Hellblazer: Rise & Fall (Hardcover Edition) (DC Black Label)

 

Born in death and born of guilt John Constantine has turned into a right bastard over the years and he was certainly no angel in his youth as his eleven year old antics come back to haunt him. In trying to impress his rich mate and a pretty girl (though still not old enough to understand why he needs to do the latter) young Constantine tries to cast a spell in the pouring rain..

However far from summoning a demon only disaster awaits as a flash flood nearly kills all of them though only his mate Billy does not survive. He's blamed for that loss and forbidden to see fair Aisha again. Not that that stops them. Forbidden fruit and all that.

Now there's people with wings falling from the sky and Aisha, well she's a cop and oddly for a Brit carries a gun. Maybe someone should have a word with the writer. It's a flaw in the plot that also haunts her sidekick Gary who is haunted by a shooting.

That aside the story itself is a real treat as the Devil himself turns up and isn't very happy with John ( when is he ever) but is is usual charming evil little self who has come to get help in tracking down the demon that Constantine did unknowingly release all those years ago.

Seems that Despondeo a demon that thrived on suffering tried to overthrow Morningstar some time ago and was imprisoned for his sins. The irony. Trouble is the spell of summoning released him and to rub salt into the would ambushed the Devil and stole his wings.

Hence people are falling from the sky. The mystery requires solving and so a magician, a cop and the Devil walk into a bar and begin a story betrayal, greed and redemption (for some) in a shocking story that sees Constantine...well you'll see.

Good, if slightly flawed story from Tom Taylor with excellent oversized art from Darick Robertson (The Boys) and out now.

Rating: 4.5 Stars (Recommended)

Howie's Top Ten British Comics #1 SMASH! (Power Comics/IPC)

 

After a lot of thought and soul searching (good grief this is only a comic before I forget) I chose Smash! as my favourite comic rather than the first of the line Wham! because it was frankly the better and more varied title that went through so many transformations it eventually ended up almost but not quite a "normal" "boys paper"!

Like it's sister title Wham! this was a comic I read from the beginning dipping in and out over later years but becoming enamoured with it's second leaf of life in the more mainstream format. I used to rush out to to try and get Smash! and Wham! most weeks at the very start but as there was so much else I liked reading frequency did drop off though it's relaunch did get me back to the newsagents for a while.

Smash! was launched in February 1966 and was published by Odhams whose line became known as "Power Comics" and emulated Marvel in a very British way since humour dominated these comics with super-hero fare being mostly American fare. Smash! is the only comic I recall that had both DC and Marvel stories in it's pages as the Batman newspaper strip (which occasionally featured Superman and others) along with The Hulk.

There were also The Swots & The Blots an anarchic group of schoolboys loosely based on the Bash Street Kids format, The Man From B.U.N.G.L.E., Bad Penny (think Minnie the Minx), The Nervs and Percy's Pets.

Sadly Odhams line of comics which once expanded to 5 titles started imploding. Smash! absorbed Pow! which had already absorbed Wham! Fantastic took over Terrific and eventually Smash! absorbed Fantastic! The end of the line was apparent. Even the famous Eagle faced cancellation.

The titles were taken over by IPC who merged The Eagle with Lion and revamped Smash! into a comic bereft of most of it's anarchic humour and ended the Marvel reprints. This however gave rise to some great strips. Janus Stark, Bunsen's Burner, Cursitor Doom and Master of the Marsh amongst others. All fondly remembered and the very popular Janus Stark survived the comic's demise in the pages of Valiant.

Sadly all good things come to an end and Smash! after 247 issues merged with the long running Valiant in 1971. This comic is worth collecting as are it's annuals and if you can get them the summer specials. In my view one of the best, if not the best comic ever to appear on British newsstands! 

Howie's Top Ten British Comics #3 & #2

 

#3 Valiant

Of all the "Boy's Papers" (as they called them back in my childhood) Valiant was by far my favourite and was leaps and bounds above the rest, though Lion was a comic I did read on occasion whilst Tiger had far too much sport for my liking. In particular Valiant was home to the best "hero" strip in British comicdom, The Steel Claw which still fascinates me to this day! 

Valiant was launched in 1962 and ran as Fleetway's premier title for many years absorbing so many other titles including Lion, TV21 and Vulcan. Sadly it too fell for the chop as tastes in comics changed and it was absorbed by the more modern grittier Battle in 1976. 

I will always remember the adventures of Captain Hurricane and the antics of Billy Bunter amongst other stories such as Mytek The Mighty, Kelly's Eye and so many more which hopefully will be part of Rebellions Treasury of British Comics reprint programme.

There were quite a few summer specials including highly sort after Lion and Valiant editions which I remember buying and wish I still had! There were annuals and special books some of which I don't recall from the time but Valiant was big buisness and a comic that I certainly tried to keep with for most of the sixties.

#2 Wham!

One of my first solid memories of childhood (along with the first episode of Doctor Who) was my dad giving me a copy of the first issue of Wham! which enthralled me as a young lad. I was a fan of this comic until it's demise or rather merger with Pow! a few years later. 

At first this was a humour only comic obviously designed to compete with The Beano and was far superior with it's anarchic anti-authority humour. But that aside the strip I just loved was Georgie's Germs. Only a young lad would be bemused with such a notion but the memory of this strip stuck with me right through my adulthood to my second childhood in my sixties today!

There was also Eagle Eye Junior Spy, The Tiddlers, The Wacks and Frankie Stein who went on to appear in other comics.

Image: Blimey! Lew Stringer's Blog

Later on Wham! introduced the Fantastic Four to it's pages as it became part of the short lived but much loved Power Comics line! Not sure it really fitted but as  an FF fan I was happy at the time. Sadly the comic did not last despite being the first of the line in 1964 and after 187 issues disappeared in 1968 as the whole line of Odhams comics began it's implosion.

Return tomorrow for my personal Number One British Comic. Can you guess what it is boys and girls?

Howie's Top Ten British Comics #5 & 4

 

#5 Pow!

The sixties saw the influence of the Marvel Comics boom with the arrival of it's British (sort of) equivalent in the form of Power Comics. They launched no less than five titles, three of which were a mixture of humour and adventure including reprinting Marvel Comics superhero and other fare. One of these titles was Pow!

Launched in January 1967 Pow! was a short lived title lasting just 86 issues and incorporated Wham! (Power Comics first title becoming Pow! & Wham! until it finally merged into Power Comics strongest comic Smash!

The superhero strips included reprints of the Lee & Ditko Spider-Man stories my absolute favourite period of the character along with Nick Fury of SHIELD. At this time I was also reading Marvel Tales when I could pick up a copy. American comics were surprisingly widely available in the small market town of Dorking.

In addition there were some great humour strips. I always liked The Group, The Dolls of St Dominics and Wee Willy Haggis Secret Agent amongst other humour strips, On occasion Pow! reprinted those one off mystery and suspense/science fiction stories. 

Pow! was a versatile comic that helped introduce Marvel to British readers in the years before Marvel UK. That said "Alf & Bart" (think Stan Lee) brought us a set of unique comics that were amongst the very best ever to appear on the British market.

#4 Buster

Launched in 1960 Buster went on to be the longest running title of it's parent company and reached into the heart and minds of several generations of children mine included. Originally a mixture of humour and adventure strips it became a humour only comic in it's declining years but in the sixties and early seventies Buster was a great comic.

The title character as I particularly remember him was the son of Andy Capp from the newspaper strip published in The Daily Mirror and was promoted as such. Andy Capp was popular back then and several collections of his strips were published and I had several though they wouldn't have acceptable content today. Perhaps that's why gradually the connection was lost.

There were so many memorable strips such as  Galaxus: The Thing From Outer Space (which really deserves collecting), The Toys Of Doom (which also should be reprinted) and Charlie Peace a crook from Victorian times who eventually made it into the 20th Century.

Buster absorbed a whole range of other comics including two favourites of mine Cor! and Whizzer & Chips. After a grand 1,902 issues Buster finally closed it's door in January 2000 and was the last of a whole generation of British comics which as an industry was sadly disappearing by then.

Return tomorrow for the penultimate post in my Top Ten British Comics! 

Howie's Top Ten British Comics #7 & #6

 

#7 The Beezer

DC Thomson produced some of the most famous humour comics including The Beano (still going strong today) and The Dandy which are amongst the most famous of their publications. I read both (preferred The Beano) but also dipped into their other humour comics like Sparky (which would horrify the "woke" today, for once rightly so.) and  The Topper but for me it was the "tabloid size Beezer that was my overall favourite.

With Ginger on the front page and Pop, Dick & Harry on the rear page there was also Colonel Blink, The Numskulls (who carry on today in the pages of The Beano and so many other humorous strips. Who can forget Baby Crockett or The Bad Ladds? I only read this comic in the sixties but remember it well.

The Beezer ran from 1956 until 1993 merging with other "tabloid" Topper in 1990 for the last three years.

#6 Cor!

Next up is Cor! a comic I do recall buying the first issue of and sitting on a bench on a quiet part of Dorking reading before I went home and attempted to make the free drink which came with it. Just add water and yuch..throw away. The comic however became a firm favourite and was regularly picked up though it wasn't until adulthood that I picked up either summer specials or annuals. There were limits to my pocket money and other interests began to kick in.

Characters included Gus The Gorilla, The Gaswork Gang, Tomboy, Tricky Dicky and Wacky amongst others. Cor! ran from 1970 to 1974 when it merged with Buster.

I still have a copy of the first issue albeit not the one I purchased from WHSmith's that afternoon. It cost me a lot more when I picked it up a few years ago though it didn't come with the free gift which would frankly have probably been poisonous by now! Copies with it still attached have gone for ridiculous prices on e-bay. Not for me. The comic alone will do!

Buster & Cor! have been jointly revived by Rebellion their new owners in a couple of specials. personally I prefer the old fashioned artwork but that's just me. I hope new generations will come to enjoy the anarchic adventures of Buster, Gus and their friends in the future.

Return tomorrow for the the next two entries in my Top Ten of British Comics.

Howie's Top Ten British Comics #10, #9 & #8

I thought it might be fun to do a few personal "Top Tens" over the coming months as that's the reason I blog in the first place! Comics are a great hobby and have been part of my life since I was a nipper and probably read things like Jack & Jill, certainly Harold the Hare. I remember that one! 

Back in the sixties there was a huge variety of comics ranging from humour comics for both boys and girls to separate "papers" as the publishers called them for boys and the girls though we didn't read those did we lads! Well maybe Lady Penelope if anyone wasn't looking! Then there were the American ones which attracted so many of us into adulthood and still form part of my second childhood as i traverse through my sixties!

Over the next six days I'm going to be ranking my favourite British comics and I make no excuses for allowing my childhood memories to dominate proceedings if any more modern publications don't make the list. It doesn't mean I think any less of them, there's plenty of great comics and I subscribe to both 2000AD  and Judge Dredd Megazine both of which I recommend and support. They don't however make this list.

In fact I've excluded a number of comics from this list for a variety of reasons. Don't expect to find any sports related titles. Not a fan. I also decided not to include the Alan Class comics because they are in a category of their own along with other publishers such as L. Miller. Additionally I have left out the various "pocket picture libraries" as I may do something separate about them in the future.

So let us begin...............

#10: TV Century 21

The Gerry Anderson puppet shows were very much part of my childhood. I vaguely remember Supercar but more memorable was Fireball XL5 but both Stingray and Thunderbirds were the shows that really caught my attention! That these adventures appeared in comics was a bonus and along with other strips including the totally out of continuity Daleks feature TV Century 21 was a regular fixture of my reading list for a long time.

Launched in 1965 I do recall picking up or being given the oversized editions of this fabulous publication and even on the odd occasion surreptitiously read it's sister title Lady Penelope and did even pick up some copies of Joe 90 a little later down the line.

TV Century 21 eventually became just TV 21 and merged with Joe 90 in 1969 though sales were dropping at this stage and I had stopped reading it myself. The comic was relaunched with a second volume containing Spider-Man and some other Marvel stories but that never appealed. Eventually it was to be absorbed by Valiant.

#9 Victor

Of all the DC Thomson adventure titles Victor was the only one I read on a regular basis though did on the odd occasion pick up two of their other companion comics Hotspur and Hornet. I even got a Hotspur Annual one year from a relative but only Victor really appealed to me.

The stories varied and contained two of the only sports stories I ever bothered with Tough of the Track who always managed to get a fish & chip supper and there was that one about the aliens thinking the Olympics was a civilised replacement for war.

I can't remember what it was called and don't have any issues from that period. I was also a fan of their various war strips including a very brutal one set in the trenches. Can't remember what that was called either. My memory is fading a bit these days so if any reader can advise please leave a comment below. I would be appreciated.

I did get the odd annual (or "Book for Boy's as they were called) but one thing I always like were DC Thomsons oversized Summer Specials. Managed to grab the one a few years back!

Victor was one of the longer running comics starting in 1962 and lasting right through to 1994 when having absorbed Hotspur and even the newer more gritty Warlord finally fell a victim of the falling sales of British comics.

#8 Whizzer & Chips

Humour comics were very much part of our childhood back in the day and of those Whizzer & Chips was always one of my favourites. I think I started reading it from the first issue though I'm not entirely sure but it's dual format having a two comics in one was a unique selling point and the competitive spirit between the two amusing. I never chose sides loving the contents of both.

Sid's Snake & Shiner were amongst the strips I remember best along with Minnie's Mixer and Slow Coach. Whizzer & Chips eventually fell off my buying schedule as I got older but I'm always happy to pick up the odd issue, summer special or annual when I come across one.

Whizzer & Chips was IPC/Fleetway's second longest running comic until it merged with it's older sibling Buster in 1990. Along the way it absorbed a number of comics that I never really got around to reading Knockout, Krazy and Whoppee, the latter being a popular choice for a later generation of fans.

Join me tomorrow for the next two entries in my personal Top Ten British Comics!

Plainer Jane #2 (Broken Face) Out Now!

 

The quiet girl from next door is back and she's looking for business. A "plain Jane" who no one notices kills for money and self fulfilment. This issue sees our killer getting bored sitting in a maths class and nattering with her mate whih leads them to a new discovery. Sixth formers get detention! Who knew....

Jane is pondering on her mistakes from her last kill and vows to do better when finally a new job appears on the horizon from a jealous husband. One problem the client is a little impatient but our Jane warns him off as she heads to fufill her "order".

Unfaithful wives and rivals. Love hursts, Jealousy kills.

This is the second issue of a well scripted and original series from writer David Wilburn and good art with Wayne Lowden. The glossy cover by Ralf Singh is highly professional. One of the best independent comics on the market!

If only this was monthly but nevertheless each issue is well worth the wait and came via Kickstarter with a poster, some postcards and badges. Nice touch.

Rating: 5 Stars (Highly Recommended)