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Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Worlds of Adventure by Gino D'Antonio

GINO D'ANTONIO IN FULL COLOUR

"Superb production and a treasured addition to the groaning bookshelf!"—Dave Gibbons

Worlds of Adventure gathers together four never previously reprinted, full-colour strips illustrated by Gino D'Antonio.

In the late 1960s, while he was writing the epic Storia del West in his native Italy, D'Antonio was collaborating with Mike Butterworth to adapt some of literature's most famous adventure stories: 'The Wanderings of Ulysses', 'Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea', 'Quo Vadis' and 'A Tale of Two Cities'. These tales span history from Greek myth and the gladiatorial circus's of Rome to the French Revolution and an innovatory French tale describing the adventures of Nemo, a 19th century Ulysses wandering the oceans in the wake of the Industrial Revolution.

D'Antonio was a popular artist in England, although his name was known only to the editorial staff and agents through whom he worked. He had been drawing for British comics for over a decade, his first illustrations appearing in 1955 followed by his first strips in 1956. D'Antonio worked for some of Britain's finest comics, including Eagle, Express Weekly and Boys' World, although he will always be remembered for his war comics, drawn for War, Battle, War at Sea and Front Line in 1958-68. Thanks to their constant recycling, they influenced a hugely diverse range of artist, including Dave Gibbons, Mick McMahon and Rufus Dayglo.
"The only artist whose work I copied and traced on a regular basis when I was growing up was the Italian master Gino D’Antonio"—Mike McMahon.

Monday, September 2, 2013

Boys' World: Ticket to Adventure!

Boys' World is one of the most fondly remembered of all British comics from the 1960s. An Eagle for the new decade, it featured across its centre pages the mighty 'Wrath of the Gods', an epic tale of deities and demons beautifully drawn by Ron Embleton. Readers thrilled to the adventure of 'The Sea Ape', puzzled over the question 'What Is Exhibit X?' and roared at the sporting antics of 'Billy Binns and his Wonderful Specs'.

Giants of science fiction Mike Moorcock and Harry Harrison were both contributors, Harrison writing one of the text story serials as well as adapting his novel Deathworld as 'The Angry Planet'. Harrison also penned the original Brett Million story 'The Ghost World', one of the finest science fiction strips to appear in British comics and complimented by some outstanding artwork by Frank Bellamy. Moorcock's contributions were more esoteric, ranging from numerous episodes of the feature 'Do You Know Your Name?' to essays on lost cities, submarines and volcanoes. Harrison and Moorcock were also among the many writers who contributed short stories to Boys' World, a list that also includes Barrington J. Bayley, Sydney J. Bounds, Wildred McNeilly, Rex Dolphin, Donne Avenell, Jim Edgar and Tom Tully.

The paper's roster of artists included many of the finest illustrators of the early Sixties, including John M. Burns, Frank Langford, Colin Andrew, Brian Lewis, Frank Humphris, Gerry Embleton, Harry Bishop, James McConnell, Don Lawrence, Roy Cross, Luis Bermejo and Gino D'Antonio.

Boys' World: Ticket to Adventure relates how the paper came into existence at a turbulent time for comics, how its original editor was replaced before the first issue even reached the newsstands and how it eventually folded into the paper it was meant to replace.

Compiled by Steve Holland, the book also includes extensive indexes to the paper's contents as well as those of the Boys' World Annuals; the book also includes title and creators' indexes, outlines of every comic strip storyline the paper ran and a unique look at the payments made for three key issues.

Thursday, April 4, 2013

Ranger The National Boys' Magazine


Ranger The National Boys' Magazine is the latest in Bear Alley's series of titles covering the history and contents of some of Britain's most fondly remembered comics. Ranger may not have lasted as long as Lion – our previous title – but it was home to some memorable stories and features, including one of comics' finest creations, 'The Rise and Fall of the Trigan Empire'.

'Trigan Empire' wasn't the only story in Ranger to feature artwork by Don Lawrence. The book's creators' index includes an astonishing array of famous names, including Frank Hampson, Ron Embleton, John Millar Watt, Mike Hubbard, Jesus Blasco, Colin Merrett, Graham Coton, Francis Marshall, Henry Seabright, Will Nickless and Theo Page. With stories by talents as diverse as Captain W. E. Johns and John Creasey, Ranger was able to offer boys' some of the best reading material on offer, including Richard Armstrong's Carnegie Medal-winning novel Sea Change; its photos, cutaway drawings and heavily illustrated features covered everything from duels in the sky to exploding islands, from James Bond's DB6 to the Mariner Mars expedition.

Compiled by Steve Holland and David Slinn, Ranger: The National Boys' Magazine explores the history and background of the magazine, its contents and its lasting legacy. The book also includes an extensive index to the paper's contents, as well as title and creators' indexes.

To give readers a flavour of the contents, the book also includes the full run of the 'Famous Fighting Aces' feature by Colin Merrett as well as two complete comic strips, 'The Adventures of Macbeth' by Ruggero Giovannini and 'Moby Dick' by Franco Caprioli.

Bear Alley Books has previously published King Solomon's Mines and Treasure Island from the pages of Ranger. Now find out the full story behind this classic of British comics.

Thursday, March 7, 2013

King Solomon's Mines

On the opposite side of the chamber were some wooden boxes. "There are the diamonds," I cried. Sir Henry held the light over the top box, which had been rendered rotten by time. Smashing my hand through the wood, I drew it out full, not of diamonds, but of gold pieces.
Welcome to H. Rider Haggard's classic novel adapted in full colour by Mike Hubbard, originally serialised in the pages of Ranger and reprinted for the first time! This was a daring attempt to publish the novel in its original language, using Haggard's own words, although abridged, making it one of the most faithful of all adaptations.

Treasure Island

We had not built a fire the first night we had stayed there, and it seemed strange that there should be one burning tonight. It was at this moment that a shrill voice broke forth out of the darkness. "Pieces of eight! Pieces of eight!" and so forth, without pause. Silver's parrot, Captain Flint! I turned to flee, and ran straight into the arms of Long John Silver!
Here for the first time since it was serialised in the pages of Ranger is one of the finest adaptations of the classic Treasure Island, beautifully painted by John Millar Watt and retold in Robert Louis Stevenson's original language – making it one of the most faithful adaptations and well as one of the most visually stunning.

Treasure Island & King Solomon's Mines

You can order both Treasure Island and King Solomon's Mines together and save on postage & packing.

Thursday, January 3, 2013

Lion King of Picture Story Papers

Lion King of Picture Story Papers

Bear Alley Books proudly presents the second index in our new series charting the history of British comics. Lion King of Picture Story Papers is a massive, 262-page volume covering the story of one of the most popular titles released in the post-Second World War "silver age" of British comics. Launched in 1952, Lion was Amalgamated Press's answer to Eagle, featuring its own space hero, Captain Condor on its cover.

This was one of the company's first adventure story comics and its twenty-two-year history is the story of British adventure strips in the 1950s and 1960s. Over the years Lion starred some of the most popular characters in British comics, including Robot Archie, Paddy Payne, Karl the Viking, Zip Nolan, The Spider, The Spellbinder, Black Max and Adam Eterno. 290 authors and artists are identified in the index which also covers the Lion Annual, Lion Holiday Special and Lion and Valiant Special Extra.

Heavily illustrated throughout, Lion King of Picture Story Papers includes a lengthy historical introduction, an index to the weekly comic covering comics, text stories and features, contents listings for all 35 Lion Annuals and spin-off annuals, all 17 Lion Holiday Specials and Lion and Valiant Special Extras and includes a title index and creator's index.

Author Steve Holland began writing about British comics over thirty years ago, writing or co-writing a series of indexes between 1990-97. These are now being re-released by Bear Alley Books, thoroughly revised and expanded with a vast amount of new information discovered in the past two decades, alongside a number of previously unpublished indexes. The War Libraries and The Thriller Libraries are already available from Book Palace Books; Hurricane & Champion was published in 2011 by Bear Alley Books.