After their smash hit debut last year, The Vigilant return in August, resurrecting the greatest home-grown superheroes Britain has to offer – a team unlike any other, a challenge none have faced before!
Even if superhero comics have never been your thing, take up the call of The Vigilant with this 64-page special featuring Simon Furman (Transformers), Simon Coleby (The Royals), Will Sliney (Spider-Man 2099), Len O’Grady (Jaegir) and Simon Bowland (Doom Patrol).
Many years ago, a team of strange, super-powered beings were brought together by the original Dr. Sin in order to stop a reality-spanning apocalyptic event known as “The Blood Rapture.” That incarnation of The Vigilant were successful in their mission, but it came at a great cost. Years later, the evil Nazi genius Von Hoffman is now searching for dangerous artifacts which will enable him to kick-start Armageddon once again.
While the new Dr. Sin and his fresh team of ragtag heroes are tested by new threats and interpersonal conflicts, Hoffman creeps closer to achieving his diabolical goal. With the complete unraveling of all reality on the line, the stakes have never been higher for The Vigilant!
“One of Europe’s most celebrated comics figures” – Comics Alliance
“a revered storyteller” – Publisher’s Weekly
The first in a major series of new collections bringing the long lost UK war comics of Italian art maestro Hugo Pratt to the public in stunning new editions will be published in February 2020.
Two brothers of differing rank have to make extraordinary sacrifices in the line of the toughest duty. This is a true story of courage under fire; a high-octane story of a blistering World War II naval battle. All illustrated by Hugo Pratt, one of the world’s most renowned comic book artists.
This thrilling war picture story marks the beginning of the Treasury of British Comics mission to return all of Pratt’s UK work to print. Published in an oversized format befitting the importance of his incredible and highly influential artwork.
Part of a new War Picture Library series showcasing the finest combat comics illustrated by legendary and iconic artists, this oversize book highlights the extraordinary the artwork of the international comics luminary and creator of Corto Maltese.
HARDCOVER ISBN: 9781781087527 UK: 20 Feb 2020 • £14.99 US: 18 Feb 2020 • $19.99
In April 2020, the Treasury of British Comics is publishing a new title that should be the last word in books on British comic book illustrators!
Masters of British Comic Art will be a painstakingly researched insight into 120 years of British comic book art, a wildly entertaining and educational tome that will journey through the history of the British comic industry – from the birth of the 20th Century to the ‘80s invasion of American comics.
A high-production hardcover compendium perfect as a coffee table book or academic encyclopaedia, author and 2000 AD artist David Roach will detail the surprising and fascinating evolution of the art form, from its humble beginnings to its current world-conquering status.
Behind a brand new cover by superstar artist Brian Bolland, and featuring artwork from a vast number of highly-acclaimed artists – all carefully scanned from original artwork – Masters of British Comic Art will be the definitive study and celebration of a beloved industry.
Featuring a Who’s Who of talent, including Bolland, Yvonne Hutton, Dave Gibbons, celebrated greats such as Don Lawrence and lost masters like Reg Bunn and Shirley Bellwood.
Masters of British Comic Art will be published in early April 2020, retailing at £34.99/$45.
Now on a quality tee – the dual face of Blake Edmonds, the man with nothing left to live for!
Edmonds had it all – fame, money, looks… and then the world-famous F1 driver suffered a terrible accident which left him hideously disfigured. Fashioning a mask to hide his terrible visage, Edmonds takes on a new career as a stuntman, flirting with death on a regular basis.
Mashing together the ‘70s F1 popularity wave with a macabre, uncanny horror and visceral action, Death Wish appeared in Speed, Tiger and Eagle, and was a huge comics hit – and this classic artwork is now available on a T-shirt from the Treasury of British Comics.
Available in both unisex and women’s cuts on Fruit of the Loom shirts.
Available colours: Black, White, Royal Blue, Classic Olive, Red, Sunflower.
The first collection of classic Roy of the Rovers comics from Rebellion is out now!
On September 11th 1954 a new weekly sports anthology comic called Tiger was launched in the UK. It’s lead strip, Roy of the Rovers – a story starring a young footballer called Roy Race who played for Melchester Rovers – quickly became a fan favourite.
This incredible collection with never-before reprinted stories charts the early days of Roy’s association with Melchester Rovers, from the highs of signing for the club he supported as a boy to the lows of having his boots stolen before a big game!
Experience the first decade of Melchester’s greatest soccer sensation in this glorious hardcover collection filled with football action on and off the pitch!
There are few more influential creators in British comics than Leo Baxendale, and few more memorable characters than Sweeny Toddler, the demon baby!
Sweeny Toddler was Leo Baxendale’s greatest creation for IPC – a two-year-old terror who manages to cause mayhem from beyond his pram and cot! The first complete collection is the absolute must have all-ages book for the summer!
This collection bring together all of Baxendale’s Sweeny Toddler strips from Shiver and Shake and Whoopee, with an introduction from Martin Baxendale. One of the most highly-regarded cartoonists in British comics, Baxendale has been responsible for creating many beloved classic strips, including Minnie the Minx and The Bash Street Kids.
The edition includes six colour pages completely re-mastered from the original work and re-instated in this luxury format. Perfect for Beano and Dandy annual collectors, classic humour strip nostalgists, fans of Calvin and Hobbes, as well as previous Treasury humour titles Creepy Creations and Faceache! It also includes six colour pages completely re-mastered from the original work and re-instated in this luxury format.
Later drawn by Tom Paterson and Keith Reynolds, amongst others, Sweeney first appeared in Shiver and Shake in March 1973, then moved to the pages of Whoopee! in October 1974, Whizzer and Chips in 1985 and finally Buster in 1990.
He’s the greatest daredevil of them all because he doesn’t care if he lives or dies – he has a Death Wish!
It’s Evel Knievel meets the Phantom of the Opera in this original Fast and the Furious from the heyday of British comics, now presented in a mass market paperback and a limited edition with webshop-exclusive art print.
Written by Barrie Tomlinson and with art by Vanyo, this classic strip from Speed has been re-mastered here in its entirety.
Blake Edmonds had it all – fame, money, looks… and then the world-famous F1 driver suffered a terrible accident which left him hideously disfigured.
Fashioning a mask to hide his terrible visage, Edmonds has taken on a new career as a stuntman, flirting with death on a regular basis. Mashing together the 70’s F1 popularity wave with a macabre, uncanny horror and visceral action, Death Wish was a hit across the nation.
One exciting feature of the new Tammy & Jinty Special, reflecting both the tradition of including sports comics in girls comics of the 70s and 80s and updating girls comics for today is the Rocky of the Rovers strip.
Yes, you read that right… ROCKY of the Rovers!
You’ve already seen young Rocky, Roy Race’s younger sister, in the pages of the new Roy of the Rovers graphic novel series from Rob Williams and Ben Willsher, but here it’s a chance for Rocky to shine on her own!
Rob Williams and Lisa Henke tell the tale of this young footballer finding her way out of her famous brother’s shadow – only in the new Tammy & Jinty Special, which is out now!
Rob, Lisa, I was so pleased to see that you managed to get Rocky of the Rovers into the Tammy & Jinty Special. Rocky, in so far as we’ve seen her in the new ROTR, is in a different place to Roy, the big superstar brother. What stage is she at?
Rob Williams: Rocky’s a little younger, but is really at a similar stage as Roy was when we first met him with the ‘Kick-Off’ graphic novel. She plays for her local amateur team in Melchester. Rocky’s got to deal with the younger sibling thing of having a big brother who’s now a fairly successful footballer, someone who’s known in the city. And Rocky is VERY competitive. Roy’s a star striker, so she wants to prove she’s better than him. Our story in the Tammy & Jinty Special is all about Rocky starting to find out that she has to play to her own strengths, and not compete with her brother (too much).
Lisa Henke: To add to that, I think the fact of Danny, the dad, being in a wheelchair now also shapes Rocky’s behaviour a lot. Her brother Roy is having all these amazing opportunities and puts his new resources to use to aid his family and I think Rocky wants to carry the family as well and never be a burden. She wants to appear strong and like she can handle things and wants people to see her excellence, so instead of communicating her fears and sorrows she turns to anger and confrontation much more readily. This story is also about her admitting to her feelings and opening up.
And what plans do you have for her in the future? Will we see her develop and find her team, turn pro, England women? That sort of thing? And on a related note, do you have her story mapped out at this early stage or is it something you’re going to be developing slowly?
RW: We’ve had conversations about Rocky’s future. The Roy of the Rovers ‘writer’s room’ is me, Tom Palmer, who writes the Roy novels, Keith Richardson, the editor, and Rob Power, the publisher. We knew from very early days that we wanted to have the womens’ game be a part of our journey. Tom’s the writer-in-residence for the England Lions team this summer in the World Cup, I believe. We’ve talked through aspects of Rocky’s journey, some of which you’ll see coming to the fore in Roy of the Rovers season 2.
How does Rocky’s story differ from a traditional ROTR tale, and how does it differ from the new ROTR that Rob and Ben are doing? I’m thinking more in terms of the storytelling, the structure of the story… is it different writing Rocky as a football tale to writing Roy as a football tale, is there that different focus when writing a girls’ football comic to writing a boys’ football comic?
RW: Not as such. It’s still a mix of on-the-field drama and the soap opera of these characters’ lives. That doesn’t change according to men or womens’ football. The only difference in terms of structure with this short Rocky tale is that it’s a five-pager, whereas the Roy graphic novels are 50 pages. But it’s all about character journeys, lessons learnt, making you care about these people. Gender doesn’t change that.
It’s great having Lisa draw this story. She’s extremely good and there’s a real energy and vitality about her pages, along with some lovely little character-defining expressions. The strip looks terrific. But also a Rocky story probably shouldn’t be an all male creative team.
Similarly, Lisa, you’ve already drawn Roy for the Tom Palmer book series and did the first new Roy comic strip that ran in Match of the Day magazine. Is there a different approach to drawing football action for a girls’ comic strip than for one aimed at, and featuring, boys?
LH: Same as what Rob said. If anything, I choose to portray Rocky as scrappy, less elegant and more aggressive compared to Roy because the direction is that she is a much more ruthless player. Roy likes to do things by the book while Rocky is more impulsive. And then she’s a midfielder which changes where a lot of the action on the pitch takes place and what exactly the action is. But again, these are choices made to suit the characters’ personalities and not gender specific.
How did you approach the design of the Rocky of the Rovers strip? I’ve talked to several people over the last year involved with sports strips and they all talk about how difficult it is to get the action on the pitch onto the comic page in a way that makes it seem natural, realistic, yet still deliver the necessary punch for the comic page. How do you approach this problem?
LH: To me balancing realism and action is not really a problem. I pick the cool moments and then I think about how I can make them even cooler. Often I get good input from the writers as well. Also, like Rob said, this story has five pages to get its point across, so you want to choose snappy and clear panels. I try to find interesting angles that a camera can’t show you (yet) in a real match. Animation, specifically action and sports anime is something I draw a lot of inspiration from as well. Sometimes it looks and feels better if you don’t stick too closely to reality.
Finally, future plans for Rocky?
RW: Big plans! She’s going to be the best footballer in the family. Rocky’s determined on that. And she’s going to play for England before Roy does. That’s what she says anyway.
“Unashamedly polemic in its approach, and touching on everything from environmental politics, to food monopolies, to state surveillance, 3WW pre-empted the obsessions of current online activists by some quarter of a century” – Ian McQuaid, Ransom Note
One of British comics’ most politically conscious series is to be collected in its entirety for the very first time!
Using brand new scans of the original artwork supplied by the family of the late Carlos Ezquerra, in 2020 the Treasury of British Comics is publishing the definitive collection of Pat Mills and Carlos Ezquerra’s highly-political comic book classic of global capitalism, rebellion and exploitation – Third World War.
Eve is unemployed after leaving university and is immediately conscripted as a soldier working for a corporation and discovers just how South American countries are being exploited to create food needed to feed the increasing population for their profit under the guise of western paternalism.
Running in Crisis from 1988-1990 and including work by Angie Kincaid and Matt “D’Israeli” Brooker, Third World War is suffused with economic, political, and social issues, and deals with ever-more-prescient issues around capitalism and global politics. Ezquerra’s painted colour artwork is a highlight of his long and distinguished career.
A truly anti-establishment graphic novel, unlike anything else published by the Treasury of British Comics so far, the collection will be available in January 2020.
Two of Britain’s best-loved girls’ comics are BACK and they’re BETTER THAN EVER!
Tammy and Jinty return with the Tammy & Jinty Special 2019 – out now from all good newsagents and comic book stores, as well as the Treasury of British Comics webshop and the 2000 AD app!
These ground-breaking female-led comics covered everything from science fiction and fantasy to romance and domestic drama, and this brand new 52-page special, retooled for the 21st Century, features a host of the finest modern creators pay tribute to this legacy of trail-blazing comics while introducing a new audience to the medium!
Creators such as Rachael Smith (Wired Up Wrong), V V Glass (Assassin’s Creed), Emma Beeby (Mata Hari), DaNi (Coffin Bound), Yishan Li (Batwoman), Rob Williams (Roy of the Rovers) and many more present daring girl-led tales of roller derby, archaeology, codebreaking, ballet, space adventure and more – including a gorgeous cover by Lisa Henke (Roy of the Rovers) and a back cover by Kit Buss, artist on Critical Role’s Vox Machina!
Cover by Lisa Henke
JUSTINE, MESSENGER OF JUSTICE: SOME “MINO” TROUBLES by Emma Beeby (w) PJ Holden (a) Dearbhla Kelly (c) Jim Campbell (l)
ROCKY OF THE ROVERS by Rob Williams (w) Lisa Henke (a) john Charles (c) Jim Campbell (l)
AFFIRMATIVE ACTION by Andy W. Clift (w+a) Mike Stock (l)
IN THE COLD DARK by Matt Gibbs (w) VV Glass (a) Mike Stock (l)
MAISIE’S MAGIC EYE by Kate Ashwin (w) Kel McDonald (a) Mike Stock (l)
SPEED DEMONS by Sarah Millman (w+a) Jim Campbell (l)
DUCKFACE by Rachael Smith (w) Yishan Li (a) Jim Campbell (l)
THE ENIGMA VARIATION by Grainne McEntee (w) Dani (a) Jim Campbell (l)
BELLA AT THE BAR by Rachel Ball (w) Vanessa Cardinali (a) Jim Campbell (l)
