In 1977, Johnny Red debuted in issue 100 of Battle Picture Weekly. The strip ran in the comic for ten years. Written by Tom Tully and drawn by Joe Colquhoun, Johnny Red told the story of disgraced RAF fighter pilot Johnny Redburn, falsely accused of causing his flight instructor to crash his aircraft. Johnny decides to join the Merchant Navy. On route to Murmansk, his ship is attacked. Johnny hijacks a ship launched Hurricane and takes the fight to the Germans. He eventually lands on the outskirts of a village, in fact a makeshift air base for the Falcons, a Russian fighter-bomber squadron. Johnny fights alongside the Falcons through a number of campaigns, both on the air and on the ground.