Sunday, 22 February 2026
Saturday, 21 February 2026
Friday, 20 February 2026
WHO is publishing British Super Hero Comics (NOT Marvel reprints)?
I had to correct someone. Black Tower Comics and books does NOT just publish super hero genre. We do supernatural, sci fi, slice of life and much much more.
We also publish non comic books -on wildlife, mysteries, etc. If you check Black Tower Comic Shop News you'll find that out (link in the blog roll).
The other question was who else in the UK is publishing super hero comics if you ignore Panini Marvel reprints? To be honest I have no idea. If you check out the obscure British Super Heroes post you'll see that most have vanished -Lee Mondo, A.O. Potter, Chris Morgan's CM Comics et al have all gone.
I would have loved to see a trade of the old Super Adventure Stories feature Red Dragon or one of the other series that featured in that title. I did offer to publish any collection a few years back but was told there was no interest from the creators which is a pity as a lot of people loved Johnny Kurzman's Red Dragon.
Black Tower started over 40 years ago so has been consistent and is not going anywhere soon. If anyone knows of someone publishing a British super hero strip or comic ask them to get in touch -I do review others work!
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Thursday, 19 February 2026
First 10 Super Heroes in Comic Books -and a few notes from Hooper (because)
I find it all very amusing that so many videos by Americans only include American created characters., I should not be that surprised since most Americans buying comics tend to get shocked when they discover that there are actually non American comics and comic strip characters all over the world. They are fed this ill educated tripe and accept it as fact -if I cared I would argue that Superman was NOT the first American super hero. 30 Minutes research would help you discover that...if you read books or just go to actual serious comic research web sites.
British Penny Bloods of the 19th century featured characters that would be classed as super heroes from The Skeleton Horseman, the Pirate Prince and so on and so forth. We even have the pre Dracula "King of the Vampires" -Varney. German pulps had Captain Mors, Sun-Koh and others.
"Comic books" as such were late comers. British boys adventure papers featured a whole legion of super villains and heroes as detailed over at the British Golden Age Comics and UK Golden Age Heroes and Comics blogs -links on the right.
Remember that Hugo Hercules is widely perceived as the first superman and Doc Savage "Man of Bronze" was a 1930s character who owned a "Fortress of Solitude" long before Superman. There is even the suggestion that Philip Wylie's pulp Gladiator was an inspiration (as he was for Roy Thomas' Iron Munro in the 1980s.
British comics never used the term "super hero" until the 1960s for its characters who were all "masked adventurers" or even costumed crime fighters. Some used gadgets or disguises and even used glider wings -looking exactly like those you can find being used in real life today! Not all of those with "special abilities/powers" wore costumes.
As this is my blog I'd like to promote my Obscure British Super Heroes post
https://hoopercomicart.blogspot.com/2023/07/the-obscure-british-super-heroes-mega.html
You will find other lost or forgotten characters mentioned in Comic Bits -issues 1-3 available and jolly good reads I am told!
Cool French Comics will also give you the history of many French pulp and comic book characters that were around before American comics https://www.coolfrenchcomics.com/
Just never take You Tube as being "gospel" on anything no matter how loud or funny you might find them. Then again -I am an old dinosaur heading for extinction!
Designing The Clock Final Cover
I had Ben Dilworth's superb comic work and unfortunately, thanks to the process used by my printer, the cover that was sent could not be used. I was left with the option of not publishing, just adding the occasional strip to an existing anthology (The Clock did appear on the front cover of the final issue (vol. 2 no. 10) of Adventure which featured a Dilworth illo colourised by my brother, Mike.
(c)2025 BTCF
I hate doing covers! But I suck it up and get to work. Apparently, I am told, the various book covers stand out and are "unique" in not just having fight scenes on them. So I tried one idea. Threw it out. Brilliant idea next and....threw it out. Another idea seemed to be perfect. Can you guess what happened? Yup, threw it out!
There I sat looking at a rough outline sketch (by "outline" I actually mean pencilled outline) and I thought keeping that clean white background would be nice. At that point my black and white artist brain kicked in and I left The Clock as a silhouette against a white background..with some bullet holes (we all knew it was heading that way).
(c)2025 BTCG
Completed I went away and made some coffee (NOT instant. NEVER instant!!!) came back to the image and threw it to one side. It wouldn't work. I tried another design. Nope. How about that silhouette in a darkened alleyway with trash cans over turned and bullets whizzing (giggle) by.
No.
I looked at that illo and again and said something rude and it became the final cover!
Still don't think it did justice to the interior art but if you have a book you need a cover -right?
all art (c)2025 Ben R. Dilworth (except the cover I did!)
Tick-Tock It's The Clock!
Ben R. Dilworth
32pp
A4
black and white
£7.22
Feature Comics #21, 1936. the Clock, eventually revealed to be society man and former district attorney Brian O'Brien, wore a three-piece suit, a fedora, and a black full-face mask. The first masked hero of comics dealt with crime using guile and gun and usually left a calling card that bore an image of a clock and the words "The Clock Has Struck." Ben Dilworth steps in to fill in the gaps and what MADE the Clock -plus a revelation: What happened to O'Brien's look-alike and crime busting companion Pug? Prepare for violence, harsh language and to ask the question:can there ever really be justice from the barrel of a gun?
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I Really Should Not Have To Write This Again
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I really should not have to write this again but...
Books ordered from the online store are printed and use the mail system in the region they were ordered in.
You order in France books are printed and posted in France.
You order in the USA then books are printed and posted in the USA.
You order in Australia the books are printed and posted there.
There is no international shipping costs or import tax.
That is why I use an online store -you can see the cost of books in your own currency whether Francs, Yen, Dollars or Euro. No hidden costs.
Wednesday, 18 February 2026
Major Victory
A4
44pp
Black and white
£6.48
He is Britain's latest super hero...or is he?
What part do the gods have to play in the life of Woking's hero?
Why the symbolic "V" and Welsh dragon motif?
Who IS Major Victory and why is the President of the United States visiting Woking and WHO is plotting his assassination?
Is it safe to live in Woking?
Easy solution: buy the book and find out! Big Bad Ben Dilworth is back (admittedly he was only captured by tiny super heroes and whisked away to a mysterious tower in his head but....he's cheap!)Tuesday, 17 February 2026
Saturday, 14 February 2026
Comic Bits 3 -A Treasure Trove of Lost, Found and Forgotten!
A4
Colour/BW
80pp
£10.00 UK
Comic Bits is the only journal dealing with the Platinum, Golden, Dark and Silver Ages of British comics and the creators involved.
This edition looks at the number of British "Bat men" -characters lost to time. The Bat by William McCail stars in his only ever appearance
We take a look at Tom Browne and Oliver Veal recognised as creators of what became the "British style" for over 100 years.
Prolific creator Terry Bave and his wife Sheila give us a glimpse of working in Silver age weekly comics.
Then there three rarities: the first is the origin of T.N.T. Tom a true star of Swan comics. Secondly we have the other star of Swan in Dene Vernon -Ghost Investigator. His very first pouting from 1940.
Third...well, a massive shock was the discovery of a super heroine not mentioned in any sources and this one off appearance drawn by E. H. Banger (we look at his career in this issue as well) -after 60 years Wanda the Wonder Girl is revealed!
Comic strips from some of the greats of British comics add extra zing to this issue.
Why miss out!
Thursday, 12 February 2026
Wednesday, 11 February 2026
Black Tower Super Heroes: Werewolves
86pp
A4
Black and white
£10.00 UK
The Prof, investigator of the paranormal, encounters two werewolves in Castle Park...and Devilina who has a "sort of" message for him. Kotar, Sabuta, Lady Silana, Tarot and others deal with new werewolf activity and Dr Lycaon is granted access to the labs at the HQ of the explorer/adventurer group The Questors. Lycaon believes he is close to a serum that will cure the curse of lycanthropy but someone or something is trying to stop him. Meanwhile in space Freelancer delivers justice to the Central Galactic Council after its betrayal (see The Green Skies) and on Earth the equally treacherous Council of Light meets its fate. Will Lycaon succeed with his cure or does the increased werewolf activity even in the halls of one of the UKs most secret buildings indicate that the cure is too late?
Stats ....meh
From 1st February to 11th (today) CBO has had 41, 407 views. Yesterday over 11,001 views and so far today 2000. Still not worth sponsoring or...whatever.
meh
Tuesday, 10 February 2026
Monday, 9 February 2026
Sunday, 8 February 2026
Xendragon: The Legacy of Frankenstein
A4
19pp
£5.19
https://www.lulu.com/en/en/shop/terry-hooper-scharf/xendragon-the-legacy-of-frankenstein/paperback/product-14m92rvv.html
Paranormal investigator Xendragon answers a priest's call for help and travels to Europe.
The priest is missing. A wereman. A Frankenstein monster. A mad scientist.
What more needs to be written?
He's GoBo! GoBo Explains Einstein
A4
B&w
23pp
£6.19
https://www.lulu.com/en/en/shop/terry-hooper-scharf/gobo/paperback/product-1qzkjeqk.html
GoBo -He's Pink! He's Pan-dimensional. As he'd/it would say: "Go toho jo ko li lo yo to-po!" The Small Press best seller of 2009 is resized and reprinted along with a whole new Go Bo as he explains Einstein's Universe in Sub-Dogonian! Be part of the Go Bo craze!
The Purple Hood: Land of Hope and Glory
A4
B&W
74pp
£6.82
https://www.lulu.com/shop/terry-hooper-scharf/the-purple-hood-land-of-hope-and-glory/paperback/product-21159964.html
There has always been a Purple Hood. “The Kings Man” and then the international agent used by HM Government to deal with external and internal threats.
Mad men with nuclear bombs.
Organised drug cartels.
Power hungry dictators.
The Britton family have always been Purple Hoods. The Purple Hood is precise and clinical in his work. But above all else those wearing the Hood have had guidance from their consciences. So when the military stand idly by, unable to act when civilians are massacred –when politicians only draw up policy and blow warm air….. ...does the Purple Hood –does John Britton– sit back on his hands idly awaiting a change in policy?
Or does John Britton pull on the Hood and say: “Enough! The line is drawn and crossed!”
Time for the bad men to run.
Time to hide. Or time to die!
Ben Dilworth writes and draws this mini epic.
The Collected Merriwether: God's Demon-Thumper
A4
B&W
85pp
£6.91
https://www.lulu.com/en/en/shop/terry-hooper-scharf/merriwether-gods-demon-thumper/paperback/product-1rejer94.html
The complete Merriwether series, originally published in Black Tower Adventure and A Little Midnight Horror–but with three strips never before published…
including the Reverend’s battle with the ultimate Evil!
From The Horror Of Hob Street to The Village Of Demons and Varney the Vampyre to The Fallen Angel himself, see how one Church of England vicar deals hard-fisted [and various spiked objects] justice to the ungodly ...and pays the ultimate price!!!
If you were into Charlton Horror Comics or any horror comic then this one is for you!
At the end of Merriwether:Gods Demon-Thumper, the Reverend had been confronted by Satan and as a consequence lay fatally injured. Star of 1980s comics, Benjamin R. Dilworth, takes us through the fleeting seconds before death as Merriwether has flash backs showing just why he took on the career he did. Be prepared for horror and a little tongue-in-cheek humour.
COMIC HORROR FANS WILL LOVE THIS!
Merriwether: God's Demon-Thumper
A4
B&W
58pp
Price: £8.16 (excl. VAT)Prints in 3-5 business days
http://www.lulu.com/shop/terry-hooper-scharf/merriwethergods-demon-thumper/paperback/product-12101586.html
The complete Merriwether series,originally published in Black Tower Adventure and A Little Midnight Horror–but with three strips never before published:including the Reverend’s battle with the ultimate Evil!
From The Horror Of Hob Street to The Village Of Demons and Varney the Vampyre to The Fallen Angel himself,see how one Church of England vicar deals hard-fisted [and various spiked objects] justice to the ungodly...and the ultimate price!!!
If you were into Charlton Horror Comics or any horror comic then this one is for you!
Cover by the sensational Paul Ashley Brown!
The Job Interview
A4
B&W
10pp
£5.17
https://www.lulu.com/en/us/shop/terry-hooper-scharf/the-job-interview/paperback/product-1qz79wvm.html
In a world with ever increasing population and food resources being stretched to the limit unemployment is a major problem. A drastic solution is needed.
Ben Dilworth delivers a warning and is back on great frorm with his latest one-off!
Saturday, 7 February 2026
Friday, 6 February 2026
TheThinker No. 1
A4
B&W
28pp
£6.50
https://www.lulu.com/en/en/shop/terry-hooper/the-thinker-no-1/paperback/product-vmd62d.html
From within the Plain of Absoluteness where Actuality crosses with Counter Actuality and interstitial space is the highway comes The Thinker. Surveying the world -our own?- and looking for a glimmer of light in the eternal darkness of existence.
Sit back and prepare for some mind warping!
Major Victory #1
A4
44pp
Black and white
£6.48
He is Britain's latest super hero...or is he?
What part do the gods have to play in the life of Woking's hero?
Why the symbolic "V" and Welsh dragon motif?
Who IS Major Victory and why is the President of the United States visiting Woking and WHO is plotting his assassination?
Is it safe to live in Woking?
Easy solution: buy the book and find out! Big Bad Ben Dilworth is back (admittedly he was only captured by tiny super heroes and whisked away to a mysterious tower in his head but....he's cheap!)Thursday, 5 February 2026
A Comment on a Miserable Day
I have just finished having a conversation with someone who used to work in comics up until 2015. Nothing unusual there but the turn the conversation took was a little unexpected. He mentioned how all the news on the scandals involving certain UK creators had suddenly vanished and thought that was weird.
He also mentioned a certain former UK comic editor/writer who thought he was a bit of a ladies man. "Did you hear how he chatted up and propositioned *********** wife at the comic event?" I told him that the artist -sadly gone now- had told me the story himself. He then asked if I knew about another artist whose wife was propositioned by the same person? I did, vaguely, but it seems that was acceptable back in the late 1990s/early 2000s.
It turned out that the person I was chatting to was one of those who reported two comic creators trying to get into a young woman's hotel room in Bristol during a comic event (both were typically drunk). I told him that was well known but covered up by other creators -what I did not know was that the young woman was not even 18 years old.
The online comics media tends to brush over these things or keep quiet about them but I am hoping that one day soon people are going to come forward and report what they know or things that happened. Names that could be mentioned would make the Neil Gaiman scandal look like a picnic in Brighton.
Black Tower Comic Fun Album 1
32pp
Black and white and colour
£12.00 UK -outside the UK the online store will show you cost in your region
It's FUN! FUN! FUN! All the
way (except for the action). Black Tower Comic Fun reprints some of the strips that are now going on for three decades old. Starring Dr Sterno: Man of Science as he attempts to stop a seemingly out of control cyborg from rampaging into Finland...and is betrayed! Dru gives advice on getting a job. The Thinker offers his thoughts on things in general. The Legendary Wrecking Crew pop up. The Iron Warrior gets to work with his huge chopper. Garza shows why he is the jungle boss. And...Garbage World in which intergalactic demolition decides the Earth is a waste tip of sorts. Just one big bundle of fun in black and white and colour!
Streamline and Moon Man #1
Dennis Holmes Wilberton & Friends
80pp
A4
black and white
£8.00
Streamline the Golden Age British speedster and Moon Man get the Black Tower treatment in this one off comic with a difference. These are new stories and art and not Golden/Silver Ages reprints
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