Cover of the Week War Picture Library 131 Line of Fire

Sometimes the situation is bad. Real bad. The captain is dead. The support weapons are no longer manned. There's no other option but to wave the men on. Despite the shell fire and the enemy intent on plowing the fields with machine gun fire. At some point someone has to yell 'enough'.  The cover of War Picture Library 131 Line of File sadly lives up to any number of stereotypes of what  pocket war comic should be, without the drama or excitement that other  editions have created. I am not one who should question anybody else's artistic ability  - but the composition of Line of Fire is not the best. Having said that this cover is 10 million times better (and then some more) than I could ever create. 
The long grass is good. The dead officer is good. The abandoned mortar is good. The fingers into the heading are good. The perfect bullet stitching,  not so much. The Sten gun smoke under the bullet stitching, not so good. The red sky, the purple tones... I really want to like it, but I just can't. 7/10

Cover of the Week War at Sea 15 Crash Dive

There's more to life than growing a mo you know I hear you say...

So time for a cover of the week...hooray!

 

This simple, yet dramatic, cover certainly gets the job done.

 

Submarine, or should that be U-boat, number 45 is clearly in some distress as it dodges depth charges. However something is just not right with this picture. It took me some time to figure it out but I think I have the answer. The more I look at submarine 45 the more I realise it looks more like a blue whale than a machine of war. I'm not saying that's a bad thing but it almost, well...looks friendly if you know what I mean.

 

I'm not feeling particularly critical at the moment so I won't be too harsh when it comes to giving this a rating - after all whales need all the help we can give them.

Like I said before there's a nice sense of drama in this cover. The masthead is bit simple and the title is lacking some "oomph!" as well as an exclamation mark.Definitely not a 9 or 10 by any stretch of the imagination but a good solid workman like 7/10.

Cover of the Week Air Ace Picture Library 261 Pacific Invasion!

You could be forgiven for believing that World War 2 in the Pacific only involved 2 combatant nations. However the cover of Air Ace Picture Library 267 Pacific Invasion leaves little doubt on who they were and what was involved.

A lone British fighter appears to be taking on the might of the Imperial Japanese Navy during an invasion. The awkwardly placed and politically incorrect cutaway says it all "As the Japanese hordes swarmed ashore, the Warhawks dived - to destroy".

The water is a beautiful blue - it doesn't look right. However I have seen the turquoise blue of the Coral Sea and I can only say that the artist may have got it right.

On the down side those landing craft look a little bit clumsy and those big ships look a little too close to the shore for my liking. As stated before the cutaway doesn't do too much either.

However I love the smoke trails from those guns (or rockets) and that beautiful blue water. 7/10

Cover of the Week War Picture Library 270 At Bayonet Point

I feel a gruesome interpretation of the title would have been more apt. However given the times it may not have been appropriate or warranted. Still the cover of War Picture Library 270 At Bayonet Point proves that it is always more sensible and favourable to give rather than to receive.

I love the tight palette of colours used for this cover and the use of highlights behind the lead figure. Even though he doesn't look overly driven by blood lust he remains equally menacing - but strangely not overly threatening. However he should be terrifying given his actions and the situation in which he is plying his trade - but he lacks character. In fact the more I look at him the more I find him to be a little bit bland.

The best I can give is 7/10.

Cover of the Week. War at Sea 16 Destroyer

Sea dogs are tough. I guess they have to be because there's no where to run or hide on a boat. Surrounded by dead and dying comrades the gun crew of the destroyer stick to their grim task - what choice do they have?

There's more than enough information here to tell me what I should expect when I start reading the story behind the cover.

If you can see through the hard life my issue has been through  - this would have been a prized issue in some young lads hands.
For me the detail in the folds in all the sailors clothes, the bomb just falling away from the Stuka and the pitch of the deck just keep me wanting to look at this picture over and over again.

This is one occasion where I would like to have a good copy of this issue.
I'm surprised that the publishers didn't feel compelled to add an exclamation mark to the title.

However there is a lack of composition and animation to Destroyer. Also the quad mounted gun isn't very convincing. I want to give Destroyer a better score but I just can't give it more than 7/10. Is that being too harsh?

Cover of the Week. Air Ace Picture Library 248 The Missing Bombers

Where are my 3D glasses? Now there's a cover worth viewing. A missing flight of Wellingtons weaving their way through a canyon fighting back against an unseen enemy. A very Star Wars esque image if there ever was one.

Now somewhere out there will be many issues of Air Ace Picture Library 248 The Missing Bombers in perfect registration - however my issue is not one of those.
Despite the overall image being a bit hard to swallow the finish of the lead Wellington is sight to behold. I just love green engine cowlings and the red propeller bosses - no doubt whoever is on the receiving end of those twin brownings is feeling considerably worse for the attention.
The fuzzy text in the middle reads 'They were thought to have been lost in action-but they were on a secret mission'.
Another good looking cover for a pocket war comic - but it doesn't have the punch of others. Easily 7/10. Do you agree - what would you give score give this cover? By all means ignore the 3D effect of my issue.