Secret History: Charley's War Successors Part 3

Ragtime Soldier in Great War Dundee magazine, my WIP WW1 thriller novel and the 50th Anniversary of Battle Comic.

Welcome to my Secret History of Comics: my new book serialised on Substack. The first section was on Marshal Law: now it’s all about Charley’s War.

If you’re joining me for the first time, you can read the intro to the Secret History here, it’s available for everyone, and so is the intro to Charley’s War.

Every subsequent post has a free preview, but if you want access to my entire rant post, you’ll need to subscribe. Full access to ALL of my Secret History of Comics as I release them every week (plus other perks, check them out), will set you back just £5 per month or £50 per year, and it helps me to continue giving you my best writing. I even have a free seven-day trial on Iconoblast, so you can try it first.

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Last week was Part 2 of Charley’s War Successors where I talked about Brothers in Arms and Dead Mans Dump.

7. RAGTIME SOLDIER This was the lead story in Great War Dundee magazine (2019). Art: Gary Walsh and Phillip Vaughan. Story: Pat Mills. 11 pages plus commentary. Cover by late Ian Kennedy. The magazine is free and you can download it here. The story features ragtime music, the Battle of Loos, the Legion of Frontiersmen and the first appearance of my all-time favourite real-life villain Major Pollard, and Churchill’s election defeat at the hands of a pacifist! It’s an excellent successor to Charley’s War. Although there can only be one Joe, Gary’s art has great detail and passion.

Dundee was where I began my writing career working for D.C. Thomson, so I’ve always felt a closeness to the city and jumped at the chance when Dundee University asked me to write a story about the Battle of Loos and the 1922 election. My dialogue was refined by Dundonians – including Ian Kennedy – so it is 100% authentic!

Here’s a summary of the story about Robbie the Ragtime soldier, who is a Scottish counterpart to Charley Bourne.

DUNDEE 1922

Night. Raining heavily. Near Dundee docks. THE LEGION OF FRONTIERSMEN, led by MAJOR POLLARD, are waiting outside a pub for ROBBIE to emerge.  

We learn that the Legion are sworn to protect the British Empire no matter what the cost.