In Review: Battling Britons No. 5

By James Bacon on July 9, 2023

The fifth issue of Battling Britons is out now, offering a comprehensive look at spies, tough guys and Lone Wolves in British comics. Review by James Bacon…

There is a lovely cohesiveness to the latest 150-page issue of Battling Britons, available now, with updates on specific articles from previous issues as well as letters of comment, as fans work to communicate and share knowledge.

On offer is an excellent piece about artist Jim Wright, who drew strips such as “Hellman”, “Mike Nelson” and Commando comics, from Jim O’Brien.

Writer Rob Williams is interviewed about the current Battle mini-series, and Peter Clark talks about his role as editor at Warlord and Bullet. The latter interview is complemented by a full article on Bullet, going into considerable detail about this DCn competitor to Fleetway’s Action.

There are articles on the pocket books from aerial combat pocketbooks with a spy theme, another on Fleetway pocketbooks dealing with double-crossers and dirty rats another on Spies, and reviews of Top Secret Picture Library and Valiant Picture Library.

Plus there are articles on Mike Nelson aka The Eagle from Battle and Dredger from Action, as well as newspaper strip character, Bishop Fortune.

Articles are dynamic and varied, from a Manga about the ‘Ghost of Kyiv‘ (declaration – written by me!) to a lovely piece about the recently departed Kevin O’Neill, looking at his work in horror comics.

Reports on recent events – Lawless, Enniskillen and the Commando Swop Meet – all make it in, along with other articles.

It’s nice to hear about comics that one may not be aware of, too. Quite often, I find myself using these Battling Britons articles as a starting point in a particular niche aspect, or as a check list of comics I’d like to get to.

The is so much we don’t know about comics and it’s great fun learning more and finding new reads, or hearing insight into the stories we love. Editor Justin Marriott does a cracking job here and he also contributes articles, and one can see the shared passion for comics.

The series now has seven publications available in total, including a Summer Special and an unumbered issue, which started it all off. Themes have included aerial warfare, secret agents and future war. All available through Amazon.

James Bacon

• Battling Britons Issue Five is available here from AmazonUK (Affiliate Link)

James Bacon

James Bacon (he/him) is an Irish fan, a train driver living in London. A Hugo Award-winning editor of the fanzine “Journey Planet”, he is a comic fan and enjoys comic art, war Comics, Star Wars, Irish aspects to comics and railways in comics or otherwise. He has been writing about comics for over thirty years.