31 May 2023

Sequential Art - Will Simpson (2005)

I've looked before on the blog (here) at Will Simpson's work and I've looked before at comics exhibitions (here) so it's a pleasure to be able to draw these strands together and highlight some of Will's work that was exhibited back in 2005. All images are swiped from the catalogue that accompanied the exhibition at the Millennium Courts Art Centre













30 May 2023

Popeye the sailor - Marvel UK

Michael Carroll's timeline of Marvel UK comics (here) has an array of interestingly short-lived comics on that I thought I should create cover galleries for them. Sometimes this is easier said than done but let's look at the 8 issue Popeye comic from 1989.

Popeye the sailor, issue #1, February 1989, 45p
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Popeye the sailor, issue #2, March 1989, 45p
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Popeye the sailor, issue #3, April 1989, 45p
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Popeye the sailor, issue #4, May 1989, 45p
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Popeye the sailor, issue #5, June 1989, 45p

Popeye the sailor, issue #6, July 1989, 45p
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Popeye the sailor, issue #7, August 1989, 45p

Popeye the sailor, issue #8, September 1989, 45p


29 May 2023

Captain Britain summer specials

I've looked before at Captain Britain merchandise (here) and I just wanted to highlight these 3 specials - especially the 3rd which I understand is particularly rare.

Captain Britain summer special, 1980, 40p

Captain Britain summer special, 1981, 45p

Captain Britain autumn special, 1992, £1.25

For more details look here where it says...
Several Captain Britain Specials have been published over the years, beginning with the 1980 Summer Special, which reprinted the lead strip from Captain Britain weekly #28-32, as well as some classic US-produced Black Knight and Doctor Strange strips. The 1981 Special reprinted a Spider-Man and Captain Britain team-up story from Super Spider-man and Captain Britain and the American-produced Marvel Team-Up #65-66, while a 1992 Autumn Special reprinted several installments of the Captain Britain series from Mighty World of Marvel Vol 2 in colour

28 May 2023

UPDATED: Colin Maxwell for Commando

To celebrate the announcement from publisher DC Thomson that Colin Maxwell will be writing another issue of Commando I thought it was about time I got a guide together for what he's written for Commando so far...

Commando 5371, published by DC Thomson 29th September 2020

Five soldiers seek refuge from a storm, looking for a place safe and warm.

Four lay down to rest that night, none are ready for the fight.

Three wake to find another gone. Will any of them survive till dawn?


Commando 5413, published by DC Thomson 16th February 2021

Polish Sergeant Jakub Leszczuk is one of the last men defending Lwow in 1939, but as the Russian tanks roll in, his unit rescues a small puppy called Rebus from a collapsed building.

It isn’t long before Rebus becomes far more than a lucky mascot for the escaping soldiers! As they retrain for the parachute regiments in Britain, Rebus’s desire to please and talent for tricks finds him with Leszczuk behind enemy lines in Italy before prepping the ground for D-Day, as this pair of underdogs help turn the tide on the Nazi war machine!


Commando 5433, published by DC Thomson 27th April 2021

Five men found The Dead Man’s Chest,
Hidden in a cave on an island in the sea,
One saw the riches and turned against the rest,
And decided the treasure was only for he.

But away they went to war in the sands,
And the treasure laid forgotten by the five,
As one by one they died by someone’s hands,
Till there was nought but one man left alive.

Commando 5475, published by DC Thomson September 28th 2021
The ORP Tygrys, or Tiger, was a Polish submarine outclassed by Poland’s modern subs, but its Commander, Leopold Swirski, was proud of the ship and his crew. Then September 1st, 1939 came, the Tiger bared its teeth and growled at the invading Nazi hordes. The sub fought tooth and nail to protect its homeland but took too much damage. Licking its wounds, the Tiger and its crew were forced to dock at a neutral port where the vessel was seized and declawed by the authorities. Well that wasn’t going to stop them —as you can’t change a tiger’s stripes!

Commando 5501, published by DC Thomson December 16th 2021 
Three high‑ranking SS officers meet in a remote mansion house near the Swiss border. With them is a cache of looted jewellery, paintings and antiques, forged papers and plans to flee the falling Reich to South America. But, as they talk in secret, they are disturbed by a knock at the door. A member of the infamous Gestapo has come to interrogate them. Does he know about their plans to flee? And what does this all have to do with Resistance fighter Christina Koch?

Commando 5517, published by DC Thomson December 16th 2021 
In the frozen town of Verdalsora, Norway, Georg Fischer is part of the Nazi occupation. However, after witnessing first-hand the brutality of his superiors, Fischer is sickened by the regime he knows he is a part of. His only option is to desert, fleeing into the merciless landscape of the fjords. But with enemies everywhere and death at every corner, Fischer will need more than his wits if he is to survive.

Commando 5533, published by DC Thomson April 12th 2022

April 1982 saw Britain enter a new conflict half the world away. But before the war would officially begin, tensions rose as three Royal Marines were sent on a recce mission far from their base at Port Stanley when Argentinian forces invaded the Falklands.

Left with an impossible mission that could change the tide of the conflict, the three marines must battle both the climate and the Argentinians if they are to save the day.


Commando 5537, published by DC Thomson April 26th 2022
September 1st, 1939. As the German army blitzkrieged its way across Poland, they didn’t have it all their way. The Polish were steadfast in their defence of their homeland, desperately trying to hold back the tide. But the Nazis would rue the day one man, Corporal Tomasz Zielinski, got on board an armoured train named after a legendary dragon. Tomasz and that armoured tank engine were determined to derail Germany’s plans!

Commando 5567, published by DC Thomson August 16th 2022
It started in the desert, tracking down the so-called ‘Sahara Sniper’, where LRDG Sergeant Jeff Nicholson lost his best friend in the worst way imaginable. Now, as the Allies make their way through the Italian mountains, medics are being picked off faster than a sniper’s bullet! Can Jeff and a green American crack-shot corporal finally close in on this rogue German soldier?

Commando 5585, published by DC Thomson October 11th 2022
A plethora of spooky stories sure to send a shiver up your spine. Join six Canadian infantrymen as they tell ghost stories to entertain them on a cold Halloween night in the Netherlands. One by one, they will thrill you with frightful tales from the frontline!

Commando 5649, published by DC Thomson May 23rd 2023
As soon the armistice was announced, Sergeant Gennaro Ricci wasted no time returning to Naples to see his family.But the city he left was not the city he came back to. The bombed‑out ruins of Naples had been overrun by German invaders who imposed curfews and shot anyone trying to resist. Plus, his sister had been kidnapped by the German major running the whole shebang!

Well, with a little help from the armed and angry partisans and the scugnizzi, street urchins of the city, Gennaro was going to show the Nazis four days in Naples they’d never forget! For those German soldiers who dared to try to tame the city would…See Naples — or Die!


You can find all other mentions of Colin on the blog right here
You can find all other mentions of Commando on the blog right here

27 May 2023

Batman special edition - 1993/4

There are definitely too many comics for me to start to think about covering them here. However, I came across this reprint tile recently and it had enough British comics interest for me to come up with a covers gallery. It lasted at least 7 issues and was a collaboration between DC and Fleetway Editions Ltd.

Batman Special edition, issue #1, Summer 1993, £1.50, cover art by Bill Sienkiewicz


Batman Special edition, issue #2, Autumn 1993, £1.50, cover by Alan Davis and Mark Farmer

Batman Special edition, issue #3, Winter 1993
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Batman Special edition, issue #4, Spring 1994, £1.65

Batman Special edition, issue #5, Summer 1994, £1.65


Batman Special edition, issue #6, Autumn 1994, £1.75, cover art by Glenn Fabry

Batman Special edition, issue #7, Winter 1994, £1.75, cover art by ???


26 May 2023

Glasgow Looking Glass #2 up for sale today

There's a rare opportunity to bid (here) on a copy of The Glasgow Looking Glass today. As the item descriptions says...

George IV Scottish Periodical - Glasgow Looking Glass - 'Palmam Qui Meruit Ferat'. Vol. 1, No. 2, printed, published and sold by John Watson, dated 1825. Three unbound leaves containing illustrated 'comic' style engravings by William Heath. The Glasgow Looking Glass, later renamed the Northern Looking Glass, ran between 1825 and 1826, and was the first mass-produced example of a comic book, featuring illustrations which narrating humorous stories.

Good luck if you bid on this important comic









25 May 2023

UPDATED: Clearmark comics - Tom & Jerry

I've looked at some comics published by 'Clearmark comics' in the past...

Popular fairy tales here
Were Bears here
The world of Wym here
Rupert is here

They published at least one other title though...Tom & Jerry comic. Michael Carrol (here) records it at lasting 7 issues. So, here's the start of a covers gallery for Tom & Jerry comic.

Now updated with the cover of issue #4

Tom & Jerry comic, issue 1, May 1990, 80p


Tom & Jerry comic, issue 2, June 1990, 80p
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Tom & Jerry comic, issue 3, July 1990, 80p
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Tom & Jerry comic, issue 4, August 1990, 80p


Tom & Jerry comic, issue 5, September 1990, 80p
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Tom & Jerry comic, issue 6 October 1990, 80p
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Tom & Jerry comic, issue 7, November 1990, 80p
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24 May 2023

UPDATED: Fury comic - free gifts

Time to start a look at the free gifts from another comic...this time it's Marvel UK's shortlived Fury comic. So far I've only got images for the free gifts for issue #1 but there's more to be identified so come back soon once I've got more images to share. 

Free gift images for issue #3 now added

Fury comic issue #1 - 16th March 1977




Fury comic issue #3 - 30th March 1977



All images c/o ace ebay seller phil-comics