Sadly, no new Victor annual since 2017. But you may still find the three Victor reprint annuals available to buy. See details below.

From the Amazon.co.uk website, "The Tough of the Track was The Victor's most popular hero, having instilled the competitive spirit into millions of British lads for over 50 years. A welder who worked under railway arches, Alf Tupper survived on a diet of fish and chips. He was always the underdog, running against posh toffs who devised underhand ways of keeping him off the winner's rostrum. Although Alf often looked beaten, he nearly always came through in the final few strides, exclaiming "I've run him!" as he breasted the winning tape in a photo-finish. Published in the year the Olympic Games returns to Britain, this nostalgic anthology will not only be the perfect gift for the millions of men whose love of sport was kindled in their youth by Alf Tupper, but will also enthrall and inspire a new generation of boys to go and win against all the odds."

The Tupper stories featured are those from the early Victor annuals.

Blooming ada, only £12.99, what a bargin! Order your copy today.

Commando war booklets

Do you enjoy a good war story in pictures? Then why not try a Commando war booklet? Now in its 54th year, Commando is a 64 page, black and white picture comic, slightly smaller than A5 in size. Eight issues are published each month (of which four issues are reprints). Four issues are on sale every fortnight and can be found at all major W.H. Smith stores. (But not at all Smith railway station stores for some reason). Each issue tells a war story usually from the First or Second World Wars, although adventures from other centuries and wars are also told. Below are two cracking Commando booklet covers. Cover artwork on the left by Ian Kennedy and on the right by Keith Page. Please click on the below image to be taken to the Commando website.

The flags below represent the nationalities of those who worked on The Victor and The Hornet whether they were editorial staff, writers or artists. The comics may have been British as regards the stories that were published and in design and style, but the European and South American artists also gave them an international flavour.

The Help for Heroes website is a U.K. charity devoted to raising money for wounded British Armed Forces personnel. If you would like to help please visit their website shop where you can buy a mug, items of clothing and other items, make a donation or help to raise money. The website also has details of how the money raised by the charity is used or will be used in assisting those personnel wounded in action. (I can recommend their very handsome bone china mugs and other items. The charity also has many other good quality and smart items for sale).

As this site grows viewers will be able to read a brief history of both comics, working biographies and interviews of some of the artists, writers and editorial staff. James Halley editor of The Victor, an editorial assistant for The Hornet, Bill Graham and artist Keith Shone have been interviewed so far. Please click on the radio microphone link button in the left hand column.

I have begun compiling a Victor index and a Hornet index (click on the appropriate 'index button' to the left), which will eventually list all of the stories, characters, artists and so on that have appeared in the weekly comic, annuals and summer specials. The index will be compiled in an A to Z arrangement of characters, writers, artists and story subject headings. For example, World War Two stories.

If anyone wants to know when a certain strip started or when a particular character appeared in the The Victor or The Hornet and it is not listed in either index, please contact me (via the e-mail address below) and I will do my best to help.

For those wishing to learn more about various strips, reviews will be provided. This will serve as an introduction for those who have never encountered the characters before and for those who wish to re-acquaint themselves with the various strips. One complete episode from the pages of The Victor or The Hornet is also provided with each review for your enjoyment. To access these reviews please click on the links running down the left hand side of this page.

Conservation of comics is something that affects all comic collectors. A small section devoted to this subject will explain why comics become brittle and tips on how to conserve your precious comics.

Finally, your help is required. Much information about British comics in general has been lost or not saved for future generations. In this part of the website you will find examples of artists work which I have not so far been able to identify. Artists who's work has been identified can also be found here, along with any other information about them. Any information about the writers of the various strips is also required. If anyone can help please contact me via my e-mail address. Please enjoy your time browsing this website.

What is meant by the term comic book?

The Encyclopedia of Ephemera edited by Maurice Richards says, 'The term 'comic' refers normally to a printed publication in which a narrative is presented as a connected sequence of pictures, usually drawings. In modern times secondary characteristics are the succession of sequences in instalments, featuring the same basic 'cast'. The term is used loosely to refer to the individual strip-series appearing as a regular feature in a publication to the magazine or newspaper supplement devoted largely to such strips and to the comic book.'

Comics and Sequential Art

Will Eisner (pronounced Isner, the 'E' is silent), is regarded as one of the great masters of comic book art and one of the earliest comic book creators. Eisner started working as a cartoonist in the 1930's. His most famous cartoon strip is the The Spirit, which was syndicated in newspapers world-wide for a dozen years. His theories of comics and sequential art were incorporated in his scripting and drawing of The Spirit strip. Many of his ideas were formed whilst working under great pressure in the production of a seven page weekly comic!

Eisner then worked in producing a monthly technical manual using the comics medium for the United States Army for over two decades. In 1978 Eisner wrote and drew the pioneering graphic novel A Contract with God and since then several other graphic novels. Eisner died in 2005.

Will Eisner's Comics and Sequential Art definies the term as, 'When one examines a comic book feature as a whole, the deployment of its unique elements takes on the characteristic of a language. Comics communicate in a 'language' that relies on a visual experience common to both creator and audience. The format of the comic book presents a montage of both word and image, and the reader is thus required to exercise both visual and verbal interpretive skills.

In its most economical state, comics employ a series of repetitive images and recognizable symbols. When these are used again and again to convey similar ideas, they become a language - a literary form, if you will. And it is this disciplined application that creates the 'grammar' of Sequential Art.'

Source - EISNER, Will Comics and Sequential Art.- Florida: America, Poorhouse Press, 1985.- ill b+w.- 158p.- Pbk ISBN 0-9614728-0-2.-

© Adrian Banfield, 2024.