Monday, March 25, 2019

Preview: THE COR!! BUSTER HUMOUR SPECIAL

I was going to wait until the weekend before publication to reveal more images from this special but as there are already websites showing a fair bit of it I thought I'd post this discreet preview now. I'm just showing extracts from a few of the strips, which I've cropped to resemble torn clippings. (So, no, I haven't ripped up my copy. It's far too good to do that to it!) 

 Since buying the rights to the classic characters, Rebellion have produced a number of excellent reprint books, and that will continue with some absolute crackers lined up for this year and next. They've also ventured into reviving titles with all-new material, as the two Scream and Misty Specials have shown, and this year there will be more, - with The Cor!! Buster Humour Special being the next in line, arriving in shops on the 17th April.

 The 52 page full-colour comic has its own distinct identity, featuring strips by creators old and new. Here's a few snippets... 

 I'm sure one of the highlights for everyone will be the return of Sweeny Toddler by one of its original artists, Tom Paterson! A brilliant strip back in the day, and if anything this new three page episode is even better than the old strips!
There's a new look for Kid Kong, courtesy of Alec Worley on script, and Tiernen Trevallion on art. If you loved Tiernen's work on the recent Black Max revival, Fiends of the Western Front, in 2000AD, this is an unexpected change of subject matter for the artist but he accomplishes humour as well as he handles grim horror! 
Gums is back, by Lizzie Boyle and Abigail Bulmer. A superb looking strip, modernising the toothless shark for the 21st Century. 
Deadly Hedley is back too! The Vampire Detective from Buster of old in a new strip by Paul Goodenough and Neil Googe, with colours by Jim Boswell. Looking good! 
I've drawn a new three-pager, written by John Freeman, called Who's In Charge?, which unites a bunch of classic characters such as Sid's Snake, Cheeky, Joker, Bad Penny, and Buster himself. I've also put in a bunch of cameos by various vintage characters too. See who you can spot! 
Other all-new strips include X-Ray Specs, Ivor Lott and Tony Broke, Frankie Stein, and more, but for me the one I was most excited about was the return of... Grimly Feendish! Yes, "The Rottenest Crook in the World" from Wham! and Smash! is back, and drawn by Tom Paterson who was surely born to illustrate this character! I really hope we see more of Grimly drawn by Tom in the future. The character deserves his own special! 
The Cor!! Buster Humour Special will be in WH Smith, comic shops, and selected newsagents from 17th April, priced £4.99. Don't miss it! 
Cover by Neil Googe. Colours by Jim Boswell.
As an exclusive to my blogs, I thought you might like to see a panel of mine from the Who's In Charge? strip as my original art looked in the inking stage and how it looked after I coloured it (and Leila O'Millar lettered it). You'll note that I added the solid blacks when I coloured it too, along with the old comic covers. Also, I removed the TV set as it was redundant to the story. (It was part of a previous draft of the script, and wasn't needed for the finished version.) 


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13 comments:

  1. Peter GrayMonday, 25 March 2019 at 07:38:00 GMT

    The funny thing is Tom Paterson also drew Grimly in Shiver and shake a few times...I'm really looking forward too it... looking forward mostly to your work and Tom's...But looks fun the other artists.... Tom and you have still got it!

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  2. huckyMonday, 25 March 2019 at 09:13:00 GMT

    Will buy this just for your artwork,yours is the way comics used to look before they went all techy[see the later Dandy's] put me off the comic to see what look like child drawings.

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  3. OxfordDickieMonday, 25 March 2019 at 09:33:00 GMT

    Am looking forward to this, shame there's so much time between releases like this.

    I agree with 'hucky' in that I prefer your (how it should be) style to the modern that I'm sure was one of the reasons people gave up on the Dandy, and appears far too often in the Bean, removing the overall character of the comic, and something I'm struggling to tolerate, as I did with the Dandy before I gave up with it. 😫

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  4. Lew StringerMonday, 25 March 2019 at 12:52:00 GMT

    To be fair, the comic isn't aimed at us so it needs to reflect contemporary styles and not many modern cartoonists draw in the style we grew up with. As for The Dandy, most of it still had the traditional look. The most drastic new style being Jamie Smart's, and his style has proved popular with kids (see his work in The Phoenix).

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  5. Graham ExtonMonday, 25 March 2019 at 14:14:00 GMT

    Hmmm. You and Tom's stuff looks great. I can't say I'm attracted to the revamped strips.

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  6. Lew StringerMonday, 25 March 2019 at 14:19:00 GMT

    It would have been good if you could have written Hedley again. You scripted some great ones in the old Buster!

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  7. Simon BromleyMonday, 25 March 2019 at 14:54:00 GMT

    Nipper! Loved that. :D

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  8. Ben Bernard-SmithMonday, 25 March 2019 at 16:50:00 GMT

    Why 'Cor!!' and 'Buster' specifically as the title? My thought was other than Buster, Whizzer and Chips was the most popular of the comics or am I wrong?

    If I was to choose two of the titles it does sound the snappiest, so maybe that's why?

    Looks to be a great comic, can't wait to pick it up! Here's hoping for a weekly humour comic revival!

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  9. UnknownMonday, 25 March 2019 at 17:00:00 GMT

    Vintage cameos? I see Scream Inn in the distance, Odd Ball being kicked, Fuss Pot complaining, Tom Thug on the run, the Blots chasing the Swots, the Bumpkin Billionaires driving past, Tharg getting a mention on the condemned poster, Big Ed from Tornado getting namechecked by Buster, Weary Willie and Tired Tim walking down the street. I think that just leaves the dog and the monster coming up from under the street, neither of which I can place (unless the monster is one of the generic ones that serve Grimly.

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  10. IrmantasMonday, 25 March 2019 at 18:22:00 GMT

    Delighted to hear Tom Paterson has contributed a new episode of Grimly! There is an article about the character in Shiver and Shake series on my blog. According to my findings, Grimly Feendish was Tom’s earliest comic work, and his style evolved quite notably during the period when he drew the strip in Shiver and Shake issues 34 to 77. Here’s the link to the blogpost: http://kazoop.blogspot.com/2013/06/a-look-at-shiver-shake-strips-grimly.html

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  11. Lew StringerMonday, 25 March 2019 at 19:09:00 GMT

    Thanks for the link, Irmantas! It's been decades since I binned most of my Shiver and Shakes so I'd forgotten Tom drew some Grimlys back then.

    Not sure that's a Tornado reference, "Unknown", as the character was called Big E.

    You're right, Ben, but perhaps they thought Cor!! would stand out more. The original idea for the title was to incorporate several titles, so I'm glad they didn't go for that option. (That said, 1968's 'Smash! Pow! It's Fantastic Summer Special' was one of my favourite comics as a child so I don't think kids bother about titles too much. It would definitely confuse and annoy retailers today though!)

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  12. John FreemanTuesday, 26 March 2019 at 11:02:00 GMT

    It was a real pleasure to work with you again on a strip, Lew. It looks terrific. Thank you.

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  13. Lew StringerTuesday, 26 March 2019 at 11:07:00 GMT

    Thanks for suggesting me to draw it, John! Enjoyed it!

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