UURGH!

Uurgh! is the lesser known version of Aargh! Not so much a regional dialectic derivative but more of independently derived from the root Ug! or Ugh! depending on interpretation or academic school of thought. 
The use of Uurgh! is still highly acceptable even though the dictates of fashion have seen it fall from mainstream use.

Legends of the lost AAAAAAH!

Be the first or lost it's always guaranteed to be the last. Irrespective of the spelling, whether there are 'r's, 'g's, or one 'a' or an abundance. It is seldom whispered and often vocalised with involuntary vigour. It is the inarticulate cry.

Meanwhile over at Kickstarter...

...Skies of Fire by Rick Chou is looking for support. This is a very good looking project. It's a diesel punk airship story about a captain and her crew. Click here to find out more.

I wonder if anybody says, "aaargh..."?

The Dreaming. The Screaming.

For some of us things can be rough. Dream what you will but life can come down to one single desperate point. All realisations, all hopes, all dreams either come together or are ripped apart and vocalised by one inarticulate cry.

Open air rave.

Dancing dangerously is a bit of a lost art. Sure everybody has their own moves and the critics can be harsh. If you choose to listen to them it's enough to make you scream. However if you choose to dance there are those who choose to watch. Ignore them and they will just go away...

Our moment of triumph.

Winning that's what it's all about. No sense in doing your best if it doesn't result in a good old fashioned win. What if your best isn't good enough? Should participation alone suffice?  As simple as this all may sound it really is quite complex. Winning alone may seem to some to be all. Yet will it be enough?

Aaagh!

It's bad enough to suffer from stress and anxiety. It's also a dangerous combination to mingle pent-up grief and determination. Thankfully there's sufficient awareness about this now, but still men need to take more action. Sure a simple phone call to a counselling service or a visit to a GP could have helped Johnnie Gayton. But now it's too late - he's taken a smashing blow to his wing-root. Extreme physical pain will now mingle with his mental pain. Aaagh! indeed Mr Gayton. Aaagh! indeed!

War at Sea Picture Library 1 Devil's Cargo

It's what doesn't happen in Devil's Cargo that makes this a terrific story. The SS Westland is a creaking old tanker worthy for the scrap heap - however the urgencies of war means she is needed. The same can be said for her crew.

Once the characters are established the action follows very closely. It is in the action sequences where Devil's Cargo excels and it's what doesn't happen that makes this pocket war comic shine.

On the way to joining a convoy the Westland gets attacked by a seaplane that strafes and bombs the ship. The seaplane is shot at but it gets away! Once in convoy surface raider cruiser appears and attacks. The convoy's sole escort, an aged destroyer, sacrifices itself allowing the convoy to save itself by dispersing. The destroyer pays the ultimate price and the other ships and the Westland escape albeit a bit worse for wear. Oh by the way the surface raider isn't sunk! As the damaged Westland limps its way towards its destination it is attacked by a surfaced U-Boat. To the credit of the Westland's crew they manage to land a hit on the submarine disabling its deck gun - but not before they take a beating. What? The U-Boat isn't sunk? That plane should have been shot down! That cruiser should have been sunk! The surfaced U-Boat is not rammed? I don't understand!

This is quite a tight little story.

Even though the guy with the floppy fringe does a bang up job of showing leadership he doesn't turn out to be the hero. In a nice twist that honour goes to the shifty looking down and out spiv. This is another one of those interesting stories where you really don't get to see the bad guys. This is one of those stories that has it all - great story, great action and great pictures.

There's a lot of ink in Devil's Cargo. It is an absolute pleasure.

Looks like a great place to have holiday. Why would you want to go somewhere where people are shooting at you?

Quite a contemporary look you've got going there Bert.

Love all that shading in this story.














He don't look half shifty don't he?

This is a great panel!!

The sea is a dark and mysterious place.

Ah! That's why he voluntered!! Who would have known?











A well placed AAAGH! from the Hun in the barge as well as an almost unheard of "look out!" from one of his comrades.

It should have been the guy with the floppy fringe up there. 

AAGH! of the Week. War At Sea Picture Library 19 Close Quarters

AAGH! of the Week. War Picture Library 74 Front Line

AAGH! of the Week. Battle Picture Library 73 The Digger Breed.

AAGH! of the Week. Air Ace Picture Library 298 Superfort Strike

AAGH! of the Week. Battle Picture Library 251 Vendetta

AAGH! of the Week. Battle Picture Library 68 Seize and Hold.

AAGH! of the Week. Air Ace Picture Library 349 Duel Over Malta

AAGH! of the Week. Air Ace Picture Library 412 Tigers in Action.

AAGH! of the Week. War Picture Library 490 Strange Allies

War Picture Library 220 The Atlantic Wall

There's a breath of honesty in The Atlantic Wall that is missing in most other pocket war comics. Victory is paid in blood. The toll of British dead is extraordinarily high. At the risk of sounding morbid it is this aspect of the story that makes it a good read. Not all the characters who are introduced survive.

The pivot of the story is Brigadier "Blood and Thunder" "Big Jumbo"  JMB Oliphant - an inspiration to his men as well as a perfectly eccentric English officer. He prefers to go into battle wearing his monocle and a black jumper with his two hunting dogs by his side and a sten gun in his hands. He's quick to praise and promote initiative. He is interested in results! Also (and perhaps alarming to our modern sensibilities) he has little time for sentimentality, for example the Brigadier sees a dead British soldier clutching a piat as a wasted firing opportunity. The tears can come later.
This is where the honesty can be found. Of course there are the typical extreme comic book moments. There can be no other way. However minor characters are given a chance to evolve. After that they are unlucky and buy it or lucky and survive. Which is interesting to find a War Picture Library story that openly says that luck sometimes has a part to play in success. But as we learn in The Atlantic Wall luck is only created by making things happen and things only happen as a result of strong leadership.

 Now that's how you wage war!

You might be smug now...

Sergeant Goldfinger (bottom right hand corner) survives the battle only to meet his fate several years later at the hands of another Englishman.

 You do the right things and this is what happens...

Psycho old dude with dogs wastes two bad guys.

Karl and Ernst have their final lesson.

If there wasn't a war on I'd let them eat you.

Thems big Nazis.

 Our weird little guys are better than your little weird guys.

 Outstanding lack of sentimentality. I love it.

 What? Daring do not enough? Luck had no part to play in it.

 The old I got you but you got me Aggghhh!

 What! Remorse? Where did this nonsense come from?

For you windowhead the war is over.

AAGH! of the Week. War at Sea Picture Library 1 Devil's Cargo

AAGH! of the Week. Battle Picture Library 251 Vendetta