Sports comic highlights an immortal rugby match

By John Freeman on July 26, 2024

There was a time when sports comics like Tiger and Roy of the Rovers were top sellers on British newsstands, alongside the likes of 2000AD, The Beano and other weeklies. While those days are long gone, the welcome ROTR revival by Rebellion currently a little muted, the good news is, there are still folk out there creating them.

Released last year, and still available is Bleddyn, co-written by East Terrace editor and rugby author James Stafford, tellsing the story of Cardiff’s famous 8-3 triumph over the fourth All Blacks in 1953. Bleddyn was co-written with Steve Coombs (DC Thomson), drawn by Gary Erskine (Marvel, DC, Vertigo) and lettered by Rob Jones (Image Comics, Penguin, DC Thomson).

Bleddyn Williams led his Cardiff team out in front of a crowd of 50,000 at the Arms Park to face the mighty All Blacks.

Defeating the All Blacks had been an ambition for Cardiff ever since they had narrowly lost to the famous New Zealand ‘Originals’ in 1905. The Springboks had been beaten by Gwyn Nicholls’s great Cardiff team in 1907 and Australia had been defeated numerous times by the Blue and Blacks. But victory over the most iconic team in world rugby had until then proven elusive.

“Cardiff’s victory over New Zealand in 1953 wrote the names of Bleddyn and teammates into rugby folklore,” notes James Stafford. “The match itself was an epic. A first half burst of classic Cardiff daring, with gifted backs running at the dazzled All Blacks from all over the pitch. Followed by an hour of relentless tackling as the bigger All Black forward pack tried to crush the Cardiff men. Every player in blue and black was a hero that day.”

Marking an immortal sporting day, Bleddyn is available to buy online now at bleddyn1953.co.uk. It’s an enjoyable account of the match, accompanied by background on Bleddyn’s war years that will surely interest war comic fans, beautifully realised by Gary Erskine.

The comic, now in its second printing after the first quickly sold out, contains a 12-page full-colour story with an additional eight pages packed full of photographs, biographies, features, stats and articles.

It can be bought as either a standalone comic or a special edition bundle (with cover variant) that comes complete with three A3 art prints. The prints are also available as individual items.

• Bleddyn is available to buy online now at bleddyn1953.co.uk

Meet the Bleddyn team

James Stafford (story/script) is founder of cult rugby website The East Terrace. He is the author of the ‘Illustrated History of Rugby’ trilogy and a children’s book about Cardiff and Wales legend Gwyn Nicholls entitled How Wales Beat the Mighty All Blacks.

Stafford has written on rugby for a range of national and regional newspapers, magazines and websites. In 2017 his collection of short comics, The Sorrowful Putto of Prague (Truchlivý amoret pražský), was published to critical acclaim in the Czech Republic – even drawing praise from Hollywood legend Samuel L. Jackson.

Steve Coombs (story/script) became a Cardiff rugby fan as a 10-year-old in 1988, and has held a fascination with the club’s unique history (helped in no small part by meeting the great Bleddyn Williams in the flesh) ever since. He’s a board member with the CF10 supporter’s trust and a regular contributor to matchday programmes.

He has degrees from the University of London and Aberystwyth and has at various times been a teacher, bookseller and – in a former life – a comic book scriptwriter for DC Thomson.

He currently lives in Gloucestershire and can usually be found near the 22 at the Westgate Street end of the South Terrace.

Gary Erskine (artist) has worked in the comic industry for near thirty years for Marvel, DC Comics, Vertigo, Dark Horse Comics, Image, IDW and other companies with writers Mark Millar, Garth Ennis, James Robinson and Grant Morrison — drawing characters as diverse as Judge Dredd, Starman, John Constantine, Dan Dare and Captain America. He has also contributed to licenses including Star Wars, Star Trek, Doctor Who, Transformers and Terminator. He mentors film students on storyboarding, teaches workshops at schools and libraries and is currently developing his personal project, ROLLER GRRRLS.

Gary has also provided storyboards and concept design work for the games and film industry and also works commercially with clients including D’Agostini, Sony EA Games COLORS, Team GB British Cycling, J League and the Joshua Agency. Recent work includes the companion graphic novel to the Frontlines series of sci-fi novels by Marko Kloos, written by Ivan Brandon for Jet City Comics and covers for Sabrina, The Teenage Witch for Archie Comics and Adler, for Titan Comics. He has most recently returned to 2000AD for “Rogue Trooper”.

Rob Jones (lettering) is primarily a Letterer and sometimes a writer of comics. He has lettered for companies such as Image Comics, Penguin, Harper Collins, Scholastic, Humanoids, Heavy Metal, DC Thomson and many others.

About the Author
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John Freeman

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.