Comic Spotlight: Cliver Ward’s Endex Comic

By John Freeman on June 17, 2025

British Army veteran, writer and cartoonist Clive Ward is publishing a new comic, ENDEX, aimed squarely at members of the military.

ENDEX Comic, which has an Over 18 Advisory on its official website and declares it is “Not for Civvies”, is, largely, written by veterans for veterans and those still serving, capturing the absurdities, frustrations, and dark humour that resonate with military life. Contributors include Nick Miller, and many others, as well as Clive himself.

Each issue of the comic – available as physical and digital editions – features 48 pages of content in each issue, blending familiar characters, some inspired by Clive Ward’s popular “Endex” book series, which has sold over 100,000 copies, with new faces designed to entertain and evoke shared memories.

Primarily focused on the British military, Clive says it is “also relatable to veterans and serving members from various countries.”

Just like Clive’s ENDEX books, the comic includes humorous content like cartoons and stories, created by and for veterans and those currently in service.

“The comic aims to capture the essence of military life through its dark humour,” says Clive, “which is a common coping mechanism among service members.”

Clive Ward is a writer books spanning a variety of genres, but mainly military humour. Born in the 1950s and brought up in Derby in the 1960s, he joined the military in the 1970s and spent 14 years serving with the Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters Regiment. Tours of duty followed in at home and abroad, and he toured the Caribbean on board HMS Nottingham as a bugler during the Queen’s Commonwealth tour.

Clive started writing and drawing cartoons as a hobby during his time in the military, submitting cartoons to national newspapers and magazines worldwide. “Having some success spurred me on to make a career out of writing and drawing cartoons,” he says. He became a member of the Cartoonists’ Club of Great Britain in 1982 and, later some of his cartoons appeared on TV as part of Comic Relief.

Now, with the digital age upon us and the internet giving the opportunity to self- publish, he’s started writing books, taking advice from his wife, Elaine Ward. to “Write about what you know”.

“So I did, and I’ve never looked back. I’m sure in a few years time I will get bored with writing and become a painter or something, who knows? But for now, I’m a writer and I’ve got lots of books in me yet.”

• Check out ENDEX Comic at endexcomic.com | Facebook | Instagram | TikTok | X

• Clive Ward is online at clivewardauthor.com | Facebook | X

The Endex Books…

It’s over. Your clearance chit is all signed off. You’ve received your last train warrant, they’ve taken your ID card off you at the guard room, and you walk out through the gate for the last time, it’s Endex. It doesn’t matter how many years you served in the military, it will always have a lasting effect on the way you live the rest of your life. Marine, soldier, sailor or airman, whichever you may be, there are some qualities and experiences that most, if not all veterans, share.

There are three types of people, Civilian, Military and Veteran. Once you join the military, you can never go back to being a civilian again. When you’ve left the military, you might think you are doing a great job trying to blend in to your civilian surroundings, but the signs are there, that you once served your country, sometimes without you even realising it. What you will realise is you’ll never be normal again…

• Endex Book One

• Endex Book Two

• Endex Book Three

• Endex Book Four

About the Author
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John Freeman

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.