Secret History: Charley's War - The Death of Ginger

The sudden death of a major character like Ginger would usually be signposted by extended scenes dwelling on him before his demise.

Welcome to my Secret History of Comics: my new book serialised on Substack. The first section was on Marshal Law, and 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 benefits, 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.

Before we get into it, I’ve actually got a small selection of signed copies of the Titan edition of Charley’s War for sale over on my Gumroad store. They’re not mint condition as they’ve been on my shelves and in boxes for a few years, so the covers have the odd scuff or scratch, but the interior pages are in good nick.

The Death of Ginger

Of all the scenes in Charley, this is the one most readers will remember. Not only it is emotionally powerful, but it’s a masterpiece of sequential art. I believe I sent Joe a reference for Charley’s shell-shocked face.

Joe Colquhoun’s mastery never ceases to impress

The sudden death of a major character like Ginger would usually be signposted by extended scenes dwelling on him before his demise. Which would give the readers a chance to brace themselves, sensing what is to come. I wanted to challenge this cliché, because as we all know, death can be very unexpected, especially in wartime. 

It’s followed by the tanks, which Joe captures perfectly as the archaic but terrifying metal monsters they were. The curator of the tank museum in Dorset had grown up reading Charley and told me it was a significant influence on his career. He invited me to give a talk at the museum, where I was delighted to meet Jane Colquhoun, Joe’s daughter, as his family lived nearby.

I’m never really sure how I feel about war museums.