Squareheads. Is this the squarest?

Does this man have the squarest head or what? Clearly a man of some importance as he doesn't have to wear a hat inside.
He also must be a bad guy as he's telling the good guys what he is about to do.
But enough of that! Look at the right angles on this man's scone. You could set a house with that thing. No wonder he doesn't wear a hat - all the other boys would be making jokes about square pegs and round holes and all that...

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.

Air Ace Picture Library 326 War in the Air

Fantastic! Only if more pocket war comics could have this depth of writing and inspirational artwork.

War in the Air proves that you can fit a good story in only 58 pages.

Shot down and captured on his very first mission, Flying Officer Jimmy Durrance watches a surrendering Blenheim from the imaginatively named YD Squadron deceive it's 2 escorting Messerschmitts and destroy them. Durrance wasn't the only witness to this act. Incensed by this treacherous disregard of aeronautical protocol the Germans vow revenge against the offending squadron.

This is an interesting angle for an Air Ace Picture Library with the British as the target for revenge - usually it's the other way around. The Nazi's really can't bring themselves to let bygones be bygones (they're like that you know!) and keep their vendetta going for more than 2 years.  For a self-proclaimed "lucky" squadron, YD squadron really take a beating and are on the brink of being disbanded. Can only make you think what was happening to the "unlucky" squadrons around them.

Of course Durrance manages to escape allowing for a few frames of POW tunnel digging action. Once he regains his lines who will be revealed as the British pilot who did the dirty on the Germans?

The illustrations in War in the Air are pretty darn good with the illustrator using as few lines as possible to great effect. The panel structure also seems to be influenced by DC or Marvel comics. Even though nobody says Aaargh! this is a clever bit of writing and illustrating.

Given a few more pages I would have ended this story a little differently - but this is a good one as it stands.

 That's a bit of a tight fit. Too many cream buns and they'll take you off the flying list.

I think "nicely" is a very apt term for this picture.

Look at the front of this Blenheim it looks like it's been designed by steam punks.

Nice panel layout .

Shouldn't that be "voxing"?

Nice layout.

Com'n skip - it's a enough to make a bloke paranoid.

Ahhh...the privileges of rank in the bath hut.

Damn fine tash and damn fine cravat.

Rules for Bad Guys # 276. Never ever say our "anythings" will stop the enemy. It's a sure fire way to make sure they don't.

A man on a mission!

Air Ace Picture Library 297 Dogfight Dixon and the Traitor Pilot

Could this be the worst Air Ace Picture Library ever written? But don’t let me just shoot down Dogfight Dixon and the Traitor Pilot in flames. Allow the story to do it for you.

The story goes something like this…

Dogfight Dixon and his chums are having a jolly good time shooting down Huns, dashing around in their Sopwith Camels and looking rather splendid in their flying leathers. Then one day a damn natty Frenchy turns up with his Spad and starts telling the lads how much better it all is in the French Air Service.

Dogfight accepts a challenge from the Frenchman to see who has the better mount. However during the challenge Dogfight discovers a flight of Gothas making their way towards London. He then runs into a spot of bother while pursuing the enemy flight. Running low on fuel and lost in the sea mist Dogfight is forced to land on an island where there is a secret German radio base. Fortunately for Dogfight the keys are left in the door of the secure petrol store and he is able to make good his escape.

On his return Dogfight and his good chum Bumps Bradshaw take off in a DH4 to bomb the secret radio station not twenty minutes flying time from their own airbase. They are ambushed by a flight of enemy aircraft led by the crack killer German ace Baron Von Schroefer. Was it a trap? But how did the Germans know? Is there a traitor in the allied camp and who could it possibly be? STOP!!!!

Aaagh!! How could 58 pages be so bad? The writing, story line, characterisation as well as most of the artwork are just plain terrible. Great to see a story with biplanes but when one of the key characteristics of the Gotha is missed (it had a gap in it’s own fuselage allowing the rear gunner to engage enemy aircraft in what is usually a blind spot for all other aircraft of the period) it is disappointing.

On the plus side it is World War One story, with Camels, Spads, Gothas, Albatrosses and a DH4. And the cover artwork is outstanding.

But the bad far outweighs the good. There’s an old chateau (within walking distance of the squadron that Dogfight hasn’t really noticed before) where the French pilot’s uncle lives, The uncle wears a smoking jacket and keeps a vicious, but obedient, guard dog. The uncle also likes to keep carrier pigeons and declare his loyalty to the Fatherland with his nephew. Oh my goodness! The Frenchman is the traitor after all! There’s more but it’s all too dashing, square jawed and floppy fringed painful to go on.

I bet you Henri sounds like John Cleese doing an impersonation of a French speaking person. 

Here I am flying right to left. What do you think of my manly profile? Well turn the page...

...and you get to see it again. But this time the struts on my Camel are bending back at a different angle.

Boy! That was lucky!

OK. I want you to try this at home. Fling the remains of the contents of a  petrol canister on the ground and then in one swift and effortless movement light a match to ignite the spill while you're about to be set upon by some angry men with guns.

What does he mean by again?

Well idiot - you just came back in Von Schroefer's plane without Von Schroefer in it. Maybe Henri made a wild guess based on those facts.

Oh no! He really IS the spy after all.

This is just too silly.

I wish the person who wrote this would take a flying leap.

Battle Picture Library 302 - Victory in Defeat

A series of raids on Tripoli go wrong – the situation is confused but the British are the first to take advantage of the confusion.

As events unfold the story of the the Maxwell brothers is told. One of the brothers is rash and leads a daring but ill fated commando raid. The other is steady and methodical and leads an equally daring raid with a team of convicted criminals. 

Even though the raids fail the British mange to win the battle.

The Westchesters make a reappearance! (from now on I’ll keep an eye out for them) and continue their tradition of doggedness.

There are a lot of characters who contribute to the story but it appears having good square jaw is the only prerequisite to be selected for any of the missions.  Perhaps it's the weight of all those angular jaw lines but the artwork is not as animated as in other pocket war library.

Not an absolute clanger. Even though the story was a bit weak it still manages to maintain a good tempo.

A bit of time out for some hairy chested good fun.

Even the bad guys have square jaws.

What a double spread! One Aagh! One Argh! And one Aiee! (Isn't that a Japanese word?)

Now that's a square jaw!