Charley’s War original page screen print unveiled

By John Freeman on November 25, 2020

Charley's War Print - Episode 230 - August 1979 - art by Joe Colquhoun — *Charley’s War Print – Episode 230 – August 1979 – art by Joe Colquhoun*

A stunning replica screen print of a page from the groundbreaking “Charley’s War” is now available to order from Rebellion Unplugged, the tabletop game and collectibles division of Rebellion.

Taken from the archives of the Treasury of British Comics, the world’s largest archive of English-language comics, on offer is a limited edition screen print of art by the legendary artist Joe Colquhoun from Episode 230 of “Charley’s War”, the ground-breaking World War One strip created by Pat Mills and first published in Battle Picture Weekly, in August 1979.

This beautiful print, featuring the opening page of an episode pitting Charley’s younger brother Wilf against a German “Giant Bomber”, is available on both paper and Bristol Board from the 2000AD and Treasury of British Comics web shops.

This scale replica is taken from new high-resolution scans of Colquhoun’s breath-taking original art. Five layers of hand-pressed screen printing captures the creative process of the original page, through pencils, inks, hand lettering, and art fixes, to produce an artefact that is faithful both to its creator’s vision and to the lost art of making comic books.

This limited edition screen print is hand-numbered, and printed on archival quality acid-free Somerset satin 410gsm white paper, with a variant edition of 25 copies printed on artists’ Bristol Board to match the original. It reproduces the artwork in its original size of 400*470mm.

Originally printed in Battle Picture Weekly in August 1979 the page opens the strip’s dramatic portrayal of the blitz on London, and showcases Colquhoun’s incredible linework and storytelling.

Written by British comics legend Pat Mills and illustrated by Colquhoun, “Charley’s War” centres on the story of underage British soldier called Charley Bourne, who enlists at the outbreak of World War One and goes on to experience the horror of the trenches and witness the brutal treatment ordinary soldiers received to serve the selfish interests of those in power. During the strip’s run, it also offered snapshots of the war as experienced by Charley’s brothers, kin the air and at sea.

Considered by many to be the greatest war comic of all time, and this new print is a testament to the extraordinary and under-appreciated talent of the artist who brought it to life.

Rebellion Unplugged is the tabletop game and collectibles division of Rebellion – one of Europe’s largest independent creative studios. It oversees development of tabletop projects for Rebellion’s wide range of intellectual properties, from the sci-fi universes of Judge Dredd and Evil Genius, to the war stories of Sniper Elite and Charley’s War.

• Check out this “Charley’s War” print here on the 2000AD and Treasury of British Comics web shops

John Freeman

The founder of downthetubes, which he established in 1998. John works as a comics and magazine editor, writer, and on promotional work for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He is currently editor of Star Trek Explorer, published by Titan – his third tour of duty on the title originally titled Star Trek Magazine.

Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine, Babylon 5 Magazine, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics. He has also edited several comic collections, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”.

He’s the writer of “Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies” for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs” with Dave Hailwood.