The Christmas CHIPS (1939)

Here's my final Christmas choice for this season, and indeed forever, as Blimey! will end on December 31st so there'll be no festive covers from me next year. Therefore I thought I'd make sure this last choice is a good 'un! We travel back in time 80 years to this week in 1939 where this wonderful edition of Chips was in newsagents across the UK. 

We all have our favourite eras for comics but there's no denying that the 1930s were a fantastic period for beautifully drawn Christmas logos. Percy Cocking has put everything into this title design; Father Christmas, decorations, stockings, holly, crackers, Christmas pud, the traditional slap-up feed, and even an appearance by the editor, Fred Cordwell, in the top left there hosting the event. And yes, characters were frequently shown smoking and drinking in kids' comics back then!

Percy Cocking was also the artist on the Weary Willie and Tired Tim strip. Two of the very earliest comics characters who'd been around since Tom Browne created them in 1896. They appeared on the front cover of Chips until its final issue in 1953. 

Tucked away on page two was the editorial, and a sad reminder of the era this comic was published in. It was 1939, war had begun, and the editor makes references to evacuees, and those in the forces...

Chips was in its usual 8 page tabloid format on pink paper and the centre pages had an array of tightly packed humour strips. Here's a sample...

Ivor Klue the Great Detective, drawn by Albert Pease...

Casey Court, also by Albert Pease (he was very good wasn't he)...

Pa Perkins and his son Percy, by Bertie Brown...

Homeless Hector... often by Bertie Brown but I'm not sure who drew this one...

There was also a small advert for that year's Radio Fun Annual. The price of half a crown (12 and a half pence) would have been quite expensive back then...

By the way, I don't know how many of you noticed, but I put Weary Willie and Tired Tim, and Homeless Hector, into the Cor!! Buster Humour Special as little cameos. I'm intending to do the same again in the Buster strip I'm drawing for next year's Cor!! Buster Easter Special. Gotta keep those old characters alive!

Copyright Rebellion Publishing Ltd.

I hope you've enjoyed this festive selection. I'll be doing a handful of posts after Christmas but the blog will cease to be updated after 31st December. See you soon and may I wish you a Happy Christmas!

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The Christmas BEANO (1971)

As you can tell from the name written above the logo, I was having The Beano reserved for me at the local newsagents every week back in 1971. In fact I'd had it saved for me since 1966. These days it's easier (and cheaper) to take out a subscription than ask shops to reserve comics, as they sometimes claim they can only stock what suppliers send them.

The interesting thing about The Beano at that time was that all of the original artists on their top characters had either left or passed away by then. Other artists had been assigned to imitate the original styles as best they could... and they not only did a exceptional job at it but made those styles their own. More importantly, the characters continued to be as popular as ever, and still are to this day. 

The Christmas Beano often delivered some nicely designed covers and this 1971 edition is no exception. The Biffo the Bear strip is by the very versatile David Sutherland. 

Grandpa had been a Ken Reid character from the 1950s but had been revived in 1971 under the artistry of Robert Nixon...

The Bash Street Kids story in this issue is absolutely superb, with great artwork by David Sutherland and a brilliant ending...

The Belles of St.Lemons is a Beano strip that's largely forgotten now. Perhaps the exploits of a St.Trinians style school became too dated, or perhaps it was always going to be in the shadow of Bash Street, but it didn't last too long. Nice artwork by Gordon Bell though...

Back then, Dennis the Menace was still a single page strip on the back page. Contrary to what some might think, the back page position was highly valued as it closed out the comic, leaving readers wanting to come back next week for more laughs. The artwork is by David Sutherland (told you he was versatile... and prolific too) inspired by Davy Law's style and mastering it...

The final comic in my Christmas selection will appear here soon!

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The Christmas SCORCHER (1973)

Adventure comics didn't always bother with Christmas episodes but this issue of Scorcher made the effort for a few of its characters. No snow on the logo, but a nice festive cover by Mike Western.

Inside, footballing brothers Jack and Jimmy (which had started out as two separate stories in Score and Roar) concluded their latest story with preparations for Christmas. Art by Barrie Mitchell...

Billy's Boots had been in Scorcher since issue 1 in 1970 (see here) and would continue to be the comic's most successful strip. It later moved to Tiger when the two comics merged. You can read more about the series on this old blog post:
https://lewstringer.blogspot.com/2010/04/final-fate-of-billys-boots.html

Don't forget that a Billy's Boots collection of the earliest stories is coming in February from Rebellion!

Lags Eleven was another popular strip, but never a favourite of mine I must admit. Art by Douglas Maxted...

The best thing about Scorcher for me is that it gave work to Ken Reid. Here's Jimmy Jinks which although not in the same league as his strips from the 1950s and 1960s is still of a very high standard.

There'll be another Christmas comic from the 1970s soon!

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The Christmas SPARKY (1972)

We've arrived at the early 1970s. Flared trousers are in, as are chopper bikes, clackers can't be far off, and this issue of Sparky was in newsagents this week in 1972. The cover is drawn by Bill Ritchie, with a novel approach to wishing the readers a Merry Christmas.

Inside, The Sparky People's Christmas party includes a few guest stars from the other strips. Good to see artist Jim Petrie's take on Puss and Boots, Klanky, Hungry Horace, Spoofer McGraw, and Pansy Potter. 

Snip and Snap was drawn by Mike Green, who's later draw Weedy Willy for Oink! and Buster. I've always liked Mike's distinctively different style...

Sam's Snake and I Fly were both drawn by Phil Millar, who'd been a gag cartoonist for men's mags in the 1950s. 

Spoofer McGraw (He Tells Tall Tales) reminds me of someone I encountered online recently, but that's a story for another day. This great strip was drawn by Gordon Bell, the original Pup Parade artist. 

...and on the back page of this 24 page comic was Puss and Boots, one of Sparky's most popular strips. Drawn by John Geering it encapsulated the off-the-wall humour that Sparky was famous for at this time. 

Sparky was a great comic from 1968 onwards and strips such as Puss and Boots, I Spy, Sparky People, Spoofer McGraw and others deserve to be reprinted. Maybe one day, but don't hold your breath.

Another Christmas comic tomorrow! 

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The Christmas... THOR AND THE X-MEN? (1983)

When is a Christmas comic not a Christmas comic? When it's a Marvel UK comic reprinting stories out of season I guess. The short-lived Thor and the X-Men comic from 1983 was a merger of two of their weekly titles and reprinted 1960s and 1970s material from their American counterparts. 

The editor didn't have to make this a festive issue, as the stories certainly didn't reference Christmas, but snow still adorned the logo and Iceman appeared in the corner vignette so that was close enough. On page two, the Bullpen Bulletins editorial page (which would have also appeared in some of their other weeklies) also made references to Christmas, so all in all I'm calling this a Christmas comic.

This 28 page weekly was a slim comic that split the Thor and X-Men stories into two halves over two weeks. This issue featured the second halves of the U.S. editions of Thor No.232 (Feb. 1975) and X-Men No.30 (March 1967). 

The rest of the comic included a few pin-ups and a readers' art page. There was also the classified ads page, where comic shops and sellers could advertise. How many of these comic shops are still in business? Nostalgia and Comics has become Worlds Apart, Forbidden Planet has moved and expanded to branches in other cities. What about the rest? 

With it being Christmas, there were also adverts for the annuals that Marvel UK had produced that year. None of these TV shows appealed to me but I suspect those of you who are a bit younger will have enjoyed them...

Sadly, after a run of many years, there are no annuals in the UK featuring Marvel characters this year. Surprising, as I would have thought at least a Spider-Man Annual might still appeal to kids, but evidently not. Times are changing fast.

Keeping that UK Marvel tradition alive, Panini editor Brady Webb always makes sure The Astonishing Spider-Man has a festive look every year. This week's issue is on sale this Thursday, 19th December.

Panini's Spider-Man comic for younger readers also has a festive touch with Spidey swinging through a snowstorm. In the shops now.

Another classic Christmas comic soon, and next time we're going way back!

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The Christmas TAMMY (1971)

Tammy was launched in early 1971 so this was its first Christmas issue. The comic was the first of a new style of IPC comics that were more streetwise, and more likely to feature working class heroes. Its success led to comics such as Action, Battle, and 2000AD. Although where those three comics usually focused on action and gritty conflict, Tammy was more about the emotional punch, and it certainly delivered, especially in its early days. More about Tammy next week, if I have time.

This Christmas issue didn't feature a lot of festive material, so I'll just focus on the pages that did. The cover was by John Armstrong, featuring his Beattie Brown character from the serial Beattie Beats 'Em All. 

The sole humour strip Lulu had a nice clean style to its artwork. Does anyone know who illustrated it? It looks like Colin Wyatt's work to me...

The serial No Tears For Molly was a very popular series that ran for years. I understand it was written by Maureen Spurgeon and drawn by Tony Thewenetti according to the Jinty blog. You'll see what I mean about the comic playing on the emotions. The stories often featured heroic resilience against cruel, even sadistic, adults. Real gripping stuff...

...and on the back page, here's an outfit you can make for Christmas. Party like it's 1971! 

There'll be another dip into the time stream to pull out another Christmas classic soon!

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The Christmas EAGLE (1964)

There's not a lot of festive material in this issue of Eagle for 1964 but I've found a bit to show you. Adventure comics mostly avoided festive themes in their stories as it would throw an awkward plot into the serials that would look forced. Some Dan Dare serials managed it (such as the first one in 1950) but they didn't bother with this episode. Dramatic artwork by Keith Watson, although focusing on a lot of close ups and silhouettes. Still, it couldn't be easy turning out work of that quality every week so we'll forgive him cutting corners to meet deadlines.

The Pop Pick of the Week focused on "Christmas Greetings from the Stars", complete with autographs. I did a quick Google search and they look convincing compared to genuine autographs. I believe Max Clifford worked for Odhams at the time so it's likely he arranged this. 

Reg Parlett's Fidosaurus the Prehistoric Poodle may look familiar. It was reprinted a few years later in Buster as Pongo the Prehistorioc Pooch! Christmas in the Stone Age? OK, some Christmas traditions are nicked from Pagan beliefs but this is stretching it. Still, if we can accept that a dinosaur dog existed at the same time as human beings then reality has already sailed. :) 

Can You Catch A Crook? Well, can you? See if you can spot the clue in this Christmas story illustrated by Paul Trevillion...

Finally, a nice colour cutaway by L. Ashwell Wood, depicting London's hidden railway for the Royal Mail. (These days a tourist attraction.)

There'll be another retrospective of a bygone Christmas comic soon!

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