Publication History
Launched in September, 1958, the Amalgamated Press/Fleetway title War Picture Library was one of the earliest (arguably the earliest) "pocket library" titles, and in particular one of the first to feature stories set during World War II. Comprising 64-pages, the tales were, according to Steve Holland "page turner of the first order, a shilling shocker that grabbed attention" of a – primarily – young audience. Written and illustrated, at least in early years, "by creators who had lived through the war themselves, many on the front line," War Picture Library was able to show clearly to its target audience "what fathers and uncles had been through in combat." War Picture Library brought the Second World War to life "n all its grim glory," according to writer and editor Steve Holland.
The stories were not limited to tales of combat, some set in "the bomb-torn streets of London during the blitz," although the bulk of the stories released several times a month for over two thousand issues were set in all fields of combat. Crucially, reflecting the cultural shifts in popular fiction, the war stories did not always feature "a heroic journey," nor yet were all characters automatically "gung-ho" stereotypes: " diversity of characters," human emotion and even some considerable sympathy for 'the enemy' was not out-of-place in some tales.
| “ | . . . cowards and glory seekers could be found in some episodes; spies and traitors rubbed shoulders with our staunchly loyal heroes in others. Neither were all of the stories purely about killing the enemy; some of them were dedicated to saving lives even in the midst of the carnage of war. | ” |
Running until late 1984, "War Picture Library was a monthly window into a six-year global storm that affected every family in Britain." The first-hand knowledge of many of its creators also enabled the stories to ring true, and disclose – in sometimes simplified, and always fictionalised terms – the truth behind the stories told in history books.
| “ | " helped the two generations of children that grew up following VE Day make sense of the catastrophic consequences of war and the sacrifices that were made." | ” |
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