Presented here on downthetubes, with the full permission of Moose Harris, creator of the original Sevenpenny Nightmare site (now defunct and the domain under a different ownership), is his fascinating history of Fleetway’s fondly-remembered Action comic, going behind the scenes on the origins of all its strips, including Hook Jaw, Dredger and more.
PLEASE NOTE Some pages of the original site were unfortunately missing from available online archives and Moose’s own files. Those pages marked “TO BE ADDED”, below have yet to be traced. If you can help us restore the lost pages, please do get in touch.
Rebellion will launch its series, Action – Before The Ban in 2026 – and copies of Volume One are available to preorder.
for the first time in decades, Rebellion are collecting Action in a series of new archival editions, containing all of the strips and some of the editorial that created so much infamy back in the 1970s.
With brand-new introductions from Pat Mills, the legendary co-creator, editor, and writer of Action, as well as from series writer Steve MacManus, this is a sensational new release which champions firebrand comics at their most powerful and controversial.
Available in standard and webshop-exclusive editions, Action: Before The Ban defies the censors and proudly celebrates a landmark series in British comics history…
Action – Before the Ban 1: The Archival Collection
By Pat Mills, John Wagner (Writers) and Various Artists
Release date: Scheduled for 24th February 2026
Paperback | 368 Pages
ISBN: 978-1837866694
Pat Mills has begun a series of articles on The Secret History of Action on his IconBlast Channel
Aaaagh! The Secret History of Action: Introduction
I had six weeks to put together the stories for Action. Anti-establishment thinking is so hard-wired into my DNA, there was really no alternative theme.
THE SEVENPENNY NIGHTMARE
About the Sevenpenny Nightmare Site
Moose Harris started reading comics when he was very young, but the titles he chose in those early years were a little tame.
THE ACTION STORY
This section details Action’s all too brief history, from the original concept and inception, through its development, to its swift decline, fall and inevitable death. Much of the research was taken from Action – The Story of a Violent Comic by Professor Martin Barker, currently of Aberystwyth University, who kindly gave permission to quote him liberally.
Additional material was taken from his earlier book Comics: Ideology, Power and the Critics and from his original research. Former Action staffers proved to be useful sources, offering additional information to help put this area together. Thanks to them for their input.
The story of Action doesn’t end with the comic itself. The controversy surrounding Action had an impact on the way IPC produced comics for many years, and this negative effect will be detailed in the upcoming ‘Legacy’ section, to be commenced in the near future.
Reviewing the pre-ban issues of Action looking for a favourite, I couldn’t find one… so Moose Harris made one up
After exhaustive research, Moose Harris managed to track down some old newspapers which carried stories about Action, including the one that gave The Sevenpenny Nightmare its name.
“They’re a good read, and in most cases the facts are reported correctly,” he Noted. “The Sun gives the best account, the Daily Mail focuses on the Look Out For Lefty! bottle throwing, and the Evening Standard sent someone with no interest in the story to do what hacks do best. There are some rather choice quotes from the usual raft of society busy-bodies and kill-joys, often based on no knowledge of the medium they are commenting on. Great stuff…”
The Evening Standard: Argh Lives
The Sun: The Sevenpenny Nightmare
The Daily Mail: Comic Strip Hooligans
INSIDE ACTON
The most important thing about Action was what lay beneath those attention grabbing covers. Every week there were seven or eight rollicking stories, a cartoon strip, some daredevil stunts, free money, sports guides, profiles, letters, a clever dick answering your questions and, as they say, much much more. Below is the sort of thing that seven new pence would buy you in 1976, if you spent it on the sensational new paper for boys. Every story is listed, with information on who the creators were, the story start and finish dates, number of episodes, major characters, an outline of the plot and, most importantly, a full pre-ban run of the strip.
There’s also some info on the other pages of Action, including the regular features like Twit of the Week, Money Man, Knowall, Action Man and Action Mouse. There’s also a list of the regular contributing staff, where known.
Hook Jaw
Gaff hook wielding Great White terror from the deep or ecological crusader? The jaws… AAARGH!
Dredger
D.I.6.’s most deadly and dirty agent, with his squeaky clean sidekick, Simon
Hellman of Hammer Force
World War Two from the perspective of Panzer Major Kurt Hellman. Sven Hassell anyone?
Death Game 1999
Karson City convicts are given a stark choice, play the deadly game of Spinball or go to the electric chair, the lucky bastards
Kids Rule O.K.
1986, and a deadly virus kills every adult in the world. Hooray! The kids rule the streets and anarchy reigns
Look Out For Lefty
Kenny ‘Lefty’ Lampton struggles with life, love, Third Division Wigford Rovers and his Steptoe-like Grandad
Hell’s Highway
Two truck drivers are coerced into acting as covert US Government agents. Don’t laugh, it could happen
Blackjack
Boxer Jack Barron fights for the World Heavyweight Title as he battles against blindness, then becomes Carl Douglas
The Running Man
Athlete Mike Carter wakes up with another man’s face, as you do, and winds up running from both the law and the mafia
The Running Man was released in collection by Hibernia Press in 2025
Green’s Grudge War
Commando action with a twist. Bold is as bold as they come, Green is green with envy and plots his comrade’s downfall
Play Till You Drop
First Division footy shenanigans as striker Alec Shaw is blackmailed by a sports journalist with sunglasses
Sport’s Not For Losers
Athletics hopeful Dan Walker handily breaks his leg and it is left to his layabout brother Len to uphold the family honour by smoking heavily
Probationer
Only four episodes of this story about a bloke on probation were published. Good, it was rubbish… or was it?
Coffin Sub
The cheery tale of submarine commander Mark Kane, who wished he’d drowned with his former crew, as did the readers
ACTION – BEHIND THE SCENES
Who did what in the Action office
Action – Original Artwork – TO BE ADDED
A few pieces of the original artwork for Action
ACTION – THE FEATURE PAGES
Editorial features to fill out the gaps between the strips
A history of reader-irritating idiocy by well-known television and sporting types of the era
Knowall – Action’s Resident Boffin
Readers try to stump Milton Finesilver, Action’s resident egghead, with difficult questions
Stuart Wales hated money and had to give it away. Did he visit your town?
The twelve stunts that Action Man undertook, mainly at circuses, for a tenner a pop
Action Mouse – TO BE ADDED
Some examples of the cartoon strip that most people didn’t find funny
MISSING IN ACTION
Find out more about how strips were changed (or rather “eviscerated”) on Action‘s return to the news stands.
When Action was withdrawn after the 16th October issue, work was already well underway on the next seven issues of the comic. The 23rd October issue went to press, but was destined to be pulped rather than distributed. The issues that should have followed didn’t even get that far…
The Lost Stories – Hell’s Highway – TO BE ADDED
There’s only one surviving episode of Hell’s Highway in the public domain.
Most of the Dredger stories in the archive were lightly edited and represented in a toned down form. Acts of violence were removed, language was tamed and, most strangely, Dredger was no longer ‘dirty’. He was tough, he was gritty, but he was fair, and didn’t kill anybody unless he absolutely needed to.
The Lost Stories – Death Game 1999 – TO BE ADDED
Death Game 1999 became Spinball, and the Karson City Killers won their final match.
Whither Stalin? – TO BE ADDED
What possible problems could Hellman of Hammer Force give a revised Action?
Cutting Out the Violence from Kids Rule O.K. – TO BE ADDED
Kids Rule O.K. was an obvious candidate for censure.
The ‘lost’ Hook Jaw page on the left looks odd.
LOST COVERS
The Lost Covers – 30th October 1976
Intended for the issue that followed the withdrawal of Action.
The Lost Covers – 6th November 1976 – TO BE ADDED
Much thanks to Rufus Dayglo for this one, long believed to be destroyed.
The Lost Covers – 13th November 1976 – TO BE ADDED
This particular cover has been made using any available resources.
The Lost Covers – 20th November 1976 – TO BE ADDED
The only clue as to what the November 20th story would have contained.
THE STORY OF A VIOLENT COMIC
In 1990, readers of Action were given a treat that they’d waited fourteen years to receive. Martin Barker Emeritus Professor of film and television studies at Aberystwyth University, wrote the book behind the comic that bit the dust. Action – The Story of a Violent Comic was a fascinating and insightful account of the creation, birth, life and death of a much missed and wrongly maligned publication.
Featured here, with Martin’s kind permission, are excepts from his book, which has never been reprinted. Copies are sought after and can be expensive (AmazonUK Affiliate Link)
Martin Barker passed in 2022. You can read a tribute to him by Tim Robbins here.
Action: The Story of a Violent Comic – Introduction
Saturday, October 23 1976 must have seemed a pretty ordinary day when it began
“The Coffin Sub” was the first to go
The revenge of the critics and moralists
The moralism of Action’s critics finds a voice on the inside
So, Should Action Have Been Censored?
Action as a hidden pot of virtues, all misunderstood sweetness and light
Action: The Story of a Violent Comic – Reader Survey
Survey results based on the opinions of 135 former Action readers surveyed by Martin Barker in 1986
Hook Jaw: The Shark Bites Back
Throughout Action’s history, “Hook Jaw” was consistently the most popular story
The Lost Pages of Hook Jaw – TO BE ADDED
The next extract follows the reprinted material from “Hook Jaw”
How Lefty Lost His Bottle – TO BE ADDED
“Look Out For Lefty” was not the first football story in Action
The Lost Pages of Lefty – TO BE ADDED
The next extract followed the reprinted material from “Look Out For Lefty”
Death Game 1999: Steel Balls to the Finish
A “rip-off’ of Rollerball, but with a difference
The Lost Pages of Death Game 1999 – TO BE ADDED
The next extract followed the reprinted material from Death Game 1999
When The Crumblies Flipped It: Kids Rule OK…?
“Kids Rule OK” – the worst villain of the piece
The Story of a Violent Comic: The Lost Pages of Kids Rule OK
Dredger – “rip-off” of Dirty Harry with a touch of The Ipcress File
After December 4th, the character of Action changed
People argued that Action lost its way by mid-1976
Action was originally © IPC Magazines Limited 1976. The comics division of IPC was sold to Fleetway, the titles and characters then bought out in turn by Rebellion in 2018.
All characters, distinctive likenesses thereof, artwork and text are © and ™ Rebellion Publishing Ltd, and used with permission of the publisher
ACTION™ REBELLION PUBLISHING LTD, COPYRIGHT © REBELLION PUBLISHING LTD, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
See this section’s Acknowledgments section for more information
Bullet and related images are © DC Thomson Ltd
Action – The Story of a Violent Comic by Martin Barker © Titan Books 1990. The text from Action – The Story of a Violent Comic © Martin Barker 1990, is reproduced here with the author’s kind permission.
The name The Sevenpenny Nightmare Moose originally to describe his Action site is taken from an article published in The Sun newspaper on April 30th 1976. Relevant images and quotes from The Sun, Daily Mail and Evening Standard are © their respective publishers and are reproduced here with permission.
All other text © Moose Harris and reproduced here on downthetubes with his full permission
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John is the founder of downthetubes, launched in 1998. He is a comics and magazine editor, writer, and Press Officer for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He also runs Crucible Comic Press.
Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine and Overkill for Marvel UK, Babylon 5 Magazine, Star Trek Magazine, and its successor, Star Trek Explorer, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics; and has edited several comic collections and graphic novels, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”, and Hancock: The Lad Himself, by Stephen Walsh and Keith Page.
He’s the writer of comics such as 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.