PULSE No.2 is out now!

The second issue of the new British adventure comic Pulse is now available exclusively from the ROK Comics Ultra app for iPad for just 69p!

The 32 page digital comic continues the four serials that began in issue 1, which is also still available of course. (One of the advantages of digital comics is they never sell out!) So we get the second chapters of Team M.O.B.I.L.E., Dinocorps, Serpent Wars, and Endangered Weapon B. All stories are suitable for all ages.

Although Pulse is one of the closest things we have to a traditional British adventure comic, I feel that the art styles perhaps owe more to television animation. The strips remind me more of the look of The Real Ghostbusters and the X-Men cartoon series than the heavier art styles of The Steel Claw or Johnny Red for example. That's not a criticism. Styles change and comics have to reflect that. Pulse is trying to bring in younger readers so using a lighter style of line, with colour for texture and depth, is something today's kids would be familiar with.

If you own an iPad or iPad Mini and haven't tried Pulse yet, give it a go! People often justifiably can't afford a £3.00 comic but at 69p Pulse is well within the reach of most people. Download it from here:
https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/rok-comics-ultra/id804413888?mt=8 

Black Shuck is coming!

I'm pleased to hear that husband and wife team Leah Moore and John Reppion will soon have a new series they've written starting in 2000AD. The title of the strip is Black Shuck and it's illustrated by Steve Yeowell. It begins in the weekly comic in July. You can read more about it in an interview with Leah and John over at this website:
http://judgetutorsemple.wordpress.com/2014/02/11/an-interview-with-leah-moore-john-reppion-black-shuck-coming-soon-to-2000ad/ 

The sensational promotional art above is by Alex Ronald and I understand it will be used as a 2000AD cover when the series begins. 

I've always liked the comics of Moore and Reppion that I've read. Wild Girl, the mini series they did with artist Shaun McManus, is well worth seeking out if you've never seen it. Likewise, Albion, based on a plot by Leah's father Alan Moore, with art by Shane Oakley, is also worth reading. In case you didn't know, Albion is a graphic novel that revives classic Fleetway and Odhams characters such as Robot Archie, The Steel Claw, Kelly's Eye, Bad Penny, and many more in an inclusive continuity.

I recently read something that was critical of the writers because they were not familiar with the old strips before they researched them for Albion. I thought the critique was a little unfair, because it seems to me that those old UK characters were quite one-dimensional, so it wouldn't require many back issues to get to grips with the basics. The beauty of those old comics is that they were written to be accessible to new readers, with basic gimmick characters and plots that could be immediately understood by children. It's not necessary to have grown up with those strips for today's writers to grasp their concepts from a few issues. Besides, Albion is a dark modern spin on the characters, with a different tone to Valiant or Lion. 

I enjoyed Albion and would urge any fan of those classic characters to check it out. You can read the review I wrote back in 2007 here:
http://comiconline24h.blogspot.co.uk/2007/01/heroes-of-albion.html

If you want to discover more about the work of Leah Moore and John Reppion, here's their website:
http://www.moorereppion.com/ 

2015 annuals cover previews

Click to see images larger.

Over on the unofficial Beano fan forum an anonymous source has posted advance cover images of three upcoming DC Thomson annuals. The images are low resolution but even so, the covers look great! Ken Harrison's lively Dandy Annual 2015 cover shows a host of classic characters whilst Nigel Parkinson's Beano Annual 2015 cover displays his fantastic skills as an artist. (Just look at the perspective and detail in that railway station roof.) Both covers have a really nice uplifting sense of carefree joy about them.

In recent years the classic Beano/Dandy reprint gift book has perhaps focused too much on more modern times but from the looks of things the new edition will be firmly set around the 1940s. Hopefully there'll be some wonderful examples of work by Dudley Watkins, Allan Morely and more within its pages. And a Big Eggo strip on the cover? Incredible. (Although this may be subject to change by the time the book reaches the shelves of course, but I hope not.)

David Torrie

I was sorry to hear of the passing of former DC Thomson editor David Torrie last week. Mr.Torrie worked for the company from 1961 to 2006, editing a number of comics including The Dandy in the early 1980s, the Fun-Size editions of Beano and Dandy, and serving as the first editor of Classics from the Comics. He gave artists such as Nigel Parkinson their first work on The Dandy and is affectionately remembered by those who worked with him.

More information can be found at The Courier website:
http://www.thecourier.co.uk/news/obituaries/former-editor-of-the-dandy-david-torrie-1.382445

My condolences to Mr.Torrie's family and friends for their loss.

The photograph above shows David Torrie at a DC Thomson get-together in 2010 talking to Minnie the Minx artist Jim Petrie. My thanks to artist Keith Robson for sending it to me.  

Vanessa Morgan

There is shock and sadness in the British comics community this week as we have learned of the passing of Vanessa Morgan, editor and publisher.

Vanessa was a key figure in the Society of Strip Illustration (SSI) in the 1980s, and will also be familiar to comic fans back then as the editor of Egmont's The Superheroes Monthly, a 52 page black and white comic reprinting classic DC strips. 

I didn't know Vanessa very well but I remember her being very much a part of the regular crowd in the 80s/90s at the Westminster Marts and the annual UK Comic Art Conventions in London. She was a witty, intelligent person who was good company and well liked.

John Freeman has a more thorough tribute to her over on his Down The Tubes website, with a heartfelt contribution from writer Peter Hogan, a good friend of Vanessa. Click here to visit the page.

My sincere condolences to Vanessa's family and friends at this very sad time.   

Commando comics on sale now!

Thanks to Commando HQ at DC Thomson for sending the info and images.

Commando Issues 4707-4710 – On Sale 22 May 2014

Commando No 4707 – Target America

Corporal “Spider” Mackay, the Convict Commandos’ replacement safe-cracker could be a handy man in a fight. Fearless and with a ruthless streak that struck fear into his enemies, he had yet to be bested.

   This time, though, he’d been too hasty in his pursuit of a scrap and had got himself trapped in an intercontinental rocket with a monster high-explosive warhead under his seat. And in case you hadn’t guessed, the rocket’s target was America.

   Was there any way out for Spider?

Story: Alan Hebden

Art: Manuel Benet

Cover: Manuel Benet

Preview: http://www.commandocomics.com/latest-issues/22nd-may-2014-collection?issue=4707 

Commando No 4708 – Killer Gun

Sergeant Gareth Owen’s sniper’s rifle was a short magazine Lee-Enfield No. 3 Mark 1(T), fitted with a Pattern 18 telescopic sight of X3 magnification.

   He carefully set the wind scale and made a lateral adjustment to the telescope’s range drum. A Nazi head came into the sights, and Gareth’s crooked finger took the first gentle but deadly pressure on the trigger…

Introduction

   If I told you the original working title of this story, you'll realise just how far ahead of the game the early Commando scriptwriters, like Eric Hebden, actually were. Lurking underneath Ken Barr's fantastic two-for-the-price-of-one cover (a full-colour illustration and a two-tone red and black one) is a tale of a man with the stain of shame on his character. An unjustified mark, perhaps, but it's there all the same.

   The story follows him and some of the disparate characters who make up a Commando team, beautifully rendered by Senor Cortes whose black and white work verges on the "film noir" with his fantastic shadow lighting.

   What was the working title, you ask? Band Of Brothers!

Calum Laird, Commando Editor

Desert Hero originally Commando No 121 (June 1964), re-issued as No 659 (July 1972)

Story: Eric Hebden

Art: Cortes

Cover: Ken Barr

Preview:  http://www.commandocomics.com/latest-issues/22nd-may-2014-collection?issue=4708 

Commando No 4709 – Viking Warriors

Was that really a marauding Viking longship cutting through the waves alongside a sleek German E-Boat? Had some strange time machine brought them together?

   No. It was all for a propaganda film being made in Nazi-Occupied Denmark in 1942. The Nazis wished to emphasise that their creed was akin to the wild Viking spirit shown by the legendary Berserker, Ragnar The Red.

   However, all was not well — strange accidents started to happen all around as the film’s premiere approached. But it couldn’t have anything to do with Ragnar, could it?

Story: George Low

Art: Jaume Forns

Cover: Janek Matysiak

Preview: http://www.commandocomics.com/latest-issues/22nd-may-2014-collection?issue=4709 

Commando No 4710 – Two Minutes to Zero

The French village church lay bathed in the rays of a watery moon. The pale light threw black, gloomy shadows which hid the stealthy forms of two British soldiers grimly inching their way up to the roof. One slip meant disaster — not only because of the height but because the church was full of Nazis!

Introduction

Two minutes? I’d better get a move on…

   Here our main character — Bombardier Ted Marchmont — goes on an interesting dramatic journey; one that most fictional characters should go on in some shape or form.

    Apart from looking out for his mate, Gunner Tug Wilson, Ted seems to have few redeeming qualities — being arrogant, cynical, war-weary and clashing with his father, a high-ranking (and despairing) military career man.

   So, when embroiled in a siege against the attacking Germans, will our anti-hero become a true Commando hero?

    Join Ted on his journey and find out. But you’d better be quick. The clock is still ticking. 

Scott Montgomery, Deputy Editor

Two Minutes To Zero, originally Commando No 937 (May 1975), re-issued as No 2267 (April 1989)

Story: Alan Lomas

Art: Pat Wright

Cover: Ian Kennedy

Preview: http://www.commandocomics.com/latest-issues/22nd-may-2014-collection?issue=4710 

Storing comics

There's an interesting discussion over at the Comics UK Forum at present regarding the storing of comics. Bag and board, or piled in a box? 

Personally, although I have my 1960s/70s American comics stored upright in a few longboxes, only some are bagged. In the case of most of my British comics collection, - most are stored flat, and not bagged. 

And guess what? The condition of them all has remained ok. 

I bought a load of Odhams comics 30 years ago (Wham!, Fantastic, etc) and 1960s Dandy issues and have always kept them stored flat in a tall cardboard box. (See photo above.) Some are bagged, if they were like that when I bought them, but most of them are not, and they're in the same shape as the bagged ones, which is pretty good. 

Ditto a near-complete run of TV21. I have the first year (1965) bagged, but not the rest, and they're all in great shape. Here's a few photos...

Yes, I know there's the risk of spine roll if you store comics flat, but not so much if you alternate them so every other issue has the spine on the other side of the pile. I've stored my TV21 comics in a Victorian metal trunk that once belonged to my grandad and they're ok. Keep comics clean and away from sunlight, dust, insects and damp and they should be alright. And, if necessary, wash your hands before handling them to eliminate any chance of greasy fingerprints.

When I was in my twenties I was fastidious about condition and handling my collection very carefully. I'm still naturally careful, but if a comic accidentally flops over and creates a tiny spine crease it's not the end of the world. They still mean a lot to me, for nostalgic and historical reasons, but I'm sure I'll crumble to dust before they do. My attitude now is that although I like to keep comics clean and in good condition, life's too short to go overboard about it. That issue of Smash! I showed here at the weekend? I actually folded a page back to scan it better. Some comics are still waiting to be sorted out properly, or left around for reference, open to sunlight and stacked in an unkempt pile. Look! There's a 1960 Eagle amongst that lot which I accidentally creased on its corner. Oh the humanity. 

So, how do you store your collection? Please leave your comments below and discuss...