{"id":30135,"date":"2024-07-10T08:00:25","date_gmt":"2024-07-10T08:00:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/?p=30135"},"modified":"2024-07-09T11:05:33","modified_gmt":"2024-07-09T11:05:33","slug":"battle-of-britain-war-picture-library","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/2024\/07\/10\/battle-of-britain-war-picture-library\/","title":{"rendered":"Battle of Britain War Picture Library"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\" \"\"
\nBy Ian Kennedy<\/strong> & various (Rebellion\/Treasury of British Comics)
\nISBN: 978-1-78108-779-4 (HB\/Digital edition)<\/p>\n

This book contains Discriminatory Material<\/strong> produced during less enlightened times.<\/em><\/p>\n

By official reckoning – the UK\u2019s at least – The Battle of Britain (10th<\/sup> July – 31st<\/sup> October 1940), began 83 years ago today. German historians consider it to have kicked off in July 1940: one part of a long, continuous campaign that proceeded from until 11th<\/sup> May 1941 when the Wehrmacht changed their failed tactics.<\/p>\n

Whatever your opinion, the aerial operation has become a major touchstone for UK culture – like Boudicca or Abolition of the Monasteries – constantly cited, used and abused by dog whistle demagogues, political hacks, chancers and charlatans, all seeking a rabid reactionary unthinking response or quick debating point scored, pissing on the truth value. It was a time of unified dogged, true heroism under pressure on the entire nation\u2019s part.<\/p>\n

It has also become a keystone and foundation of our entertainment fiction: the bedrock and basis of every type of tale from gratifying adventure and shocking fantasy to inspirational romance and cathartic comedy. The Battle of Britain has naturally also been made a crucial core component of British comics. Just like the artist celebrated here…<\/p>\n

Born in 1932, Ian Kennedy went to Clepington Primary School and attended Dundee\u2019s Morgan Academy before landing his first job at the town\u2019s major employer – just pipping the city\u2019s Marmalade makers. If you look that up you\u2019ll find I\u2019ve just been absolutely hilarious…<\/p>\n

Taken on in 1949 as a trainee illustrator for the art department of DC Thomson & Co, Kennedy always claimed his first work was filling in black squares on crossword puzzles for the publisher\u2019s paper The Sunday Post<\/strong> (home of The Broons<\/strong> and Oor Wullie<\/strong> and many other singular classics). He soon graduated to drawing strips – mostly war and especially air combat stories – and by 1953 was also freelancing for the Scottish company\u2019s major English competitor Amalgamated Press (latterly Odhams\/Fleetway\/IPC). Kennedy could be seen on serials in weeklies Knockout<\/strong>, Hotspur<\/strong>, Wizard<\/strong>, Buster<\/strong> and others, as well as illustrating longer standalone sagas for both publishers\u2019 digest lines in titles such as Thriller Picture Library<\/strong> and Air Ace Picture Library<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Throughout the 1960s and 1970s he diversified, favouring fantasy themes and generating many classic science fiction sagas for DCT\u2019s new digest Starblazer<\/strong>, all whilst continuing his historical flights of fancy in Commando (War Stories in Pictures)<\/strong>, Fleetway Picture Library<\/strong>, War Picture Library<\/strong> et al. Kennedy also exploited his aviation expertise outside comics from the 1980s, in magazines, books and by producing spectacular covers for RAF Leuchars Air Show programmes, even whilst winning his greatest fame with high profile strips and licensed adaptations in Eagle<\/strong>, Battle Picture Weekly<\/strong>, Wildcat<\/strong>, Star Lord<\/strong>, 2000 A.D.<\/strong> and more. The work included Tiger Taggart<\/strong>, Typhoon Tennyson<\/strong>, Blake\u2019s 7<\/strong>, Dan Dare<\/strong>, Judge Dredd<\/strong>, Time Quake<\/strong>, M.A.S.K.<\/strong>, M.A.C.H. 1<\/strong>, Invasion<\/strong>, Ro-Busters<\/strong> and countless others.<\/p>\n

Generally uncredited throughout his career in the pages of weeklies like Victor<\/strong>, Buddy<\/strong> and the rest, he was most recognisable for his covers – which graced 2000 A.D.<\/strong>, Eagle, Star Lord<\/strong>, Tornado<\/strong> Starblazer<\/strong> and especially Commando<\/strong> (for which he painted over 1600 – many after his official retirement in 1997). Ian Kennedy finally laid down his brushes in February 2022…<\/p>\n

Two of his very best tales are on view here, but I sadly can\u2019t be as forthcoming on their writers. Even the editors have no credible data on those anonymous stalwarts instead with the biographies at the back namechecking potential candidates\/regular contributors Tom Tully, E.W. Evans, Douglas Leach, Gordon W. Brunt, Edward G. Cowan, V. Stokes, R.P. Clegg, James Hart Higgins, Syd J. Bounds, R. Wilding and A. Carney Allan as potential contributors.<\/p>\n

Reprinted here are the contents of Air Ace Picture Library<\/strong> #65 & #182 with Kennedy detailing a brace of ripping yarns set in the skies above Blighty in their finest, most fiery hours.<\/p>\n

At the end of the mission are the original covers in a full colour painted \u2018Gallery\u2019<\/em> with #65\u2019s (August 1961) \u2018Steel Bats\u2019<\/em> followed by its reprint in AAPL <\/strong>#428 (as \u2018Cat\u2019s Eyes\u2019<\/em>), bolstered by the one-&-only AAPL <\/strong>#182\u2019s original cover sortie from February 1964. Resolved not to spoil the fun I\u2019m finally being brief and saying only that opener \u2018Steel Bats\u2019<\/em> (Air Ace Picture Library<\/strong> #65, August 1961) follows the trials and travails of pitiful novice fighter pilot Flight-Lieutenant Bill Mitchell<\/em> from hopeless screwup in \u2018Chapter1: The Rebel\u2019<\/em> through an ignominious, unwanted \u2018Transfer Granted\u2019<\/em> to night fighter training school. When personal tragedy forces Mitchell to capitalise on an unsuspected natural advantage, Bill and new pal Gunner Wilton<\/em> become \u2018Two Up!\u2019<\/em> and darlings of the Brass, but they also inspire ire in night fighter Squadron Leader Esmond Furness<\/em>… until \u2018Mitch\u2019s Private War\u2019<\/em> boils over into the bigger conflict and confirms his value, valour and ultimate victory over the real enemy… the bombers blasting London…
\n\"\"
\n\u2018\u201cNever Say Die\u201d Wapiti\u2019 <\/em>is another – and rather more mischievous – fish out of water yarn, first seen in February 1964\u2019s Air Ace Picture Library<\/strong> #182. Here, the poor discipline of young pilots is exemplified by Pilot-Officer Stan Perkins<\/em> whose excessive eagerness and impatience flying Spitfires during the Battle of Britain results in near-catastrophe and his becoming a \u2018Sacked Pilot!\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n

Summarily banished from operations and speedily transferred to \u201cX planes station\u201d, the despondent flier finds it a veritable aircraft graveyard dubbed \u201cMisery Farm\u201d by the other dangerous failures who explain he\u2019s on a dummy field packed with obsolete kit designed to make \u201cJerries\u201d waste fuel and ordnance. Stan is even more galled to learn he\u2019s the new Commanding Officer…<\/p>\n

Resolved to rejoin the Real War, Perkins and like-minded new friend\/accomplice Flynn<\/em> and hapless scavenging engineer Flight Sergeant Foley<\/em> convert a discarded but serviceable Great War biplane, rendering it airworthy again. Sadly they only end up \u2018Chased by a Bomb!\u2019<\/em> on the maiden voyage! \u2018Under Arrest!\u2019,<\/em> Stan believes himself doomed to spend his war on the ground and behind bars, but uncanny circumstances conspire to keep the mavericks flying: absconding with the biplane to perpetrate an \u2018Unofficial Air Raid\u2019<\/em> over France… just as the most important commando mission of the war is going wrong.<\/p>\n

Sparking another apparent disaster, shot down by their own side and having to fight their way back to England beside the French Resistance all appear pointless exercises in the aftermath, but on arrival Perkins and Flynn learn \u2018The Escape\u2019<\/em> has all been worth the effort…<\/p>\n

Clever and captivating, smart and spectacular, these war stories are utterly engaging and perfectly spotlight the astounding gifts of one our art form\u2019s most skilled exponents. Come see for yourself…
\n\u00a9 1961, 1964, 2020 Rebellion Publishing IP Ltd.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Ian Kennedy & various (Rebellion\/Treasury of British Comics) ISBN: 978-1-78108-779-4 (HB\/Digital edition) This book contains Discriminatory Material produced during less enlightened times. By official reckoning – the UK\u2019s at least – The Battle of Britain (10th July – 31st October 1940), began 83 years ago today. German historians consider it to have kicked off … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “Battle of Britain War Picture Library”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[191,42,122,125,93],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-30135","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-adventure","category-best-of-british","category-historical","category-humour","category-war-stories"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4AFj-7Q3","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30135","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30135"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30135\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30140,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30135\/revisions\/30140"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30135"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30135"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30135"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}