It's not all Pat Mills worship, though, as the main focus of The Ultimate Book of British Comics is on IPC Magazines' and DC Thomson's output. Polystyle Publications and other companies also get a look-in, as does...well, Look-In. A lot of the cornerstones of British comics, from Tank Girl and Judge Dredd to Dennis the Menace and Bananaman, are at least touched. The Ultimate Book of British Comics is fun for reading about middling titles like the aforementioned RPG/2000 AD spinoff 2000 AD's Diceman and Marvel UK's non-reprint output like It's Wicked! Alan Grant, John Wagner, Dave Gibbons (a/k/a Tornado's "editor" Big E), Mark Millar and Neil Gaiman came from the British comics industry, and North Americans unfamiliar with the origins of such comics names would do well to read this book. There's a rich font of information within The Ultimate Book of British Comics. There are a few contradictions and typos that are normal for the first edition of a book, but Graham Kibble-White's overview is by and large well-researched. The Ultimate Book of British Comics is not impartial, ohhh no, but Kibble-White knows how to keep his readers interested.
If there's a sad note to The Ultimate Book of British Comics, it's that there's little of a British comic book industry these days. Most comics either died or merged with other publications, as is the style in Britain. Of the ninety-eight comic books listed in this book, only 2000 AD, The Beano, Commando, The Dandy and Judge Dredd Megazine continue to exist. Doctor Who Weekly became Doctor Who Magazine, more a monthly paean to the world's most famous Time Lord as opposed to being an actual comic. Some comics didn't even manage a year in print, while some shouldn't have. IPC Magazines' successor Fleetway (itself now an Egmont UK company) sold 2000 AD and rights to its spinoffs to computer games concern Rebellion A/S in 1999.
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