My latest release is an affectionate exploration of the evolution of British war comics portrayal of military subjects from the 'gung ho' heroism of Victorian story papers, through World War patriotism and eventually the so called 'golden age' of 1970's action and adventure comics.
The journey is framed from the viewpoint of a news vendor's family experiencing those historical and industry changes first hand and illustrated in the art style appropriate to the publications of the time.
Initially inspired by a commission from the National Army Museum, this was a fun and thought provoking project to pull together and I was delighted to again work with Matt Soffe who did a great job of colouring according to each period's industry practices and available technology.
It's both a nostalgic look at bygone eras but also a reflection on the potential power and influence the comics medium may have on its readers. While war comics may have all but disappeared from British newsagents (hang in there Commando!), there are plenty of graphic novels dealing with the subject of both historic and contemporary conflicts which I highlight and included in my talk at the recent Battles Through History event.
I had a few advance comics of this at Ardingly which I'll also bring to Wow Comix's 'Spooky-Con' in Sale on Saturday 1st November followed by its official launch at the Thought Bubble Comic Art Festival where I'll be in the 2000AD Hall, table B46!
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