Blimey! It's another blog about comics!

Kid Cops return to The Dandy

2012-01-29T16:58:00.010Z

This week's issue of The Dandy sees Kid Cops return for a third series. The title and concept was created by the Dandy editorial for the 2010 relaunch and I developed it further, designing the characters and writing and drawing the strip.

Kid Cops are Sgt.Nick and Officer Bobby who bring their own brand of law and justice to the streets of Dandytown, usually to thwart crazy extremes of Health and Safety.

Kid Cops replaces Postman Prat which has just ended its second series. The Dandy is on sale Wednesdays, 36 full colour pages for £1.99.

Difficulty finding it in your area? Subscribe to The Dandy here:
http://www.dcthomsonshop.co.uk/Group-Dandy.aspx

Update 1/2/2012: I notice a certain critic (the usual one) has been indulging in at least three posts of lengthy Dandy-bashing over on his blog the past few days. That is his right of course, and no one could or should deny him his opinions, repetitive as they are. (Although to say that today's artists attained their position through luck or bad editorship is either sour grapes or ignorance.) I do however wish he'd realize that his views are clouded by his nostalgia of an era long gone. And by nostalgia I don't just mean a preference for the particular issues of comics one once read, but for a rose-tinted ideal of the past, including comics from before one's time.

It's only natural that one would prefer the comics of one's childhood, but consider the fate of Classics from the Comics. 64 packed pages of some of the best strips DC Thomson ever published from the 1950s to 1980s in a cheap, affordable format, but sadly it couldn't sustain enough of a modern audience to make it viable any more.

When you're middle-aged there's a reason why the modern world may not be appealing as that of bygone days. It's simply the generation gap. Time moves on, and the style of comics changes as it always has. My Grandad thought Whizzer and Chips of 1969 "wasn't as good" as Illustrated Chips that he read in 1900. Back in the 1980s I remember thinking that some comics of the Eighties were not as good as those of the past. But I wasn't viewing them through a child's eyes. I know better now. These days I meet 30-somethings who grew up on those comics and they think they were wonderful. Likewise, today's young readers will no doubt think the same in 20 or 30 year's time.

The critic can quite comfortably predict that The Dandy will eventually fail of course. Every British comic launched in the 20th Century has folded, with a handful of exceptions. It's like predicting someone will eventually die. Nothing lasts forever, so whenever The Dandy, Beano, 2000AD, etc finally fade away the critic can crow "I told you so. They should have listened to me! Yes, me! Over here! Notice me dammit!", whilst ignoring the fact that all the comics of his past that he holds up as templates for success have long since perished, despite many of them being undeniably brilliant.

The Dandy and other such comics are, as they've always been, aimed at children. If adults get some fun out of them too then that's a bonus. But those few adults who resent modern comics for not being like they used to be? They really need to move on and just enjoy the comics they do like.

Smart Advice

2012-01-29T14:00:00.001Z

Brilliant cartoonist and writer Jamie Smart has unleashed some wise words from out of his brain over on his blog. If you want to do comics, it's worthwhile reading what Jamie has to say about what you can expect when your work is published (or even self-published). Here's an extract: "If you want to draw comics well, you need an intelligence behind you, a certain level of awareness. When you’re at school, learning irrelevant minutiae does seem pointless, but when you leave you realise it was all to raise your general smarts."

Having experienced some nasty online abuse himself, Jamie has some words to say about "fans" who do little but bitch about things they don't like: "most will just move on and find something else they enjoy instead. The rest, the tiny proportional slither left, the very few who’ve seen your work, and dislike it, and don’t want to move on, THEY will comment on it, because they seem to believe their opinion is very important. And they, are stupid. Because art, by its very nature, is subjective.It would be impossible to create art everyone enjoys, and why would you want to?"

All interesting stuff, with some commonsense advice for people starting out in comics. To read it all, visit http://www.fumboo.com/blog/everythingexciting/

Review: Strip Magazine No.3

2012-01-28T22:00:00.001Z

Only three issues in and already Strip Magazine feels like an old friend one looks forward to re-acquainting with every month. There's a few surprises this time too, with the debut of two new stories. First off, the European serial The Devil's Heritage kicks off with a 10 page first chapter. Set in 1938 this intriguing thriller is written by Jerome Felix and nicely illustrated by Paul Gastine. I'm already hooked and eager to know what happens next.

The other new strip is Bogey-Man Bob, also from an international source, taking up the back cover. This should appeal to old fans of Frankie Stein (and to new readers) and features attractive cartoon work by Gerard Leever.

Sadly, Recovery Inc. isn't in this issue, and further chapters have been postponed until later in the year. I suspect its absence may annoy some readers but The Devil's Heritage is an excellent replacement.

There's another six pages of Warpaint by Phil Hester and John McCrea, with the story developing well. It manages to strike a good balance between being a fast paced action strip and something deeper, which isn't always an easy feat to pull off.

Black Ops Extreme this issue is a self-contained flashback episode written by John Freeman as ever and drawn by guest artist Nick Dyer. In tone, this is probably the closest strip in the comic to IPC's Action, albeit with a modern approach. Well, if we discount the Hook Jaw reprint of course. Speaking of which, the body count continues to rise as the great white shark claims more victims.

Age of Heroes continues, by James Hudnall and John Ridgway, with the luxury of 11 pages. I only recently became aware that this originally appeared in an Image Comic series in the 1990s but I'm sure that, like for me, it'll be new for many readers. Indeed, it's still fresh and worthwhile even if one has read it before as John Ridgway is colouring his artwork for Strip Magazine. (I understand it was in black and white in the original printing.) This issue also includes an interview with John where he mentions continuing the series beyond its original chapters.

The aforementioned Nick Dyer also illustrates another strip in this issue in the form of Black Dragon, written by Richmond Clements. The character will return at a later date in an ongoing series.

Another couple of features include an interview with writer and artist Jason Cobley and an article on IPC's fondly remembered Starlord comic.

At present, unless you subscribe, Strip Magazine is still only available to buy from comic specialist shops. Issue 3 should be available now, although I know of at least one Forbidden Planet that still hasn't had their copies from the distributor. Hopefully that will be rectified this Wednesday if not before.

I know that some people think that the comic should have been available in newsagents from the outset but sadly in this day and age that isn't practical for new publications without the sort of budgets that big companies can afford. Print Media Productions are doing this right; starting small and building up. While some people do little but complain about the state of comics, John Freeman and the contributors of Strip Magazine are out there doing something about it. I know who gets my respect.

Strip Magazine continues to develop nicely and is a great bargain at 68 pages for just £2.99. (Most US comics cost that just for 20 pages of story.) It's well worth your support.

http://stripcomicmagazineuk.blogspot.com/

Butt-Face is back!

2012-01-27T12:00:00.002Z

What revenge will the cheeky villain known as Butt-Face take when the local council reject his plans for a Bum Museum? Find out in the latest issue of Toxic as Team Toxic once again get to the bottom of things.

Also in this issue, Luke's Spooks and Captain Gross by Russ Carvell, Quiff & Rooney by Bill Greenhead, Busted Bieber by Ant Williams, a Gross History feature drawn by me, and lots of other items.

There are also three free gifts bagged in with the magazine, including an invisible ink pen. Toxic No.198. On sale now from newsagents, supermarkets, airports etc. 40 full colour pages for £2.75. http://www.toxicmag.co.uk/

Review: Great British Fantasy Comic Book Heroes

2012-01-21T14:30:00.005Z

I recently reviewed the new book The Pictorial Guide to British 1950s Sci-Fi & Horror Comic Books which is an informative showcase of hundreds of covers from that era but if you want to know what the actual stories were like Great British Fantasy Comic Book Heroes is an excellent companion volume.

Published by Ugly Duckling Press Great British Fantasy Comic Book Heroes is a hefty tome; a large format hardback containing 464 black and white pages of originated British hero strips from UK independent comics of the 1940s and 1950s. The compilation has been assembled by Phil Clarke and Mike Higgs (Mike also drew the cover) and is a wonderful compendium of characters long forgotten. For those of you who have wished for a collection of old British strips, this is ideal.

The book kicks off with a 10 page introduction detailing the circumstances which gave birth to these comics. It tells of how paper rationing during and after World War 2 imposed restrictions on established publishers but newcomers were exempt from the paper quota restrictions and were able to turn out titles on any paper available to them. By 1945 the government had also restricted the publication of new comics but the small publishers got around this by slightly changing the titles of their comics so they appeared like new titles to eager readers. Thirsty for American comics that were no longer being imported into the UK due to the war, kids lapped up the British reprints and home-grown superheroes. The article then moves on to focus on individual characters, adding more background to the strips selected and, where known, naming the creators involved.

Considering that many of these comics suffered from cheap printing, Mike Higgs has done a splendid job on restoration for this book. The fact that the strips appear considerably larger than their original published size is also very welcome. There's certainly a lot packed into the book as those old strips usually only ran to a few pages. The tone of the stories is certainly cheesy but that's all part of their charm. Collectors will be particularly interested in the early work of people such as Joe Colquhoun, Denis Gifford, Ron Turner and Denis McLoughlin.

Some of the British superheroes were clearly knock-offs of American characters. Marvelman (who is represented by a couple of strips in the book) is the well known one but there were others even more blatant such as Mr.Apollo whose costume was virtually identical to the one worn by Captain Marvel. However that only adds to the curiosity value of the strips in my opinion. It's good to see humour strips represented too, such as the distinctive work of Harry Banger on Stoogie the Super-Man...

One artist who I think was a great loss to the industry when he quit comics was Bob Monkhouse. One can't blame Bob for one moment for following his fortunes elsewhere but his artwork is definitely worth a look. This book collects one of his complete Tornado strips from Oh Boy! Comics, notorious for its phallic alien designs. How Bob got away with that remains a mystery to this day...

Many of the stories are lightweight in nature, with the heroes thwarting crooks or fighting alien menaces, so it came as a surprise to see one strip dealing with social issues. In Mick Anglo's Captain Miracle story Way Down South, the heroes battle the Ku Klux Klan in a tale opposing racism. Unfortunately the way the heroes go about it is a bit embarrassing today (they black up to lure out the racists) but its heart is in the right place.

Now for the price of the book. At £75 it's not cheap, however you have to bear in mind that this is a very limited collectors edition. Only 100 copies have been produced, making this a very scarce item indeed. (Considering that the Marvel Masterworks, with higher print runs, cost around £40 for around 280 pages the price of this book doesn't sound so bad.) You also get a free gift, - a randomly selected genuine 1950s independent comic. (I got Merry Maker No.3.)

You're unlikely to find this book in any bookshops due to its rarity but you can buy it directly from Blasé Books at £75 post free (UK only).

Send a cheque for £75 sterling payable to Blasé Books at:

BLASÉ BOOKS,
Hazelwood,
Birchfield Road,
Redditch
B97 6PU
United Kingdom

Alternatively you can order it via PayPal. £75 to blasebooks@aol.com

Please note: The post free price is only for UK customers. If you live outside the UK please e-mail Blasé Books at the aforementioned address for postage costs to your country.

Commando comics now on sale...

2012-01-21T14:14:00.000Z

Here are the details for the latest four Commando comics that are in the shops now, priced £1.50 each. Thanks again to editor Calum Laird for providing the info...

Commando No 4463: The Improbable Mission

Second-Lieutenant Clement Cleveley of the Army Educational corps was a real boffin. A research student before the war, his mathematical speciality was probability theory…which didn’t really fit with anything in service life.
As it turned out, that wasn’t quite the case which was how, instead of peacefully working at a classroom blackboard, Clement ended up charging around the desert dodging bullets with a bunch of crack SAS men.

Script: Alan Hebden
Art: Manuel Benet
Cover: Manuel Benet

Commando 4464: Night And Fog

In Occupied Europe during the Second World War, dawn raids and midnight arrests became regular occurrences. They were feared by all the occupied peoples but soon they began to lose their ability to invoke terror.
That’s when an evil Nazi scientist decided that it wasn’t enough just to arrest people. He wanted to make them disappear into the…

Night and Fog

Script: Alan Hebden
Art: Morahin
Cover: Janek Matysiak (Not Ian Kennedy as it says in the credits grenade!)

Commando 4465: Terror Zone

It started as a routine training patrol to test five top Aussie recruits — until their radio packed in and their NCO was killed in an accident.
Then the dense New Guinea jungle became a terror zone as a bullet flew from out of the shadows. Someone — or something — was trying to kill them…but there wasn’t supposed to be an enemy for thousands of miles!

Introduction by Calum Laird, Commando Editor

Commando fans have always held Carlos Pino’s artwork in high regard, and rightly so. Here he brings the clammy jungle and a band of dishevelled Japanese to life in a few strokes of the pen and brush.
He’s giving form to a story by another long-serving Commando regular, Mike Knowles, whose plots have entertained for long enough to earn him a long-service medal and a well-deserved retirement.
Phil Gascoine did a limited number of Commando covers, but every one was a little gem — even when he had to show an all but invisible figure in the background.

Terror Zone, originally Commando No 2673 (June 1993)

Script: Mike Knowles
Art: Carlos Pino
Cover: Phil Gascoine

Commando 4466: The Lion’s Den

…that’s where safe-cracker turned secret agent Danny Gregg was headed, to wrest secrets from deep within a Nazi lair.
And he had to succeed. For Danny the reward would be a pardon from his criminal past. For Britain it could mean the difference between victory and defeat!

Introduction by Calum Laird, Commando Editor

At the heart of every Commando story is just that, the story. And here Bernard Gregg, who wrote almost 100 Commando tales between 1972 and 1999, weaves a cracking plot. He takes the “safecracker given the chance to go straight” idea and gives it a fresh twist…or two.
He’s ably complemented by artist Janek Matysiak whose detailed artwork and envelope-pushing layouts really bring things to life. Nearly 20 years later, Janek’s still working for Commando doing covers, but this black and white work is up there with the best of them.

The Lions Den, originally Commando No 2632 (January 1993)

Script: Bernard Gregg
Art: Janek Matysiak
Cover: Janek Matysiak

Visit the website at: http://www.commandocomics.com

An essential new guide to British comics

2012-01-18T18:00:00.005Z

If you thought that reprints of American comics began in Britain with Marvel UK in 1972, or even Odhams and Alan Class in the 1960s, this book will be a revelation. The Pictorial Guide to British 1950s Sci-Fi & Horror Comic Books is a chunky 288 page full colour softback on quality paper compiled by comic historian Mike Morley.

Here you'll find information on numerous UK comic books of 60 years ago including Captain Marvel, Race for the Moon, The Human Torch, Adventures into the Unknown and many more, some very rare or even forgotten.

There were dozens of different titles and not all of them contained American reprint. Many were home grown British comics too, such as the Tit-Bits Science Fiction Comics with fantastic artwork by Ron Turner.

The book contains hundreds of sharply reproduced covers (and some interior pages) showing the sheer scale of the output of comics back then. Traditional British comics and story papers are also mentioned, when they fit the book's remit, such as Comet, Adventure, and Lion.

Marcus Morris may have created Eagle as an antidote to comics such as this but, as people who were kids back then will tell you, readers often didn't choose between Eagle or horror comics, - they bought both! Sadly, many of these comics were short lived, when, as the author tells us, the witch-hunt against comics in the UK spearheaded by the National Union of Teachers put such comics out of business as publishers feared prosecution if they continued. Dark times indeed.

This book is a valuable asset for anyone genuinely interested in the history of comics. It covers a fascinating area of publishing that has often been overlooked so it's good to fill in the gaps in one's knowledge with something like this. Author Mike Morley keeps his writing tight and sticks to the facts, providing solid information without bogging it down with conjecture or dull story synopsis. The design of the book, by Mike Higgs, is also straightforward and clear, and packs a lot in for your money.

The Pictorial Guide to British 1950s Sci-Fi & Horror Comic Books can be obtained post free in the UK by sending a cheque in Sterling for £14.95 payable to Blasé Books at:
BLASÉ BOOKS,
Hazelwood,
Birchfield Road,
Redditch
B97 6PU
United Kingdom

Alternatively you can order it via PayPal, also for £14.95 (Sterling) to blasebooks@aol.com

Please note that this post free price only applies to orders in the UK. If you live outside of the UK and want a copy please e-mail Blasé Books at the aforementioned e-mail address and they'll tell you how much postage will cost to ship the book to you.

60 Year Flashback: TV COMIC 1952

2012-01-18T00:01:00.002Z

This is the issue of TV Comic that would have been on sale exactly 60 years ago this week. Those of you who knew the title in its later years will immediately notice that in its early days (this is issue No.12) TV Comic was pitched at a younger readership, perhaps just above the nursery comics age group.

Published by News of the World Ltd (long before that paper dragged itself into the gutter towards oblivion) the early TV Comic only had 12 pages, but 8 were in glorious full colour thanks to the slick photogravure printing. Even in the early 1950s, such lavish production standards were rare, reserved for such comics as Eagle and Mickey Mouse Weekly, whilst the majority such as Chips, Beano, Film Fun, Knockout etc had to settle for common newsprint and limited colour.

As you can see, the cover strip in 1952 was the hugely popular Muffin the Mule, based on the puppet that the nation's children had taken to their hearts. (These old comics offer a fantastic snapshot into history. Just look at that 1950s TV set!)

The artwork on Muffin the Mule was by Neville Main, who would become a regular on TV Comic, later illustrating the Hartnell Doctor Who strips and other features. The Muffin cover strip continued on the centre pages alongside strips by other artists.

Mr.Pastry appeared on page 2 of TV Comic back then. (Pastry was a comedy performer, - real name Richard Hearne, - in case you were assuming he was a TV chef.) The artwork is by Lunt Roberts (according to Denis Gifford's Encyclopedia of Comic Characters), providing a nice bit of slapstick sequential art here.

There were also text stories and articles in TV Comic back then, such as this activity feature. No snickering at the back there please...

This Tusker & Tikki strip has some very nifty artwork by someone calling himself "Spike".

With 8 pages of colour you'd have thought they'd have reserved one for Prince Valiant as they were reprinting the American Sunday pages. Sadly not, and Hal Foster's top quality work was reproduced in murky black and white instead, with an instruction for "young artists" to colour it themselves. (Luckily I managed to pluck this issue from the time vortex before any 1950s freckle-faced urchins with compulsory sticking-out ears had crayoned on it.)

The Tom Puss strip opposite Prince Valiant is another reprint, this time of the Dutch strip Tom Poes by Marten Toonder. I assume this is a chapter of a longer story that was serializing one of the Tom Poes albums.

On the back page was Hank which, like Muffin the Mule, was also based on a puppet series. The lively artwork was by Ron Murdoch.

For better or worse TV Comic underwent several changes over the years but this early issue shows what a quality product it was in its early stages. Even its logo was clearly designed and contemporary for its time, and the whole comic must have seemed very modern and exciting compared to most comics of the 1950s. Also, with television being in black and white back then imagine the impact the stunning colours of the TV Comic strips must have had on the readers.

A year later in 1953, Amalgamated Press launched a rival in the form of TV Fun, which had charms of its own but failed to last beyond 1959. In the meantime TV Comic continued its steady progress and managed an impressive run of 33 years, ending in 1984.

Prat Preview

2012-01-16T13:10:00.002Z

Here's a sneak peek at a panel from this week's Postman Prat strip. Prat and village idiot Ted Welly combining their intellect, but for what purpose? It's bound to end in tears. Script by David Mason, artwork by me. See it in The Dandy this Wednesday, January 18th, price £1.99. (Cover by Jamie Smart, below.)

Save 50% an issue by subscribing to The Dandy. 15 issues for just £15!
http://www.dcthomsonshop.co.uk/Group-Dandy.aspx

Meanwhile, Paul H. Birch has just reviewed the current Dandy Annual over at the Birmingham Mail website:
http://blogs.birminghammail.net/speechballoon/2012/01/the-dandy-annual-2012.html

Phoenix hits a little turbulence

2012-01-13T22:01:00.004Z

The second issue of The Phoenix arrived this morning, surprisingly a day earlier than scheduled. From its striking cover by cartoon genius Jamie Smart to its final page it's once again packed with some of the best artwork and stories seen in modern British comics. Good to see Gary Northfield (creator of Derek the Sheep) join the team with his new strip, Gary's Garden.

The comic looks and reads great and deserves to be a big hit. Shame then that there have been some glitches in distribution. The deal was for The Phoenix to be sold in the Waitrose chain of stores beginning with No.1. Unfortunately, according to feedback so far, it's not in any of those shops!

Secondly, some people who subscribed this week, and were told that their subscription would begin with issue 1, have discovered that it begins with No.2 instead. Why this should be so is uncertain. Surely the print run of issue 1 hasn't sold out already?

The good news is that the staff at The Phoenix are now aware of the problems and are working to rectify them. I sincerely hope they can, and quickly, because such a good comic does not deserve to be hampered like this. One of the things that damaged The DFC, in my experience, were problems in the subscription department. Missing issues caused myself and others to give up subscribing in the end. I wouldn't like to see that happen again with The Phoenix.

Members of Comics UK have been discussing their experiences with The Phoenix on the Comics UK Forum. Click here to follow developments. (Note: the member using the alias "Phoenix" has been using that handle for years and is not connected to the comic. Just thought I'd mention that to avoid any possible confusion.)

At time of writing, the problems still haven't been mentioned on The Phoenix website. Hopefully things will be made clear for readers soon in order to save any more wasted journeys to Waitrose for potential new readers:
https://www.thephoenixcomic.co.uk/news/

Bananaman splits

2012-01-11T16:44:00.003Z

It's no problem for superheroes to multitask and from this week Bananaman will be appearing in both The Dandy and The Beano.

When news leaked out recently that Bananaman was to start appearing in The Beano, rumours started flying like wildfire, with fans some claiming he'd "defected" and others seeing it as a sign The Dandy was winding down. As it happens, such unfounded speculation was a waste of pixels as the character is now appearing in both comics. Brand new Bananaman strips continue to run in The Dandy, drawn in a modern style by Wayne Thomson, whilst classic reprints by John Geering now appear in The Beano.

Won't the differences in art styles on the same character confuse some readers? Possibly, or they might even think it's cool. Thing is, with the 1980s Bananaman cartoon series on DVD and other "Classic Bananaman" merchandise available perhaps DC Thomson felt the character needed more exposure in comics. Going back to the classic look wouldn't really suit the modern Dandy so putting the reprints in The Beano makes sense. It can't hurt that the Beano reprints mention that "Bananaman also appears every week in The Dandy".

So there you have it. A choice of 'Nana styles to read or you can enjoy both on their own merits. The latest issues of The Beano and The Dandy (shown above) are in the shops today.

Tom Thug... in Whizzer and Chips!?!

2012-01-10T16:00:00.001Z

As some of you know, Tom Thug (The Brainless Bully) was a strip I created that appeared throughout the run of Oink! in 1986-88 and then transferred to Buster for many years.

What you may not know is that a Tom Thug strip once appeared in Whizzer and Chips as well. In fact I'd forgotten about it myself until I chanced upon this issue whilst looking for something else.

Oink! was always an alternative style comic compared to the rest of IPC's publications but with its sales faltering in early 1988 the intention was to try and attract some new readers to the comic. Tom Thug was always quite popular, and with him probably being the closest to the type of character seen in the traditional comics I was asked to create a new half page strip advertising Oink! that would appear in Whizzer and Chips.

Having never worked for IPC's flagship humour title before then I thought this would be a perfect opportunity to have Tom Thug meet the legendary Sid (of Sid's Snake fame) and Shiner (Chips' lead character), and throw in Odd-Ball (a childhood favourite) as well. Here's the result...

I might be mistaken but I think this is probably the first time a story in an IPC humour comic continued into another title, excluding mergers.

I believe the promotional strip helped Oink's fortunes a little bit, but as Oink! was still being deliberately placed away from other children's comics in WH Smith there must have been numerous kids who just couldn't find it. Later that year, Oink! merged into Buster and I became a regular artist on that comic (working for Allen Cummings, a very good editor) but I never did any more strips for Whizzer and Chips, which folded itself a few years later. This then was my sole contribution to that long-running comic, but I'm still pleased to be a small part of its history.

(Incidentally, the cover artist of the issue as shown at the top of this post was Sid Burgon, drawing the long-running Joker strip.)

Eagle Awards nominations open

2012-01-08T20:00:00.001Z

Here's your chance to nominate your favourite comic, creator, website etc in the annual Eagle Awards, named after one of Britain's most famous comics. Introduced in 1976, the Eagles are the comics industry’s longest established awards. Acknowledged as the pre-eminent international prizes, they have been featured on the covers of leading US and UK titles across the last 30 years.

Some British comics and creators have been overlooked in previous years simply because the readers aren't aware that such awards exist, so if you feel your favourite strip/comic/artist/writer etc deserves to be listed just visit http://www.eagleawards.co.uk/nominations/ and do your stuff. If your favourite isn't already listed, scroll down the list until you reach "other" and add your own. Vote, vote, vote!

Review: The Phoenix No.1

2012-01-07T13:00:00.001Z

Issue one of The Phoenix arrived bang on schedule this morning, thumping onto my doormat, and very welcome it was too.

It's an impressive debut issue (or second issue if we count Issue Zero as the premiere) with 32 full colour pages packed with brand new material from some of the finest UK creators. Neil Cameron's eye-catching cover opens the proceedings, giving us a taster of the lead strip he illustrates, The Pirates of Pangaea written by Daniel Hartwell.

There's a good mix of styles in the comic, with no formula house style dominant. Jamie Smart has two pages, with his Bunny vs Monkey strip, and it lives up to his usual daftness. As Mister T might say, I pity the poor fools who don't "get" Jamie's work.

There's an aspect of The Phoenix that feels a bit like being at a posh kids' party in the 1950s, where people use phrases like "oodles" and "rip-roaring". It's not really dominant or problematic, but it's there. Perhaps it's why I felt the one scene of 'gross humour' in the comic clashed with the polite tone of the rest of The Phoenix. (Although showing a character covered in someone else's vomit would even be extreme in Toxic.) That's only a minor criticism and besides, what's a posh kids' party without someone throwing up?

There's a theme to many of the strips which is about characters finding themselves in unfamiliar surroundings, usually in a fantasy setting. This of course has been a successful plot device in classic children's books for decades (The Wizard of Oz, the Narnia books, etc.) and makes for a very welcome change from the usual suburban setting of children's comics. It also adds an unpredictable dreamlike quality to the stories, seen best in issue 1 with The Etherington Brothers' Long Gone Don.

It's good to see a comic that enjoys being a comic, and The Phoenix contains a regular feature called How to make Awesome comics, again by Neil Cameron. This is a great way to educate kids on the creation of comics in a fun way, and hopefully inspire in them the same respect and understanding of the form that many European kids have.

The complete story this issue is The Golden Feather, a telling of the myth of the phoenix, by Ben Haggarty and Garen Ewing. Top class stuff.

There's a nicely drawn half page illustration rounding off the issue by Chris Riddell entitled Supper at the Cat Restaurant. It's the kind of thing that could have appeared in comics of the 19th Century and is drawn with the illustrative skill of that era but with a modern twist. Excellent work.

All in all, The Phoenix No.1 deserves to be a huge success. It's intelligent, well crafted, entertaining, has its own style and, if today's kids can tear themselves away from their X-Boxes and mobile phones, I'm sure they'll find it to be great escapist fun.

At present, The Phoenix is only available to buy at Waitrose stores (and London's Tales on Moon Lane bookshop) or by subscription. Hopefully more retail outlets will follow but at present, if you're nowhere near a Waitrose, I'd encourage anyone to subscribe. (Depending on what option you choose, subscriptions range from as little as £10 for 5 issues to £99 for a year.)
https://www.thephoenixcomic.co.uk/subscribe/

Don't forget that there's a free 8 page preview of The Phoenix in today's edition of The Times!

Are you ready for The Phoenix?

2012-01-06T12:39:00.004Z

Britain's brand new, all-new children's weekly comic The Phoenix is scheduled to be delivered to subscribers tomorrow. It will also be available in all Waitrose stores and in the children's bookshop Tales on Moon Lane in London. Hopefully more retailers will begin stocking it soon. (My nearest Waitrose is miles away so I'm glad I subscribed!)

Tomorrow's edition of The Times (Saturday 7th Jan.) will have an 8 page pull-out promoting the new comic and the BBC are filming an item today for broadcast soon.

A review of issue 1 will appear on this blog shortly. Meanwhile, if you haven't subscribed already, now's your chance! https://www.thephoenixcomic.co.uk/

First Commando comics of 2012

2012-01-05T12:34:00.003Z

Acting on information received direct from Commando HQ....

Commando 4459: Invasion Watch

In the early days of the Second World War, men too young, too old or too infirm for the regular services flocked to join Britain’s Home Guard to “do their bit.” Because of this, the units were dismissed as a bit of a joke in some quarters.
If those nay-sayers had listened to the conversation in one Home Guard headquarters on a night in 1940, though, they might have changed their minds. For as the men there shared their stories it became very clear that they had fought, and would fight again. And fight like the demons they were.
Invaders beware!

Script: Mac MacDonald
Art: Carlos Pino
Cover: Carlos Pino

Commando 4460: Warriors!

Fighting men come in all shapes and sizes. They wear different uniforms and follow different flags. But the best of them share one quality. And that one quality marks them out from everyone else as men to be feared and respected in equal measure.
That’s the quality that marks them out as…

Warriors!

Script: Mac MacDonald
Art: Keith Page
Cover: Keith Page

Commando 4461: Upside Down Ace

Alan Burnett and Colin Harvey flew as the crew of a Boulton Paul Defiant night fighter. They shared the same room and spent almost every second of every day with each other…yet the very air around them seemed to vibrate with the fierce hate they had for each other.

But, despite their bickering and brawling, they had the highest score of kills in the Group. How they kept it up was their own special secret…

Introduction by Calum Laird, Commando Editor

The Boulton Paul Defiant was one of many planes which didn’t quite live up to their designers’ hopes. But you’d never guess that from Ian Kennedy’s dynamic cover where, as only he can, he turns the world on its head to create another perfect composition.
Inside, John Ridgway — in only his second Commando outing —delivers an ideal complement to the cover, his crisp, accurate linework being perfect for aircraft illustration. Being a trained draughtsman is quite an asset.
The script, by Brunt, gives them him full rein to tell the Defiant’s story while at the same time touching on some of the super-secret “boffins’ war” that went on behind the action in the Second World War.

Upside Down Ace, originally Commando No 572 (August 1971), re-issued as No 1604 (May 1982)

Script: Brunt
Art: John Ridgway
Cover: Ian Kennedy

Commando No 4462: Death Of A Wimpey

They found an abandoned plane in the desert, sand almost covering it. The paint was hanging off in shreds, the engines had seen better days and the fuselage was riddled with bullet holes. But it was still a Vickers Wellington bomber…one of the tough, famous Wimpeys. And it could fly — just.
So the men who found it, three army deserters and a no-good R.A.F. pilot, began to make plans to get back into the war — flying their own private bomber!

Introduction by Calum Laird, Commando Editor

At the end of October last year at the Dundee Comics Day, two men were honoured for their outstanding contribution to the comics artform. Though they are not related, they share the same surname and, as you can see from this book, they have both worked for Commando.
I’m talking, of course, about the two Kennedys, Cam and Ian who together have produced the art for this tale. Ian’s cover wonderfully captures a stricken Wellington bomber trying desperately to land, while the characterisation and movement Cam brings to the inside art is outstanding.
…And let’s not forget scriptwriter Ken Gentry without whose contribution this classic Commando story the two Kennedys would never have had the chance to showcase their talents so well.
By the way, I got to present the awards — how cool is that?

Death of A Wimpey, originally Commando No 469 (April 1970), re-issued as No 1335 (July 1979)

Script: Ken Gentry
Art: Cam Kennedy
Cover: Ian Kennedy

http://www.commandocomics.com

Royal Mail celebrates UK comics

2012-01-03T15:00:00.002Z

On March 20th the Royal Mail are to issue a set of commemorative stamps on the theme of British comics. Very nice looking designs too, each featuring a different cover with a head shot of a character related to that comic in the foreground.

The comics featured are: The Dandy (with Desperate Dan), The Beano (Dennis the Menace), Eagle (Dan Dare), Topper (Beryl the Peril), Tiger (Roy of the Rovers), Bunty (The Four Marys), Buster (Hugh McNeill version of Buster), Valiant (The Steel Claw), Twinkle (Twinkle), and 2000AD (Judge Dredd).

The First Day Covers are produced by Bradbury and feature a Girls and Boys set at £20 each. Curiously, Valiant and 2000AD are in the girls' set, although it doesn't seem that they've chosen the comics to be gender specific. Besides, some women do read 2000AD!

What's more puzzling is the commemorative strapline '75 Years of British Comics'. I'm assuming the Royal Mail and Bradbury know that British comics have been around a lot longer than that (over 120 years) and it just means they've selected comics from the last 75 years.

The main thing is that UK comics are being celebrated and that the stamps will hopefully get the public thinking about comics and perhaps even encourage some to seek out current issues of Dandy, Beano and 2000AD.

For more details on how to order these highly collectible items see this website:
http://www.bfdc.co.uk/2012/comics/resources/stamps/6163.html

Thanks to 'stevezodiac' on Comics UK for bringing this news to my attention.

Anniversary year dawns for The Dandy

2012-01-03T14:30:00.000Z

The New Year editions of The Dandy and The Beano were out earlier in some areas than scheduled. Tomorrow (January 4th) was the planned publication date but I bought copies from my corner shop on New Year's Eve.

This year is an important one for The Dandy, with it reaching its 75th anniversary at the end of 2012. (The Beano will celebrate its own 75th seven months later in 2013.) Both titles are the longest running comics in British comic history. Although a few older collectors may yearn for the comics to return to the style of their childhoods, it's the evolution of the comics that have kept them fresh for new generations to enjoy. Yes, sales have still fallen over the years. They've been falling for the past 60 years at least as they try to compete with the other distractions children have. If some of the more relentless critics really believe a retro-looking comic would appeal to today's children perhaps they could spend their time producing one, getting it on the shelves, outselling current comics, and proving their point constructively.

This week's Dandy and Beano are significant for two reasons. The Dandy No.3566 is the first issue since the revamp without a Harry Hill strip as the series ended in the Christmas edition. Sadly it's lacking any Nigel Parkinson strips whatsoever, but I hope that will be rectified soon as his work is truly one of the comic's strengths.

There's still a lot to enjoy though, including Wayne Thomson's eye-catching Bananaman cover and the return of a classic favourite guest starring in a very funny Mr.Meecher strip.

Over in The Beano, there's a stack of great material including work from Laura Howell, Hunt Emerson, Barrie Appleby, Nigel Parkinson, and a classic Billy Whizz reprint from the 1960s. There's also a special Super School strip that I drew as Bananagirl sets off to herald the arrival (next week) of... Bananaman! What? Will the character now be appearing in both comics? New strips in The Dandy and the classic style in The Beano? Stick with 'em and find out.

Forward to 2012!

2011-12-31T00:01:00.006Z

Rather than my usual flashback to a bygone New Year comic I thought this year I'd look into the crystal ball to highlight a few of the comics we can expect to see in 2012.

Next Saturday, January 7th, sees the launch of The Phoenix, the brand new weekly comic for children. Judging by the free Issue Zero that was released recently (and is now out of stock) this is going to be an impressive collection of some of the finest UK talent available. https://www.thephoenixcomic.co.uk/

The third issue of Strip Magazine is due later in January, with a new series, The Devil's Heritage, starting in that issue. There'll also be the continuing adventure strips Age of Heroes, Hook Jaw, a look back to the fondly remembered Star Lord comic, and much more. http://stripcomicmagazineuk.blogspot.com/

Hardware is another brand new British comic anthology scheduled for 2012. More details on this exciting new venture over the coming months!
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Hardware/275349482490630

Tim Perkins' eagerly awaited Worlds End graphic novel has recently been printed and should be available soon. A review of the book will appear on my blog shortly. http://www.wizards-keep.com/

Mark Millar and Dave Gibbons have revealed the title of their collaboration, - The Secret Service. Coming in February from comic specialist shops!
http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=34999

CLiNT comic continues into 2012, defying the cynics and proving its worth. Here's the cover to issue 14, out in February. http://titanmagazines.com/t/clint/

Panini UK will soon be ending their Fantastic Four Adventures comic with issue No.28 but March sees the launch of The Incredible Hulks No.1 (yes, for better or worse there's a team of Hulks now). The 100 page debut issue will be on sale in newsagents for £2.95. Issue 1 reprints the American issues #612 to 614.

Bryan Talbot's new graphic novel Dotter of her Father's Eyes, written by Bryan's wife Mary Talbot, will be published soon from Jonathan Cape in the UK and Dark Horse in the USA. (Bryan showed me a preview of this and it's a stunning piece of work. Definitely one to look forward to.) Bryan is also working on his third Grandville graphic novel. Another must-buy. http://www.bryan-talbot.com/

Another graphic novel to look forward to next year is the new The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen title Century:2009. The latest book in the saga by comic gods Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neill.

Hairy Steve should be bounding your way soon, courtesy of Jamie Smart and Steve Bright. The titanic twosome have been uploading pages as they're completed but personally I'm waiting until the comic is published to appreciate it in one sitting.
http://hairysteve.com/

Classical Comics will be continuing to expand their range of excellent graphic novels in 2012 with adaptations of Sweeny Todd, An Inspector Calls, The Importance of Being Earnest and perhaps more. http://www.classicalcomics.com/index.html

2012 is also the year of three comic anniversaries. 2000AD celebrates 35 years of publication in February, Toxic reaches 10 years in September, and The Dandy notches up a record-breaking 75 years next December. Expect some celebratory treats throughout the year including the return of some classic favourites in The Dandy Annual on sale in the second half of the year.

...and if I ever find enough spare time, I intend to collect the Brickman pages I did for Elephantmen comic into a one-off Brickman Returns full colour comic I'll publish myself. Here's a taster, but as yet I've no idea when the comic will be published. Hopefully before next Christmas!

These are just a few of the comics coming your way in 2012 and there'll be many other surprises as the year unfolds. No doubt that it'll be another mixed year of stumbles and triumphs (as is everyone's year) but the important thing is that the British comics industry is far from dead. Let's hope it's a very Happy New Year for creators and readers alike as we forge ahead into 2012!

The dark side of 2011

2011-12-30T14:50:00.000Z

The two books that I was most proud to be asked to contribute to in 2011 were the two that I wish hadn't had cause to be published.

That may sound contradictory but you'll understand when I say I'm talking about two charity books that only existed because of terrible circumstances that inspired them. Firstly, Spirit of Hope, launched in the summer to raise funds for the victims of the New Zealand earthquake and the Japanese tsunami. The 116 page trade paperback brought together a diverse range of comic creators such as Jimmy Broxton (cover), Jon Haward, David Leach, Si Spencer, Jason Atomic, Leonie O'Moore, Michael Allred (variant cover), and many more. (Available here: http://www.comicbook.org.uk/spirit-of-hope/ )

The other book was 22.07 which came about not because of natural disasters but because of the actions of a deranged piece of inhuman filth who carried out a bombing in Oslo and a massacre of children in Norway on July 22nd. (The name of the scumbag will not sully this blog.)

Angered and devastated by the event Raptus Comic Festival organizer Arild Wearnes asked comic creators he knew to contribute their feelings to a book that would be sold at the September Raptus event in Bergen to raise money for the families and survivors of the atrocities. 22.07 features material by Lise Myhre, Mike Collins, Dave Windett, Charlie Abbø (cover), Siri Petterson, Mike Carey, Kim Holm and many others.

Much as I was keen to contribute I knew that my usual humour style would be completely inappropriate of course. However from viewing the news reports, and from what I knew of the Norwegian people from my several visits to Bergen over the years, I was touched by their dignity and maturity in the face of such tragedy. I decided to produce a symbolic page, showing how evil can crumble when faced with the power of positive emotions and unitity. Subtle it's not, but I hope it conveyed the right spirit...

You can read more about the book 22.7 here (although you'll need to run it through a translator if you're not fluent in Norwegian):
http://www.raptus.no/

As I said, two books I was privileged to contribute my services to, but in an ideal world would never have had cause to be published. Let's hope that 2012 brings brighter days for everyone.

Nazis with jetpacks!

2011-12-29T11:00:00.000Z

The latest four issues of D.C. Thomson's digest-sized adventure comic Commando are in the shops now, rounding off the title's 50th anniversary year. "The good news" says editor Calum Laird, "is we’ve slightly increased our sales over the year and our subscriptions have increased by a whopping 45%. This is great news in the current climate."

Here are the plot synopsis' of the current four issues...

Commando 4455: Valley Of Secret Weapons

The Valley of Destruction, the Germans called it. It lay deep in the heart of the Tyrolean mountains, and there Germany’s most brilliant scientists worked night and day building Hitler’s deadly “V for Vengeance” weapons.
Sun-ray cannons, flying saucers, sound cannons, rocket-propelled tanks and jet-propelled soldiers – strange, terrifying weapons, years ahead of their time.
They were all there in that valley, being made ready to unleash on Britain.

Introduction by Calum Laird, Commando Editor

One look at the cover tells you all you need to know about this story — it’s a real flight of fancy. (And I don’t just mean because there are Germans with jetpacks.) Or is it? As more information on the Third Reich’s secret weapons programmes comes to light, some of the gear drawn up by Ortiz doesn’t seem so far-fetched.
Perhaps author Eric Hebden who had been a Major in the British Army had some inside knowledge…who knows?
Whether he did or not, it’s a great story and Ken Barr’s “Nazis With Jetpacks” sums the whole thing up. Now, I must fly…

Valley Of Secret Weapons, originally Commando No 98 (December 1963), re-issued as No 591 (October 1971)

Script: Eric Hebden
Art: Ortiz
Cover: Ken Barr

Commando 4456: Jump – Or Die!

The dull throb of the Dakota’s engines pounded remorselessly in the paratroopers’ ears as they filed in to their jumping order.
Nobody spoke, nobody smiled, nobody spared a kindly glance for the next bloke in line. Lips were dry and taut, and eyes glowed with a mixture of determination…and FEAR!
And even as the red light changed to green for “GO”, Captain Bob Brown knew that he was the most afraid of all…
Which was all wrong, because he was meant to be officer in charge of this mission, an example to all the others.

Introduction by Calum Laird, Commando Editor

British Paras were involved in no end of covert operations in the Second World War. This is a problem because most of them took place under the concealing cloak of darkness.
Why is this a problem? Well, a dark night is one of the most difficult things an illustrator can ever be called on to draw. By definition there’s very little light to see anything by…
This doesn’t seem to have put artist Cortes off, however. His drawings of the Paras in action at night make superb use of black ink without losing any detail and without looking anything apart from, well, night.
Kellie’s script is as full of action and conflict as you’d want, while Ken Barr’s cover leaves you in no doubt about the menace in the title.

Jump — Or Die!, originally Commando No 94 (November 1963), re-issued as No 587 (October 1991)

Script: Kellie
Art: Cortes
Cover: Ken Barr

Commando 4457: Fireman On The Front Line

As a fireman during the London Blitz, Ted Roscoe was exempt from Armed Forces duty, as his was a reserved occupation deemed important to the war effort. He knew all about danger just the same, though, dodging bombs as he fought fire after fire. However, the Army needed Ted’s expertise too and he soon called to the front line.
Here Ted found himself embroiled in a deadly game of survival, with not just the enemy’s hand against him!

Script: Alan Hebden
Art: Olivera
Cover: Janek Matysiak

Commando 4458: The Sea Wolves

Like wolves, the torpedo boats and gunboats of the Allies and Axis hunted the seas of the Adriatic in packs. Like wolves they fell on their prey, always going in for the kill.
And, just as amongst packs of wolves, there had to be a top dog — would he be British or German?

Script: Mac MacDonald
Art: Keith Page
Cover: Keith Page

http://www.commandocomics.com

Comicraft's New Year Font Sale!

2011-12-28T23:45:00.004Z

Comic book lettering is just as important as the artwork in the presentation of a professional looking page. Bad dialogue lettering can distract from the flow of the story and poor display lettering can diminish the impact of a cover. If you are thinking of putting together your own comic in 2012, or if you're an established publisher, or you want to brighten up your website, it could be a wise move to invest in a few smart top quality fonts from the people at Comicraft on January 1st! Yes, it's Comicraft's Annual New Year's Day font sale and all fonts will, for one day only, be available at the bargain price of $20.12 each!

I've used Comicraft fonts myself, and will be using them more often once I find time to self publish the comics I have in mind for 2012. (The font Danger Girl is the one I use for the current Blimey! logo for example.) I enjoy doing my own lettering and sound effects on single pages but for the sake of speed, convenience and versatility, computer fonts are ideal for bigger jobs such as full length comics. (And, for those artists who create their comics on computer they're essential of course.)

OK, some of you will be wondering why you should bother to buy fonts when there are free ones out there for the taking. Well, some of them are a poor substitute for specially designed comic book fonts. Richard Starkings and John Roshell have years of experience in producing top quality comic book lettering, logos and sound effect fonts for Marvel, DC and many more. You get what you pay for, although in the case (no pun intended) of the font sale you get better than what you pay for.

I certainly intend to purchase some this coming Sunday. (Still trying to decide which ones yet though, with so many to choose from.)

Anyway, if you're interested take a look at the easy to navigate Comicraft website (which is designed using their fonts, showing how effective they can be). Remember, the font sale is for one day only on January 1st!

...and while you're at it, check out Richard Starkings' other venture, the brilliant Elephantmen comic book (and graphic novels):
http://www.hipflask.com/news/index.html

Christmas Comics: CHIPS (1942)

2011-12-23T02:22:00.001Z

We've arrived at our final destination on the long time trip through Christmas comics of the past. It's December 1942 and in the dark days of the war comics are doing their bit to brighten the spirits of the young generation. Illustrated Chips and The Joker modified its logo for issue 2,695 to adorn its cover with a special festive title, the Chips Merry Xmas Number. Underneath the logo, The Christmas Antics of Weary Willie and Tired Tim (Chips' cover stars since Tom Browne created them in 1896) were drawn by Percy Cocking from 1909 until the final issue in 1953!

At this time, Chips, like most wartime comics, had reduced its frequency from weekly to fortnightly. By this stage of the war the comic's humour strips were trying to distract readers from the grimness of warfare but the text story Home for Xmas tried to put an uplifting aspect on the situation.

The Editor's message also tried to be warming and upbeat, reflecting the hopes of many that the war would soon be over.

Dane the Dog Detective was a predecessor to The Dandy's Black Bob and his text story tales ran in Chips for many years. Here he's involved in the Mystery at Mistletoe Manor.

As always, the centre pages of Chips were packed with several short humour strips. Here's a few from this issue. (Apologies for any flaws in the scans of this fragile old comic.) Firstly, Pa Perkins and his Son Percy, drawn by Bertie Brown...

Professor Jolly and his Magic Brolly by H.E. Pease...

Homeless Hector (and his puss pal Moonlight Moggie) also by Bertie Brown...

Dickie Duffer by Albert Pease...

Pages 6 and 7 featured more text stories plus a poem by "Philpot Bottles" Chips' fictional office boy.

The back page provided a great finalé to the issue. I'm sure The Casey Court Xmas Party must have given readers lots of pleasure studying the busy illustration. Beneath, The Merry Skylarks of Alfie the Air Tramp (a strip that Chips had inherited from Joker comic) is by John Jukes I believe.

And that brings us to the end of this series of festive flashbacks. I hope you've enjoyed all the Christmas strips I've shown this past few weeks (all scanned from my own collection, not from books or other sites). If you're not already heartily sick of snow-topped logos and humour involving Christmas puddings there are more Christmas covers and stories in the Blimey archive. (Check the sidebar of this blog for December postings of other years.)

Incidentally, today marks the fifth anniversary of this blog, so I'd like to thank you all for visiting Blimey, whether you're a new visitor or someone who's been following the blog for the last five years. After the frantic pace of the last few days I'm taking a break for a short time now but will return with more comics from the past and present in the not too distant future.

In the meantime may I wish you all a very Happy Christmas and a prosperous 2012!

Christmas Comics: THE DANDY (1964)

2011-12-22T12:12:00.001Z

The Dandy was the first comic I read regularly and this was the first Christmas issue of a comic I had. Dated December 26th 1964 (but published on December 21st) The Dandy No.1205 kicks off with the usual Korky the Cat cover strip drawn by the excellent Charlie Grigg.

Every page of this 16 page issue is a gem but here's a few highlights. On page 2, the brilliant artistry of Dudley D. Watkins on Desperate Dan. Eighteen panels on one page, at a time when Mr.Watkins was also drawing several other regular pages for other comics. How did he do it? Truly one of the greats.

On pages 3 and 4 was a marvelously wintry Brassneck story drawn by Bill Holroyd from an era when policemen patrolled on pushbikes. Brassneck was a relative newcomer to The Dandy at the time and this was only the fourth episode of his first series.

For me, the funniest strip in this issue was the Corporal Clott story across the centre pages. With Davy Law's ability to produce perfect comedy timing in his artwork combined with the hilarious dialogue everything about this episode is brilliant.

As this issue saw the conclusion of The Red Wrecker serial there was an advert for its replacement that would be arriving in the New Year issue: Moe and Joe and Daddy-O (drawn by Eric Roberts). There was also a small ad for that year's Dandy Book. (I still remember the Christmas morning of 1964 when I had this book. Little did I know then that one day I'd become a contributor to the comic and annual.)

Coming up: The final Christmas comic under the spotlight. Will we go forward from 1964, or back? Find out soon!

Christmas Comics: POW! (1967)

2011-12-21T21:45:00.001Z

You saw the Christmas issue of Smash! in the previous post, now here's one of its festive stablemates that was published on the same day, Pow! No.50 dated 30th December 1967. (You may have seen this cover before when I used it in a blog post three years ago but I'm going into further detail today.)

Pow! varied its covers more than its companion comics did, and this week it was the turn of The Pow! Short Story to take residence. I've always liked the idea of adventure strips starting on the cover as it hooks the reader straight away. Here are pages two and three of this complete story...

The Dolls of St.Dominic's is a good example of how daring the Odhams comics were compared to their Fleetway counterparts. The premise owes more to the schoolgirls of St.Trinians than The Bash Street Kids but artist Ron Spencer was still encouraged to draw it in a Leo Baxendale style. For those of you born long after the 1960s, "Englebert" refers to Englebert Humperdink, a Leicester-born singer who reached the heights of pop stardom, and I believe still has a residency in Vegas.

The favourite comic strip of many Pow! readers, including myself, was The Cloak, written and drawn by Mike Higgs. Pre-dating Sparky's I-Spy this black-garbed super spy usually appeared in serials of about six weeks in length but for Christmas Mike contributed a complete story. Note all the Pow! characters gathered for the party in the final panel, including Mike Higgs himself (or 'MiK' as he signed his work then).

The other standout strip of that issue was Dare-a-Day Davy in its regular back cover slot. Artwork by Ken Reid, who was always a great artist but by the 1960s had reached new heights of genius. People may criticize modern humour comics for not reaching Ken's standards but the truth is no one could touch him back then either. Ken Reid was always in a league of his own.

Tomorrow: The penultimate Christmas classic.

Christmas Comics: SMASH! (1967)

2011-12-21T13:30:00.000Z

I've already covered the 1966 Christmas issues (and blogged about the 1968 one two years ago) so now here's the 1967 Christmas Smash!

The addition of the Smash characters herding Swots towards a fate worse than death livened up the usual Batman cover and that large topline is very effective.

Inside, the Bad Penny strip is by one of the artists who was encouraged to approximate Leo Baxendale's style. At first glance I thought this might be by Mike Lacey (some of the hands and faces are similar to his work) but the overall look of the strip is a little too crude to be Lacey's polished work. Some have suggested it's by Bob Dewar attempting the Baxendale style, but I don't really see much of Dewar's style here, apart from Penny's grin in panel 9. At any rate, it's a busy strip and, as a treat for the Dads, there's a glimpse of Penny's Mum in a see-through nightie, although we discover she wears bigger pants than Bridget Jones.

As an example of how Smash's humour strips literally sat alongside Marvel reprint, here's a spread showing Stan McMurtry's Percy's Pets opposite a page of Wally Wood's Daredevil. Growing up with comics like this is why myself and others have always considered UK humour strips of having equal merit as American comics.

The Man from BUNGLE was usually a serial but for the Christmas Smash! it's a special complete story. Illustrated by Mike Lacey...

A new Brian's Brain serial began this issue. Bert Vandeput had been the original artist but by this time Jim Baikie had taken over art duties...

The art on Ronnie Rich is Gordon Hogg's, in a festive story of Golliwogs. (Hey it rhymes.)

Christmas is coming... and so is another festive flashback, - later today!

Christmas Comics: OINK! (1986)

2011-12-20T20:50:00.001Z

On sale 25 years ago, the first Christmas issue of Oink! unusually featured a photo cover spoofing the design of the TV Times as it was then.

A few issues earlier, the comic had received a boost with the addition of new characters. Therefore this issue featured the final section of a three-part free gift in the form of a giant poster calendar illustrated by Ian Jackson.

Ian Jackson was always very prolific in Oink! and I'd consider him their main artist. He designed Uncle Pigg and Mary Lighthouse and also contributed numerous other strips such as Hadrian Vile. Underneath this example is Weedy Willy, drawn by Mike Green. Both strips were written by one of Oink's editors, Mark Rogers, who sadly passed away years ago. A fine bloke and a great loss to comics.

I contributed a fair bit to the run of Oink! myself, appearing in every issue, both as a writer and artist. One of my most enjoyable tasks was creating the Dan Dare parody Ham Dare, Pig of the Future, illustrated by the late Malcolm Douglas. Here's episode three (read across the spread, not one page at a time). I'd considered that this chapter would appear at Christmas so although it wasn't set around that season I managed to write a frozen Swinefleet HQ building in the opening shot...

The same issue also featured the third episode of my Pete and his Pimple strip. I enjoyed using a grey wash on this strip as it gave a mono page more depth. Incidentally, a mistake in the production department deleted the dialogue in the penultimate panel, but all you're missing are a few "Aarghs" and "Yuks"...

Davy Francis lent his distinctive and always funny style to the complete story Blue Xmas written by Mark Rogers.

On page 27, the hilariously inventive Hector Vector and his Talking T-Shirt by Banx.

Finally from this selection box, the very first Christmas with Tom Thug. As with Pete and his Pimple I always provided both script and artwork. In my original script I'd had Santa blasted out of the sky for real, but Mark Rogers suggested, quite rightly, that it might be too traumatic for the younger readers so it all turns out to be a... well, see for yourself...

At the foot of the Tom Thug strip you'll notice a spin-off strip starring Tom's cat Satan. When Tom Thug moved to Buster in 1989 I thought Satan wouldn't be an appropriate name to use (as Buster was a far less edgier comic) so he appeared anonymously a few times in the background then I phased him out of the strip. Don't worry though readers, Satan is still out there somewhere (the cat that is).

Another snow-topped festive comic soon!

Christmas Comics: BIMBO (1961)

2011-12-20T15:10:00.000Z

Remaining in 1961 for now here's a blog post on Bimbo comic celebrating its first Christmas (unless the previous week's issue was also seasonal, as had been the case with TV Express). Bimbo was DC Thomson's comic for early readers, preparing them for The Beano when they were a little older. (Personally I rarely bothered with "nursery comics" as they were known, going straight to The Dandy and TV Century 21 instead).

The front and back covers were by the great Dudley D. Watkins, artist of Desperate Dan and The Broons amongst many others. With a skilled, adaptable style he could turn his hand to comics for any ages and was perfect for the Tom Thumb strip.

Only 6 of Bimbo's 20 pages were in full colour. Here's the Cinderella centrespread strip, expanding on the original fairytale with Cinders meeting other fairytale folk. I don't know who the artist is unfortunately but it's a nice job.

Here's Bimbo himself, yes it's a boy, back in the days before the name took on another meaning. Artwork by Bob Dewar...

Bill Ritchie had two pages in the comic. One was Baby Crockett and the other was Pip the Penguin. Most of you are familiar with the former character, so here's Pip...

Next: Forward in time... but to when?

Christmas Comics: TV EXPRESS (1961)

2011-12-19T22:40:00.002Z

You've seen this cover on this blog a couple of years ago but here's a better scan of it. On sale exactly 50 years ago this week, TV Express No.373 (December 23rd 1961) sported a great cover by Mike Western featuring Alfie Bass and Bill Fraser of TV's Bootsie and Snudge. (Presumably publisher Eric Bemrose Ltd didn't have permission to name the strip after the TV series.)

At this stage of its run TV Express was practically 100% adventure content so not many of the strips featured Christmas themes. Some did though, such as this two page Danger Man text story based on the secret agent series starring Patrick McGoohan...

On pages 6 and 7, the Alfie and Bill strip related to the front cover. I'm not exactly sure who the artist is. Gerry Embleton perhaps?

There's an editorial message on page 9 stating that Christmas is "one of the few times in the year when Christian people the world over forget quarrels and celebrate the memory of Jesus Christ with the giving of gifts". Surely it would have been better to advise the readers that they don't have to wait for a calendar date to tell them when to forgive?

The one humour strip in TV Express at this time was Wee Sporty, taking up less than a quarter of a page...

TV Express of 1961 ran features on TV stars of the day (just as Look-In would do a decade later). Here's a taste of what viewers could expect to see on telly that Christmas, including Billy Smart's Circus and Take Your Pick...

Due to the publication schedule that Christmas, some comics had two festive issues (as they would again in 1966) so the following week's issue also carried the same seasonal masthead. Mike Western again provided a great (but non-festive) cover image, this time featuring Wulf the Briton...

Inside, Superintendent Lockheart of No Hiding Place took a quick break from Christmas shopping to tackle a thief. That fall the crook takes looks pretty fatal to me but the Superintendent is back shopping a panel later, nonchalant about the whole thing. Just another day I guess.

Finally, here's some party games you can try this Christmas, although I'm sure you'll all find better distractions...

For more info about Danger Man and The Prisoner visit The Unmutual website:
http://www.theunmutual.co.uk/

Another classic Christmas issue soon!

Christmas Comics: RADIO FUN (1950)

2011-12-19T00:01:00.000Z

When is a Christmas comic not a Christmas comic? When it's a victim of industrial action. Late in 1950 Radio Fun (and no doubt other comics published by The Amalgamated Press) missed publication some weeks due to strikes by the printers. Therefore some issues doubled or tripled up their numbering (but, sadly, not their page length) with this issue (No.636/7) dated December 16th/23rd being one of them.

Inside, the top of every page carried the words 'Radio Fun Christmas Number' in a seasonal typeface but only a couple of the stories had festive content. As you can see above, even the cover was bereft of a Christmas logo or related story! Artwork by Reg Parlett I believe, who did a lot of work for Radio Fun.

Inside the Editor presented his readers with a Christmas message...

...but only one strip in the whole comic had any Christmas flavour! Here's Douglas 'Cardew' Robinson drawn by Reg Parlett...

There was also a half page Christmas text story...

...and that was your lot, festive-wise. With the editor not knowing exactly when strips would see print due to the strike it wouldn't be wise to commission too many Christmas stories. No doubt some readers felt disappointed by this although I'm sure the fact that Radio Fun was back on the shelves would compensate for that. (Strikes also led to several IPC comics to cease publication for several weeks in 1970/71 so there are no Christmas 1970 issues of certain IPC titles.)

Here's another page by Reg Parlett from that issue. No Christmas theme but it's such a nicely drawn set that I thought you'd like to see it...

Another Christmas comic flashback soon!

Christmas Comics: WHOOPEE! (1984)

2011-12-18T00:01:00.001Z

1984 still seems very recent to me but for any younger readers out there no doubt it seems a lifetime ago, or even a time before you were born. I remember on one visit to the IPC offices at King's Reach Tower that year, Bob Paynter (Group Editor of the humour comics) gave me this copy of Whoopee! dated 29th December 1984, a few weeks before it was due to hit the shops. I was immediately impressed by Robert Nixon's excellent cover. Nixon was an aficionado of Roy Wilson's style and brought the same sense of fun and decoration to this cover as Wilson had on Christmas covers of previous decades. Robert Nixon drew everything on this cover, including the Christmas page borders, the logo, and even the price!

Whoopee!, launched in 1974, was one of IPC's most successful comics, running for 11 years before merging into Whizzer and Chips. This then, is the comic's last Christmas issue.

Inside, kicking off the 32 page comic was the lively Boy Boss drawn by the great Frank McDiarmid. Christmas pages always allow artists to go the extra mile (at no extra fee I hasten to add) and Frank decorated the borders with loads of festive stuff for this year...

Gran's Gang was a quirky idea and it needed an artist with a funny, distinct style to deliver the goods. Ian Knox was the perfect choice. Just look at the physical appearances of those characters!

Sweeny Toddler took up the centre pages of that issue and what a great job by Tom Paterson! (I'm guessing Graham Exton was the scriptwriter on this.) "Roast toddler stuffed with jelly babies and dolly mixtures" it says on the menu. Yes it's Santa about to eat a baby! Perhaps the most horrific image ever seen in an IPC comic, - and in a full page splash panel too. This is closer in tradition to the Krampus.

How could anyone top that? Well, perhaps not that issue's Frankie Stein strip. Robert Nixon was a fantastic artist and his version of Frankie was very popular indeed but I've always felt the fun-styled IPC Frankie was never a patch on Ken Reid's original for Wham!. Then again, times and tastes change, and as I was 25 when this issue of Whoopee! came out I was far older than the readership it was intended for so what do I know? Compare this page below by Bob Nixon to the one by Ken Reid from 18 years earlier and see what you think.

Plunge into the past again to see another Christmas comic with all the trimmings soon!

Christmas Comics: THE COMET (1947)

2011-12-17T12:30:00.000Z

The Comet was originally launched in 1946 by J.B. Allen on Manchester and in 1949 was taken over by the Amalgamated Press of London to go on to greater glories featuring strips such as Battler Britton and Jet Ace Logan before merging into Tiger in 1958.

Here's one of the early J.B. Allen issues from Christmas 1947. The after effects of World War 2 were still being felt in the paper industry and the comic was on a fortnightly instead of weekly frequency. It only had eight pages (as did many comics of the time) and was printed in deep orange and dark green ink; a way of standing out on the shelves without the expense of full colour.

A seasonal logo but no festive aspect to the serial strip on the cover. Jungle Lord was drawn by R.Baumont, using the signature "Beau". White men taking charge of black natives was a common theme in British comics of the day, as was the name Dick for the hero.

Inside, the contents had the traditional split of 50% comics/50% text pages like most British comics. Here's page three, featuring a seasonal greeting from the anonymous "The Editor" plus a few curious pieces of a bygone era. Note the article about the amateur radio enthusiasts who spend "night after night, talking to other amateurs in other parts of the globe". Hah! Can you imagine the people of our modern 21st Century using technology for such pursuits? The very idea. ;-)

You may also have noted a pious attitude to other races in the other items on that page. Sadly that's something else that still exists today.

On page four were the only humour strips in the comic, and also the only ones that had Christmas themes. The artwork is fairly basic compared to material seen in DC Thomson and A.P. comics of the time, and the gags are ancient even for 1947, but they do the job. That's a nicely festive decorated border too.

There's another time-trip to a bygone Christmas scheduled soon. What year will we arrive at next?

Christmas Comics: THE MIGHTY WORLD OF MARVEL (1972)

2011-12-17T00:01:00.003Z

From the very early days of Marvel UK here's the 13th issue of their first comic, The Mighty World of Marvel. Back then they were competing with traditional UK comics such as Tiger and Hotspur and MWOM had its own British "feel" in that it was printed on matt paper with white margins to the covers and spot colour on the strips. This issue even featured that old British comic tradition, the Christmas Greeting... but sadly no snow on the logo.

As most of you know, Mighty World of Marvel was (and still is) stuffed with American Marvel reprint, but the early issues featured brand new covers specially drawn for the UK. In this case the cover above is by Jim Starlin, inked by Joe Sinnott, who worked together on several early MWOM covers.

I doubt that the youthful-looking Stan Lee actually wrote that Christmas message below but it does the job, and plugs the Marvel Annual too (which was actually published by IPC, who previously had the Marvel license when they were running Marvel strips in TV21).

Other than the centre pages shown here, that issue of MWOM didn't carry any other Christmas material. Coincidentally, the issue of The Fantastic Four it reprinted (issue 6 of FF, from 1962) was the same issue that the Christmas 1966 issue of Wham! had reprinted, exactly six years earlier. I always liked that story as it featured the first team-up of Doctor Doom and the Sub-Mariner. Here's a bizarre scene from that issue in all it's cheapo green-hued glory featuring Sub-Mariner leaping into space shouting "Go! Go! Go!" Forgive 'em, it was the sixties!

Christmas Comics: SONIC THE COMIC (1996)

2011-12-16T00:01:00.005Z

When Egmont Fleetway acquired the license to publish a Sonic the Hedgehog comic in 1993 I don't think they expected it have quite the longevity it had. As it turned out Sonic the Comic ran from 1993 to 2002 and has since spawned an online fan version.

I was invited to join the writing team in the early issues and gradually became one of the regular scriptwriters. By the Christmas 1996 issue of Sonic the Comic, (No.96, cover by Carl Flint, above) it had settled into the format of four long strips. Two of the stories were written by Nigel Kitching which contained no Christmas references as they were episodes of longer serials, so I was asked to provide two complete Christmas stories.

The first story I wrote for this particular issue featured Sonic in A Christmas Wish; a tale about a youngster who learns that you don't have to be a superhero to do something heroic. Roberto Corona was the artist (with Steve White on colouring) and they both did a fantastic job...

One thing that shocked me a little when I saw the published story was the addition of a huge caption warning readers not to imitate the kid who jumps out of a window thinking he has super-powers. This wasn't in my script and I didn't feel it necessary at the time. My worry upon seeing the caption was that it draws even more attention to the leap than if the reader had just read the scene and turned the page. My feeling was that the visual of the kid falling would act as enough prevention. However I appreciated that the editor Debbie Tate had to consider that STC had some very young readers and that we had to take responsibility for the stories we presented to them in case they thought Charmy Bee would be there to save them. In retrospect I should have made the same point with a less controversial scene.

Further on in the comic was the Sonic's World story, Season of Goodwill. I was very pleased with how this strip turned out, so I'm presenting it here in full for you to read. As well as Sega characters it also includes Tekno the Canary and Shortfuse the Cybernik, two characters I created for the Sonic universe. The great thing about Sonic the Comic was that we were able to weave sub-plots and character development into the stories, and this was one of the reasons for its longevity I think. In this story, although self-contained, you'll notice references to past episodes, plus Robotnik receiving a warning of things to come. Andy Pritchett and Steve White did a wonderful job on the artwork for this. Note the design of Father Christmas, harking back to the older version of the character before the jolly red-suited Santa we're familiar with today. I'd suggested this in the script and Andy got it spot on...

Another classic Christmas comic is scheduled to come down your cyber chimney soon!

Christmas Comics: DANDY and BEANO (2011)

2011-12-15T07:00:00.004Z

In the shops right now are the Christmas issues of The Dandy and The Beano. There's the Dandy above, obviously, resting on top of the original artwork for the Postman Prat story in that issue.

Both comics have 44 pages this week, each bagged with a bunch of gifts. Both have the cover price of £3.99 *.

Yes, that's eight quid for two comics, but both comics are taking a break for the holidays and won't be back until January 4th. In essence, you'll save money. I know the bagged "gifts" don't sit well with some collectors but one has to look at it from the publisher's perspective. As declining sales on both comics have shown, children today expect comics to come with several gifts. It also encourages shops to stock more copies. (Even my local newsagent doubled his order this week.)

Forget that Christmas issues of old never needed to be bagged with extras to be popular. We're living in a different time now, and all comics need to find ways to attract attention and to compete with all the other kids' mags/comics that are out there. The idea behind today's Christmas comics is for them to be used as stocking stuffers and, bearing that in mind, these issues would be a pleasant treat for most children. A handful of armchair critics may sneer at today's UK comics industry (it's far easier to tear something down than to create something new, as any local yob will tell you) but the history of British comics is one of adapting to survive, and, format aside, the contents of these two legendary titles prove that the talent pool is as strong as its ever been.

On to the comics themselves. The Dandy has a lively cover by Jamie Smart featuring Desperate Dan. I wouldn't be surprised to see Dan on the cover more often in future as, sadly, this is the last issue to feature a Harry Hill strip.

Since the relaunch of The Dandy in October 2010 Harry Hill's Real Life Adventures in TV Land has usually been the lead strip in the comic, and has been a joy to read. Nigel Parkinson (who explains more about the background behind the strip on his blog) crafted a comic strip that I'm positive will have lasting merit. What Nigel achieved was to go beyond the traditional comic fare and pack the strip with gags and witty surreal humour. Even under lesser artistic hands the writing would have carried the strip but combined with Nigel's excellent cartooning it was solid gold. It had a few critics who hated the idea of celebrities in the comic, (missing the point that such strips poked fun at celebs) but I'm sure that the strip will be fondly remembered by comic historians in the future. Take a bow, Nigel, and good luck with future Dandy projects.

Other strips in this issue include the brilliantly daft My Freaky Family by Nigel Auchterlounie, George vs Dragon by Andy Fanton, Postman Prat by David Mason (and drawn by me) and much more. Here's the seasonal logo I designed for my page...

Over in The Beano, there's the welcome return of Steve Bright who provides a great wraparound cover. Inside, there are two Meebo & Zuky strips by Laura Howell, a five page Dennis and Gnasher strip by Barrie Appleby, a retro Dennis the Menace page (from the late 1950s or early 1960s) by Davy Law, four pages of The Bash Street Kids by David Sutherland, and much more including a very nice Minnie the Minx two-pager from Ken Harrison...

It's a special issue in several ways, not least because for one issue only there's the return of Jim Petrie who came out of retirement to draw a Fatty Fudge strip based on an idea from a competition winner. Jim certainly hasn't lost his touch.

* Those of you who are subscribers won't have had to fork out the £3.99. For those of you who haven't subscribed yet the mega-bargain 15 issues for £15 subscription offer on The Dandy is still available from the DC Thomson website, (http://www.dcthomsonshop.co.uk/Group-Dandy.aspx) whilst The Beano subs offer one at £17 a quarter on Direct Debit (http://www.dcthomsonshop.co.uk/Group-Beano.aspx )

More Christmas fun soon, with a plunge into the past to unearth another seasonal comic from the Time Vortex! What year will we arrive in? Anything is possible. Anything!

Christmas Comics: WHAM! (1966)

2011-12-14T14:39:00.005Z

As I mentioned in the previous entry, Smash! and Wham! each had two Christmas issues for December 1966. Here are the ones for Wham! beginning with issue 132 and its Mike Lacey Tiddlers cover. The Wham! art editor has converted the logo into a rooftop which is a nice effective touch.

The Tiddlers continued on the back page. By this time Wham! had lost its glossy expensive photogravure printing and was on newsprint. To save even more money, the front and back covers didn't use black ink. A navy blue was used for the linework instead. (Same for Smash!, Pow! and various other comics over the years.)

Inside, Ken Reid presented us with a fantastically detailed Frankie Stein Christmas page...

Over the page, an early Sammy Shrink strip by its original artist, Dave Jenner...

The following week, another Christmas Wham! which once again used the rooftop logo but with a different topline...

The Tiddlers continued on the back page again (once again drawn by Mike Lacey). Note the "Guest Tiddler" in these strips. Readers were invited to send their name and photo to the Long Acre offices in the hope they'd be put into the strip. A very nice idea that must have pleased many lucky winners.

Inside issue 133, The Wacks indulge in pop-related mischief drawn by Gordon Hogg...

...whilst further on in the comic, The Pest of the West actually shoots at someone in a scene you'd be unlikely to see in a kids' comic today. Art by Stan McMurtry...

As reprints of The Fantastic Four had been taking up several pages in Wham since the summer, some of the other characters had to take turns to appear. Sometimes strips would share a page, as with the seasonal episodes of Biff and Danny Dare, both drawn here by Artie Jackson...

More Christmas comics scheduled to go live soon!

Christmas Comics: SMASH! (1966)

2011-12-14T10:41:00.008Z

Those of us who were children in 1966 were spoiled as some comics celebrated Christmas not once but twice! Due to the peculiarities of publishing, mainly related to how comics would appear earlier in shops at Christmas because of the holiday times of distributors and retailers, Odhams decided to issue two Christmas issues of Smash! and Wham! that year. Here's the issues of Smash! from that time.

First up, issue 47, dated 24th December 1966. Snow on the logo and the festive topline are the only indications that this is a seasonal cover, as the Batman strip was a reprint of the American Sunday newspaper material. Inside, as this was more of a warm-up to Christmas issue, not all of the humour strips had a festive theme, but The Swots and the Blots did. Artwork by Ron Spencer...

On the back page resided Grimly Feendish, one of the most memorable characters of the Odhams comics. I'm not sure if the artwork is by Mike Brown or Mike Lacey...

The next issue had slightly more of a festive look to its cover. Snow on the logo again (which seems to have melted a bit since the previous issue) and a little Christmas corner box promoting the contents.

Inside, on page three, the reader was greeted with a full page seasonal message from the editors and a bunch of Marvel superheroes...

This time all of the humour strips had a festive theme. Here's a short selection. Firstly the Ronnie Rich strip by Gordon Hogg...

Even The Man from BUNGLE, despite being a serial, managed to include some Christmas references within the episode...

The theme of Christmas food was a natural plotline for Fatty in The Nervs. Artwork by the brilliant Graham Allen...

Finally on the back page again, Grimly Feendish in a strip drawn by Stan McMurtry...

For a flashback to the 1968 Christmas issue, see here for a blog post I did two years ago:
http://lewstringer.blogspot.com/2009/12/christmas-comics-smash-1968.html

Christmas Comics: TRANSFORMERS (1990)

2011-12-13T11:00:00.001Z

By special request here's the 1990 Christmas edition of Marvel UK's Transformers comic. Sadly, apart from the excellent Christmas Carol inspired cover by Staz Johnson (coloured by John Burns) there's very little in the comic related to the season. None of the two Transformers strips or the G.I. Joe reprint have a Christmas connection, but there was a special short text story relating to the cover...

I made sure there was a festive element or six to my regular Combat Colin page. The Christmas episode took place in the middle of a three part story. I took the opportunity to mock the way that Christmas suddenly descended on some comic serials (as it had in Lion's 1971 strips, as seen here).

Rather than show the Christmas episode out of context I thought you'd like to see all three parts that I did from Transformers Nos.301 to 303. Part of the fun of doing Combat Colin was creating new villains and supporting characters. In this instance, here's the debut of Doctor Peculiar, Master of the Un-Normal! A mystic who's so mystical that he has a crop circle in his beard...

Issue 303 also contained a full page ad for the annuals that Marvel UK published that year. All license-based plus two Marvel annuals...

Another random Quantum Leap styled dip into the past soon!

Christmas comics: FILM FUN (1953)

2011-12-12T20:00:00.002Z

The comics from the Amalgamated Press always tried to pack their publications with festive imagery and this No.1,771 of Film Fun dated December 26th 1953 was no exception. You'll notice that by this time Chips had merged into the comic, but in name only. The characters from Illustrated Chips died with the title and never transferred to Film Fun. Imagine the fanrage if the Internet had been around then!

Regular favourites Laurel & Hardy appeared on the front and back covers, drawn by Terry Wakefield.

Inside, Frank Randle in a typical British comic plot about misunderstandings...

The Red Skelton strip contains some marvelous imagery that sets it in its early Fifties era. Look at that TV set, the stove, and the old-style kitchen sink...

Like most pre-1960s comics, Film Fun also contained numerous text pages (which no doubt some modern critics would describe as "filler" these days). Here's a Mirth-Makers Club story. Note the little ad for that year's Film Fun Annual in the corner. Only 6 shillings (30p).

George Formby also showed some artifacts of the time, when you could buy a sofa for £95 and (only in comic land I would think) an old car for a fiver!

Another dip into the Comics Time Vortex soon. What year will be the next stop?

Christmas comics: LION (1971)

2011-12-12T00:01:00.002Z

Considering it was mainly an adventure comic, Lion still managed to squeeze in a lot of festive cheer for its 25th December 1971 issue. The stage was set with the front cover by Geoff Campion featuring several of Lion's characters gathered for Christmas dinner.

For long running serials that had made no mention of the festivities in previous weeks it seemed a little jarring for the story to suddenly go off at a seasonal tangent. However, for Lion's young readers it all added to the excitement of the season. In the conclusion to this Black Max story it even starts snowing on cue. Art by Alfonso Font...

The most bizarre Christmas inclusion was in the Fury's Family episode, where the animals celebrate Christmas because Fury "told them what it is all about", and apparently it's about elephants wearing paper hats and tigers pulling crackers. Art by Denis McCloughlin...

One of the nice things about these old adventure weeklies is that editors knew how to pace a comic, running a couple of humour strips in between the serials so the whole package didn't become too unrelenting. Here's The Spooks of St.Lukes. (The name of the artist escapes me at present, but he also filled in for Ken Reid on Frankie Stein in the 1960s)...

The Steel Commando was a strip I never cared for, and I usually skipped it. The closing scenes of this episode are very strange though, and quite touching for a boys comic. Ironsides the robot getting broody? Bizarre! (Art by Alex Henderson according to Steve Holland's Fleetway Companion book.)

It's snow on the logo and a party hat on the skull for the Adam Eterno story, which concludes with a Christmas scene. Artwork by the great Solano Lopez...

Finally, Reg Parlett's superb Mowser strip rounds off the issue. Considering Reg's long career in comics (over 60 years) and how prolific he was it's staggering to imagine the number of Christmas pages he must have drawn. Yet each one is as fresh as any other. Wonderful stuff.

There'll be another look back at a Christmas comic soon!

Christmas comics: SPARKY (1969)

2011-12-11T00:01:00.001Z

Beginning a seasonal look back at some Christmas comics of the past. Today, DC Thomson's classic comic Sparky No.258, dated December 27th 1969. Although it didn't have the impact of Vic Neill's cover for the 1970 edition, Bill Ritchie's Barney Bulldog strip still has a pleasant festive flavour.

With the exception of the serials and adventure strips every strip in this issue had a Christmas theme. Here's a character who only enjoyed a relatively short run, Esky Mo, with artwork by Robert Nixon...

On the next page was We Are The Sparky People drawn by Jim Petrie. Ideally this page should have appeared before the Esky Mo strip as it sets up the plot of Throgmorton inviting the other Sparky characters to the party...

Keyhole Kate was always a strange strip, being about a voyeur. Despite its limited premise the strip ran for many years, having originated in The Dandy No.1 in 1937! This Sparky page is by Albert Holroyd.

On the colourful back page is the party referred to in the Esky Mo and Sparky People strips, which is also attended by Frederick, Cedric, and the Inspector from L Cars, Hungry Horace, Pansy Potter, Barney Bulldog, Spoofer McGraw (and his pal Bo), Peter Piper, Invisible Dick, I-Spy (and Boss), and characters from Kings of the Castle. The page is drawn by the regular Puss and Boots artist, John Geering...

Also in this issue was a half page advertisement for that year's Sparky Book. A bargain at only 8/6d (42 and a half pence). Note also the reader's letters, which were full of allegedly true anecdotes but, unlike their equivalent in American comics, featured no comments on the strips themselves.

Another flashback to a Christmas comic tomorrow!

Review: CLiNT No.12

2011-12-10T16:37:00.004Z

In this year's final review of a current comic (before this blog embarks on the traditional flashback to old Christmas comics) I'd like to take a look at the latest issue of CLiNT, the adults-only comic from Titan Magazines.

Some people never expected CLiNT to last this long, and I must admit I was a bit dubious myself. It's a harsh market in which to launch a new adventure comic, especially one which contains some stories that are already available in American editions. Yet CLiNT has survived for over a year now, albeit slowing its frequency down from monthly to six-weekly and, with this issue, upping its price to £4.25 (but what's an extra 26p these days?)

Issue 12 starts off with another chapter of Kick-Ass 2 at 12 pages, and Mark Millar promises a full 24 page episode next month. Throughout CLiNT, the violence is extreme and horrific. Some strips manage this with more style than others. Kick-Ass 2 has the benefit of the fantastic John Romita Jr on artwork; an artist who can illustrate gory violence but who still keeps the focus on the exciting pacing of the story. Even the quieter scenes are full of adrenalin thanks to the work of Romita (with Tom Palmer on inks and Dean White on colours doing an impressive job too).

Mark Millar can write this over-the-top stuff extremely well. I wish I could say the same for Frankie Boyle. Rex Royd returns this issue after an absence of several months. I can't say I missed it. I'm not a fan of Frankie Boyle (scriptwriter of Rex Royd) and I'm sorry to say the anger in his comedy act is evident in Rex Royd too. Everyone's dialogue is so full of seething anger that the characters sound like they're on the verge of a breakdown. Perhaps they are and I'm missing the point. There's some good ideas here, (some borrowed from David Icke's claims) and presenting The Bilderberg Group as villains is fine in my book, but there's a nastiness about the whole strip that can be distracting. The bit with the giant hamster was amusing though. Mike Dowling does a decent job on the art.

Who is Jake Ellis? concludes this issue. Interesting stuff from writer Nathan Edmonson and effective artwork by Tony Zonjic.

There's a 12 page chapter of Superior by Mark Millar and Leinil Yu. Again, Millar handles the tone of the strip really well and the story is, as always, a real page turner. The identity of Ormon the ape is revealed this issue which, while not totally unexpected, is presented in fine form by Leinil Yu. I'm intrigued to see what happens next, and there aren't many comic serials I can say that about these days.

A new strip, Graveyard of Empires, by Mark Sable and Paul Azaceta begins this issue, reprinting the Image Comics series. This 15 page segment doesn't really give an indication of what to expect beyond it being a well-researched war story set in Afghanistan, but expect a supernatural element for the next episode.

CLiNT has cut back on its feature content since the early issues and it's improved the comic considerably. The articles that have remained are welcome though, and this issue gives us some teasers for The Secret Service, the upcoming new collaboration from Mark Millar and Dave Gibbons. I've admired Dave's work since the 1970s so I'm looking forward to this. There's not much revealed about it but I think we can be sure it won't be about a puppet vicar and his miniature gardener.

Despite my reservations about Rex Royd (which may yet win me over as the story unfolds) I really like CLiNT. If Strip Magazine is the Valiant of the 21st Century, CLiNT is its Action; raw, unapologetic and brutal. Critics may argue that the stories could be told just as well without the excessive violence and profanity, and they'd have a point, but it wouldn't be as much fun would it? CLiNT isn't for the easily offended, or for people who are looking for subtlety. The best thing about comics, or any fiction come to that, is that they can offer variety. I read CLiNT, but I've also read The Beano and Maus. Long may such variety be with us.

CLiNT No.12 is available from newsagents and comic shops. 100 pages, full colour, £4.25.

Commando No.1 reprinted for 50th anniversary

2011-12-09T16:19:00.004Z

Throughout the year publishers DC Thomson have been reissuing the first 12 editions of Commando comics to mark its 50th anniversary. Every month, one of the eight titles published contained a reprint from 1961, starting with issue 12 and counting down. This week we've reached the first issue, and a full reprint of Commando No.1, Walk or Die is in the shops now, reissued as No.4453.

Now over to Commando's editor Calum Laird with more information about the latest four editions...

Here we have it, the second from last Commando raid of our 50th year, 2011.

By a curious coincidence, and one I think he’d have enjoyed, the quartet includes the second from last story created by Norman Adams who sadly died in August this year. Norman was well known to Commando fans for his creation of the Headline Heroes, The Phantom (with Keith Page) and a whole army of others.

Norman is sadly missed by everyone on the Commando Team, past and present, an I’m sure that goes for commando’s readers too.

You can find out more about Norman and his work here…

http://www.commandocomics.com/search?q=adams&page=1

http://www.scotsman.com/news/obituaries/obituary_norman_adams_author_and_journalist_1_1803417

Now the details of the current issues:

Commando No 4451: Chuck Ballard Goes To War

December, 7th, 1941 — America is left reeling from Japan’s sneak attack on Pearl Harbor. For the Japanese crew of a Nakajima B5N2 “Kate” torpedo bomber, however, the success is short-lived. After crash-landing on a supposedly deserted island, they are dismayed to find that it is in fact home to a village full of civilians.
Though the three Japanese airmen do not wish to take innocent lives, their fellow countrymen, responding to their mayday signal, are not so honourable. This may turn out to be their undoing, thanks to the presence of an ex-Marine who is an expert with a hunting rifle…

Script: Norman Adams
Art: Olivera
Cover: Ian Kennedy

Commando No 4452: Operation “Loco”

James Bailey was a railwayman like his father before him. In charge of the most powerful steam locomotives he could drive anything, anywhere, any time.
He was the obvious choice when a special job came in to his depot. Would it be a VIP run to London? Or maybe a vital troop train to the coast?
How about a Commando raid behind enemy lines?

Script: Mac MacDonald
Art: Keith Page
Cover: Keith Page

Commando No 4453: Walk — Or Die!

THE CORPORAL AND THE COLONEL

CORPORAL TOM GERRARD of the Royal Tank Corps was just an ordinary bolke, easy-going and cheerful.

COLONEL KARL OBERTH of the SS Panzer Corps was a typical Nazi officer, brutal and merciless.

SOMEWHERE on the limitless, scorching inferno of the Western Desert, Fate decided their tank tracks should cross.

HERE THEN is the story of the epic fight put up by Corporal Gerrard and his tank, Matilda, against the might and power of the Panzers and their swaggering Colonel, who thought he could sweep the British off the face of the desert.

Introduction by Calum Laird, Commando Editor

This is where it started, a little over 59 years ago — in the fiery dawn of a desert sunrise and the fertile minds of the team that put the first ever Commando together. We’ve often joked about how they anticipated the dawn of the iPad by making Commando pages just the right size to fit on its screen but reading page 14 I realised they’d anticipated the advent of social media too. Check out what Tom Gerrard has to say about the radio.
Joking apart, it’s not hard to see why Commando was a success from Day One. With a punchy story from the pen of Eric Castle, strong artwork inside the comic from Garcia and that intriguing cover from the brushes of Ken Barr those first issues fairly leapt from the shelves. The format was right from the very first and endures to this day.
Probably you weren’t born when this first came out so this is an ideal chance to find out what it was like to one of commando’s first readers. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

Walk — Or Die!, originally Commando No 1 (June 1961), re-issued as No 2523 (December 1991)

Script: Eric Castle
Art: Garcia
Cover: Ken Barr

Commando No 4454: Riley’s Rifle

It was a rifle like countless others, standard issue to thousands upon thousands of men in the British Army in two World Wars — a Lee-Enfield No.1 Mark III. Millions of them were made. Some are still in use today.
But there was something special about this particular rifle — it was as if it had a life of its own, a will of its own. It seemed to want to do things by itself…and what it wanted most was vengeance!

Introduction by George Low, former Commando Editor

No apologies for presenting another story from the fertile mind of Cyril Walker. He just couldn’t stop turning out classic tales to enthral and delight.
This 1975 story is really quite simple, the account of a Lee Enfield rifle with a will of its own and a gipsy curse woven into the fabric of the tale. It’s enthralling and a good example of Cyril at his best. Ian Kennedy did the arresting cover and Galindo drew the exciting black and white illustrations.

Riley’s Rifle, originally Commando No 994 (December 1975), re-issued as No 2347 (February 1990)

Script: Cyril Walker
Art: Galindo
Cover: Ian Kennedy

It's the Christmas TOXIC!

2011-12-07T15:21:00.004Z

The Christmas issue of Toxic is out this week. As with many UK comics for children these days it's bagged with a number of gifts, including fake poo and a disc launcher. Here's the promotional art I did for the bag...

Toxic will be celebrating its 10th year in 2012. Quite an achievement considering how fickle and risky publishing can be in contemporary times. Publishers Egmont found that gross humour appealed to its readers and Toxic still sells around 40,000 copies an issue. Inside the actual magazine this week there's a number of seasonal Christmas strips including Team Toxic in a brand new festive story.

...plus a double-page winter spread I drew. Here's a small version of it. Buy the comic to see the A3 version.

The Christmas Toxic is available from tomorrow from all good newsagents, supermarkets, airports, etc. It's snot to be missed!

For more info, visit the Toxic website:
http://www.toxicmag.co.uk/

Strip Magazine 2 on its way

2011-12-06T11:34:00.002Z

The publication of the second issue of Britain's new adventure monthly Strip Magazine, previously announced as being December 1st, has been rescheduled to December 14th according to the official blog.

"Due to a small but unexpected delivery delay from Bosnia, [where the comic is printed] the print edition will not be on sale until 14th December, for which we apologize" said editor John Freeman.

However, the good news (for those with an iPad or iPhone) is that the digital edition of Strip Magazine No.2 is now on sale from iTunes.

For more details of the contents of issue two, see the Strip Magazine blog:
http://stripcomicmagazineuk.blogspot.com/2011/12/strip-magazine-2-digital-edition-on.html

Review: The Phoenix Issue Zero

2011-12-02T17:10:00.009Z

The Phoenix has arrived, and it's looking good.

Considered by many to be the reincarnation of, or successor to, The DFC, the new weekly comic will be a welcome sight for those who were saddened when The DFC folded. In my view The Phoenix is a considerable improvement on The DFC, at least from the evidence of this preview issue.

My main problem with The DFC was that its content was aimed at too wide an age group, with younger-readers strips sitting uncomfortably alongside material for older readers. In my experience (as we learned with Oink! in 1986) this divides and alienates the audience from certain strips that are either too young or too old for them. With The Phoenix, this isn't a problem. The tone of the material is even and the result makes for a better comic.

Perhaps comparisons to The DFC are unfair, so with that out of the way how does The Phoenix hold up on its own merits? Extremely well. All of the material is of a very high standard indeed and the design of the comic is clutter-free and easy on the eye. With high quality printing and good paper stock this really looks the business.

In the tradition of children's comics of old, The Phoenix has a fictitious editorial team (the characters seen on Matt Baxter's cover) and this will no doubt serve as a good way to welcome young readers. Indeed, the comic is unashamedly and firmly aimed at children, but the high standard and variety of the creators involved should make it an appealing purchase for adult comic fans and pros as well.

The comic kicks off with a four page prelude to The Pirates of Pangaea by Daniel Harwell and Neil Cameron. The strip begins at the start of a voyage into unknown territory, and, for many young readers, that will no doubt mirror their experience of reading The Phoenix as their first comic. Set in 1717 and with a female hero, it's an intriguing opening chapter.

A regular feature of The Phoenix will be an extract from a children's book. In this instance it's To Be a Cat by Pete Williamson. It's good to see a text story in a comic again, and it reflects the editorial attitude of The Phoenix being influenced more by children's books than comics. This is a positive thing as it gives The Phoenix its own identity.

My favourite strip in the issue was James Turner's Star Cat. Fantastically daft and very amusing, as his Super Animal Adventure Squad had been for The DFC.

There's a two page article in strip form explaining the basics of How to Make Funny Comics. Now this is the sort of activity page I like; encouraging kids to make comics! There's another activity page at the back called The Dangerous Adventures of Von Doogan by Lorenzo Etherington. It's a puzzle page, but, again, in strip form. An excellent use of comics.

Corpse Talk by Alan Murphy is a strange strip. Strange in a good way though. It seems that in every issue a dead historical figure will be dug up and interviewed, wherein the corpse explains his/her history and achievements. This issue it's Amelia Earhart. Next time it's Nikola Tesla. This has to be the most bizarre educational strip idea ever seen in a childrens' comic. Brilliant.

Every issue of The Phoenix will feature a complete, one-off story. Issue Zero features The Apprentice written by Ben Haggarty with dark cartoony artwork by John Welding telling a tale of demons being summoned. Very nice work.

Fans of Jamie Smart will be pleased to hear that he's on board with a new strip, Bunny vs Monkey. The usual Jamie bonkersness and sure to be another hit.

As a free preview issue this is a very impressive debut for all concerned and it bodes very well for the regular weekly when it arrives on January 7th. I've always maintained that if a comic wants to succeed it must be unique, as Comic Cuts, The Dandy, Eagle, 2000AD, and Viz were when they launched. In that regard The Phoenix definitely has its own identity and, if it can spark an interest in those elusive, indifferent readers of today, I'm sure it'll be a success.

https://www.thephoenixcomic.co.uk/

Promoting OINK! in 1986

2011-11-27T22:31:00.003Z

I'd forgotten I had this. Back in 1986 when Oink! was about to be launched, IPC sent a four page A4 promotional flyer to newsagents. I thought I'd show it here so you can see how Oink! was announced to the trade...

(As you may know, "S.O.R." means Sale Or Return, which newsagents always preferred because it meant they wouldn't be stuck with unsold copies as they would with Firm Sale.)

Instead of the increasingly expensive TV advertising that IPC had indulged on previous launches, this time the company decided to give away a full 32 page preview issue of Oink! bagged with three of their most popular comics. The contents of the preview issue contained the material we'd submitted in 1984 for the "dummy" issue (a mock up used by editors to convince management of a new comic's potential). It featured the debut stories of Tom Thug, Horace (Ugly Face) Watkins, Rubbishman and others who would become regulars in the fortnightly. None of the strips in the preview issue were repeated in the comic so the preview issue itself is a collectible item. Here's the cover by Ian Jackson...

A few issues into Oink's run, another preview issue was bagged with a few other comics, but this time it merely reprinted issue 7.

Team Toxic investigate the Bubbles of Doom!

2011-11-25T17:55:00.003Z

When bubbles filled with farts burst forth on the surface of the sea gassing trawlermen it's up to Team Toxic to get to the bottom of it. The latest issue of Toxic, out now, features the Team investigating The Bubbles of Doom.

Toxic No. 195 also features other new comic strips Captain Gross, Luke's Spooks, and Busted Bieber. There's also a bunch of features and several free gifts (including a basketball game and 'Nail Through Finger' prank I did the artwork for).

More details on the Toxic website, which shows the cast of the Horrid Henry movie enjoying the current issue...

This issue will be out until 6th December. The following day will see the Christmas issue on the stands. Here's a sneak preview of what's coming on December 7th...

Commando comics 4447 to 4450

2011-11-23T13:41:00.006Z

Four more Commando editions on sale now!

Commando No 4447: Colours Of Courage

The proudest possessions of any regiment are its colours — the flags which it carries into battle. Its history is recorded on these colours, the victories it has won.
A regiment guards its colours fiercely. To have them captured by the enemy is a terrible thing. But when a man hands over the colours to save his own skin it is a disgrace that brave soldiers can hardly bear think about.

Introduction by Calum Laird, Commando Editor

If there are two things difficult to get right in a Commando they are French Resistance stories and ghosts. Resistance stories could easily be 63 pages of skulking about avoiding searching German soldiers and ghosts could easily look like normal characters drawn without enough ink.
Thanks to ace story-teller Cyril Walker, Colours Of Courage cracks along with plenty of action to break up the tension. And Arthur Fleming — an art teacher from Glasgow — manages to skilfully depict a glowing figure despite only having black ink and white paper to work with.
Wrapped in one of Ian Kennedy’s superbly drawn and laid-out covers it’s got all it needs for a cracking Commando.

Colours Of Courage, originally Commando No 1182 (December 1977), re-issued as No 2412 (October 1990)

Story: Cyril Walker
Art: Arthur Fleming
Cover Art: Ian Kennedy

Commando No 4448: The Four Scars

Corporal Bill Kirk felt the tiny life-raft rock lazily as the Jap struggled aboard. Both turned to look at the sinking Jap prison-ship they’d been on — Bill a prisoner, the Jap a guard. Then they turned back, to look at each other; and what that Jap read in Bill Kirk’s eyes made him start back in fear.
But there was no escape for him. With only the vast empty ocean and the sharks circling the raft for witnesses, they grappled in a fight to the finish.

Introduction by Calum Laird, Commando Editor

I’ve mentioned before that I my childhood Commando issues at the back of the garage a few years ago. Some I had to look at again to refresh my memory, but not this one. I don’t know how many times I read and re-read this in the 60s but it must have been a lot because I had almost total recall.
Ken Barr’s cover with its ethereal hand hovering over the action, Victor de la Fuente’s action-packed, high-energy inside art and Eric Hebden’s crackerjack of a story with its startling twist were just what the doctor ordered in 1965…and are equally so today. I think so anyway and I hope you’ll agree.
As an aside, Ken Barr used a sheet of transparent plastic sheet with the outline of the hand painted on it to get that ghostly effect. I certainly didn’t know that in 1965.

The Four Scars, originally Commando No 185 (October 1965), re-issued as No 831 (April 1974)

Story: Eric Hebden
Art: Victor de la Fuente
Cover Art: Ken Barr

Commando 4449: Days Of Danger

Simon Katz was a young German and a fervent anti-Nazi. A brilliant mathematician, he escaped Germany by the skin of his teeth and went to work as a code-breaker for the British.
Not long after, Sergeant Barney Taft also made an escape – from the bullet-strafed beaches of Dunkirk.
Though they were on the same side, when circumstances threw the pair together, they clashed bitterly. But could they manage to work together against a ruthless enemy? They would have to if they were to survive.

Story: Stephen Walsh
Art: Vila
Cover Art: Nicholas Forder

Commando No 4450: The Nightmare War

Private Franz Bauer, a German Army engineer wounded during the invasion of France, was haunted by the deaths of his comrades in the same battle — wiped out by a mine. When he recovered he threw himself into his new job developing the remote-controlled Borgward IV demolition vehicle, hoping it might save other German lives.
His chance to save thousands of lives would come, but he would be working alongside an unlikely ally — someone who had nightmares every bit as bad as Franz’s.

Story: Mac MacDonald
Art: Keith Page
Cover Art: Keith Page

Sneak peek: The Dandy No.3562

2011-11-21T12:43:00.009Z

Here's a quick preview of The Dandy that will be on sale from Wednesday. With a festive cover by Nigel Parkinson the issue begins the run up to Christmas with The Dandy Advent Calendar across the centre pages by Nigel Auchterlounie (who also has a brand new series beginning this issue; My Freaky Family.)

And just what is Postman Prat up to?

Be prepared that this week the price has risen to £1.99 (after being the lower price of £1.50 for a year). Unavoidable sign of the times unfortunately, but bear in mind it used to be £2.50 just over a year ago and it cushions the blow a bit. Better still, it's far cheaper if you subscribe at 15 issues for just £15. (Then you'll get your Dandy in advance, like I did.)

Update: It didn't take long for some to start complaining on various forums about the price increase. Dandy-bashing (and Beano-bashing) seems to be a popular sport amongst some comic fans. Well, I say comic fans. I get the impression that Dandy and Beano are the only titles some of them follow, judging by how they seem oblivious to the fact that budget cuts and price increases are affecting many titles.

They also complain about the reduction in originated pages in Dandy and Beano. (Perhaps they haven't noticed that practically every Marvel and DC comic - dozens of titles - have also lost two pages of strip content recently, and that Marvel raised their prices from $2.99 to $3.99.) Folks, look beyond Dandy and Beano. Look beyond comics. There's a recession on and it's not getting easier.

As I've said on various comic forums (and which has pretty much been ignored by the critics) each British comic is allocated its own budget. Sadly, these days, that budget can't always stretch to fill every page with new strips. So editors have to spread it out. Some weeks the comics will feature more new stuff than others. A reduction in new material one week might simply mean more is being allocated for an upcoming issue (eg: the Christmas issue). I think fans should respect the editors for doing a juggling act, not crucifying them for not spending money they don't have. No one likes the situation, but the scrutiny and sneering of some "fans" towards children's comics does no one any good and just creates a growing, unpleasant pessimism on the forums.

And let's not forget that reprints and "filler" (feature) material are not a recent development in British comics. Far from it! For just one example, 40 years ago The Dandy was running three pages of reprint every week, when it just had 20 pages. The IPC comics were often much worse, with reprints being a frequent way to pad out their weeklies. A better awareness of history might calm the outrage of critics somewhat.

Does anyone have a time machine I could borrow? I want to go back to 1890 to moan to Alfred Harmsworth about the number of reprints in Comic Cuts No.1. It'll be the death of the comic industry that one.

Dandy and Beano begin digital editions

2011-11-20T16:35:00.005Z

You can now buy The Dandy and The Beano to read on the iPhone or the iPad reports Scotland's Courier newspaper.

The comics are now available on the App Store as an alternative to buying the long-running paper editions. It's a far more convenient and, perhaps, more reliable way of obtaining the titles than hunting them down in newsagents. Mike Stirling, editor of The Beano said "it guarantees our fans can enjoy The Beano 24/7".

I think this is a welcome move by DC Thomson that should be applauded. With an increasing problem of poor shelving displays in newsagents and the simple fact that many children just don't look for comics on the stands any more, digital editions are a good alternative to offer them.

The App requires iOS 3.2 or later.

For more information visit the Courier website:
http://www.thecourier.co.uk/Living/Digital/article/19048/digital-dan-and-dennis-dandy-and-beano-comics-hit-the-app-store.html

The Phoenix Issue Zero coming soon

2011-11-17T10:31:00.004Z

Readers anxious for the January arrival of Britain's new children's comic The Phoenix will be pleased to hear that a special preview issue will be available this weekend.

This free limited edition is issued in cooperation with Waitrose, and will only be available by checking out this week's issue of Waitrose Weekend (out today). A promotional code in the magazine can then be used to obtain a copy of The Phoenix preview edition by logging on to http://www.thephoenixcomic.co.uk/waitrose/

The other bit of Phoenix news, and the most important, is that from today you can begin subscribing to the new comic ready for its launch in early January.
http://www.thephoenixcomic.co.uk/subscribe/

Prepare for Worlds End

2011-11-16T09:53:00.003Z

Over the past few years comic artist Tim Perkins has been hard at work on his creator-owned graphic novel Worlds End, and now the end product is about to be launched.

Described as the first of a series of "science fusion" graphic novels, Worlds End Volume 1: The Riders on the Storm, is a fully painted book intended for all ages that is set on another world called Gaeryth, where a Mathemagician, called Gweldar, his familiar, Geek, a young boy, Ralf and a mysterious girl called Zephol are all that stand before an invading alien horde intent on aqua-forming the otherwise tranquil planet in the far reaches of space.

88 full colour pages for £15.99, hardback, with a foreword by Bryan Talbot and introduction by John Ridgway. The book can be pre-ordered from the website of Tim's company, Wizards Keep, at this URL: http://www.wizards-keep.com/index.asp-Q-Item-E-worlds-end-volume-1-the-riders-on-the-storm--73814029--1

Having seen preview pages of the book I can thoroughly recommend it. There's some stunning visuals in there and even though I don't usually go for such fantasy-based comics I became drawn into the world that Tim has created. I'll be covering the book in more depth soon but for now here's the official YouTube trailer for it:

http://youtu.be/ehASolcoaoA

Monster Mash!

2011-11-15T17:40:00.004Z

One of the enjoyable things about working for Oink! comic back in the 1980s was the opportunity to do numerous one-off or short run strips as well as regular characters. Monster Mash appeared in Oink! No.13, the Halloween issue for 1986, and was a collaboration between editor Mark Rogers and myself.

Mark had originally sent me an idea for a story called The School Dinner Monster and asked if I had any ideas to add to it. I added a few bits and bobs to the plot and dialogue, and thought the title Monster Mash was catchier. I gave the name 'Pigzilla' to the giant robot pig, although Mark changed that to the much more inspired Pigswilla.

As Oink! was printed on quality paper (as opposed to the newsprint of its companion comics Buster, Whizzer & Chips etc) I knew we could be a bit more adventurous with the rendering of the artwork so I thought a grey wash would give it more depth. I was really pleased with how the strip turned out and it remains one of my favourite pieces 25 years later. The artwork is a bit rough in places but I'm still happy with it.

I felt that with Monster Mash and some of the other material that myself and other contributors did for Oink! that we were stepping outside the usual conventions of British humour comics and moving away from the standard schoolkid-with-gimmick that had dominated IPC's comics since 1969. And we were all having great fun doing it. This comedy-adventure, comic horror stuff was what comics should have been doing more of in my opinion.

As it turned out, it seemed most readers still preferred the more traditional schoolkid strips, and Oink! folded after just two and a half years. Then again, Whizzer & Chips folded a few years later, and that was the most traditional "safe" comic in IPC's stable. Perhaps it was just a sign that readers were being distracted by video games.

Pigswilla returned for two or three more complete stories during the run of Oink! and I'll show them here at some point in the future.

Terry Willers 1935 - 2011

2011-11-13T13:11:00.002Z

Sad news of another passing in the world of comics and cartoons, cartoonist Terry Willers died on November 9th, aged 76.

Although born in the UK, Terry lived and worked in Ireland for over 40 years. He began his drawing career aged just 15, working for a Disney studio in London. He went on to draw newspaper strips for various European newspapers including strips from the Dutch Toonder studios in the 1960s. It was also during the Sixties that Terry became an artist on Odhams' Wham! weekly as one of the people brought in to "ghost" the look of Leo Baxendale's work. Willers' own style was still evident in those pages though and he was allowed to sign his work. He also worked on strips for other comics, such as The Dandy and The Beano.

In Ireland Terry drew cartoons for The Sunday Independent, The Farmers Journal, The Evening Herald and The Wicklow People. He also worked in television, producing cartoons for Hall's Pictorial Weekly (for which he won an award) and The Mike Murphy Show. He was also a founder and chairman of the International Cartoon Festival in Rathdrum during 1992 - 94. (The 1992 event attracted over 30,000 people!)

Here are a couple of the strips he drew for Wham! General Nitt and his Barmy Army appeared in issue 86 (5th Feb. 1966) and Georgie's Germs appeared in issue 88 (19th Feb. 1966):

For more information on Terry Willers and a better sampling of his work visit these sites:

http://www.wicklownews.net/Post/2011/11/498/rathdrum-saddened-at-death-of-cartoonist

http://www.ecc-cartoonbooksclub.blogspot.com/2011/11/terry-willers-passed-away-1935-2011.html#!/2011/11/terry-willers-passed-away-1935-2011.html

http://lambiek.net/artists/w/willers_terry.htm

Mick Anglo 1916 - 2011

2011-11-11T22:22:00.005Z

Mick Anglo, creator of Marvelman, passed away on October 31st at the age of 95.

Although Marvelman was easily the character he was most associated with, Mick Anglo's career in publishing saw him enjoy a variety of accomplishments. He freelanced in commercial art when he left school, drew cartoons for overseas army newspapers during the war, and then became an author of western, romance and crime novels under the name Johnny Dekker as well as continuing to draw for various publishers.

Between 1950 to 1952 Anglo produced various comic strips for the Arnold Book Company (run by Arnold Miller) and for Arnold's father's company L.Miller & Son. In 1954 Anglo opened his own company, Gower Studios, to package comics for various publishers (ie: produce full comics to the specifications of a publisher, ready for printing). Mick Anglo's staff included Ron Embleton, Bob Monkhouse, and Denis Gifford. He also gave Don Lawrence his first break, years before Lawrence would go on to produce the stunning Trigan Empire series.

When legal problems between Fawcett Publications and National Comics (now DC Comics) forced Fawcett's Captain Marvel comics to close, Mick Anglo created Marvelman to fill the gap for the Captain Marvel UK reprints, with Anglo and his studio producing brand new stories. The similarities between Captain Marvel and Marvelman were plain to see, but readers eagerly took to the character (and its spin-offs Marvelman Family and Young Marvelman) and the comics continued into the early 1960s. Bearing in mind those comics were weekly, Anglo's output was considerable. Even today, Marvelman remains the most successful British superhero in terms of how many issues were produced (346 issues, plus the same number of Young Marvelman comics, and 30 issues of Marvelman Family).

Mick Anglo continued to produce more comics in the 1960s, including, amongst other things, becoming editor of City Magazines' TV Tornado in 1967, and Super DC for Top Sellers in 1970. He retired in the 1980s.

In 1982 Dez Skinn revived Marvelman (with Alan Moore as writer and Garry Leach as artist) for the new monthly anthology comic Warrior. Here things became darker, not only in the tone of story but also in reality, with Marvel Comics threatening legal action over the name of the character, with Marvelman becoming Miracleman for the American editions published by Eclipse Comics. The story of further developments is a saga in itself, but in 2009 Mick Anglo sold the rights of Marvelman to Marvel Comics. Since then, Marvel have produced a mini-series of reprints (Marvelman Family's Finest) and a few hardback reprints. No new Marvelman series has yet been announced.

For a feature on Super DC see here:
http://lewstringer.blogspot.com/2007/03/super-dc.html

John Ryan Exhibition

2011-11-10T22:05:00.004Z

I've just been contacted by Isabel Ryan, the younger daughter of Captain Pugwash creator John Ryan, and she tells me there's a retrospective exhibition of her late father's artwork opening on November 19th at the Rye Art Gallery, East Sussex.

Isabel says she enjoyed selecting the work for the show and that the exhibition will feature "book illustrations, strip cartoons, and TV animations (over 50 works)".

The poster above gives the details and you can find out more at http://www.ryeartgallery.co.uk

(As many of you will already know, before the TV series made the character famous Captain Pugwash made his debut as a comic strip in Eagle back in 1950. For a previous blog entry about John Ryan see here.)

The Dandy gets BIGGER

2011-11-09T15:49:00.003Z

A few weeks ago The Beano added 4 extra pages and now it's the time of The Dandy to increase its page count to 36 pages every week. The price remains the same, at just £1.50 an issue, but the paper stock changes to a thinner, glossy format, similar to that used by American comics. Reproduction of the artwork is perfect, and I'm sure everyone will be pleased with that, although I do miss the sturdy paper stock that was used over the past 12 months.

As you can see from Nigel Parkinson's great cover, Bruce Forsyth is back in his own comic strip inside (well, for one week only). It's just like the days of Film Fun when Brucie was the cover star back in 1962! Artwork below by Roy Wilson.

Commando comics this week

2011-11-08T12:48:00.004Z

Published this Thursday here's the latest four editions of Commando. Continuing to celebrate its 50th anniversary one of the issues reprints No.2 from 1961, with a reprint of issue 1 coming next month.

There's also two stories set in World War 1 as an appropriate tie in to Armistice Day.

Here's all the info from editor Calum Laird:

Commando No 4443: Killer In No-Man’s-Land

As a soldier in the no-man’s-land between your own trenches and the enemy’s in World War One, you expected to get shot at. British soldier Alan Roux and his mates certainly did.
What they didn’t expect was to have to dodge bullets fired from their own side.

Story: Mac MacDonald
Art: Vila
Cover Art: Ian Kennedy

Commando No 4444: Kings of the Castle

Many strange battles were fought during the 1914-18 war but surely the strangest involved a pair of French regimental policemen, a squad of Australian infantrymen, a bunch of escaped German POWs…and a mediaeval stone tower.

Story: Mac MacDonald
Art: Keith Page
Cover Art: Keith Page

Commando No 4445: THEY CALLED HIM COWARD!

“BANZAI!”

The powerful Japanese Army was island-hopping its ruthless way down through the South Seas towards Australia. Many a brave Aussie soldier, standing his ground in the green hell of the island jungles, was bulldozed into eternity by the sheer weight of the Nipponese army.
And one Englishman in the Australian army was caught up in the desperate battle.
Bob Palmer he was christened, but COWARD was the name they branded him with. Coward, the word that turns a man into the loneliest being on earth, for what soldier seeks a coward for company?
But there was no craven blood in Bob Palmer’s veins — and he proved he was ready to spill every drop as he blasted Jap after Jap into kingdom come.

Introduction by Calum Laird, Commando Editor

A classic Commando tale this, a man the victim of a misunderstanding who has to prove his accuser wrong. And with plenty of action along the way to add some spice. That the two men are on the same side but different nationalities hardly matters nor that there’s a third character trying to be a peacemaker between them.
What does matter is the use of the emotive word Coward in the title and through out the story. It’s one of those loaded words that can’t be spoken except without venom — as amply demonstrated here by Sergeant Fettis.
Note to the 1961 Commando editor…the word Coward in the title is far too small, make it bigger.

They Called Him Coward, originally Commando No 2 (June 1961), re-issued as No 2531 (January 1992)

Story: Castle
Art: Bonato
Cover Art: Ken Barr

Commando No 4446: MYSTERY IN THE DESERT

It was going to be Captain David Poole’s toughest mission yet. Posing as a German spy he was to feed the Nazis with false information which would lead their forces into a trap.
Everything was going like clockwork until David met up with a certain Australian pilot — and then everything started to go terribly wrong.

Introduction by Calum Laird, Commando Editor

As I recall, Ken Gentry who penned this tale was a South African newspaperman with a sideline in Commando stories. I worked on a few of his over the years. Here he weaves a web of deceit with a double-crossing British agent, a straightforward Aussie pilot and a luckless German commander.
Cecil Rigby who provided the inside art for the story had also worked on newspapers, as a very good caricaturist and he wasn’t bad at Commando either, having been in at the start.
Ian Kennedy, who provided the cover, puts himself in the cockpit of every plane he draws. I hope he made an exception with this one — that looks like a painful crash.

Mystery In The Desert, originally Commando No 1370 (November 1979)

Story: Ken Gentry
Art: Cecil Rigby
Cover Art: Ian Kennedy

http://www.commandocomics.com

The Goodies in Cor!!

2011-11-08T00:01:00.000Z

As most of you know it's been a long standing tradition for British comics to sometimes feature strips based on celebrities of the day. One such example was in 1973 when Cor!! started running a humour strip based on TV stars The Goodies. The artwork was by Joe Colquhoun, most famous for being the first artist of Roy of the Rovers in the 1950s and for his remarkable work on Charley's War in the 1980s.

Here he displays his ability to turn his style to humour. It's a million miles away from the grim trench warfare of Charley's War but Joe's excellent brushwork still shines.

Interestingly, Cor's cover illustration of The Goodies was later re-used and re-coloured for The Goodies Fun Book in 1977 which reprinted the strips from Cor!! (See here for more info.)

It's Judge Sweeny Toddler!

2011-11-07T16:03:00.004Z

Back in 1985 IPC indulged in a rare moment of self-parody in the comics departments when the cover of their humour weekly Whoopee! spoofed 2000AD. For one week only the popular bad baby strip Sweeny Toddler became Judge Sweeny Toddler in a homage to Judge Dredd. Even the logo for that issue was redesigned to mimic the then-current 2000AD masthead.

Script by Graham Exton, artwork by Tom Paterson. Anyone found not laughing will be sentenced to 30 days in an iso-cube.

Firework fun in the Fifties

2011-11-05T12:29:00.006Z

It's Bonfire Night and the stars are bright. Well, it's forecast clouds and rain actually but you can still enjoy the fireworks in this trip back in time to look at the pages of a couple of 1950s comics.

First up, here's the 1954 firework edition of TV Fun No.60. The cover strip featuring diminutive funnyman Arthur Askey was drawn by Arthur Martin, who would in 1971 be the original artist of Chalky for Cor!! comic.

The firework theme didn't dominate this issue of TV Fun. Including the cover strip only three of the comic's 16 pages featured bonfire night strips. Inside, Professor Jimmy Edwards is on the receiving end of more explosive fun, illustrated by Reg Parlett...

The prolific Reg Parlett was also the artist of the back cover strip, Sally Barnes. Reg of course illustrated thousands of pages spanning over a career of more than 60 years. The body language of the characters in this strip is superb, proving Reg to be a true master of comic art. Like his brother George, Reg was particularly good at drawing the curves of the female figure, something that Amalgamated Press played up in the 1950s but which Fleetway toned down in the 1960s.

A few years earlier Radio Fun had featured a couple of firework-themed strips in its 1950 issue. The AP comics were going through a bad patch at the time. Due to what the editor termed "production difficulties" (industrial action by the printers) some comics skipped several weeks. When Radio Fun did reappear its cover showed a combined numbering (No.627/8/9/30) and combined dates on the page headers (Oct. 14/21/28/Nov. 4, 1950) even though it only had the usual 16 pages.

Obviously this meant that scheduling a theme issue was difficult in case the comic didn't appear that week (subsequently there was only one Christmas themed strip in the late December issue of that year). Therefore only two firework themed strips were in the Radio Fun of 1950. Here's cockney spiv Arthur English "The Prince of Wide Boys". (Artwork was, I think, by Alex Akerbladh.)

From the same 1950 issue here's Douglas Cardew Robinson (drawn by Reg Parlett) indulging in more firework tomfoolery. You'll notice that all of these strips involve characters coming into direct contact with exploding fireworks. Something that UK comics eventually stamped out in later years for fear of presenting dangerous explosives as toys.

However, this week the firework fun is back in the pages of The Dandy and The Beano (and a half page strip in Toxic)! Here's Postman Prat living up to his name in the current Dandy, drawn by me from a script by David Mason...

Wherever you are, have a happy and safe November 5th!

Strip Magazine is here!

2011-11-04T00:01:00.001Z

After delays outside the publisher's control the first issue of the new British adventure comic Strip Magazine has finally arrived in comic shops.

It's an impressive debut. Kicking off with an eye-catching cover by PJ Holden we're treated to 68 glossy pages for a mere £2.99. Considering that most US comics now cost around £2.20 for 20 story pages Strip Magazine is a definite bargain. (There's also a free gift in the form of an A2 sized Mirabilis poster.)

The comic is packed with brand new comic strips and a few features about UK comics, plus, by arrangement with Egmont, the return of Hook Jaw (from the notorious Action weekly of 1976) in colourised reprints with new lettering by Jim Campbell (replacing the flat typeface used on the original).

Intended for an all-ages readership Strip Magazine features an emphasis on action-adventure rather than a reliance of talking heads or gore. The strips move at a fast pace but still cram a lot in to establish the characters and plots. Subsequently that can lead to a bit of overload in places, somewhat like being introduced to loads of new people at a party and expecting to remember everyone's names while the music's blaring out. This is particularly evident in the lead strip Black Ops Extreme, which is a brilliantly lively opening for a new comic but might need a couple of re-reads to remember who's who.

Every strip in the new comic has good things going for it, from the aforementioned fast moving Black Ops Extreme and Recovery Incorporated, to the humourous touches of the alternate-Earth complete story On Her Majesty's Hush-Hush Service. There's an interesting supernatural element to Warpaint (and a great cliffhanger), and some very nice John Ridgway artwork in Age of Heroes.

Above: A panel from Hush-Hush by Keith Page.

The articles in the first issue include an interview with Black Ops' artist PJ Holden, a feature on the history of Action by Moose Harris, and items about Print Media's graphic novels. There's also a couple of humour strips; Cosmic Patrol by Mauricet and Janssens, and Autospy & Ape by Toxic's John Rushby.

If I have any criticism it's that, as yet, there's not really one strong standout character that could be the next Dan Dare, Judge Dredd, or Steel Claw. However it's possible that Mia Raven of Recovery Incorporated might prove me wrong after a few issues. (Personally I'd have simply called the strip Raven. Strips with the names of the hero tend to be more memorable than the organizations they work for. I doubt Roy of the Rovers would have had the same impact had it been titled Melchester Rovers for example.)

It's early days yet though and Strip Magazine is off to a great start. There's not a dud strip in the comic and all the stories contain action and intrigue. What more could you ask for? Comparisons to 2000AD and CLiNT will be inevitable, but perhaps unfair. 2000AD has had over 30 years to build up its fanbase and its characters, whilst CLiNT is deliberately post-watershed and ultra-violent. Strip Magazine has its own approach and is closer in spirit to all-ages traditional UK comics such as Lion but uses contemporary storytelling techniques and attitudes. Let's hope this is the beginning of a long and successful new era for UK comics. Issue 2 is scheduled to be published on December 1st.

Strip Magazine No.1 is available from comic specialist shops such as Forbidden Planet (not newsagents). It's also available to download on the iPad, and postal subscriptions will also soon be available. See the official website for more details:
http://stripcomicmagazineuk.blogspot.com/

Victory of the Horror Comics

2011-10-31T15:52:00.006Z

Many full moons ago a mixture of people who ranged from the well meaning to the pious, from the twisted to the sinister, decided that horror comics were corrupting the youth of the Western world and, for all intents and purposes, either neutered the comics with the Comics Code or forced them out of business.

Who would have guessed that one day those forbidden treasures would be reprinted in luxurious hardback and paperback collections on quality paper? That those classics would be unearthed from the grave for future generations to decide for themselves whether the stories would "deprave or corrupt"?

Yes, over the past several years those gruesome, garish horror comics that were hounded to their death in the 1950s have returned in force. In fact there are so many collections of pre-code horror comics available now, and more are coming, that it's a struggle to keep up. Here's just a few...

Several Marvel Masterworks reprint the Atlas Era of horror, with volumes of Strange Tales, Journey Into Mystery, and the done-in-one volume of Menace.

After a recent glitch and change of company, the EC Archives are soon set to return from new publisher GC Press, beginning with Haunt of Fear Volume 1 and Vault of Horror Volume 2, carrying on the line from Gladstone.

British publisher PS Publishing has recently begun reprinting Harvey horror comics in quality hardbacks. Volume 1 of both Chamber of Chills and Witches Tales are out now, with Tomb of Terror and Black Cat Mystery to follow.

Craig Yoe (http://yoebooks.com) who has produced some beautifully designed books on comics, spotlights individual creators, with his book on Dick Briefer's Frankenstein already out and Bob Powell's Terror lurching through mailboxes soon.

There are some great anthology collections available too. Two I would definitely recommend are Four Colour Fear from Fantagraphics and The Horror, The Horror: Comic Books the Government Didn't Want You to Read.

The latter book even contains a DVD of the American TV programme Confidential File which "exposed" the evils of horror comic books... except it was made after the Comics Code had been put in place. The programme is a disturbing propaganda piece that attempts to manipulate the viewer into believing its wild claims. What's most outlandish about it is a filmed scene which shows a gang of children in the woods about to torture another child, suggesting that comics are to blame when in fact the whole thing is staged for the camera under the instruction of the programme makers themselves.

Some horror comics were trashy rush jobs, some were true quality created by masters of the form. A few were gorier than others, but mild in comparison to modern standards. Mostly they were fun, and kids have always loved monsters and creepy stuff, as evidenced from the growing popularity of Halloween. They know it's not real. It's very satisfying to know that those simple comic books that were considered so harmful without actual proof can now be seen again, and in formats that will endure the years. Finally, the horror comics won! The downside is that many of the artists from that era are no longer with us and never knew that their work would finally receive the respect it deserved.

Happy Halloween!

The man behind the mask

2011-10-28T23:19:00.004+01:00

Most of you may have already have seen this on the BBC News website, but last week journalists made the connection that many protesters currently occupying Wall Street and other areas around the globe were wearing V for Vendetta masks.

V for Vendetta, created in 1981 by Alan Moore and David Lloyd for the launch of Dez Skinn's Warrior comic, told of a proactive anarchist in a fascist Britain of the near future. Clad in black and wearing a Guy Fawkes mask, he was known simply as 'V'. Later collected into a graphic novel it was adapted into a movie in 2006 which, although it had it moments, never equaled the starkness and intellectual layers of the graphic novel. When the movie was released, plastic V masks became available as part of the merchandising, and have proven to be highly popular ever since.

In one of those instances where life imitates art, the mask has now become associated with real-life protesters and the BBC contacted David Lloyd for his opinions on the matter: "The Guy Fawkes mask has now become a common brand and a convenient placard to use in protest against tyranny - and I'm happy with people using it, it seems quite unique, an icon of popular culture being used this way".

You can read the full story here:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-15359735

Below: David Lloyd's original character design sketch and notes for V.

Leo Baxendale 81 today

2011-10-27T15:36:00.007+01:00

Today is the 81st birthday of the great Leo Baxendale, the original artist and creator of The Bash Street Kids, Little Plum, and Minnie the Minx for The Beano back in the 1950s, and many characters for other comics such as Grimly Feendish and Willy the Kid.

It's no hyperbole to say that Leo is the most influential artist in British humour comics over the past 60 years. Even today, long after Leo retired from traditional children's comics, his style is still evident in the pages of The Beano and other comics. His strips were certainly a big influence on my work and that of artists such as David Sutherland, Tom Paterson and Nigel Parkinson.

It's hard to imagine how British comics would have developed without Leo's massive input. Admittedly the style of comics was already changing in the 1950s, away from the wonderful Roy Wilson style and towards an equally wonderful and more mischievous Davy Law style but Leo pushed comics even further into a more modern and anti-authoritarian direction. (Davy's radically energetic work on Dennis the Menace was the key that inspired Leo to submit work to The Beano in 1953.) The combination of Davy Law, Leo Baxendale, and Ken Reid changed the face of The Beano in the Fifties, and when Leo was invited by Odhams to create a "Super Beano" in the form of Wham! in 1964 his style influenced a generation of new artists such as Mike Lacey and Graham Allen.

Leo left traditional comics in 1975, moving on to create books such as Willy the Kid and Thrrp!, and to write his autobiography It's a Very Funny Business and books such as The Encroachment and On Comedy. He also created a new strip, I Love You Baby Basil for The Guardian in 1990.

Today he still maintains a website for his Reaper Books imprint which you can find here:
http://www.reaper.co.uk/

Happy Birthday to Leo, the king of comics.

Illustrations on this item all by Leo Baxendale: A title page from The Beano Book 1960; an early Eagle-Eye strip from Wham! No.3 (July 4th 1964); cover to Smash! No.4 (1966); Willy the Kid Book 1 covers (1976), and an unusual one-off strip, Whodunnit, from The Beano Book 1960. Here's the solution below...

Have a Dandy Halloween

2011-10-26T20:55:00.004+01:00

Yes it's the special Halloween issue of The Dandy this week! 32 pages crammed with comedy-horror and not a single reprint in sight. A fangtastic cover by Nigel Parkinson and three pages by him inside too, including Harry Hill, or Harry Chill as the strip's titled this issue. Plus Korky the Witch's Cat, My Little Zombie, and much more including Postman Prat visiting Crackpot Castle.

Sadly, in some areas copies of The Dandy are a rarer sight than ghosts these days. It was a struggle finding an issue this week, although it wasn't helped by my local newsagent receiving his copies soaking wet from the supplier! (Perhaps some religious nut had doused them in Holy Water to exorcise the supernatural elements of the Halloween theme?)

If you're having problems finding shops that stock The Dandy why not do as I've just done and subscribe? It's only £15 for 15 issues at present; a pound an issue! A substantial saving on buying it off the shelf.
http://www.dcthomsonshop.co.uk/Group-Dandy.aspx

Next issue: firework fun! (What? Firework strips in a comic in 2011? Yep! Wait and see.)

True Brit goes digital

2011-10-25T23:06:00.002+01:00

Several years ago, TwoMorrows Publishing in the USA released True Brit, an impressive softback book edited by George Khoury which spotlighted many British artists from Leo Baxendale to Bryan Talbot and more. Now the company has republished the book as a 284 page digital edition to download.

The original edition was published in black and white but with the benefits of digital technology "the entire book has been reconfigured for full colour" according to their website, "and includes more than 75 pages not in the original print version".

Available to download for a bargain price of $6.95 the book spotlights the work of Ken Reid, Frank Bellamy, Barry Windsor-Smith, Dave Gibbons, Kevin O'Neill, David Lloyd, Frank Hampson and many more, including interviews and numerous samples of their artwork, and a history of British comics by David Roach.

To obtain your copy visit the TwoMorrows website here:

http://twomorrows.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=517&zenid=5n5dhh6q4tbkbe7tis07fj7d96

The Thrill Electric is here!

2011-10-25T22:40:00.000+01:00

I don't usually publish press releases as this is supposed to be mainly a nostalgia blog but I thought I'd make an exception for this major new launch:

Channel 4 Education is pleased to announce the launch of The Thrill Electric at this weekend’s MCM Expo London Comic Con. The Thrill Electric is a 10-part enhanced comic series produced by Hat Trick Productions set in the Victorian era that demonstrates the extraordinary parallels between the telegraph age and the Internet age.

“Teenagers may be surprised to hear that online gaming, personal messaging, cyber-bullying and online profiles are all an invention of the Victorian telegraph, not the internet,” says executive producer Jonathan Davenport. “By setting our story in the sprawling metropolis of Victorian Manchester, we are taking the concerns and issues of young people today and playing them out in an atmospheric setting that will seem both exciting and strangely familiar to our readers.”

Working with the very best names in the British comic’s industry and award-winning digital agency Littleloud, The Thrill Electric tells the story of Emily Bagley, a sassy and intelligent young woman who breaks with tradition and becomes a telegraph worker. In addition, there’s a whole host of characters to follow through the series as they tackle issues of sexual identity at a time when it was illegal to be gay; trying your best to better yourself in the face of peer pressure from gangs; the dangers of creating a false impression of who you are online; and female issues of body image and sexual inequality. And for eagle eyed readers, there’s a secret storyline hidden in the code.

The Thrill Electric is written by comic writing duo Leah Moore and John Reppion, designed by Manga aficionado Emma Vieceli, illustrated by the all-female comic book studio Windflower, and produced by Tracy Beaker and Young Dracula’s Mia Jupp.

“When we discovered that the Telegraph system in the Nineteenth Century was to all intents and purposes a Victorian Internet, it really caught our imaginations,” says Leah Moore. “A young woman could, with the right skills, join a predominantly male workforce and become part of the rapidly growing online international community. There is a strong resonance between the story in the Thrill Electric and the team helping to create it - lots of talented women working in a male dominated industry but rising to the surface despite that.”

The Thrill Electric tells its story in the form of an enhanced comic with layered panels and atmospheric animations. In addition, The Thrill Electric is packed full of contextual issue-led information threaded throughout the story. Darren Garrett, the agency’s Creative Director, adds: "Littleloud created the technical framework and animations, with a view to explore and push what comics can be in the digital age, and how they can connect with new audiences. The technical framework we've built is all about exploring those possibilities and giving writers and artists tools to do this."

Commissioning editor, Jo Twist, says, “After reading comics on the iPad, I really wanted us to transform the way you could read them online, and what the team have done is a joy to experience. This is the first use of Unity player in comics and the innovative way the narrative is combined with real historical fact, the illustration and the animations with contemporary music makes this something quite unique.”

The Thrill Electric will be released weekly and experienced via a bespoke comic reader available online at this address www.thethrillelectric.com and on iPod and iPhone devices.

The experience begins Thursday 27th October.

Charlie Chaplin in The Funny Wonder

2011-10-24T18:00:00.001+01:00

The presence of celebrity-based strips in The Dandy over the past 12 months has been a cause of controversy amongst some readers. Some people see them as intrusive, and on the Comics UK forum one pseudonymous fan went as far as to say that The Dandy is now "brainwashing our children into the facile, banal, empty celeb-worshipping modern culture".

However I think most of us see the strips for what they're intended to be; a bit of fun, and something familiar to draw in new readers. Far from being "celeb-worshipping", the strips are actually gently mocking the TV stars they caricature.

The adverse reaction is surprising really, as the inclusion of celebrities in comics isn't a new concept. From Dan Leno's Comic Journal in 1898, through comics like Film Fun (1920), to The Goodies in Cor!! in the 1970s and Big Daddy in Buster in the 1980s, British comics have long upheld such a tradition.

Here from my collection are a few examples of one of the early comic celebs; Charlie Chaplin on the cover of The Funny Wonder from way back in 1926. The strip began in the comic in 1915 and ran until 1944. The regular artist was Bertie Brown, although Freddie Adkins ghosted Bertie on occasion. Judging by the lettering it's possible that issues 652 and 653 shown here are by Adkins, although I believe 643 is by Brown.

I hope you enjoy these classics from 85 years ago!

Superman in Radio Fun

2011-10-22T00:50:00.002+01:00

Numerous British publishers have tried making Superman work in UK comics, with varying degrees of success. The first such venture was in Triumph in 1939/40, he had his own reprint title in the 1950s, there was the short-lived Super DC in 1970, and various attempts from Egmont and Titan in more recent decades. Back in 1960 however, British comic readers could marvel at the exploits of Superman in the pages of Radio Fun weekly.

The strip had a relatively short life in the long-established AP/Fleetway comic, only appearing from 1959 to 1961. Even the planet-twirling Superman couldn't reverse the fortunes of Radio Fun which, after a highly respectable 23 year run merged into Buster in 1961. Superman became one of the strips which transferred to Buster, but the Man of Steel didn't survive there for long.

The Superman stories which appeared in Radio Fun were collated from the daily strip that appeared in American newspapers. The example shown here, from Radio Fun dated January 9th 1960, originally appeared in the USA from April to August 1958. In the story Superman encounters Romado, an alien with a computer mind who shows Superman the miniaturized Kryptonian city of Dur-El-Va which he keeps in a bottle. Sounds familiar? Around the same time, Action Comics No.424 (July 1958) introduced us to Brainiac, an alien with a computer mind who has the miniaturized Kryptonian city of Kandor in a bottle.

(You'll notice that some of the artwork and the lettering on the top half of page 2 of the issue doesn't match the rest of it so I suspect some redrawing went on to edit the strip for the Radio Fun version.)

Although Radio Fun during this period was clearly trying to retain the interest of readers who might otherwise be distracted by the glamour of American imports, the comic still contained traditional British fare as well, from The Falcon to Bernard Bresslaw. Here's a selection of spreads from the same edition:

On the back page, a complete contrast to the American icon on the cover. It's the very British icon Norman Wisdom, illustrated by the brilliant John Jukes:

Strip Magazine delayed

2011-10-19T16:17:00.005+01:00

News just in that, sadly the new 68 page UK adventure monthly Strip Magazine, which was due to launch tomorrow, has been delayed.

"Despite our best efforts, the first issue of STRIP Magazine will not be on sale in UK comic shops tomorrow (20th) due to courier problems beyond our control" said editor John Freeman in an official announcement this afternoon.

"We will advise of new on sale date as soon as it is confirmed," continued John, "but please be assured we're working closely with Diamond to get our first issue of our action-adventure anthology into UK comic shops as soon as we can."

"Naturally, we are extremely disappointed and annoyed by this turn of events and we know that this news will disappoint many people waiting for the Magazine's debut."

"As soon as we have definite news we will publish it on the Print Media Productions web site: www.printmediaproductions.com " John concluded.

I've known John personally for 30 years. He's one of the good guys in this business and I know the amount of hard work that he's put into Strip Magazine, how dedicated he is to launch a new adventure comic that Britain deserves, and how much he'll be making sure that Strip Magazine No.1 will be available as soon as possible. Having seen a preview of the contents I can tell you that the comic will be worth waiting for and is definitely worth your support. I'm hope you'll all join me in wishing Print Media Productions the best of luck and will continue to look forward to this great new comic when it arrives soon.

Strip Magazine will be available from comic specialist shops (not newsagents). Hopefully every comic shop has placed an order to show that they can support the UK comics industry. (If your local comic shop isn't stocking it, ask them why.) Subscriptions will be available from the Print Media website.