new comic

Those Nazis know how to make the local till a field.


Lessons for bad guys number 23. Don't go around saying how you wish it wasn't you. You'll only bring your comrades to a sticky end.



How could the German's expect to win after being faced with such politeness?
 

 Ahhh the early Blenheim Mk1. Sex in the skies having a smack at the Nazi war machine.




Why car D.K384?



You kill people for living. Keep it together man!You're starting to creep me out.




...a small one man fighter could penetrate the defences...



Fritz was an idiot. All the other guys in the flak unit knew it and they did their best to ignore him.



 ...badly drawn barrage balloons. That'll keep the bombers away.




Oh that instance between Agggh! and the end!





 Just like shooting Wamp rats in Beggar's Canyon.



Nazi ariel euphanasia  ridding the skies of looney Englishmen since 1939.




 Expensive clatter - much much worse than the cheap ones.



Seems like a fair exchange, eight rockets for six Tiger tanks.



Run you scared Nazis!

 That's a bit of a tight fit. Too many cream buns and and they'll take you off the flying list.




I think "nicely" is a very apt term for this picture.






Look at the front of this Blenheim it looks like it's been designed by steam punks.


Nice panel layout .


Shouldn't that be "voxing"?





Nice layout.



Com'n skip - it's a enough to make a bloke paranoid.


Ahhh...the privileges of rank in the bath hut.


Damn fine tash and damn fine cravat.


Rules for Bad Guys # 276. Never ever say our "anythings" will stop the enemy. It's a sure fire way to make sure they don't.



A man on a mission!

More Americans? Well not exactly. Even though the Americans are talked up at the beginning - there is a literary slight of hand and the story is not really about them at all despite the expectations set by the title. Tigers in Action is really about a British pilot Alan Sinclair. He is a former pilot, tagged unfit to fly due to a head wound sustained in the Battle of Britain. He jokes that the steel plate in his skull makes him "the only pilot with an armoured head". More about that later.

The Americans line up for their typical stereotypes and are depicted as being brave, brash and boastful. The British are relatively bland but suffer from having a pompous superior officer (who does make good in the end). The Chinese (after all the Flying Tigers are a Chinese unit formed with foreign pilots) manage to escape being badly stereotyped and are depicted as brave and intelligent. Finally the Japanese are shown as arrogant and boastful. However what's really interesting is that a lot of effort or consideration has gone into not drawing Japanese faces in full or at all. Is there something sinister behind this decision? Was the thinking that readers might get confused between the Chinese and their Japanese opponents. I've never had a problem in distinguishing between the Germans and their opponents - so why should there be problem with distinguishing between Chinese and Japanese. Or am I just looking at this through a filter created by years of political correctness?

Otherwise Tigers in Action is a pretty good story following the squadron getting chased around China as the Japanese continue their aggressive attacks. The bromance between Alan Sinclair (Englishman) and Mike Wade (American) comes to an abrupt end when Wade is shot down over the jungle due to a lack of concentration by Sinclair. Was Sinclair's old head wound to blame? While Sinclair undergoes medical evaluation to find out, Wade has a series of adventures with the ground troops and returns to finish off the story with his friend.  There are also a good number of elaborate plans , frantic opportunities, grim determination from both sides and lots of aircraft in the sky and at times even more falling out of the sky.

As expected there is a fine assortment of aircraft in Tigers in Action including Tomahawks, Nakajimas,  twin-engined Mitsubishi bombers, Lysanders, Zeros and Warhawks which is always a good thing to see in an Air Ace Picture Library.






Look! Lots and lots of aircraft. Good to see a Nakajima buzzing around.




Look Ma! No helmet hair! (These two have spent the whole morning flying around and have just taken off their flying helmets and their coiffures are still perfect!)




Murder!


Time to get that mocking hiss fixed. It might still be covered by warranty.




A good AAAAGH! from a Japanese pilot.





I'm fighting my over developed sense of school boy humour to leave this one alone.




The good old days!




What is it with this guys hair?
Lysanders! Always a welcome sight in any pocket war comic.
Oops! The Tigers go from heros to Zeros in no time at all.



Do I really have to take off all of my clothes for you to check my pulse? Hey! Are you really a doctor?




Bad guy lesson number 33 never diss the enemy while during a smoko break. You should know what happens next.







Nasty business. The allies don't get it all their own way in this one.

Could this be the worst Air Ace Picture Library ever written? But don’t let me just shoot down Dogfight Dixon and the Traitor Pilot in flames. Allow the story to do it for you.

The story goes something like this…

Dogfight Dixon and his chums are having a jolly good time shooting down Huns, dashing around in their Sopwith Camels and looking rather splendid in their flying leathers. Then one day a damn natty Frenchy turns up with his Spad and starts telling the lads how much better it all is in the French Air Service.

Dogfight accepts a challenge from the Frenchman to see who has the better mount. However during the challenge Dogfight discovers a flight of Gothas making their way towards London. He then runs into a spot of bother while pursuing the enemy flight. Running low on fuel and lost in the sea mist Dogfight is forced to land on an island where there is a secret German radio base. Fortunately for Dogfight the keys are left in the door of the secure petrol store and he is able to make good his escape.

On his return Dogfight and his good chum Bumps Bradshaw take off in a DH4 to bomb the secret radio station not twenty minutes flying time from their own airbase. They are ambushed by a flight of enemy aircraft led by the crack killer German ace Baron Von Schroefer. Was it a trap? But how did the Germans know? Is there a traitor in the allied camp and who could it possibly be? STOP!!!!

Aaagh!! How could 58 pages be so bad? The writing, story line, characterisation as well as most of the artwork are just plain terrible. Great to see a story with biplanes but when one of the key characteristics of the Gotha is missed (it had a gap in it’s own fuselage allowing the rear gunner to engage enemy aircraft in what is usually a blind spot for all other aircraft of the period) it is disappointing.

On the plus side it is World War One story, with Camels, Spads, Gothas, Albatrosses and a DH4. And the cover artwork is outstanding.

But the bad far outweighs the good. There’s an old chateau (within walking distance of the squadron that Dogfight hasn’t really noticed before) where the French pilot’s uncle lives, The uncle wears a smoking jacket and keeps a vicious, but obedient, guard dog. The uncle also likes to keep carrier pigeons and declare his loyalty to the Fatherland with his nephew. Oh my goodness! The Frenchman is the traitor after all! There’s more but it’s all too dashing, square jawed and floppy fringed painful to go on.

I bet you Henri sounds like John Cleese doing an impersonation of a French speaking person.