Whoopee #500!

Not too long ago I chanced upon no other than issue #500 of Whoopee, a landmark issue for a comic that sadly by this point was slowly drifting towards its untimely demise. Number 500, which doubled up as the fireworks issue, came out dated 5th November 1983 and, as you can see on the image above, cleverly used the number '500' in its logo. The strapline 'Whoopee Celebrates' may have been slightly exaggerated though, as you will soon see.

Moving on inside, and the first mention that this is even a special issue doesn't appear until page nine, where Frankie Stein announces it as part of a competition to win, you guessed it, 500 prizes!

The achievement was mentioned just once more, on the letters page where the solution to the 500-clue crossword that had appeared over the previous four issues took up the bottom half of the page.

But fear not, for I shall not be ending this post without a couple of comic strips, even if they weren't celebrating or even mentioning this landmark issue or, as a matter of fact, fireworks (the only fireworks related things were the mask on the centre spread and the fireworks safety code on the letters page). First up, is Calculator Kid, which I am showing simply because the Charlie's Dad has got to be the owner of the finest moustache in comics! As always Terry Bave illustrates it, and it is followed by Calculator Corner by Jack Edward Oliver.

And finally, I leave you with this - a nice two-page Bumpkin Billionaires strip neatly illustrated by Mike Lacey.

The Bumpkins meet Loch Ness - Part 2!

In a recent post (which can be found by clicking here), I left you with hanging when the Bumpkin Billionaires selling Wurzel butties to try and make some money, after feeding all their notes to the Loch Ness monster! Well readers, here is the thrilling conclusion!

And if you want to find out how the Bumpkins got their billions, click here or here.

Themes in Comics: The Loch Ness Monster

Recently, a skipper claims to finally have evidence that proves the existence of the Loch Ness monster! Reading this, I wondered how many British comic characters have actually come face to face with the monster, so I took a look through my comics, and it turns out - quite a few of them have seen it!

This Bumpkin Billionaires strip is concluded here:

http://www.wackycomics.com/2012/08/the-bumpkins-meet-loch-ness-part-2.html

From the 1977 Frankie Stein annual (reprinted from Wham!).
 Art by Ken Reid.

Joke from the 1977 Monster Fun annual.

The first Willy the Kid book by Leo Baxendale was massive on the Loch Ness theme, with it's covers featuring  the monster, a drawing competition and a 13 page story in the middle!

Here's a few Loch Ness monster background details from Willie's Highland Holiday.

And here's the 13 page story where Willy and his pals meet the Loch Ness Monster!

The Loch Ness (or Loch Mess) monster also appeared in the other two Willy the Kid books - Baxendale seems to have quite a fascination with the monster!

Fleetway Origins - The Bumpkin Billionaires Part 2

In the previous post I scanned in the first ever Bumpkin Billionaries, from Whoopee issue one from 1974. Whoopee was Fleetway's third longest running comic, merging into it's second longest over a decade later. Whoopee merged with Whizzer and Chips on the 6th of April, 1985. Many of the merging characters got a warm welcome, there was even a two page spread the previous week deciding which comic got which character (more on that another time). The Bumpkin Billionaires recieved a whole new tale as to how they gained their money. So enjoy, and compare this version to the original in the previous post.

(I accidentally deleted the previous post, it's now restored - but any comments have been lost - sorry.)

Fleetway Origins - The Bumpkin Billionaires

I.P.C Media, or Fleetway, as they named themselves back then (after the street they were based on), created hundreds, if not thousands, of strips over the 40 years they were creating comics. Often, the case for many of these stories was that you had to read the first episode to understand what was happening, or how the character got his super power or something. Some classic, well known examples of such stories are Little and Large Lenny, Barney's Badges and Odd Ball.

Now admittedly, The Bumpkin Billionaires isn't really one of them, because the overall idea for the strip is rather basic - a poor family who become rich and want to get rid of their money (If your more of a Smash! fan, you may recall a similar character calledRonnie Rich, a boy who would inherit a million if he got rid of the money he had, which was illustrated by Gordon Hogg), and each episode is rather clear. Despite this, I dug deep into my collection and pulled out the very comic in question, issue number one of Whoopeefrom 1974. So if you haven't yet read it, or don't feel like rummaging around for for your copy, here is that original first story, with the artwork, if I am not mistaken, coming from the hand of Mike Lacey.

WHOOPEE! 24th March '79!

Possibly one of my favorite comics in my collection is the one pictured above. I quite like the paper quality (it feels the same as my Busters from early 1960...), and the contents is brilliant!?! Sweeny Toddler (as always) is causing havoc, this time with a bath! I can't quite tell if that's Tom Paterson art or Leo Baxendale. My guess is Leo.

Inside, the Bumpkin Billionaires come up with another money losing scheme, which backfires yet again! This time it's with art, and people buy a load of rubbish, thinking that it's good, because the Bumpkins always make a profit. Art by Mike Lacey, I think.

Further on in the comic, a Blabbermouth story drawn by Terry Bave. To save money, a cinema gets blabbermouth to watch a film and then go and talk or "blab" about it. All goes well until......... (see box below).Also, I read my first Gal Capone story in this issue, surely this is the same as Pansy Potter?? A good story, none the less! I'm not quite sure why people are trying to kill her.

And so, to round off a brilliant comic, here's a list of the 800 winners of the Corgi Car competition, which takes up the centre pages!!

Also, I recently bought a "gem" off eBay, the last issue of Big one comic! A post about it will be coming soon - so stay tuned!