A few things occur to me about this 1950 nursery comic. One, it looks very old fashioned, even for 1950. Secondly, although the artwork is of a superb standard, it seems somewhat creepy and sinister to modern eyes, especially for a comic aimed at five year olds. Thirdly, the racial caricatures in some stories are alarming by today's standards. Kids were really being conditioned at an early age to normalise racial slurs and ideas. (I've decided not to show them.)
Playbox was published by The Amalgamated Press from 1925 to 1955, so it was entering its last few years by this 1950 issue. I suspect readers of the day were finding it outdated too. According to the research by the late Denis Gifford, the cover strip was by Freddie Crompton. That's a wonderful Christmassy title banner there, and worth posting on this blog for that alone.
Inside, its 8 pages were the usual (for then) mixture of prose stories and strips. I don't know who drew Chums of Jolly Farm but the line "I'm going to take this young dandy off to Fairyland" must have been written tongue in cheek even then.
Again, using Gifford's research, it appears that Sidney Pride was the artist of Wendy...
Artist unknown on Brave Joe...
...and on Hippo Girls...
Flips is by Freddie Atkins...
I don't know who drew Skipper Dan on the back page, but Tuffy is apparently by Arnold Warden (although this one looks like George Wakefield art to me, but I could be wrong).
More vintage festive pages soon!
Here's a short selection of seaside-based strips from various British comics over the years. First up we have Lazy Larry from The Dandy No.325 (dated 17th August 1946). Two things about this strip spring immediately to mind. One is the old science-defying comic cliche that an air bed pumped up with air will somehow defy gravity. The other is that British comics often relied on justice and fair play, but here two little brats pick on a tramp who is minding his own business and there's no retribution in the payoff. That said, no real tramps were harmed in the making of this strip and the artwork by Dudley Watkins is ace.
A good example of the sort of justice seen in old comics is this Homeless Hector strip below from Illustrated Chips No.2,813 (July 5th 1947). Hector and Mog get their revenge on a greedy beach photographer by using his own props against him. Arthur Martin drew the Hector strips around this time but this doesn't look like one of his.
That same issue also featured Peter Quiz at the seaside. Another tale of justice, although the use of the 'n' word in a children's comic is shocking by today's standards. Art by Arthur Martin.
A month later, in The Beano No.316 (23rd August 1947), Pansy Potter uses her strength to gain the advantage in a sandcastle-building contest, but it backfires on her. Art by Basil Blackaller by this period I think.
With a few exceptions, today's pre-school "comics" are often nothing but basic activity magazines but back in the "golden age" of comics tabloid wonders such as Playbox offered cover to cover stories. (The point being, surely, that it's better to encourage children to read rather than just to colour in pictures.) This issue of Playbox (No.1,102, July 31st 1948) saw some of its characters visiting the seaside. The Jumbo strip was I believe by Freddie Crompton, whilst the lower strip featuring Tuffy and His Magic Tail was drawn by Arnold Warden.
Moving forward to the sixties we have a Georgie's Germs story from Wham! No.116 (3rd September 1966). By this time the humour of comics has become a bit more gross. Perhaps ahead of its time as such comedy wouldn't really catch on for a few decades. I'm not sure who the artist is here, but it's definitely not by Leo Baxendale or Cyril Price who did some of them.
Here's an odd tale of Shiner in the Chips section of Whizzer and Chips dated 8th August 1970. Nice artwork by Mike Lacey and the strip would work if a black eye looked like a suntan and if the colourist hadn't mistakenly given Shiner an all-over tan in the last panel!
The humour in girls' comics seemed more gentle from the few I've seen. Here's a Bunty cover of issue 1226 (July 11th 1981) with the title character putting sand to good practical use. Art by Doris Kinnear.
A few years later, May 27th 1989, and a Nikki cover by Paul Grist, better known today of course as the creator of the Jack Staff comic.
