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Battling Britons: Reviews of British war comics from the 1960s to the 2000s
Brits at War!War at sea, in the air and on land, as seen through the pages of classic British comics. The war comic has been an enduring part of British pop culture, from the invasion of the pocket books in the 1960s, through to the explosion of weekly strips in the 1970s. Often dismissed and derided, the time has come to reassess their importance as entertainment and education. In these pages are 215 capsule reviews of war comics from the 1960s through to the 2000s, with insights to the creators, themes and sheer readability. Strips from well-loved comics such as Action, Air Ace Picture Library, Battle Picture Library, Battle Picture Weekly, Commando, Valiant, Victor, War Picture Library and Warlord. Fully illustrated with covers and panels from the stories reviewed, many of them by top European creators. Edited and co-written by Justin Marriott, with contributions from Jim O’Brien, Steve Myall and James Reasoner. Foreword from award-winning journalist and war comics expert Paul Trimble.Afterword from Commando scripter Gary Martin Dobbs
- GenresWar
162 pages, Paperback
Published April 6, 2021
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
April 14, 2021
NOTE: This review was rejected by amazon for violating the Amazon Community Guidelines
Justin Marriott, the UK’s leading expert on mass market paperbacks, returns with another publication devoted to Anglophone popular culture. ‘Battling Britons’ focuses on the substantial library of war comics published in the UK from the 1960s to the 2000s.
Interestingly, unlike the smaller sizing usually deployed for Marriott’s ‘bookzines’, ‘Battling Britons’ opts for a 8 ½ x 11 inch sizing.
Like Marriott’s bookzines, ‘Battling Britons’ is print-on-demand, so for me, as a Virginia resident, ordering the book from amazon took only a couple of days to complete.
Mindful that a substantial part of the readership is likely to be America, ‘Britons’ includes an introductory assay describing the publishing history of war comics in the UK. The bulk of these comics were (and still are) issued as 64-page, black-and-white ‘pocket’ books, similar to the comics digests published in the USA.
The digest titles, which include the venerable ‘Commando’, usually presented two panels per page, and took advantage of their length to offer more in-depth storytelling and characterization.
In 1974, Scottish publisher D. C. Thompson launched the anthology series ‘Warlord’, which adhered to the A4 sizing (8 ¼ x 11 ¾ inches) used in the UK for weekly comic books. ‘Warlord’ was a major success and prompted rival publisher IPC to issue its own weekly war anthology, ‘Battle Picture Library’.
Although printed in black-and-white on a rougher grade of paper, and with their stories limited to four-page installments each week, the weeklies managed to gain a substantial following among UK readers well into the 1980s.
Within its 162 pages, ‘Battling Britons’ provides more than 200 reviews of war comics that appeared in either the digest or weekly formats. A ‘grenade’ rating system, from 1 grenade (don’t bother) to 5 grenades (a classic that belongs in every fan’s hands) is given to each review. The bulk of the reviews are authored by Marriott, with additional reviews from veteran contributors to Marriott’s publications: Steve Myall, Jim O’Brien, and James Reasoner.
There are copious illustrations throughout the book, and while there is no denying the fact that the printing processes used in the comics issued during the profiled era were decidedly ‘low-resolution’, still, it’s possible to see that many titles featured work by accomplished artists, and Marriott and his co-contributors make note of this in their reviews.
A ‘Sources’ section of the book provides information on how one can obtain copies or reprints of the profiled war comics; The Treasury of British Comics, an imprint maintained by Oxford publisher Rebellion, is an obvious first stop, as it has issued compilations of such renowned titles as ‘Charley’s War’, ‘Death Squad’, ‘Major Eazy’, and ‘Battler Britton’.
Thumbing through the pages of ‘Battling Britons’ surely will spark nostalgia among Brits of the Baby Boomer era. For Americans, the material will of course be less familiar, emphasizing as it does the British perspective on World Wars I and II (although other conflicts, such as the Napoleonic Wars, receive treatment). But if you are an American Baby Boomer who enjoyed the war comics of Charlton, DC, and Marvel, then you’re certainly going to find some intriguing and worthwhile content in ‘Battling Britons’.
Justin Marriott, the UK’s leading expert on mass market paperbacks, returns with another publication devoted to Anglophone popular culture. ‘Battling Britons’ focuses on the substantial library of war comics published in the UK from the 1960s to the 2000s.
Interestingly, unlike the smaller sizing usually deployed for Marriott’s ‘bookzines’, ‘Battling Britons’ opts for a 8 ½ x 11 inch sizing.
Like Marriott’s bookzines, ‘Battling Britons’ is print-on-demand, so for me, as a Virginia resident, ordering the book from amazon took only a couple of days to complete.
Mindful that a substantial part of the readership is likely to be America, ‘Britons’ includes an introductory assay describing the publishing history of war comics in the UK. The bulk of these comics were (and still are) issued as 64-page, black-and-white ‘pocket’ books, similar to the comics digests published in the USA.
The digest titles, which include the venerable ‘Commando’, usually presented two panels per page, and took advantage of their length to offer more in-depth storytelling and characterization.
In 1974, Scottish publisher D. C. Thompson launched the anthology series ‘Warlord’, which adhered to the A4 sizing (8 ¼ x 11 ¾ inches) used in the UK for weekly comic books. ‘Warlord’ was a major success and prompted rival publisher IPC to issue its own weekly war anthology, ‘Battle Picture Library’.
Although printed in black-and-white on a rougher grade of paper, and with their stories limited to four-page installments each week, the weeklies managed to gain a substantial following among UK readers well into the 1980s.
Within its 162 pages, ‘Battling Britons’ provides more than 200 reviews of war comics that appeared in either the digest or weekly formats. A ‘grenade’ rating system, from 1 grenade (don’t bother) to 5 grenades (a classic that belongs in every fan’s hands) is given to each review. The bulk of the reviews are authored by Marriott, with additional reviews from veteran contributors to Marriott’s publications: Steve Myall, Jim O’Brien, and James Reasoner.
There are copious illustrations throughout the book, and while there is no denying the fact that the printing processes used in the comics issued during the profiled era were decidedly ‘low-resolution’, still, it’s possible to see that many titles featured work by accomplished artists, and Marriott and his co-contributors make note of this in their reviews.
A ‘Sources’ section of the book provides information on how one can obtain copies or reprints of the profiled war comics; The Treasury of British Comics, an imprint maintained by Oxford publisher Rebellion, is an obvious first stop, as it has issued compilations of such renowned titles as ‘Charley’s War’, ‘Death Squad’, ‘Major Eazy’, and ‘Battler Britton’.
Thumbing through the pages of ‘Battling Britons’ surely will spark nostalgia among Brits of the Baby Boomer era. For Americans, the material will of course be less familiar, emphasizing as it does the British perspective on World Wars I and II (although other conflicts, such as the Napoleonic Wars, receive treatment). But if you are an American Baby Boomer who enjoyed the war comics of Charlton, DC, and Marvel, then you’re certainly going to find some intriguing and worthwhile content in ‘Battling Britons’.
May 11, 2021
I enjoy virtually all of the fanzines edited and published by vintage media maven Justin Marriott and BATTLING BRITONS is right up there with his best. It’s definitely one of Marriott’s most ambitious productions. It’s a large format, 8 ½ x 11", 161-page book, heavily-illustrated, beautifully laid out and produced, and chock full of thoughtful, fascinating reviews of stories in British war comics published from the 1970s to the 2020s, such as BATTLE, COMMANDO, WARLORD, and BATTLE PICTURE WEEKLY. The write-ups on the stories, by Marriott and other notable experts – including Jim O'Brien, Paul Trimble, Steve Myall, Gary Martin Dobbs and the prolific action/adventure author James Reasoner – are intelligent and insightful. Whether you’re a knowledgeable collector of war comics, or a newbie who wants to know more about that genre, BATTLING BRITONS is a must have. And, at a price of only $10, it’s an amazing bargain for such an excellent, informative book.
June 23, 2022
This is a volume that many fans of British war comics are going to want to add to their library. It is mostly reviews, and a lot of them, covering both British picture libraries and series from various British comics. The bulk of the reviews are of picture libraries. Not sure but I think of all the reviews not many covered items I had read. I was pleased to see a review for the series Trelawny of the Guards. This was a long-running series in Lion, a British comic I read back in the mid to late sixties. However after reading the reviews there are several picture libraries I am going to have to see if I can find on the internet. There at least three more volumes in this series. I hope to read all of them. As I said if interested in war comics then check this one out. Happy reading.
May 2, 2021
A brilliant collection of reviews of some of the best British War comics, from both the 'weekly series' and the pocket book "picture libraries".
Titles like Battle Picture Weekly, Action, Lion, Victor, Valiant and Warlord, Commando, Battle Picture Library, War Picture Library, and Air Ace Picture Library.
Mt only criticism is although there are mentions of "Charley's War", "Darkie's Mob", "Panzer G Man" and others in the reviews, and in the Introductions, there are no actual reviews of these titles in the book itself. (Maybe there were no copies with these stories in the available.)
I look forward to seeing if this becomes a series like Justin talks about in his intro, as well as the book he was originally compiling when this idea hit.
Titles like Battle Picture Weekly, Action, Lion, Victor, Valiant and Warlord, Commando, Battle Picture Library, War Picture Library, and Air Ace Picture Library.
Mt only criticism is although there are mentions of "Charley's War", "Darkie's Mob", "Panzer G Man" and others in the reviews, and in the Introductions, there are no actual reviews of these titles in the book itself. (Maybe there were no copies with these stories in the available.)
I look forward to seeing if this becomes a series like Justin talks about in his intro, as well as the book he was originally compiling when this idea hit.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews