The latest edition of Classics from the Comics, out tomorrow, features the return of an almost-forgotten British superhero. King Cobra, who featured as the cover star of The Hotspur from 1976, featured artwork by D.C. Thomson stalwart Ron Smith, who'd later go on to illustrate Judge Dredd for 2000AD and the Daily Star.
King Cobra, in reality reporter Bill King, transforms his ordinary street clothes into a high-tech costume at the pull of a string, becoming a gadget-equipped masked hero thwarting crime in the UK. In other words, superhero action with a quirky British
slant.
It's good to see Classics branching out from the humour comics it originally focused on to bring in reprints from the old D.C. Thomson adventure titles as well. Recent issues have also seen selected reprints of Tough of the Track from Victor and 1980s General Jumbo stories from Buddy.The latest issue isn't short on laughs though, and includes the usual variety of comedy strips from Beano, Dandy, Topper, Sparky and more along with a spotlight on the work of Jim Petrie, who drew Minnie the Minx for several decades. 68 pages for £2.
When I first saw Ron's new superhero strip I immediately recognised a distinctive style in his work.
ReplyDeleteHe was the perfect guy to produce this kind of strip.
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