Get Ready For Action With ‘Battle Action’ — New 5-Issue Series From Garth Ennis, John Wagner And More

by Richard Bruton

The first issue of the new five-issue Battle Action series features Garth Ennis and Keith Burns on Johnny Red and John Wagner and Dan Cornwell on HMS Nightshade.

(Regular and 2000 AD web shop exclusive covers from Keith Burns)

Released on 31st May – that’s this Wednesday – the new Battle Action five-issue series follows last year’s hardback special that saw Garth Ennis writing strips featuring classic characters from the history of two of UK comics most beloved titles.

This time round, across five issues we see 10 classic characters and strips return with two titles per issue, one each issue written by Ennis. So expect to see these classics return from the legendary British comics Battle Picture Weekly and Action – Johnny Red, Crazy Keller, D-Day Dawson, Dredger, Major Eazy, and Hellman of Hammer Force from the likes of John Wagner, Dan Abnett, Torunn Grønbekk, Rob Williams, John Higgins, and Chris Burnham.

(Standard cover for issue 1 by Keith Burns)

The first issue features the return of World War Two flying ace Johnny Red by Ennis and Burns, as well as the return of Battle Picture Weekly’s co-creator 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. Wagner’s joined on HMS Nightshade by Dan Cornwell on art.

Covers for the first issue come from Keith Burns and John Higgins, with Burns contributing covers to the standard edition plus a special exclusive edition, available only from the 2000 AD and Treasury webshops, featuring a rather stunning wrap-around cover of HMS Nightshade in action. The final cover by Higgins is a Diamond retailer exclusive cover and only available in comic shops.

(Keith Burns’ HMS Nightshade 2000AD/Treasury webshop exclusive cover)

Created in 1975 by writers and editors Wagner and Pat Mills, Battle Picture Weekly paved the way for a new breed of comics, its grittiness and realism paving the way for Mills’ creation of the controversial Action and, of course, 2000 AD.

This new Battle Action mini-series celebrates both titles, with a stellar list of comic makers returning to the characters that made the 70s such an exciting time in British comics.

Battle Action #1 is out on Wednesday 31st May