by Clyde Hall. “Good News, Chums!”
Once, those words bannered on a UK comic book cover was code for, “Sorry. This book’s cancelled. But it’s merging with another ongoing title!” Readers broke the code, realizing it also inferred, “Popular strips might make the transition, others won’t.” It was the British equivalent of the dreaded U.S. comics proclamation, “Still Only [insert once-low price]!”, which assured the cost of our favorite books was about to go up.
Rebellion Publishing continues to turn the “Good News!” code around. When they proclaim it, it’s reason to celebrate. Their latest bit of good news: They’re publishing the international best-selling French graphic novel Operation: Overlord in English for the first time. More, they’ll be doing it under the cherished banner of Battle. Once the home of such classic UK comics as Johnny Red, Rat Pack, Major Eazy, and Charley’s War, the Battle title (also at various times known as Battle Picture Weekly, Battle Action, and others) carries a legacy of quality. Its continuation promises to honor that tradition and expand upon it.
Operation: Overlord deals with events preceding and during the D-Day landings at Normandy on June 6, 1944. The four stories comprising the series take place in different areas of the invasion, from Merville to Omaha Beach, to the little French village of Sainte-Mère-Eglise. With an emphasis on historical accuracy, writer Michaël Le Galli (Seven Warriors) and artist Davide Fabbri (Star Wars, The Hellblazer) constructed heroic tales of WWII using the invasion as their backdrop. It was perfect for Rebellion’s “Battle presents…” banner (Sniper Elite: Resistance), which strives to perpetuate the spirit of those original British war comics while updating their approach for a modern readership.
Even better news, chums? Rebellion’s released this preview of “Sainte-Mère-Eglise”:
‘Operation: Overlord’ Part One will be bagged with ‘Judge Dredd Megazine’ #404, and will be available in the UK and online January 16.
From Rebellion Publishing: Rebellion Publishing is proud to present the international best-selling French graphic novel series Operation: Overlord for the first time in English – under the banner of Battle, one of the UK’s most cherished comic book properties.
Written by Michaël Le Galli and with fantastic art by Star Wars and Hellblazer artist Davide Fabbri, part one of the series set in World War Two is being published with this month’s Judge Dredd Megazine.
The series is being published under the new ‘Battle presents…’ banner, reviving the name of one of the greatest comic books in UK publishing history.
The acclaimed bandee desinee series tells four extraordinary tales of heroism set during the Normandy landings on D-Day, June 6th 1944, and is being reprinted in a series of reprint editions bagged with the Megazine. Each 48-page issue is a stand-alone story, set in separate locations such as Saint-Mere-Eglise, Merville, and of course Omaha Beach.
Part one comes with Judge Dredd Megazine #404, on sale in newsagents, comic book stores and online on 16th January.
Launched in 1975, Battle Picture Weekly was the groundbreaking war comic from IPC that published series such as Rat Pack, Major Eazy, Johnny Red, El Mestizo, Fighting Mann, and the critically-acclaimed World War One epic Charley’s War. Lauded for its no-nonsense heroes and gritty action, Battle fundamentally altered the comics landscape – readers lapped up its modern sensibilities and no-holds-barred attitude, and it led to the creation of both the ill-fated Action and global industry game-changer 2000 AD.
Rebellion graphic novel editor Oliver Pickles said: “It’s a great feeling to be able to publish Operation: Overlord under the Battle banner, much like the recent Sniper Elite series, and helps bring back the spirit of that classic British war comic title but with a modern sensibility.
“I am really looking forward to bringing Operation: Overlord to an Anglophone audience for the first time. The series has been hugely popular in France, with each book focusing on a different event of the D-Day landings, for instance there is a whole 48 page issue dedicated to the Omaha Beach assault by Easy Company. And the whole series has been drawn by Davide Fabbri, who comic readers will know from his Star Wars comics for Dark Horse, and more recently his Hellblazer run at DC Comics.”
The further volumes of Operation: Overlord will be collected with Judge Dredd Megazine numbers 405 (on sale 20th February), 406 (on sale 20th March) and 407 (on sale 17th April)
