Cover of the Week.

Cover perfection comes to us again this time from, Sniper! War Picture Library 160, published 3 September 1962. Fantastic artwork that throws a story your way complete with drama, backstory, and resolution in a few square inches. Bold and direct you know what you're in for from the beginning and it's exactly where you want to go.

Cover of the Week Air Ace Picture Library 109 Ace of Cowards

So much to like here. There's no escape for the Ace of Cowards. He's been caught out. He's even hemmed in by two broad borders of white space. Also the lighting is perfect, could the source be flames or should they be flames?! There's no mistaking the fear in his eyes. Also the detail in his sleeve with its folds and fabric seam are outstanding. Very easy to award this 10/10, so I will. 

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 Air Ace Picture Library 240 Havoc Over Russia

Struggle. Life is bad enough without having some creep shoot at you while you're trying to save your own life. Also given that should you make it through the hail of bullets and avoid the rotating propeller blades realising that where you might land isn't exactly going to be all that fun either. Good old number 57 hey? Well Air Ace 240 Havoc Over Russia could have very well been called Havoc Into Russia is besides the point. There's a lot to like in this cover. This is one of these covers where everything is so simple but it all comes together. Even the heading has a delightful if not sinister and tragic double meaning. For me this is an easy 10/10. The eastern front is pretty obscure in most people's minds let alone pocket war comics. 

Cover of the Week. Air Ace Picture Library 411 The Wolf's Head.

Nazis are a funny lot you know. They say they want all the attention and then when they get it they can't help but look the other way. I've been trying to interpret Air Ace Picture Library 411 The Wolf's Head for some time. The more I look the more I get confused. Yes I agree there's a moral let loose somewhere in here yet it doesn't reach out and grab me. Good beats evil. Yes I get that one. After that I don't know where to go. Is it not wearing seat belts is a bad thing? I'm still tying to figure out how "He tried to settle a personal score - but the price was sky high". If it's about killing Nazis the ledger appears by all accounts to be running in the black on this one.

The drama is all there of course. With cars at obscure angles and strafing aircraft at even obscurer altitudes. I even think there's an intentional link to party logos and busted hazard signs. As dramatic comic book art it makes a lot of sense - however the tag line doesn't seem to match every thing else that's going on. Argue with me if you dare but 8/10 (just) for this one.

Cover of the Week War Picture Library 412 Murder Charge

It's all happening in there I tell you! Murder I say! Murder! But this is war! Where is the murder? There I tell you! There!

What does this officer know? What does he really know? The intense gaze and accusationational gesture raise tension in an already tense situation. Also he is clearly a warrior, and an officer, as he has a desert hardened tan, a pistol and a wristwatch.The sense that something is happening "in there" is nicely and simply created by the viewing window of the action contained within the red wall or boundary. This is further emphasised by the shadow behind the officer that naturally doesn't fall through the window. Also in the window itself there's a scene of a gritty battle pitting raw flesh against hardend steel as the sun beats down from a cloudless sky over a sandy desert.

As covers go, War Picture Library 412 Murder Charge is an absolute winner 10/10!

Cover of the Week Air Ace Picture Library 527 Out of Control.

If you saw this sitting at the newsagent would you want to pick it up? I would! I bet you would as well!! Just look at it!!! This is one excellent piece of cover artwork. The only thing odd about it is the customary exclamation mark is missing from the title.

Besides that quirky anomaly when has a cover that shows so little shown so much? And it does it all in shades of grey, apart from that ghastly torn masthead.

I like how we don't even get to see the gunner's face - yet we know how tense this all is. We know how dangerous this all is. The title also tells us that something is out of control. I want to know exactly what it is.

Damn it! I'll pick this up. I want to know! As you should have guessed by now Air Ace Picture Library 527 Out of Control is a solid 10/10.

Cover of the Week War Picture Library 17 Commandos Die Hard

Before Bruce baby had a crack at it and made it his own - Die Hard belonged to another bunch of blokes. These guys are so tough they don't even need weapons to fight the enemy let alone a sneaky bloke called Hans. So when the going gets tough the tough clearly have the right idea about where they need to be.

For me the best member of this trio is the figure obscuring his face with his hand. Has he suffered a wound or is he merely making sure his tin hat is staying where it should? I enjoy the ambiguity whether it is intentional or not. Our friend in the middle has a fair degree of being manic about him, nicely supported by his colleague trying to restrain him.

This is a nice example of early War Picture Library cover artwork - so old that it is published by AP and not Fleetway. It doesn't have the edge of later pocket war comics - but it does carry charm, if that is the right word for it. So there is a story going on here. Why is the man in the middle being restrained? Why are their weapons on the ground and not in their hands? I can't quite pick the quality that pegs this as a pre 1960s piece of art but it clearly is because it was published in 1959. Perhaps it's a combination of the colour range and the rather flat faces. So in that context I'm going 8/10.

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 War Picture Library 430 Sixth Sense

Story telling is not necessarily about revealing every detail or using the obvious to bludgeon an audience.

Sixth Sense presents an almost bare cover.

Many pocket war comic covers like to focus on individuals either as soldiers or pilots in individual aircraft usually in a moment of crisis or at a dramatic height. War Picture Library 430 Sixth Sense depicts a rescue action by a group that is, unusually, not under fire. The individual determinism is still there of course, present in beautifully completed insert illustration that takes up about a quarter of the page. The usual cut out flashes or sub-heads are simply not needed. The two co-joined illustrations and the title work very well together create the reason to pick up and read Sixth Sense. Who or what did he see? How is he tied in with the rescue? Also why do the men in the boats appear to be so anxious.

Not a traditional cover, if there really is such a thing, but well worth 10/10. Nice artwork particulalry in capturing the feeling attitude of the crews in the boats.

Cover of the Week Air Ace Picture Library 284 Traitor Unmasked

Fanciful and fraudulent come to mind when contemplating the cover of Air Ace Picture Library 284 Traitor Unmasked. However I am letting my limited knowledge of aerial combat and the capabilities of WW2 aircraft colour my judgement.

The action is no doubt top notch. It would have to be for a Lysander sporting landing gear mounted guns and rockets to bring down an enemy fighter aircraft. Don't get me wrong I like the colours, particularly the use of reds and yellows. It's also nice to see that the allied plane has seen better days.

The funky title font is also somewhat endearing. There's also that lovely (if not slightly risqué) sub-head that's been spared the ignominy of appearing as a flash cut-out.

Whilst I have no complaints about the composition - indeed if I were a young lad back in 1966 the cover is exciting enough that I would have handed my hard earned 1'- in a thrice. It is the very idea behind this cover that drags it down in the rankings. Lysander lovers the world over will no doubt disagree me. 6/10.

Cover of the Week War Picture Library 8 Wings Over The Navy

If it's war you want then it's war you're going to get! And what do we get from the cover of War Picture Library 8 Wings Over the Navy? We get plenty of action!

To start with there's an aircraft carrier under attack. A British Swordfish is doing its best to get into the air, a stoic gun crew is giving it all they've got and the incoming nasties are looking to do some more damage. The sky is full of flak bursts and smoke trails of downed aircraft, meanwhile on the flight there's no where to hide for a few unfortunate good guys.

There's so much going on in War Picture Library 8 Wings Over the Navy I'm not sure where to look.

There's not a lot of subtlety in this picture.

There's also a bit of awkwardness as my eye keeps on getting drawn to that damn 652 that's just not siting in the right perspective.

On thing is for certain - the story had better live up to the promise that the cover is trying to make.

Amalgamated Press published this great looking story just in time for Christmas back in 1958. As covers go it doesn't have the sophistication of later editions. However style has to start somewhere. The colours are great and I like the way that lumbering biplane is coming off the deck and up out of the cover. This is one of the first War Picture Libraries and I feel honour bound to give it an 8/10.

Cover of the Week War Picture Library 109 Claws of the Tiger

You can feel the angst. Old mate's not getting up from this one. Rare to see blood as well.

That tank behind them is in a bit of strife as well.

War Picture Library 109 Claws of the Tiger says so much and it does it with a minimum of fuss. Even though to my eyes the two figures in the forefront may have been created either by a different artist or in a different medium (can anybody help me out here?) It really doesn't matter. This is a sterling effort.

I like the way that the artist wasn't compelled or directed to keep the image going to the edges of the original canvas. It doesn't need to. Everything the cover needs to say is right there.

Again, even though simple, the bold red of the title really works with the image. Thank goodness there's no annoying flash tag line spelling out what you should already know from the images. Right on the money. Only a 10/10 will do.

Cover of the Week War Picture Library 207 Be Tough, Be Cunning

Take that Nazi! How gratifying it is to see a jack-booted bad guy bite the big one at the hands of a determined, tough and cunning automatic wielding good guy.  You can tell by the shine of his boots that Hun boy was clearly up to no good and the hero has arrived to reduce the number of options opened to the Luger dropping fiend.

I'm very enthusiastic about this cover. It's all about the red and the render even though the door appears to be only pencilled in. There's good depth and animation in the composition of this picture. It all comes together perfectly with the title and the bared white teeth.

I'm keen to read War Picture Library 207 Be Tough, Be Cunning. In that respect the cover has already sold me on the story. And isn't that what it's supposed to do?

I know I'm a soft marker when it comes to these things, but when you've got quality like this to work with what else can you do? 10/10 

It's been a while...

It's been a while but I'm slowly working my way back up to writing full reviews.

Until then I'll put together a Cover of the Week here, and Aagh of the Week there and of course continue with the increasingly popular Moustache Monday!

The cool kids know that pocketwarcomics.blogspot.com is where the good stuff is kept.

Shhhhh!

Don't let the hipsters or fanboys find out they'll ruin it for everybody...

Cover of the Week Battle Picture Library 18 The Trouble Shooters

There's more than enough chaos in this cover to keep the expectation of drama going. Nothing like the "tough road to glory" carved into the very rubble you are creating and fighting though Also having a tear in the cover around the middle staple helps things along as well.

This a busy cover with great focus.

Here we have two men, both sergeants, from different units clearly giving it to the enemy. The blast from the piat (I thought they were spring loaded), the set grimace and the menacing tommy gun tell me that these men are more than trouble-shooters they look more like trouble-makers.

I think this a great cover - mainly for the chaotic situation these two fellows find themselves in.

Another high scoring effort, Battle Picture Library 18 The Trouble-Shooters deserves no less then 9/10.

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 Air Ace Picture Library 316 Flying Joker

It always stirs the heart to see an Allied biplane pilot giving his Hun adversary a bit of what for. There's no doubt it has been a bit of a jolly struggle to get to this point - as the holes in the English aircraft testify.

There's been some attempt to convey historical accuracy but that's not important here. I'm a little confused by what appears to be an unsupported strut in the middle of the pilot's view and I don't believe the earth and sky have ever been that colour yellow at the same time.But damn it works!

Despite my pedestrian understanding of art and my strong felt prejudices against Dogfight Dixon I really like this cover. Everything comes together to make you want to pick up Air Ace 316 Dogfight Dixon and the Flying Joker and read it. Everything from the holes in the wing and fuselage, the burning plane, the flight attitudes of the two aircraft, the cut out flash in red and the entertaining title font to act as motivators that say "pick me up".

As covers go 9/10 easy.

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 Picture Library 222 Road to Berlin

Same story as the Battle Picture Library version - but does the cover make it any more exciting? Published 6 years apart the War Picture Library cover is possibly more exciting but not as stylised as its younger brother. However this cover is definitely more comic book style in appearance.
I guess because it is brighter it might be more likely to be picked up and purchased. Also the dual action renders, mixing of graphic styles and direct type font makes this cover very exciting. There's no doubt that there's plenty of things that go 'bang' in the following enclosed pages.
Bouncing around in a tank would not have been fun and the three exposed crewman in that Churchill do appear very determined to get on with it. Likewise the three Germans manning that gun also appear to be very determined to stop that tank.
War Picture Library 222 Road to Berlin is bright and exciting and worth picking up. It says all the right things so it gets 10/10.
Just how many perfect 10s are out there?