Comics UK

Hi all,

I thought I would start a discussion on this great comic-this comic really was the only one I read-I did read 2000AD when it first came out but never really enjoyed it. I was so annoyed when Action combined with Battle; as I slowly watched my favourite stories fad away, I felt that part of my childhood was fading away with it.

Do you remember the day when you first saw Action on the shelf?

I do. It was a Saturday morning; I was 10 ? at the time, at that age you always added the 1/2!. My mother worked in a local shop with a newsagent next door in Streatham, London. Patel's I think it was called if memory serves. Anyway, my mother would take me to work with her, as was the norm in those days and to pass the time she would buy me a comic to keep me occupied.

I remember walking into the shop and heading for the newsrun and there was this comic with a free red catapult glider on the front. Well, I just had to have that free gift, sod the comic, it was the gift I was after. I do remember that glider though, I have no idea when or where I lost it, if in fact I did; I must have, probably at school or while playing in the fields, but I did have it for a time and it gave me, as a 10 year, hours of fun.

Content with the glider, I opened the comic, as my mother was busy working, well that was the idea and what a surprise I got!

Dredger: First page; first caption, telescopic sights: Bang! All hell?s let loose. I was hooked.

Hellman: Blasting his way towards a bridge: Bang! Taking on everyone. I was hooked.

Blackjack: Slipping a left cross, get?s hit in the eye, in trouble, going blind, beats the guy anyway. I was hooked!

Play Till You Drop: Roy of the Rovers meets Action. In this case, there was a twist. I was hooked!

Hook Jaw: In colour! Blood, guts and a shark with attitude! I was hooked!

My father took me to see Jaws when it was first released at the ABC Cinema on Streatham High Road. I remember when we were walking, my father stopped and asked me if I was really sure I wanted to see this film. He gave me the impression he wasn?t, maybe it wasn?t a film for someone my age; I didn?t care, I was going to see this film with or without him-how I would have gained entry to this film, I have no idea-; anyway it didn?t matter because he smiled at me, shrugged his shoulders and we were in. And what a film! I still now, from time to time, watch this film remembering the point when the entire audience jumped out of their seats.

Does anyone have a clue what scene this was?

I was buzzing afterwards. Probably one of the best films I?ve ever seen. I was only 10 or 11 at the time.

Sport?s Not For Losers!: Had all the grit and determination that a small boy needs. I was hooked.

The Coffin Sub: I never sent in my ?Like-Dislike? token. But, if I had, I would have voted for this story to be dropped. By now, I have read some outstanding storylines and totally hooked on this comic. But, this story, well, I really wasn?t interested and to this day I couldn?t tell you what it was about.

The Running Man: Great story to end the first issue and the following ones. I was hooked!

Being so young it was only after a couple of weeks of dashing to the newsagent with my 7p to buy the next issue, that I realised, or was told about placing a regular order, which I did, but somehow I missed a few copies.

Over the years, I have read and re-read this comic. I remember throwing away Battle Action, as I wasn?t impressed and didn?t want anything more to do with it. Oh! What a fool I was. I just kept Action and thanks to my mum, a couple of months ago the subject came up, low and behold, she gave me a bag with my Action comics in. I have lost a few, in fact most of 1977. I?ll post the ones I?m after in due course. Maybe I will be able to complete my collection as time goes by. Plenty on E-bay.

At the moment, I?m writing a review on one of my favourite stories; Green?s Grudge War.(For submission to this site) As a kid, I really enjoyed this story and furthermore, enjoying reading it again and writing about it. I hope I do it justice.

Originally posted by Mark on the old forum on 25/10/2003

I can't realy remember getting the first issue, hey it was a loooong time ago. I know I did, and I do remember seeing the first one in the school playground and thinking how cool/unique it was. Everyone was talking about it at school... I think Hook-Jaw was the one that attracted the kids most. At the time I was buying all the Marvel weeklies and Valiant but this new comic was unlike anything i'd ever seen. I bought them all up until the withdrawal. I got the first few when it returned but it just wasn't the same and I just left it alone then. My mum later threw out all my issues but I thankfully have replaced those original run issues, and also managed to get the book off the Yahoo Auctions a couple of years back (?8) as I had missed it's original release. Action is/was/and will always be a favourate comic of mine. I dig it out every now and again and reread those old classics... Hook-Jaw, Dredger, Hellman, Kids Rule OK.... hmmmmmm, maybe it;s time to dig 'em out again! Alan!

Originally posted by Wrighty47 on the old forum on 25/10/2003

I was a Battle Action fan but I did have a fairly big collection of Actions which my cousin gave me. (I later threw these all out of course). I think Hellman was the only Action character who successfully survived the merger with Battle. Dredger turned into a bit of stereotypical tough guy and the Spinball stories increasingly got sillier.

Originally posted by Al B on the old forum on 26/10/2003

Ah, I love hearing reminiscences abiut these old comics!

I was too young for Action when it came out, about 5 years old and I read largely humour comics till I reached double figures.

Still, I remember seeing a few of the annuals as a kid at a mates house and thinking Hookjaw and Spinball were brilliant.

I have a few (literally) Action comics I've managed to get hold of and they are so exciting. One has Hookjaw being attacked by vicious barracuda and there is blood (nice red blood) splashed everwhere

I also have the Action book, which is possibly going to be my main experience of Action apart from the slightly inferior annuals.

Anyway, I won't go without a sordid plug for my spoof 70's/80's comic, Solar Wind which features strips such as DeathSquid and DeathSphere. We're at issue 2, Issue 3 will be a war issue, but 4 will be an AGGRO! issue where we hope to return to those heading days of violence, action and associated yobbery!

Cheers! Paul

p.s. would love to hear more about any memories you have of these comics.

Originally posted by Paulvonscott on the old forum on 03/11/2003

Hi all, here?s another one for you

I must have been about 13 at the time and in my technology class at school the teacher set a project based on board games.

I don?t think, at that time, I had cut out and taped together the Magnum Force game, but for my project, I did.

Although I had technically cheated, the teacher expressed his opinion on how violent the concept was, a good idea, but violent all the same.

If I remember correctly, each time you ?shot? someone you had to placed a bullet hole or wound on that person-I need to read the game rules here-. You had 6 bullets and 6 wound marks. As I was showing the teacher how the game was played, he was becoming more interested.

I can?t remember what grade I got, but it was a good one, maybe a B. So thanks to Action, I passed a school project!

Originally posted by Mark on the old forum on 04/11/2003

"And what a film! I still now, from time to time, watch this film remembering the point when the entire audience jumped out of their seats. Does anyone have a clue what scene this was?" It was when Roy Scheider was throwing chum off the back of the boat, Jaws pops up and Roy says "We're going to need a bigger boat". The scene hasn't aged too well next to CGI monsters - maybe there's an opening for a George Lucas style sacrilegious updating

Originally posted by Pongo Snodgrass on the old forum on 23/11/2003

My brother went to see that movie on its original release in Dundee, and the scene that had everybody jumping was the scene when Roy Schneider and t'other guy went scuba diving to find out what had happened to their mates boat. As they swim down, a body pops up in front of them with one of the eyeballs popped out of the socket. Nothing too squeamish now, but at the time it was cutting edge theatre. I can remember the fuss over Action, as our house always got DC Thomson's illustrious Dundee Courier and Advertiser (the last broadsheet to start printing photos on the front page!) and it was very much in the 'more in sorrow, than in anger' vein of editorial. I can remember the shock it gave me as until then I was almost unaware that there were other publishers, and to have found out that a comic I would have enjoyed had stopped before I had even seen it was anatheama to me, even then! Shame that today's generation of kids don't share our tastes (Victor, Warlord, Hotspur, etc) but I am sure that something like the original Action would go down well as the 10 year old of today is a heck of a lot more aware of the world than a 10 year old of 1978 ever was.

Originally posted by Colcool007 on the old forum on 04/06/2004