War Picture Library
War Picture Library | |
---|---|
Amalgamated Press/Fleetway Publications | |
Schedule | Bi-monthly/Weekly |
Genre | |
Publication date | Sep 1958 to Dec 1984 |
No. of issues | 2,103 |
Creative team | |
Written by | Various |
Artist(s) | Various; including ISBN 1-85375-698-9 |
War Picture Library was a British 64-page "pocket library"
Companion titles Air Ace Picture Library (1960–1970) and Action Picture Library (1969–1970) were both folded into the longer-running War Picture Library in later years.[1]
Publication history
Launched in September, 1958, the Amalgamated Press/Fleetway title War Picture Library was one of the earliest (arguably the earliest[2]) "pocket library" titles, and in particular one of the first to feature stories set during World War II. Comprising 64 pages, the tales were, according to writer and editor Steve Holland "page turner[s] of the first order, a shilling shocker that grabbed [the] attention" of a – primarily – young audience.[3] Written and illustrated, at least in early years, "by creators who had lived through the war themselves, many on the front line", War Picture Library was able to show clearly to its target audience "what [the reader's] fathers and uncles had been through in combat".[3] Holland said that War Picture Library brought the Second World War to life "[i]n all its grim glory".[2]
The stories were not limited to tales of combat, some set in "the bomb-torn streets of London during the
. . . cowards and glory seekers could be found in some episodes; spies and traitors rubbed shoulders with our staunchly loyal heroes in others. Neither were all of the stories purely about killing the enemy; some of them were dedicated to saving lives even in the midst of the carnage of war.[3]
Running until late 1984, "War Picture Library was a monthly window into a six-year global storm that affected every family in Britain".[3] The first-hand knowledge of many of its creators also enabled the stories to ring true, and disclose – in sometimes simplified, and always fictionalised terms – the truth behind the stories told in history books.
[The stories] helped the two generations of children that grew up following
VE Day make sense of the catastrophic consequences of war and the sacrifices that were made.[3]
Creators
Uncredited from the start, as were the vast majority of comic books written and drawn in the late 1950s and early 1960s, War Picture Library continued the trend of UK-based comics publishers such as
Many names – and before them, styles – became familiar to UK comics readers, however, and still more names have been documented over recent years. Contributors to War Picture Library included artists such as Fred Holmes, Giorgio Trevisan, Harry Farrugia, George Heath, G. R. Parvin, Nevio Zeccara, Annibale Casabianca, F. Solano López, Juan Gonzalez Alacreu, Jose Ortiz, Ramon de la Fuente, Jorge Moliterni, Renzo Calegari, Faruk Geç, Luis Ramos, Gino D'Antonio, Carlos Pino and Hugo Pratt.[2][5]
Writers are often harder to identify, but among those identified by Steve Holland (et al.) are
Hallmarks
War Picture Library was among the first war comic to use real dates, places, settings, battles and (occasionally) battalions to more accurately place the stories in the historical action, even if the stories themselves were fictional. This came about largely because so many of the (early) writers and artists had actually fought in the battles they wrote about and drew. Steve Holland cites the example of G. R. Parvin, a "relatively minor contributor to the war libraries", who "was captured and made a
As with most war picture libraries, the equipment was accurately depicted in addition to the settings, although unlike some, War Picture Library was not averse to making central characters out of individuals usually associated with relatively minor overall roles. The often-realistic writing even downplayed the differences between the sides, treating some German frontline soldiers as – like the British – discrete individuals caught up in their wartime role, who were not wholly evil and did not always wish to fight, as wartime propaganda so often suggested.[8] Nevertheless, due in part to the ultimately patriotic nature of many of the stories, and the time in which some were created, some racist stereotyping occasionally crept in.
Stories of self-sacrifice, such as that of Captain John Locke in "The Valley of Death" (War Picture Library No. 120 (Nov 1961), art by
Memorable stories
Stories written for all the war comics were able to bring attention to lesser-known battles and actions, as well as highlight those instantly memorable. In addition, in one issue, a narrative could be followed from training, through action to heroism – and/or death. WPL No. 22 (July 1959) featured "The Invisible Enemy", set during the
Legacy
One of the earliest "Picture/Pocket library" titles, War Picture Library saw a slew of imitators and sister-publications spring up, including arguably the title's more-famous rival war pocket library:
In addition to the multiple war-related titles, others dealing with cowboys/westerns and spies sprang up, as did titles from smaller publishers such as GM Smith/Micron, M V Features, Pearson Publications and Famepress Publications, among others.[10] Titles were also translated into several languages, and sold around the world. In Italy the stories were very successful and published since the 60s as the popular Collana Eroica and Super Eroica magazines.
War Picture Library content
- List of War Picture Library titles
There were 2103 individual titles, as well as War Picture Library Holiday Special, which was published annually from 1963 to 1990.
Collected editions
Starting in 2008,
- Unleash Hell: War Picture Library Collection No. 1, by Steve Holland (ed.) (ISBN 978-1-85375-629-0
- Collects: "Fight Back to Dunkirk" (#1), "The Crowded Sky" (#56), "Action Stations" (#3), "Umbrella in the Sky" (#54), "Crash Call" (#53), "The Iron Fist" (#25), "Lone Commando" (#36), "The Black Ace" (#141), "Air Commando" (#52), "Fire Power" (#129), "The Red Devils" (#7) and "Task Force" (#66).
- Against All Odds: War Picture Library Collection No. 2, by Steve Holland (ed.) (ISBN 978-1-85375-661-0
- Collects: "Finest Hour" (#175), "The Troubled Sea" (#117), "Foxhole Glory" (#170), "The Thin Blue Line" (#96), "Strike Squadron" (#84), "Banzai!" (#80), "Road from Tobruk" (#154), "Up Periscope" (#10), "Rogue Lancaster" (#181), "Paratroop" (#158), "The Valley of Death" (#120) and "Snarl of Battle" (#162).
- Up and at 'em!: War Picture Library Collection No. 3, by Steve Holland (ed.) (ISBN 978-1-85375-698-6
- Collects: "Rough Justice" (#214), "Strike Silent" (#218), "The Secret Enemy" (#242), "Counter-Attack" (#283), "Trail of the Avenger" (#229), "Devil's Island" (#227), "The Iron Cross" (#202), "The Long March" (#206), "Operation Doomsday" (#295), "Undaunted" (#292) and "Sound the Alarm" (#212).
- "No Surrender!- Six of the Best Comic-Book adventures from War Picture Library" by Steve Holland (ed.) Prion Books Ltd, April 2010 ISBN 978-1-85375-760-0
- Collects: "Battle Drop" (#67), "Aces High" (#78), "Up the Marines!" (#58), "Close Range" (#63), "Bombers Moon" (#72) and "Danger Dives Deep" (#65).
See also
Pocket Libraries
- D. C. Thomson) – published from 1961 to the present.
- Air Ace Picture Library (Amalgamated Press/Fleetway) – aerial-warfare sister-comic, published between Jan 1960 and Nov 1970 (545 issues), and then incorporated into War Picture Library.
- Battle Picture Library (Amalgamated/Fleetway) – published between Jan 1961 and Dec 1984 (1706 issues).
- Combat Picture Library (GM Smith/Micron Press) – published between March 1959 and June 1985 (1212 issues).
- Combat Library (GM Smith/Micron Press) – text stories only and companion to Combat Picture Library, published between 1959 and 1960 (51 issues)[12]
Other British/war comics
- Battle Picture Weekly
- Warlord
- Battler Britton, by Garth Ennis
- Charley's War, by Pat Mills
- Adventures in the Rifle Brigade, by Garth Ennis
- War Story, by Garth Ennis
Notes
- ^ a b "Pocket Library Publications" at ComicsMagazines.com. Retrieved 11 November 2008
- ^ a b c d Steve Holland, "Bear Alley: Unleash Hell" 27 September 2007. Retrieved 11 November 2008.
- ^ a b c d e f g Holland, Steve, "Introduction" to Against All Odds (Prion/Carlton, 2008), pp. 6–7
- ^ Vic Whittle's "War Picture Library Titles" page at his "British Picture (Pocket) Libraries" webpage. Retrieved 11 November 2008
- ^ a b Steve Holland, "Bear Alley: Against All Odds", 1 September 2008. Retrieved 11 November 2008.
- ^ a b Steve Holland, "Bear Alley: G. R. Parvin", 9 October 2008. Retrieved 11 November 2008.
- ^ "The Long March", illustrated by Ramon de la Fuente in War Picture Library No. 206 (Aug 1963). Steve Holland, "Bear Alley: G. R. Parvin", 9 October 2008. Retrieved 11 November 2008.
- ^ a b Holland, Steve (ed.), "Snarl of Battle" reprinted in Against All Odds (Prion/Carlton, 2008), pp. 713–776
- ^ Holland, Steve (ed.), "The Valley of Death" reprinted in Against All Odds (Prion/Carlton, 2008), pp. 649–712
- ^ a b "Pocket Library Books". Retrieved 11 November 2008
- ^ Holland, Steve (ed.), Against All Odds (Prion/Carlton, 2008), p. 2
- ^ Where Eagles Dare – War comics statistics. Retrieved 11 November 2008.
References
- War Picture Library at the Grand Comics Database
- War Picture Library at the Comic Book DB (archived from the original)
Further reading
- Holland, Steve & Roach, David, The ISBN 978-0-9551596-2-6