"Fight for the Falklands" | |
---|---|
Publisher | IPC Magazines |
Publication date | 18 September 1982 –19 March 1983 |
Genre | |
Title(s) | Battle 18 September 1982 to 19 March 1983 |
Creative team | |
Writer(s) | John Wagner |
Artist(s) | Jim Watson |
Editor(s) | Terry Magee |
"Fight for the Falklands" is a British comic war story published in the weekly anthology Battle from 18 September 1982 to 19 March 1983 by IPC Magazines. Written by John Wagner and drawn by Jim Watson, the strip purported to be a factual account of the then-recent Falklands War, particularly focusing on the British Task Force and Operation Corporate.
The undeclared war between the United Kingdom and Argentina in April 1982 posed a problem for the editorial staff of Battle . [1] While the British response to what was viewed as an invasion of British territory produced a boom in patriotism and interest in warfare, [2] [3] Battle editor Terry Magee, boys' adventure group editor Barrie Tomlinson and managing editor John Sanders ultimately agreed that 'cashing in' on the conflict would be in poor taste. As it was, the fighting concluded on 14 June 1982 and IPC swiftly planned coverage. To maintain decorum over a conflict which had seen 255 British deaths, it was decided to make a documentary-style strip simply recounting the events with no overt fictional elements. Battle co-creator and frequent contributor John Wagner was eager to write the strip, recalling he was "ready to go" and "was all for bashing the Argies" at the time. Stalwart Jim Watson drew the comic. [1]
"Fight for the Falklands" debuted in the 18 September 1982 edition of Battle, running for 27 weeks before ending in March 1983. [4] Tomlinson would recall that the close proximity to the fighting drew some minor criticism, but felt "we did it in a very tactful way". Wagner noted that "war correspondents get their books out as soon as they can after getting home - they never get any stick for it". Nevertheless, it would be some four years until Battle used the Falklands War as a backdrop for a fictional story with 1987's "Invasion!", [lower-alpha 1] written by Magee and again drawn by Watson. [1] Meanwhile Battle's rival war comic, DC Thomson's Warlord printed photographs from the conflict, and ran factual pages on the military hardware involved. [5]
Wagner would later have mixed feelings about "Fight for the Falklands", feeling he got caught up in the wave of post-victory patriotism and failed to question the British government's version of events, particularly the Belgrano sinking. [1] Since 2016, the rights to the story have been owned by Rebellion Developments. [6] [7]
The strip retells the events of the Falklands War from a largely British perspective, with a focus on combat.
Events depicted include Operation Rosario, the attack on the ARA Santa Fe, Operation Black Buck, the sinkings of the ARA General Belgrano and HMS Sheffield, Operation Paraquet, the Battle of San Carlos, the sinking of the Atlantic Conveyor, the Battle of Goose Green, the Bluff Cove air attacks, the Battle of Two Sisters, the Battle of Mount Tumbledown and the Argentine surrender.
Prominent figures such as Leopoldo Galtieri, Rex Hunt, Keith Mills, Margaret Thatcher, Alexander Haig, Ian McDonald, Sandy Woodward, H. Jones, Ian McKay and Jeremy Moore were all featured. [8]
ARA General Belgrano (C-4) was an Argentine Navy light cruiser in service from 1951 until 1982. Originally commissioned by the U.S. Navy as USS Phoenix, she saw action in the Pacific theatre of World War II before being sold to Argentina. The vessel was the second to have been named after the Argentine founding father Manuel Belgrano (1770–1820). The first vessel was a 7,069-ton armoured cruiser completed in 1896.
Battle Picture Weekly was a British weekly boys' war comic published by IPC Magazines from 8 March 1975 to 23 January 1988, when it merged with the new incarnation of Eagle after 644 issues. Most stories were set in World War II, with some based on other conflicts, while factual features also focused on warfare.
Doomlord is a British comic character, appearing in strips published by IPC Magazines. The character featured in British comic stories published in the weekly anthology Eagle from 27 March 1982 to 14 October 1989. The strip was initially a photo comic written by Alan Grant and John Wagner as Eagle experimented with the format. While "Doomlord" was popular with the readership, the photo stories had a more mixed reception, and from 24 September 1983 "Doomlord" turned into a conventional picture strip, with art from Eric Bradbury, and ran until October 1989. The story began with a Doomlord - a powerful alien - judging the human race's right to exist. Over the course of the strip three different Doomlords - Zyn, Vek, and Enok - acted as protagonist.
Tornado was a British weekly boys' adventure comic published by IPC Magazines from 24 March to 18 August 1979. The comic was partly created as a way to use up stories already commissioned for the other titles, and was marred by a difficult production. Tornado sold poorly and was merged with 2000 AD after 22 issues.
Tiger was a weekly British comics periodical published by Amalgamated Press, Fleetway Publications and IPC Magazines from 11 September 1954 to 30 March 1985. The title was initially launched in a large tabloid size to mimic newspapers; while it featured some action-adventure stories Tiger contained a large number of sport strips. The most famous of these was "Roy of the Rovers", which debuted in the first issue and was the comic's most popular feature, eventually transferring to its own comic in 1975. Tiger would go on to become one of the company's longest-running titles, with 1,573 issues published before being merged with Eagle in 1985. Over the course of its run, Tiger featured columns by numerous famous sports figures, including Ian Botham, Geoff Boycott, Tony Greig, Trevor Francis and Charlie Nicholas.
Ranger was a weekly British comics periodical published by Fleetway Publications from 18 September 1965 to 18 June 1966. Intended as an educational publication, the cover described it as "The National Boys' Magazine" and the content mixed comic strips with a much larger quotient of factual articles than most other Fleetway children's titles of the time. Ranger lasted 40 issues before being merged with Fleetway's fellow educational title Look and Learn in 1966.
Lion was a weekly British comics periodical published by Amalgamated Press from 23 February 1952 to 18 May 1974. A boys' adventure comic, Lion was originally designed to compete with Eagle, the popular weekly comic published by Hulton Press that had introduced Dan Dare. It debuted numerous memorable characters, including Captain Condor, Robot Archie, Paddy Payne and the Spider. Lion lasted for 1,156 issues before being merged with stablemate Valiant.
Wildcat was a fortnightly British comics periodical published by Fleetway Publications from 22 October 1988 to 25 March 1989. A science fiction adventure comic, the title only lasted for 12 editions before being merged with another Fleetway title, Eagle.
Turbo Jones is a British comic character, appearing in strips published by Fleetway Publications. The character debuted in the preview issue of the science fiction anthology Wildcat, included in titles dated 15 October 1988. The character's eponymous strip was one of the four linked ongoing serials in Wildcat, and was continued briefly in Eagle after Wildcat was cancelled. A brilliant scientist, Turbo Jones sinks his knowledge and invention into creating the colony ship Wildcat after his warnings of disaster for Earth is dismissed by the authorities. As well as being the de-facto commander of Wildcat, Jones pilots exploration shuttle Wildcat One, aided by his companion Robo.
"Death Wish" is a British comic strip published by IPC Magazines, Fleetway Publications and Rebellion Developments. It debuted in the first issue of the weekly anthology comic Speed on 23 February 1980, and was created by writer Barrie Tomlinson. Art was provided by Vanyo. The story revolved around racing driver Blake Edmonds, who was horribly disfigured in a plane crash and, donning a distinctive mask, embarked on a career of undertaking dangerous stunts in the hope of finding one that killed him - hence the strip's title. Later stories saw Blake transition to becoming a troubleshooting daredevil hero, and incorporated fantastical elements - including an appearance by Dracula. From September 1987, the strip was retitled "The Incredible Adventures of Blake Edmonds".
"Hellman of Hammer Force" is a British comic strip published by IPC Magazines in the boys' comic anthology titles Action and later Battle between 14 February 1976 and 8 July 1978. The story was set in World War II; while war comics were common material in British comics of the time, "Hellman of Hammer Force" was rare for its use of a sympathetic Wehrmacht officer as the lead protagonist. While not as controversial as fellow Action stories such as "Kids Rule O.K." and "Hookjaw" it was nevertheless caught up in the campaign against the title by the British tabloid press.
"D-Day Dawson" is a British comic war story published in the weekly anthology Battle Picture Weekly from 8 March 1975 to 22 January 1977 by IPC Magazines. Set during World War II, the story follows Steve Dawson, a sergeant in the British Army left with an inoperable bullet next to his heart after being shot during the D-Day landings.
"The Bootneck Boy" is a British comic war story published in the weekly anthology Battle Picture Weekly from 8 March 1975 to 12 November 1977 by IPC Magazines. Set during World War II, the story follows Danny Budd, a youth from the fictional Northern England town of Tynecastle as he strives to join the Royal Marines.
"Rat Pack" is a British comic war story published in the weekly anthology Battle Picture Weekly from 8 March 1975 to 8 July 1978 by IPC Magazines. Set during World War II, the story follows the eponymous unit, a penal military unit of four criminals recruited by British Army officer Major Taggart to undertake deadly missions.
Eagle, sometimes referred to as The New Eagle and known at various points in its life as Eagle and Scream!, Eagle and Tiger, Eagle and Battle, Eagle and M.A.S.K. and Eagle and Wildcat, was a British boys' adventure comic published by IPC Magazines from 27 March 1982 to January 1994. A revival of the famous Eagle, the title was initially a weekly publication until turning into a monthly in May 1991. The title was finally cancelled in January 1994, after 505 issues.
"Monster" is a British horror comic strip character, appearing in titles published by IPC Magazines. The strip debuted in the weekly anthology Scream! on 24 March 1984, before continuing in Eagle until 30 May 1985. The opening episode was written by Alan Moore, with the remainder by John Wagner and Alan Grant; art was provided by Alberto Giolitti, and later Jesus Redondo. The story concerned a young boy called Kenny's attempts to get his deformed, abused uncle Terry help.
Joe Alien is a British comic character, appearing in strips published by Fleetway Publications. The character debuted in the preview issue of the science fiction anthology Wildcat, included in titles dated 15 October 1988. The character's eponymous strip was one of the four linked ongoing serials in Wildcat, and was later briefly featured in Eagle after Wildcat was cancelled. Joe Alien is an identity taken on by the last survivor of the friendly planet Xgangbe-4, and joins the Wildcat mission to help humanity find a new home. He is placed in command of the Wildcat 2 exploration shuttle.
Kitten Magee is a British comic character, appearing in strips published by Fleetway Publications. The character debuted in the preview issue of the science fiction anthology Wildcat, included in titles dated 15 October 1988. The character's eponymous strip was one of the four linked ongoing serials in Wildcat, and was continued in Eagle after Wildcat was cancelled. A militant feminist and former leader of the World Campaign Against Male Domination, Kitten Magee joins the Wildcat mission to help humanity find a new home after donating a $20m inheritance towards the ship's construction. She is subsequently placed in charge of the exploration shuttle Wildcat 3 with her handpicked all-female team - Doc Barnes, Casandra Cardeti and Bonnie Fox - and her hated, sycophantic robot Crud.
Loner is a British comic character, appearing in strips published by Fleetway Publications. The character debuted in the preview issue of the science fiction anthology Wildcat, included in titles dated 15 October 1988. The character's eponymous strip was one of the four linked ongoing serials in Wildcat, and was continued in Eagle after Wildcat was cancelled. A former mercenary and lone wolf, the self-described Loner puts $20m of his career earnings towards the Wildcat mission in order to leave the doomed Earth. As the crew search for a new planet for colonisation he is assigned to exploration shuttle Wildcat 4. Unlike the other shuttles, which are crewed by teams, Loner's only companion on Wildcat 4 is his custom gun - which he has named 'Babe'.