In 1990, readers of Action were given a treat that they'd waited fourteen years to receive. Martin Barker brought out the book behind the comic that bit the dust. Action - The Story of a Violent Comic was a fascinating and insightful account of the creation, birth, life and death of a much missed and wrongly maligned publication. The book included interviews with the key players in the Action story, details of the comic, the outrage, the ban and all that followed, but most importantly for those of us who were readers, it contained the strips. Not just a few bits and pieces, but full length stories that had not been seen for years. The icing on the cake was that we were given a glimpse of what was stolen from us when Action was neutered. The book presented, for the first time, the (mostly) unedited conclusion to Kids Rule O.K., six uncut episodes of Hook Jaw that were never printed, three more of Look Out For Lefty and revealingly, only two unpublished episodes of Death Game 1999, the rest of the unpublished material having disappeared from the IPC archive. Professor Barker offered us a chance to compare what would have been, in the shape of the 'lost' 23rd October issue and the proofs for the issues that would follow, and what came to be, in the weak and watered-down December 4th incarnation. The 'cut-and-paste' jobs that were done to provide nice, tidy conclusions to the more violent stories are presented next to the original material, and the comparisons are disturbing.

Action - The Story of a Violent Comic was published by Titan Books but is sadly no longer in print. It is the inspiration for this site, and a great source of reference. If you can find it, buy it. Copies have been seen on e-Bay recently for as much as £60, but it's worth every penny. Thanks to the author, sections of the book are reproduced here.