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28-594: War Picture Library was a British 64-page "pocket library" war comic magazine title published by Amalgamated Press/Fleetway (now owned by IPC Magazines ) for 2103 issues. Each issue featured a complete story, beginning on 1 September 1958 with "Fight Back to Dunkirk" and finishing 26 years later on 3 December 1984 with "Wings of the Fleet". The editor was Ted Bensberg. Assistant editors included Geoff Kemp and Brian Smith. Other editorial staff included Pat Brookman, Terence Magee, Clive Ranger, Tony Power and Clive McGee. Art editor

56-584: A "relatively minor contributor to the war libraries", who "was captured and made a P.O.W. by the Japanese". Parvin's story is told in the autobiographical Yasumai! (Digit Books, 1958), and "[a]t least one" of his contributions to War Picture Library (as well as Battle Picture Library ) "was set around the Railroad of Death in Burma". As with most war picture libraries, the equipment was accurately depicted in addition to

84-733: The Battle of the Bulge , and dealing with Nazi war crimes such as the execution of prisoners; issue #54 (June 1960)'s "Umbrella in the Sky" provided a fictionalised account of RAF pilots flying Hurricanes to Russia providing aid to Britain's then-ally during the German assaults. Issue #1151 "Fix Bayonets" (December 1975) followed four conscripts from their initial training until their eventual action in Italy, where two are killed: one heroically, one pointlessly – aptly highlighting

112-451: The 1960s and early 1970s. Examples include Commando Comics and weekly comics such as Battle Picture Weekly , The Victor , and Warlord . Trade paperback reprint collections of war comics include: Gino D%27Antonio Gino D'Antonio (16 March 1927 – 24 December 2006) was an Italian comics writer and artist. Born in Milan , D'Antonio made his professional debut in 1947, with

140-580: The 1980s, following publication of over 100 issues, include: New titles were still appearing, however – notable among these being Marvel's the 'Nam , which debuted in 1987 and was based during the first year on writer Doug Murray 's actual Vietnam experiences (through the eyes of fictional character Ed Marks). Murray was surprised that his proposal for a Vietnam-war themed comic was accepted during this period: "I never expected anything to come of it because war books were already pretty much dead at that point in 1985." Another notable war comic focused on Vietnam

168-446: The DC line. These recurring characters began as regular "guests" of anthology titles such as Our Army at War and later graduated to their own titles. By the late 1980s, a great number of venerable war titles (most of which were either anthologies or else World War II-themed titles) from the late 1950s and 1960s " Silver Age of Comic Books " died out. War comics series that ended long runs in

196-487: The IPC Media titles – selected issues of War Picture Library as part of their UK comics reprints stable. Two volumes of 12 comics each have so far been produced, with a further volume of 11 comics published in 2009 and a smaller volume containing six comics in 2010: War comics Shortly after the birth of the modern comic book in the mid- to late 1930s, comics publishers began including stories of wartime adventures in

224-706: The adventure serial. Two of Fleetway's sister-publications – Air Ace Picture Library and Action Picture Library – were ultimately folded into War Picture Library . Such mergers were commonplace in the UK (and US) markets, and Air Ace was on its own published for 545 issues over a full decade (Jan 1960 – Nov 1970) before being merged. In addition to the multiple war-related titles, others dealing with cowboys / westerns and spies sprang up, as did titles from smaller publishers such as GM Smith/Micron, M V Features, Pearson Publications and Famepress Publications, among others. Titles were also translated into several languages, and sold around

252-594: The bulk of the stories released several times a month for over 2000 issues were set in all fields of combat. Crucially, reflecting the cultural shifts in popular fiction, the war stories did not always feature "a heroic journey", nor yet were all characters automatically "gung-ho" stereotypes: "[a] diversity of characters", human emotion and even some considerable sympathy for 'the enemy' was not out-of-place in some tales. . . . cowards and glory seekers could be found in some episodes; spies and traitors rubbed shoulders with our staunchly loyal heroes in others. Neither were all of

280-521: The comic book series Jesse James published by Edizioni Della Casa, and from 1951 he started collaborating with the magazine Il Vittorioso . In 1956 he began a proficous collaboration with Fleetway Publications , for which he specialized in creating war comics. His stories were published in British publications including Tell Me Why , Junior Mirror , Junior Express and Eagle . In 1967 D'Antonio co-created with Renzo Calegari his best known work,

308-516: The course of the war (in Locke's case, Operation Broadway). Some tales would also provide a certain amount of levity, and even slapstick comedy , such as the mildly farcical tale of Corporal Tagg in the Donne Avenell-penned "Snarl of Battle" ( War Picture Library No. 162 (Sep 1962), art by Ramon de la Fuente), which also highlighted very serious issues including the often stark discrepancies between

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336-629: The dichotomy between different forms of 'death in action' and providing a story all the more poignant for having followed their careers for so long. One of the earliest "Picture/Pocket library" titles, War Picture Library saw a slew of imitators and sister-publications spring up, including arguably the title's more-famous rival war pocket library: Commando (D. C. Thomson), in 1961. Perennial rival publishers D. C. Thomson and Amalgamated Press/Fleetway competed for readers and launched between them dozens of comics in pocket format – some spun off from or reprinting existing titles, others providing new twists on

364-520: The early 1950s) depicted the horrors of war realistically and in great detail, exposing what editor Harvey Kurtzman saw as the truth about war without idealizing it. (The mid-1960s black-and-white comics magazine Blazing Combat , produced by Warren Publishing , was similarly devoted to authentically drawn and researched combat stories with a self-professed anti-war slant.) Around 1959, several recurring characters began to appear in mainstream comic lines, including Sgt. Rock and The Haunted Tank in

392-413: The men who engaged in action and those who took (or were given) the credit. Stories written for all the war comics were able to bring attention to lesser-known battles and actions, as well as highlight those instantly memorable. In addition, in one issue, a narrative could be followed from training, through action to heroism – and/or death. WPL No. 22 (July 1959) featured "The Invisible Enemy", set during

420-984: The mid-1980s. In the post-World War II era, comic books devoted solely to war stories began appearing and gained popularity in the United States and Canada through the 1950s, the 1960s, and 1970s, i.e. covering the time periods of the Korean War and the Vietnam War . The titles tended to concentrate on US military events, generally in World War II , the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. Most publishers produced anthologies ; industry giant DC Comics ' war comics included such long-running titles as All-American Men of War , Our Army at War , Our Fighting Forces , and Star Spangled War Stories . Another prolific publisher of war comics

448-576: The multi-genre omnibus titles then popular as a format. Even prior to the U.S. involvement in World War II after the attack at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii , comic books such as Captain America Comics #1 (March 1941) depicted superheroes fighting Adolf Hitler and the Nazis . Golden Age publisher Quality Comics debuted its title Blackhawk in 1944; the title was published more or less continuously until

476-921: The names of its creators. Many names – and before them, styles – became familiar to UK comics readers, however, and still more names have been documented over recent years. Contributors to War Picture Library included artists such as Fred Holmes, Giorgio Trevisan , Harry Farrugia , George Heath , G. R. Parvin , Nevio Zeccara , Annibale Casabianca , F. Solano López , Juan Gonzalez Alacreu , Jose Ortiz , Ramon de la Fuente , Jorge Moliterni , Renzo Calegari , Faruk Geç , Luis Ramos , Gino D'Antonio , Carlos Pino and Hugo Pratt . Writers are often harder to identify, but among those identified by Steve Holland (et al.) are Donne Avenell , Ian Kellie , Douglas Leach , Willie Patterson , Alf Wallace, David Satherley , Roger P. Clegg , A. Carney Allen and S & J Thomas, also Gordon Brunt, author of 40 Air Ace Picture Library issues between 1961 and 1969. War Picture Library

504-503: The settings, although unlike some, War Picture Library was not averse to making central characters out of individuals usually associated with relatively minor overall roles. The often-realistic writing even downplayed the differences between the sides, treating some German frontline soldiers as – like the British – discrete individuals caught up in their wartime role, who were not wholly evil and did not always wish to fight, as wartime propaganda so often suggested. Nevertheless, due in part to

532-478: The stories purely about killing the enemy; some of them were dedicated to saving lives even in the midst of the carnage of war. Running until late 1984, " War Picture Library was a monthly window into a six-year global storm that affected every family in Britain". The first-hand knowledge of many of its creators also enabled the stories to ring true, and disclose – in sometimes simplified, and always fictionalised terms –

560-503: The truth behind the stories told in history books. [The stories] helped the two generations of children that grew up following VE Day make sense of the catastrophic consequences of war and the sacrifices that were made. Uncredited from the start, as were the vast majority of comic books written and drawn in the late 1950s and early 1960s, War Picture Library continued the trend of UK-based comics publishers such as D. C. Thomson and publisher Fleetway in continuing not to credit on-page

588-460: The ultimately patriotic nature of many of the stories, and the time in which some were created, some racist stereotyping occasionally crept in. Stories of self-sacrifice, such as that of Captain John Locke in "The Valley of Death" ( War Picture Library No. 120 (Nov 1961), art by Jose Ortiz ) were not uncommon, and were frequently depicted as serving a greater good and having a large, wider impact on

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616-472: The war themselves, many on the front line", War Picture Library was able to show clearly to its target audience "what [the reader's] fathers and uncles had been through in combat". Holland said that War Picture Library brought the Second World War to life "[i]n all its grim glory". The stories were not limited to tales of combat, some set in "the bomb-torn streets of London during the blitz ", although

644-408: The world. In Italy the stories were very successful and published since the 60s as the popular Collana Eroica and Super Eroica magazines. There were 2103 individual titles, as well as War Picture Library Holiday Special , which was published annually from 1963 to 1990. Starting in 2008, Carlton Books imprint Prion Books began reprinting – under licence from DC Comics , current rights owner of

672-519: Was Charlton Comics , which produced a wide variety of titles beginning in the 1950s, such as Battlefield Action , Fightin' Army , and Fightin' Marines . Quality also began publishing G.I. Combat during this era. Marvel Comics also produced war titles, notably Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos . In contrast to the typical glamorizing approach of most war titles, the EC Comics titles Frontline Combat and Two-Fisted Tales (produced in

700-494: Was Don Lomax 's Vietnam Journal , published by Apple Comics from 1987 to 1991. Also from Marvel in the 1980s was the toy tie-in G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero which focused on a fictional counter-terrorist team in a contemporary setting, and a limited run of Tales of the Marine Corps , similar in tone and style to Charlton's Fightin' line of war anthologies. Black and white anthology stories were popular in Britain in

728-549: Was Mike Jones and art assistant was his brother Dave Jones. Other art assistants at various times were Roy McAdorey, Geoff Berwick, Bill Reid and John Fearnley. Companion titles Air Ace Picture Library (1960–1970) and Action Picture Library (1969–1970) were both folded into the longer-running War Picture Library in later years. Launched in September, 1958, the Amalgamated Press/Fleetway title War Picture Library

756-400: Was among the first war comic to use real dates, places, settings, battles and (occasionally) battalions to more accurately place the stories in the historical action, even if the stories themselves were fictional. This came about largely because so many of the (early) writers and artists had actually fought in the battles they wrote about and drew. Steve Holland cites the example of G. R. Parvin,

784-440: Was one of the earliest (arguably the earliest) "pocket library" titles, and in particular one of the first to feature stories set during World War II. Comprising 64 pages, the tales were, according to writer and editor Steve Holland "page turner[s] of the first order, a shilling shocker that grabbed [the] attention" of a – primarily – young audience. Written and illustrated, at least in early years, "by creators who had lived through

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