Review by Frank Plowright

Rebellion’s guardianship of so much British comics history keeps resulting in surprising collections of work fans never anticipated ever being reprinted, or perhaps a classic strip they never knew about in the first place. Among them are works produced by European greats early in their careers when they supplied art for British weeklies via art agencies. Representing that genre is Trelawny of the Guards, drawn by Spanish master Victor de la Fuente in 1966.

Sadly, research has failed to identify the writer, but Steve Holland’s introduction notes them as maintaining realistic approach to war stories at a time when British war comics promoted jingoistic triumphalism via larger than life characters. Even by today’s standards a sophistication is apparent. Sergeant Will Trelawny is rigid when it comes to procedure, but he’s observant, cares for his men and doesn’t expect them to carry out missions if he can’t accompany them. Saving lives and loyalty to his own platoon leads to some surprisingly harsh decisions, yet the writer’s not above showing Trelawny as occasionally fallible, and his underlining of no man being an island hits home.

A typical story will have Trelawny’s on the ground battle experience more valuable than official orders, yet managing to get his way via creative means without ever overtly showing up his superiors. The plots indicate a writer drawing on their own military experience and the soldiers they served with for better or worse, or perhaps it’s plain good writing, although one has to allow for dialogue that now transmits as very dated, but which is true to the times.

However, as good as the writing is, it’s not the reason Trelawny of the Guards is seeing the light of day again after sixty years. De la Fuente’s art is magnificent. The scripts he was provided with are relatively dense, calling for multiple items in a single panel, yet de la Fuente goes above and beyond the call of duty with detailed uniforms that look as if they’re being worn and men with distinctive features, many carrying weapons. Even more astoundingly they’re within impeccably composed panels that never seem individually crowded, although entire pages can seem too busy at first glance. Whether standing still or on the move, soldiers have personality, and de la Fuente’s diligence extends to tanks, guns and locations, both intact or ruined. The sheer amount of work impresses, but it’s accompanied by impeccable technique.

The quality is sustained from beginning to end, each four page episode a compact masterclass on how to produce an engaging war comic.