The original “Charley’s War” art for a cover of Battle and a page from the classic 2000AD story “The Ballad of Halo Jones” are currently being offered on eBay by the same seller.

Drawn by series regular Joe Colquhoun, the “Charley’s War” art featured on the cover of Battle dated 29th November 1980 and forms part of the arc known as “Blue’s Story”, relating the tale of the eponymous French soldier.

The story arc, set in March 1917, began its run in November 1980 and revealed Blue’s terrifying experiences on the Western Front around Fort Vaux. The cover features an attack on German lines.

The auction ends on Thursday 17th September at 7.00pm UK time and bids (at the time of writing) are currently at £360.

Measuring 12 x 13”, the stat title/surround is missing, the seller, “Max Normal”, notes these were often removed and used on the next issue to save money.

Also on offer from Max is a page from the 2000AD story “The Ballad of Halo Jones”, which has attracted bids of over £1000.

The page featured in 2000AD Prog 412 published in April 1985 and is described as in great condition on off white thick paper, with art by Ian Gibson story by Alan Moore, a large page with image size of 15×13 inches.

Bidding on this item also ends on Thursday evening.

UPDATE 17th September l: The Charley’s War cover sold for £700 and the Halo Jones page for £1647

• Bid on the “Charley’s War” cover by Joe Colquhoun here

• Bid on “The Ballad of Halo Jones” art by Ian Gibson here

• View Max Normal’s other items for sale

• Check out our “Charley’s War” micro site

With thanks to Richard Sheaf

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.

Categories: 2000AD, Art and Illustration, Auctions, British Comics, downthetubes Comics News, downthetubes News, Other Worlds

Tags: Auction News, Battle Picture Weekly, Charley's War, Cover Art, downthetubes News, eBay, Ian Gibson, Joe Colquhoun, The Ballad of Halo Jones, War Comics