Preview: THE LEOPARD FROM LIME STREET Volume 2

The next book in the Treasury of British Comics series sees the return of the Leopardboy in another nice collection of strips from Buster (18th June 1977 to 15th July 1978). Here's the info and a preview strip...

• CREATIVE TEAM: Tom Tully (w) Mike Western, Eric Bradbury (a)
• RELEASE DATE: 13th June 2019 (UK)
• PAPERBACK, 184 pages
• PRICE: £14.99 (UK)
• ISBN: 9781781086780
• DIAMOND: APR191913

The ‘UK’s answer to Spider-Man’ returns in the second collection of this long lost classic from the hugely popular and long running Buster comic. After being scratched by a radioactive leopard, Billy Farmer discovered that he had somehow developed the powers of the mighty jungle cat. Life is getting tougher for Selbridge’s premier crime-fighter. The criminals are getting tougher, his the local newspaper editor is out for his blood and now his new leopard skin costume is turning him into a savage beast! To make matters worse, a girl from his school suspects his true identity! Is this the end for the Leopard from Lime Street…?

Available in print from: 2000 AD webshop, book stores, Amazon, and comic book stores via Diamond Available in digital from: 2000 AD webshop & apps for iPad, Android and Windows 10

The Christmas BUSTER (1984)

By 1984, Buster was still printed on increasingly flimsy newsprint but it contained some good stuff. This festive cover by veteran artist Reg Parlett is simple but effective. I wonder how many Christmas strips Reg drew in his long career that stretched to about 60 years?

Inside, The Leopard from Lime Street continued to be one of the most popular British superheroes around. I think the art was by Mike White by this time...

School Fun had merged into Buster months before, and appeared as a separate pull-out section, akin to Chips in Whizzer. The School Fun Section only had 12 pages though, (leaving Buster with 20) so it wasn't an equal 50/50 split like Whizzer and Chips. Artwork on School Team was usually by Vic Neill but this is a fill-in by Doug Jensen. (Thanks to Andy Boal for his observations.)

School Belle was another strip that had joined the comic from School Fun. Art by Tom Paterson...

A festive Faceache page by Ken Reid, even scrunging at Christmas. 

Good Guy that issue had a smashing festive decorative border. Terry Bave going the extra mile there...

On the back page, Buster's Diary, with Reg Parlett again on the artwork, and the story ending with the traditional slap-up feed!

Another Christmas comic tomorrow. Or maybe even two! Stay tuned!

Review: The Leopard from Lime Street

In this, the second book in Rebellion's Treasury of British Comics line, The Leopard From Lime Street reprints the weekly episodes that originally appeared in Buster from 12th March 1976 to 11th June 1977. 

This was during a period when I'd stopped buying most British comics so the strips are new to me. Well, not entirely true. I'd seen one or two episodes back then, and haughtily dismissed the strip as a rip-off of Spider-Man. On a very basic surface level, it certainly is, but The Leopard from Lime Street has a charm and excitement all its own, and the artwork is of the highest standard seen in British weeklies. 

The plot: young Billy Farmer is scratched by a radioactive leopard and gains the strength and agility of a jungle cat. He makes a costume and sets out to fight crime, whilst taking photos for his local paper. Yep, the similarities to Spider-Man are glaring, but the British working class setting and distinctive UK storylines raise it above being a mere Spidey copy. Tom Tully's lively, fast-paced scripts carry the reader along, making the book an exciting page turner. The art, by Mike Western and Eric Bradbury is crisp and detailed, giving the strips a toughness and streetwise quality. It was very unusual in British comics back then for two artists to work as a pencil/ink team but it really works. In later episodes I'm guessing Western may have only supplied layouts, as Bradbury's style becomes more evident, but it's all great. Two of the best British artists working together? What's not to like?

I know that The Leopard from Lime Street has long had a dedicated following in British comics and I've never really understood why... until now. The advantage of this collected edition is it gives the reader the opportunity to get into the storylines and put aside any concerns of the source that inspired it. 

The book has an introduction by Steve Holland, and in the back there's a preview of forthcoming books in the Treasury of British Comics line, including Marney the Fox and Faceache. It's all looking good, so I hope fans of UK comics who have been clamouring for a return to the "good old days" will support these books so the line can grow. 

• CREATIVE TEAM:  Tom Tully (w) Eric Bradbury, Mike Western (a) 
• REGIONS: UK, worldwide digital
• RELEASE DATE: 13 July 2017
• PAPERBACK - 162 pages
• PRICE: £14.99 (UK)
• ISBN: 9781781085974
• DIAMOND: MAY171761

Available in print from: book stores, Amazon, and comic book stores via Diamond Available in digital from: 2000 AD webshop, 2000 AD iPad app, 2000 AD Android app, 2000 AD Windows 10 app

Leopard changes its spots

I recently showed you the cover to Rebellion's upcoming Leopard from Lime Street book, but it looks like that wasn't the final version. On the left you'll see the cover previously shown, and on the right is the new design. Personally I think the new design is much more striking and has a better composition. What do you think?

The book is available to pre-order now from the 2000AD shop...
https://treasuryofbritishcomics.com/catalogue/RCA-H0002

...and there's also a (very) limited edition hardback version (of just 200 copies) that comes with a bookplate and art print. 
https://treasuryofbritishcomics.com/catalogue/RCA-H0005

The book will be published on 12th July.

Rebellion's Treasury of British Comics series of books now has its own Facebook page too!
https://www.facebook.com/britcomics/?hc_location=ufi

Fleetway's finest gain Thrill-Power!

If you picked up the 2000AD issue for Free Comic Book Day last Saturday you'd have seen the surprise last page that re-introduced classic IPC/Fleetway characters into the 21st Century. As you know, last year, Rebellion (publishers of 2000AD) gained the rights to the IPC comics from 1970 onwards. They'll soon be reprinting selected classic strips in their Treasury of British Comics series of books, so this new strip by 'K33F' and Henry Flint is a nice fun taster, and shows the characters being integrated into the Rebellion universe.
See how many you can recognise!

Cover by Mike Perkins.

If you missed the 2000AD Free Comic Book Day issue, here's the cover to look out for. Unlike the weekly, it's in the U.S. comic book format. Your local comic shop may still have copies, or if not, you may find copies on eBay at a reasonable price. 

Return of the Leopardboy

Rebellion have just revealed the cover to their Leopard from Lime Street collection, reprinting the early adventures of the popular 1970s Buster strip. The book will be published in June.

The Leopard from Lime Street – Book 1

Originally published: 1976-1985

Release date: July

Trade Paperback

One of the most requested reprints from the Fleetway/IPC archive, The Leopard from Lime Street is the British Spider-man – a hugely popular home-grown teenage superhero! Billy Farmer lives with his Aunt Joan and Uncle Charlie in the when he is scratched by a radioactive leopard  at the local zoo. Gaining leopard-like strength, speed, reflexes, and tree-climbing abilities, when he’s not fighting crime, Billy sells photographs of himself to the local paper, using the money to support his frail aunt while contending with his violent, greedy and lazy uncle. With warmth, wit, and stunning artwork by Mike Western and Eric Bradbury, The Leopard from Lime Street is a gem of 1970s and 1980s British comics.

More info about Rebellion's other classic reprints here:

https://lewstringer.blogspot.co.uk/2017/02/faceache-marney-one-eyed-jack-coming.html