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Joe's cover art was a real joy to behold. The best year for colour
covers was 1981, Battle ran a Johnny Red cover and a CW cover alternatively for about a year (the two being both the most
popular stories at the time) The above collage are mainly this year. It was a true special thursday when JC did the artwork
on the cover.
Colour centre pages is another often overlooked part of Joes work. The above double page is from 1980 during
the search for 'Blue' by the Military Policeman known as the dragman.
Another from 1980, notice the use of the reds on the second page and the unusual blue tones of the backgrounds
to some frames and the yellow wash of one or two. It seems that in those days the artists had a very limited palette of colours
that they could use. If anyone know the ins- and outs of colouring in those days would you please email and tell me please?
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| First ever colour centre page work on CW |
This is the first ever double colour strip JC ever did for charley's war. There had been an odd one-piece
colour page in 1980 during the judgement troopers saga. It appeared in the same issue that Joe had done the cover so it was
still two colour pages he submitted that issue, however this was never repeated. The spread above is the Charley shellshock
scene and is truely wonderous in both the script and the trippy imagantive scenes Joe draws. (note the liquid bed in the first
frame) Sometimes there were three colour pages (twice during the Blue story for instance) taking the strip to five pages,
but generally if Joe did the cover there would be two and a half inside the comic rather than the usual three.
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| cover detail circa 1983 |
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| Cover detail circa 1982 |
Two details from colour cover from 82 and 83. I can still remember seeing the one on the right on my
newsagents shelves. His covers were nothing short of stunning and this is one of his best. Its from the dream sequence at
the battle of Ypres point of the strip. Charley has a mortal fear of being caught on the wire as so many of his mates had
been on the first of july a year earlier. Needless to say he gets caught for real when he goes over the top, what happens?
you will just have to buy the reprints to find out wont you?
Classic centre pages 'The March' from 1981. Soldiers of the Great War were united in their memories of the
endless marches across France. The pace of these journeys was leg-breaking with a five minute rest every hour in which the
men dare not remove their aching boots as they knew they would never get them on again : ''The marches, oh the pain! everyone
had awful boots, there was always somewhere they would rub you, you had blisters on top of blisters, agony. Ive seen grown
men cry with bad blisters. Some men died on those marches, the heat in the summer was harsh , of course with all that kit
on plus a rifle and helmet, we used to shoulder the rifle of the ones who were passing out a lot of the time, so we had even
more. The heat would kill you, either that or his heart would give in. The Officers rode on horseback but we had a great company
officer who fell with us, I can see him now with four rifles on his shoulders and his arm round the waist of a straggler helping
him along. They was evil those marches'' -Private Henry Roberts
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