The Power of WHAM!

When Odhams invited Leo Baxendale to create a comic for them in 1964 he envisioned it as a "Super-Beano" (to use his words). After all, the intention was to rival D.C. Thomson's popular weekly so Leo wanted to use the Beano's best talent in the new venture. As it turned out, neither Davy Law or Paddy Brennan were able to commit to it, but Ken Reid was (although his Frankie Stein strip wouldn't begin until issue 4). The resulting comic, Wham!, wasn't quite the "Super-Beano" Leo had hoped for but, for many of us who read it, it was just as good, if not better, than The Beano was at that point anyway. 

For the early issues of Wham!, it was left to Leo Baxendale to create most of the characters and strips himself. This was quite a task, and it wasn't long before other artists (mostly from an art agency) were brought in to lighten the load and take over some strips. The earliest issue of Wham! that I have is issue No.2, dated 27th June 1964 (published Monday 22nd June) so let's take a look at some of Leo's work in that issue...

The cover shown at the top of this post conveys the impact of the comic's title perfectly. Wham! - this was something different and it demanded your attention to let you know that. Bear in mind that most humour comics of the time used strips on the cover, so a big, bold illustration like this must have been very eye-catching. 

Inside, General Nitt and his Barmy Army kicked off the comic. Historical fiction was very prominent at the time on TV and in comics, so this parody was perfectly suited. I have a feeling the dragon may have been redrawn though, as the style looks different to the rest of the strip. 

The Tiddlers was Wham's answer to The Bash Street Kids, but the twist here was that the teacher (Super Sir) was an ally of the naughty kids. (Super Sir was later replaced by a more traditional teacher who clashed with the Tiddlers.) The large panel of the Head gnashing his cane is a good example of one of the things that made Wham! so different. Humour strips of the time usually stuck to a formula tier of panels. That big picture had Wham!-appeal. 

Eagle-Eye, Junior Spy was Leo's best remembered strip in Wham! A wonderful comedy-serial, spoofing the spy trend of the time. It's mostly remembered though for its chief villain, - Grimly Feendish, - who became more popular than Eagle-Eye and later gained his own strip in Smash! in 1966. In the seventies, The Damned even wrote a song about him!

Again, Leo uses a big panel for impact, although I suspect it was also to save time as he had 13 pages to draw for this issue! Either way, it gave the page a powerful look.

Biff would become the comic's cover strip with issue 5. A simple story, but it "breaks the fourth wall" as they say, which was quite unusual in comics of the time. 

The Pest of the West would swiftly be taken over by other artists (notably Brian Lewis) and this page looks somewhat rushed but it conveys the slapstick gags well. Even when done in a hurry, Leo's work was still funny.

Finally, Georgie's Germs was Wham's answer to The Beezer's Numskulls, but far more urban and revolting than Thomson's strip was then. Just look what a mucky kid Georgie is. No wonder he suffered from one ailment to the next every week for the next four years. 

Wham! may not have been the slickest comic on the stands in 1964 (particularly after Leo cut back his workload) but it definitely seemed to be the funniest. It had a reckless cheekiness about it that was very engaging, and the fact the comic is still so well remembered today proves that although it wasn't a Super-Beano it was brilliant in its own right and was still a super comic for many of us, thanks to the power of Leo Baxendale and his fellow contributors!