50 Year Flashback: WHIZZER AND CHIPS No.1

A few days ago was the 50th anniversary of Whizzer and Chips, but I completely forgot about it due to the 40th anniversary of Doctor Who Magazine being on the same day! Anyway, here's my belated post on the subject (which is in itself an updated rewrite of a blog post I did ten years ago)...

Five decades ago, on Saturday 11th October 1969, IPC Magazines launched the first of many humour titles that would propel them to the top of the British comics industry. Whizzer and Chips No.1 arrived boasting the unique selling point of it being "Two comics for only 6d", - 16 page Chips comic was inside 16 page Whizzer.

As with most comics of the period, Whizzer and Chips No.1 was promoted on television with short, snappy ten second advertisements and within other comics (such as Smash!) with four page pull-out ads.

In reality, Whizzer and Chips was only ever one comic of course, and, within the walls of IPC, was regarded as such by its editor Bob Paynter. At the time D.C. Thomson's Dandy and Beano each had 16 pages for 4d and IPC knew they couldn't compete on that level, so the illusion of two comics for 6d worked, as Whizzer and Chips seemed better value for money as "two" comics than it would have as one.

Being a rival to Dandy and Beano was obviously the intention, and IPC's clever "two-in-one" marketing technique ensured the success of the comic right from the outset. A comic cannot survive on a gimmick alone of course, and fortunately Whizzer and Chips also had a strong content. Many of the humour strips were created by relatively new cartoonist Terry Bave and his wife Sheila who provided the scripts. Bave had learned his craft freelancing for Odhams on strips such as Sammy Shrink and Baby Smasher. For the early issues of Whizzer and Chips he provided no less than seven pages! One of the most popular, Me and My Shadow, a simple but imaginative concept, can be seen here...

Other artists who had freelanced for Odhams also appeared in IPC's new venture. Mike Lacey kicked off with Odd-Ball (which would run for many years by various artists) and Sid's Snake, but the superb Graham Allen was wasted on the limited strip Give A Dog A Bone (a dog tries to hide his bone every week with not-quite-hilarious consequences). Earlier that year, IPC had dropped Mike Higgs' very popular strip The Cloak from Smash! but Bob Painter asked him to create a new strip for Whizzer and Chips. The result was Space School, which, due to editorial tastes, lacked the scope and satire that had made The Cloak so popular, but was still a funny strip in itself...

Adventure strips also appeared in the early issues of Whizzer and Chips, albeit fairly lighthearted ones compared to the sort of material that comics such as Valiant featured.

Kings of the Castle was a ho-hum strip about the working-class King family inheriting a castle, The Space Accident was a science fiction strip drawn by Ron Turner, The Spectacular Adventures of Willie Bunk was about a kid with magic glasses, but the standout strip for me was The Stealer, nicely illustrated by Tom Kerr...

The most distinctive humour pages in the comic were written and drawn by veteran comic artist and comic historian Denis Gifford who presented us with Koo-Koo Klub and a revival of his 1950s Knockout character Steadfast McStaunch. Every week Gifford devised puzzles that McStaunch would need the reader to solve, - a great interactive idea. Whist Gifford is remembered as the author of many books on comics (who also devised tv and radio shows) his inventive comic style has now mainly been forgotten which is a great shame. Here's the first 1969 Steadfast McStaunch, completely written, drawn, and lettered by Denis...

Another gimmick that Whizzer and Chips was renowned for was the "rivalry" between the two comics, where characters from one comic would "raid" the other, - and the readers would have to spot them in backgrounds. That didn't kick off until issue two, however Chips No.1 cover-starred Sid's Snake - the characters that from No.2 would be the cover stars and mascots of Whizzer. The famous cover star of Chips, accident-prone Shiner, didn't appear until the second issue.

Right from the outset Whizzer and Chips looked slicker, stronger, and better designed than its Odhams predecessors Wham!, Smash!, and Pow! had been. Personally, as a ten year old reading it back then, I found it entertaining but not as irreverent or, well, funny, as the Odhams weeklies had been. The hallmark of IPC's humour comics was "safe" comedy, and Bob Paynter would always encourage creators to be "careful", fearing backlash from parents and retailers.

That said, hundreds of thousands of kids obviously enjoyed Whizzer and Chips immensely, given its long run. Even though I never found Harry's Haunted House anywhere near as entertaining as The Nervs, I still stuck with the comic until my early teens, - mainly due to the solid storytelling and artwork. The popularity of Whizzer and Chips led to the launch of Cor!! in 1970, and many other similar titles such as Whoopee!, Shiver & Shake, Monster Fun, Jackpot, and others which enjoyed varying degrees of success. Even Fleetway's Buster was gradually revamped into an all-humour title to fit within the IPC humour group.

IPC attempted the "two-in-one" gimmick again in the early 1970s with football weekly Score 'n' Roar and humour comic Shiver and Shake. Neither were very successful, proving that innovation is better than imitation. (My theories on Score 'n' Roar's failure can be read here.)

Fifty years ago I remember a schoolmate of mine, Grant Hicks, running around the playground of our junior school with Whizzer and Chips No.1, ecstatic that he'd got "Two comics for the price of one". IPC's gimmick had paid off, and continued to do so for that title for many years.

Companion comics which fell by the wayside, such as Knockout and Whoopee! were merged into the seemingly invincible Whizzer and Chips. Eventually the two-in-one comic's luck ran out. Whizzer and Chips folded in 1990, by which time a drop in sales and budget cuts meant that it contained a lot of reprint and had reduced its total page count from 32 pages to 24, phasing out the Chips insert. Yes, in the end Whizzer and Chips merged into itself, before being swallowed up by the long-running Buster.

Images from Whizzer and Chips are Copyright ©Rebellion Publishing.

I've been told by the editor of Best of British magazine that their latest issue carries an article on Whizzer and Chips' 50th anniversary, so look out for it in your local shops! 

POPEYE Sweet Cigarette Cards (1960s)

Just for a change of topic, let's look at something different, but kind of related to comics. "Sweet Cigarettes" were a very popular treat when I was a kid and there were numerous brands associated with them. Today you'd know them better as "Candy Sticks" but back in the 1960s they had a dob of red colouring on one end to give the illusion of a lit cigarette. 

They became "Candy Sticks" later because it was deemed inappropriate for little kids to mimic smokers. Although they never inspired me to start smoking, they did encourage a sweet tooth! 

There were loads of characters who had their own Sweet Cigarette packets; Doctor Who, Thunderbirds, Huckleberry Hound, and many more. Each packet had a free full colour card inside, encouraging kids to collect the set of 50 or thereabouts. This was, as you may know, a junior version of the cards given with packs of real cigarettes in the early to mid-20th Century. 

The examples I'm showing here today are from the Popeye sets produced by Primrose Confectionary of Slough. I think there were four sets in all, but I only have the few shown here. (I doubt anyone ate their way through over 200 packs to get every card!) They originated from the early 1960s but they must have been reprinted as I had these in the late '60s.

As for their relevance to comics, I believe that some Popeye cards (if not all) were drawn by Denis Gifford. That certainly looks like his lettering, and he could mimic the style well enough to do a convincing Popeye. If anyone knows for sure, please let me know.

PANTO PRANKS (1949)

Earlier I showed a copy of Panto Playtime Comic that had been published in 1948. Here's the follow-up, that was published a year later in 1949. 

Panto Pranks had the same publisher as its predecessor, (The Hotspur Publishing Co. Ltd. of Manchester) but was a slicker affair. Although only having eight pages, it was printed entirely in bottle green ink throughout (with orange spot colour on four pages) in the more expensive photogravure method (like Eagle, TV21, early issues of Wham! etc). 

The entire comic was completely designed, written, and drawn by Denis Gifford, a comics all-rounder long before most of us were born. Some of the gags were a bit creaky even for 1949, and the connection to pantomimes somewhat tenuous in places, but it's still an interesting example of the post-war British independent comic. (And unlike most of today's indie comics, this would have been sold in newsagents, back when such retailers were eager to satisfy the demands of kids thirsty for comics.) Here are a few strips from this one-off comic...

Christmas comics: TV COMIC (1952)

If, like me, you read TV Comic in the late 1960s/70s, the first thing you'll notice is how different in tone this early issue from 1952 is. For its first several years, TV Comic was aimed at a younger readership; a nursery comic almost, before growing with its audience a little in the late 1950s and being aimed at 6 to 11 year olds.

One of TV Comic's regular artists throughout much of its run was Neville Main, who illustrated the Muffin the Mule strip on the cover. (Main would later draw the early Doctor Who strips for TV Comic.) Muffin's story continued inside, as one of the strips in the centrespread...

On page two of this "Special 16 page Christmas Number" (usually 12 pages) was a full page party illustration by Hugh Gladwish. This would have made a fine front cover in its own right...

On page 6 was a strip that would have been at home in the traditional funny comics; Tommy Cooper, by Denis Gifford...

TV Comic also included several activity pages and educational articles in its content, such as this one illustrated by Evelyn Morris...

As you'll have noticed, TV Comic was happy to credit its creators, although the strip Mr.Pastry wasn't actually by Richard Hearne. That was the name of the actor who portrayed him...

On the back page was Hank, the puppet of TV ventriloquist Francis Coudrill. Although Coudrill was an artist himself, the strip was written by Graeme Phillips and drawn by Ron Murdoch. 

Another year, another festive issue tomorrow!

JINGLES No.525 (1947)

It has to be said that, even for 1947, Jingles was looking quite old fashioned in its design and tone, compared to its lively rivals Dandy and Beano. The format of Jingles was the same that the publishers (Amalgamated Press) had been using since the end of the 19th Century; 8 tabloid pages with an equal balance of strips and text stories. However, at least Jingles had full colour on its front cover; something lacking in most of its sister papers from A.P.

Jingles had been launched in January 1934. According to the late Denis Gifford, "Jingles was the first AP experiment in upgrading their penny comics to appeal to middle-class readers and their parents. It was their first two-colour penny comic, and its immediate success led to the publication of a companion comic, Tiptop. Golden followed, and shortly the traditional penny comics, Chips and Comic Cuts, also went into two colours, as did Jolly Comic." 

Although its cover was printed in two colours for the first six years, Jingles upgraded to full colour covers in 1940. However, wartime paper shortages also caused it to change from weekly to fortnightly that year too. A frequency that lasted until 1952. Jingles ended in 1954, merging into T.V. Fun.

Here are a few examples from issue No.525, dated September 20th 1947. The Dreamy Dennis strip on the cover above is drawn by Albert Pease, using the old daydream theme with funny results.

On page 5, Strongheart, The Wonder Dog of the Woods, drawn by Hilda Boswell, one of the few women artists working in British comics back then. (More information at Steve Holland's Bear Alley blog here:
http://bearalley.blogspot.co.uk/2006/11/hilda-boswell.html)

Beneath the Strongheart strip was Jolly Jingles, by George Parlett...

On page 6, Little Jim Jolly and his Magic Brolly, drawn by George's brother, Reg Parlett. After which, a text story Twilight Tales, as a cautionary anti-bullying tale...

On page 8, the back page, a complete adventure story, My Big Thrill. Unusually for AP, it credits an artist, Tony Brent, unless that's a pseudonym...

This week in 1952: KNOCKOUT No.690

Knockout was a popular weekly from The Amalgamated Press / Fleetway that ran from 1939 until its merger into Valiant in 1963. (See the first issue here: 

http://lewstringer.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/knockout-no1-1939-and-1971.html )

Let's take a look at a few pages from issue No.690, which went on sale on Wednesday 14th May 1952, priced 3d (1p) for 16 pages. The cover feature at this time was Mike, drawn by Eric Roberts, who would later produce Winker Watson and Dirty Dick for D.C. Thomson's The Dandy. 

On page 3, a nice busy full page illustration by Reg Parlett featuring a Scout group called The Beaver Patrol...

Knockout featured a mixture of humour strips, prose stories, and adventure strips. Here's Tod and Annie, The Runaway Orphans, by Hugh McNeill...

A prolific cartoonist of the 1950s was Denis Gifford (who was also a noted comics historian of course). Here's his Steadfast McStaunch strip years before he revived and redesigned the character for Whizzer and Chips...

Our Ernie was a long running character in Knockout, with each surreal strip ending with the catchphrase "Daft, I call it!". The dated appearance of this strip makes me wonder if it might be a reprint. Art by Hugh McNeill...

Another popular adventure character, Sexton Blake. Artwork by Graham Coton I believe...

On the back page, the ever-enjoyable Sporty by Reg Wooton, one of the few comics creators back then allowed a credit. (And quite a predominant credit too, always beside the logo.)

Knockout changed quite a bit over its 24 year run. I'll show some pages from another issue soon.

Denis Gifford and his collection (1985)

Here's something I noticed on You Tube recently. It's a short item from a TV programme called Thames News from October 1985 featuring comics historian/cartoonist Denis Gifford, filmed in his house with his huge collection. 

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=HiYe6VdtOx0

I'd heard how Denis had so many comics that some were even piled on top of the cooker and if you watch the film you'll see the evidence. I must admit my own house is getting pretty full of stuff (although I don't keep everything these days) but the kitchen is still comics-free so far! 

Of course Denis put his collection to good use as it served as research for his numerous books on comics. The one shown in the news item is The Complete Catalogue of British Comics which I bought back then and has been invaluable in my own research.

The Catalogue featured nearly 100 pages of small cover images of comics from over the decades, plus a 112 page listing of almost every British comic title published up to that point. It provided dates of each comic's launch, key issues, final issues, mergers etc, plus notable artists involved. It also served as a price guide, although most of the prices soon became way out of date of course. (£20 - £50 for Beano No.1?!)

Denis' books had the occasional error here and there, which really was inevitable when researching so much material, but they were essential for those of us interested in the history of British comics. I've often used them for reference in checking facts for this blog. In fact this blog wouldn't even exist if such books by Denis and other comics experts hadn't stimulated my fascination with comics history. 

Sadly Denis passed away in the year 2000 but others such as Ray Moore, Steve Holland, Alan Clark, Derek Marsden, Mike Morely, Phil Clarke, Mike Higgs, Paul Gravett and more have continued to write about British comics history from the early days to the present. And long may such books continue!

Comic Oddities: MELVIN'S MONEY FUN (1981)

Some comics slip under the radar because they're not available in newsagents or the usual outlets. One such comic was Melvin's Money Fun No.1, published by the Department of National Savings, and intended to encourage children to set up an account. Apparently it was given away at promotional stands, events and suchlike. 

The 8 page glossy comic was edited by Denis Gifford and featured a fine selection of top comic artists. The cover strip, Chubby the Cub, was drawn by Chas Sinclair. One of his previous strips had been Basil Brush for TV Comic, and a few years after Money Fun he'd be drawing strips for Oink!

On page 3, Denis had commissioned the talents of veteran artist Wally Robertson to illustrate the return of classic 1950s character Sheerluck Jones...

Across the centre pages was a well illustrated adventure tale, Saved from the North Sea! drawn by Jim Baikie, perhaps best known for his artwork on Skizz for 2000AD...

Denis managed to fit in some of his own artwork too, contributing a half pager reviving his Koo Koo characters that had appeared in Whizzer and Chips in 1969...

It's curious that there were so many old characters turning up in Money Fun. In Kiss of Life Kitty, drawn by the brilliant Brian Walker, we saw the return of Laurie and Trailer, Alfie the Air Tramp and others from the pages of the original Chips. Even Weary Willie and Tired Tim cameo in the final panel...

The back page was a glorious finish to the comic by Basil Reynolds, proving that  he was a master of both realistic and cartoon styles. Again, more old characters are brought back, with the return of Skit, Skat and The Captain from the 1930s in a brand new strip...

All in all, a very nicely produced comic. The constant references to National Savings get old very fast but the appeal is in the novelty of the comic and its superb artwork. Denis sent the issue to the subscribers of his Association of Comics Enthusiasts (A.C.E.) newsletter, which is how I obtained a copy. In the accompanying newsletter, Denis explained the genesis of the project so I've reproduced that here for you to read. As with all images on this blog, click on it to enlarge...

UPDATE: Thanks for the reminder from John Wigmans that there was a second issue of Melvin's Money Fun published two years later in 1983! Peter Gray covered it on his blog several years ago...

http://petergraycartoonsandcomics.blogspot.co.uk/2009/05/money-fun-comic-no2-april-1983.html