No other British comic has impacted on the international imaginary as 2000AD has. Originally conceived as a weekly anthology of science-fictional stories, it aimed to turn the influence of 1970s American science fiction films on the British imagination into a readership base. First published in 1977 by IPC (International Publishing Corporation), and acquired by [...]
Bryan Talbot’s Alice in Sunderland: An Entertainment is a semi-historical account of Sunderland, England. In this nonlinear graphic novel, Talbot explores the relationship between Charles Lutwidge Dodgson’s (1832-1898)fictional world of Wonderland and the real-life city of Sunderland by merging fiction, reality, and rumor. Dodgson is more commonly known as Lewis Carroll and, according to Talbot, [...]
“The Bash Street Kids” is an ongoing comic strip series found in The Beano. It debuted 13 February 1954, and was conceived by Leo Baxendale (1930), a British comic artist mainly known for his many contributions to The Beano, The Beezer, Smash!, Wham!, Valiant, Whizzer and Chips, Monster Fun Comic, as well his own [...]
The Beano first appeared (as The Beano Comic) in July 1938 as a companion to Dundee-based publisher D.C. Thompson’s pioneering The Dandy Comic, which had debuted six months earlier. Along with The Magic Comic, which would follow a year later, these new weekly comic papers represented Thompson’s highly successful campaign to extend its success [...]
Frank Bellamy (1917-1976) was a British comic book artist mostly known for his many contributions to Swift, Eagle,TV Century 21, and the Daily Mirror. Before illustrating comics, Bellamy worked for the Kettering Evening Telegraph as an illustrator. He also did some illustrations for the British army while he was enlisted in the Royal Artillery during [...]
Tom Browne (1870 or 1872-1910) was a comic strip artist mostly known for creating “Weary Willy and Tired Tim.” He was an early pioneer in British comics and crafted a specific style of using solid bold lines in his work. Though he died fairly young, his short career inspired many artists. Browne was born [...]
Created in 1976 for Marvel UK, Captain Britain (an identity most famously held by Brian Braddock) has become a fixture in the United Kingdom of the main Marvel Universe. Originally an equivalent of Captain America, Captain Britain (a label at various times worn by Braddock, his sister Elizabeth, and teacher Kelsey Leigh Kirkland) has [...]
Charley’s War was a British comic created by Pat Mills (writer) and Joe Colquhoun (artist) that ran from 1979 until 1985 and followed the life of an underage soldier fighting for the British army during the First World War. For the majority of its run, Charley’s War was an examination of life in the [...]
Comic Cuts was one of the first successful weekly comic books in Britain. It was first released in 1890 by the publisher, Alfred Harmsworth (1865-1922), and ran for 63 years until its cancellation in 1953 when it was absorbed into Knockout. The success of Comic Cuts is partially attributed to its low price. The issues [...]
It would be difficult to overstate the importance of The Dandy and its companion comic paper, The Beano, in British popular culture of the twentieth century. For generations of readers, these two titles, launched in 1937 and 1938, were virtually synonymous with the phrase “British comics.” Although neither is well known outside the UK, [...]