Comics

Counting down to Battle Action #1 – new series launches 31 May!

24th May 2023

We’re counting down to D-Day, soldier – make sure you’ve ordered your copy of Battle Action #1!

The legendary British comics combo launches on 31 May with a brand new five-issue mini-series, featuring the work of John Wagner (Judge Dredd, Strontium Dog), Dan Abnett (Guardians of the Galaxy, Warhammer 40k), Torunn Grønbekk (Thor, Punisher: War Journal), Rob Williams (Suicide Squad, Judge Dredd), John Higgins (Watchmen, Judge Dredd) and Chris Burnham (Batman Incorporated, Unstoppable Doom Patrol) – to bring new life to even more characters from the pages of Battle Picture Weekly and Action!

Available through comic book stores and the 2000 AD and Treasury of British Comics webshops, the first issue features the return of fan favourite World War Two flying ace ‘Johnny Red’ as well as the return of Battle Picture Weekly’s co-creator John Wagner to ‘HMS Nightshade’, the series he co-created with artist Mike Western in 1979, which tells the story of a Royal Navy warship protecting Allied shipping from the U-Boat menace.

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Wrapped in stunning covers by award-winning artist Keith Burns, each 32-page issue will feature two incredible stories of daring, courage, and action, such as ‘Crazy Keller’, ‘D-Day Dawson’, ‘Dredger’, ‘Major Eazy’, ‘Hellman of Hammer Force’, and ‘Nina Patrova and The Angels of Death’.

Battle Picture Weekly was where the revolution in British comics began. Created in 1975 by writers and editors Pat Mills and John Wagner, it introduced new grittiness into comics with its cast of anti-heroes and misfits. Its bombast and energy sparked a sea-change in what comics could do, leading to Mills’ creation of the controversial Action and the globally influential 2000 AD.

The new Battle Action mini-series celebrates the merging of this landmark title with its controversial stablemate, Action, a combination that took the two comics to even greater heights. Now, more than forty years after the original, some of the cream of British comics talent are bringing these classic characters back to life.

Battle Action #1 is out on 31 May from comic book stores and will be available for stores to order through Diamond Distribution’s Previews magazine. It will also be available in print and digital from the 2000 AD and Treasury of British Comics webshops and digitally through the 2000 AD app.

Issue 1 on sale: 31 May