{"id":33076,"date":"2025-06-11T16:49:35","date_gmt":"2025-06-11T16:49:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/?p=33076"},"modified":"2025-06-11T16:49:35","modified_gmt":"2025-06-11T16:49:35","slug":"war-picture-library-the-iron-fist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/2025\/06\/11\/war-picture-library-the-iron-fist\/","title":{"rendered":"War Picture Library: The Iron Fist"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\" \"\"
\nBy Hugo Pratt<\/strong>, Val Holding<\/strong>, W. Howard Baker<\/strong>, A. Carney Allen<\/strong> & various (Rebellion Studios\/Treasury of British Comics)
\nISBN: 978-1-83786-200-9 (HB\/Digital Edition)<\/p>\n

This book includes Discriminatory Content<\/strong> produced in less enlightened times.<\/em><\/p>\n

Born in Rimini, Ugo Eugenio Prat, AKA Hugo Pratt (June 15th<\/sup> 1927 – August 20th<\/sup> 1995) spent his early life wandering the world, in the process becoming one of its paramount comics creators. From the start his enthralling graphic inventions like initial hit Ace of Spades<\/strong> (in 1945 whilst still studying at the Venice Academy of Fine Arts) were many and varied. His signature character – based in large part on his exotic formative years – is mercurial soldier (perhaps more accurately sailor) of fortune Corto Maltese<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Pratt was a consummate storyteller with a unique voice and a stark expressionistic graphic style that should not work, but so wonderfully does: combining pared-down, relentlessly modernistic narrative style with memorable characters, always complex whilst bordering on the archetypical. After working in Argentinean and – from 1959 – English comics like UK top gun Battler Briton<\/strong>, and on combat stories for extremely popular digest novels in assorted series such as War Picture Library<\/strong>, Battle Picture Library<\/strong>, War at Sea Picture Library<\/strong> and more – Pratt settled in Italy, and later France. In 1967, with Florenzo Ivaldi, he produced a number of series for monthly comic Sgt. Kirk<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

In addition to the Western lead star, he created pirate feature Capitan Cormorand<\/em><\/strong>, detective feature Lucky Star O\u2019Hara<\/strong>, and moody South Seas saga Una Ballata del Mare Salato<\/em><\/strong> (A Ballad of the Salty Sea<\/strong>). When that folded in 1970, Pratt remodelled one of Una Ballata\u2019s characters for French weekly Pif Gadget<\/strong> before eventually settling in with the new guy at legendary Belgian periodical Le Journal de<\/em><\/strong> Tintin<\/em><\/strong>. Corto Maltese<\/strong> proved as much a Wild Rover in reality as in his historic and eventful career\u2026<\/p>\n

In Britain Pratt found rich thematic pickings in the ubiquitous mini-books like Super Picture Library<\/strong>, Air Ace Picture Library<\/strong>, Action Picture Library<\/strong> and Thriller Picture Library<\/strong>: half-sized, 64-page monochrome booklets with glossy soft paper covers containing lengthy complete stories of 1-3 panels per page. These were regularly recycled and reformatted, but the stories gathered here – from War Picture Library<\/strong> #25 (September 1959), #62 (August 1960) & #133 (February 1962) – have only appeared once\u2026 until now\u2026<\/p>\n

Resurrected and repackaged by Rebellion Studios for their Treasury of British Comics imprint, eponymous opener The Iron Fist<\/strong> is a blistering tale of tank combat scripted by Val Holding, who served in the Parachute Regiment before becoming a War Picture Library<\/strong> stalwart. He also wrote air ace Paddy Payne<\/strong> and became Fleetway\u2019s Managing Editor: Juvenile Publications in 1961.<\/p>\n

Opening in October 1942 at the Battle of El Alamein, The Iron Fist<\/strong> traces the service of Corporal Johnny Gray<\/em>, driver Tug Wilson<\/em> and radio operator Ken Byrne<\/em>: \u201ctank jockeys\u201d who, after losing their Sherman tank in opening chapter \u2018Out of Action\u2019<\/em>, are ordered to ferry a prototype of the next generation A.F.V. (Armoured Fighting Vehicle) across the desert at the height of the battle.<\/p>\n

Commanded by taciturn, draconian Lieutenant Carson<\/em>, the lads have no idea that they\u2019re also field testing the colossal war chariot in second chapter, \u2018Enter Goliath\u2019<\/em>…<\/p>\n

The trek is a shocking \u2018Fight for Survival\u2019<\/em>, with bloody encounters with German troops and fighter planes supplemented by an infinite variety of natural hazards from heat and sheer exhaustion to dry quicksand!<\/p>\n

Gradually warming to their bleakly uncommunicative but strategically superior officer, the team eventually discover Carson\u2019s personal stake in the colossal XT-Eight their lives depend upon and once the mission is successfully completed are all despatched to different postings…
\n\"\"
\nAll four are reunited in \u2018Beach of Death\u2019<\/em> as their combined experiences make them the best qualified instructors of a new tank squadron preparing for D-day, and once that balloon goes up, nothing as trivial as rank can stop them from joining the action on the ground, ultimately culminating in a deadly duel with German cavalry counterpart Panzer Tanks in final chapter \u2018Battle of Giants\u2019<\/em>…<\/p>\n

Scripted by W. Howard Baker, the blistering motorised military action is supported here by \u2018Stronghold\u2019<\/em> from WPL<\/strong> #62 (August 1960): a taut tale of personal enmity and potential murder. Author and journalist Arthur Atwill William \u201cBill\u201d Baker was born in Cork on October 3rd<\/sup> 1925, not long after the partition and foundation of the nation of Ireland. Despite that, he fought for Great Britain in WWII and after becoming a globetrotting freelance foreign correspondent in the immediate aftermath, moved to and settled in London. He became an editor for Panther books, and wrote many Sexton Blake<\/strong> novels (where he created his secretary Paula Dane<\/em>) before becoming the franchise editor in 1955. As the Controlling Group Editor at Fleetway, he launched the Air Ace Picture Library<\/strong> line whilst continuing to write content and full stories for War Picture Library<\/strong>. When Fleetway axed Sexton Blake in 1963 Baker acquired all rights and continued the series as an independent publisher under his Howard Baker Books imprint until 1969. Whilst writing genre novels under a bunch of pen names he also embarked on the massive task of reprinting the entire run of classic boys story-paper The Magnet<\/strong> (home of Billy Bunter<\/strong>) but died just short of his epic goal in 1991, having published 1520 of the 1683 issues in hardback collections.<\/p>\n

Delivered in pithy, tension-packed chapters \u2018First Action\u2019<\/em>, \u2018No-Man\u2019s Land\u2019<\/em>, \u2018Path of Peril\u2019 <\/em>and \u2018The Lucky Coin\u2019<\/em>, Stronghold is set during the siege of Cassino in 1944, where British Royal Engineers Lance Corporal Tug Wilson<\/em> (no relation) and sapper Jack Barker<\/em> fall foul of brutal spiteful Sergeant Burke<\/em> after a mine sweeping mission goes tragically wrong. As a result, the grudge-bearing thug makes their life hell over succeeding months of bitter fighting even as he terrorises and causes the deaths of his own unit. Increasingly unstable, Burke even \u201cremoves\u201d Private Ron Williams<\/em> after becoming convinced the cheery chap\u2019s good luck piece has made him immune to enemy fire…
\n\"\"
\nThe crisis point comes when Burke accidentally leads his remaining troops behind the German lines just as the dramatic end of the siege begins…<\/p>\n

Closing accounts here is \u2018The Big Arena\u2019<\/em> from War Picture Library<\/strong> #133 (February 1962) scripted by A. Carney Allen with Pratt delivering some of his most boldly experimental visuals. Something of an enigma to us today, A. Carney Allen wrote many stories for War Picture Library<\/strong> and Battle Picture Library<\/strong>, and performed similar duties for DC Thomson\u2019s rival line Commando Picture Library<\/strong> – and that\u2019s about all I can tell you about him although as the ripping yarn here concerns Anzac soldiers and feels a little more rowdy that the company\u2019s usual fare, it isn\u2019t hard to speculate that he might have originally come from Oz or New Zealand…<\/p>\n

Back in Afrika with Rommel\u2019s Afrika Korps in the crosshairs, The Big Arena features the Second\/Ninth Battalion of the Empire, as represented by unruly scamps and veteran killers Lofty Lucas<\/em> and Chub Doolan<\/em>. After \u2018Over the Hill\u2019<\/em> depicts a particularly spectacular clash against Rommel\u2019s tanks and ground troops, the triumphant \u201cDiggers-from-Down-Under\u201d are fully geared up for the leave they\u2019ve been promised, and when again denied it – for the very best of reasons – by platoon commander Lieutenant Brodie<\/em>, Lucas & Doolan go Absent With Out Leave, determined to find a bar in distant Sidi Barrani and get drunk. Of course the other lads appreciate their feelings and instantly aid and abet their malfeasance…
\n\"\"
\nThings immediately go wrong as \u2018Fateful Encounter\u2019<\/em> finds the boys bar fighting with other Anzac and Empire soldiers with even military police turning a blind eye until new spit & polish replacement Provost Sergeant Drummond<\/em> has them arrested and personally drives them to their fate before a military court. That\u2019s when a German counterattack catches them in the open and triggers a \u2018Storm in the Desert\u2019<\/em>. Forced into a broad detour and another campaign-crushing pitched battle, the Diggers unite in a common purpose and find gallantry under fire carries its own rewards…<\/p>\n

Packed with powerful, exhilarating action and adventure and exactly what you\u2019d expect from a kids\u2019 comic crafted to sell in the heyday of UK war films commemorating the conflict their parents lived through, this is another bombastic artistic triumph and offers at the end the original eye-catching painted covers: two by Giorgio De Gaspari (War Picture Library<\/strong> #25: September 1959 – \u2018The Iron Fist\u2019<\/em> & WPL<\/strong> #62: August 1960 –\u2018Stronghold\u2019<\/em>) plus one from Biffignandi (War Picture Library<\/strong> #133: February 1962,\u2018The Big Arena\u2019<\/em>).<\/p>\n

Potent, powerful, genre-blending and irresistibly cathartic, these are brilliant examples of the British Comics experience. If you are a connoisseur of graphic thrills and dramatic tension – utterly unmissable.
\n\u00a9 1959, 1960, 1962, 2021 Rebellion Publishing IP Ltd. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Hugo Pratt, Val Holding, W. Howard Baker, A. Carney Allen & various (Rebellion Studios\/Treasury of British Comics) ISBN: 978-1-83786-200-9 (HB\/Digital Edition) This book includes Discriminatory Content produced in less enlightened times. Born in Rimini, Ugo Eugenio Prat, AKA Hugo Pratt (June 15th 1927 – August 20th 1995) spent his early life wandering the world, … <\/p>\n

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