Battling On

Ian Wheeler reflects on 50 years of Battle Picture Weekly, Britain's seminal war comic

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Fifty years ago, an exciting new comic was launched on to newsstands - Battle Picture Weekly, published by IPC Magazines. War stories had been a staple part of boys' comics for decades. IPC's rival DC Thomson had enjoyed success with The Victor (published since 1961) and the then recently launched Warlord, which thrilled readers with their tales of bravery. Both had a particular focus on World War Two, which was then still only a generation or two detached from the children of 1975. Battle was to continue this tradition but would arguably bring a tougher, harder edge to the subject matter.

Battle was devised by Pat Mills and John Wagner, two names which would go on to become legendary in the annals of British comics, their notable later credits including 2000AD. Mills and Wagner sought to emphasise the realities of war and were keen to include characters that were more working class than those often featured in other comics. David Hunt was brought in as editor, accompanied by subeditor Steve MacManus, technical adviser Eric Hebden and art director Doug Church.

With Mills and Wagner's new ideas and Hunt's experience, a dream team was in place. Not that it was always plain sailing. As Hunt recalled in the Judge Dredd Megazine in 2020: "John and Pat's approach... was that it should be hard-hitting and as realistic as possible for the age group. It was a very delicate balancing act, and I was always aware we might go over the top... We got quite a lot of flak from parents sometimes..."