Celebrating its 40th anniversary in 2026, Football Picture Story Monthly is back with two incredible graphic novel volumes out now from DC Thomson: Volume One: The Best of Stark and Volume Two: The Best of We Are United!
First published in 1986, Football Picture Story Monthly was an instant success for British publishing giant DC Thomson. Running for 17 years and releasing a staggering 418 issues, this celebrated title was launched during the World Cup in Mexico.
Now, DC Thomson’s most requested title to be reprinted is match-ready as the Heritage Comics team collate some of the title’s most beloved issues in two graphic novels – with more to come!
Volume One: The Best of Stark collects four of the best stories featuring the legendary football mercenary Jon Stark, including his final chapter, where he must choose between playing for the English or Scottish team in their latest tournament.
Originally premiering in weekly comics Scoop, Victor and Hotspur, Jon Stark, The Footballer Of The Future was the perfect character to debut DC Thomson’s latest title, Football Picture Story Monthly. Scoop’s original series was drawn by Barrie Mitchell, one of Britain’s finest football story illustrators, and scripted by Roger Kettle. The story was set in the near future, when players weren’t tied to clubs by long-term contracts. Stark, a prolific striker, hired himself out on a pay-per-game basis. £1000 per match with another £250 for every goal he scored. No charge for a defeat. It was a football story with a difference, and the readers loved it.
Volume Two: We Are United meticulously reprints three comics from the fan-favourite “We Are United” series.
The series began in DC Thomson comic Champ, launched in February 1984, and immediately set itself apart from its contemporaries, which normally centred on one player, like a top-scoring striker or an almost unbeatable goalkeeper. Instead, “We Are United” wasn’t about just one character, or just one team, it was about a club – United. This allowed a wealth of stories around beloved characters like goalie Charlie Barr, full-back Tug Wilson, midfielder Hedgehog Jones and striker Kevin Nicklish.
Many fans of the strip believe that “We Are United” is the most accurate and true-to-life football story ever published in a comic for boys. It told the story of a club once known as the champions of English football, but now languished in the lower division.
Then, United stalwart Joe Pearson is appointed player-manager. His brief is simple. Take them back to the top. Week by week, match by match, Joe built a side that would take United back to winning the game’s major prizes.
The series was a big success with readers, who were even invited to write in for the chance to become the team mascot for a week. The lucky ones were incorporated into an episode and drawn leading out the team.
Eventually, as the publication of weekly comics for boys ceased, Football Picture Story Monthly was launched in the summer of 1986. “We Are United” was a perfect fit. As an editor on Champ, Bill Graham was given manager duties as editor of FPSM and was quick to bring in many of the original artists and writers. And, of course, Joe, Charlie, Tug, Hedgehog and the gang were all there. The stories were as good as ever and continued the fan-favourite saga.
For the next seventeen years, United fans old and new could follow the team again. Football Picture Story Monthly ran to 418 issues. We Are United featured in forty-three of them.
Both collections are an open goal for football and comic fans and an unmissable companion collection from the annals of British football comic history with incredible artwork from British legend Ian Kennedy (Dan Dare, Commando), Barrie Mitchell (Roy of the Rovers, Judge Dredd), and many more!
• Get your copies of Football Picture Story Monthly Volume One: The Best of Stak and Volume Two: We Are United on Amazon now
- About the Author
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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.
Categories: British Comics, British Comics - Collections, British Comics - Current British Publishers, Comics, downthetubes Comics News
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