Comic writer and publisher Pat Mills has begun to chart his own history of Battle Picture Weekly’s powerful anti-war strip, “Charley’s War”, which he co-created with artist Joe Colquhoun.
His “Secret History” account of the series creation will feature as part of his ongoing subscription-based Iconoblast newsletter, the first two chapters available as free-to-read introductions, here and here.
Every subsequent post has a free preview, but the rest of it is for paying subscribers only – so if you’d like full access to all of his Secret History of Comics as he releases it every week (plus other benefits, check them out), do consider subscribing: it’s £5 per month or £50 per year, and it helps Pat to continue giving you his best writing. He’s offering a free seven-day trial on Iconoblast, so you can try it first.
Pat has already outlined his guide to Marshal Law through Iconoblast, paying tribute to the late Kevin O’Neill along the way.
Since writing “Charley’s War”, a groundbreaking comic we’ve documented here on downthetubes as a “micro site”, a project initiated by the late Neil Emery, Pat’s opinion of the causes of World War One have changed markedly, and his frustration at the way the story of the conflict has been documented by many authors is palpable.
“Charley’s War, the comic book story of a young soldier in the Great War, beautifully illustrated by Joe Colquhoun, is still in print today, as a superb three-volume collection from Rebellion,” Pat notes. “When it first appeared in Battle comic in 1979, despite its fiercely anti-war tone, it was rarely challenged or censored. This was because it was widely accepted at that time that World War One was mass-murder, carried out by incompetent generals and politicians under the banner of patriotism.
“At that time.
“Charley was hugely popular with its young readers,” he continues, “the number one story in the comic almost for its entire run. This wants lingering on for a moment – an anti-war story was more popular amongst boys than all the other stories that often glorified war. It’s an uncomfortable fact for those who espouse traditional war comics, which is why it needs emphasising. No one really wants to look at the serious implications of this, so it is usually ignored. Charley deeply affected its readers and thus many boys from military family backgrounds told me they chose not to join the armed forces after reading it. I can’t tell you how that thrills me, especially today when PTSD and veteran suicides have reached epidemic levels.”
Since writing “Charley’s War”, Pat is now of the view that World War One was not, effectively, mass-murder, carried out by incompetent generals and politicians under the banner of patriotism, a theme of the deservedly highly-praised and much lauded strip (among comic fans here and in Europe, although not, sadly, by many others). He now feels the World War One was started deliberately by Britain to crush its rival Germany.
“Although Germany could have been defeated quickly, the war was deliberately prolonged for three and a half years for profits and to utterly destroy it,” he suggests, a viewpoint, not unexpectedly, that is not shared by many established military authors, or, indeed, the establishment. They, Pat suggests, clearly would prefer us to believe that the conflict was a just war against an evil enemy – Germany – that had to be defeated. The Generals, although they sometimes made mistakes, were the architects of victory. The terrible loss of life was tragic but unavoidable.
Which makes it all the more important, Pat feels, that “Charley’s War” gains the same kind of attention here that it has in France. Despite a permanent display of art from the strip at the Tank Museum in Bovington, and an exhibition of Joe’s art during the World War One centenary in 2014 at the prestigious Abbot Hall Gallery in Kendal, “Charley’s War” seems to Pat to be deliberately overlooked as a potential educational resource.
“Hitherto, I would have been content for ‘Charley’s War’ to have been a classic series of the past, just like my Judge Dredd Cursed Earth saga,” says Pat, outlining the reasons for his guide, “with no especial importance today and with other writers picking up the baton and continuing in the same anti-war tradition.
“Sadly they haven’t continued. And as the revisionist plot to rewrite history took shape in the new century and then I learnt – to my horror – that the conflict was started and prolonged by Britain, Charley took on a new importance.
“Because today it’s the only example of mainstream popular culture – outside of film and television – that challenges the establishment view of World War One.
“It will never be on any official schools curriculum,” Pat feels, “my scathing commentaries in the back of each volume have put paid to that – but it is widely and unofficially used by teachers to bring the conflict to life.
“So the aim of this Secret History is not just to reveal the back stories behind the making of Charley, by Joe and myself, but also to suggest where I might have added to the existing narratives, where appropriate, to broaden our understanding of the conflict. Scenes and episodes I might have included if I’d know the full truth at the time of writing. And if I’d got them past the censor, of course.”
Pat Mills is an Anglo-Irish comic writer who created the British weekly comics 2000AD and Misty, developed Judge Dredd, wrote Marshal Law for Marvel Comics, Batman for DC Comics, and a host of characters for 2000AD, as well as Charley’s War, Doctor Who comics and Accident Man – now a movie series starring Scott Adkins.
Iconoblast is where he takes you behind the scenes to show you how your favourite subversive characters were created with his Secret History of Comics, starting with Marshal Law, followed by Misty and Charley’s War. And in Pageturners he shares what he’s learnt – and is still learning – about comic writing, film writing, novel writing and how new writers can sell their stories.
• Iconoblast: Pat Mills Secret History: Charleys War Intro 1
• Iconoblast: Pat Mills Secret History: Charleys War Intro 2
Every subsequent post has a free preview, but the rest of it is for paying subscribers only – so if you’d like full access to all of Pat’s Secret History of Comics as he releases it every week (plus other benefits, check them out), do consider subscribing: it’s £5 per month or £50 per year, and it helps Pat to continue giving you his best writing. He’s offering a free seven-day trial on Iconoblast, so you can try it first.
• Charley’s War – a downthetubes Micro Site
The features in this section sprang from the original work of Neil Emery and developed by John Freeman
• Buy Charley’s War in English (Rebellion and Titan editions guide)
• Buy Charley’s War Volume 1: Boy Soldier: The Definitive Collection from amazon.co.uk
• Buy Charley’s War Volume 2: Boy Soldier: The Definitive Collection from amazon.co.uk
• Buy Charley’s War Volume 3: Boy Soldier: The Definitive Collection from amazon.co.uk
Charley’s War created by Pat Mills and Joe Colquhoun
CHARLEY’S WAR ™ REBELLION PUBLISHING LTD, COPYRIGHT © REBELLION PUBLISHING LTD, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
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.
Categories: British Comics, British Comics - Collections, Charley's War, Comics, Comics Studies, Creating Comics, downthetubes Comics News, downthetubes Micro Sites, downthetubes News