Launch of a new blog

[colcool007]

And here is the starterto the monster slog of going through all 627 issues of Warlord!

Nice article, Colin! Good to put names to some artists I didn’t know.
I wasn’t a fan of war comics but Warlord’s importance in being a leader of a tougher, more dynamic breed of boys’ comic can’t be understated. However, it wasn’t the first UK comic based on one genre. Scorcher, for one, beat it to that in 1970 with its all-football theme.

And that is exactly the sort of feedback I need! Thanks Lew. That is going into 002!

[Adam Eterno]

I just wrote this reply on another forum so I might as well post it here as well.

Very Nice Colin. Presumably 'Sambo Black' was named after the famous children's book 'Little Black Sambo' by Helen Bannerman which was still hugely popular when I was at school in the early 1960s (and remains beloved by Japanese children). While it is generally considered to be unacceptable today the depiction of the titular hero was almost wholly positive - surprisingly so for the period in which it was written.

I remember reading Little Black Sambo when I was a kid in the late 60s/early 70s. It was a lovely story!

[philcom55]

Those panels of 'The Wingless Wonder' from Warlord #1 have a look of Jose Ortiz - but I'm not sure if he worked for DC Thomson.

[geoff42]

Hi, Col, on reading your "Warlord 001" post, you have already given me the heads up on an artist of which I had no prior knowledge - Carlos Cruz Gonzales. His name has been summarily noted in my notebook; he is now on my radar. Unfortunately, there are no names as regards script writers. From Battle, virtually every story is credited with a writer. Was DC Thomson so secretive in those days? It's the same with Bullet and much of Victor, Hotspur and Wizard in the seventies. Did DC Thomson hire freelance writers or was it all "in-house" hence the lack of information when it comes to a breakdown of stories? Is that how Pat Mills and John Wagner broke the mould? Still, as you say, Warlord did push the boundaries more so than its contemporaries at that time. Where was the input for this? Must have come from somewhere other than the standard fare from Victor and Hotspur... or were there a few mischievous rebels, aching to do something different but never receiving the accolade for doing so?

[colcool007]

Hi, Col, on reading your "Warlord 001" post, you have already given me the heads up on an artist of which I had no prior knowledge - Carlos Cruz Gonzales. His name has been summarily noted in my notebook; he is now on my radar. Unfortunately, there are no names as regards script writers. From Battle, virtually every story is credited with a writer. Was DC Thomson so secretive in those days? It's the same with Bullet and much of Victor, Hotspur and Wizard in the seventies. Did DC Thomson hire freelance writers or was it all "in-house" hence the lack of information when it comes to a breakdown of stories? Is that how Pat Mills and John Wagner broke the mould? Still, as you say, Warlord did push the boundaries more so than its contemporaries at that time. Where was the input for this? Must have come from somewhere other than the standard fare from Victor and Hotspur... or were there a few mischievous rebels, aching to do something different but never receiving the accolade for doing so?

Geoff, a good point and I will try to cover it in the next article for 002 or 003.

[colcool007]

Well, the next article is already up and covers some of your feedback with Swords Of A Thousand Men. I was tempted to mention my feelings regarding the US election but knew that it would break my cardinal rule of not slagging someone or something off, so I stuck with the feedback and hope you all enjoy using the Phalanx Code!

[geoff42]

Hi, Col, as regards John Freeman's request and your "Phalanx" system, that reminded me of my recent research as regards Major Eazy. Ha, my time wasn't much compromised in that regard but I did find a US site that featured the laconic major: "Under the Radar". It more or less was adamant that Major Eazy was in no way a British officer and more of a Hollywood star. Yep, I had to agree with that assumption; he was a combination of James Coburn and Clint Eastwood - definitely not British. I wasn't too bothered about that; it was another statement that basically said: any Americans sensitive about the British view that the second world war was won by the allied effort and not by the overwhelming American forces only... may not like this collected volume of Major Eazy who, let's face it, hated the yanks. That made me really think: have we, British, been fooling ourselves all this time to think that the yanks baled us out? To put it bluntly, the world would have descended into absolute purgatory without the intervention of USA? I reckon the Russians would have something to say about that for a start. Naturally, jingoism plays a part in all this, something that John seems so interested in. I actually contemplated a post about this in the "Terror Behind the Bamboo Curtain" thread around 2 months ago when I read in Battle's letters page of someone's complaint. It more or less said that if he were a German, reading Battle, he would be most unhappy and protest about the defamation of his nation. I wavered and eventually thought: no, I don't wish to get heavy and political with a comic that was meant for teenage boys. At the same time, there is a heavy depiction of German soldiers being shot and blown up in a teenage boy's comic. Where is the fine line here? Me, personally; I see it as pure entertainment as I would feel the same about watching a war film from our point of view or any other's. I don't attach myself too deeply to the semantics of the narrative; there's no point, I would lose myself in a swamp. It's how you detach yourself. I've never experienced war nor would wish to, but I can enjoy it remotely via comic strip, films, games when no actual lives are at risk. There is nothing immoral in seeing a cartoon character get his just deserts. If one is anchored in reality, there is no danger of bearing witness to such unsavoury graphics.

[colcool007]

Well, that is the fourth article in 8 days! Issue 2 should keep you all going for a wee while as I feel like I might need to slow down a bit!

I am enjoying doing the articles, but they can be a bit labour intensive. I only wish that I was able to do this as my job. Hope you all enjoy the latest one.

[geoff42]

Don't start flagging now, Col, you still have over 600 issues yet to cover

[colcool007]

Don't start flagging now, Col, you still have over 600 issues yet to cover

I am not flagging, but my usual output is one article a week so four is a bit mad by my standards.

[geoff42]

When the bug bites and you become aware of an audience, it's difficult to resist continuance

[colcool007]

It doesn't help when you get distracted.

Here is my article on Judge Dredd's advice to a swimmer.

[colcool007]

My latest post about issue 3 just got shared by Steve MacManus!

[matrix]

Hi Col congrats on the blog! Your next warlord post is of course the first motorcycle cover for 'Warlord' one of about sixteen, few and far between in the first two hundred odd issues. After 'Digger Dan' in issue no 64 on his bike, I think there are no more until 'Ryker' makes an appearance in issue 190. The only other is Peter Flint in his own special which I believe is his only appearance on a motorcycle on a cover for 'Warlord' ?Which to be honest I was surprised that was the only one although I stand to be corrected by all the Warlord experts if I am wrong! In that special Col are the stories reprints? Also do you know or anyone know who did the Peter Flint poster in the middle? (As per scan).

Looking forward to more posts Col.

(Just a credit for the scan I borrowed off the net as way too big for my scanner and I do not know how to join it together as they have done so hope nobody minds!)

[colcool007]

Hi Col congrats on the blog! Your next warlord post is of course the first motorcycle cover for 'Warlord' one of about sixteen, few and far between in the first two hundred odd issues. After 'Digger Dan' in issue no 64 on his bike, I think there are no more until 'Ryker' makes an appearance in issue 190. The only other is Peter Flint in his own special which I believe is his only appearance on a motorcycle on a cover for 'Warlord' ?Which to be honest I was surprised that was the only one although I stand to be corrected by all the Warlord experts if I am wrong! In that special Col are the stories reprints? Also do you know or anyone know who did the Peter Flint poster in the middle? (As per scan).

Looking forward to more posts Col.

(Just a credit for the scan I borrowed off the net as way too big for my scanner and I do not know how to join it together as they have done so hope nobody minds!)

Matrix, thanks for the kinds words. Indeed I am working on issue 4 but with other things going on, the blog has taken a bit of a back seat.

As to the scan, I like easy questions like that, as that poster was drawn by the great Ian Kennedy. The copy of that Summer Special that I own is sans poster, so that is nice to see, so thanks for showing me that.

This is what I love about our hobby is that there are always new things to find out. And as to motorcycle covers, I know the two you mean as I enjoyed the Ryker stories at the time but found them to not have aged well. And I am sure that the Digger Dan cover is yet another Ian Kennedy cover. I think that I need to do a bit of digging there to find it!