The German 'Judgement Troopers' led by the ruthless Colonel Zeiss stage a counter-attack, penetrating deep into the British lines and nearly wiping out Charley's platoon but their success is halted by the German high command's refusal to give Zeiss reinforcements. Volume 3 of the most celebrated war comic of all time, re-mastered and collected in a full size edition. Why also can a government not do something and own it as a decision- but instead slaps a State Secrets act on it?

Despite his misgivings over Blue's desertion, Charley cannot help but feel a kinship with him due to their common resentment of the military hierarchy and Charley's realisation that, with less fortunate circumstances, he could have easily ended up the same way. Though later parts of the story covered the Russian Civil War (and, in episodes written by Scott Goodall, the early part of the Second World War), Pat Mills has stated that Charley's story should end at the end of the First World War, [ citation needed] and this has been reflected in the collections published by Titan Comics. Things are looking up for Charley after he meets the love of his life, but the happy occasion of their wedding is destroyed by the roar of destructive Zeppelin Bombers from Berlin!

In 2015, hosting problems with the site meant I had to make the decision to import its postings and features to downthetubes to ensure its survival. This is commonplace in comics as in any media: a successful story begets other stories in the same genre. So the aim of this Secret History is not just to reveal the back stories behind the making of Charley , by Joe and myself, but also to suggest where I might have added to the existing narratives, where appropriate, to broaden our understanding of the conflict.

In addition to depicting Charley's own experiences of the war, the comic took the risk of going off on several tangents, temporarily shifting the focus to characters in different locations and time periods.The villainous Lieutenant Snell (a man so heartless he’s willing to use Charley as a bullet shield) is perhaps the exemplar of this trope. But it doesn’t really matter which side of the political fence you are on when it comes to Charley’s War. Because today it’s the only example of mainstream popular culture – outside of film and television – that challenges the establishment view of World War One.