Action/Victor/Warlord?

[Charles Buckingham]

I was too young to read Action but caught up with it later both online and with the annuals. It had a very violent reputation which was richly deserved off the comic but the annuals toned things down considerably. Dredger was my favourite, a ruthless secret agent in the Bodie and Doyle mode. Hookjaw was by far the most popular strip cashing in on the Jaws craze and it scared the life out of me, the sheer gleeful sadism of it was appalling.
Warlord was ok but very much an old fashioned war comic. I remember I couldn't stand its' title James Bond like character Peter Flint whose use of terms like 'Old Fruit' annoyed the hell out of me. The annuals were excellent however and I loved Harrier Squadron (ASBLOC vs WESFED) and its' naval equivalent hydrofoil story 'Bligh of the Fasture'.
Victor was also old fashioned but had a wider range of stories, including sports tales such as 'Tough of the Track'. I think my favourite aspect was their true life war storys on the cover telling how people won their medals, they actually frame and display them in some army messes.

[catflap]

Re: Action/Victor/Warlord?

Love the Tough of the Track.

[Hooper68]

Re: Action/Victor/Warlord?

I loved Hookjaw it was the first strip I would turn to,it was quite a gruesome story and I seem to remember one of the main characters having his head bitten off.

[Charles Buckingham]

Re: Action/Victor/Warlord?

Love the Tough of the Track.

yeah, I wasn't too fond of the sports storys overall but Alf Tupper was great, sporting AND working class hero

[Charles Buckingham]

Re: Action/Victor/Warlord?

I loved Hookjaw it was the first strip I would turn to,it was quite a gruesome story and I seem to remember one of the main characters having his head bitten off.

Hell yeah and worse, if you had a speaking part in the strip you were almost certain to eaten. Also rather racist with a Carribean islander referred to as 'Darkie'

[branny]

Re: Action/Victor/Warlord?

I remember the medals of gallantry chart that came free with warlord. In ever really stuck with these type of comics once the freebies stopped. I was more into DC and Marvel.

[Charles Buckingham]

Re: Action/Victor/Warlord?

I remember the medals of gallantry chart that came free with warlord. In ever really stuck with these type of comics once the freebies stopped. I was more into DC and Marvel.

Yeah, they had some good give aways, Battle Action Force even gave away some free Action Force figures so you could get one that might cost you £1.80 in the toy shop for 35p

[staffslad]

Re: Action/Victor/Warlord?

I picked up The Victor irregularly. It was competing against DC and Marvel imports so I don't remember too much about it.

Warlord, I started collecting from the first issue. That Medals chart was great. I think my favourite strip was Union Jack Jackson, the tale of a Royal Marine serving with the US Marines. I didn't mind the Peter Flint strip too much, but UJJ was definitely the strip I read first each issue.

Action, I started collecting from the issue when Death Game 1999 began. I liked Dredger as it was always fast-paced and pretty violent. HookJaw was, of course, inspired by Jaws, and probably the strip most associate with the comic. Again, it was rather gory, with heads, legs and arms being regularly bitten off by the shark. Anyone remember that in some issues there was a double-page colour spread that could be made into a poster over a number of issues showing sharks attacking people? Death Game 1999 I liked a lot, particularly when the strip concentrated on the game itself--basically Rollerball on ice. Remember Al Rico, who got catapaulted against the glass stadium wall and came back as a deranged zombie? The Running Man was okay, but not a favourite. I did like Crazy Luigi and his axe, which he used to chop off hands and the like. Hellman was probably inspired by the books of Sven Hassel and Leo Kessler--not really a favourite, especially when he was up against our lads in North Africa. Hell's Highway, again, was okay, but not really a strip I read with much enthusiasm, except for a story where their truck was filled with homicidal zombies and it is opened by a biker gang with predictable gore resulting. Look out for Lefty was one story which caused trouble for Action, I believe. It's depiction of terrace hooliganism while the teams played was frowned upon--even Lefty's girlfriend, Ange, wasn't averse to a bit of terrace trouble. And, of course, Kids Rule OK. I loved this strip. It was extremely violent with shotgun blasts to the face, heads being smashed, chains being used and so on. I think this was another strip that created problems. After the comic was toned down it lost everything that had made it popular in the first place, and it became just another comic with little to distinguish it from its rivals. I read it for a few issues but stopped once I realised it had lost its rawness and power.

[marc]

Re: Action/Victor/Warlord?

I had Warlord on a fairly regular basis 1977/8. I also joined the Warlord club. I remember Killer Kane. He was a Spitfire pilot. In regular conflict with an enemy pilot in a BF109. Does anybody remember another action comic called Fireball?

[sixtyten]

Re: Action/Victor/Warlord?

The comic was called Bullet, Fireball was the mascot and main strip
I was a regular reader and joined the Fireball club (and the Warlord club)

[staffslad]

Re: Action/Victor/Warlord?

Wasn't Fireball something to do with Lord Peter Flint? His son, nephew or something?

[marc]

Re: Action/Victor/Warlord?

The comic was called Bullet, Fireball was the mascot and main strip
I was a regular reader and joined the Fireball club (and the Warlord club)

You've refreshed my memory!!!!! a friend of mine used to have both comics.