Charley's War, Volume 5: Return to the Front

Charley's War #5

by Pat Mills, Joe Colquhoun (Illustrator)

Renowned UK comics writer Pat Mills (Marshal Law, Sláine) and legendary artist Joe Colquhoun (Johnny Red) continue the thrilling, humorous and horrifying story of World War One soldier Charley Bourne.

Returning to the front, Charley is reunited with old comrades Weeper and Old Bill — and, unfortunately, bully Grogan and the vile Lieutenant Snell. As the bullets fly and bombs fall, Charley faces as much danger from his own ranks as from the enemy’s...

Rich in the detailed minutiae of the terror-punctuated existence of a Tommy, this fifth volume of Charley’s War features a brand new introduction and director’s commentary by Pat Mills, plus exclusive bonus content.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics, War, Fiction, Historical Fiction, World War I, Military History

112 pages, Hardcover

First published October 28, 2008

About the author

Pat Mills, born in 1949 and nicknamed 'the godfather of British comics', is a comics writer and editor who, along with John Wagner, revitalised British boys comics in the 1970s, and has remained a leading light in British comics ever since.

His comics are notable for their violence and anti-authoritarianism. He is best known for creating 2000 AD and playing a major part in the development of Judge Dredd.

Reviews

[Robert · Rating 3 out of 5]

Subversive drivel. Only to be viewed in order to know the twisted mindset of the enemy.

[Timo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Somebody should've cleaned these strips before printing them. Now they look like just photocopied from Battle pages. But still. Brilliant read, so good.

[Chris Young · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've probably said this about "Charley's War" before, but I reckon it's just about the most important comic strip ever created. Scrupulously researched, brilliantly written, even more brilliantly drawn, and all underlined with Pat Mills' anti-authoritarian streak, this strip appeared at a time when most war stories were still very gung-ho and just a little bit soulless. The typical output of war and action comics in the UK at the time, mostly from DCThomson, was embarrassingly Imperialistic and stuck firmly in the past.
Most of the stories in IPC's "Battle Picture Weekly", on its release in 1975, were by the new wave of writers who would work to kick all that nonsense into touch, and "Charley's War" was the greatest of them all. Humorous, tragic, enlightening, upsetting, exciting and populated with very realistic characters, there is a slow-burn to many of the story-lines that just didn't appear in any of the other boy's titles.
And the artwork. My god! I could sit all day looking at just one page! Joe Colquhoun should be revered alongside Frank Hampson and Moebius. I am not exaggerating.
I could go on, but I won't. All I'll say is, read this yourself - it's worth every penny and more.
There are ten volumes of "Charley's War", and you can get each of them for around a tenner.

[Joel · Rating 3 out of 5]

WW1 graphic novel series