Over at Bear Alley Books, publisher Steve Holland has a special offer on two of his latest books collecting two great strips from DC Thomson, featuring work by artists Ian Kennedy and Enrique Alcatena.
“This will be your last chance to buy Frontline UK and Arena as our license for these titles runs out shortly and both books will be officially out of print after 31st March,” Steve warns.
So if you want copies, grab ’em now. After the end of the month, they’ll be disappearing for good. You can save 25 per cent off the cover price for the next few weeks.
Frontline UK
by William Corderoy, Ian Kennedy & Clemente Rezzonico
The year is 1976 and Britain has been crushed under the heel of the invading forces of the Yellow Moon. But there is resistance to the invaders. Scattered throughout the country are men fighting back, men like Sergeant Sam Strong and the crew of his Scorpion tank.
Sergeant Strong and his crew are taking part in a military exercise when aircraft fly overhead, swinging around to make a dummy run on the tanks… but this is no dummy run! Air bases and other military installations across the country are under attack and invading forces are taking beaches around the coast.
How a lone Scorpion tank and its three-man crew — Strong, Bunny and Tanner — evade capture and then take the battle to the enemy makes for a thrilling adventure of British pluck in the face of a powerful enemy.
Art © DC Thomson
Featuring superb artwork by Ian Kennedy and Clemente Rezzonico, Frontline UK collects together for the first time the full story of the Yellow Moon invasion from the pages of D. C. Thomson’s all-action comic, Bullet.
As well as the complete story, a trio of features in Frontline UK introduce the author and artists of the strip while the introduction reveals the origins of the story in the pages of a 1950s Wizard serial and how that story had previously been interpreted as a comic strip.
• Frontline UK is published in A4 perfect-bound format, 128 b/w pages with a colour cover. ISBN: 9781907081767 Order it here
Arena
by David H. Taylor & Enrique Alcatena
Welcome to the greatest, most exciting sport ever! The ultimate conflict — to the death! Men locked in mortal combat employing strength and cunning and the most ingenious weapons the 21st century can devise. This is the story of one man’s struggle against the system and his desperate battle for survival in the —
Collected for the first time, “Arena” is set in the dark future of a 21st century in which corporations are all-powerful, protected by heavily militarized police forces and a legal system that removes dissenting voices by sentencing men to fight violent gladiatorial battles broadcast to the masses as entertainment from the Arena
Journalist Mark Sabor is sent to the Arena after criticizing the government. Even as he trains to fight, forces are at work to make sure he will never survive. Pitted against merciless opponents whose sole objective is to kill the newcomer any way they can, Sabor must use his wits and strength to survive.
But for Sabor the battle isn’t just about surviving. It’s about fighting back!
Trained in every form of weapon, the Arena warriors make a formidable army. Sabor becomes part of the resistance, searching for the truth about who controls the government and, through them, mankind’s fate. And when he discovers the truth, it will be a bigger shock than he could ever have imagined.
From the pages of The Crunch, “Arena” marked the British debut of Argentina’s master of the fantastic, Enrique Alcatena, who turned Dave H. Taylor’s gripping scripts into a super-stylish science fiction epic. Although his artwork appeared anonymously, Alcatena built up a strong fan base in the UK in the pages of Starblazer, Warlord and Victor.
Meanwhile, author Dave H. Taylor was also responsible for scripting many of D. C. Thomson’s most popular characters, amongst them Alf Tupper the Tough of the Tracks, Billy the Cat and Starhawk. Together they created a memorable dystopian tale that still has the power to thrill.
• Arena is published in A4 perfect-bound format, 140 b/w pages with a colour cover by Enrique Alcatena and Martin Baines. ISBN: 9781907081750 | Order it here
- About the Author
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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.
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