tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19659052875124567042024-03-28T12:53:35.665+13:00Wacky Comics!George Shiershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03162253849922362900noreply@blogger.comBlogger595125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1965905287512456704.post-66511352779043123802023-08-16T19:25:00.000+13:002023-08-16T19:25:15.659+13:00Willy the Kid badges (again!)<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrEj29KgQwbRxG6i7uy9ZrKvlf4vQP2wmnsIgKIC45tU1lcdkLb9-0gY_ceaDWQG53gJDQ73VVTHySqR1U49e-ZoaHEZfFgJPDUhtYxTZEYXDQ4eJb6fThu6LkjAQZJgoacz5mAaNdcZWgNBzTL81uFJgEG0PPFJlyMw-wbJxjUapeGFMnQRm9u0FgA-E/s3073/IMG_0046.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1254" data-original-width="3073" height="262" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrEj29KgQwbRxG6i7uy9ZrKvlf4vQP2wmnsIgKIC45tU1lcdkLb9-0gY_ceaDWQG53gJDQ73VVTHySqR1U49e-ZoaHEZfFgJPDUhtYxTZEYXDQ4eJb6fThu6LkjAQZJgoacz5mAaNdcZWgNBzTL81uFJgEG0PPFJlyMw-wbJxjUapeGFMnQRm9u0FgA-E/w640-h262/IMG_0046.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: courier;">I have written about the <b>Willy the Kid</b> badges before (<u><a href="http://whackycomics.blogspot.com/2013/08/willy-kid-badges.html" target="_blank">link here</a></u>) and am pleased to say that, only 10 years later, I have finally completed my set with the badge 'Willy the Kid a bit of a twit'! I do, however, have one question about them: does anybody know the order?</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: courier;">Before he passed away in 2017 I did speak several times with Willy's creator <b>Leo Baxendale</b>. Although he confirmed no badge was made for the special edition book in 2002, titled The Worst of Willy the Kid, I foolishly neglected to ask him about the order. Oops. So if you know, please do comment.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: courier;">In some personal news, I have recently moved from New Zealand to Melbourne, Australia! Before I left NZ I did take a few photos of some comics I want to cover so do stay tuned for that. Sadly I had to leave my comic collection behind. I still own them, but 2600km or so doesn't exactly make them accessible. Til next time (very soon)!</span></p>George Shiershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03162253849922362900noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1965905287512456704.post-1662738183273239772023-08-02T16:03:00.002+13:002023-08-16T21:09:56.188+13:00The Last Ever Buster (2000)<p> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj48CDtHU2ay78J_NcK1y81P3ov18d6Z9tfYcwgjrYqmqErzNZHxcB1dE40qfT03d1tHKb7mIHJdWivtRIXTV3G2uIFC01DcUdJOXZw9YH5IIL3QEczmdQMwMHzbKmIUMUiTB6WAmCIPw7IitTT5tHdCdD4VRSAbwkn0DTCvWxAeJIxhRL6kev1VAvD3dM/s4405/DSC_1067.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2761" data-original-width="4405" height="402" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj48CDtHU2ay78J_NcK1y81P3ov18d6Z9tfYcwgjrYqmqErzNZHxcB1dE40qfT03d1tHKb7mIHJdWivtRIXTV3G2uIFC01DcUdJOXZw9YH5IIL3QEczmdQMwMHzbKmIUMUiTB6WAmCIPw7IitTT5tHdCdD4VRSAbwkn0DTCvWxAeJIxhRL6kev1VAvD3dM/w640-h402/DSC_1067.JPG" width="640" /></a></p><p><span style="font-family: courier;">I can't believe I've never made a post about surely one of the most significant issues of a British comic - the final issue of <b>Buster</b>. Buster was the last survivor of a <b>Fleetway</b> comic, and for me this final issue is a sad marker for the end of an era. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: courier;">For 32 </span><span style="font-family: courier;">pages for £1.10, it was probably the price that killed it to be honest. It was more than twice the price of The Beano (which cost 52p) at this point, and the quality simply wasn't as good.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: courier;">Credit where credit is due, I do like this front cover. The main Buster strip is a reprint by <b>Jimmy Hansen</b>, but that bar on the left showing Buster's different styles through the years is by <b>Jack Edward Oliver</b>. Oliver was the sole artist held on at Buster after the comic went full reprint. Mostly, he was responsible for lettering and adding drawings to things that couldn't be done with reprints. I think it would be fair to say that he was largely influential for Buster's unique feel over those final years.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxsPoMIwHORPheZJdgBQ7WRTnKXsfNabsQ7m9mVG6ROd48ARW8dIfRkoUTqsChfjaVvTP5dXU5caZBwd9tQcVSbO8Bj5L-dwEHlka7g4h8UihgFhnAR30oTNKcZOt7ME8Wc_cy35jgXFk9b__-MXv3gEczDpD_orj6AwQ9cjiHlhva5DNJniM3uTo0iuU/s3673/DSC_1068.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3673" data-original-width="2741" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxsPoMIwHORPheZJdgBQ7WRTnKXsfNabsQ7m9mVG6ROd48ARW8dIfRkoUTqsChfjaVvTP5dXU5caZBwd9tQcVSbO8Bj5L-dwEHlka7g4h8UihgFhnAR30oTNKcZOt7ME8Wc_cy35jgXFk9b__-MXv3gEczDpD_orj6AwQ9cjiHlhva5DNJniM3uTo0iuU/w478-h640/DSC_1068.JPG" width="478" /></a></div><p><span style="font-family: courier;">As mentioned, the contents was full of reprints but out of interest and the fact that they're still fun comic strips, I'll show some of it anyway. Perhaps of most interest would be this <b>Specky Hector Comics Collector</b> page, illustrated by <b>Lew Stringer</b>. This was obviously chosen for this last issue as it discusses the launch of Buster back in 1960.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaJMmDLltnnkFntY8WsGfOJlVC9J5sXQ0p7YmIgseqGAwBRmafvgmqTzL1YesrqDwSxbyCo9zK5qEEgS4or9OHKrPnqYtEbHdjWjn2BjIUcbAWQBs33zll1yfgAiIq2BaMIbkc1oaKIhDxWZjOC3MFGvTWg87o0azdLAu2U96KSYu8182w24HEExgLLa8/s3820/DSC_1063.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3820" data-original-width="2735" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaJMmDLltnnkFntY8WsGfOJlVC9J5sXQ0p7YmIgseqGAwBRmafvgmqTzL1YesrqDwSxbyCo9zK5qEEgS4or9OHKrPnqYtEbHdjWjn2BjIUcbAWQBs33zll1yfgAiIq2BaMIbkc1oaKIhDxWZjOC3MFGvTWg87o0azdLAu2U96KSYu8182w24HEExgLLa8/w458-h640/DSC_1063.JPG" width="458" /></a></div><p><span style="font-family: courier;">Here's an oddly interesting page - a competition with a whole range of Meccano sets were up for grabs. I say this is odd because it seems strange to me that you would have a competition in the final issue, especially so when there's no other comic they were trying to drive readers to. Perhaps there was simply a pile of Meccano sitting around the office that they needed to get rid of.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizmOKrGZy4Yd9SeUO4UXCXnRsvJ8NsdqNCyWB9D0PACGmXptupPnyQSu0Txu3xYDSkKA4f6cOozzDFWFkU4-_XDxbU1eroJAKyNwn60jgn6AwCX1XtXozK2tuX0bxdbuvrRyYYQrdNcgyZsgXQOTjWJ5sC9ZZi0TPnOP4v9xcjabDZPMZAmaxfPRjrcbA/s3641/DSC_1062.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3641" data-original-width="2762" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizmOKrGZy4Yd9SeUO4UXCXnRsvJ8NsdqNCyWB9D0PACGmXptupPnyQSu0Txu3xYDSkKA4f6cOozzDFWFkU4-_XDxbU1eroJAKyNwn60jgn6AwCX1XtXozK2tuX0bxdbuvrRyYYQrdNcgyZsgXQOTjWJ5sC9ZZi0TPnOP4v9xcjabDZPMZAmaxfPRjrcbA/w486-h640/DSC_1062.JPG" width="486" /></a></div><p><span style="font-family: courier;">Moving on to this <b>Sweeny Toddler </b>strip, illustrated by <b>Tom Paterson</b>. I wanted to share this page to highlight the colouring style that was so prevalent in Buster throughout the 1990s. This strange block colouring was far from the prettiest colouring ever done, but it did give the comic a unique feel and allowed them to brand it as full colour.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEpamn6swYuOuUdFJI0GM-HDkBrk8sCwK9kK65WbPJgPlXb5w8WcAbemQcClIibsZWApW8e6FiHeC1S_7B_AawlXlQqWGquD6eIg8ocgr2RaSLaiavuUVGDWjw-0Xh_ijeNtqwNZ_maliHmbw8ybQvs_ubAhCLtOlT5tnRLU1a8yKV8zY-Tbo6Q7-sA-0/s3987/DSC_1070.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2787" data-original-width="3987" height="448" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEpamn6swYuOuUdFJI0GM-HDkBrk8sCwK9kK65WbPJgPlXb5w8WcAbemQcClIibsZWApW8e6FiHeC1S_7B_AawlXlQqWGquD6eIg8ocgr2RaSLaiavuUVGDWjw-0Xh_ijeNtqwNZ_maliHmbw8ybQvs_ubAhCLtOlT5tnRLU1a8yKV8zY-Tbo6Q7-sA-0/w640-h448/DSC_1070.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><p><span style="font-family: courier;">Here's an example of a perhaps more well-coloured spread. <b>Bobby's Ghoul</b> is illustrated by <b>Anthony Hutchings</b>, and <b>Watford Gapp</b> by Tom Paterson in a completely different style. I interviewed Tom for issue three of Atomic Comic a few years ago and asked him about this style, this is what he said:</span></p><p><span style="font-family: courier;"></span></p><p style="background-color: white; color: #222222; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier;">"Bob Paynter, the managing editor at Fleetway, asked me to come up with a few ideas for some strange, slightly weird strips, one of which was Watford Gapp, and I just thought that it needed an alternative style to give it a different, darker look from my other strips which were running at the same time. I've worked in a number of styles over the years, but I enjoyed the Sweeny Toddler/ Calamity James style, which was of course inspired by the legendary comic genius Leo Baxendale - and the Watford Gapp one, which was influenced by the amazing Robert Crumb."</span></p><div><span style="font-family: courier;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-0qpf6vnmCiOgLgD9bQCrvvayJucSnUyKXoNHj2iA6mi1WUjKWY39XuhcsrEKQvxHx9BTudTHAoooI_1RlQpLTKmRjHA54wAoL30a27z-KfdoZ-ReIvq4MY4412ltO4u1Pu7guO2DgTvDxB0dH60awanEbd7PB_4xXdOHa8n_yArB4BB8R-_7ddBet7k/s3874/DSC_1071.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2757" data-original-width="3874" height="456" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-0qpf6vnmCiOgLgD9bQCrvvayJucSnUyKXoNHj2iA6mi1WUjKWY39XuhcsrEKQvxHx9BTudTHAoooI_1RlQpLTKmRjHA54wAoL30a27z-KfdoZ-ReIvq4MY4412ltO4u1Pu7guO2DgTvDxB0dH60awanEbd7PB_4xXdOHa8n_yArB4BB8R-_7ddBet7k/w640-h456/DSC_1071.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><p><span style="font-family: courier;">And finally, it is of course the back cover that everybody remembers from this issue. Illustrated by Jack Edward Oliver, it's a wonderfully unique piece that wraps up all the remaining characters in a comedic fashion. Sad as it may be, it was a fantastic way to wrap up the comic.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqt1l9sPCx_M3d19RrFJu8uqdmi8jbanipHWJQvZl6czMfTR1XH7DZZiC6isXM0rd0W6qBNTL69FnKUO-PPtRJdiCPTSASNrukkrjtB9AlHa2_DJEe9xcKvMBFgn25b0J_V-6z6c3OGInHASj7oXfzd0EGGLhxlIOJvswomNlIaVq2P74NNGkBNPWAAys/s3414/DSC_1066.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3414" data-original-width="2637" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqt1l9sPCx_M3d19RrFJu8uqdmi8jbanipHWJQvZl6czMfTR1XH7DZZiC6isXM0rd0W6qBNTL69FnKUO-PPtRJdiCPTSASNrukkrjtB9AlHa2_DJEe9xcKvMBFgn25b0J_V-6z6c3OGInHASj7oXfzd0EGGLhxlIOJvswomNlIaVq2P74NNGkBNPWAAys/w494-h640/DSC_1066.JPG" width="494" /></a></div><p></p>George Shiershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03162253849922362900noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1965905287512456704.post-12819806925025755722023-07-12T05:27:00.004+13:002023-07-12T05:27:00.151+13:00The First Funny Wonder Annual<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO5g7GFb17u_ccPmBaGBXSllAxnbJT-jp4YXExftNixoyA5MiKIacW8zF5Og0SXVAL3hMCwChe84DeFDoMv99aHTTpj5QmkttDiidM0IpdK8O8yb5Rbxv_z5strjnUmbdC_yIHs1Z2F4slNeTaTXP1hbkt2jsw5DvT1lo5FjoGWQeGsy4H5UD8IAuLnp8/s3933/DSC_1052.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3933" data-original-width="3000" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO5g7GFb17u_ccPmBaGBXSllAxnbJT-jp4YXExftNixoyA5MiKIacW8zF5Og0SXVAL3hMCwChe84DeFDoMv99aHTTpj5QmkttDiidM0IpdK8O8yb5Rbxv_z5strjnUmbdC_yIHs1Z2F4slNeTaTXP1hbkt2jsw5DvT1lo5FjoGWQeGsy4H5UD8IAuLnp8/w488-h640/DSC_1052.JPG" width="488" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: courier;">The very first <b>Funny Wonder</b> book came out for 1935, a super-sized edition of the popular weekly comic published by <b>Amalgamated Press</b>. The comic began life in 1914... sort-of, and would continue until 1953. It was actually the second comic to have the name, the first of which was published in the 1890s by <b>Harmsworth Brothers</b>. I'll leave it at that as it's a long and confusing history that I am still wrapping my head around and is probably more deserving of its own post - all you need to know is this is from the second run.</span><div><span style="font-family: courier;"><br /></span><div><div><span style="font-family: courier;">Just from looking at it, I can tell this book would have stood out on any shelf of a 1930s newsagents. Look at the photo above and you can see just how bright it appears when compared to the regular weekly edition. Measuring an inch cover to cover it's also incredibly thick, with pages so heavy they are essentially cardboard.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: courier;"><br /></span><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4s5-6yGplNyJZe18OcTaURTynvvROViMvIFtjNIazor_W0ZBbF0-9JXKCc9cOEltQHnRoLipkTU2uhdR0rFugGzgt_0NafwX4tJDCkkHTqQyE1mdx_vtqQGcb6NaFB51V1d1cNy1Do5SrDIfrurWoBDxZ8_ZZMfv0wY4e5GeT2bdhcNemPpXmrf39uQQ/s4496/DSC_1032.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4496" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4s5-6yGplNyJZe18OcTaURTynvvROViMvIFtjNIazor_W0ZBbF0-9JXKCc9cOEltQHnRoLipkTU2uhdR0rFugGzgt_0NafwX4tJDCkkHTqQyE1mdx_vtqQGcb6NaFB51V1d1cNy1Do5SrDIfrurWoBDxZ8_ZZMfv0wY4e5GeT2bdhcNemPpXmrf39uQQ/w640-h428/DSC_1032.JPG" width="640" /></a><span style="font-family: courier;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family: courier;">It cost 2/6, for which readers were treated to 110 pages (not counting the covers). Of those internal pages, nine were in colour, including this wonderful full-page gag illustrated by <b>Roy Wilson</b>. Wilson also drew that stunning front cover, of course.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: courier;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEYtLDSV7MZmHqu1WUJ8gCaQ_mz2xa1FrPMb5OZwNaSkG3z-hbygww1h834mmlwDNQ_OVV94KBmy6PKZOTT__g3uGGsWlZHyunyIpORFbwU2Fqa2-bd3rj9PSFeS__jXTMJ04XE5kaKD1jUebBsbsiS8DiSaAy5VkQtrrmj36xMBtIXHTsFgxyYqQDUgM/s3164/DSC_1034.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2289" data-original-width="3164" height="464" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEYtLDSV7MZmHqu1WUJ8gCaQ_mz2xa1FrPMb5OZwNaSkG3z-hbygww1h834mmlwDNQ_OVV94KBmy6PKZOTT__g3uGGsWlZHyunyIpORFbwU2Fqa2-bd3rj9PSFeS__jXTMJ04XE5kaKD1jUebBsbsiS8DiSaAy5VkQtrrmj36xMBtIXHTsFgxyYqQDUgM/w640-h464/DSC_1034.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><p><span style="font-family: courier;">Advertisements for the annual began appearing in The Funny Wonder in early September 1934. The editor, in the regular 'News From Your Editor' section published in #1069 (22nd September 1934) said "it is the funniest book on the market". </span></p><p><span style="font-family: courier;">"My dear readers - I wonder how many of you have seen the Funny Wonder annual for 1935? Those of you who have will know how jolly good it is!"</span></p><p><span style="font-family: courier;">"Your old friends, Pitch and Toss and the Captain, appear inside, with a number of other fun-merchants and the stories are all written by your favourite Funny Wonder authors! All for half-a-crown!". </span></p><p><span style="font-family: courier;">Here are a couple of those adverts:</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9JNOMuIrASniCP9Fbj9UMcHoEbAXgw8fHdwNTrhJVcHzruBKus25YI5I_5Jra0ibD5_G3Rd7vmhLbshyYV9WnCdZGK_yB2F7dYDMtgHlWvcAZhlmbN2Bb7u28UAV5THIzBWKy7fmdyDVVYSEkBTvwRvszsNHKc2_5X9xDWAFBkyCPgvINGv42PPI6beQ/s4496/DSC_1053.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4496" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9JNOMuIrASniCP9Fbj9UMcHoEbAXgw8fHdwNTrhJVcHzruBKus25YI5I_5Jra0ibD5_G3Rd7vmhLbshyYV9WnCdZGK_yB2F7dYDMtgHlWvcAZhlmbN2Bb7u28UAV5THIzBWKy7fmdyDVVYSEkBTvwRvszsNHKc2_5X9xDWAFBkyCPgvINGv42PPI6beQ/w640-h428/DSC_1053.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEcP3S2oWimkO2RMHipjvLz9XPZa82fMCfnEpv9YCmrjRKZ9oaUFc7Tn2BD5YS-Qiq2Ltn-Vuj9hFVUF6KKTX0MfDcgoDBN3Lo0gNNs9F8nC6_5HREvSDZiQYQVZ_Jj0aXanlmhUlHLws2qm7bKTXlew164-axLhp4HZ5G_f61mAREmf2pOHJ4YyuyKEY/s4496/DSC_1057.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4496" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEcP3S2oWimkO2RMHipjvLz9XPZa82fMCfnEpv9YCmrjRKZ9oaUFc7Tn2BD5YS-Qiq2Ltn-Vuj9hFVUF6KKTX0MfDcgoDBN3Lo0gNNs9F8nC6_5HREvSDZiQYQVZ_Jj0aXanlmhUlHLws2qm7bKTXlew164-axLhp4HZ5G_f61mAREmf2pOHJ4YyuyKEY/w640-h428/DSC_1057.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><span style="font-family: courier;">Moving along inside, and the next page we are greeted with is this letter from The Editor. I do wish the editor was named so I could tell you who it was, I also wonder if it is the same editor for the weekly comic. I assume it would be. I like this third paragraph here, promoting the "weekly blue-coloured paper The Funny Wonder".</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj0_jgYaz5gtJczUUYJI7JuBA3ytK-f1rWtDUfaJtK71AI2RN0Gsk3le3UdI0IP8WsXtLVCFh8hcZuR164VGNEbFjr3IeiXgOwMf011q50RVxVvpynEBVqzNcH87QyCdkUPWVJTT2fLx_T-tgQBV2a2gj_j1Bi1z_sIs3GTMmJrPi5xGskREzxWlB9VsM/s3553/DSC_1035.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3553" data-original-width="2659" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj0_jgYaz5gtJczUUYJI7JuBA3ytK-f1rWtDUfaJtK71AI2RN0Gsk3le3UdI0IP8WsXtLVCFh8hcZuR164VGNEbFjr3IeiXgOwMf011q50RVxVvpynEBVqzNcH87QyCdkUPWVJTT2fLx_T-tgQBV2a2gj_j1Bi1z_sIs3GTMmJrPi5xGskREzxWlB9VsM/w478-h640/DSC_1035.JPG" width="478" /></a></div><br /><div><span style="font-family: courier;">The book is a wonderful mixture of stories, comics, puzzles and pictures - a fantastic annual that really utilises the space it has. For me, the highlights of this book are the full-page illustrations by Roy Wilson, the king of slapstick. There were two others printed throughout the book in addition to the full-colour one show above, both with black and red ink. Oh how I wish these were also printed in full colour, but of course doing so was expensive in 1934 and colour had to be used sparingly. Wilson was a master of the craft and I certainly haven't written enough about him on this blog. So significant was his work, and at such an important identity-forming time for British comics, I don't think it would be unfair to say that his style and legacy live on through artists working today.</span></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRU9OPOPQBDDc6stRrjen-Luzl8lEXi-oUmeaMYpPoryu_jYm9dm7vwSWgP6XPW266-cKA3RBRlWtRzUwrMqQUUfZDsGe-oksTNJExyNhNNEb8AKOnUO452czqbMeR-QKYqeY0afI2Xezpw2WicGF6w6ppqaH4Fg8guqoZfTug0hc3C_qgOxrifwSwjGk/s3707/DSC_1048.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2924" data-original-width="3707" height="504" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRU9OPOPQBDDc6stRrjen-Luzl8lEXi-oUmeaMYpPoryu_jYm9dm7vwSWgP6XPW266-cKA3RBRlWtRzUwrMqQUUfZDsGe-oksTNJExyNhNNEb8AKOnUO452czqbMeR-QKYqeY0afI2Xezpw2WicGF6w6ppqaH4Fg8guqoZfTug0hc3C_qgOxrifwSwjGk/w640-h504/DSC_1048.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn948xxkqVuick1DhTCH8fyFyO7b8ie7Iv6ub-zM2-Fej18Xs4L3QceAPJ4lhhtj4rgVudL-WVp2j_Ig6ImvNskg2X00YkLbSacebBfAxUgHFacfOlLUlY6XNxk4003YPDkuXElYBMdli8Istiw7s9s5ttJiSRRl-fff_yUi74jwsHHXkYaMegsIDYbl4/s3824/DSC_1049.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2956" data-original-width="3824" height="494" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn948xxkqVuick1DhTCH8fyFyO7b8ie7Iv6ub-zM2-Fej18Xs4L3QceAPJ4lhhtj4rgVudL-WVp2j_Ig6ImvNskg2X00YkLbSacebBfAxUgHFacfOlLUlY6XNxk4003YPDkuXElYBMdli8Istiw7s9s5ttJiSRRl-fff_yUi74jwsHHXkYaMegsIDYbl4/w640-h494/DSC_1049.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div><span style="font-family: courier;">There are plenty of text stories covering a variety of exciting genres, from far-away adventures to mysteries, this book has everything. Any child would have spent hours pouring through them, they really are fantastic. They vary in length so I'll show a shorter one - The Automatic Man. This has it all - a robot, a burglar, and a fat reward!</span></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfS-Mp990IC8xxuwqpXDRMIhm6Ame_D_PoR8vnlZCDEfapV8mqB8e4A_Zmy-mOf2KF32Pncm_ziqR01d2u_DzfmlFLhnLvGYcvfYZFC0AaoUjOYliRJ7xeTJ-loD26cATaxQ8Vvwjm1AcQcdxNyXJdoiu526bcqBW8KhSl_6B4xCa6wCR9DpeCCEVmmb4/s3890/DSC_1073.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2705" data-original-width="3890" height="446" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfS-Mp990IC8xxuwqpXDRMIhm6Ame_D_PoR8vnlZCDEfapV8mqB8e4A_Zmy-mOf2KF32Pncm_ziqR01d2u_DzfmlFLhnLvGYcvfYZFC0AaoUjOYliRJ7xeTJ-loD26cATaxQ8Vvwjm1AcQcdxNyXJdoiu526bcqBW8KhSl_6B4xCa6wCR9DpeCCEVmmb4/w640-h446/DSC_1073.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs-KjqdQCi_VcR1z5jVb6C7JwY3mhtVFr-6pc5exNLAmiabcYwGZp75iZw78270_56spTX74LPPz0pRz1PEPsJLWjddVPdUDnQEufpjhmnJB1GsbZ--y7HKO_fWxog1goqVYyqtbgVvu7GvlxOVh_vEXxmmUwjQ89ECixLwY7-DO9RdwFXomypupxZhgw/s3740/DSC_1074.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3740" data-original-width="2746" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs-KjqdQCi_VcR1z5jVb6C7JwY3mhtVFr-6pc5exNLAmiabcYwGZp75iZw78270_56spTX74LPPz0pRz1PEPsJLWjddVPdUDnQEufpjhmnJB1GsbZ--y7HKO_fWxog1goqVYyqtbgVvu7GvlxOVh_vEXxmmUwjQ89ECixLwY7-DO9RdwFXomypupxZhgw/w470-h640/DSC_1074.JPG" width="470" /></a></div><div><br /></div><span style="font-family: courier;">Before moving on, I feel I would be remiss if I didn't at least mention the racism in the comic. Sadly there are a couple of instances, shown below, where racial stereotypes were used. I get that such depictions were somewhat commonplace in comics of the time, but nonetheless they do dampen the comic when looking back. I'm glad times have changed.</span></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix2KSjSoNyATLqJy6g_7zxD6LoA03WWZ4THjMkeLaPosW23UjoiNYwXR2ELvPEDLv8Cgx-IscJtlOOBN-VyIGDW20liXOiIDMHzjdFGTxjFJnKPys1eaacu3K5OE8a-pa8Kz1jeC0dsLtJ1td12G6IRimcNLWdV97JH6-mEybqqzxekPz0HwBHAj9iGTM/s4496/DSC_1075.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4496" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix2KSjSoNyATLqJy6g_7zxD6LoA03WWZ4THjMkeLaPosW23UjoiNYwXR2ELvPEDLv8Cgx-IscJtlOOBN-VyIGDW20liXOiIDMHzjdFGTxjFJnKPys1eaacu3K5OE8a-pa8Kz1jeC0dsLtJ1td12G6IRimcNLWdV97JH6-mEybqqzxekPz0HwBHAj9iGTM/w640-h428/DSC_1075.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_GSIOXGmE7h0ihiIDRypgQobJp4C3shg-jCtKB23DpYNx_X1H7VJyqVzvFjTGQmLITGkxyEQytcJ68EbJ86Kwpyb3jNmMBTEpN1eWpaP2a3PrQxqZ8TjEJPIsWmOX-fa08j_12UhjmFEKJm1kfG831ETgOq08hM7AY4ZzAl0V_PR0qvvWFa8zYThqiVs/s4496/DSC_1076.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4496" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_GSIOXGmE7h0ihiIDRypgQobJp4C3shg-jCtKB23DpYNx_X1H7VJyqVzvFjTGQmLITGkxyEQytcJ68EbJ86Kwpyb3jNmMBTEpN1eWpaP2a3PrQxqZ8TjEJPIsWmOX-fa08j_12UhjmFEKJm1kfG831ETgOq08hM7AY4ZzAl0V_PR0qvvWFa8zYThqiVs/w640-h428/DSC_1076.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div><span style="font-family: courier;">On a lighter note, here's a fun <b>Charlie Chaplin</b> comic strip, partially coloured in by a previous and enthusiastic owner of the book. Chaplin was a regular in The Funny Wonder at this point, with a comic strip on the centre spread every week. It's interesting that the comic has a summer beach theme, given the book was released with intentions of being a Christmas present. It works for those of us in the southern hemisphere, I suppose.</span></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSRxvylCzgFmjsAj7PGd8LNksaO6uqcEpoi1JnUFAq9tnTF4Zr6wdwTAqMcG1cTBAQRzClyU4cM8WJi5UgWEROW7Wc-W9Fm6Vct8HY5957z5Pd3cXmwvHlpjrAFslsRggtTD039wITZFsHaXPm7D9j94-0I9haI80u7cWT0MAz8O20wJDz5PmeWgGBNYs/s3578/DSC_1078.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2561" data-original-width="3578" height="458" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSRxvylCzgFmjsAj7PGd8LNksaO6uqcEpoi1JnUFAq9tnTF4Zr6wdwTAqMcG1cTBAQRzClyU4cM8WJi5UgWEROW7Wc-W9Fm6Vct8HY5957z5Pd3cXmwvHlpjrAFslsRggtTD039wITZFsHaXPm7D9j94-0I9haI80u7cWT0MAz8O20wJDz5PmeWgGBNYs/w640-h458/DSC_1078.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg47evgnAm_-RbN2CPWwFU3vAAmFgzBAz0POfyhvp14KL6-P74IsRlNjl4agpEZdkT6u8eVeRhwQunspnk3Z9f6-QqFoqvw31VTPpWhY-w3gG6AtsZ3G3oLomjtzbQ2Hv3WoFVwA9r-X1ut6Rvy4e4MqwXrbdvukEdXD7zICliUUHyp7PNJjPKng0fOvQQ/s3792/DSC_1079.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2667" data-original-width="3792" height="450" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg47evgnAm_-RbN2CPWwFU3vAAmFgzBAz0POfyhvp14KL6-P74IsRlNjl4agpEZdkT6u8eVeRhwQunspnk3Z9f6-QqFoqvw31VTPpWhY-w3gG6AtsZ3G3oLomjtzbQ2Hv3WoFVwA9r-X1ut6Rvy4e4MqwXrbdvukEdXD7zICliUUHyp7PNJjPKng0fOvQQ/w640-h450/DSC_1079.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div><span style="font-family: courier;">There's also a character called Pearl Pryor in the strip Pranks in the Park who looks incredibly like Keyhole Kate! No copyright claims can be upheld here of course as The Dandy, and Keyhole Kate, didn't arrive on the scene until 1937.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: courier;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHxynOXcNmuTFJJa_7CKarBXOMl-u1BKVsN8do36nuzT0c_QQA8HJZiFTvadv6Nha4feJEAssitFaINwByVk9IDxilMNvQ3gYZaxDJMBMkMQ3U_feyT-2V2TvEOjbBLo-P1eSDGokZ4EpVd-A8A8d81LE14wy2_loo0Sq4HmQT0dYsAJIrjDlTZefTPLs/s3693/DSC_1080-2.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2720" data-original-width="3693" height="472" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHxynOXcNmuTFJJa_7CKarBXOMl-u1BKVsN8do36nuzT0c_QQA8HJZiFTvadv6Nha4feJEAssitFaINwByVk9IDxilMNvQ3gYZaxDJMBMkMQ3U_feyT-2V2TvEOjbBLo-P1eSDGokZ4EpVd-A8A8d81LE14wy2_loo0Sq4HmQT0dYsAJIrjDlTZefTPLs/w640-h472/DSC_1080-2.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTBd24H_k71ayd4EVNxNkxEIOkbfT_j_EokhdJQisMbZj-Mb59nyVMVC_Sts6PFbsw3R4IxNDw4iKAYUovNVs_VmPOEUkKvP3jxSwJ3SmdS1RTyDPr5IxDCRAEU2a59DthDZXHcQagsRIQEb4rUOWJr2p4IER8Jc4Lmbm7zpinxwD4GArXUe3r8xE1qcM/s3396/DSC_1081.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3396" data-original-width="2528" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTBd24H_k71ayd4EVNxNkxEIOkbfT_j_EokhdJQisMbZj-Mb59nyVMVC_Sts6PFbsw3R4IxNDw4iKAYUovNVs_VmPOEUkKvP3jxSwJ3SmdS1RTyDPr5IxDCRAEU2a59DthDZXHcQagsRIQEb4rUOWJr2p4IER8Jc4Lmbm7zpinxwD4GArXUe3r8xE1qcM/w476-h640/DSC_1081.JPG" width="476" /></a></div><br /><div><span style="font-family: courier;">There's plenty more for readers of course but I'll wrap it up for this blog post. The last thing I want to share is this wonderful back cover, advertising various comics published by Amalgamated Press at the time. The Funny Wonder is on there, of course, alongside Larks, Jester, Jingles and Tip Top, each coming out on various days of the week. I love these early comics and wish they were easier to find copies of these days. I know if I had been alive in 1934 I would always be broke!</span></div><div><div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFr2ejkbFBUVrP30bWFLtEMVNZPykUOu_JNTjXuH4nsp79LzcjkaA8dPYOKZfncbW7X41cfDmoavke0ZNRtbNf3N3P3cQTNVqmxIuBV_zv4dy6GIBfTr76aBgRo0Si3Onk4ogIKx6YVPS0m_RzjkHv28aePE1_aqij9b9dAj1Odfk0_BA1ixRNZUS0CqA/s3931/DSC_1033.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3931" data-original-width="2844" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFr2ejkbFBUVrP30bWFLtEMVNZPykUOu_JNTjXuH4nsp79LzcjkaA8dPYOKZfncbW7X41cfDmoavke0ZNRtbNf3N3P3cQTNVqmxIuBV_zv4dy6GIBfTr76aBgRo0Si3Onk4ogIKx6YVPS0m_RzjkHv28aePE1_aqij9b9dAj1Odfk0_BA1ixRNZUS0CqA/w464-h640/DSC_1033.JPG" width="464" /></a></div></div></div></div></div></div>George Shiershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03162253849922362900noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1965905287512456704.post-86429175979425555952023-07-10T06:06:00.002+13:002023-07-10T06:25:18.162+13:00Vintage Tin Adverts<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIVjWd30sAWWHHPxnQDkN1RcsNTPP8E6aqTR3ZnR3viUuKllGs0QFlZpSIqyB7saw2l25-tmOazugmQIj4UtkLgIkcLVzFIJGUlm2lcm-2zpGP80YBM8Rg1fX2P0mBmJINpLw8CLWKff3GgElmmLWM0n_Wb-UlitSrMPFWJ0lamKGVAYblcVNSv2iOHTI/s1000/a42cd949-b6c5-4ba5-b090-b01b01825e79.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="667" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIVjWd30sAWWHHPxnQDkN1RcsNTPP8E6aqTR3ZnR3viUuKllGs0QFlZpSIqyB7saw2l25-tmOazugmQIj4UtkLgIkcLVzFIJGUlm2lcm-2zpGP80YBM8Rg1fX2P0mBmJINpLw8CLWKff3GgElmmLWM0n_Wb-UlitSrMPFWJ0lamKGVAYblcVNSv2iOHTI/w426-h640/a42cd949-b6c5-4ba5-b090-b01b01825e79.jpeg" width="426" /></a></div><p></p><p><span style="font-family: courier;">These beautiful signs sold last week at auction, and I simply couldn't resist sharing them here. Made of tin, such signs were common in the first half of the 20th century and were often tied up outside newsagents - it's not rare to see them in the background of old photos.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_8M_5qM3TqNBnuhNcYITqJ5LjD-frr9Ucl-ytcp37QgsC1dlocqKPxUPTckCgYzBJGuojtvUqJGLPZNUN5tBSXpxob0Ina8CaLInXMi8vrVsdhHLkaIX5daC1ueJrNwwUBFDZy-zdDJE8Fcr8VitA6cjBWBdy1s3EVTkaCIKEbo5SbEPci09WU8RocPU/s1000/c9e2467a-9542-46ba-960e-b01c014e5966.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="667" data-original-width="1000" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_8M_5qM3TqNBnuhNcYITqJ5LjD-frr9Ucl-ytcp37QgsC1dlocqKPxUPTckCgYzBJGuojtvUqJGLPZNUN5tBSXpxob0Ina8CaLInXMi8vrVsdhHLkaIX5daC1ueJrNwwUBFDZy-zdDJE8Fcr8VitA6cjBWBdy1s3EVTkaCIKEbo5SbEPci09WU8RocPU/w640-h426/c9e2467a-9542-46ba-960e-b01c014e5966.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-CbuJyPXL8CUYn2gTZIPvp-2tKQpv8xh502VVx80K4aviQ4kQXETubW5fdHLmVAqSyCT9KofqlkU_idlq1Bk2M_zsLFBXc2BXY24zV5smUefoO19cbVp1exts5gEnOhUmo12RPiZmDeybDQpxtwHw_RM3YOgbSdeqs5Jj4JJuDwN8r1FfFsLE1VsTMsc/s1007/66b718bd-5199-4755-8964-b01b017bd07e.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1007" data-original-width="653" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-CbuJyPXL8CUYn2gTZIPvp-2tKQpv8xh502VVx80K4aviQ4kQXETubW5fdHLmVAqSyCT9KofqlkU_idlq1Bk2M_zsLFBXc2BXY24zV5smUefoO19cbVp1exts5gEnOhUmo12RPiZmDeybDQpxtwHw_RM3YOgbSdeqs5Jj4JJuDwN8r1FfFsLE1VsTMsc/w416-h640/66b718bd-5199-4755-8964-b01b017bd07e.jpeg" width="416" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier;">Should you have any more cool old adverts, or even just photos of some, please do send some photos of them my way. They're a joy to behold, and I'd love to share some to the site.</span></div>George Shiershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03162253849922362900noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1965905287512456704.post-85203115416561950862023-07-09T09:52:00.001+13:002023-07-09T09:52:00.149+13:00Dennis the Menace Book 1956<p><span style="font-family: courier;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqR3d5jv69dGgzQhwACPvWJTOXnoNwY4Ac5yAKVBSytABq9qkF_Km8ohdXBV6RHhSXyf_XLRYjMoGPmiSnEOvxWf8F00vLfHYZtupseRAS2XSlQB2_HekMyzTF5aIBy4Rj-8aoL9q8ufoSxD_zIUYnBfuLXkS1uaIJWFtbqIGKlDTRQrAisrJ9tVyYMjU/s3782/DSC_1021.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3782" data-original-width="2754" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqR3d5jv69dGgzQhwACPvWJTOXnoNwY4Ac5yAKVBSytABq9qkF_Km8ohdXBV6RHhSXyf_XLRYjMoGPmiSnEOvxWf8F00vLfHYZtupseRAS2XSlQB2_HekMyzTF5aIBy4Rj-8aoL9q8ufoSxD_zIUYnBfuLXkS1uaIJWFtbqIGKlDTRQrAisrJ9tVyYMjU/w466-h640/DSC_1021.JPG" width="466" /></a></span></div><p><span style="font-family: courier;"><b>Dennis the Menace</b> must have been hugely popular right from the very beginning if he was to get his very own book less than five years after his first appearance in <b>The Beano</b> in 1951. Yet that's exactly what happened, with the 1956 Dennis the Menace book coming out in time for Christmas 1955. I love the front cover of this book, with the entire town, including no less than three policemen and even a cat, cowering in fear as Dennis strides along with a big bucket of bright red paint. Wonderfully illustrated by Dennis' creator and first artist <b>Davey Law</b>, I was fortunate enough to pick up a copy that still has the vibrant colours it was printed with back in the 1950s. Here's the accompanying back cover, which just captures the spirit of the character so well.</span></p><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZK79TrqMezJy_ZxzeItwvWKzG9NOViOq3-S07vlCGSCDTVteL_rQ3vOAg8j34elYshtLerGMXpL7KByai6k-LEA6AKAJ-kTj8O-zvivvIpRxEeDPKQ212IXI19M65p5rBnDon0Ds0F6W3zABKGtSt6dXGWSBlPoj5Jjn0YA7ZCjNmOQkWxcDpF9noUWc/s3615/DSC_1024.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3615" data-original-width="2598" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZK79TrqMezJy_ZxzeItwvWKzG9NOViOq3-S07vlCGSCDTVteL_rQ3vOAg8j34elYshtLerGMXpL7KByai6k-LEA6AKAJ-kTj8O-zvivvIpRxEeDPKQ212IXI19M65p5rBnDon0Ds0F6W3zABKGtSt6dXGWSBlPoj5Jjn0YA7ZCjNmOQkWxcDpF9noUWc/w460-h640/DSC_1024.JPG" width="460" /></a></div><p></p><p><span style="font-family: courier;">These were the days before <b>Gnasher</b> entered this scene (I posted his first appearance <u><a href="http://whackycomics.blogspot.com/2011/11/gnash.html">here</a></u>), so it's up to Dennis to carry the fun on his own. There is no price tag inside the book, but I believe it cost 5/-, for which readers got 80 pages (counting the covers), all of which were printed with red and black ink. I can only assume this was to show off Dennis' infamous red and black jersey. For comparison, the 1956 Beano and Dandy annuals both cost 6/-. I'm not sure about The Dandy, but The Beano book had 128 pages.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiA2jx9NFgPhlG3kygU-bIQt5MIwL8opaSDi1e-QTP885YSOe7FA4onQjvnYrZVB73auwsajhA5RY2s11mWddsC3TNlEx6isEVXeTowJm4wF1Cu6yjhKXby4rYTwMcV2Xw26snMB6VkstY9K6VZHWec3FjCAw6u55lGurcFwNXgkJahbT16R0s6V-HcC0/s3839/DSC_1022.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2742" data-original-width="3839" height="458" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiA2jx9NFgPhlG3kygU-bIQt5MIwL8opaSDi1e-QTP885YSOe7FA4onQjvnYrZVB73auwsajhA5RY2s11mWddsC3TNlEx6isEVXeTowJm4wF1Cu6yjhKXby4rYTwMcV2Xw26snMB6VkstY9K6VZHWec3FjCAw6u55lGurcFwNXgkJahbT16R0s6V-HcC0/w640-h458/DSC_1022.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioyeyv1NR0TNOwRbiJHe45xfazesovqgSZFL-w9m5Q32JsX3O2L8jjEqJ6zRSIfMnAIfu52E18a9r4Rob2YxmAy-jWttaTVf_rvF6b13V9jKwOOvOUPUbZ5uIjnrWYPAqu4UQaVbwZzEd-d0utziANEtjtSvn9YvvG9zgUjGQmQKhbZ-IW9LW7y_HAZDs/s3935/DSC_1027.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2806" data-original-width="3935" height="456" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioyeyv1NR0TNOwRbiJHe45xfazesovqgSZFL-w9m5Q32JsX3O2L8jjEqJ6zRSIfMnAIfu52E18a9r4Rob2YxmAy-jWttaTVf_rvF6b13V9jKwOOvOUPUbZ5uIjnrWYPAqu4UQaVbwZzEd-d0utziANEtjtSvn9YvvG9zgUjGQmQKhbZ-IW9LW7y_HAZDs/w640-h456/DSC_1027.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: courier;">The book contains a mixture of comic strips and text.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p><span style="font-family: courier;">I'm a big fan of Davey Law's Dennis but of course 1950s Beano comics can fetch a premium and are hard to come by. Early Dennis books are certainly collectable, especially this 1956 edition, but for those wanting to see Law's work on a bit of a budget getting a hold of them is well worth doing. I picked this up just this week for $35 (New Zealand dollars, so about </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #202124; font-family: courier; font-size: 14px;">£</span><span style="font-family: courier;">17) and it's in pretty nice condition. However, I believe most of the Dennis strips in the early books were actually reprinted from strips published in </span><b style="font-family: courier;">The Weekly News</b><span style="font-family: courier;">, not The Beano. In addition to his Beano strips, Davey Law drew 184 Dennis comics for The Weekly News which were published from 7th November 1953 - 17th August 1957 (197 strips were published in total, 184 new ones by Law, one Beano reprint and 12 by another artist). It was probably a smart idea reprinting these in the book as I imagine most readers would be more familiar with his Beano appearances.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFS5X5_z8iq4Xp8cL-JDB2_KYkudfFBXHaMUFIxZS1AmdS6pniX6cCRjx0qUzZTVRZDHDyGxzAkMcHwEVnLGNWXwYWlX_fKAvl-YugLoLdCqCPLEtaF8rZ48sXFwURZACant7HHWEIeQf1o50hWsQKqIqesVKOeWMiuPdok3UPyqgL88GZaArTatbht0w/s3806/DSC_1028.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2701" data-original-width="3806" height="454" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFS5X5_z8iq4Xp8cL-JDB2_KYkudfFBXHaMUFIxZS1AmdS6pniX6cCRjx0qUzZTVRZDHDyGxzAkMcHwEVnLGNWXwYWlX_fKAvl-YugLoLdCqCPLEtaF8rZ48sXFwURZACant7HHWEIeQf1o50hWsQKqIqesVKOeWMiuPdok3UPyqgL88GZaArTatbht0w/w640-h454/DSC_1028.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz-IsmLjgACaX6s9fMPh39VX8yYPcSy5XEXs2BpY_SqMGivD75lDftXm3qMo48C2FGxUsj6BKxUu9xUIyb_VMOnQLueB8ii0cnatJNaGkecJZxLCwTHJSk5u9n-I5ML0YeX7AZ84F4c0I8mqBWDBUZgpEyzFrDHMBbMOV3JGakupIMEHXofdZgEFHMiak/s3865/DSC_1029.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2804" data-original-width="3865" height="464" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz-IsmLjgACaX6s9fMPh39VX8yYPcSy5XEXs2BpY_SqMGivD75lDftXm3qMo48C2FGxUsj6BKxUu9xUIyb_VMOnQLueB8ii0cnatJNaGkecJZxLCwTHJSk5u9n-I5ML0YeX7AZ84F4c0I8mqBWDBUZgpEyzFrDHMBbMOV3JGakupIMEHXofdZgEFHMiak/w640-h464/DSC_1029.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: courier;"><p>Dennis the Menace books were bi-annual affair up until 1978, when they were paused until 1983. A book was then published every year from 1987-2011, with 39 editions published all up. I understand that instead of producing an annual for 2012 D.C. Thomson published The Beano and The Dandy celebrate Dennis the Menace. Published as part of Dennis' 60th birthday celebrations, this book was marketed as a history book however text throughout is short, instead allowing the strips themselves to tell the story.</p></span><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh68cqqwjMMrlfkykXITk1jvGsQKzijwTFbpOKwwPICyCJbNrpqPNFWCGbtogKJzOurZzuZfa4Qo64fQfYe8TCbW1YoFPZA8F3GkVh4qR87jGyZmU8eNTraFjT2n1vqiWGEdR9_s2X6w_79dcD8yEtj76GPuOUCDYXWNwihtNeOgZNSaF2ZfaAJ0Hms39M/s3227/DSC_1019.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3227" data-original-width="2576" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh68cqqwjMMrlfkykXITk1jvGsQKzijwTFbpOKwwPICyCJbNrpqPNFWCGbtogKJzOurZzuZfa4Qo64fQfYe8TCbW1YoFPZA8F3GkVh4qR87jGyZmU8eNTraFjT2n1vqiWGEdR9_s2X6w_79dcD8yEtj76GPuOUCDYXWNwihtNeOgZNSaF2ZfaAJ0Hms39M/w319-h400/DSC_1019.JPG" width="319" /></a></div><p></p><p><span style="font-family: courier;">For whatever reason the books were not resumed again after this, but it goes without saying that Dennis' popularity continues to reign in The Beano every week. I doubt he'll ever be replaced.</span></p>George Shiershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03162253849922362900noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1965905287512456704.post-10902500042737151892023-07-07T12:40:00.003+13:002023-07-07T12:40:00.164+13:00Comic Branded Clothing<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD3L85MZClJbCL6tGof_n_COSCdCjKDn9z1oRoT7D7Q5JhqZQGNxMH2vNWumHEfVQekv3oXkh8Cv7oMaiCXWXL3pX5NBg0okqRE8lLARGGQDG7HdFf4vnUfmNqu81yolzmgWynLx6suBIf3m-JRel8HmlYcWXlXi7zB4Ss9bfxvRdY9Mc_CJGC3f50ZBQ/s925/Image_6024f6924fb28.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="925" data-original-width="770" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD3L85MZClJbCL6tGof_n_COSCdCjKDn9z1oRoT7D7Q5JhqZQGNxMH2vNWumHEfVQekv3oXkh8Cv7oMaiCXWXL3pX5NBg0okqRE8lLARGGQDG7HdFf4vnUfmNqu81yolzmgWynLx6suBIf3m-JRel8HmlYcWXlXi7zB4Ss9bfxvRdY9Mc_CJGC3f50ZBQ/w533-h640/Image_6024f6924fb28.jpeg" width="533" /></a></div><span style="font-family: courier;"><p>While doing some research for my series on the free gifts given away with <b>Whizzer and Chips</b> (link to part 1 <u><a href="http://whackycomics.blogspot.com/2023/05/every-whizzer-and-chips-free-gift-part.html">here</a></u>) I came across the above image from Phil-Comics of a Whizzer and Chips hat, apparently a competition prize from 1974. Whizzer and Chips gave away all manner of clothes throughout its 21-year run, most notably t-shirts that depicted various designs throughout the years promoting either Whizz-Kids or Chip-ites, depending on which half of the comic the prize was from.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ296-Lal1iTysQuPN8aZPgcFvsoVYvRSpFTD9gp_dRQWFsHMQzt7XyIbQZEjdjqQUVopXw4nVS2vQ8-fZ9IKZRRvG1EnDr3PX3PtCVldv7TIkVsElKhxd4V7UHu1G3mL7adTBeNeXNWD4abQuCb6h7P2S4CvAC5v0D8EmaoH1tQcz_DAtb5Y6a8IVIEQ/s3637/DSC_1015.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2016" data-original-width="3637" height="354" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ296-Lal1iTysQuPN8aZPgcFvsoVYvRSpFTD9gp_dRQWFsHMQzt7XyIbQZEjdjqQUVopXw4nVS2vQ8-fZ9IKZRRvG1EnDr3PX3PtCVldv7TIkVsElKhxd4V7UHu1G3mL7adTBeNeXNWD4abQuCb6h7P2S4CvAC5v0D8EmaoH1tQcz_DAtb5Y6a8IVIEQ/w640-h354/DSC_1015.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMKRM35WuJ4dPiCoXERADBMzWJE0mf2Y04mf1b8FuQFZl7SyDRUXeeSPbneNI6lGjPFWrPIvzBWEHIlBVCjKgsrUyaBLaSiLgbPd3goVvh7T7z0N48qzhrQEdkTtCQP3ewgDlgSqKD2Hu4pInEc-z_vDtg6S2-QjbPQb8N5qTQLMdIU92U10xlLrNkjWo/s4223/DSC_1016.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2161" data-original-width="4223" height="328" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMKRM35WuJ4dPiCoXERADBMzWJE0mf2Y04mf1b8FuQFZl7SyDRUXeeSPbneNI6lGjPFWrPIvzBWEHIlBVCjKgsrUyaBLaSiLgbPd3goVvh7T7z0N48qzhrQEdkTtCQP3ewgDlgSqKD2Hu4pInEc-z_vDtg6S2-QjbPQb8N5qTQLMdIU92U10xlLrNkjWo/w640-h328/DSC_1016.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Promotions for the shirts from 1978. There were <br />many different shirt designs over the years.</td></tr></tbody></table><p>I've been looking for images of such clothes for years to share on the blog as I find comic-related promotional items an interesting part of their history. But so rarely do they come up that I seriously doubt many, if any, survive. It's not hard to see why - you can tell from the above photo the production quality of the hat isn't exactly that of Prada. Nonetheless, if you have a photo of the shirts or any other comic related clothing please do get in touch. It could be a photo taken yesterday or in 1984 - a photo is a photo and I'm keen to see!</p></span><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7dpU0q4ywDscn29kkMDpiL5H9EPf8zHsTuyEkSqxDFXmVN_EuTWcbKT2eluu8-oiNVeH9i5WaVO3qZiWe-iO5iI4rIXVQeKzr4suqQ_CjrVBBfJlcwmAQBfbsGxk2Co496rsK5voTJBk35ykfUpFepWbs_tmCXZfxL32APD8pzghqWdwsFTTkkVvfI_A/s3545/DSC_1018.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2820" data-original-width="3545" height="510" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7dpU0q4ywDscn29kkMDpiL5H9EPf8zHsTuyEkSqxDFXmVN_EuTWcbKT2eluu8-oiNVeH9i5WaVO3qZiWe-iO5iI4rIXVQeKzr4suqQ_CjrVBBfJlcwmAQBfbsGxk2Co496rsK5voTJBk35ykfUpFepWbs_tmCXZfxL32APD8pzghqWdwsFTTkkVvfI_A/w640-h510/DSC_1018.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: courier;">Whizzer and Chips wallet 1986</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1fKJhfLbyjkf4XqnSOlr4bslJVEPYUTgoBDxwzPyJPeXTfYgRJZtdg27ej5hquTEe8vgy0m3Lk41fro0bCHCXmiSuiwJvUfyFnpFiEITvNEUVnHRMFPO_IPdcdzGnKGaMoZ312zuBHm7aBSEGSDl1nMFVL-w7g7P67upcQeGCiebbcFBFRhT_LZ7BgjQ/s3538/DSC_1017.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2668" data-original-width="3538" height="482" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1fKJhfLbyjkf4XqnSOlr4bslJVEPYUTgoBDxwzPyJPeXTfYgRJZtdg27ej5hquTEe8vgy0m3Lk41fro0bCHCXmiSuiwJvUfyFnpFiEITvNEUVnHRMFPO_IPdcdzGnKGaMoZ312zuBHm7aBSEGSDl1nMFVL-w7g7P67upcQeGCiebbcFBFRhT_LZ7BgjQ/w640-h482/DSC_1017.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: courier;">Whizzer and Chips bag 1987</span></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p><span style="font-family: courier;">Meanwhile, here's another cap, also from of Phil-Comics. This one is an </span><b style="font-family: courier;">Action</b><span style="font-family: courier;"> cap, apparently a runner-up prize in the Action Superstars Competition from 1976.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHYE-uPypuFZUq1OT1VXXimc4EydI1JJTJX39Epp5HI4EO_3O2sVLriOmDTZHGJKzg5yyxMu9lK36gxMYG3Ugc4ApD1H-_Vuc0wrBIbltA4PjgsC__6dyHEg7n4ihdvT4mTFDRn5KgfFvBh4suK9pU_6IzVmHdD2TqYVld4ex7gMkh1q_XALmnr_radpI/s1400/Action-Cap-1976-1-scaled-e1685184302511.webp" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="974" data-original-width="1400" height="446" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHYE-uPypuFZUq1OT1VXXimc4EydI1JJTJX39Epp5HI4EO_3O2sVLriOmDTZHGJKzg5yyxMu9lK36gxMYG3Ugc4ApD1H-_Vuc0wrBIbltA4PjgsC__6dyHEg7n4ihdvT4mTFDRn5KgfFvBh4suK9pU_6IzVmHdD2TqYVld4ex7gMkh1q_XALmnr_radpI/w640-h446/Action-Cap-1976-1-scaled-e1685184302511.webp" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5KBHB0x1ZUak4tDGuFwf827XWIDbTk3WjUX06DG47NuCPEPxH32oQ94XdfrJv-4d7RC4QrCvsbkepgl8Zb42Ll0Z5J_awNqoXFZWcn-u29ZToCmX7Ajlaau8gZT-dFENDW8JSQppxSHPe-UDYSAVXPMdxKhQ1aKQljGUWgls9A4q50maPflFU_EyTCLY/s1400/Action-Cap-1976-4-scaled-e1685184341745.webp" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="933" data-original-width="1400" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5KBHB0x1ZUak4tDGuFwf827XWIDbTk3WjUX06DG47NuCPEPxH32oQ94XdfrJv-4d7RC4QrCvsbkepgl8Zb42Ll0Z5J_awNqoXFZWcn-u29ZToCmX7Ajlaau8gZT-dFENDW8JSQppxSHPe-UDYSAVXPMdxKhQ1aKQljGUWgls9A4q50maPflFU_EyTCLY/w640-h426/Action-Cap-1976-4-scaled-e1685184341745.webp" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwyUyCWGcMiSEZjBrnpcSs_8RPkeTomC8kstimbKv6z7n9HA6GuV2yEdMEvkylQoOrkvQJLzUt984VSLrlZsFzhs-xeOCWdT_WQ0gEsYZ-q-pReENSd-Qmp-gQF3IH05y1_GWhCh-kG7zbQ5wGbcQx3uYAMEUl4uHcs0Q2ejUctgk-QcYCcZe_9w-clSo/s1400/Action-Cap-1976-5-scaled-e1685184355589.webp" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="933" data-original-width="1400" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwyUyCWGcMiSEZjBrnpcSs_8RPkeTomC8kstimbKv6z7n9HA6GuV2yEdMEvkylQoOrkvQJLzUt984VSLrlZsFzhs-xeOCWdT_WQ0gEsYZ-q-pReENSd-Qmp-gQF3IH05y1_GWhCh-kG7zbQ5wGbcQx3uYAMEUl4uHcs0Q2ejUctgk-QcYCcZe_9w-clSo/w640-h426/Action-Cap-1976-5-scaled-e1685184355589.webp" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHJjL14pZq8kg6sHyjU_EEAB_aL-qn8-0OiB_PBXmeVcCbLQtw7LJxLjEnjDRYEI9lhe3X2fYsrg-WNmY_6yg1Ws8NF9c1o7rnmXTpAkU7NWhZLrY36lxBGQNtj-QggcZhjxp5rtcqZwciCoS9lQJuwfX589aHNSZ98GOYp_PjJKlMbnzjPV-1tn3YRN8/s1400/Action-Cap-1976-2-scaled-e1685184314173.webp" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="933" data-original-width="1400" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHJjL14pZq8kg6sHyjU_EEAB_aL-qn8-0OiB_PBXmeVcCbLQtw7LJxLjEnjDRYEI9lhe3X2fYsrg-WNmY_6yg1Ws8NF9c1o7rnmXTpAkU7NWhZLrY36lxBGQNtj-QggcZhjxp5rtcqZwciCoS9lQJuwfX589aHNSZ98GOYp_PjJKlMbnzjPV-1tn3YRN8/w640-h426/Action-Cap-1976-2-scaled-e1685184314173.webp" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: courier;"><br /></span><p></p>George Shiershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03162253849922362900noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1965905287512456704.post-88459440621804525292023-07-05T18:31:00.001+13:002023-07-06T01:21:23.345+13:00Dudley Watkins' Final Page<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijH7YbL2aaF_opeSKdhZmvKqhSG2dVOBMLV9ozSnIorTAsxBgYdqBNqwlzIbCE0XI5ihcvUowpsZPnos7YAYdsb762egWluIgTPx17_W6UD4lyytfPmBYnyebRxteiUABq22rUgLggvsAbcJp-y8i41P4RlW-jaYp_VQlKGzdqmhM0_GqY1aoO-DGPjXg/s2923/dudley%20last.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2923" data-original-width="2018" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijH7YbL2aaF_opeSKdhZmvKqhSG2dVOBMLV9ozSnIorTAsxBgYdqBNqwlzIbCE0XI5ihcvUowpsZPnos7YAYdsb762egWluIgTPx17_W6UD4lyytfPmBYnyebRxteiUABq22rUgLggvsAbcJp-y8i41P4RlW-jaYp_VQlKGzdqmhM0_GqY1aoO-DGPjXg/w442-h640/dudley%20last.JPG" width="442" /></a></div><span style="font-family: courier;"><p>What you see above may look like any other old 1960s <b>Beano</b> cover, but it is in fact the last page illustrated by legendary artist <b>Dudley Watkins</b>. Watkins was working on the page at his home on the morning of 20th August 1969 when he suffered a fatal heart attack and collapsed over his desk. The <b>Biffo the Bear</b> strip was only part-done, and was later completed by <b>David Sutherland</b> for Beano #1423, dated October 25th 1969.</p></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: courier;">I've always found it interesting to see the last comic strip of an artist, as sad as the context surrounding them may be. I've posted a few such pages on this blog before, such as <u><a href="http://whackycomics.blogspot.com/2013/08/ken-reids-last.html">this one</a></u> by <b>Ken Reid</b>, who passed away half way through his final Faceache strip. I do hope that artists passing away while still drawing speaks more to a love of the craft than anything else.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: courier;">Whereas 99% of what I post on this site is taken from my own collection, this comic is not one of them. Instead, I came across the image during a reread of The Art and History of The Dandy, published in 2012. If you haven't had a chance to read it yet, you absolutely should. It's a wealth of knowledge and definitely a book worth seeking out.</span></p>George Shiershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03162253849922362900noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1965905287512456704.post-58973157483914792622023-07-03T23:42:00.002+13:002023-07-04T00:35:08.685+13:00Every Whizzer and Chips Free Gift (Part 3 of 3)<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitdJ-FiSWoPty3kgevQX64u6X26uQiNvoktll_mF1XhKC-7UNjV5nOO_568rcKUpDiQ_9htKNJS1Bbba4VpAv6uWTmY5sfXA-avx36eqo8ItTbvR7DyM2Mw070hqpr-2BRILdNTLE5TaG07R13V_7hGXhXEnJEkZVXrqcSd5iVBxOUe-O1vxHyChwoTSM/s1604/Screen%20Shot%202023-07-02%20at%2011.03.50%20PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="786" data-original-width="1604" height="314" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitdJ-FiSWoPty3kgevQX64u6X26uQiNvoktll_mF1XhKC-7UNjV5nOO_568rcKUpDiQ_9htKNJS1Bbba4VpAv6uWTmY5sfXA-avx36eqo8ItTbvR7DyM2Mw070hqpr-2BRILdNTLE5TaG07R13V_7hGXhXEnJEkZVXrqcSd5iVBxOUe-O1vxHyChwoTSM/w640-h314/Screen%20Shot%202023-07-02%20at%2011.03.50%20PM.png" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: courier;"><p>As we move into the final years of <b>Whizzer and Chips</b>, the free gifts became a little more frequent. I left off in 1984 (there's a link to parts 1 and 2 at the bottom of this post), and the next free gift came with issue dated June 11th 1985. It was another badge from Heinz, this time of a Haunted House! Although I'll be honest in saying that I quite like the artwork of this badge (halloween is probably my favourite comic theme, when done well), the fact that it's promoting spaghetti is a little less exciting. Here's a picture of the badge, along with an image of the cans found <a href="https://moviesandmania.com/2014/07/30/heinz-haunted-house-food-and-drink/" style="text-decoration-line: underline;">elsewhere</a> on the internet (although to be fair, those cans do have a cool spooky design too).</p></span><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk8O6-MgQO7BCTXR_qr_qVRTw_rrkET-oyvMGAp96wV9-riGmAY3LIM0dWla2YSERzgs3mz3l7LSdngtFyNq0MlnqsQhk2GnP72-2s6t8OQz8PuaGn6tPr41oSdXuAsydhZ7PpFXynieBUtT_mnXoTN_SzZizdDvdZdiTz0xYzL7G3yT311TVBR6nrt9s/s366/W%20&%20C%20%20-%20%2011.05.85.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="366" data-original-width="363" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk8O6-MgQO7BCTXR_qr_qVRTw_rrkET-oyvMGAp96wV9-riGmAY3LIM0dWla2YSERzgs3mz3l7LSdngtFyNq0MlnqsQhk2GnP72-2s6t8OQz8PuaGn6tPr41oSdXuAsydhZ7PpFXynieBUtT_mnXoTN_SzZizdDvdZdiTz0xYzL7G3yT311TVBR6nrt9s/s320/W%20&%20C%20%20-%20%2011.05.85.jpg" width="317" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNjYk8rdl085wZx3olWdau29_Vu0L67PETxvl6YougLSQUKl_lN7qZyXZMqQdXb0xawvZVsPKN2smpPRZvp1tl7pqqWlf7Pwd-foI9Dx_4cL0Vb8Ar711-eUzhNAz7hKlXztc_rieCyRHdAFTL4wUJNMzIgiYANVwyRzhpMakp6qLjdcB1LKKhHCN_UUU/s500/heinz-haunted-house1.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="447" data-original-width="500" height="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNjYk8rdl085wZx3olWdau29_Vu0L67PETxvl6YougLSQUKl_lN7qZyXZMqQdXb0xawvZVsPKN2smpPRZvp1tl7pqqWlf7Pwd-foI9Dx_4cL0Vb8Ar711-eUzhNAz7hKlXztc_rieCyRHdAFTL4wUJNMzIgiYANVwyRzhpMakp6qLjdcB1LKKhHCN_UUU/w400-h358/heinz-haunted-house1.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: courier;">The next gift was another Weetabix badge with issue dated 8th June 1985. In similar vein to the previous Weetabix badge giveaway in 1982, four badges were created for four comics - Whizzer and Chips, Buster, Eagle and Tiger. Here's a photo of the badges, as well as a promotional advert taken from Eagle. </span><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPrQY-RXGkvGpYAzt82PkL5q5-bRSX27cqTOXo2uvfZY_5apvjWRdNJEhgTmVNFWaM6BYwKGWNO0Kt_U8GqRE9kxKWm3-BZusxqEje51w8THv-xvJIDkdd2kheU5MfOGlfYdRWWVt6Q1o7xATOpo33_xfw4It09XS52ExZs7fvReiFzJ0qaIuJ2UbzOyA/s469/W%20&%20C%20%20-%20%2008.06.85.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="445" data-original-width="469" height="380" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPrQY-RXGkvGpYAzt82PkL5q5-bRSX27cqTOXo2uvfZY_5apvjWRdNJEhgTmVNFWaM6BYwKGWNO0Kt_U8GqRE9kxKWm3-BZusxqEje51w8THv-xvJIDkdd2kheU5MfOGlfYdRWWVt6Q1o7xATOpo33_xfw4It09XS52ExZs7fvReiFzJ0qaIuJ2UbzOyA/w400-h380/W%20&%20C%20%20-%20%2008.06.85.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLcWHjQFZo9w5QmFhIyJ3lvq2rRN1cGORfNSwCwOTAQ2vOBzO2T8UjpMXLERJdcFZVWCbrnO8lobVDmmfIuwBXuIB9t6gUxaoMala5aLXgbgbYmG-Y4Atkk9B6RY1V-5M6x8m-oA84q1OJySMtynSZ--W5pMrExGezPIcnKTk4IvvLwRI8a8Bgbd7vi6c/s627/ad%20from%20eagle%20comic%20%23168%20%20-%20%2008.06.85.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="375" data-original-width="627" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLcWHjQFZo9w5QmFhIyJ3lvq2rRN1cGORfNSwCwOTAQ2vOBzO2T8UjpMXLERJdcFZVWCbrnO8lobVDmmfIuwBXuIB9t6gUxaoMala5aLXgbgbYmG-Y4Atkk9B6RY1V-5M6x8m-oA84q1OJySMtynSZ--W5pMrExGezPIcnKTk4IvvLwRI8a8Bgbd7vi6c/w400-h239/ad%20from%20eagle%20comic%20%23168%20%20-%20%2008.06.85.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: courier;">Now here's a gift that I like a bit more - a free zoom balloon! I'm sure you're familiar with the concept, but if not it's basically a super noisy balloon that when released flies quickly and directionless around the room. Great fun, it came with issue dated 28th September 1985. This issue also came with a J.R (Junior Rotter) cut-out story book - it was definitely <i><u>the</u></i> comic to have that week.</span><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEGAvYyVs5dGdiATDF2ykTM58_8GxVOFlMQyTLPex3tsyW04WNtYaIIVzPbzVndkebMfYnkiuveP6HPQcVdrjGfKlNB6gTF5M9S68dyWIsuoHqrsslDQjlVBWmc2hXnI-GpaeOOmKSAWuq72AQrSVnmhHkK_8Bhay6wGOgXcgXC65GJyvYJyY1e1RdYlM/s501/w%20&%20c%20-%2028.09.85.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="501" data-original-width="282" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEGAvYyVs5dGdiATDF2ykTM58_8GxVOFlMQyTLPex3tsyW04WNtYaIIVzPbzVndkebMfYnkiuveP6HPQcVdrjGfKlNB6gTF5M9S68dyWIsuoHqrsslDQjlVBWmc2hXnI-GpaeOOmKSAWuq72AQrSVnmhHkK_8Bhay6wGOgXcgXC65GJyvYJyY1e1RdYlM/w360-h640/w%20&%20c%20-%2028.09.85.jpg" width="360" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDVJcocuk2n2qIj2V-bqvEFznoq6_t68BlnhNyQ5vgP2AfvMADf4n3oDI3dHdj2KosimXhb6mJcjdKOaU-qVH7O5XiXOoDIseSQn3iB03_m18UL_F9pZI9_WxFl35HOTZ6EnPJsBEfBZXCVgPSgdIjT9N5KqEX2j--rL1_b3ZU9M-a48hvV3wjzFQi36g/s619/w%20&%20c%20comic%20-%2028.09.85.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="619" data-original-width="475" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDVJcocuk2n2qIj2V-bqvEFznoq6_t68BlnhNyQ5vgP2AfvMADf4n3oDI3dHdj2KosimXhb6mJcjdKOaU-qVH7O5XiXOoDIseSQn3iB03_m18UL_F9pZI9_WxFl35HOTZ6EnPJsBEfBZXCVgPSgdIjT9N5KqEX2j--rL1_b3ZU9M-a48hvV3wjzFQi36g/w492-h640/w%20&%20c%20comic%20-%2028.09.85.jpg" width="492" /></a></div><br /><p><span style="font-family: courier;">Issue dated 25th October 1986 came with a "Sssuper free gift" - the Whizzer and Chips quiz wallet. This was essentially a piece of card that could be folded up with various questions and answers printed on it - thus creating a quiz. This issue contained the wallet and the first "quiz strip", and three more were given away in issues dated November 1, 8 and 15.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: courier;"><br /></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif9vuMsBLgqoX1hR35m68o2RC8B2ZZwKVP5M_A6o9tyT_lnh5EKJldA883UaxWkbuVVEpskvbkpRm68O5nAKKhLIZ4ld3DfsaYk3k5OPBkfC25aJ6XtuJPgAicuRwbA-KxoIYCMOXhZiPlLMiowqHk0zJZo3uTit-DeNyOaSL1iGMievGoc33r_JxGc-8/s1600/w%20&%20c%20-%2025.10.86.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1456" data-original-width="1600" height="582" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif9vuMsBLgqoX1hR35m68o2RC8B2ZZwKVP5M_A6o9tyT_lnh5EKJldA883UaxWkbuVVEpskvbkpRm68O5nAKKhLIZ4ld3DfsaYk3k5OPBkfC25aJ6XtuJPgAicuRwbA-KxoIYCMOXhZiPlLMiowqHk0zJZo3uTit-DeNyOaSL1iGMievGoc33r_JxGc-8/w640-h582/w%20&%20c%20-%2025.10.86.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEtpUjQXAdkdHQE9CH7VyB1ruGa7Yv9-SLJ00K4Cd6lUzb2DtjQP9t_obOqgMuDSkPOQw0kPeAMYd_EzQrkIUj-dc2_1TCgETgXx5FyMZ_DCPt7WYz9wt1TiGVg7UUvsJuvRsPUdUMCAAw22B_cVMJudPJpPxf767VC5MyXqnX4xNjeXqOxCPc-xcbrWY/s612/w%20&%20c%20comic%20-%2025.10.86.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="612" data-original-width="475" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEtpUjQXAdkdHQE9CH7VyB1ruGa7Yv9-SLJ00K4Cd6lUzb2DtjQP9t_obOqgMuDSkPOQw0kPeAMYd_EzQrkIUj-dc2_1TCgETgXx5FyMZ_DCPt7WYz9wt1TiGVg7UUvsJuvRsPUdUMCAAw22B_cVMJudPJpPxf767VC5MyXqnX4xNjeXqOxCPc-xcbrWY/w496-h640/w%20&%20c%20comic%20-%2025.10.86.jpg" width="496" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: courier;"><b>Tom Paterson</b> drew a wonderful front cover to promote the free stickers that came with issue dated 7th November 1987. As you can see, one set of stickers was for the Whizz-Kids, and the other for the Chip-ites. Good fun.</span><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNcXLALAsURCpiNb8T93bI58Joz08FZ9sqP5_xMls1Lco6Orh3hBnEEE1jwOzaBTyGdSq-DrgW7r7QfbuIk2aGdT6VLzYRM4ZoQvtbszPwD68irjK0bYen3GswDsFY-CnFDbHlU23uUJEXRQhp9TOdtvPvcD-QrPJLQVd00mO3sYo1tKKjV-WtN9uOeto/s637/w%20&%20c%20-%2007.11.87.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="417" data-original-width="637" height="418" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNcXLALAsURCpiNb8T93bI58Joz08FZ9sqP5_xMls1Lco6Orh3hBnEEE1jwOzaBTyGdSq-DrgW7r7QfbuIk2aGdT6VLzYRM4ZoQvtbszPwD68irjK0bYen3GswDsFY-CnFDbHlU23uUJEXRQhp9TOdtvPvcD-QrPJLQVd00mO3sYo1tKKjV-WtN9uOeto/w640-h418/w%20&%20c%20-%2007.11.87.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMNIxYAExfopem4dlCbScxw5petcSjtcHsYEAnPpLPdpMD9qYD9trEAgrCUPS9WvQahC1Kp_k2afV5iSOT4eBN5k54EeeJm2XBZuL3XVEAABj574aW3hyVerjCdCZa4lj7V1fGcWFyl517upIhlMsewBWPk5PPTpaElWoMaMAGklE-wScHuz2GygBDWYc/s1600/W%20&%20C%20%20Comic%20%20-%20%2007.11.87.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMNIxYAExfopem4dlCbScxw5petcSjtcHsYEAnPpLPdpMD9qYD9trEAgrCUPS9WvQahC1Kp_k2afV5iSOT4eBN5k54EeeJm2XBZuL3XVEAABj574aW3hyVerjCdCZa4lj7V1fGcWFyl517upIhlMsewBWPk5PPTpaElWoMaMAGklE-wScHuz2GygBDWYc/w480-h640/W%20&%20C%20%20Comic%20%20-%20%2007.11.87.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: courier;">I think there might be something poetic in the final gift ever given away with Whizzer and Chips being a set of stickers, given such a gift was also used to promote the first issue back in 1969. The free "snappy stickers" came with issue dated 18th March 1988, with an issue that also included a Chip-ite mini mag drawn on a computer. Oh, how times (and technology) have changed. This was actually the second set of snappy stickers, the first set of seven were given away the previous week.</span><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoxzK0Ol5Ci2lioMOJRj-sLQuEp8j_QSLRE0PNPs0rvuiADwNWvCkZwjCoCEZqS1YuHsZdPCppv8lRYb-7WR95EVPKPMldAIRGnG0_SjykQs8FobZROecrIdluaa-cTKFzS0lKAuY-TFZ7zjpIQYIp0TVIiXGBxQTf0KizefP-9jao-uE2abKUugR3U6Q/s331/w%20&%20c%20-%2019.03.88.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="331" data-original-width="197" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoxzK0Ol5Ci2lioMOJRj-sLQuEp8j_QSLRE0PNPs0rvuiADwNWvCkZwjCoCEZqS1YuHsZdPCppv8lRYb-7WR95EVPKPMldAIRGnG0_SjykQs8FobZROecrIdluaa-cTKFzS0lKAuY-TFZ7zjpIQYIp0TVIiXGBxQTf0KizefP-9jao-uE2abKUugR3U6Q/w238-h400/w%20&%20c%20-%2019.03.88.jpg" width="238" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYPw-rmtRF9u3dnr3TcDKQon1j-V7Iiv44n3awv-feAr5PgwJqFEWBVBsB0PQEgGVnsMP6fdyTKZPuI5Cqfh3knGxYMQF2SLlyqR5t_VsWuTZgIkV1fXISDeX1aEO6OVWuGmEHvoKWb97-qyeeGB9MKylabZODDfqTvmm2PAKtvs3d6Kn7hQE140zcOr0/s1600/W%20&%20C%20%20Comic%20%20-%20%2019.03.88.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYPw-rmtRF9u3dnr3TcDKQon1j-V7Iiv44n3awv-feAr5PgwJqFEWBVBsB0PQEgGVnsMP6fdyTKZPuI5Cqfh3knGxYMQF2SLlyqR5t_VsWuTZgIkV1fXISDeX1aEO6OVWuGmEHvoKWb97-qyeeGB9MKylabZODDfqTvmm2PAKtvs3d6Kn7hQE140zcOr0/w480-h640/W%20&%20C%20%20Comic%20%20-%20%2019.03.88.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: courier;">That wraps up this three-part series on every gift given away in Whizzer and Chips over its 21 year run. The comic certainly gave away quite the variety of stuff, no doubt all of which were very quickly lost and few survive - I'd say we are lucky to even have these photos of them!</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: courier;">Whereas I'm fairly certain I've mentioned all the gifts that were given away, if you're an eagle-eyed reader and know of any that I've missed please comment below and let me know. Even better if you can provide a picture, and I will of course update the post.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: courier;">Part 1: <a href="http://whackycomics.blogspot.com/2023/05/every-whizzer-and-chips-free-gift-part.html">http://whackycomics.blogspot.com/2023/05/every-whizzer-and-chips-free-gift-part.html</a></span></p><p><span style="font-family: courier;">Part 2: <a href="http://whackycomics.blogspot.com/2023/07/every-whizzer-and-chips-free-gift-part.html">http://whackycomics.blogspot.com/2023/07/every-whizzer-and-chips-free-gift-part.html</a></span></p>George Shiershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03162253849922362900noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1965905287512456704.post-5976638391039073232023-07-02T23:37:00.003+13:002023-07-09T16:38:14.934+13:00Every Whizzer and Chips Free Gift (Part 2 of 3)<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikeE-7x3Rb6-uG8rmwuhLRB0FJzw_kFX6bsH7xDPvkl5gTuinMlO8sveOjDx40brJn1sBsh98O2uVw9WWiPQxpufhZUX6PCFxUIwMIvzQKhZ-OOJi63y36Ax0Pqlmrzb1M7z7uc3Zpv4GRRe74yu72iEJ5RxUzV3TJijHL5DUXZzAtGonXGPWdERa3VlY/s350/Screen%20Shot%202023-07-02%20at%209.48.25%20PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="350" data-original-width="314" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikeE-7x3Rb6-uG8rmwuhLRB0FJzw_kFX6bsH7xDPvkl5gTuinMlO8sveOjDx40brJn1sBsh98O2uVw9WWiPQxpufhZUX6PCFxUIwMIvzQKhZ-OOJi63y36Ax0Pqlmrzb1M7z7uc3Zpv4GRRe74yu72iEJ5RxUzV3TJijHL5DUXZzAtGonXGPWdERa3VlY/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202023-07-02%20at%209.48.25%20PM.png" /></a></div><p style="font-family: courier;">First off: whoops! I know this post was promised for a quite some time ago but I got swept up in things and then it slipped my mind! I do apologise, but better late than never. I left off in 1975, with the Super Jet Joke Camera, and pick up again in 1979. That may seem like a long time to go without a gift, but until more recent years such a length of time was not unusual. A set of rub down transfers known as Kalkitos were given away with the 10th birthday issue. It's striking to see how different the comic looks from its first issue (see <u><a href="http://whackycomics.blogspot.com/2013/05/back-in-69-whizzer-and-chips-no-1.html" target="_blank">here</a></u> for my post on the first issue), and of course it would look vastly different again in another ten years. Whizzer and Chips was absolutely a comic that continued to evolve with the times, surely a reason for its longevity. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: courier; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7-O0_9Sxd1hbQF4vN4GEZShRf4kNcQXBK3S3aYvmKK6WKDnWcQcI_t64lG80qKbsvtXyuwFXQv_jH1nCvccUjVf3N7laQw4rHcaC3M0iWLWyKpFoyCbmDYk199Xr7RWwiIfz5csB4j75Ab_hu7exgi_uzIn-4wWIJeELNzfrafO7FoJMibk2cU7VMp1I/s842/Kalkitos.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="595" data-original-width="842" height="452" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7-O0_9Sxd1hbQF4vN4GEZShRf4kNcQXBK3S3aYvmKK6WKDnWcQcI_t64lG80qKbsvtXyuwFXQv_jH1nCvccUjVf3N7laQw4rHcaC3M0iWLWyKpFoyCbmDYk199Xr7RWwiIfz5csB4j75Ab_hu7exgi_uzIn-4wWIJeELNzfrafO7FoJMibk2cU7VMp1I/w640-h452/Kalkitos.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p style="font-family: courier;">A packet of Sweet Tooth drops were given away with issue dated 4th October 1980. These "fruit flavour drops", also available to buy in stores, were identical on the outside but had a Sweet Tooth comic printed on the inside. There were twenty different strips all up, here's a couple (and please email me pictures if you have any of the others!).</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0NvfuGfnC4IZNo0BpVBA7OP_y5oQ5qy0ftbyMbeUk8BBWCSAqrSGZAZzTcBT33To_7uybIJYsKKypdv07tla-IdKDtZcDtnJ4jR4lTK5wgkhMDofHJPkSEFprqsDg2fBFizfZS_hi72v0n11ORG9aDIolzPCKfdHbmqSo05KM_02E9h-xvTsQPrQPlNE/s1002/outside.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="685" data-original-width="1002" height="438" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0NvfuGfnC4IZNo0BpVBA7OP_y5oQ5qy0ftbyMbeUk8BBWCSAqrSGZAZzTcBT33To_7uybIJYsKKypdv07tla-IdKDtZcDtnJ4jR4lTK5wgkhMDofHJPkSEFprqsDg2fBFizfZS_hi72v0n11ORG9aDIolzPCKfdHbmqSo05KM_02E9h-xvTsQPrQPlNE/w640-h438/outside.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5klg7tiuGP-j-02yDuL07XUOso4EzfeI45m_ZWsCFPcTurecsYcfe8JLIOdoskeRPa-47195Uj2JPGm9LUW5Z1KLWHfrsHfh6Rn2gIcXpOewnp7nffrCF2H4e-XUqkonEpxi545kA2WQssGWFMVs7jEpkN7ukneqXljV3b0q10Tobt7xtkyhIN56QfXs/s874/st2.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="553" data-original-width="874" height="404" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5klg7tiuGP-j-02yDuL07XUOso4EzfeI45m_ZWsCFPcTurecsYcfe8JLIOdoskeRPa-47195Uj2JPGm9LUW5Z1KLWHfrsHfh6Rn2gIcXpOewnp7nffrCF2H4e-XUqkonEpxi545kA2WQssGWFMVs7jEpkN7ukneqXljV3b0q10Tobt7xtkyhIN56QfXs/w640-h404/st2.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgip8z4yplaNS8sYw5Qyz_N3v-vBNgkEOpngatTnliv8N7YeE4wePh0cwGZFOsx8-9qrMw6jhBn_Udbf6I_uEVPe-VJKWSs69hrC_1lqmTr_vt_97SQgtNc3YdbkR6ciI4qpAnUoYKwhACGkJT_KJRqZgZB2Gozi1eLfj0lT9n5B9eUlQx64m_YYMILUhk/s1002/sweet%20tooth%20no%2011.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="638" data-original-width="1002" height="408" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgip8z4yplaNS8sYw5Qyz_N3v-vBNgkEOpngatTnliv8N7YeE4wePh0cwGZFOsx8-9qrMw6jhBn_Udbf6I_uEVPe-VJKWSs69hrC_1lqmTr_vt_97SQgtNc3YdbkR6ciI4qpAnUoYKwhACGkJT_KJRqZgZB2Gozi1eLfj0lT9n5B9eUlQx64m_YYMILUhk/w640-h408/sweet%20tooth%20no%2011.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><p style="font-family: courier;">A Weetabix badge was the next gift given away. Obviously a promotional item, this badge was one of five, each of which were given away with a different IPC comic the week dated 12th June 1982. As you can see from this advert, they came with that week's Buster, Tiger, Whoopee, Tammy and, of course, Whizzer and Chips. The badges reflected an advertising comic strip that appeared in the comics at the time (and apparently a television advert too), with each badge depicting a different character - Dunk, Brian, Crunch, Brains and Bixie. Unfortunately I'm not sure who the artist was. Brains came with Whizzer and Chips, although the advert mistakenly calls the comic just Whizzer, perhaps mistaking Chips for a merged-in comic similar to Jackpot was with Buster and Jinty was with Tammy. Yikes! I'm not sure how that mistake made it past the editor...</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: courier; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIB9psQW05w-NkaMEjGcduentvm1a9ZDyWdPGBS7_TDJR7P7GAJrdbp3qW58lMzoMj7FV7mArld-O8pIsS0RvaAcXxWdKVjk6t2_Klv93r5BWi1xglyderBDyB9HQNpY6HZ8-siuLo1LFqZmOM9osXNADqRaJEeF1bsFiRgshLGdefsISlfJyueT-EQZM/s637/w-bix%20badge%20ad%20%20-%20%20battle%20comic%2012.06.82.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="370" data-original-width="637" height="372" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIB9psQW05w-NkaMEjGcduentvm1a9ZDyWdPGBS7_TDJR7P7GAJrdbp3qW58lMzoMj7FV7mArld-O8pIsS0RvaAcXxWdKVjk6t2_Klv93r5BWi1xglyderBDyB9HQNpY6HZ8-siuLo1LFqZmOM9osXNADqRaJEeF1bsFiRgshLGdefsISlfJyueT-EQZM/w640-h372/w-bix%20badge%20ad%20%20-%20%20battle%20comic%2012.06.82.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: courier; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdAU7Mx0jPZ1KlGDKjSn98XCnZg_y7YQBm8hUYiETgq9LDshOcEOFHbzbN0x3x4fDhmyl9Dp-MaGkb8ZTEi1_-9txK9YvIOnoXs07-aVazGaHbm_WbyLsAly_I_2fWk3JMs3X_5quew_jso6nRLtsB0fOMOYUzwpvmm5eaMFWjdIHZibmKqT_L-AkrbbY/s504/W%20&%20C%20-%2012.06.82.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="347" data-original-width="504" height="440" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdAU7Mx0jPZ1KlGDKjSn98XCnZg_y7YQBm8hUYiETgq9LDshOcEOFHbzbN0x3x4fDhmyl9Dp-MaGkb8ZTEi1_-9txK9YvIOnoXs07-aVazGaHbm_WbyLsAly_I_2fWk3JMs3X_5quew_jso6nRLtsB0fOMOYUzwpvmm5eaMFWjdIHZibmKqT_L-AkrbbY/w640-h440/W%20&%20C%20-%2012.06.82.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p style="font-family: courier;">Readers didn't have to wait too long for their next gift, however, with the Magic Messages Writing Pad given away with issue dated 10th February 1982. As the pad explains: "You can write secret messages with this magic writing pad. Using a soft lead pencil, write your message on the top sheet and when it has been read, erase the words by lifting both sheets together. The magic pad will then be ready to use again". Sounds perfect for passing notes in class without the embarrassment of the teacher reading it aloud for all to hear!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: courier; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii6AafPIc-aw7o5ciwlZnLQ6U0qOQDGIO9xU4JE7npIhuRuIoD8mdGtdUxo2APo_qJ5lkaB6evVW3LeZHndxe7YeZhpGHOVGoEAcXAvRrTBap2_LoFROn9-gp9Q0z74lcCKXSOLTVwSoUFlWOfTRHJWyK2cQhfNPMz0YN_x2_4lokbOHC2TsBYNesUX8Q/s1267/W%20&%20C%20%20-%20%2012.02.83.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1267" data-original-width="650" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii6AafPIc-aw7o5ciwlZnLQ6U0qOQDGIO9xU4JE7npIhuRuIoD8mdGtdUxo2APo_qJ5lkaB6evVW3LeZHndxe7YeZhpGHOVGoEAcXAvRrTBap2_LoFROn9-gp9Q0z74lcCKXSOLTVwSoUFlWOfTRHJWyK2cQhfNPMz0YN_x2_4lokbOHC2TsBYNesUX8Q/w328-h640/W%20&%20C%20%20-%20%2012.02.83.jpg" width="328" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: courier; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEhVNBn0_sc_e3JcJQnm1pEIRbtweu40GrmKu_IE6GBEhNbt5xnVB5z-RutLxP8PCh0I4hVHEllxP7s78Okiey9-QyU6G-q0a1Lzm9ga0FELSO8j1UChcBG3DAzhJNR97OTGpIedGGWbjhyrQTOsVSSyqWUIvT_K8SMrlOPDJrDNqq0YzYG-pgdSnxlHM/s1600/W%20&%20C%20Comic%20%20-%20%2012.02.83.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEhVNBn0_sc_e3JcJQnm1pEIRbtweu40GrmKu_IE6GBEhNbt5xnVB5z-RutLxP8PCh0I4hVHEllxP7s78Okiey9-QyU6G-q0a1Lzm9ga0FELSO8j1UChcBG3DAzhJNR97OTGpIedGGWbjhyrQTOsVSSyqWUIvT_K8SMrlOPDJrDNqq0YzYG-pgdSnxlHM/w480-h640/W%20&%20C%20Comic%20%20-%20%2012.02.83.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><p style="font-family: courier;">Next up is this Playmobil figurine. I"m not sure if a selection of characters were given away or just the one, but nonetheless this American-style Sheriff came with issue dated 4th June 1983. I always thought Playmobil was aimed at a slightly younger audience than Whizzer and Chips' target range of 8-12 year olds, but I could be wrong.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC6Dn7YBI23jj3dlf74Gv3cZFNGBDPAL1hz7id1GBzL8ia1mZKKtDu8OrIbjSuxyJM0m3FVlj1yZlTVdxFJ8ZrRW8O-cKArOlbGwEeZWXa_6C2y5gOYsvuvICLlk5b6qCBsHByo8erDYozE85jFDVesMcOJWO1o0lDGgcpyH0vC3DF_ovFBofbcMzX7bg/s605/w%20&%20c%20-%2004.06.83.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="605" data-original-width="481" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC6Dn7YBI23jj3dlf74Gv3cZFNGBDPAL1hz7id1GBzL8ia1mZKKtDu8OrIbjSuxyJM0m3FVlj1yZlTVdxFJ8ZrRW8O-cKArOlbGwEeZWXa_6C2y5gOYsvuvICLlk5b6qCBsHByo8erDYozE85jFDVesMcOJWO1o0lDGgcpyH0vC3DF_ovFBofbcMzX7bg/w508-h640/w%20&%20c%20-%2004.06.83.jpg" width="508" /></a></div><p><span style="font-family: courier;">The 14th birthday issue dated 8th October 1983 had a free gift to accompany the celebrations, this time a Smurfs sticker book and a packet of stickers to help readers get started. I used to be into stickers as a kid, in fact I actually completed (but have sadly since lost) an Indiana Jones sticker book, so I bet a gift like this went down a treat. I know I'd have been happy with it anyway.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBUWyL_E-5hObJRR3hmmSeeKCSR-LyEJTyXfkB7GnuWoTHC0hq8riQUU2BtAI5it6u895ZxndyUkBKZr0VV3j6R4u3hOCZ4SuKK2U0ZJp0GThT8ueyuB6eQ7jxzSWxJqutGikqHTAYfiJfGtMe0k-5E7DZbQD4K5805WnAFhjytkM2y-zdMTuR0nVL8ko/s1536/w%20&%20c%20-%2008.10.83.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="1455" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBUWyL_E-5hObJRR3hmmSeeKCSR-LyEJTyXfkB7GnuWoTHC0hq8riQUU2BtAI5it6u895ZxndyUkBKZr0VV3j6R4u3hOCZ4SuKK2U0ZJp0GThT8ueyuB6eQ7jxzSWxJqutGikqHTAYfiJfGtMe0k-5E7DZbQD4K5805WnAFhjytkM2y-zdMTuR0nVL8ko/w606-h640/w%20&%20c%20-%2008.10.83.JPG" width="606" /></a></div><p><span style="font-family: courier;">The next gift wasn't quite so exciting: a Heinz Invaders Badge given away with issue dated 12th May 1984. Basically, this was pasta that was shaped as spaceships. It certainly seems that by this point the free gifts were more of an advertising product than the toy that they had been in the comic's earlier days. </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgCl5R-HKmLKiN_qXvXrG_tPtP6Xh_ag5YJkW5o6VzbRe8hXSsxkUWAh2K-nuw303sP3FMZlzoYzpnpPh4zgJfqsNCbcJ9N-5jIm-jK6ydSl-AaHjtfJIko3poBP-kxMCEO0z6VOhhvbCGRgXL6yoDWBTgR2BTaael1dddhFJElwVWGGWMBdRHCIRwhcs/s369/w%20&%20c%20-%2012.05.84.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="363" data-original-width="369" height="393" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgCl5R-HKmLKiN_qXvXrG_tPtP6Xh_ag5YJkW5o6VzbRe8hXSsxkUWAh2K-nuw303sP3FMZlzoYzpnpPh4zgJfqsNCbcJ9N-5jIm-jK6ydSl-AaHjtfJIko3poBP-kxMCEO0z6VOhhvbCGRgXL6yoDWBTgR2BTaael1dddhFJElwVWGGWMBdRHCIRwhcs/w400-h393/w%20&%20c%20-%2012.05.84.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXxhww6HTtCzI3yIvYYbSymNC1E4l1tUt6iVdzv1_74IWmWeH-X1-_5A7t5MSKCUCDkTAuPSdqj78QyBWQRfIzxfGTjS4vvRCjQeNTBHWZqrpnROLVqJOQDtwVxa7U8uACluGAWGMAMZD0l26ick8bitPryIMmQqFElkMRr34zSHqsf412kYdfz7e7Sx0/s610/w%20&%20c%20comic%20-%2012.05.84.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="610" data-original-width="475" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXxhww6HTtCzI3yIvYYbSymNC1E4l1tUt6iVdzv1_74IWmWeH-X1-_5A7t5MSKCUCDkTAuPSdqj78QyBWQRfIzxfGTjS4vvRCjQeNTBHWZqrpnROLVqJOQDtwVxa7U8uACluGAWGMAMZD0l26ick8bitPryIMmQqFElkMRr34zSHqsf412kYdfz7e7Sx0/s16000/w%20&%20c%20comic%20-%2012.05.84.jpg" /></a></div><br /><p><span style="font-family: courier;">The next gift just further goes to illustrate this point, with another Weetabix-themed gift with issue dated 16th June 1984. This one was very simple, basically a picture of Crunch, one of the Weetabix gang, with the front cover claiming the reader could turn him into a badge, key fob or pendant.</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI28RQs7h9uXu6lTTSLM6E_6YABJKwe2I8ppGpG7jPyOw4mYFlhLzkDzsJ-GlRIq7yOOM7vLDVs2srBFz36NRD-8H-kiIPwmolhPm0MNwVSMFIeEOiM3GQ1Yc3YFpIzUmyUP0mDa6X15dmNAjAwV3JqXg_Ndy7rorwUdJ3FhP4uYIUEhZmeIQSacykxqk/s442/w%20&%20c%20-%2016.06.84.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="442" data-original-width="318" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI28RQs7h9uXu6lTTSLM6E_6YABJKwe2I8ppGpG7jPyOw4mYFlhLzkDzsJ-GlRIq7yOOM7vLDVs2srBFz36NRD-8H-kiIPwmolhPm0MNwVSMFIeEOiM3GQ1Yc3YFpIzUmyUP0mDa6X15dmNAjAwV3JqXg_Ndy7rorwUdJ3FhP4uYIUEhZmeIQSacykxqk/s16000/w%20&%20c%20-%2016.06.84.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj27MMG_wJozjE4RErRX5HlZUE3fRoYQhPgjHErCENC9EoZ9Ncv1L86ml0iMX8vQF8u7NC459pql5z_5lw4IN-rEeRBBtT842IdEcmY2KGXfRJMot4GF0K03sJsT3VMMXFZPmHvn_bJpK4zn1tF6SeBYNM6hxKXs4yp2f9_CgivihEZqq7YDeec1jw7iD8/s613/w%20&%20c%20comic%20-%2016.06.84%20(1).jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="613" data-original-width="475" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj27MMG_wJozjE4RErRX5HlZUE3fRoYQhPgjHErCENC9EoZ9Ncv1L86ml0iMX8vQF8u7NC459pql5z_5lw4IN-rEeRBBtT842IdEcmY2KGXfRJMot4GF0K03sJsT3VMMXFZPmHvn_bJpK4zn1tF6SeBYNM6hxKXs4yp2f9_CgivihEZqq7YDeec1jw7iD8/w496-h640/w%20&%20c%20comic%20-%2016.06.84%20(1).jpg" width="496" /></a></div><p><span style="font-family: courier;">The next gift was a set of Stinky Stickers, which came with issue dated 3rd November 1984. "As advertised on TV", these stickers could apparently be scratched and sniffed, with 88 flavours to collect ranging from skunk and old shoes to liquorice and popcorn. </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSIUC23G2YcVsNMBUpsuB46C3zYRVBP_xu4yknvaPlPMOxkHfpR0cWok2LJwOXW9wHc4nTamp4yLYhkcvPtrUTn7bW3AANG6EuRyKdLt9EGiap0CX-mD93FD1qHdZB2WLXlNUZiv8bfi4p16edb34d-T-5jfQJEtqpo12_KxMIlptnGJJXcnGNRmSMzos/s510/w%20&%20c%20-%2003.11.84.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="510" data-original-width="379" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSIUC23G2YcVsNMBUpsuB46C3zYRVBP_xu4yknvaPlPMOxkHfpR0cWok2LJwOXW9wHc4nTamp4yLYhkcvPtrUTn7bW3AANG6EuRyKdLt9EGiap0CX-mD93FD1qHdZB2WLXlNUZiv8bfi4p16edb34d-T-5jfQJEtqpo12_KxMIlptnGJJXcnGNRmSMzos/w476-h640/w%20&%20c%20-%2003.11.84.jpg" width="476" /></a></div><br /><p><span style="font-family: courier;">I'll wrap it up there for Part Two to keep all three parts roughly even in length. As you can see above, most of the gifts around this time were paid promotional products, which I'm sure was all well and good for the financial situation at the Whizzer and Chips offices but aren't quite as fun for us to look back on. The final few years offers a bit more of a mixture and includes some original Whizzer and Chips themed gifts, so stay tuned! I promise Part 3 will be published soon.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: courier;">Part 1: <a href="http://whackycomics.blogspot.com/2023/05/every-whizzer-and-chips-free-gift-part.html">http://whackycomics.blogspot.com/2023/05/every-whizzer-and-chips-free-gift-part.html</a></span></p><p><span style="font-family: courier;">Part 3: <a href="http://whackycomics.blogspot.com/2023/07/every-whizzer-and-chips-free-gift-part_3.html">http://whackycomics.blogspot.com/2023/07/every-whizzer-and-chips-free-gift-part_3.html</a></span></p><p></p>George Shiershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03162253849922362900noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1965905287512456704.post-81005437450002430402023-05-09T20:17:00.006+13:002023-07-04T00:32:39.913+13:00Every Whizzer and Chips Free Gift (Part 1 of 3)<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTNJQ7g1-gE9t-n93KznKZuwf8qttbv7o7J6Fb4cpGg1OieDYrZkf8sYN-CTIBgIlqE_QWlOepucNk7g843ELrcgsxBvbefpqe-w8iejJyWt6N16MwwP6BA_KTiEMisTW_M7xm022CKcgmYL6bPPKI3dMbh6fxAmdY1qSaSKe1xOjtS6eb6JfxrU4m/s262/scan0003-2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="194" data-original-width="262" height="474" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTNJQ7g1-gE9t-n93KznKZuwf8qttbv7o7J6Fb4cpGg1OieDYrZkf8sYN-CTIBgIlqE_QWlOepucNk7g843ELrcgsxBvbefpqe-w8iejJyWt6N16MwwP6BA_KTiEMisTW_M7xm022CKcgmYL6bPPKI3dMbh6fxAmdY1qSaSKe1xOjtS6eb6JfxrU4m/w640-h474/scan0003-2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: courier;"><p>For those of you who were following my blog in the early days, you may remember me saying more than once that <b>Whizzer and Chips</b> is my favourite comic. This may come as a surprise to many, but the reason is simple: although my first comic was a copy of the Beano, my first "old" comic (i.e. not from the newsagents) was Whizzer and Chips, purchased probably from a junk shop or a car boot sale.</p></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: courier;">I should note that the contents of this post are not new, but in fact make up part of my Whizzer and Chips blog, a clunky old website that can be found <u><a href="http://whizzerandchipscomic.blogspot.com">here</a></u>, if you are so inclined.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: courier;">But to begin, the very first Whizzer and Chips free gift came with, surprise surprise, the very first issue, and was advertised on the cover as 'Twelve Super Stickers'. They included phrases such as "Keep Teacher off the Moon" and "England for the World Cup" - all very topical for the late 1960s.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrEqEZ8goNuJ0tdfcWkmXrLWykDoM_Wba5_-5Zm2MxVKXOwZp8b-I8hmfvYBs0WaDm_PkGRmNwHTc6Lcm8iiJiTv3miihkrN-K0YAeygdYZyMCJgI3XAKPmZXKuRFIWOidga8jNCQJCvJPt83pcecPAvRxEATYgIZCV9u-B13b5BMj3dh4_ubXEbZx/s517/w%20&%20c%20%231%20-%2018.10.69.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="399" data-original-width="517" height="494" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrEqEZ8goNuJ0tdfcWkmXrLWykDoM_Wba5_-5Zm2MxVKXOwZp8b-I8hmfvYBs0WaDm_PkGRmNwHTc6Lcm8iiJiTv3miihkrN-K0YAeygdYZyMCJgI3XAKPmZXKuRFIWOidga8jNCQJCvJPt83pcecPAvRxEATYgIZCV9u-B13b5BMj3dh4_ubXEbZx/w640-h494/w%20&%20c%20%231%20-%2018.10.69.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: courier;">Issue #2 came with a "super cartoon flick book", a double sided card for the viewer to turn into a flick book for two short cartoons of Sid's Snake. The first cartoon was called Sid the Charmer, and the second Slippy's Solo. I'm not sure they will win any storytelling awards, but the are fun enough.</span><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilmR9gLp-UefQ2_Pqhmzw5JSLAWUZUYDG3WS19j5BStUre6J7cjsi-t0wx5U4IM6Rb3sHn6HMQE9WFPaW-KxLrdZh_GJIwPJNq5KPogMvTO7cZZGYKvwS-IshWlnTSloJ9KRMGrH0nbGuj-BQJZ7Q60002rdbTmCPC42UkkPusZ97RlBjmlbasDBbP/s623/w%20&%20c%20%232%20-%2025.10.69.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="623" data-original-width="474" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilmR9gLp-UefQ2_Pqhmzw5JSLAWUZUYDG3WS19j5BStUre6J7cjsi-t0wx5U4IM6Rb3sHn6HMQE9WFPaW-KxLrdZh_GJIwPJNq5KPogMvTO7cZZGYKvwS-IshWlnTSloJ9KRMGrH0nbGuj-BQJZ7Q60002rdbTmCPC42UkkPusZ97RlBjmlbasDBbP/w486-h640/w%20&%20c%20%232%20-%2025.10.69.jpg" width="486" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhktiDTqZEVK2WHwcfxt4o-GmQj3KnByXDONYu_nlBlzVi10iQZ-mBcOpp8PT9GsozJ2yWq5icpCeC6hjJz2oULJic5Bbpw1auGLrHqHqJrxzMUIITAjDUbHguu-awoTDANDXOuE6TpgQ6xZ_na_6-Ap32wl0X5GE4ubItvQytInElZPoFRgHiEukbO/s623/w%20&%20c%20%232%20-%2025.10.69.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="623" data-original-width="474" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhktiDTqZEVK2WHwcfxt4o-GmQj3KnByXDONYu_nlBlzVi10iQZ-mBcOpp8PT9GsozJ2yWq5icpCeC6hjJz2oULJic5Bbpw1auGLrHqHqJrxzMUIITAjDUbHguu-awoTDANDXOuE6TpgQ6xZ_na_6-Ap32wl0X5GE4ubItvQytInElZPoFRgHiEukbO/w486-h640/w%20&%20c%20%232%20-%2025.10.69.jpg" width="486" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: courier;">The third issue coincided with bonfire night and thus came with a free "super full-colour Guy Fawkes mask". It was the third gift in a row to be described as "super" - I think someone at <b>Fleetway</b> needed a thesaurus.</span><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl7CYBWB2zbTjXFnA1O1MMp558uvNkL4F48g1pD-uoO3XWrl90FXfiju1bG80vst29VDeBoy_4MThgZwJpZm5YbTgILGDZrEsi2Mlfcxhp0UORYv2PU2ArJ6JzvlJeQmW1oxh7OQE9x2z52gWAalWfekwTgl0KXgmHH4S3ftXMjrXVwsmJJcvZvrUp/s1600/w%20&%20c%20%233%20-%2001.11.69.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl7CYBWB2zbTjXFnA1O1MMp558uvNkL4F48g1pD-uoO3XWrl90FXfiju1bG80vst29VDeBoy_4MThgZwJpZm5YbTgILGDZrEsi2Mlfcxhp0UORYv2PU2ArJ6JzvlJeQmW1oxh7OQE9x2z52gWAalWfekwTgl0KXgmHH4S3ftXMjrXVwsmJJcvZvrUp/w480-h640/w%20&%20c%20%233%20-%2001.11.69.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: courier;">The next free gift came along with issue dated 21st February 1970. The colourful Lunar Launcher and Splashdown Capsule capitalised on the hype of the moon landings and was accompanied by a fun front cover Sid's Snake story.</span><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmlYK60pi450WH3w0bk8NwyXGt0ELclqQ3AxPWdgdkqv6RpaFx7hG7GqlvppEUID7fvyCM8DyBx6uc5bhbDoxyNzhr9Jp6o0Kvq9EGm-R_wgb-Iz1yysrB8fYfgDZvtHb26fc5TR4FDpsrk8VMFYICBY5bDxwwhuOoDshpXdO65wtnJvtyWT-w3FXA/s433/w%20&%20c%20-%2021.02.70.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="401" data-original-width="433" height="592" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmlYK60pi450WH3w0bk8NwyXGt0ELclqQ3AxPWdgdkqv6RpaFx7hG7GqlvppEUID7fvyCM8DyBx6uc5bhbDoxyNzhr9Jp6o0Kvq9EGm-R_wgb-Iz1yysrB8fYfgDZvtHb26fc5TR4FDpsrk8VMFYICBY5bDxwwhuOoDshpXdO65wtnJvtyWT-w3FXA/w640-h592/w%20&%20c%20-%2021.02.70.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmaqkG7PcoM4uV3j1ph02btpxyTaG33nnQJCcbhyfoa3FzjKl0kflYZNJ-wp7ZeM3e1QLaG0Wr_gGZ7LmVZOF3hOSo_KACrIuTotU3RMQAulBljdZOHnkOtRplL7IvwOK4DIGqAphuRt4RDp9765JarePjhtGVTABsXR1z1KwBZalNE5wJ9HE2BeC4/s1600/W%20&%20C%20%20Comic%20%20-%20%2021.02.70.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1172" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmaqkG7PcoM4uV3j1ph02btpxyTaG33nnQJCcbhyfoa3FzjKl0kflYZNJ-wp7ZeM3e1QLaG0Wr_gGZ7LmVZOF3hOSo_KACrIuTotU3RMQAulBljdZOHnkOtRplL7IvwOK4DIGqAphuRt4RDp9765JarePjhtGVTABsXR1z1KwBZalNE5wJ9HE2BeC4/w468-h640/W%20&%20C%20%20Comic%20%20-%20%2021.02.70.jpg" width="468" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: courier;">The following issue (28th February) came with a free disguise kit that I must say looks very familiar. Both of these gifts were promoted with front cover stories, but at risk of clogging up this blog post too much I'll let you hunt those down for yourself.</span><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVqo6-bOWFvOhjSA6lA5mYOPQl9KbT7bhft1GhCV_7cpIt-nYy6O9_TVXCcgqTvNBEs-NNnAe4ui9OLHl1x4D5Aboa8OLCEz0qQXfwsWb0-j28JDTsJ0dyORNtFJif2uIB36vGDXROoa1sWI3XuuBFqnbQMiIAsqYVTnri8kMYKUMfrF0lXXeNEZ91/s656/disguise.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="520" data-original-width="656" height="508" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVqo6-bOWFvOhjSA6lA5mYOPQl9KbT7bhft1GhCV_7cpIt-nYy6O9_TVXCcgqTvNBEs-NNnAe4ui9OLHl1x4D5Aboa8OLCEz0qQXfwsWb0-j28JDTsJ0dyORNtFJif2uIB36vGDXROoa1sWI3XuuBFqnbQMiIAsqYVTnri8kMYKUMfrF0lXXeNEZ91/w640-h508/disguise.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: courier;">The next free gift came with the merger of Knockout on</span><span style="font-family: courier;"> 30th June 1971. Alongside the introduction of a number of new characters, the comic came with two joke books - one for the Whizz Kids and one for the Chip-ites.</span><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-042WiyEDOwvf6ablGznlLKzmwKYibwBWWK8yHmqQXLJJ-d1ylC07E9QMvuA13EURJC08Mkht89jL4WUY3fRBPfEUrLHhTBgi9bP2xjEc1jGfoKH6-4FokGK-qbOCZsQHRLZ_hzGNRtOHocZSPIzkJNbp3lE148HeCSiPeZwDFtVgMnscliE_DDVb/s500/W%20&%20C%20%20-%20%2030.06.73%20%20-%20%20No%202.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="337" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-042WiyEDOwvf6ablGznlLKzmwKYibwBWWK8yHmqQXLJJ-d1ylC07E9QMvuA13EURJC08Mkht89jL4WUY3fRBPfEUrLHhTBgi9bP2xjEc1jGfoKH6-4FokGK-qbOCZsQHRLZ_hzGNRtOHocZSPIzkJNbp3lE148HeCSiPeZwDFtVgMnscliE_DDVb/w432-h640/W%20&%20C%20%20-%20%2030.06.73%20%20-%20%20No%202.jpg" width="432" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtFDbet9aRpsPsBqouIxyAOJl0rMYDeKKVNe8SdM0eZPUPR3pSBtt2vCh1j9Fan3Wo9xeyEw6Cb-CoQKGStVDWHx0pf04EHlJ5dJwa9wmNpLsupee7wnib0hOKbns3IffQ7vzzWOzwj3utwrHkeWlZFrBRpQiYYr6tSCoEpNGVVQRBhy6xw5Qbhl7C/s598/w%20&%20c%20-%2030.06.73.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="465" data-original-width="598" height="498" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtFDbet9aRpsPsBqouIxyAOJl0rMYDeKKVNe8SdM0eZPUPR3pSBtt2vCh1j9Fan3Wo9xeyEw6Cb-CoQKGStVDWHx0pf04EHlJ5dJwa9wmNpLsupee7wnib0hOKbns3IffQ7vzzWOzwj3utwrHkeWlZFrBRpQiYYr6tSCoEpNGVVQRBhy6xw5Qbhl7C/w640-h498/w%20&%20c%20-%2030.06.73.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: courier;">A rubber bat came with the 5th birthday issue. Spooky!</span><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBpwQ_V_3TQLC7BvrIDKaPFk1nBosbuVSrPW0JZZxBtncs7FFmYLADDOldpxsN_tCFBhA_cdOHWBDxiWrkrbJeat9FK4LT5x8QyioZqK3M7BMBH8K5CrKc1tN_ykOEJgnn9TNkwgOvuaJYRKp3XpLiZx9_iQKCbtG25EJErh6skFhHDjNIihk-FRU_/s677/w%20&%20c%20-%2019.10.74.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="310" data-original-width="677" height="294" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBpwQ_V_3TQLC7BvrIDKaPFk1nBosbuVSrPW0JZZxBtncs7FFmYLADDOldpxsN_tCFBhA_cdOHWBDxiWrkrbJeat9FK4LT5x8QyioZqK3M7BMBH8K5CrKc1tN_ykOEJgnn9TNkwgOvuaJYRKp3XpLiZx9_iQKCbtG25EJErh6skFhHDjNIihk-FRU_/w640-h294/w%20&%20c%20-%2019.10.74.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: courier;">Next up - the Superjet Joke Camera came with issue dated 8th March 1975. To be honest I'm not sure how many people would be fooled by this but I love the optimism of the illustration on its paper bag, also used as the front cover image.</span><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5Z5PmgVd4t-qJg4May-M3L4hvJzcr3zIBdCLiaLPeIQkgQ2NOaYA6oFiDIxFi3nphGrRb7c5pi81GdVW0H462K1aU3b_IMzymgWLz6NjsOKG2c_lQGFoyRF44vZ4nMAv61rQtHsuYAPPSDW4MZlNsQsQ13LMZ_a7QU0O6BMjozpUZUpGiJQBJTrVt/s522/w%20&%20c%20-%2008.03.75.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="408" data-original-width="522" height="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5Z5PmgVd4t-qJg4May-M3L4hvJzcr3zIBdCLiaLPeIQkgQ2NOaYA6oFiDIxFi3nphGrRb7c5pi81GdVW0H462K1aU3b_IMzymgWLz6NjsOKG2c_lQGFoyRF44vZ4nMAv61rQtHsuYAPPSDW4MZlNsQsQ13LMZ_a7QU0O6BMjozpUZUpGiJQBJTrVt/w640-h500/w%20&%20c%20-%2008.03.75.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: courier;">This post will get quite lengthy if I include all the gifts that came with Whizzer and Chips over its 21 years run, so I've decided to break it down into three posts. Part 2 tomorrow!</span><p></p><div><span style="font-family: courier;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: courier;">Part 2: <a href="http://whackycomics.blogspot.com/2023/07/every-whizzer-and-chips-free-gift-part.html">http://whackycomics.blogspot.com/2023/07/every-whizzer-and-chips-free-gift-part.html</a></span></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: courier;">Part 3: <a href="http://whackycomics.blogspot.com/2023/07/every-whizzer-and-chips-free-gift-part_3.html">http://whackycomics.blogspot.com/2023/07/every-whizzer-and-chips-free-gift-part_3.html</a></span></div>George Shiershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03162253849922362900noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1965905287512456704.post-32243065092182034502022-03-03T09:35:00.003+13:002022-03-03T09:35:39.282+13:00Look And Learn #1000<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhmnWVLYp1MLCN59ienUxNXgyGMTYs6Fvv6yz6o4kerkKu9C2cJJmSF8xCkNO9aF99wV33PU9PBIiQaG9CI0tj5UnKMH1nUBA4RFEKYW4tGMO7IS8sNV5hSdgAlV5BcmRqN-an-BZAu_jgxpO-vaGeWVC4QOnUzHo6TLY3Oq1uGLJF62iEtr5BXAl1M=s3724" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3724" data-original-width="2903" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhmnWVLYp1MLCN59ienUxNXgyGMTYs6Fvv6yz6o4kerkKu9C2cJJmSF8xCkNO9aF99wV33PU9PBIiQaG9CI0tj5UnKMH1nUBA4RFEKYW4tGMO7IS8sNV5hSdgAlV5BcmRqN-an-BZAu_jgxpO-vaGeWVC4QOnUzHo6TLY3Oq1uGLJF62iEtr5BXAl1M=w498-h640" width="498" /></a></div><span style="font-family: courier;"><p>Any title that reaches 1000 issues is impressive and <b>Look and Learn</b> achieved such a feat on 9th May 1981. The celebrations began a week earlier in #999, with a full page advert promoting the big number. As you can see, the issue came with a free chess board, now long absent from my copy. It's also interesting to compare the cover shown in the advert compared with the finished product - a lot more writing was added including the subtitle 'With World of Knowledge' - which had folded and merged into Look and Learn in January 1981. The merger had brought about a few other changes, including a fresh logo dubbed 'The New Look and Learn', with the 1000th issue being the first to drop the words 'the new'. </p></span><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjE7UowHFpSjOQAAGDhveJVVdvrJkXtQGOtYCSCCyPqnDrvwJEEwCgXpsOj-QHCoy3j-rk-eTU3FrhWCDe-P_q-lC63jeqHo6YFoltbhtHDA2Xxi7Y7o3Xj59zlQ_AGKWhP-eRISM_ksP891wg3LcY5qwoDAcnio7NLbOR1SKLunEFmfOUq4Swrx-Fx=s3826" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3826" data-original-width="2871" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjE7UowHFpSjOQAAGDhveJVVdvrJkXtQGOtYCSCCyPqnDrvwJEEwCgXpsOj-QHCoy3j-rk-eTU3FrhWCDe-P_q-lC63jeqHo6YFoltbhtHDA2Xxi7Y7o3Xj59zlQ_AGKWhP-eRISM_ksP891wg3LcY5qwoDAcnio7NLbOR1SKLunEFmfOUq4Swrx-Fx=w480-h640" width="480" /></a></div><p></p><p><span style="font-family: courier;">Inside, editor <b>Jack Parker</b> welcomes readers to the special issue and gives a brief history of the magazine including the choice to use Prince Charles on the cover, as a nod to the very first issue back in 1962. Personally I'm not sure that's a choice I would have made, but each to their own I suppose...</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiHmrb3gFXlOhYapr-0cGw5zy106fYjS_Z0cUTEkcwtAyGbuIv6z2yxk-5tLeFULfzN1gFrG-OWFQPJSt0685qphAhzaqeV_Fp2f9dlrvMLnonHkCRpt05TVQw36HdQxY83GaDKk8Ei-5G44D3SH24KH1SsqAr9MLoMT6LLai6p2Ymw7xyomLzWH0KC=s3803" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3803" data-original-width="2906" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiHmrb3gFXlOhYapr-0cGw5zy106fYjS_Z0cUTEkcwtAyGbuIv6z2yxk-5tLeFULfzN1gFrG-OWFQPJSt0685qphAhzaqeV_Fp2f9dlrvMLnonHkCRpt05TVQw36HdQxY83GaDKk8Ei-5G44D3SH24KH1SsqAr9MLoMT6LLai6p2Ymw7xyomLzWH0KC=w490-h640" width="490" /></a></div><span style="font-family: courier;"><p>Look and Learn is more of a magazine than a comic, but it still featured strips sparingly here and there. Issue 1000 contains two such strips, this wonderful two-pager entitled <b>More Adventures of The Trigan Empire</b>. For me the colours really stand out on this page, particularly in the panels depicting the Skorpiad Space-Scout orbiting in space "several leagues above the Elekoton". As was mentioned in the editor's letter, this was a very popular and long running strip that originated in Ranger in September 1965, moving over to Look and Learn when the two merged in 1966 and continuing on until the very last issue. It's nice to see that many, although not all, of the artists are credited in Look and Learn - this strip is drawn by <b>Gerry Wood</b>. </p></span><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjWme6xDVyzaILZAid7ohr2aNgyDhcVwA-2N1V39sXtG5HO6ZyitVl6qJO5Znx8x8SBkgEvVncme6W4i42OQJnPk2_8SAVXk_8B-FeuowYejgWXSMWniBxrSOEBwI8ZIXaSbd79kqBvKgDNwbvaneSKeWVPI36rHQHBJOMBW0jxYJx6j7cvhlufE1kq=s3957" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2677" data-original-width="3957" height="432" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjWme6xDVyzaILZAid7ohr2aNgyDhcVwA-2N1V39sXtG5HO6ZyitVl6qJO5Znx8x8SBkgEvVncme6W4i42OQJnPk2_8SAVXk_8B-FeuowYejgWXSMWniBxrSOEBwI8ZIXaSbd79kqBvKgDNwbvaneSKeWVPI36rHQHBJOMBW0jxYJx6j7cvhlufE1kq=w640-h432" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: courier;"><p>The other comic strip in this issue is a <b>Ben-Hur</b> two pager, adapted of course from the famous novel. Sadly the artist isn't credited here. </p></span><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEikEVtmjvfMI1jxjES7q916ytOI1e8m0cp0gL1UwDXtW0BTiDJEqbFyCzN1HU9sMsEKPoxTnc9mfpjOQ2qpdubL10-ePFU2wwisExi79qQpQzuqh9MCrv6iTdj1GSO429lnyQCVET5y283Pa7hyz3lOq3z8Y8sEutF4fIN-6IXpt5uq0z35tlbywYYQ=s3926" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2680" data-original-width="3926" height="436" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEikEVtmjvfMI1jxjES7q916ytOI1e8m0cp0gL1UwDXtW0BTiDJEqbFyCzN1HU9sMsEKPoxTnc9mfpjOQ2qpdubL10-ePFU2wwisExi79qQpQzuqh9MCrv6iTdj1GSO429lnyQCVET5y283Pa7hyz3lOq3z8Y8sEutF4fIN-6IXpt5uq0z35tlbywYYQ=w640-h436" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p><span style="font-family: courier;">Whether sales were already slumping or the revamped Look and Learn simply didn't prove as popular I can't say, but the magazine didn't last too much longer. At 40p it was perhaps too expensive, even though that higher price tag allowed it high quality paper and no less than 15 of its 32 pages were full colour. But a kid in a newsagents could buy a copy of Whizzer and Chips for 14p in 1981, or The Beano for 9p, so I would imagine the far pricier Look and Learn was more bought by adults to give to their children for its educational benefits. Regardless, the magazine folded after a very impressive run of 1049 issues with the final issue dated 17th April 1982. </span></p>George Shiershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03162253849922362900noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1965905287512456704.post-65442584200402905522022-02-05T23:43:00.004+13:002022-02-05T23:55:54.034+13:00Dennis the Menace Book 1960<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhZmNE0EPmAzyrSIdmSO90BH7DZXMEoBN171qh-kQHAUxGVIINrgX6hlvbkhmRNDfeEYo_qxvpae0mfDl3L5vH87C-zutNefw8uQMgevhEWFzIDWgLuW9bU5LOCkiDvA92N101Sl0Ce-umRQ7Wjo8vbSzocIj8-foFV77u28aLRmhauXTojlrMP4K9c=s3958" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3958" data-original-width="2797" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhZmNE0EPmAzyrSIdmSO90BH7DZXMEoBN171qh-kQHAUxGVIINrgX6hlvbkhmRNDfeEYo_qxvpae0mfDl3L5vH87C-zutNefw8uQMgevhEWFzIDWgLuW9bU5LOCkiDvA92N101Sl0Ce-umRQ7Wjo8vbSzocIj8-foFV77u28aLRmhauXTojlrMP4K9c=w452-h640" width="452" /></a></div><p style="font-family: courier;"><b>Dennis the Menace</b> is, of course, one of the most successful and popular British comic characters of all time. Created by <b>Beano</b> editor <b>George Moonie</b> and the wonderfully talented <b>Davey Law</b>, Dennis first appeared in a half page black and white strip in Beano #452 in 1951 and had his very first book released in 1956. In the early days the Dennis the Menace book was actually a bi-annual affair, meaning today's venture, the 1960 book, was actually the third issued. It cost 5/6 and was a good 80 pages, mostly consisting of a mixture of text stories and comic strips, with the occasional other feature here and there, illustrated almost entirely by Davey Law. Interestingly as well, every single page has red ink with no black and white pages, something I suppose was necessary to show Dennis' famous black and red striped jumper. Before we dive any further into the content though, take a look at the gag on the back cover, where Dennis's dad orders the delivery of a slipper by sail as punishment for Dennis' crimes on the front! Brilliant stuff. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: courier; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi_tVLlBKvYavMDDSJHbSCdL-frFTPDE7nyzEAB8Lw1-uvgAmd1zXm9j1c_JDs9evNdvnEVh8V8viZlqunpcnNGrwvONS_6FcUznvVHUbVVnbO-jAmUf-gC2Gi0a_1n6_dZCjgCx5L3sucdODKyqyRSjKzwCZNhBZoCiMlmRpiL4VbkdgDDWDZczHFG=s3889" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3889" data-original-width="2713" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi_tVLlBKvYavMDDSJHbSCdL-frFTPDE7nyzEAB8Lw1-uvgAmd1zXm9j1c_JDs9evNdvnEVh8V8viZlqunpcnNGrwvONS_6FcUznvVHUbVVnbO-jAmUf-gC2Gi0a_1n6_dZCjgCx5L3sucdODKyqyRSjKzwCZNhBZoCiMlmRpiL4VbkdgDDWDZczHFG=w446-h640" width="446" /></a></div><p style="font-family: courier;">My copy of this book has, unfortunately for me, been well-loved in its time and a few of the pages have been scribbled over by a young Southampton lad who I shan't name and shame, so instead of showing the title page artwork I'll skip ahead into the strips. Here's a good one as it includes a panel of Dennis handing over what is clearly a 1950s Beano, distinctive enough by its red header. Poor Dennis never catches a break, it is remarkable that almost every strip in the books ends with a slipper in one form or another! Here though, he just gets the knee.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: courier; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjgB8Moz-bfa7_q_7_oh7NgQcC0inV1kVH9dJvVzXsm6pFBDoOvGPtW9SYl0ODXYbb5EK2y2rILPYcFqqhf-w0-TSMeS16XWuQV0gGQgpuTtH4hvVPlXmR-nXg-wbC6p8XEVvyRNC6rBRlZRBgt81K2iduz5MDJ-kM0KTb-y8VZuyGv19yP7EheeYX_=s4032" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="2848" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjgB8Moz-bfa7_q_7_oh7NgQcC0inV1kVH9dJvVzXsm6pFBDoOvGPtW9SYl0ODXYbb5EK2y2rILPYcFqqhf-w0-TSMeS16XWuQV0gGQgpuTtH4hvVPlXmR-nXg-wbC6p8XEVvyRNC6rBRlZRBgt81K2iduz5MDJ-kM0KTb-y8VZuyGv19yP7EheeYX_=w452-h640" width="452" /></a></div><p style="font-family: courier;">Here's an interesting page - The Early Adventures of Little Boy Dennis. If he's meant to be a baby here it's hard to tell as to me he looks pretty much the same as he always does, save for his sitting in a pram. I'm not sure who the artist is, but it isn't Law.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: courier; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhOKy7nxBnOq2rrbDhDW5sXwnCjZrLEXnoMEj-6Owh6oQuMUV_uZgBqIt8A-AhWG6qj5omsR3rcfCikzcwGNGdDV1x1hfxJb4WNbzQbcH6tfkUft5fKBsbd-3H3Gjz3i-CJcs-O-lA_LMeKj1bdKwXKoqgsTOrpXcjtBOVXr43pK1CXRdxNy5cmobor=s3918" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3918" data-original-width="2812" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhOKy7nxBnOq2rrbDhDW5sXwnCjZrLEXnoMEj-6Owh6oQuMUV_uZgBqIt8A-AhWG6qj5omsR3rcfCikzcwGNGdDV1x1hfxJb4WNbzQbcH6tfkUft5fKBsbd-3H3Gjz3i-CJcs-O-lA_LMeKj1bdKwXKoqgsTOrpXcjtBOVXr43pK1CXRdxNy5cmobor=w460-h640" width="460" /></a></div><p style="font-family: courier;">One more strip before we move on to some of the book's other features, and what better a page to look at than this wonderful fireworks story! This page also illustrates well an artist working in the style of Law with a four panel gag at the bottom, something known as "ghosting".</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: courier; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEguiNrT7VHaMh9urGvTndOM8QMsxyNFQYwSPzj7HyAejKtZZe1hDSnrqaAhwZdcUAGUIyUP78f_CgdfmFD9N3PO_ZnkkIkTczkbRYBbWVY0QulIs6Prt3prmiN-QofyEpAFEA9s8w6PTy8P8MIGKr9aP5Qv4-z2MyhvXhjNQynejHVMt3-pt0do4NeR=s3961" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3961" data-original-width="2801" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEguiNrT7VHaMh9urGvTndOM8QMsxyNFQYwSPzj7HyAejKtZZe1hDSnrqaAhwZdcUAGUIyUP78f_CgdfmFD9N3PO_ZnkkIkTczkbRYBbWVY0QulIs6Prt3prmiN-QofyEpAFEA9s8w6PTy8P8MIGKr9aP5Qv4-z2MyhvXhjNQynejHVMt3-pt0do4NeR=w452-h640" width="452" /></a></div><span style="font-family: courier;"><p>Here's a breakdown of what those aforementioned 80 pages consist of: the front and back covers, 48 pages of comic strips, 20 pages of text stories, 3 puzzle pages, 2 pages of jokes, 1 title page, 1 'this book belongs to page', 1 page with a letter from Dennis welcoming readers to the book, and 2 funny poem pages. Here's an example of one of those poems, entitled There's Fun To Be Found in Dustbins'.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjzxygzslTQNIUn0u0B0iVyHxaKdrhwdzYWvfFq1OWhcjjaw8DczHfLthPg69V-0oXQL74oyQR6vBIDFdO--dk_D0a5bznD92Q9dO9lkpWusZQkIrtjZDYIZflefXfAdvDSydlkplQfq50LHGpwKo4YzDHJhLrh7wEJjhLoXvabDTmqTBAYsKLk9Xru=s3844" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3844" data-original-width="2642" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjzxygzslTQNIUn0u0B0iVyHxaKdrhwdzYWvfFq1OWhcjjaw8DczHfLthPg69V-0oXQL74oyQR6vBIDFdO--dk_D0a5bznD92Q9dO9lkpWusZQkIrtjZDYIZflefXfAdvDSydlkplQfq50LHGpwKo4YzDHJhLrh7wEJjhLoXvabDTmqTBAYsKLk9Xru=w440-h640" width="440" /></a></div><p>Text stories were slowly disappearing from comics by the early 1960s but this book still features ten of them all at two pages long. I've chosen to share this one based solely on the illustrations alone, I particularly like the image of Dennis' parents AND cat jumping for joy as he runs away from home! </p></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhSd9vMCL6mjKcFYY58UuAfP5jQlxXL2MqUkhmxgu-6SYnwn9S6Ljxmt9p0hhOJkDHjppUy2AVIWpNwJCEKLUBax_8Mi1lE2-dVgCccmOIkbp-ZpUuzj5FPmMv_P9YEVifj7RE3V7yPd1FZ7Z3SCHUo-FbnYNu1x_fiKPg6Y_Rmts6K3yhlMxIHKtzo=s3896" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3896" data-original-width="2691" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhSd9vMCL6mjKcFYY58UuAfP5jQlxXL2MqUkhmxgu-6SYnwn9S6Ljxmt9p0hhOJkDHjppUy2AVIWpNwJCEKLUBax_8Mi1lE2-dVgCccmOIkbp-ZpUuzj5FPmMv_P9YEVifj7RE3V7yPd1FZ7Z3SCHUo-FbnYNu1x_fiKPg6Y_Rmts6K3yhlMxIHKtzo=w442-h640" width="442" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi8oFYlpYq3ZxSFiOREJGKCya55btukoL4Z127ygqHva3tIAaYrnC3AkOrfMYAS7-HD9kfyynv6ggQfW_hxlMyJSGuh4NSayPcb4Wo9v1jJw9BeKV-miFZJvIjEq0UrAriR22Jx64ogWT-xp9h3DNzGVpknZpt-sCLEmFqOg1qFrvzQ3rPzKEoqIc83=s3904" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3904" data-original-width="2688" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi8oFYlpYq3ZxSFiOREJGKCya55btukoL4Z127ygqHva3tIAaYrnC3AkOrfMYAS7-HD9kfyynv6ggQfW_hxlMyJSGuh4NSayPcb4Wo9v1jJw9BeKV-miFZJvIjEq0UrAriR22Jx64ogWT-xp9h3DNzGVpknZpt-sCLEmFqOg1qFrvzQ3rPzKEoqIc83=w440-h640" width="440" /></a></div><p><span style="font-family: courier;">Most, if not all, of these strips are reprints I believe, but regardless the annual is a nice way to get a glimpse into an era of The Beano that is very collectable and expensive these days. There's no era of The Beano I don't like, in fact I still buy the occasional new issue from my local comic shop, but there truly is something special about the quality of the content <b>D C Thomson</b> was putting out in the 50s and 60s. If you ever come across any of the comics or books from this time they are well worth a read.</span></p><p></p>George Shiershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03162253849922362900noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1965905287512456704.post-43030099212634761262022-02-02T10:31:00.004+13:002022-02-03T15:50:54.767+13:00Meet The Winners<div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgwlwMyg5OCBC-zuoF5mOlOI4TrMSbiC47NYqX4OzdA4Pn7wzXkAv2MwG2q5R3o19fQd3JKfONYZ21f6X3z2rIPWhZip-6VsHx-EguUONSTnn61eL3ciLTWhgy6StsGkNfkvldsf5BISUD2d1zK-wETgGmZbWDO2tyA1wl_tUyzokK7w67l9NTbg9ex=s3440" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3440" data-original-width="2909" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgwlwMyg5OCBC-zuoF5mOlOI4TrMSbiC47NYqX4OzdA4Pn7wzXkAv2MwG2q5R3o19fQd3JKfONYZ21f6X3z2rIPWhZip-6VsHx-EguUONSTnn61eL3ciLTWhgy6StsGkNfkvldsf5BISUD2d1zK-wETgGmZbWDO2tyA1wl_tUyzokK7w67l9NTbg9ex=w542-h640" width="542" /></a></div><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"><div><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></div>Launched on 5th May 1979, </span><b style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">Jackpot</b><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"> was another addition in the long line of <b>IPC</b> comics and, although not well-remembered as a title that particularly stood out, it certainly had its moments. One such moment came about a year and a half into its run, when <b>The Winners</b> arrived in issue #75. As the first panel makes clear, "the Winner family decided to enter every competition going", and the lengths they would go to and the prizes they would win were the <i>winning</i> formula (pardon the pun) for this long running strip. In fact, The Winners proved very popular, surviving Jackpot's merger with <b>Buster</b> in February 1982 and continued, admittedly in reprint form, up until the last issue in 2000. Although The Winners later came to be drawn by <b>Mike Lacey</b> and <b>Jimmy Hansen</b>, this first strip is actually the work of <b>Jimmy Glen</b>.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj7i61tGDvHs4W2pQvUfd2ICnGg8gH6CMGJgMMRZq7aYPzw39x2VFyO-A8-dco9JPDl7ns6ZTSs6tZcyb7hCg3LTvhh38oq7zQreNelfWDuUHAclX0rcajBmJATQrr7lUI_G5NDl6LKpQqNvDXWyotxVqYGQUpmnVSjaIo9gs0Gxvba4v3Z8aRLeSJv=s3929" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2456" data-original-width="3929" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj7i61tGDvHs4W2pQvUfd2ICnGg8gH6CMGJgMMRZq7aYPzw39x2VFyO-A8-dco9JPDl7ns6ZTSs6tZcyb7hCg3LTvhh38oq7zQreNelfWDuUHAclX0rcajBmJATQrr7lUI_G5NDl6LKpQqNvDXWyotxVqYGQUpmnVSjaIo9gs0Gxvba4v3Z8aRLeSJv=w640-h400" width="640" /></a></div></div>George Shiershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03162253849922362900noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1965905287512456704.post-35058414987908044872022-01-31T12:09:00.004+13:002022-02-01T15:09:31.153+13:00Oink! No. 13 (1986)<p><span style="font-family: courier;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEheRKFFCskZB0rQNwidebd3EuwqTizHWcomYMxZBg2AOQAoVZ5JIy5kVHJjv_6gPP-vh3qHa7jVs10VKozPTnUC3gYj-yoIusb_KzrEIOT9vHkkEN6UmV2o2fBbe46KCdmvkyVXHjoAOjKjFta68KJdYpzQ5PZGft9IV0kJ4ONq0ndPH41V2mlvUDlj=s3853" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3853" data-original-width="2983" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEheRKFFCskZB0rQNwidebd3EuwqTizHWcomYMxZBg2AOQAoVZ5JIy5kVHJjv_6gPP-vh3qHa7jVs10VKozPTnUC3gYj-yoIusb_KzrEIOT9vHkkEN6UmV2o2fBbe46KCdmvkyVXHjoAOjKjFta68KJdYpzQ5PZGft9IV0kJ4ONq0ndPH41V2mlvUDlj=w496-h640" width="496" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: courier;"><p><span style="font-family: courier;">Oink! is one title I've thus far neglected to cover much on this blog, but hey - better late than never! So let's amend that with a dive into what is probably my favourite issue of one of the weirder comics published by IPC - lucky number #13. Launched in May 1986, Oink was still a fortnightly comic at this point (it would later go to monthly). Many people actually seem to consider Oink as "a Viz for children", indeed that is a phrase I have seen thrown around a lot, but it is simply not a true statement. I asked Tony Husband, one of the creators of Oink!, some years ago for something I was writing (and never finished) about whether the creation of a "Viz for children" was the intention of Oink</span>, and this is what he had to say:</p></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: courier;">"No that was never our intention. The three of us, Pat Gallagher, Mark Rodgers and myself all wrote for the IPC comics and we just wanted to take the piss out of the formulated but enjoyable mainstream comics. We spoke to Bob Paynter who was the head of children's comics and he gave us money for a dummy. Years later John Brown publishing and the Donalds came to us about doing a kids Viz bit it never happened."</span></p><p><span style="font-family: courier;">Oink! certainly is a comic unlike anything else put out by mainstream British comic publishers before. Those of you who've read <b>Terry Bave</b>'s 2012 autobiography 'Cartoons and Comic Strips' may recall him discussing <b>Krazy</b> as, well, a "really crazy comic", where "a number of artists and writers had been invited to submit 'crazy' ideas, many turned out to be too crazy for consideration", and by Oink's standards Krazy would be considered somewhat traditional! (Krazy is another comic a little overlooked on this blog too, that may have to be amended soon as well.) To illustrate my point, here's a bizarre photo strip entitled <b>Snatcher Sam meets Young Frankenstein</b>. I can only imagine how much fun this would have been to produce. </span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiwJso-vvExlWi0z5OtDnEe2uIE2-EcUpr-5XPIuu3VcZCTAXuBV5T4GDSLADoJhU1qK-RIXIjYId1_AyoDfILjyMDuL-UFmuudV_s8QUr9qQMwWHeg3ZuVuaGOvaGoctJp3GRw2K1E2_6nZSX9x07IotsAMI7cisFFaxFkd2HoG0EpBjFmKUKHSgTB=s3965" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2695" data-original-width="3965" height="436" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiwJso-vvExlWi0z5OtDnEe2uIE2-EcUpr-5XPIuu3VcZCTAXuBV5T4GDSLADoJhU1qK-RIXIjYId1_AyoDfILjyMDuL-UFmuudV_s8QUr9qQMwWHeg3ZuVuaGOvaGoctJp3GRw2K1E2_6nZSX9x07IotsAMI7cisFFaxFkd2HoG0EpBjFmKUKHSgTB=w640-h436" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: courier;"><p>Issue thirteen is of course an unlucky number, well known to the Oink creators, and furthermore this issue was the very first Oink halloween issue - what a coincidence! For 30p readers got 32 pages, printed on nice glossy paper, 9 of those pages in full colour and a further 6 in partial colour with either a pink or yellow ink. That full-colour page count includes the poster on the centre spread, which is an absolutely stunning piece of artwork by the aforementioned Tony Husband featuring his popular character <b>Horace (Ugly Face) Watkins</b>, drawn in the style of a 1950s US horror comic cover. If it didn't mean taking apart an old comic I would definitely have this up on my wall. Perhaps a photocopy is needed...</p></span><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiBNz6dxfaZumDXZek83B01rEMgzKukXHejSkVPzIzIPOzmOPKENC1O3IcZz1iSwhJZqAdDmoDu_OCiZM_5aPc_VKleFHYuqi4-Z8-ZjEz4maDoRh8spKZq4CB7iSuWy1MzaAFYxkm3vC-EindTcVoBzRHG7iVOrAya7xiblG9gDU7MmmBDTMagsRgX=s3980" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3980" data-original-width="2614" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiBNz6dxfaZumDXZek83B01rEMgzKukXHejSkVPzIzIPOzmOPKENC1O3IcZz1iSwhJZqAdDmoDu_OCiZM_5aPc_VKleFHYuqi4-Z8-ZjEz4maDoRh8spKZq4CB7iSuWy1MzaAFYxkm3vC-EindTcVoBzRHG7iVOrAya7xiblG9gDU7MmmBDTMagsRgX=w420-h640" width="420" /></a></div><span style="font-family: courier;"><p>Another interesting addition to this issue is this 3/4 page text piece <b>Dennis Nifford's History of Horrors</b>. Obviously, this is the pig alter-ego of famed comic historian <b>Denis Gifford</b>. I can only assume it was he who put this piece together, for as well as being a fan of comics he was very much involved with them. </p><p><b>-- UPDATE!</b> Thanks to Lew Stringer and other good ol' piggin' pals over at the Oink comic fan page on Facebook for informing me that actually this page is <u>NOT</u> by Denis Gifford as he was not a fan of Oink. In fact being an old school guy he didn't like any comics that didn't seem to follow the traditional style, such as 2000AD. I was very surprised to hear this, to say the least! The artwork is actually by Steve Gibson and potentially written by Steve as well, although if not it may have been Mark Rodgers. <b>--</b></p></span><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhX7xtO3MsK9hu6Eh4Wplcgq0YWv_pS7TGtgMuJXEWllY8Qh_quipBh2Va7gFimXLYD-t-w0cOUDtC9SroohfyvdK1d95JUmXMBelKGolBDQgHP2GKYiinBCq4uVC4Z-KwA8N81d9zphI0lDpJ4643CwnhS8SS0a3IXXzDdwQ5BvGhCsbByDTx7XOXG=s3706" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3706" data-original-width="2917" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhX7xtO3MsK9hu6Eh4Wplcgq0YWv_pS7TGtgMuJXEWllY8Qh_quipBh2Va7gFimXLYD-t-w0cOUDtC9SroohfyvdK1d95JUmXMBelKGolBDQgHP2GKYiinBCq4uVC4Z-KwA8N81d9zphI0lDpJ4643CwnhS8SS0a3IXXzDdwQ5BvGhCsbByDTx7XOXG=w504-h640" width="504" /></a></div><span style="font-family: courier;"><p>So what are some more of these weird and wacky strips I keep going on about? Well, what about this one entitled <b>Billy's Brain</b>. About a young boy called Billy and his uncle, who exists only as a brain, it's certainly not a strip I could see appearing in Buster or The Beano. It's unsigned but I think this is drawn by <b>David Haldane</b>.</p></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: courier;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhjnovCmudbnv2a8tyYgzEUaHfTwDZV9XewmkvDUHgOnkrlXKpykFXSFZAKA_3P0BUkZ2scHkW8yrAPYYRFGcG5c8IUzuEWb_6esgv8jTlS6Fw33dgAt98XSl5OOq_YcWVTydI2fwv_zVaZIvMOeo8P7fUmPhox-Nm_Z-sgPPk00K56Jmuj3N0-bL68=s3820" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3820" data-original-width="2902" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhjnovCmudbnv2a8tyYgzEUaHfTwDZV9XewmkvDUHgOnkrlXKpykFXSFZAKA_3P0BUkZ2scHkW8yrAPYYRFGcG5c8IUzuEWb_6esgv8jTlS6Fw33dgAt98XSl5OOq_YcWVTydI2fwv_zVaZIvMOeo8P7fUmPhox-Nm_Z-sgPPk00K56Jmuj3N0-bL68=w486-h640" width="486" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: courier;"><p><span style="font-family: courier;"><b>Monster Mash</b> is perhaps the funniest story in this issue. Illustrated by <b>Lew Stringer</b> and written by Mark Rodgers, it is a short story filled with brilliant gags - my favourite is the "school dinner disposal unit" wearing hazmat suits as they dump the toxic dinners into the "hidden dump". </span>This is the first appearance of <b>Pigswilla</b>, a character who would appear a few times throughout Oink's run, and Lew talked about the character's creation in a <a href="https://lewstringercomics.blogspot.com/2016/10/monster-mash-1986.html?fbclid=IwAR0CZqhvkqyW6i97i48jdNRNBUtsQ1WK1xEvfA7ZR8VOKQJQFbjvWDdiT3c" style="text-decoration: underline;">post on his art blog</a>. Here's what he had to say:</p></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: courier;">"Mark had originally sent me an idea for a story called The School Dinner Monster and asked if I had any ideas to add to it. I added a few bits and bobs to the plot and dialogue, and thought that the title Monster Mash was catchier. I gave the name 'Pigzilla' to the giant robot pig, </span><span style="font-family: courier;">although Mark changed that to the much more inspired Pigswilla."</span></p><p><span style="font-family: courier;">Anyway, here's the two-pager. I really wish this had been given full colour treatment, as I feel it would really have made use of some disgusting school dinner colours to add some extra effect! In fact, another copy of Oink (#66) I happen to have to hand contains a full-colour, nine (!) page Pigswilla comic which I might have to share in a post here sometime soon, just for fun, and you'll see what I mean.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjSIyW1-IK6pePrXbXh9pZ1EkKECJHy7oyjZ4qkP0iZYlR3QKlkmyLhOLUnh3FcqcqE0iVdnBMCEsd_xZCIsa_0Pni_KUJYyMR-KAHPuuVrI76kyk_BfwzxUti8N0Y3zOxjKTk8evOMHFFPbXmB_X2GlvSqXSNdAkrGOKSRAKaL_SSxQ5c6DjaqqtXq=s3948" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2603" data-original-width="3948" height="422" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjSIyW1-IK6pePrXbXh9pZ1EkKECJHy7oyjZ4qkP0iZYlR3QKlkmyLhOLUnh3FcqcqE0iVdnBMCEsd_xZCIsa_0Pni_KUJYyMR-KAHPuuVrI76kyk_BfwzxUti8N0Y3zOxjKTk8evOMHFFPbXmB_X2GlvSqXSNdAkrGOKSRAKaL_SSxQ5c6DjaqqtXq=w640-h422" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: courier;"><p>The last strip I'll share is a silly page that is perhaps a bit more 'normal' as far as IPC comics go, emphasis on a bit - <b>The Curse of the </b><span style="font-family: courier;"><b>Mummy</b>, illustrated by <b>Jeremy Banx</b>. I say this one is a bit more normal only because it reminds me of a strip from the early days of <b>Whizzer and Chips</b> called <b>The Mummy's Curse</b>, in which two unlucky explorers are chased around the world by an angry mummy whose tomb they disturbed. I've also shared an example of that strip, taken from Whizzer and Chips #2 (25th October 1969) and illustrated by Reg Parlett.</span></p></span><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhBHclu7TofqFtZndV_R6Y7AIdiTozcIeVpaqzJTzFUKUFCIp5HkIcKHKjlm91Q6j3NoJfbBb6Lnjv5ELtUXk9yH-bEl-WcfTCUU1rJdTCKIATOKrqI19OGsDzcBVrn_it4aTM_e_feGqknUzw8MLhL7gZI4pxp4nGocWvNk6qS-Wuu4UBQvI_IMUP7=s3788" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3788" data-original-width="2946" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhBHclu7TofqFtZndV_R6Y7AIdiTozcIeVpaqzJTzFUKUFCIp5HkIcKHKjlm91Q6j3NoJfbBb6Lnjv5ELtUXk9yH-bEl-WcfTCUU1rJdTCKIATOKrqI19OGsDzcBVrn_it4aTM_e_feGqknUzw8MLhL7gZI4pxp4nGocWvNk6qS-Wuu4UBQvI_IMUP7=w498-h640" width="498" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEio6_q6XujCoKssyAv6OvRqZn8jWLwk20sGOpsiP655Uk8-ytuhMxOghlFgjiVuLUwqXCb5A_WQEVGuCjoB1O_jr1hDnS67s2U-dyWKpBjY0TxlXYjLm0CmjniKsh1r_tzeCO7SDQpgnfO3nXis6LJw07wziPpA4ZzW1_EuRV5Sv13_t3-Ms1BoXZXW=s3657" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3657" data-original-width="2956" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEio6_q6XujCoKssyAv6OvRqZn8jWLwk20sGOpsiP655Uk8-ytuhMxOghlFgjiVuLUwqXCb5A_WQEVGuCjoB1O_jr1hDnS67s2U-dyWKpBjY0TxlXYjLm0CmjniKsh1r_tzeCO7SDQpgnfO3nXis6LJw07wziPpA4ZzW1_EuRV5Sv13_t3-Ms1BoXZXW=w518-h640" width="518" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="font-family: courier;">Oink ran for about two and a half years before folding in October 1988. Sadly its unique appearance also made it somewhat controversial and some newsagents allocated it to the top shelf, above the eyes of children, and sales ultimately slumped and the plug was pulled (although I'm sure this wasn't the only reason). For those who want to read more about Oink I highly recommend Phil Boyce's excellent Oink blog, which has moved to a new home on Wordpress and can be found here: </span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: courier;"><a href="https://oink.blog">https://oink.blog</a></span></p>George Shiershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03162253849922362900noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1965905287512456704.post-72050154624832887892022-01-30T12:54:00.001+13:002022-01-30T12:54:00.236+13:00An Interview With Tom Paterson<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiJ60Qh826Q_n7udAGXk2Wos-LCYRy73ZzJc769fVCmIahWZ8sb7dRlolBDveruMgLDXmvRFAPbCwd3GcCJMOMLRpcu8PDniwbahhT7xNqw7pMq4Je0YXEr4pcIe0LnlKnFhffKLD7u3e9lBJdN65iok7lgmrYXILLJzpSEBKCpO_L24Q3iBk5DDS5c=s1792" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1342" data-original-width="1792" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiJ60Qh826Q_n7udAGXk2Wos-LCYRy73ZzJc769fVCmIahWZ8sb7dRlolBDveruMgLDXmvRFAPbCwd3GcCJMOMLRpcu8PDniwbahhT7xNqw7pMq4Je0YXEr4pcIe0LnlKnFhffKLD7u3e9lBJdN65iok7lgmrYXILLJzpSEBKCpO_L24Q3iBk5DDS5c=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: courier;"><p>Some of you might remember back in the days this blog published a bit more frequently I also put out a comic fanzine called Atomic Comic. Fanzines are a LOT of hard work and issue three was certainly the hardest, especially as we decided to print physical copies of this one. Anyway, it was always something I was proud of and I recently came across my copy of it when going through a stack of comics and remembered the interview I had with the great Tom Paterson. Since most people don't have a physical copy (I can't remember how many we sold, but I do remember taking a loss on each one!), I thought it would be a valuable exercise to share the interview on this blog too. This interview is originally from 2016. Enjoy!</p></span><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh5L_YbsboLv9KFAHmlvC5TlAqwuE3F8C_jgqwg3uVykVRxoVpgRSnn1f4N58gJb6OUxjqIhPyBNhl7yckK82nLg5rukYwqR9fWlsPwCnzKSvwnu3CdGr9BforPziOYPycH7K-XwqueeJBlYoUAz-3KTDMqXCIGOXCmqp6pdiEGIZQ0IN63emwRo7Ys=s284" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="194" data-original-width="284" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh5L_YbsboLv9KFAHmlvC5TlAqwuE3F8C_jgqwg3uVykVRxoVpgRSnn1f4N58gJb6OUxjqIhPyBNhl7yckK82nLg5rukYwqR9fWlsPwCnzKSvwnu3CdGr9BforPziOYPycH7K-XwqueeJBlYoUAz-3KTDMqXCIGOXCmqp6pdiEGIZQ0IN63emwRo7Ys=s16000" /></a></div><br /><p><span style="font-family: courier;"><b>I'll start by asking about the smelly sock. It has become the most famous piece of heavily scented footwear in the world but why do you include it in all your comic strips? What was the inspiration for it?</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: courier;">Well, obviously, it's a fundamental symbol of democratic solidarity isn't it? Everybody gets smelly socks... from the humblest tramp to the highest lord in the land... I mean, even the Queen gets smelly socks - in fact, not a lot of people know that her man has got a right pair of pongers humming away inside those great steaming green wellies she's always clomping around the Highlands in! Naah... actually, I used the smelly sock as a kind of trademark because when I started drawing comics, the artists weren't allowed to sign their own names on their work, and I chose a smelly sock because it was a daft little thing that made me laugh... then again, maybe I'm very easily amused!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: courier;"><b>And of course, you've also got the 'Little Squelchy Things' that appeared in a large amount of your calamity James strips - how did those come about?</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: courier;">I first came up with the Little Squelchy Thingies at school - my old notebooks and sketchpads were covered with them. Later, I was reminded of the, when the great Leo Baxendale started putting little squiggly creatures in-between the frames of some Sweeny Toddler stories, and decided that I could use the Squelchies to inject more humour into my own strips. When I began drawing Calamity James for The Beano, I thought that a James was so con genetically unlucky, he would naturally be plagued by some kind of annoying pests and the Little Squelchy Thingies fitted the bill perfectly and, of course, they proved very popular and were great fun to draw. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: courier;"><b>What was your very first published work and where did it appear?</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: courier;">Hmmm... not sure about the first published work, but the first strip I was asked to draw for Fleetway was called Biddy's Beastly Bloomers - a story about a little girl who had three horrible, gluttonous Triffid-like pet plants which was originally drawn by Sid Burgon. Sid was a terrific artist and he had a unique drawing style that I was asked to reproduce. Unfortunately, at the age of 17, I really didn't have a clue what I was doing and I made an embarrassing, ghastly mess of it... it was so bad, it's a miracle they gave me more work!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: courier;"><b>In the 1970s you drew a fire pages of a strip called 'The Dangerous Dumplings' for D. C. Thomson but you instead ended up working at Fleetway/IPC. What caused you to change?</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: courier;">When I was 16, I sent some examples of my work to D. C. Thomson's and was very surprised when the Albert Barnes, the legendary editor of The Dandy, visited me at my mum's house and asked me to draw a new strip called The Dangerous Dumplings. Now, for a young lad, Albert Barnes was a very distinguished and intimidating gentleman, looking like a retired ex-army major (actually he had been in the navy). Anyway, he wanted me to draw the Dumpling family with large, prominent chins, (he was quite proud of the fact that Desperate Dan's famous chin was based on his own large chin... Albert had quite a thing about chins!) whereas I, with my vast experience, (Not!) was of the opinion that the name "Dumplings" suggested that they should be a flabby, overweight bunch of obese slobs... and so we had a bit of a stand off, during which Fleetway stepped in with the offer of a regular supply of weekly work and that was that. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: courier;"><b>When Watford Gapp first appeared in Whizzer and Chips in the late 1980s you used a different style to draw him, which you now use on your current Viz character Jasper the Gasper. What caused this change? Do you have a style you prefer? </b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: courier;">Bob Painter, the managing editor at Fleetway, asked me to come up with a few ideas for some strange, slightly weird strips, one of which was Watford Gapp, and I just thought that it needed an alternative style to give it a different, darker look from my other strips which were running at the same time. I've worked in a number of styles over the years, but I enjoyed the Sweeny Toddler/ Calamity James style, which was of course inspired by the legendary comic genius Leo Baxendale - and the Watford Gapp one, which was influenced by the amazing Robert Crumb. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: courier;"><b>You have drawn many characters over the years for various comics. If you could draw any character again, who would it be? Did you ever have a character you would like to have drawn but never got the chance?</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: courier;">I always loved drawing Calamity James and Sweeny Toddler, but I'd really like to have my time over doing Leo Baxendale's brilliant creation, Grimly Feendish. I was asked to draw the strip when I was quite young, but I really didn't have the first idea what I was doing and made a right pig's a**e of it! I'd also have loved to have drawn the unforgettable 'Jonah' and 'Frankie Stein' by the incomparable Ken Reid. Jonah especially used to have me in absolute hysterics... the combination of great scriptwriting and Ken's hilariously manic artwork is simply unsurpassed.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: courier;"><b>And what inspired you to start drawing? Did you have any artists you looked up to and learned from, or was it just a natural ability that you taught yourself?</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: courier;">I've been fascinated by comics for as long as I can remember. Apparently, I was copying Disney characters around the age of 4 or 5, but the first comic character I really latched onto was "Nick Kelly" in the Topper comic, which was drawn by a great artist named George Martin. I later discovered the beautifully drawn, technically brilliant and fantastically funny work of Leo Baxendale and Ken Reid and I knew what I wanted to do... although the idea of drawing comics for a living seemed a ridiculously remote notion at the time.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: courier;"><b>What is your all time favourite comic, either to work on or to read?</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: courier;">My favourite comic has always been The Beano, although I also loved Dandy, Beezer and Topper. Later, I discovered the amazing Wham and Smash comics, which were almost entirely the brilliant work of Leo Baxendale. These days I find Viz comic very funny and am lucky enough to have been writing and drawing regular strips for it over the last year or so, which has been really enjoyable. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: courier;"><b>Your strips are well known for the many bizarre and random objects lying around, or eccentric millionaires throwing away fivers etc. Were you told to put these in by scriptwriters or are they just added in by yourself whilst drawing up a page? What was the inspiration for these?</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: courier;">All the additional humour and subsidiary shenanigans I always came up with by myself. One of the many things that drew me to Leo Baxendale's work was how, once you'd read the basic story, you could go back time and time again and discover hidden jokes and funny goings-on you'd missed the first few times - his strips were always fantastic value - and Ken Reid's strips were similarly detailed and rewarding. I've noticed how a lot of aspiring artists seem to base their work on the "Cartoon Network" look, and while that works great on telly due to the movement and sound effects, once transposed onto the printed page, it can look very flat, static and one-dimensional. Animation and comic art are two entirely different mediums - a comic artist has to convey the illusion of depth, movement, speed and even sound, and had to add extra character, humour and interest to make the page work on several levels. I would seriously urge any budding comic artist to seek out the superb back catalogues of Leo Baxendale and Ken Redi - if you can't learn anything from those two comic masters - you'll never learn!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: courier;"><b>You have drawn a lot of pages, but what happens to all the original artwork? Does it all pile up in a corner of your house?</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: courier;">Years ago we used to post the original artwork (I know!) in to the editorial office, so there must be an awful lot of my pages lying somewhere in a leaky warehouse in Dundee - I really must make enquiries about that. (Are you listening, D.C. Thomson?) These days, it's all emailed off so I'm gradually accumulating quite a tower of dusty pages of artwork which is fast becoming a critical space problem - potential buyers, please apply within!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: courier;"><b>Have you ever considered creating your own comic or annual, such as Leo Baxendale's Willy the Kid books? I'm sure fans would love to see something along those lines from you.</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: courier;">I've had a go at creating my own comic a couple of times, but the problem's been that the nasty, greedy, grasping publishers tend to want to steal all the copyright from the artist for doing exactly f**k-all!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: courier;"><b>What work do you have planned for the future?</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: courier;">As I say, I'm very happy writing and drawing for Viz at present, although I'd like to get into the children's market again. I recently contributed to Jamie Smart's new venture, Moose Kid Comic, and I'm currently working on a specific idea for another weekly publication, so watch this space!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: courier;"><b>Before we conclude the interview, have you anything else you'd like to share?</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: courier;">Oh, dear... how much space have you got? I'd just like to say how sad I am at the continuing deterioration (with one or two exceptions!) of the children's comic market. What happened at The Dandy, for instance, was in my opinion, nothing short of criminal. 75 years of unique history and precious comic legacy, lost in a few short years due mainly to catastrophic managerial and editorial decisions - and I fear The Beano is headed down the same dead-end route. For f***'s sake!... please, please let's get rid of this mindless obsession with here-today-gone-tomorrow, tenth-rate, so-called celebrities being palmed off as comic characters! (Note to the dim editors... Alan Titchmarsh, Cheryl Cole and Simon Cowell are NOT and NEVER will be FUNNY!! You're meant to be in the HUMOUR business, remember? Du-u-uhhh!) I'd like to see people back in charge who really understand and genuinely cherish the very special art form that is British comics, and stop relying on useless accountants, vacuous marketing types and pointless focus groups. Instead of giving readers what they THINK they want, let's employ truly creative writers, editors and artists to give them something they can't even IMAGINE! That's what BRITISH COMICS should be all about! Tom Paterson... having a rant... and no f*****g wonder!</span></p>George Shiershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03162253849922362900noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1965905287512456704.post-26781988285163703772022-01-27T23:58:00.004+13:002022-01-28T00:00:01.493+13:00Kidzone (1983)<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhYQp7f-071f9gMhCC_6fCEZ7hlS12PC35gkq65KJ209wIhD69d4AvSTr961qoponuIcqGt_ViSFwC9AwwhvhI4Cu4kIJv7ISu1ascLW9oD7P-rHD4BnoqA2iOj9Yz5XgWMvtn3cg-ErbHJrswLweDyp6vY6WoI2yEHRp-Jx9ZAwvLjLFUPWYpuAgHU=s3035" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2856" data-original-width="3035" height="602" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhYQp7f-071f9gMhCC_6fCEZ7hlS12PC35gkq65KJ209wIhD69d4AvSTr961qoponuIcqGt_ViSFwC9AwwhvhI4Cu4kIJv7ISu1ascLW9oD7P-rHD4BnoqA2iOj9Yz5XgWMvtn3cg-ErbHJrswLweDyp6vY6WoI2yEHRp-Jx9ZAwvLjLFUPWYpuAgHU=w640-h602" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: courier;"><p><span style="font-family: courier;">"Hey kids! Look! The FIRST ISSUE of a Brand New Comic just for you - DON'T MISS IT!!" boasts the front cover of this comic in a fashion typical for the launch of a new title. Indeed, t</span><span style="font-family: courier;">hese days it's not often I come across a comic I haven't heard of before, but on a recent trip down south to Dunedin I was lucky enough to come across a couple of issue of </span><b>Kidzone</b><span style="font-family: courier;">, a bit of a mysterious New Zealand comic from the early 1980s that is as brand new to me as it would have been to its original young readers in 1983. </span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhHXnyVqWl3XLrJOkBCRgcwTvnYoux10A7SZtXgvWUkaQN2HLsXiYhNXNUlNlS_cfTQPxOF7Oat6tRp7QSITWw2qyvLKJfLj76ByE866Z9VpRsE8P7tsH46IdNKqq3tE3dV4xv2Z1KPBZG4TZil_biqcp2uj7mZLl22EYGtGJlQtQp68-yrUB9o2lK5=s1266" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1266" data-original-width="1245" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhHXnyVqWl3XLrJOkBCRgcwTvnYoux10A7SZtXgvWUkaQN2HLsXiYhNXNUlNlS_cfTQPxOF7Oat6tRp7QSITWw2qyvLKJfLj76ByE866Z9VpRsE8P7tsH46IdNKqq3tE3dV4xv2Z1KPBZG4TZil_biqcp2uj7mZLl22EYGtGJlQtQp68-yrUB9o2lK5=w629-h640" width="629" /></a></div><span style="font-family: courier;"><p><span style="font-family: courier;">Issue one is dated Friday, August 12, 1983, and for 50c readers got a modest 16 pages, all black and white except the front cover and the back which also had some red, and, perhaps somewhat surprisingly, no adverts. For comparison, an issue of </span><b>Whizzer and Chips</b><span style="font-family: courier;"> dated 24th September 1983 cost 55c in New Zealand and was twice as thick (I don't have any 1980s <b>Beano</b>s to hand as I write this but if memory serves they were slightly thinner and less expensive than their <b>IPC</b> competitors), but the draw of Kidzone is that it is distinctly and unmistakably a 'kiwi' comic. The front cover character is <b>Mickey's Moa</b>, and a friendly kiwi smiles next to the comic's title just above the price tag. Perhaps something of a New Zealand </span><b>Big Eggo</b><span style="font-family: courier;">, Mickey's Moa follows the adventures of Mickey, a young boy who befriends the giant bird after finding him hiding in a cave in the bush. Here's the second page of that strip, illustrated by </span><b>Robert 'Bob' McMahon</b><span style="font-family: courier;">. McMahon was clearly Kidzone's main artist and was in fact the driving force behind the comic. In this first issue alone he drew 4 different strips of which all but one were at least a full page.</span></p></span><p></p></span><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjgfP-uW8waiNmSyuRmfCNWYZeq5vjvOXGhve1L6Kv01BupVfL7vB0qRlpMag56Rgm6Z0kfSRLU0fvXGiz8Xn7fW0FQjI3ABosOVWK7iEspb8q7VnGv91hmM7vb4BlOvasX-e5ye47pYPqa1f5a_fUGoWPdwQCWWM3cYPXNkoZUn9lmDh0vzQqhFUvy=s2761" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2761" data-original-width="1808" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjgfP-uW8waiNmSyuRmfCNWYZeq5vjvOXGhve1L6Kv01BupVfL7vB0qRlpMag56Rgm6Z0kfSRLU0fvXGiz8Xn7fW0FQjI3ABosOVWK7iEspb8q7VnGv91hmM7vb4BlOvasX-e5ye47pYPqa1f5a_fUGoWPdwQCWWM3cYPXNkoZUn9lmDh0vzQqhFUvy=w420-h640" width="420" /></a></div><span style="font-family: courier;"><p>Although inspired by the comics <b>D C Thomson</b> produced (McMahon acknowledges this in an interview, more on that in a minute) the kiwi theme continues inside, another example being the strip <b>Code-'O': Otago's Special Branch of the N.Z. Coastal Patrol</b> (for those who don't know, Otago is a region in NZ's South Island). Although I don't know the artist, a signature does seem to appear in a few of the panels (nos. 4, 6, 7, 10 & 11). </p></span><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjgTdOgFczqSB877cTjcFi52e6m1wSAqHMwMj5roIfM9EnXEh5oI--920-G8KG1Gew5DhHncT_xdC5QQ6S14VF1GgEkSVZgx_dELx4jN30N-ViyukdjQnSs0WjmDEEopn7r1GWmk8bdwSK8MtT-ujNg-NCi9A9sUoVOOkQ2ok383W8YkZp5yfcJpuu7=s2898" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2898" data-original-width="1855" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjgTdOgFczqSB877cTjcFi52e6m1wSAqHMwMj5roIfM9EnXEh5oI--920-G8KG1Gew5DhHncT_xdC5QQ6S14VF1GgEkSVZgx_dELx4jN30N-ViyukdjQnSs0WjmDEEopn7r1GWmk8bdwSK8MtT-ujNg-NCi9A9sUoVOOkQ2ok383W8YkZp5yfcJpuu7=w410-h640" width="410" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi4SpegJmdbewtGPZATg8_QZAIX166I68UwuCETXx-UbX4cAUm8nyXUPAdfF64NkQgvs1plxrA3wzCl1yGvsiIIwGvUxXruNUJwu29sxRiizcJgN5qM9i04h-QqXhHBUJTyneLSj4TkpPmc8EJVQf5uoqN1GunwSlAI1nZphF1BUW17gAOiOHC8uX7b=s2844" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2844" data-original-width="1857" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi4SpegJmdbewtGPZATg8_QZAIX166I68UwuCETXx-UbX4cAUm8nyXUPAdfF64NkQgvs1plxrA3wzCl1yGvsiIIwGvUxXruNUJwu29sxRiizcJgN5qM9i04h-QqXhHBUJTyneLSj4TkpPmc8EJVQf5uoqN1GunwSlAI1nZphF1BUW17gAOiOHC8uX7b=w418-h640" width="418" /></a></div><span style="font-family: courier;"><p><span style="font-family: courier;">Here's a name that might be familiar to some of you, </span><b>Vid Kid</b><span style="font-family: courier;">. Except not the Vid Kid who graced the pages of <b>Buster</b> from 30th May 1987 through to its final issue, rather this Vid Kid is simply a fan of video games. I believe</span><span style="font-family: courier;"> the artist's last name to be Grundy due to a signature on a later Vid Kid strip in issue #3 but sadly I don't know their full name.</span></p></span><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgLqfSeaHwETIfZV8XR_j2jNuRTzBZT7ST_OhsbbJcRu-u5yy8oihVh9tzsKcKJkhZIedca5mwYnb5-ESPk33WA7ebdbpZpTurml3N9qEGRCcI-yhz95KIUAFhpJqzPT-U6RORoSr_0ziuCT9jlDSyn40626E49KN0kvpINU_nXcRtYBAQ7FFyoZVcy=s2727" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2727" data-original-width="1837" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgLqfSeaHwETIfZV8XR_j2jNuRTzBZT7ST_OhsbbJcRu-u5yy8oihVh9tzsKcKJkhZIedca5mwYnb5-ESPk33WA7ebdbpZpTurml3N9qEGRCcI-yhz95KIUAFhpJqzPT-U6RORoSr_0ziuCT9jlDSyn40626E49KN0kvpINU_nXcRtYBAQ7FFyoZVcy=w432-h640" width="432" /></a></div><span style="font-family: courier;"><p><span style="font-family: courier;">My favourite strip in the comic is certainly this one, <b>Greenslade The Frog</b> - </span><span style="font-family: courier;">illustrated by the same artist as Vid Kid, the </span><span style="font-family: courier;">mysterious 'Grundy'. It certainly made me chuckle. </span></p></span><p></p><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg-YWxU_6sZS3lJrWBV2k2BnG4VNJJBODe2jjCdtH4RvZbNe2wSpw_MIMCh2DWfcbUlAArZb_8esSgFB9xSmerS5FqiW66QJBRKwuDJjnqVqer2kgPoxSYqAdSML9q72nm-7Y4dSJk2iFfAyJiukuT13weU8B6x6HhJYk7y9U0Miln-X1GYdRYpThIi=s2966" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2966" data-original-width="1936" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg-YWxU_6sZS3lJrWBV2k2BnG4VNJJBODe2jjCdtH4RvZbNe2wSpw_MIMCh2DWfcbUlAArZb_8esSgFB9xSmerS5FqiW66QJBRKwuDJjnqVqer2kgPoxSYqAdSML9q72nm-7Y4dSJk2iFfAyJiukuT13weU8B6x6HhJYk7y9U0Miln-X1GYdRYpThIi=w418-h640" width="418" /></a></div><span style="font-family: courier;"><div><span style="font-family: courier;"><br /></span></div>As far as I know, only three issues of Kidzone were produced and judging by the 9th September cover date of issue #3 was a biweekly publication. I own issues #1 and #3, and interestingly the National Library holds the same copies, also missing the second issue. According to a 2012 interview with McMahon, the print run consisted of just over 1000 copies and used artists from The Otago Daily Times, where McMahon also worked. It was put together in Dunedin and printed in Gore by Gore Publishing but was only distributed as far north as Christchurch, so it certainly had a very limited reach. McMahon was bankrolling the comic himself and was struggling to get a sponsor, and his printers would often push him aside for bigger jobs meaning he would have to run around chasing it up. Despite receiving a positive response in the form of "a lot of letters from kids", it sadly failed to last, McMahon deciding that "nah, I don't need this". Elaborating, he says "it was just barely feeling its way after about a couple of weeks, it was burning me out so I flagged it, I realised that because I was doing the whole thing. I was doing the colourations, chasing people up for their work, going down to Gore and literally printing it, printing it the way I wanted. All this sort of thing and it was too much". It's a shame things didn't work out for Kidzone</span><span style="font-family: courier;"> as I believe, by marketing itself as a uniquely New Zealand comic, it could have had some potential had it been able to give itself time to become a bit more of a finely polished product. New Zealand made comics are few and far between so it is always nice to come across one and, in my experience at least, people always like to support local New Zealand artists.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: courier;"><br /></span></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhoopWc5t5TECbJwbzYtBMqvVZD-oCeiR_IHrNsfEBPpcaNIzHy8sG051P-OGTSVjkOtnfccM0GCgI0ca7Qt4a-6_xwGTMgwp4LcPn7UVgvNgrfFRwThQJJfwyshefXQdHI-W0kqgQIB7OdttZ-fvS5pdDowEr3jCaQE1R7ayYFZnBX-27idyg7HJrN=s2821" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2821" data-original-width="1945" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhoopWc5t5TECbJwbzYtBMqvVZD-oCeiR_IHrNsfEBPpcaNIzHy8sG051P-OGTSVjkOtnfccM0GCgI0ca7Qt4a-6_xwGTMgwp4LcPn7UVgvNgrfFRwThQJJfwyshefXQdHI-W0kqgQIB7OdttZ-fvS5pdDowEr3jCaQE1R7ayYFZnBX-27idyg7HJrN=w442-h640" width="442" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: courier;">The cover of issue #3, this time with <br />a green kiwi</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-family: courier;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: courier;">For those interested you can read the full interview with Bob McMahon on the Pikitia Press blog here:</span></div><div><span style="font-family: courier;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: courier;"><a href="http://pikitiapress.blogspot.com/2012/06/bob-mcmahon.html">http://pikitiapress.blogspot.com/2012/06/bob-mcmahon.html</a></span></div>George Shiershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03162253849922362900noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1965905287512456704.post-31281288960394463592021-09-21T20:17:00.000+13:002021-09-21T20:17:21.352+13:00The Return of Monster Fun <div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcRW8Pd2GZS-Tg3lP1TR2kHlzmI90HXh7FXFzlG5Sg7ySF63PDd3FIMVsNh5crRJwcgemLkrXSKhrbckHHymVhTHzg19jLYOSehxpNZYW_yjQhBWrhP4j1_NKwlRpWxnSiU7Bj2JBQNBk/s1864/Screen+Shot+2021-09-21+at+6.47.48+PM.png" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="974" data-original-width="1864" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcRW8Pd2GZS-Tg3lP1TR2kHlzmI90HXh7FXFzlG5Sg7ySF63PDd3FIMVsNh5crRJwcgemLkrXSKhrbckHHymVhTHzg19jLYOSehxpNZYW_yjQhBWrhP4j1_NKwlRpWxnSiU7Bj2JBQNBk/s600/Screen+Shot+2021-09-21+at+6.47.48+PM.png" width="600" /></a></div><span style="font-family: courier;">
After an absence of almost half a century, the much-loved British comic <b>Monster Fun</b> is making a comeback under its new owners <b>Rebellion</b>. Admittedly, the nostalgia for the title is probably stronger than the love for comic itself during its initial run, only 73 issues of the weekly edition were printed until it merged with the far more successful <b>Buster</b> comic on 6th November 1976. I certainly find it interesting that not a more popular title was chosen for the first <b>Fleetway</b> comic to make a comeback, but I am nonetheless very excited for it. </span><div><span style="font-family: courier;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: courier;">No longer a weekly, the revived Monster Fun will begin publishing in April next year with promises of a new issue every two months. The comic will be 32 pages and will feature many of the original favourite characters such as <b>Frankie Stein</b>, <b>Kid Kong </b>and<b> Sweeny Toddler</b> - not all Monster Fun originals but certainly characters who became popular in the comic's original run.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: courier;"><br /></span></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTg_GJxjtpBA5QS3VgvFeEHI82SIbrrxYAs4pkk8UkHt0LV2TLBOMeozT6w2TsCTbgy8dFNt_qCU_jvTskFPu-fFRsTAgiMriZXFUYCZJ9nZCPn3SEC8K-KQ8H1TSna5XsANMNu5nSAgA/s1536/img_1920.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="1134" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTg_GJxjtpBA5QS3VgvFeEHI82SIbrrxYAs4pkk8UkHt0LV2TLBOMeozT6w2TsCTbgy8dFNt_qCU_jvTskFPu-fFRsTAgiMriZXFUYCZJ9nZCPn3SEC8K-KQ8H1TSna5XsANMNu5nSAgA/w472-h640/img_1920.jpeg" width="472" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-family: courier;">To pass the time until April, the Monster Fun Halloween Spooktacular will be going on sale next month. 48 pages thick, it is crammed full of classic stories from well-known artists, including that spectacular front cover illustrated by none other than <b>Tom Paterson</b>. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: courier;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: courier;">As I understand it, Monster Fun will be available in the stores but online subscribers will receive special free gifts. No word on what those gifts are just yet, but I wonder if they'll be reminiscent of plate wobbler, freaky spider ring or super shaking skeleton that each came with the first three issues of its 70s predecessor. I also wonder if this new version will feature the 'Badtime Bedtime Storybooks' - centre pages encouraged to be pulled out and compiled into mini-comics, much to the bane of collectors today who seek out complete copies. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: courier;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: courier;">Do check out the website and subscribe to make sure you don't miss an issue. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: courier;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: courier;">https://monsterfun.co.uk/</span></div>George Shiershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03162253849922362900noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1965905287512456704.post-216175955454651902021-08-20T02:07:00.005+13:002021-08-20T02:19:09.174+13:00Scoops (1934) and Advertisements for Some Rare Comics<p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwr8Rwqe4_55dw-uBLsDo60NZxkTtguaVdTJM71DprdxpS3j2BJW5nLrKOu5klJygjZMnVo1-jdoOJymBskEA82b6Rri9swM0Xar47qt8rejyvrF-zHEUZjs7E-bt2lftF8ElxjvKmZXg/s1038/014.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1038" data-original-width="800" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwr8Rwqe4_55dw-uBLsDo60NZxkTtguaVdTJM71DprdxpS3j2BJW5nLrKOu5klJygjZMnVo1-jdoOJymBskEA82b6Rri9swM0Xar47qt8rejyvrF-zHEUZjs7E-bt2lftF8ElxjvKmZXg/w493-h640/014.jpg" width="493" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: courier;">The front cover of Scoops #1, from Compal Comics <br />Auctions LTD.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></p><p><span style="font-family: courier;">The other night I was browsing through the latest British Comics and Artwork catalogue available on Compal Comics when I came across an interesting title at lot #14, the very first issue of <b>Scoops</b>, dated February 10, 1934. Now, anybody who knows me or has been following my blog for some time will no doubt know that I am fascinated with obscure titles, and this "amazing new wonder weekly" was certainly no exception. The striking front cover stood out to me; I simply had to know more. </span></p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJWAyEwfl5h8mGv_e_VG6pp9e0NBTjVidm8IFlQYyxRczy-JCVggsk_k_xOtch5Y3N7xhWS3giD6GrzB8L7shvkNcZdXx5dgS5fjBWWK-McmiN-3Z2gLNMELbFU4dxYnuXP9xRITTTaUc/s1384/Screen+Shot+2021-08-20+at+12.32.40+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="972" data-original-width="1384" height="450" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJWAyEwfl5h8mGv_e_VG6pp9e0NBTjVidm8IFlQYyxRczy-JCVggsk_k_xOtch5Y3N7xhWS3giD6GrzB8L7shvkNcZdXx5dgS5fjBWWK-McmiN-3Z2gLNMELbFU4dxYnuXP9xRITTTaUc/w640-h450/Screen+Shot+2021-08-20+at+12.32.40+AM.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: courier;">A fantastic illustration from issue #1. I wish I knew the artist's name - if you do please don't keep it to yourself!</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: courier;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: courier;">Scoops was published every Thursday by </span><b style="font-family: courier;">Pearson</b><span style="font-family: courier;"> and ran for just 20 issues from 10th February to 23rd June 1934, costing 2D for 30 pages for issue #1, 32 pages for issues #2 - #11, and 28 pages for the remainder of its run. Only the front cover had any colour, with a stunning use of red ink (throughout its short run Scoops had some absolutely spectacular front covers), and its contents were made up of text stories with an accompanying illustration or two. Alongside this were the occasional editorial pages and some full page illustrations. Here are a couple of examples to show you what I mean, both taken from issue #16 dated May 26, 1934. The 'Go-Anywhere Flying Boat' page takes my mind to the cutaway illustrations that would so wonderfully grace the pages of Eagle a couple of decades later. </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRVu0DOR2Wj_IXifmBEHzR-JIhDb2grsmhb3QTOrCPdZpxkaiIN2jDCqGduyUxNNT9QQM_VnNw2KLuIeqWwMChY5jQB-lNr4JBTJoqTTCRP4HBsZPnY9Ke2JusSCP6jCa8F60DeSBPwuM/s2048/Screen+Shot+2021-08-20+at+12.20.51+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1418" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRVu0DOR2Wj_IXifmBEHzR-JIhDb2grsmhb3QTOrCPdZpxkaiIN2jDCqGduyUxNNT9QQM_VnNw2KLuIeqWwMChY5jQB-lNr4JBTJoqTTCRP4HBsZPnY9Ke2JusSCP6jCa8F60DeSBPwuM/w278-h400/Screen+Shot+2021-08-20+at+12.20.51+AM.png" width="278" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuFwiZnlRoSP34UE2ams-i5fKmYUd3x8Ru9EJqdcmNs23Du7ZBeiklMQKSW5eFFJoiDNIXp0ambscNwBtKKkR8L9ISak7Hw8wntUvmDxLtgSgz-_QOJVK8vMD_LaoPBINL8Akb8XyjoaI/s2048/Screen+Shot+2021-08-20+at+12.21.09+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1390" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuFwiZnlRoSP34UE2ams-i5fKmYUd3x8Ru9EJqdcmNs23Du7ZBeiklMQKSW5eFFJoiDNIXp0ambscNwBtKKkR8L9ISak7Hw8wntUvmDxLtgSgz-_QOJVK8vMD_LaoPBINL8Akb8XyjoaI/w271-h400/Screen+Shot+2021-08-20+at+12.21.09+AM.png" width="271" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier;">Despite its obscurity, Scoops is quite collectable as it is "regarded as the very first specialist anthology of science fiction stories for the UK market" - in fact issue #10 carries the bold strapline 'Britain's Only Science Story Weekly'. </span><span style="font-family: courier;">It is particularly notable for its publication of the <b>Sir</b> <b>Arthur Conan Doyle</b>'s '<b>The Poison Belt</b>', serialised from issues #13 through to #18. Here's the cover for #13, promoting the first chapter of the story with quite a horrific and graphic illustration.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiapK82DEs7ZWWXntFPrSbP3kqAFeGo76SrH51_4fWylu4JqQqRtNoEaVUVK1zTY4SEVx0Enslx5kgv_k2xcKMkJ6_asgUe4zP6NbTPj26No5BhxSdhCoLKMqvMDDLGkQc6iPSrFBzqVhA/s2048/Screen+Shot+2021-08-20+at+12.16.19+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1459" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiapK82DEs7ZWWXntFPrSbP3kqAFeGo76SrH51_4fWylu4JqQqRtNoEaVUVK1zTY4SEVx0Enslx5kgv_k2xcKMkJ6_asgUe4zP6NbTPj26No5BhxSdhCoLKMqvMDDLGkQc6iPSrFBzqVhA/w456-h640/Screen+Shot+2021-08-20+at+12.16.19+AM.png" width="456" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: courier;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier;">Indeed, sometimes Scoops is referred to as a comic, which is why it piqued my interest, yet as far as I have seen not a single comic strip was ever printed within its pages. But </span><span style="font-family: courier;">that's not to say it doesn't contain anything of interest for those of us interested in the comic side of things. As you may know, <b>C Arthur Pearson </b>produced "a comic for all the seasons" (as Denis Gifford put it), and indeed a few of them were advertised within the pages of Scoops. Here's every advert for such a comic I could find, although admittedly I don't have access to every issue I think this is a nice little collection. As with all images on this blog, click on them to view in full size.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9C5dhGrCP-PJafF0fZ3tydc8C9xgCU6dfhWOjYI4Ou5CJUk3OY2lPFBDPeX1MW_mez7agrr0l8BunzV1y-SRKIE9Vp1AOZ3r7JrQifx3R7eNWc0QC-8F-3ylBtgrOGiz9cIZs5oZruI4/s2048/issue+9+back+cover.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1331" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9C5dhGrCP-PJafF0fZ3tydc8C9xgCU6dfhWOjYI4Ou5CJUk3OY2lPFBDPeX1MW_mez7agrr0l8BunzV1y-SRKIE9Vp1AOZ3r7JrQifx3R7eNWc0QC-8F-3ylBtgrOGiz9cIZs5oZruI4/w260-h400/issue+9+back+cover.png" width="260" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: courier;">From #9</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8Vu8Q0kgKdJ3qkw1AQx3VNWRvsc-Y8SeD3RwWD9MkNvAN2YiOKCtwM0elNNs7i2z2mimxf7SXnO0ThQhqAs1OaHsF5sX-w3To1wdh6sBumspI717BG7grkHaiDldhG9pKLyeSt4vC8Ng/s2048/scoops+11.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1386" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8Vu8Q0kgKdJ3qkw1AQx3VNWRvsc-Y8SeD3RwWD9MkNvAN2YiOKCtwM0elNNs7i2z2mimxf7SXnO0ThQhqAs1OaHsF5sX-w3To1wdh6sBumspI717BG7grkHaiDldhG9pKLyeSt4vC8Ng/w271-h400/scoops+11.png" width="271" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: courier;">From #11</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtb4ySK0Jxq25i2O_wVKzQSlN9zUETuodUKj8MoAVdW-nbmJuzENzHaw_2hRiYM-aPun3DI6wIw7BwwbyZHj5Pc29dH7QDIstio6jaWY7HvnrUtBqQs4EENCFhEDeh0xtJ0KBZJSp5dKA/s2048/scoops+19+back+cover.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1373" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtb4ySK0Jxq25i2O_wVKzQSlN9zUETuodUKj8MoAVdW-nbmJuzENzHaw_2hRiYM-aPun3DI6wIw7BwwbyZHj5Pc29dH7QDIstio6jaWY7HvnrUtBqQs4EENCFhEDeh0xtJ0KBZJSp5dKA/w269-h400/scoops+19+back+cover.png" width="269" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: courier;">From #19</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8qcyDdzzRpp90QvPp55Q6aX9AXDtGKt_sxOt4ks3BdEr5y50HMaVMJgY7LSD3FSsDUDfEEThyphenhyphennFxSzn70urstDoSb_yK_1slRcmeFgEsldEylOVAttWQAAa69fJEMghSk4F8f4lgEFMc/s2048/scoops+20+back+cover.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1389" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8qcyDdzzRpp90QvPp55Q6aX9AXDtGKt_sxOt4ks3BdEr5y50HMaVMJgY7LSD3FSsDUDfEEThyphenhyphennFxSzn70urstDoSb_yK_1slRcmeFgEsldEylOVAttWQAAa69fJEMghSk4F8f4lgEFMc/w271-h400/scoops+20+back+cover.png" width="271" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: courier;">From #20</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-family: courier;">These comics were produced sporadically until the War put a stop to such practices due to paper rationing, and I'd certainly like to dedicate a full post to them at some point in the future but sadly I don't own any issues (if you do and want to sell them, or even just send me some scans, please do get in touch!). In the meantime though, I highly recommend having a flick through a few issues of Scoops. Even if science fiction isn't your thing, admiring the front covers is certainly worth a few minutes of your time. All the scans from here are taken from Comic Book + (I've provided the link below), which has a number of full issues you can download, you'll just need a program to open the files - I used DrawnStrips Reader (but you can even read them without downloading on the website). Scoops was a wonderful magazine with some fantastic writing and illustrations, and certainly a publication lightyears ahead of its time. It really was "the story paper of tomorrow".</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier;">https://comicbookplus.com/?cid=2460</span><span style="font-family: courier;"> </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDE_BqFvz2YgB0w2Yy5V8RFLvqGlFDR-kaR4csLM9ioh1V59plfSONw58aNmynddAy6XrbBmCRdK_gh5CUk0v6Qgr0FtyCX5u3gP02I81eYT-bMISe68sA9zKF1xDEqqjuDmpTqNk5psw/s1214/Screen+Shot+2021-08-20+at+12.44.12+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1214" data-original-width="924" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDE_BqFvz2YgB0w2Yy5V8RFLvqGlFDR-kaR4csLM9ioh1V59plfSONw58aNmynddAy6XrbBmCRdK_gh5CUk0v6Qgr0FtyCX5u3gP02I81eYT-bMISe68sA9zKF1xDEqqjuDmpTqNk5psw/w488-h640/Screen+Shot+2021-08-20+at+12.44.12+AM.png" width="488" /></a></div></div>George Shiershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03162253849922362900noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1965905287512456704.post-77106226462042161062020-04-02T16:52:00.001+13:002020-04-02T16:52:16.908+13:00Buster Comic - 25 Years Young!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp8ujWmdPL5R36u6PHYrb20_5kFK65JHHSvBrqCbJNgs7Kf44ARwYrAK4r5krbvPzNYc0NKYMv9oY07Q59B-6wApzlqyATQsCBWBxyqyroNj-Y80hfsUnqLGJvqaum2ebFfjSSZIJbB_Y/s1600/IMG_4728.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1364" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp8ujWmdPL5R36u6PHYrb20_5kFK65JHHSvBrqCbJNgs7Kf44ARwYrAK4r5krbvPzNYc0NKYMv9oY07Q59B-6wApzlqyATQsCBWBxyqyroNj-Y80hfsUnqLGJvqaum2ebFfjSSZIJbB_Y/s640/IMG_4728.jpeg" width="544" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Well, before I start this post I thought I'd quickly explain what brought it about. Here in New Zealand our country went into a total lockdown about a week ago as a result of the COVID-19 virus, meaning pretty much everything except supermarkets and pharmacies have shut and we are all confined to our homes unless visiting essential services. As a result of this lockdown, I have returned home to Auckland to be with my family and was reading the very comic this post is about when I thought hey, why not use this time to do some blogging.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">This issue of <b>Buster</b>, dated 25th May 1985, is the celebratory quarter century birthday number for the comic, the first issue of which hit the shops in May 1960. This issue also brought about a new artist for Buster replacing <b>Reg Parlett</b>, who had drawn the strip since taking over from <b>Angel Nadal Quirch</b> in 1974, with <b>Tom Paterson</b>. Many, including <b>IPC</b> group editor <b>Bob Paynter</b>, later thought this change was far too sudden and dramatic and I am possibly inclined to agree - as much as I absolutely adore Tom's style he is so far from Reg Parlett that I bet many readers would have found the sudden change quite a shock. Here is Tom's full strip, printed in full-colour on the back page.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLwAbsRWxIktWPjdpPsEuGiVrpGZpVWuh4K-uYxhrWCENFgUY5CMSQDEzKHiSD4BcM98SjKX2kRGJYhI99Ow8Z1A0R-wJQ3k40RqE6JeTNY4hHAirw7NWCV8cmmg1jLZ_576-qCTJXQx0/s1600/IMG_4729.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1327" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLwAbsRWxIktWPjdpPsEuGiVrpGZpVWuh4K-uYxhrWCENFgUY5CMSQDEzKHiSD4BcM98SjKX2kRGJYhI99Ow8Z1A0R-wJQ3k40RqE6JeTNY4hHAirw7NWCV8cmmg1jLZ_576-qCTJXQx0/s400/IMG_4729.jpeg" width="331" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Not having the free gift attached to the front does look a little sad when the whole cover is almost devoted to promoting it. "Incredible... Amazing... Unbelievable!" boasts the big yellow arrow, pointing at an empty blue space. Still, a half page instruction from inside shows those of us reading now just what it was we are missing. The previous issue had hyped them us as 'Deadly Death-Rattler Eggs', but they are certainly not what I would have imagined.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeJDmV0U9roqnchCU_83jDpqQLTJ8axfN2LyxStrlYTcQey5ojaWN0skh-Zwsu3utyyPZ2RnOWgJWi847aMBVKBipVNVJR7Xz3C346Zw8yR1woaEp1k_7fOeA-ovmTYQRZBtxOpydx2EU/s1600/IMG_4730.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1154" data-original-width="1600" height="460" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeJDmV0U9roqnchCU_83jDpqQLTJ8axfN2LyxStrlYTcQey5ojaWN0skh-Zwsu3utyyPZ2RnOWgJWi847aMBVKBipVNVJR7Xz3C346Zw8yR1woaEp1k_7fOeA-ovmTYQRZBtxOpydx2EU/s640/IMG_4730.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Other than the back-page Buster strip, no other stories made mention of the occasion. The only other indication that this issue held any kind of significance was this mildly interesting comparison of kids 'then and now', comparing interests of children in 1960 and 1985. Personally, I feel dedicating the entire centre page spread to this is a waste of space and the pages could have been better used with something such as a history of Buster, a poster, or a celebratory strip, but each to their own I suppose. It almost seems like they forgot the anniversary was coming up and had to prepare the issue at the last minute.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3GGwicIiMX92oKfRiM_I4VQpVICkIzYpww3x1pWcoYnMqCqzFbiH9KCSR8XPuXx6MTPvNWjpeRx7VGmgQ_lMA5swRw9hhI9tbUMu1rLhJCUU7-2oUZmVg2Obk4V9O8BLPHtwhdIlEv3g/s1600/IMG_4731.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="1600" height="408" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3GGwicIiMX92oKfRiM_I4VQpVICkIzYpww3x1pWcoYnMqCqzFbiH9KCSR8XPuXx6MTPvNWjpeRx7VGmgQ_lMA5swRw9hhI9tbUMu1rLhJCUU7-2oUZmVg2Obk4V9O8BLPHtwhdIlEv3g/s640/IMG_4731.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Since so little of this issue actually celebrates the anniversary I thought I'd show a few pages from the previous week as well, which is also the final combined Buster and <b>School Fun</b>. Although School Fun isn't even mentioned on the cover, this issue still has the School Fun section inside, featuring characters from the now defunct title. A wonderful Reg Parlett front cover hints at exciting things to come next week - quite the build up for what was eventually a bit of a let down. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioP1FiykRt7rCGOOCxbtundj9gHQ69JTtXizeqKbC3YtwZ60FwuH-Kp4kfKyLx1NROIoBC-KEnB5uUx_GRt1SPTePtHwEWAl52ze0L8gH5FEYLsj2VHwv9-ng06tmkgQmbGy49JqqQkjs/s1600/IMG_4732.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1301" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioP1FiykRt7rCGOOCxbtundj9gHQ69JTtXizeqKbC3YtwZ60FwuH-Kp4kfKyLx1NROIoBC-KEnB5uUx_GRt1SPTePtHwEWAl52ze0L8gH5FEYLsj2VHwv9-ng06tmkgQmbGy49JqqQkjs/s400/IMG_4732.jpeg" width="325" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Of course, this being Reg's last time drawing Buster I have to show the full strip - printed in full colour on the back page. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx1iw2CgJODOYUrAM8DEg3lscUm5qjATNJ9qNE5y1vSuT5duGX6dv4IcXKshFMBvDQLqOIsbp7kRcF_WYxp3qABlBPSoSqd-iLkYCVd-QvZx1qE5SZw2Puv-cEOKeD6yVrhW-qwpPt9Kk/s1600/IMG_4733.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1308" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx1iw2CgJODOYUrAM8DEg3lscUm5qjATNJ9qNE5y1vSuT5duGX6dv4IcXKshFMBvDQLqOIsbp7kRcF_WYxp3qABlBPSoSqd-iLkYCVd-QvZx1qE5SZw2Puv-cEOKeD6yVrhW-qwpPt9Kk/s400/IMG_4733.jpeg" width="326" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Inside, a full page advert previewed the front cover of next weeks issue, including a picture of the rather exciting looking free gift! The thrilling death-rattler artwork would probably have gotten me to buy it, I'm not going to lie. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9xl6kBkQ5ohAvI7K0aevR_TqQYrmdnfmcJ-pT62AnbjAy5vtd9HW2e-YfYsNblGWczyg2uR3ri688skWtfXpF3BuULVIBWJTDB4OtakwXfMN9FF8Iq2Qyt7n5Zxfgi2VzJBPwJdvoyJ8/s1600/IMG_4734.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1306" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9xl6kBkQ5ohAvI7K0aevR_TqQYrmdnfmcJ-pT62AnbjAy5vtd9HW2e-YfYsNblGWczyg2uR3ri688skWtfXpF3BuULVIBWJTDB4OtakwXfMN9FF8Iq2Qyt7n5Zxfgi2VzJBPwJdvoyJ8/s400/IMG_4734.jpeg" width="326" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">This issue also contains the final episode of <b>The Leopard from Lime Street</b>, a popular character that had been in the comic for almost a decade having first appeared on 27th March 1976. A sad loss to see this one go, it was the final adventure strip Buster ever featured, although it would return in the form of reprints in the 1990's. Artwork by the legendary <b>Mike Western</b>, I believe. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVrtpdWsrvE1cKjXo_e6nZVSMUdgrvU1bvPRWHK1ShbKBDluL60ATJt436tT2xUrJBSCyCuYU4tlIOsg4CNYo1XjhuYv2YZjsyt46az8oVJlB19Y9xX33PcHWj08tNAs0veTbMeCHy4RM/s1600/IMG_4735.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1008" data-original-width="1600" height="401" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVrtpdWsrvE1cKjXo_e6nZVSMUdgrvU1bvPRWHK1ShbKBDluL60ATJt436tT2xUrJBSCyCuYU4tlIOsg4CNYo1XjhuYv2YZjsyt46az8oVJlB19Y9xX33PcHWj08tNAs0veTbMeCHy4RM/s640/IMG_4735.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "courier new", courier, monospace;">I hope this brought about a bit of happiness wherever you are in the world. Please stay safe everyone! I'll try keep blogging while I'm quarantined in Auckland with all my comics, so stay tuned.</span>George Shiershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03162253849922362900noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1965905287512456704.post-89853943316393719812019-05-26T03:04:00.000+13:002019-05-26T03:06:47.527+13:00The Rarest Beano From 2005<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXC99_sT1_b41GluiIxSyjuGQEY870yNRHwRq3sLdgdRigRohQdg-HZd9n-FatF10GWcpT4rGZkcNx8k3d-uUhY1I5sXFH-TXsp0gcD93kwV-S6C28rsSFQwmL2hgotBX1uPRN69-F0ZM/s1600/123.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="773" data-original-width="800" height="618" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXC99_sT1_b41GluiIxSyjuGQEY870yNRHwRq3sLdgdRigRohQdg-HZd9n-FatF10GWcpT4rGZkcNx8k3d-uUhY1I5sXFH-TXsp0gcD93kwV-S6C28rsSFQwmL2hgotBX1uPRN69-F0ZM/s640/123.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">The rare original edition of Beano #3260, featuring the controversial Ball Boy strip.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Yes, I know it's been a long time since I last posted anything on here but as I was surfing the web I came across something completely new to me that I had to share. Issue #3260 of <b>The Beano</b> was printed twice, with the first print run (of apparently 200,000 copies) almost completely destroyed due to a character in the <b>Ball Boy</b> strip. Here's Malcolm Phillips' description of the issue:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">"All 200,000 distribution copies of the original Beano 3260 were destroyed. The "Henry Thierry" character featured in the comic's regular Ball Boy strip bore many resemblances to the Arsenal player. He was French, had a shaved head and wore a red football strip. In the story, the character was sent off during a match and takes an early bath. He also says ‘Va-va-voom’! Editor, <b>Euan Kerr</b>, said at the time: 'In the cold light of day, we felt it might cause offence and we did not want to do that so the issue was reprinted with a replacement cartoon strip'. Only a few copies were retained by DC Thomson for reference."</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">I've no idea what the replacement strip was so if anybody has a copy of the published issue please let me know and satisfy my curiosity! </span></div>
George Shiershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03162253849922362900noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1965905287512456704.post-54665831197893111712017-06-22T18:17:00.000+13:002017-06-22T18:18:10.508+13:00The Big New Year<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwaa0iMRmDSc8CHLxeiEk7iU4OZBrbpJRaSKHgsdJB6SmmKo0LLukCzlm1BBefLQfYczBjE38VcNOkPj7JvAxTR-qk37oFbjwWzOCcnZLc6BXvx7k_5cvnagrU8YoBLa08njfrQy7-D54/s1600/DSC_0093.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1124" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwaa0iMRmDSc8CHLxeiEk7iU4OZBrbpJRaSKHgsdJB6SmmKo0LLukCzlm1BBefLQfYczBjE38VcNOkPj7JvAxTR-qk37oFbjwWzOCcnZLc6BXvx7k_5cvnagrU8YoBLa08njfrQy7-D54/s640/DSC_0093.JPG" width="448" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">I've blogged about <b>The Big One</b> before, quite a long time ago when this blog was just starting up, when I shared some pages from the last issue. A short-lived experimental comic published by <b>Fleetway</b>, The Big One lasted only 19 issues from 17th October 1964 - 20th February 1965 and, as the name suggests, is the biggest comic ever published in Britain (and maybe even the entire world). With the exception of the front cover of the last issue, the entire contents consisted of reprinted material from earlier <b>Amalgamated Press</b> comics. The front cover features <b>Smiler</b> illustrated by <b>Eric Roberts</b>. Smiler has originally appeared under the strip's original name 'Mike' in both <b>Knockout</b> from 1945 - 1957 and then in <b>Sun</b> from 1957 - 1959. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Besides Shiner only a handful of strips had a new year's theme. Two of those appeared on the back page in full colour. <b>Handy Andy</b> at the top is an ex-Knockout strip illustrated by <b>Hugh McNeill</b>, and at the bottom <b>Georgie the Jolly Geegee</b> is from the pages of <b>Radio Fun</b>, illustrated by <b>John Jukes</b>. The layout of this back cover reminds me very much of the back of early <b>Buster</b> comics. It's bright appealing colours would be gone by the last issue though, replaced with nothing more than black and red ink.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvtK0lJGxz71eOf7o42k7nKv8GW8SECuWmWWepcVZe8RZr-e80IzruNmrR8sVcU-YGw2Szdl9PyXLhe8hlx6jPuoTBjEcHk_-fEC98BuPNj-9SuQNsZ4TQTUh8-eUg_34XXcBxZZ5jfiQ/s1600/DSC_0094.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1093" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvtK0lJGxz71eOf7o42k7nKv8GW8SECuWmWWepcVZe8RZr-e80IzruNmrR8sVcU-YGw2Szdl9PyXLhe8hlx6jPuoTBjEcHk_-fEC98BuPNj-9SuQNsZ4TQTUh8-eUg_34XXcBxZZ5jfiQ/s400/DSC_0094.JPG" width="272" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">The Big One Birthday Club is the only editorial feature inside and it offered readers the chance to win big prizes. The letter claims that "week after week hundreds of parcels leave the Club store on their way to members of the Big One Club", but I wonder how much of an exaggeration this is seeing as the comic lasted less than five months. The section also says members will receive a special red and gold club badge. I wonder if any still exist.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTNAA-K7e3mgQqLsrBCQYKmJtN8p3eSwnGTAUr6HhppQ5V8UiJUgKFUYiWt6zXkDey8J7cpMFXBi0VMQh0GtjHVXEfOEVDpTQr-3_TkLJ1uARuzZXj83xbeLyHnJgalvCD4UnJ1dnZHt4/s1600/DSC_0097.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTNAA-K7e3mgQqLsrBCQYKmJtN8p3eSwnGTAUr6HhppQ5V8UiJUgKFUYiWt6zXkDey8J7cpMFXBi0VMQh0GtjHVXEfOEVDpTQr-3_TkLJ1uARuzZXj83xbeLyHnJgalvCD4UnJ1dnZHt4/s640/DSC_0097.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">The idea behind the comic was that it's size would make it more noticeable than anything else on the newsstands, driving up sales. Of course no newsagent in their right mind would stock it as it is, and they were all folded in half then half again, making them the same size if not slightly smaller than other comics at the time. To get an idea of just how big an unfolded copy is, here's a photo of this issue next to a random issue of Buster (the closest comic I had). Now imagine having that open and trying to read it anywhere with even a slight breeze - it's next to impossible! It's big size was ultimately its downfall, it merged into Buster on 27th February 1965.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX9pnWprLYHaJxNmrgWyuln-VZi5JXE3_7QigBhbuWixMANmujAJvA6P1EkFlDMOrEVNHADWzG0-FJTBjXiQz0RqRj1jnPBeCnqdImIly8lCshSIDCZewOrYyNwV0QJYAe4XFUVVjIcw0/s1600/DSC_0098.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1296" data-original-width="1600" height="518" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX9pnWprLYHaJxNmrgWyuln-VZi5JXE3_7QigBhbuWixMANmujAJvA6P1EkFlDMOrEVNHADWzG0-FJTBjXiQz0RqRj1jnPBeCnqdImIly8lCshSIDCZewOrYyNwV0QJYAe4XFUVVjIcw0/s640/DSC_0098.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><br /></span>George Shiershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03162253849922362900noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1965905287512456704.post-34860460834717924742016-05-05T18:41:00.003+13:002016-05-05T18:41:52.605+13:00Zip Annual 1960<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL42MMFaSry4UFoZ3bqf7EpQcQdw2lnMcAwucQQW_grrfKB4qCO8WRRH1OtPvJaklGAtvuoHdw_V4yXeBeyQxZ4h-cScYj6AyXg98GBNRWvKh1y0M3BikDgsB7PfwkM7SRtv2AcBteZRc/s1600/IMG_0144.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL42MMFaSry4UFoZ3bqf7EpQcQdw2lnMcAwucQQW_grrfKB4qCO8WRRH1OtPvJaklGAtvuoHdw_V4yXeBeyQxZ4h-cScYj6AyXg98GBNRWvKh1y0M3BikDgsB7PfwkM7SRtv2AcBteZRc/s640/IMG_0144.JPG" width="498" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">I</span><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">n 1957 <b>O</b></span><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><b>dhams Press</b> lost the rights to use any and all <b>Disney</b> characters</span><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">, meaning that their incredibly popular and long running title <b>Mickey Mouse Weekly</b> was forced to close. Not every character in the comic was owned by Disney though, and Odhams used everything they still owned in a new weekly called <b>Zip</b>. The first issue came out on 4th January 1958, but despite having characters from its predecessor without anything Disney the comic flopped and the final issue, #85, came out on 3rd October 1959.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">There were two Zip annuals produced. The first came out in 1958 and is of course known as the 1959 annual, and was followed by a second one the following year. Interestingly, the second annual is quite common suggesting sales were healthy, but for whatever reason Odhams decided not to continue the series. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">I actually thought this was a very good book. Produced to a high quality the annual has a pleasant mix of text stories, comic strips and activities - more than enough to keep kids entertained for hours. I particularly like the board games inside the covers. The artwork is by <b>Colin Andrew</b>.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7eqZvaGGudlQ_oVYZZGkcCG_lgYVcJgQSj1Yb-4737GdK7UqQQYbgb9E_QXkwCqfzRppYRp3zKTVrdABO4AGcKyRFvzQNQHV5ILK1-MaTsWXyOINStTWbU2VRNzuQDm8bEziuYiBf4gQ/s1600/IMG_0145.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7eqZvaGGudlQ_oVYZZGkcCG_lgYVcJgQSj1Yb-4737GdK7UqQQYbgb9E_QXkwCqfzRppYRp3zKTVrdABO4AGcKyRFvzQNQHV5ILK1-MaTsWXyOINStTWbU2VRNzuQDm8bEziuYiBf4gQ/s640/IMG_0145.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4TZ65rsaf6ySCqCOEXnVYJ2KfEyWM3H5w3zLlZda85u8pMHBxj-aJeuWvcnr4mwkHhNo02rqIqFftPf0w2M6nmGIjl4zmluEnXf_k5JJgvvReJuMtbeb7XA8s59Bj3w7q7WV-r1-R43g/s1600/IMG_0146.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4TZ65rsaf6ySCqCOEXnVYJ2KfEyWM3H5w3zLlZda85u8pMHBxj-aJeuWvcnr4mwkHhNo02rqIqFftPf0w2M6nmGIjl4zmluEnXf_k5JJgvvReJuMtbeb7XA8s59Bj3w7q7WV-r1-R43g/s640/IMG_0146.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">The book is 96 pages in total but there is no price tag, not even one that has been cut out, so I can't say how much it cost. There are far more text stories than there are comic strips, but with 27 pages of strips Odhams weren't exactly tight. Here's one strip, a four-page <b>Captain Morgan</b> strip again illustrated by Colin Andrew. The colouring here is superb too.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjANpUtXsiqIdTE-2zZkM1Ek05RKWIlyz2tPZGR7okBkruxitIDWQ4RYDxxQgEeesldJtavIAE1RvzjEj8YtKdxVoeDenlaQ_oJgiAv1QqOa6sW5yaqNUj-35bUkIcYeiCMZt5qrsCeUhQ/s1600/IMG_0147.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjANpUtXsiqIdTE-2zZkM1Ek05RKWIlyz2tPZGR7okBkruxitIDWQ4RYDxxQgEeesldJtavIAE1RvzjEj8YtKdxVoeDenlaQ_oJgiAv1QqOa6sW5yaqNUj-35bUkIcYeiCMZt5qrsCeUhQ/s400/IMG_0147.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTErAzIN4qOSN95XFeNVK19-ay7FizRGlSudUvgvEvOZfdU0Kmzz5xp1kSr_-K2tf4519AfsUKFjNxQN8SsbQEwULwWgkBADySGrqnWd0CaFtxU47DnEuHJpNBBauqSourWYMNUvluYAQ/s1600/IMG_0148.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTErAzIN4qOSN95XFeNVK19-ay7FizRGlSudUvgvEvOZfdU0Kmzz5xp1kSr_-K2tf4519AfsUKFjNxQN8SsbQEwULwWgkBADySGrqnWd0CaFtxU47DnEuHJpNBBauqSourWYMNUvluYAQ/s400/IMG_0148.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiVdrEh5zlH4VzQO8JZF7_EBtXBQtpBlGSjoga0znSaCedqPN3ocERZtTKQiGa2KxHxZIObngi4Exx2J68yKmMJB_HB9fN2S5t0gN3Pbh1wHqM7TVGvAAHu6B_fiaums6rt47gU5ZJquM/s1600/IMG_0149.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiVdrEh5zlH4VzQO8JZF7_EBtXBQtpBlGSjoga0znSaCedqPN3ocERZtTKQiGa2KxHxZIObngi4Exx2J68yKmMJB_HB9fN2S5t0gN3Pbh1wHqM7TVGvAAHu6B_fiaums6rt47gU5ZJquM/s400/IMG_0149.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhlx8ZoMxf-ovAWsXpxA3Vvbei1x5vMgmKicmxwM0ZrktDq2prONrmOXmQR-RCpizNpe_1pgGBQQYBwGyUdMwOQggixzPAwHF8N7c9gPOq21AjCEqZRiIWMWkMHqTJzi11OlJ1mNn9rM0/s1600/IMG_0151.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhlx8ZoMxf-ovAWsXpxA3Vvbei1x5vMgmKicmxwM0ZrktDq2prONrmOXmQR-RCpizNpe_1pgGBQQYBwGyUdMwOQggixzPAwHF8N7c9gPOq21AjCEqZRiIWMWkMHqTJzi11OlJ1mNn9rM0/s400/IMG_0151.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">An interesting feature towards the back of the book are the 'Flight' diagrams. Featuring detailed drawings and descriptions of various aircraft, they remind me of the cutaways that often featured in Eagle. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjpVgysyGPdQDb6vgruhPcWnDWGmcmpXp1W1p_wgQrH2ATgcpTkOCjKks8YqFQog0BO85Pcq3dd9b0ITXbAnOlixIpbIP6T6p4ZmyKyBzNmVgpK4KSsRyZJpYdtM0fYv4dnYp9vUuXcDI/s1600/IMG_0152.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjpVgysyGPdQDb6vgruhPcWnDWGmcmpXp1W1p_wgQrH2ATgcpTkOCjKks8YqFQog0BO85Pcq3dd9b0ITXbAnOlixIpbIP6T6p4ZmyKyBzNmVgpK4KSsRyZJpYdtM0fYv4dnYp9vUuXcDI/s640/IMG_0152.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Another fun feature are instructions on how to build a wooden toboggan, by Robert Reeves.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieSLHW0b2kpnZWDDcZGWOAQt7U8VJvSYKru2UVndww-zA4Ct6JZs897H-PtkXqICcurbkx7xQ33rfzYcDUMMp8faCSXJpeF9n32pM1WJV73OJ4DSBdh-zgQ3GF4GnM8GU5-TwmCheV1FM/s1600/IMG_0153.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieSLHW0b2kpnZWDDcZGWOAQt7U8VJvSYKru2UVndww-zA4Ct6JZs897H-PtkXqICcurbkx7xQ33rfzYcDUMMp8faCSXJpeF9n32pM1WJV73OJ4DSBdh-zgQ3GF4GnM8GU5-TwmCheV1FM/s640/IMG_0153.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">All in all I found this Zip annual to be quite fun and it is certainly produced to a very high quality. A good mixture of text stories, comic strips and other features makes for an entertaining read. The bookstore I bought this had a couple of copies and I'm hoping I will eventually come across the 1959 annual.</span>George Shiershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03162253849922362900noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1965905287512456704.post-3848385600232295272016-05-04T19:18:00.003+13:002016-05-04T19:18:26.080+13:00My Computer Packs In<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT4Qk00UUDEpUZy4ffsio4ga9WRTcWpoZSvLFLxveI9DqA-mvous2klO_PHWAB2kGUH2eApwqglf9dTryGNPZdoVrsUR9vOCNntYVudNS83I7lQArJCEtqB0UX6vkpW2Sx2YlceZxSNyA/s1600/IMG_0141.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT4Qk00UUDEpUZy4ffsio4ga9WRTcWpoZSvLFLxveI9DqA-mvous2klO_PHWAB2kGUH2eApwqglf9dTryGNPZdoVrsUR9vOCNntYVudNS83I7lQArJCEtqB0UX6vkpW2Sx2YlceZxSNyA/s640/IMG_0141.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Unfortunately my computer has decided it's time to pack up. It has been running slow for a while, but now it is simply too slow to function. This means I can no longer scan anything, and certainly can't write from it. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Anyway, until I get it fixed or figure out how to start scanning from my laptop all posts will have to include photos instead of scans. Speaking of future posts - can anybody guess what the next one might be from the book on the scanner?</span>George Shiershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03162253849922362900noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1965905287512456704.post-33315312798684714022016-04-22T13:01:00.000+13:002016-04-22T13:01:04.455+13:00Tom Paterson Artwork For Sale<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheERC2h0KOOQvAmPhbmTIEY522-w9Kx-WfTmQJG9p3Dhyx0wA5eqo3D55YZui_cJK4Vq-m_RfEP70NrBGkG__B8wYIOiWyLmaXqPHkNF4zQofzJ5iFWaYfeOX2tw5QSlFwlvOY7zICTkQ/s1600/IMG_20160416_092144.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheERC2h0KOOQvAmPhbmTIEY522-w9Kx-WfTmQJG9p3Dhyx0wA5eqo3D55YZui_cJK4Vq-m_RfEP70NrBGkG__B8wYIOiWyLmaXqPHkNF4zQofzJ5iFWaYfeOX2tw5QSlFwlvOY7zICTkQ/s640/IMG_20160416_092144.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Anybody familiar with British comics will of course know the name <b>Tom Paterson</b>, and would probably recognise his trademark smelly sock. Tom is currently selling some of the original artwork he produced, which includes everything from front covers of Buster comic to more recent Dennis the Menace strips. Tom's highly detailed pages are a treat to the eye and it often takes multiple reads to spot everything hidden in, and sometimes even outside, the panels.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxRyKkz0tIM6LCR68wR3m70umreMWVbDZx_0fsUgrQnn5xGZf98x3yWhmdTg1c2RTwKsRlyEDdp1GHTZ-SUTmtIeBCy9FmR1449G4vArOB04JCret93Y0Hc1Ul0tvlsCvvNqyrn-GWVcg/s1600/IMG_20160416_094711.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxRyKkz0tIM6LCR68wR3m70umreMWVbDZx_0fsUgrQnn5xGZf98x3yWhmdTg1c2RTwKsRlyEDdp1GHTZ-SUTmtIeBCy9FmR1449G4vArOB04JCret93Y0Hc1Ul0tvlsCvvNqyrn-GWVcg/s320/IMG_20160416_094711.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNgkk75vNVGaxSzur6DXtR78Abaum627R1kdNmFa9bpD3Kd-kj17Te5zg0puWJj8r4vDNPhba1iZF8PMPWLXqgjYsaHC4BrD9-YgvBOFnDhhZoJPNUCZ9g6ySw3lCSOyDokt2t_DFIluM/s1600/IMG_20160416_092420.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNgkk75vNVGaxSzur6DXtR78Abaum627R1kdNmFa9bpD3Kd-kj17Te5zg0puWJj8r4vDNPhba1iZF8PMPWLXqgjYsaHC4BrD9-YgvBOFnDhhZoJPNUCZ9g6ySw3lCSOyDokt2t_DFIluM/s320/IMG_20160416_092420.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-Si4I8MIJ0Z4eRn-r2SMu6pD6fmRUkvT_c3Junr8E1jcWYAUHILEOtPOJlVr1QX12AOqt4h0tEMqJAjuMTzM8R-lkuBkF8NYQSolg7ZfB05magztibLvjOBDOTvuZj1nAy2-Y7e-vzBU/s1600/IMG_20160416_092713.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-Si4I8MIJ0Z4eRn-r2SMu6pD6fmRUkvT_c3Junr8E1jcWYAUHILEOtPOJlVr1QX12AOqt4h0tEMqJAjuMTzM8R-lkuBkF8NYQSolg7ZfB05magztibLvjOBDOTvuZj1nAy2-Y7e-vzBU/s320/IMG_20160416_092713.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBpS4n5sZryArgslIG9VnY4XIt2J1Q9WiJsH2KZKD9Mw8ZPzjZ6tI-p4zCB_QznEHi1WjONsBSuDB1YloPhegPbc1KWbVN6Z-kj7CLOKlAILb88j58CReleIcnabM5486kZfza2PEO3_0/s1600/IMG_20160416_092506.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBpS4n5sZryArgslIG9VnY4XIt2J1Q9WiJsH2KZKD9Mw8ZPzjZ6tI-p4zCB_QznEHi1WjONsBSuDB1YloPhegPbc1KWbVN6Z-kj7CLOKlAILb88j58CReleIcnabM5486kZfza2PEO3_0/s320/IMG_20160416_092506.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">A black and white page costs between £100 - £150, or you can grab yourself a full-colour one for £200 - £225.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr18vV4wcZwFjwbAtE4gwiDvnDGzaI1UNOR3VjledmucIf2zqBtu6mZUVZ0ikRKgDOolt5T-TfhCI_GzNgH81bEAldnQETkHxpxbxGja1ltTVkEEC-YZte93ZXl99LJstV_naSf4gV8Cw/s1600/IMG_20160416_093418.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr18vV4wcZwFjwbAtE4gwiDvnDGzaI1UNOR3VjledmucIf2zqBtu6mZUVZ0ikRKgDOolt5T-TfhCI_GzNgH81bEAldnQETkHxpxbxGja1ltTVkEEC-YZte93ZXl99LJstV_naSf4gV8Cw/s320/IMG_20160416_093418.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD61fYQr-WdZHUDuhch2zoFYDecCDGPbGdFfkf3YYSwF-zGReEhde_uGe9A2ii8_4wahjb5HZIrr_y2uj4D4b40yn1IrAMu5CJLynMImA0KceDoFvhRZX9sT5fltuWbiKc3TMAUMgdpnE/s1600/IMG_20160416_093809.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD61fYQr-WdZHUDuhch2zoFYDecCDGPbGdFfkf3YYSwF-zGReEhde_uGe9A2ii8_4wahjb5HZIrr_y2uj4D4b40yn1IrAMu5CJLynMImA0KceDoFvhRZX9sT5fltuWbiKc3TMAUMgdpnE/s320/IMG_20160416_093809.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcSyWbA9iRi6XD-t2i5_cJf14xoT4oT6w_m-lqB7RngyBnjQBrRVy-VwuaQBq9uKwHHz_f1__apFVLZmKZc8ezAA51lsFJGwS5-7Zd0kknXBziHipQp4z-jxUyqjzE00VhHDtiLhf8x48/s1600/IMG_20160416_093835.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcSyWbA9iRi6XD-t2i5_cJf14xoT4oT6w_m-lqB7RngyBnjQBrRVy-VwuaQBq9uKwHHz_f1__apFVLZmKZc8ezAA51lsFJGwS5-7Zd0kknXBziHipQp4z-jxUyqjzE00VhHDtiLhf8x48/s320/IMG_20160416_093835.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">All the pages seen here are for sale, and Tom has plenty more, so feel free to enquire about others. You can contact Tom by emailing him at:</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">tom.patersoncomix@outlook.com</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRmHjIXsH7AX58gAFWEPtca-oYnxIpj7LxYfkzLYue8_c1K6RoMaOqMA-nC_Qjq4r_QVj1Qkb72aOcQ5fud872cJtjiedYv-weffm8v6rTnKWOvhbzPlDfEoAVhaE6fCnj3bmnKmkHhLY/s1600/IMG_20160416_093207.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRmHjIXsH7AX58gAFWEPtca-oYnxIpj7LxYfkzLYue8_c1K6RoMaOqMA-nC_Qjq4r_QVj1Qkb72aOcQ5fud872cJtjiedYv-weffm8v6rTnKWOvhbzPlDfEoAVhaE6fCnj3bmnKmkHhLY/s320/IMG_20160416_093207.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg96Uq20NC3nOnS-2JPk3Kk6MPUed9LG8Kr2FZwq2nAbMEl3T1NnhlU2OFLxLDU3If3uV8q8nMnJxqtfRx0oRToPWwFrfK2MW-dOFmLRPY54Smbior_zEHulwII8XhyphenhyphenqG57u67tvKY-h_8/s1600/IMG_20160416_094831.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg96Uq20NC3nOnS-2JPk3Kk6MPUed9LG8Kr2FZwq2nAbMEl3T1NnhlU2OFLxLDU3If3uV8q8nMnJxqtfRx0oRToPWwFrfK2MW-dOFmLRPY54Smbior_zEHulwII8XhyphenhyphenqG57u67tvKY-h_8/s320/IMG_20160416_094831.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOMEnwvJcZQNq8sbIJrUBinQVPBfbhfnNQ_tz9t0qMaeJFtvGB6Kla68hwrcKTtlp3RXHlwTOw1SIx4GoDJO9Zve-R3_nppTY-hTurYSe-X8N1n5IGsH5WOCwTet8O3QwQq2urTfStYzs/s1600/IMG_20160416_094006.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOMEnwvJcZQNq8sbIJrUBinQVPBfbhfnNQ_tz9t0qMaeJFtvGB6Kla68hwrcKTtlp3RXHlwTOw1SIx4GoDJO9Zve-R3_nppTY-hTurYSe-X8N1n5IGsH5WOCwTet8O3QwQq2urTfStYzs/s320/IMG_20160416_094006.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP2SJzH_ZEQKemzCA2JEfcH1361DaWr8kX2KAsDvT81_7ys11iTaaAFSBtenQ_c3iBr8dZO0Fa5qw4jpd6ICJSpfF9R8B-dPyrbwrKXwp5GCbZxA6TBYSAbemZlX-H5YSu5PkhdfDruDw/s1600/IMG_20160416_094124.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP2SJzH_ZEQKemzCA2JEfcH1361DaWr8kX2KAsDvT81_7ys11iTaaAFSBtenQ_c3iBr8dZO0Fa5qw4jpd6ICJSpfF9R8B-dPyrbwrKXwp5GCbZxA6TBYSAbemZlX-H5YSu5PkhdfDruDw/s320/IMG_20160416_094124.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>George Shiershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03162253849922362900noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1965905287512456704.post-41562084299074016652016-04-18T17:33:00.001+13:002016-04-18T17:33:16.461+13:002017 Annuals Revealed <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKvEXAfeARdMGniiKsxK6jYPf9KAesn9dmNpl-LzvfEiOBAIuDYGEh6Hu1lzG_li-Au28ly1tKY03PfgXm2PWaRR9bfogKY-NqxVAQQyo6jWhJAWTYPAT5eKQNWjzQis1uEnmmVqzqxJI/s1600/51YqvkQo8mL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKvEXAfeARdMGniiKsxK6jYPf9KAesn9dmNpl-LzvfEiOBAIuDYGEh6Hu1lzG_li-Au28ly1tKY03PfgXm2PWaRR9bfogKY-NqxVAQQyo6jWhJAWTYPAT5eKQNWjzQis1uEnmmVqzqxJI/s400/51YqvkQo8mL.jpg" width="285" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Covers for next years <b>D.C Thomson</b> annuals have been released, with the exception of <b>The Beano</b>. Above is the cover of <b>The Dandy</b> annual, priced at £7.99 on Amazon.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">There is of course another classic comics collection, this time with an Indiana Jones themed cover. Raiders of the Lost Archive will cost £12.99.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ-JEjfotJ2bBctqwF4q8tUXvlC_Kz1eviHJIskxQe_CrXhyphenhyphengjymkoV4iw15FXp1tmrDphA4W4Ip0JQRu21KAY2MeCR63fhTiSzxEIMAhvrak2wTe4nba4R77K_us6389sAx923BTQn4k/s1600/51HWbqwTj5L.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ-JEjfotJ2bBctqwF4q8tUXvlC_Kz1eviHJIskxQe_CrXhyphenhyphengjymkoV4iw15FXp1tmrDphA4W4Ip0JQRu21KAY2MeCR63fhTiSzxEIMAhvrak2wTe4nba4R77K_us6389sAx923BTQn4k/s400/51HWbqwTj5L.jpg" width="297" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">There's a similar <b>Broons</b> and <b>Oor Wullie</b> collection, this one entitled 'Cooking Up Laughs!'. £12.99</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnMqSbS_sd2YGk7-4WrqPVlZ5stE9KSeOcu83P6n4d1RT3LEdXpZnWjRDfMiC7ZmH7yLnsycpoOTTCSquHE6q-J4unvG-onzhb2GVZUW7Lq1HM2kAbNfOplUv5MKaWXmcJXMtDxqCaIdU/s1600/518FrUcx-BL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnMqSbS_sd2YGk7-4WrqPVlZ5stE9KSeOcu83P6n4d1RT3LEdXpZnWjRDfMiC7ZmH7yLnsycpoOTTCSquHE6q-J4unvG-onzhb2GVZUW7Lq1HM2kAbNfOplUv5MKaWXmcJXMtDxqCaIdU/s400/518FrUcx-BL.jpg" width="288" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Next year will have both a Broons and an Oor Wullie annual. Both are priced at £6.99.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgthOzq_OpOr_bOi6PtU8BslHUS1qBFk3vnAC2V0m6D7Z8XLj6tTtvweROdiO6ZrpmZq6OES88RfXufixET_l5kkqSzvW23BcAFyFSqvWNdpIFBj1MJANuUQvjuN8nbFvKuaLbib-lkyKM/s1600/510q3SfrZfL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgthOzq_OpOr_bOi6PtU8BslHUS1qBFk3vnAC2V0m6D7Z8XLj6tTtvweROdiO6ZrpmZq6OES88RfXufixET_l5kkqSzvW23BcAFyFSqvWNdpIFBj1MJANuUQvjuN8nbFvKuaLbib-lkyKM/s400/510q3SfrZfL.jpg" width="267" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaK5L3He4e7lfo6lEM3xpQzyJHUwcM5_4Vz62QvpDkbKeKMOR9fvq3V6hF6OyuwjQcqNaHBcnPQ0IOcE-ic_Pzds4-QEwa0FkbD5oGmyWRij97ZlMh0Ply790LYduoo85bKU5pADtnOOg/s1600/51xmPvfeHbL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaK5L3He4e7lfo6lEM3xpQzyJHUwcM5_4Vz62QvpDkbKeKMOR9fvq3V6hF6OyuwjQcqNaHBcnPQ0IOcE-ic_Pzds4-QEwa0FkbD5oGmyWRij97ZlMh0Ply790LYduoo85bKU5pADtnOOg/s400/51xmPvfeHbL.jpg" width="261" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">And their respective calendars will each cost £7.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6nhir3GYk3uqz_q8P1wk9TEny83GF3q-9dwE8K3qlcimOAXwRbaxfpaFf6ipJsUAbG9Ra_Q9bN2tIJnNY3O6yB2lnUW6JwLNt7GmH7WUCUXnB7GRZhsToL-gbxj8R9MZ1kt9IZDAIEZU/s1600/51kgCvm7Q3L.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="316" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6nhir3GYk3uqz_q8P1wk9TEny83GF3q-9dwE8K3qlcimOAXwRbaxfpaFf6ipJsUAbG9Ra_Q9bN2tIJnNY3O6yB2lnUW6JwLNt7GmH7WUCUXnB7GRZhsToL-gbxj8R9MZ1kt9IZDAIEZU/s400/51kgCvm7Q3L.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEginal3sISa0nCEmrt_cylS80JpuWmIeIjTE0Uh8dWLi7iHiLJCT1mMlz69sKowLSmUbuZ5-gVTO0fbeGw5e2i0eWFUwh7onycYq2JvfPXx6AMhpc0Q9vOmE1nGcSaIVBMHbXT8kgtdC38/s1600/51ws-602P3L.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="317" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEginal3sISa0nCEmrt_cylS80JpuWmIeIjTE0Uh8dWLi7iHiLJCT1mMlz69sKowLSmUbuZ5-gVTO0fbeGw5e2i0eWFUwh7onycYq2JvfPXx6AMhpc0Q9vOmE1nGcSaIVBMHbXT8kgtdC38/s400/51ws-602P3L.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">The calendars are due to come out on the 28th July, but the annuals have a slightly later release date of 1st August. But that still gives you plenty of time to get them before Christmas, so there can be no excuses.</span>George Shiershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03162253849922362900noreply@blogger.com5