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...

••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Preview: 2000AD SCI-FI SPECIAL 2019

This year's 2000AD Summer Special (sorry, Sci-Fi Special, - but it is a Summer Special really) will be in the shops on Wednesday 19th June, with 52 pages for £4.99. This edition really is special, because it's dedicated to the memory of the truly great Carlos Ezquerra, co-creator of Judge Dredd and a much-missed artist who contributed so much to comics over the past 40 plus years.

Calling the comic a 'special' is no idle boast when it kicks off with a new cover by Mick McMahon! Inside, there's the welcome return of Robin Smith drawing a Judge Dredd story. I haven't seen Robin for many years so it's a pleasure to see his work gracing a comic again.

Pride of place in the special though is Spector, the new strip that writer John Wagner and Carlos were working on at the time of Carlos' passing. The 2000AD Sci-Fi Special brings us all 20 pages that were completed, plus John's scripts for parts three and four to give readers a sense of the direction the series was heading in. 

Carlos Ezquerra was a wonderful, distinctive artist, and a fine human being to spend time with. This special is a nice tribute to the man and his work and I'm sure will be warmly received by readers. Don't miss your copy this week!

• UK, NORTH AMERICA and DIGITAL: 19th June 2019 £4.99/$7.99
• DIAMOND: APR191909
• COVER: MICK MCMAHON

In this issue:
JUDGE DREDD: NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM by Alan Grant (w) Robin Smith (a) Matt Soffe (c) Annie Parkhouse (l)

FIENDS OF THE EASTERN FRONT: STRANGE MEETING by Guy Adams (w) Dave Kendall (a) Ellie De Ville (l)

SPECTOR by John Wagner (w) Carlos Ezquerra (a) Jim Campbell (l)

WULF STERNHAMMER: VALHALLA by  Michael Carroll (w) Patrick Goddard (a) Simon Bowland (l)

Available in print from: newsagents and comic book stores via Diamond Available in digital from: 2000 AD webshop and apps for iPad, Android, Windows 10

EL MESTIZO arrives soon!

I've plugged this book before but that was before I had all the info from Rebellion. Besides, it's a good book, so well worth plugging again! 

El Mestizo collects the full story that ran in Battle Picture Weekly in 1977, written by Alan Hebden and drawn by Carlos Ezquerra. Sadly, the book went to print before Carlos passed away so there's no mention of his passing. He knew the book was in production though, and from the brief conversations we had I know El Mestizo was one of his favourite strips so I'm sure he'd have been pleased to see it back in print.

Although set in the American Civil War, El Mestizo is basically a Western, and that may have confused some younger readers of Battle who just wanted stories about the military. The strip didn't run for long, but it deserved to run longer, but this book collects the whole run for new readers to appreciate. It's well worth buying, so here's the details plus a preview of the first chapter...

• CREATIVE TEAM: Alan Hebden (w) Carlos Ezquerra (a) 
• RELEASE DATE: 15th November (UK) 28th November (US)
• HARDCOVER, 65 pages
• PRICE: £14.99 (UK) $19.99 (US)
• ISBN: 9781781086575
• DIAMOND: SEP181945

A bitter sweet and much-needed collection of the late Carlos Ezquerra's unconventional Western series. In 1862, as the American Civil War tears a nation in two, dangerous men prosper through bloodshed. El Mestizo was once a slave who managed to escape to Mexico. Now he's come back over the border, a mercenary for hire. But is he really allied to neither side? High-octane revenge Western from the co-creator of Judge Dredd. Perfect for fans of Moebius's Blueberry and the motion picture Django Unchained.

Available in digital from: 2000 AD webshop & apps for iPad, Android & Windows 10

Carlos Ezquerra 1947 - 2018

The comics community is today saddened and stunned by the passing of Carlos Ezquerra, one of the greatest artists to have graced the pages of comics. Only a few weeks ago, Carlos posted an update on his Facebook page from his hospital bed saying he had beaten cancer for the second time, but today we discovered that sadly it was not to last. 

Most of you will know Carlos' distinctive artwork from the pages of Battle Picture Weekly and 2000AD. For the latter, he designed / co-created Judge Dredd, one of the most iconic figures in comics. 

Early in his career, Carlos also freelanced for D.C. Thomson on comics such as The Wizard. Here's a page from the strip Chained to his Sword from Wizard dated 13th November 1976...

...and a complete one-off Simon Gaunt tale, also from the same issue...

Perhaps Carlos' most notorious artwork was the Kids Rule OK illustration for Action, dated 18th September 1976. Due to the character in the foreground mistakenly being coloured as blue as the policeman's helmet it was misconstrued by the media as a youth attacking a policeman. (It must be noted that Carlos did not colour the art, but that it was done by IPC staff.)

Another powerful cover was this one for Marvel UK's Fury in July 1977, delivering a message that, sadly, is still pertinent today...

...and this cover for Battle-Action is another memorable image...

His best remembered work for Battle Picture Weekly was Rat Pack, and Major Eazy, although I recall him saying that El Mestizo was his favourite, and he regretted that it didn't run for longer. (The whole series will soon be collected by Rebellion.)

For 2000AD (and Starlord), Carlos will be best remembered for Judge Dredd of course, and for Strontium Dog, which he also co-created. Both hugely popular characters, and a new Strontium Dog series was always one to look forward to.

Many also remember The Stainless Steel Rat adaptation that Carlos drew for 2000AD in the 1980s. Stunning work...

The thing I liked most about Carlos Ezquerra's artwork was that it was proper comic art. The dynamism, the inking techniques, the exaggeration and the humour we associate with British comics was all there. Carlos made it look effortless, but so good. After more than 40 years of seeing his work in comics it's hard to believe there won't be any more, and that's deeply saddening. 

However, as Carlos had been so prolific over the years it means there are always stories to re-read, or discover for the first time in back issues. His past work will always be with us.

As I type these words, tributes are pouring onto social media expressing their sadness at the passing of such a great artist. Carlos Ezquerra was highly respected not only for his talent but also as a person. I only met him once, for a short time, at the Enniskillen Comic Fest last year, and the pleasure of his company provided laughs and good conversation. My sincere condolences to Carlos' family and many friends on this very sad day. 

2000AD have posted about the great man on their website:

https://2000ad.com/post/4322

Obituary and tribute by John Freeman on Down the Tubes:
https://downthetubes.net/?p=101064

News reaches the mainstream media in The Guardian:
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2018/oct/01/judge-dredd-co-creator-carlos-ezquerra-dies-aged-70

Treasury of British Comics covers revealed

The covers have been revealed on Amazon of five upcoming books in The Treasury of British Comics line. The list of books was released back in January but this is the first time the covers of these five have been shown. Bear in mind that the covers may be tweaked before publication, as sometimes dummy covers are released to the book trade for pre-order purposes, - but all of these look pretty tidy to me so I'm presuming they will be the published versions. 

The exciting thing about the Black Max book is that it features a new cover illustrated by Alfonso Font, the artist who drew the majority of the series for Thunder way back in 1970! (You can see his website here: 
http://www.alfonsofont.com/en/) 

I think Black Max is the book I'm looking forward to the most out of this selection, although Ken Reid's Creepy Creations will be a must-buy as well. I can thoroughly recommend El Mestizo too. An unusual strip for Battle Picture Weekly as it was set in the American Civil War with a touch of a Spaghetti Western tone about it. Alan Hebden and Carlos Ezquerra did a fine job on this 1977 series. Definitely worth reading!

A third Misty volume is welcome to see, as it presumably means the first two books did well. Great to see these 1970s stories reprinted for modern readers. Same goes for The Thirteenth Floor, reprinting material from Scream! Tales of spooky retribution that are well worth buying.

You can pre-order the books from Amazon right now to ensure your copies:

Misty Vol.3:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Misty-Vol-Wolf-Other-Stories/dp/1781086516/ref=sr_1_6


Black Max Vol.1:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Black-Max-Vol-Frank-Pepper/dp/1781086559/ref=sr_1


El Mestizo:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/El-Mestizo-Alan-Hebden/dp/1781086575/ref=pd_sbs_14_1


The Thirteenth Floor:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/13th-Floor-John-Wagner/dp/1781086532/ref=pd_sbs_14


Creepy Creations:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Creepy-Creations-Ken-Reid/dp/1781086605/ref=sr_1

The books will also be available directly from the publisher's website at a later date:
https://treasuryofbritishcomics.com


The books in this line are shaping up nicely and Rebellion are doing a great job. Another welcome publication, coming on 15th August, will be The Vigilant, an all-new one-shot 48 page comic written by Simon Furman with art by Simon Coleby and others. As Furman revealed on Twitter "The Leopard From Lime Street, Adam Eterno, The Steel Commando, Dr. Sin, Pete's Pocket Army and Blake Edmonds (Deathwish) team up to face Von Hoffman and Dr. Mesmer. The Rebellion-verse begins here!"

New STRONTIUM DOG collection coming in March!

On sale in four weeks' time is Strontium Dog: Repo Men, a new softback collection from Rebellion by the always-excellent John Wagner and Carlos Ezquerra. It features three Johnny Alpha stories: The Stix Fix, Repo Men, and The Judas Strain. Here's the info from the publisher...

• CREATIVE TEAM: John Wagner (w) Carlos Ezquerra (a) Simon Bowland (l)
• REGIONS: UK, worldwide digital
• RELEASE DATE: 22nd March 2018
• PAPERBACK, 146 pages
• PRICE: £14.99 (UK) $18.99 (US)
• ISBN: 9781781086438
• DIAMOND: JAN181853


The Search/Destroy agent Johnny Alpha is still alive. Having wreaked vengeance against the humans that plotted the ‘final solution’ to mutant-kind, he is released from prison for one last job in deep space that only a Strontium Dog can do. And with the freedom of his friends on the line he has no choice but to accept… Now that their careers as bounty hunters are off the cards, his mutant friends have a new job proposition. They are hired to repossess ‘The Rock’ - an asteroid space-station owned by a galactic crime lord - and to succeed they must pull off a heist of galactic proportions!

Here's a four page preview...

Available in print from: book stores, Amazon, and comic book stores via Diamond Available in digital from: 2000 AD webshop, 2000 AD iPad app, 2000 AD Android app, 2000 AD Windows 10 app

BATTLE's variety of covers

Last year I showed a selection of dynamic Battle Picture Weekly covers (see here) and, as there were so many great covers over the years, I thought I'd quickly scan a few more to show you today. These are selected from the years 1978 to 1980, by which time the comic's title had become Battle Action due to Action merging into it. Unlike most mergers, where the subsumed comic quickly sees its logo diminished, Battle made the Action title a fixture for a few years and actually incorporated it into a new masthead design as the name suited the comic so well. 

Battle Action had some great covers full of tension and explosive drive. The one above is by Joe Colquhoun.

Carlos Ezquerra was a natural artist to depict gritty war scenes, as this cover demonstrates...

Issue 200 of Battle Action is significant in that it featured the first episode of Charley's War by Pat Mills and Joe Colquhoun. However, the cover of the issue was by Mike Western (with a vignette of Glory Rider by Geoff Campion.)

Battle Action experimented with its cover design more than any other IPC comic of the 1970s. I'm not sure this one using previews of interior strips worked, but it was an interesting attempt!

The best comic covers were the ones where text and illustration worked together for dynamic effect, as with this superb one drawn by John Cooper...

A good cover also grabs attention, such as this one by Cam Kennedy...

Prior to Battle Action, most comics kept the masthead in the same place every week, but this comic shook things up a bit. A logo in the centre of a cover? Certainly eye-catching, and that's what it's all about...

Another terrific cover by Joe Colquhoun...

Mike Western was one of IPC's top artists, having illustrated covers for Valiant for most of its 14 year run. A versatile artist who could turn his hand to a slightly lighter style (eg: Buster's Leopard from Lime Street) or to darker, more dramatic material suited to Battle Action...

With all the fuss made about how violent Action was in 1976, people tend to forget that Battle was equally as grim at times. No publisher today would approve a cover for a kids' comic showing a knife at a throat, even if the subject was a Nazi. Art by Carlos Ezquerra...

Another dramatic Mike Western scene, showing that even a dog could look deadly on the cover of this comic!

In 1980, Battle Action had a revamp, swiftly diminishing the Action part of the logo and bringing back the original Battle masthead. Its major change though was that strips now started on the cover (Charley's War and Johnny Red alternating week by week). Although this meant the comic suddenly looked very old school in its design, I must admit it was this issue that caught my eye and started me buying the comic. That said, I was 21, older than its target audience, so I've no idea what kids thought of this rather old fashioned looking cover revamp. I suspect many were not impressed, because this was the start of many changes for Battle that would eventually lead to its demise.

That said, how could anyone resist such a great illustration by joe Colquhoun?

Battle Action and the cover images in this post are Copyright ©Rebellion Publishing Ltd.