Don't shoot shoot shoot that thing at me.

When does mad and courage get replaced by blind fanaticism? Are they the same, or does it depend if you're in the process of overwhelming or being overwhelmed? Waxing lyrical on the morality of such matters is morally problematic in itself so time to dispense with the bar room  philosophy and have a good look at the artwork.
So much activity and not a face to be seen. That officer looks like he's been edited in, the panel would work just as well without him. But then, of course, we wouldn't know about the courage of those mad types.

Somewhere between baleful and steely.

Time for some pen and ink appreciation. Look at the wonderful shadowing and stern jaw of our man in the foreground. His expression is somewhere between baleful and steely. Everything in this story has been leading to this moment and it shows.

The Biplane of Life.

You can kick your rudder bar as much as you like, but when stress takes over your life and your entire focus is lost, you now only have yourself to blame. Which of course only leads to more stress. Going down in flames? Stress! Nothing is going right, despite your superb skills in lining everything up? Stress! She won't answer? Stress! Calling on your deity only in times of need? Stress!

Before you do anything rash don't forget from the wrong height water can be as hard as concrete.

Bae! Don't tell everyone!

Sometimes it's not easy to talk about important emotional matters.  However men, real men, suffer from from an inability to display in public. In avian terms this could be termed as antipeacockian. Yet a public display of admonishment is seen by these fellows as "letting to much on". Should you encounter one of these in the wild, beware.

The Oberst wasn't always this happy.

After a long hard day in the desert there are only a few things that can make you happy. Oddly bewilderment is not the first thing that springs to mind. But when it does come to you, in the right way of course, it's enough to make you forget about the sand sandwiches and hot coffee you've been enduring.

Oh! I'm happy too, this is post 550! 

Knees Knees Knees

When it comes to knees the British are usually pretty good. This might be surprising to some. Perhaps the cold weather  might add or create a knee suppression or repression of some kind. Naturally the Mediterranean or tropics allow for release for all that pent up bother.

Fire in my pants.

When a tubby man in shorts wants the fire party there's only one direction they can head. When he wants them on the double it must be because he started the fire. With shorts like those it's surprising that it didn't happen sooner.
This is the type of fellow who would know more than his fair share of crashing barriers and shredding.

It's a horse of course...

What a pretty horse! Even though thousands and thousands of the poor things didn't make it through the big one they seldom make an appearance in pocket war comics. I get the impression the artist enjoyed drawing this horse. It must have been a pleasant change from drawing  tanks, explosions, and blokes going 'Aaarghh!' Also having this beauty breaking the fourth wall makes it more captivating.

Pitifully Inadequate

Where to start? Some would say it's better not to start at all. It is bit harsh to question a  man about the efficiency of his rear gun.

Really?

It's bad enough to have to travel backwards with your head sticking out of a small hole in the back of the airplane without some idiot trying to kill you with unreasonably large bullets. Then to be called desperate, why not gallant?

Oh well them's the breaks.

Air Ace Picture Library 349 Duel Over Malta

Why does Battler Britton brings out the best and worst in pocket war comics?

First the best. Duel Over Malta is really well drawn. This is one of those stories where the sky is full of aircraft. There are Stukas, Hamdens, Blenheims, Spitfires, Junker 88s, Me 109s, Beaufighters, Macchi 202s and Junkers 52 Trimotors. With all those aircraft there's plenty of action. Even the storyline itself is reasonable. Set during the siege of Malta the scene is set for Battler to blast some Jerries out of the sky. Battler and his squadron are assigned to fly in badly needed Spitfires and pilots to defend the embattled island. From the moment they take off from the pitching aircraft carrier to the landing on the bomb crater pocketed airfield Battler is in the thick of it. The moment he lands his aircraft it is immediately seconded by the local fighter hero, Squadron Leader Naylor, who uses the Spitfire for its designed purpose.

A cooperative and friendly rivalry develops between Naylor and Britton as they maintain the good fight against almost overwhelming odds.

So what's the worst? Battler has to go on and do something that's impossible. To most this might appear to be his most enduring quality - but not only does he bend and stretch the very laws of physics his actions are somewhat gratuitous to the plot, robbing an otherwise good story of some extra panels and pages.

There's a point in this story where everything seems to be going OK and then Battler has to pull the "Hang on - while I save the war moment". Again an endearing quality to some but not to me.

Another game of Risk in progress. While the man at the desk is clearly a German and the two guys before him are tram conductors - why does the guy in the background look British?

Rarely mentioned or pictured in pocket war comics here is a unique appearance of these two famous degenerates.

Now that does sound like trouble!

Battler looks a lot like Mr Bean.

Excellent! By that rate we should all be dead in a week and half.

Now that's an understatement.

Good mini Aagh! from the Ace of Spades.

  

What is wrong with these people? They manage to speak English most of the other times.

War Picture Library 391 Old Warrior

A dickey ticker, a bad attitude and a big chin - are they enough to win the war? You bet they are!

Jack Frobisher finds it difficult to live up to his illustrious career when at the commencement of hostilities in WW2 he is considered too unfit - due to that dickey ticker - for active duty. Too proud to accept a desk job the former Commodore is set to spend the rest of his days brooding. The call for small craft to evacuate the troops from Dunkirk gives Frobisher the chance to get back into the action.

However despite affecting a rescue Frobisher's heart gives out jeopardising the life of his recently acquired survivors. Redemption can come in many forms and for Frobisher cold and alone, falling in and out of consciousness, floating around in the dark - his comes in the form of a badly mauled motor launch bereft of leadership - until he takes over.

All, however, is not plain sailing from here. The troops on the motor launch are not keen to go on with the mission- but under Frobisher's encouragement they continue - however when his heart gives out for a second time in 24 hours he realises he cannot go on and the story passes seamlessly over to Roy Collis, the junior and only remaining officer,  to complete the mission.

This is a very elegantly written story that is well supported by some great artwork. Some of the panels and situations are near cinematic in scope. The story telling is quite sophisticated - each panel is there for a reason and there's no need for any gratuitous action.

A great story! And if you like blokes with big chins this is the story for you.

What a great line about being a volunteer does not immune you from anxiety.

Sailors on the assault!

Speech balloons over panels. Also a great drawing of a WW1 cruiser.

Nice touch with that grass chewing German in the foreground.

Eat dirt!

Heinkel in the dark. Superb!

Oh no! Not the captain.

That chin alone will win the war.

What a fantastic drawing.

Nothing to lose!

Donner und Aagh! Didn't even get the chance to mutter Blitzen.

Just doing his job I guess.

You idiot!

 Look at the size of the chins on those two!

Battle Picture Library 73 The Digger Breed

Australians! A pretty good story even though the artwork is a bit bumpy at times.
Take our friend to the left here. Despite the fact that he doesn't appear in the story and he's the only shirtless Australian to be found in The Digger Breed - look at his slouch hat! What the hell is going on there? That hat is an abomination. Now that I've got that off my chest - here's the plot.

The Digger Breed starts off with Australia's baptism of fire at Gallipoli. A young soldier (who we only get to know as "Rusty") is facing battle for the first time doubts his own courage. He survives his first encounter with the enemy and through the guiding hands of his comrades he manages to find his place. However he panics while out on patrol causing all his comrades to be killed.

Fast forward to World War Two. Three Australian veterans are disembarking in North Africa. One of them is "Rusty" - but which one? Is it Lieutenant-Colonel Bradbury or Sergeant Shaw or Private "Croc" Wheeler? There's a hint given early in the story and then followed up with a red herring or two.  I found myself saying "of course!" when his identity is revealed. But that is only my ego compensating for the fact that I didn't figure it out for myself. 

The Italians in North Africa receive a favourable treatment from the author. But the Australian slouch hats don't deserve the treatment they receive from the illustrator. They are just awful. There are also some very odd looking German tanks. Some of the panels appear incomplete and the composition at times is messy. However at the same time there is also some truly outstanding artwork. The illustrator obviously feels really comfortable when he (sorry for the assumption) gets to leave the ink in the well and sets out to convey the action in as few lines as possible.

The Digger Breed is a well written story and shows that a good drama can be achieved in 64 pages.

My oath sergeant what is wrong with that man's hat?

Why are those boots in the air?

A bad hat again. That really makes me mad!

Now this is a great panel. Feel the white space.

An unusual panel for a pocket war library comic. Having said that it looks unfinished.

This is a good one. Gives you an appreciation for the vastness of the desert.

Now that's an AAAGH!

Here's one for the good guys handbook. If you're out on patrol with a guy called Jimmy odds are you'll be coming back alone.

Feel the fear.

Wrong! Wrong! Wrong! How wrong are those slouch hats?

War Picture Library 269 Ghost Platoon

This is a very tidy story about seeking redemption and accepting repentance with a touch of the supernatural thrown in to make things interesting.

As Eight Platoon prepares for their assault on Chateau de Ruhl on old Shepard greats the platoon with a premonition that there will only be one survivor from the ensuing battle. The local villagers dismiss the old boy as being crazy but Eight Platoon’s morale is shaken by his comments.

The platoon’s morale is already in trouble as their new officer, Second Lieutenant Mark Nichols, panicked in his first action during an artillery barrage and lost both his own confidence and the confidence of his men.

The platoon was only saved during the subsequent battle by the leadership of the veteran Sergeant Burke and a gutsy display by private “Rusty” Grant. The sergeant is ready to report Nichols’ cowardice to company command but he is persuaded by Grant to give Nichols a second chance.

Soon enough the platoon is ordered to occupy a chateau where they are promptly surrounded and cut-off by the enemy.

So when Nichols formulates a plan to save the platoon by volunteering to go through enemy lines to get help it is met with cynicism. What follows is a dangerous escapade as Nichols and “Rusty” Grant (a fluent German speaker) work their way through enemy lines.

The story ends as it starts with the old Shepard witnessing the eerie spectacle of ghostly British troops marching towards the front.

This is a nicely crafted story. Action sequences contribute to the narrative the whole way through and there’s no need for superfluous exploding trucks, trains, boats, buildings, bridges or tanks. A lot could have gone wrong with the introduction of the ghostly element but thankfully it is used well. There’s strong pathos to this story as even though the good guys are heroic it is not enough to enable their survival.

Fear. I'll show you fear if you can catch me!

Here's a man who loves his job! There's also one of those rare dead guys you find in wars - with blood!

A damn good aaagh!

An even better aaagh!

The classic short aaagh!

Where's the side order of fries?

A great looking panel.