Moustache Monday!

Is it enough Englishman to reach out and take what is given to you? If you are called into the tool shed by another man and he asks you to take something in two hands how would you respond? 

Life however is never that simple or straight forward. Sometimes in the dark a man must get closer and take what is tossed at him.
Trust can come in many forms - this time it comes in the form of a Frenchman with an authoritative moustache and manner.

Sometimes you have to take what you can get, other times it is handed to you. However when a man of moustache hands it to you with pride and the foresight that you can get the job done - grab it with both hands. There is no greater accolade than having a man with a moustache believe that you can follow through - do not disappoint him or yourself!

Roy of the Rovers

Roy of the Rovers - what a guy! Sure he didn't carry a gun but he did all the shooting he had to do at goal and on goal.

The round ball game has been very popular in certain parts of the world for a very long time - those who are not devotees may find it difficult to fathom that more than a generation of youth were intrigued and excited at the exploits of Mr Roy Race of the Melchester Rovers Football Club.

I wonder if his dad flew a Spitfire?

Thank you Egmont for supplying these snippets of what you have in store online.

Meanwhile over at Boardgame Geek...

...the talk turns towards the best representation of a Tiger Tank on a wargame counter.

Misty...Chilling Tails from the Nether World...

 

OK OK OK...it doesn't have men shooting at each other BUT it does look pretty damn good! My friends at Egmont Publishing have also taken Misty from the nether world and placed her on the internet.


From the sample panels below you can see Misty is involved in some pretty serious scenes. I'm sorry to say I don't really know about Misty or if she was intended for a male or female audience - or does that really matter? If you know more, please share I would like to know more.

 Anyway thanks again to Egmont for sharing.



Moustache Monday!

How much does it take to answer a rap at the front door? How does one take Mike after he's been giving it to some fellow called Jerry and making it hurt? You greet him of course! In the deepest of your deepest voice and with a smile on your face.

Some think being the big man, and by default the main moustache, is all a far too serious concern, that it's all look dead ahead and play the straight bat. Yet there is more to it than that. Yes it is serious business but it doesn't mean one can't smile every once and while.

Johnny Red Part One and Two

Johnny Red was dishonorably discharged from the RAF but managed to find his feet again with the Red Air Force, swapping the green fields below for the ice and snow of Murmansk.

It is very good of Egmont Publishing to send these images my way. I have to admit I really can't remember too much about Johnny Red - even though I have some aged and battered Battle Picture Weeklies lying around waiting to be read again.

Sorry to say the panel look like their out of order - but it looks like a great read!

These are available, online, in full from Egmont Publishing.

Moustache Monday!

It's never easy. When you consider how many people who can actually have a moustache versus the number of people who can't. Once you exclude the number of non-moustache participants the population becomes rather select. Add to that the ability of having a clear sense of direction and the responsibility to lead neat, yet guileless youth then the number of those who can and those who should not decreases significantly. This is not intended as a slur on those who cannot participate in moustache growing due to the cruel whim of Dame Fortuna. Just be reconciled by knowing that there are those that can. Reconciliation as well as correct grooming and directing the guileless is never easy.

War Picture Library 31 Airborne

There's a small problem with War Picture Library 21 Airborne - it is a terrible story. It begins well enough and as it is published in 1959 there are many words to read. Older pocket war comics have a higher word density than later editions. You just have to pick up a Thriller Picture Library to see the depth of writing that is involved.

Airborne is principally the story of Private Frankie Small who enlists in the paratroopers. He manages to pass all the rigorous tests (few people make it through) yet he has an Achilles heal. Despite being the son of a barge owner he is terrified of deep water. This fact is introduced nicely into the story in an unexpected manner - which is great writing, his phobia is then used again to prevent him from jumping in at a critical point in the story, yet he over comes his fear when he really needs to and of course he saves the day. All of this is very well written and introduced and handled though out the story.

Yet I kept having a disconnect with Frankie. He is a veteran from another regiment. He passes all the paratroop tests required of him for entry into the Red Devils. He can gun down Germans and show no remorse - yet he acts and looks like a scared school boy.
The story travels well until the captain and sergeant get captured. The German general who is interrogating them can't help himself and does that thing that bad guys do and has to tells his captives of his overly complicated and meticulous plan to foil any counter attack. They must have a subject at German General Staff School called "What Could Possibly Go Wrong?".

Needless to say armed with the knowledge of these plans, the deep water fear finally overcome and with a huge amount (thankfully admitted) good luck everything works out in the end. There is a absolutely radiant inner glow from Frankie as he takes his rightful place amongst his peers.

So the problem is this...

The story starts so well and the more the story moves along the less it has to do with the promise made at the beginning. It has very little to do with the excellent cover artwork and introductory paragraph. There are also some truly dreadful boys own adventure moments that otherwise mar a story that had such a promising start.

Is it only me or do I really expect too much?

So much promise at the start...

Look at those groovy hats.

Yeah! Slippy!! You got it? I don't.

Frankie looks like he ate all the cream pies.

You could say they left without telling you.

Bullets won't hurt you pair of wimps. But I will!

It's a little known fact that Germans are actually afraid of rough looking men who shout out these kinds of words.

Brush with the enemy? He killed the lot of them!

Nice shadow on that wall.

I've shown Mr Squarehead before - but this time look at Mr Bonehead looking like he's doing something.

For an issue about paratroopers there are certainly some good drawings of tanks in this story. This is a Tiger in case you missed it...

...and I think this is a Cromwell.



Major Eazy

With what appears to be a roving commission around the battle field, Major Eazy roamed the pages of Battle Picture Weekly trying to win the war all by himself. I can't recall the back story to Eazy's reason for being but it would have no doubt been revealed through the issues. From the panels below Eazy helps the recently leaderless to fight another day.

The happy crew at Egmont Publishing have released Major Eazy online as part of their Classic Comics collection.

Moustache Monday!

When men get together and point a stick at the ground you know things are about to get serious. Also the attitude of the shirt sleeves - either rolled to full or to quarter with the mixture of stern and jovial faces can be confusing to the casual observer.

But what if we were to move this scene from somewhere in the middle of a jungle to the middle of suburbia? How much changes if these fellows were learning over a BBQ instead of a battle map? What is clear is the man in charge - the one holding the tongs - is the man in authority. The other chaps look to him and he knows how to provide - whether pushing the pawns of war or the prawns on a Sunday afternoon there is one thing for certain. The one who knows, knows! He displays that quality proudly and the others look to him

Charley's War Part Two

As I've mentioned before the good people at Egmont have released a number of their digital classic titles online.

Charley's War is a very well credentialed work. In four parts it follows the fortunes of Charley through the First World War. Just a quick look at panels below and you can see it is pretty gripping and grim stuff.

Of course the huge difference between this story and the pocket war comic stories that came before it are the benefits brought around by continuity. Appearing in Battle Picture Weekly, Charley's war had the time to tell a deeper story.

Charley's War Part One

The good people at Egmont tell me that they have expanded their digital classic comics offering.CHARLEY'S WAR tells the story of Charley Bourne, an underage British soldier, during World War 1. It gives a uniquely frank account of the horrors of war, avoiding the usual heroics depicted in other war comics. CHARLEY'S WAR was originally published in BATTLE PICTURE WEEKLY. BATTLE was known for its hard-hitting, graphic storylines featuring the best of British derring-do with moving accounts of the two World Wars. CHARLEY'S WAR was written by Pat Mills, who also wrote ACTION, CRISIS and created 2000 AD, including work on JUDGE DREDD. Joe Colquhoun was a British comics artist best known for his work on CHARLEY'S WAR. He was also the first artist to draw ROY OF THE ROVERS. After CHARLEY'S WAR finished, Colquhoun drew for MASK until his death in 1987.

In this comic volume, Charley's War Part One, we see Charley Bourne being sacked from his job in London and deciding to join the war effort. He is a typical 'Tommy', neither overly intelligent or especially strong. Rushed to the Western Front, he soon finds himself in the thick of things. After proving himself with a daring attempt to rescue a Tommy runner, Charley is chosen to take part in a night raid on the German trenches. Will the Tommies return alive?

 

 

By the way Egmont Publishing were very nice to supply me with these images. Over the next couple of weeks I'll show you the other goodies they've sent me. More about Egmont can be found here...www.egmont.co.uk

Meanwhile at BoardGameGeek.com....

The good people at Board Game Geek ponder what they have learnt about life from TV and the movies. They cover important topics such as the French Foriegn Legion, Quicksand and how to hit someone in the back of the head with enough force to stun them but not kill them.

Moustache Monday!

Every man knows the value of a good moustache whether they come from fine stock or are foreigners. Indeed it may come as a surprise to learn that some foreigners have a different view on what should be the correct protocols and procedures for moustache grooming and care. Thankfully they are men after all and at the very least we can all agree on the same fundamentals.

Here we have a number of typical foreign types looking to resolve an issue. Notice the man clearly in charge. Even though he may appear somewhat unconventional to us he is clearly the right man to those around him. Notice his casual disregard for sleeves and his choice of clearly impractical ethnic headwear worn at a jaunty angle. He knows there’s more to inspiring other fellows then just by wearing the furry hide of a dead animal that further accentuates his hairy chest. This is all mere theatre. By grabbing his ammunition belt and cocking his thumb he is letting all the men know that this is more than a performance. In this way every Stepan, Savo and Jovo has no doubt as to who is charge.