Battle Picture Weekly
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Battle Picture Weekly, later known as Battle Action Force and Battle Storm Force, was a British war comic published by IPC Magazines from (issues dates) 8 March 1975 to 23 January 1988, when it merged with Eagle. Most stories were set in World War II, with some based on other conflicts.
In 1974, in response to the success of D. C. Thomson & Co. Ltd war comic Warlord, IPC hired freelance writers Pat Mills and John Wagner to develop a rival title. Mills and Wagner brought in fellow freelancer Gerry Finley-Day to help develop stories. When the title proved a success, Mills went on to create Action and 2000 AD, while Wagner was asked to revive Valiant.
Contents |
[edit] Tie-in with Action Force
From 1983 through to 1986, the comic ran a series of stories relating to the Palitoy range of action figures, Action Force. Eventually in line with the increasing popularity of the toys, the focus of the comic moved towards Action Force (at the expense of some of the longer-running and more traditional wartime stories) and providing the back-stories to the action figure characters. The comic was, at the same time, re-titled to Battle Action Force.
During 1984 to 1985, Palitoy increasingly used the comic as a promotional publication, running competitions, mail-in offers and fan-club elements of the Action Force toy range through its pages. As Action Force itself transmuted to its G.I. Joe equivalent (see Action Force - Third generation), the comic took on the role of providing continuity with regard to the diverging storylines and characters. By the end of 1986, the relevance of the Action Force tie-in had declined and the comic was again re-titled as Battle Storm Force prior to its eventual merger with Eagle.
[edit] Notable stories
Notable stories included:
- Rat Pack, written by Finley-Day and initially drawn by Spanish artist Carlos Ezquerra, about a group of convicts released from prison to carry out suicide missions, inspired by The Dirty Dozen.
- Major Eazy, by Alan Hebden and Ezquerra, a laid back, cigar-smoking British officer who drove a Bentley, visually based on James Coburn. For a time Major Eazy became the commander of Rat Pack.
- Darkie's Mob, by Wagner and Mike Western, a violent series set in the jungles of Burma, with the renegade Captain Joe Darkie leading a group of lost soldiers in a personal guerrilla war against the Japanese
- Johnny Red, written by Tom Tully and drawn initially by Joe Colquhoun, later by John Cooper, about a British fighter pilot flying for the Russians
- El Mestizo, by Hebden and Ezquerra, about a former slave turned mercenary in the American Civil War
- Hellman of Hammer Force, written by Finley-Day, starring a German tank commander
- Charley's War, by Mills and Colquhoun, a First World War story set in the trenches of the Somme
Garth Ennis has stated that Battle was "one of my favourites as a kid and a big influence on my own work. I used to enjoy Darkie's Mob, Crazy Keller, Hellman, Cooley's Gun, the later Rat Pack stories, Death Squad, The Sarge... the list is endless".
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Battle Picture Weekly Comic - The Britishcomics.com view.
- Best Of Battle
- Blood For The Baron!!! Battle Action Force comic scans
- Battle Picture Weekly at Comics UK
- Colonel Marbles' Battle fansite
- Charley's War fansite
- First part of an interview with John Wagner by David Bishop
| Action Force | |
|---|---|
| Toy Line | Action Force | AF | G.I. Joe | Action Man |
| Comics | Battle Action Force |
| Action Force Characters | Gaucho | Steeler | Jammer | Quarrel | Tracker | Wheels | Shark | Dolphin | Stakeout | Blades | Stalker | Sparrowhawk | Beaver | Hunter | Quickfire | Sky Raider | AF Characters |
| Action Force Units | Z Force | Q Force | Space Force | SAS |
| Action Force Villains | Baron Ironblood | The Black Major | Red Laser | Red Jackal | Red Shadow | Red Wolf | Muton | Kraken | Skeletron | Cobra Commander | Destro | Baroness | Zartan | Storm Shadow | Firefly |
| Factions | Red Shadows | Cobra | G.I. Joe Team |
| Video Games | Action Force |
 |
This UK comics-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia and WikiProject Comics by expanding it. |
