this isn’t one to miss! 

| Story | Ian Clark | Art | Denis McLoughlin | Cover | Phil Gascoine |

Originally Commando No. 2471 (1991).

This will be the last time I'll preview Commando, because Blimey! blog ends in a few days, but don't forget you'll still be able to see previews of future issues if you follow the blogs Down the Tubes and Bear Alley. 

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