Hibernia Comics has announced its next Fleetway Files collection will be Glory Knight: Time Travel Courier, drawn by the late John M. Burns, first published in June and School Friend back in 1970.
Tentatively scheduled for release this autumn, it’s Hibernia’s first collection from a girl’s title, so a bit of a departure from their normal fare, but a welcome one. While short lived, this largely lighthearted adventure strip offers some great art from John.
Presumably aiming to capitalise on the TV success of Doctor Who at the time, “Glory Knight” centres on the eponymous Glory, whose job is more stewardess than courier, escorting tourists back in time, starting with a trip to the Age of Dinosaurs. Other stories saw her facing off with highwaymen, hijackers and Roman gladiators – not to mention troublesome rival, Mandy!
(While we know John M. Burns drew the strip, we don’t have any information on the character’s creator or writer – so if you know, please by all means comment below. Thanks!)
The science fiction elements are pretty nonsensical, and while it wasn’t a huge hit, back in 2015, in an article for 30th Century Comics, Will Morgan suggested it was, perhaps, an editorial favourite. Nine stories were published in 1970 and 1971 in the weekly comic, in issues cover dated 4th July 1970 through to 20th March 1971, and a further six-page tale appeared in the 1972 June Annual, in which Glory meets Robin Hood.
“Glory Knight was somewhat of a change of template for June and School Friend,” Will notes. “In the first place, Glory lived alone, and there was never any mention of family. Having a protagonist who was an independent adult was unusual for J & SF… most of the heroines in the weekly comic tended to be younger girls, closer to the age of the projected readership. And while other light science-fiction concepts had run in the comic, they had almost always… been variations on the ‘strange visitor’ theme – Glory’s time-travelling background was a bit more expansive than the readership was used to.”
“Glory Knight is a fun, action adventure time travel tale, that will fit well into the Fleetway files series,” Hibernia publisher David McDonald notes, acknowledging “Girls titles have some great stories, it would be great to do more. Any favourites or suggestions?”
Will highlights a particular story for attention from the strip’s relatively short run.
“Most of the ‘Glory’ tales were frivolous, but one, running from 19/9/70 to 3/10/70, introduced a more sombre tone, as Glory, having befriended an elderly neighbour, risks her job by taking the time machine back to World War I so that he can see his lost love, a Nurse, one last time. Touching and melancholy, it was quite a different direction for J & SF’s juvenile audience, more in keeping with the romantic strips written for teenage love weeklies like Romeo or Jackie, which frequently allowed themselves a bittersweet conclusion.”
Before Glory Knight arrives from Hibernia, look out for Doomlord: The Photo Stories Volume 1, reprinting the early adventures of the alien assassin from EAGLE, which should be out at the end of June.
“We had hoped to have it for Enniskillen Comic Festival,” says David, “but it would have been rushed. Don’t worry, it will be worth the wait!”
If you haven’t already grabbed a copy, Hibernia’s previous Doomlord collection, The Deathlord of Nox, is still in stock, but only a few copies remain, print runs of their titles often selling out rapidly.
The good news is that if you missed the first run, the recently-released King Cobra, featuring art by 2000AD legend Ron Smith, may get a reprint, as might The Tower King. Stay tuned!
Head over to hiberniacomics.com for available collections – and follow Hibernia Comics on BlueSky, Facebook, and Instagram for the latest news from the publisher
Head downthetubes for…
• 30th Century Comics: Glory Knight, Time-Travel Courier by Will Morgan
Dinosaurs? Cowboys? Gladiators? Glory Knight, Time Travel Courier faced them all down, a distaff Doctor Who without all that science stuff…
• The Art of John M. Burns Facebook Group
• Glory Knight’s “Robin Hood” adventure, gloriously dissected by D. Merrill, over on Stupid Comics
With thanks to Colin Brown Glory Knight ©️ Rebellion Publishing
- 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, Comic Previews, Comics, downthetubes Comics News, downthetubes News
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No mention here of who created the character or wrote the scripts!
While we know John M. Burns drew the strip, we don’t have any information on the character’s creator or writer – if I did, I would have most certainly included it. So if any downthetubes readers know, please by all means let us know, below, and I’ll happily add that information to the article.