Air Ace Picture Library 412 Tigers in Action

More Americans? Well not exactly. Even though the Americans are talked up at the beginning - there is a literary slight of hand and the story is not really about them at all despite the expectations set by the title. Tigers in Action is really about a British pilot Alan Sinclair. He is a former pilot, tagged unfit to fly due to a head wound sustained in the Battle of Britain. He jokes that the steel plate in his skull makes him "the only pilot with an armoured head". More about that later.

The Americans line up for their typical stereotypes and are depicted as being brave, brash and boastful. The British are relatively bland but suffer from having a pompous superior officer (who does make good in the end). The Chinese (after all the Flying Tigers are a Chinese unit formed with foreign pilots) manage to escape being badly stereotyped and are depicted as brave and intelligent. Finally the Japanese are shown as arrogant and boastful. However what's really interesting is that a lot of effort or consideration has gone into not drawing Japanese faces in full or at all. Is there something sinister behind this decision? Was the thinking that readers might get confused between the Chinese and their Japanese opponents. I've never had a problem in distinguishing between the Germans and their opponents - so why should there be problem with distinguishing between Chinese and Japanese. Or am I just looking at this through a filter created by years of political correctness?

Otherwise Tigers in Action is a pretty good story following the squadron getting chased around China as the Japanese continue their aggressive attacks. The bromance between Alan Sinclair (Englishman) and Mike Wade (American) comes to an abrupt end when Wade is shot down over the jungle due to a lack of concentration by Sinclair. Was Sinclair's old head wound to blame? While Sinclair undergoes medical evaluation to find out, Wade has a series of adventures with the ground troops and returns to finish off the story with his friend.  There are also a good number of elaborate plans , frantic opportunities, grim determination from both sides and lots of aircraft in the sky and at times even more falling out of the sky.

As expected there is a fine assortment of aircraft in Tigers in Action including Tomahawks, Nakajimas,  twin-engined Mitsubishi bombers, Lysanders, Zeros and Warhawks which is always a good thing to see in an Air Ace Picture Library.

Look! Lots and lots of aircraft. Good to see a Nakajima buzzing around.

Look Ma! No helmet hair! (These two have spent the whole morning flying around and have just taken off their flying helmets and their coiffures are still perfect!)

Murder!

Time to get that mocking hiss fixed. It might still be covered by warranty.

A good AAAAGH! from a Japanese pilot.

I'm fighting my over developed sense of school boy humour to leave this one alone.

The good old days!

What is it with this guys hair?

Lysanders! Always a welcome sight in any pocket war comic.

Oops! The Tigers go from heros to Zeros in no time at all.

Do I really have to take off all of my clothes for you to check my pulse? Hey! Are you really a doctor?

Bad guy lesson number 33 never diss the enemy while during a smoko break. You should know what happens next.







Nasty business. The allies don't get it all their own way in this one.

War Picture Library 490 Strange Allies

Now here's a principle to carry with you for the rest of your life - don't trust anyone who is half Italian and half Yugoslav.

It's 1945 in northern Italy. The British and Germans are unable to get the better of each other in the mountainous terrain. Both rely on using local partisans for information. But can these locals be trusted? A series of deadly coincidences makes each side suspect that they are being played by a double agent.

It's established pretty early in the story that the Germans are not really a bad bunch of guys. They know they can't win the war but they know they could win better surrender terms.

The Germans and British commanding generals from both sides seriously wounded at around the same time and are in dire need of medical attention. The only medical specialist surgeon left in Nazi Germany capable of saving the German general is kidnapped by the partisans before he can reach the general. The partisans intend on using the seriously injured and much loved general to get what they really want - a Nazi convoy of stolen art treasures. The partisans really aren't freedom fighters at all - they're bandits!!

All seems to be going well for the thieving locals and their get rich quick scheme. But things get complicated when Germany surrenders and the Germans gladly turn themselves over to their former antagonists.  However the subsequent actions of the partisans are their undoing. The Germans and British come together to rescue their respected and loved wounded leaders from their former informants and now treacherous enemy. Proving that people of mixed and dubious heritage who rely on subterfuge and treachery are unable to stand up in a fair fight.

Surprisingly, perhaps because this is a later published war picture library, there are a number of dead guys lying around. The Germans have a sense of morality about them and the British are less concerned about beating the Hun but are instead are more focused on "getting the job done".

The artist for this story doesn't appear to have a lot of time for detail. All the action is in the foreground and anything beyond that is either blank or a few quick lines. This really works well. Everything you need to visually know about the story is up front. Allowing a relatively detailed story to be nicely supported by the artwork.




...and if our first born is a male child we shall call him Chudley.

Fowler cops an AAAAH! in the back seat.

This German general needs a haircut.

Double anguish for the bad guys, an AAAAAH! and an AAAAAAAARGH!  Also isn't a bit late in the war for a P-40 to be swanning around northern Italy?

Dresoner reminds me a bit of  Christoph Waltz or should that be Landa? Also his assertion sounds pretty right.

No American artist could ever depict a British officer sending a delivery to off stump like this.

It's more fun when you put your hands up in the air. Seeeee I mean Aieeeeee!