D-Day Dawson
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8 March to 22 May 1975
14 August 1976 to 22 January 1977
| "D-Day Dawson" | |
|---|---|
 The cover to the 20 September 1975 edition of Battle Picture Weekly, featuring Sergeant Steve Dawson of "D-Day Dawson". | |
| Publisher | IPC Magazines |
| Publication date | 8 March 1975 – 12 November 1977 |
| Genre | |
| Title(s) | Battle Picture Weekly 8 March to 22 May 1975 14 August 1976 to 22 January 1977 |
| Main character(s) | Steve Dawson |
| Creative team | |
| Writer(s) | Gerry Finley-Day Ron Carpenter Alan Hebden Robert Ede Terry Magee Eric Hebden |
| Artist(s) | Annibale Casabianca Geoff Campion Colin Page Mike Western Bill Lacey Jim Watson |
| Editor(s) | Dave Hunt |
"D-Day Dawson" is a British comic war story published in the weekly anthology Battle Picture Weekly from 8 March 1975 to 22 January 1977 by IPC Magazines. Set during World War II, the story follows Steve Dawson, a sergeant in the British Army left with an inoperable bullet next to his heart after being shot during the D-Day landings.
Battle Picture Weekly co-creator Pat Mills worked with freelance writer Gerry Finley-Day on "D-Day Dawson" for the launch issue of the new IPC Magazines title through 1974. Finley-Day would recall the story was inspired by two principle factors - a TV series Mills remembered about a private eye living on borrowed time, and the wide coverage of the 30th anniversary of D-Day itself in the mainstream media throughout the year.[1] The initial artist was Italian Annibale Casabianca, an employee of the Giolitti art studio.[2]
Publishing history
The story debuted as the first feature in the first issue of Battle Picture Weekly, cover-dated 8 March 1975, and was told in self-contained three-page episodes. The strip used a succession of different artists - ('Badia' of the Spanish Barden agency and British veterans such as Geoff Campion, Colin Page, Mike Western, Billy Lacey and Jim Watson) and writers (Ron Carpenter, Alan Hebden, Robert Ede, Terry Magee and Eric Hebden). The initial round of stories ended in May 1976, replaced by "Hold Hill 109" and "Rattling Rommel", before returning in August for a final six-month run that concluded the story.[2] The final instalment was written by Eric Hebden and drawn by Jim Watson, and featured in the 99th issue of Battle. While the strip was still popular, editor Dave Hunt reluctantly concluded that the story's chronological nature and the approaching end of World War II in the serial meant "He had to die".[3] Both runs were later reprinted in Battle, between 18 September 1982 and 22 October 1983 and 7 January to 5 May 1984, respectively.[2]
The first episode of "D-Day Dawson" was reprinted by Egmont Publishing in a 2009 Classic Comics special edition of Battle Picture Weekly.[4] Since 2016, the rights to the story have been owned by Rebellion Developments.[5][6]