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''Action'' was a controversial British Comic Book published by IPC Magazines from (issues dates) 14 February 1976 - 12 November 1977 , when it merged with '' Battle Picture Weekly ''. It should not be confused with '' Action Comics '', the American Comic Book which introduced Superman . HISTORY The title was created by Pat Mills in response to the changing social and political times of the 1970s, and as competition to DC Thompson 's '' Warlord '' title. ''Warlord'' was a new type of British boys adventure comic, focusing on the Second World War and having tougher heroes than what had been seen previously. The title was a huge success and IPC first of all launched '' Battle Picture Weekly '' (created by Mills and John Wagner ), but the title was based in the Second World War and the idea was for ''Action'' to be more Contemporary and 'realistic'. The idea from John Sanders at IPC (that the comic should initially be called ''Action, 76'' and change with each passing year to reflect just how "modern" it was) was dropped, and on the 7th February 1976 the first issue (dated 14th Feb 76) was released. The comic was instantly popular and the gritty tone and graphic gore and violence was hugely popular and unfamiliar with anyone used to British comics such as '' Dan Dare ''. Many of the stories in ''Action'' were what Mills called "dead cribs", basically rip-offs of something popular at the time. However, rather than being a straight copy, the "cribs" in ''Action'' would have their own slant on the idea. Mills would also add politics, and in ''Hook Jaw'' he added environmental issues. It was virtually unheard of for British boys' comics to feature anything like this, which gave ''Action'' its edge, as well as making it popular. Within weeks though, the media had picked up on the titles gore and violence, first of all the '' Evening Standard '' and '' The Sun '' ran major articles of the comic, ''The Sun'' calling the comic "the sevenpenny nightmare". Over the next few months the comic was the centre of a campaign to not only censor it, but ban it outright. The campaign involved Mary Whitehouse and her National Viewers And Listeners Association and IPC started to self-censor strips in the comic rather than have newsagent chains like W.H. Smith boycott the comic. Then in September of 1976 Sanders was being interviewed on '' Nationwide '', and tried to defend the comic from a vigorous attack by interviewer Frank Bough . After this ''Action's'' days were numbered. Pressure within IPC and alledged worries that the two major newsagent chains, W.H. Smith and John Menzies , would refuse to stock not just ''Action'', but all of IPC's line, led to the October 23rd issue being pulped. The title returned on November 27th (cover date 4th December) but the violence was toned down, and the previous sense of Anarchism was replaced by a safer, blander feel. Stories like ''Hook Jaw'' were no longer drenched in blood and gore, but instead were full of safer and more reliable heroes, and traditional villians. Sales dropped drastically and the last issue before merging with ''Battle'' was published on 5th November 1977 - dated November 11th. Legacy ''Action'' was hugely influential in proving to IPC that there was a new market for a different type of boys comic, plus it proved boys adventure comics could have different genres of stories rather than focusing on one genre. Mills learned how to deal with the launch of a varied, edgy comic when planning the launch of '' 2000 AD '' the following year. The ''Action'' controversy did lead to some strips in ''2000AD'' being toned down and censored but ''2000AD'' managed to survive early attempts to compare the two comics. It's unlikely that ''2000AD'' would have ever turned out as it did were it not for the experience gained from ''Action''. Some strips with an ''Action'' feel were printed in early issues of ''2000AD'', ''Flesh'' (a story of time travellers from the future returning to the age of dinosaurs and killing them for meat. Things obviously go wrong and the humans end up being eaten) and ''Shako'' (basically the same concept as ''Hook Jaw'' but this time starring a Polar Bear instead of a shark) being two examples which show a clear ''Action'' influence. ''Action - The Story of a Violent Comic'' In 1990 Titan Books released ''Action - The Story of a Violent Comic'' written by Martin Barker . This was a history of the comic, as well as a study of the effects of the ban. In this book Barker revealed that 30 copies of the October 23rd issue were saved and the book prints many of the strips from that issue, plus following issues thanks to Barker coming into possession of unpublished art. He's wrong about this. A full print run took place, but was pulped before distribution. Only the in-house previes copies survived. The book reveals just how much ''Action'' was being censored at an editorial level, and the route the title was heading in before it was cancelled. MAJOR STORIES .]]
Hook Jaw appeared in three stories before the ban. The first was set on an Oil Rig , the second was set on an island resort in the Caribbean , and the third was set just off the south coast of England . ''Hook Jaw'' returned after the ban, but no longer ate as many people and if he did it was off panel. The strip also lost the environmental themes Mills had placed in it.
The violence on display in the strip mirrored the real-life football violence taking place at the time, most notably during a game between Aston Villa and Rangers . After the ban, the strip became a conventional '' Roy Of The Rovers ''–type strip and removed any hint of controversy. The strip was written by Tom Tully , with art from Barrie Mitchell and Tony Harding. SEE ALSO
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