Thursday 29 December 2011

Giles the master super RNLI Christmas card..


I love Giles and he must of influanced many comic cartoonists over his time...he has inspired me..

I always love his naughty children he does and busy pictures...also the extra detail when you find them it makes you laugh out loud!! (which I often do!)

The picture above is funny But also beautiful..Giles is the king of drawing all different weathers..I love his snow scenes ...his depth he puts into a picture.. his brick work...buildings..people..clothes..boats..just basically everything is great..:)

The amount Giles drew and the quality..SPEECHLESS!!

http://www.cartoons.ac.uk/collections/CG

Giles is online..But I recommend you buy a book on ebay you won't regret it..

http://www.rnli.org.uk/
The image also shows how brave and strong these men are..going out in all weathers..lets support the RNLI..we might need them one day..

Sunday 25 December 2011

Happy Christmas..a nice border by Robert Nixon and Terry Bave drawing Shiver


Whoopee 27th Dec 1975

Lovely Creepy Christmas border look at the cracker being pulled by the Christmas pud!! With a light centre..

Have a great day!!

Saturday 24 December 2011

Christmas Judy comic Big n' Bertha by Gordon Bell 1981





Only two humour pages in the whole comic...this one stood out..I love the way Gordon draws dogs...its funny to think that Gordon was in the running for drawing the Dennis the Menace and Gnasher if David Sutherland hadn't got the job...when David Law retired..

The dog and the father have a certain Dennis the Menace Dad and Gnasher about them..

Theres nothing like a dog with a pipe..:)

Monday 19 December 2011

Whoopee Christmas covers

1974 there was no whoopee Christmas issue due to printer strike see comments thanks Bruce..


1975
Robert Nixon



1976 Need scan of this issue please..


1977
robert Nixon

1978 there was none due to industrial action at the printers see comments below..thanks Bruce for info..

1979 need scan of this issue please..



1980
Robert Nixon



1981
Nick Baker


1982
Mike Lacey


1983
David Mostyn (Snack-man artist)


Robert Nixon
1984 last Christmas issue (theres a better not ripped issue at Lew Stringer's blog under Christmas Whoopee 1984!!)

All these covers are so eye catching and full of Christmas fun..

Wednesday 14 December 2011

Jim Petrie in the Christmas Beano and look out for my initials Jim has added..P.G!!!



Thanks Jim it made my year!!:)

Get the Christmas Beano today..

Jim still got it..


See vase in first panel in gold letters..
Peter Gray

Sunday 11 December 2011

The Dandy's Black Bob redeveloped in the 1990's as a comic character Wee Bob by Sid Burgon


The Dandy 14th July 1990
Just got 30 1990 Dandy's today from an Antique fair and discovered this unusual strip..

A very cute sheep dog..look at those eyes..its a shame this strip didn't have a longer life..

Monday 5 December 2011

Scared Stiff-Sam meets Fun Fear




Whoopee!! 12th Feb 1977

Its nice of Robert to mention Mike Lacey the artist for Scared Stiff-Sam...for a second I thought the two artists drew this strip..But Robert drew it all..

Wednesday 30 November 2011

UPDATEJim Petrie's Minnie the minx with a shop named after him Petrie and Spencer!


title panel changed..But notice the name in the second panel..:0)


Beryl the Peril with Minnie the minx 1981 annual

Jim never signed his Minnie the minx page except the last one he did in 2001...But he has sneaked it in this 60's reprint strip..

Again brilliant action and movement..check out panel 5 of Minnie collecting grub quickly..great visual!! Today's comic artists can learn from Jim..



From the same annual...Heres that name again.I wonder if that is what Jim Petrie looked like in the 60's? :)

Ken Reid also used to add his name to shop fronts in say Roger the Dodger so its at least nice of DC Thomson to let the artist name appear in the strip in a subtile way..mind you in the Power comics (Pow!, Smash! Wham! etc..) most artists were free to sign there strip in the 60's...though some artists didn't?

Thursday 24 November 2011

Mike Lacey's Scared-Stiff Sam the first one



Whoopee!! number 4
1974


Inspired by Bruce's blog post on Scared-stiff Sam I'd thought it would be nice to show you the first one..

http://toonworks.brucelaing.com/comicblog/2011/11/24/scared-stiff-sam-from-whoopee/

Its interesting that Mike Lacey often signed this comic page and so he must of liked this strip..
Its a great character and some good over the top stuff to the extreem..

http://planetrandom.net/

Peter,

First I'll say thank you, I really appreciate the time.


Please find attached a preview version of a comic called H.O.P.E.: Tales of the Nuclear Family. This is the first chapter of a larger comic and comes in at 14 pages. This chapter introduces "Zeke" Sanchez and some of the members of the "Nuclear Family". The main characters are a multicultural collection of unrelated individuals who survive together as a family in a post-apocalyptic wasteland... I'll leave the rest to the comic.



The finished cover is still in development so please excuse the contact information placeholder I have as the first page. And I'm open to all feedback and I hope you like it!



Best Regards,

Ray



Check out the website and see for yourself..

http://planetrandom.net/

Monday 21 November 2011

UPDATE!!!Pup Parade the Bash Street dogs and cats!! the early days..






Hi Peter,
Here's the whole of the first Bash Street Dogs! The little red notice was on the corner of The Bash Street Kids story, next to the puppet
of Danny.
Cheers,


George

Thanks George it is soo different the strip back then...great to see the whole thing..:))


Gordon Bell's first Pup Parade and they look very different...they were more doggy then..no hat for Bones said Jonny Whizz and as said by Digifiend at comicsuk forum they didn't seem to have names then..

http://www.comicsuk.co.uk/Forum/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=4671












Heres David Sutherland's version in The Beano book 1969..also the Bash Street Cats...its interesting to think if the cats were the ones that took off in The Beano comic instead!



Christmas Beano 1968..
Heres my earliest Beano comic I have to the date of the first Pup Parade this is Gorden Bell's version of the cats as well in the story..

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Beano-comic-1326-1967-First-PUP-PARADE-FINE-phil-comics-/250931279840?pt=UK_Books_comics_Magazines_UK_Comics_ET&hash=item3a6cab77e0
Bid for the first Pup Parade Beano 1967 16th December..

Thanks Phil for a glimpse of the first one

Friday 18 November 2011

Terry Bave, Sid Burgon and Roy Davis (writer) interview in Golden Fun 1980's and many more thanks to Phil Rushton



















'A Line in Chuckles' was serialized over three consecutive issues of Golden Fun
- no's 15, 16 and 17. As Terry and Sheila always hoped to publish it as a proper
book I don't think it'd be fair to post the whole thing on the internet. To give
you a sample, however, here's a page from the first installment in which Terry
describes his transition from Odhams to IPC during the late 1960s.

As you can see the miniscule type allowed GF editor Alan Clark to cram a great deal into every page, leaving room for several chapters in each issue (the first part, for example, contained four more pages of text just like the one above, as well as several well-chosen illustrations). Incidentally, Golden Fun no.15 has an extra bonus for fans of IPC's humour comics as it also features an interview with Terry's contemporary pen-pusher Sid Burgon.- Phil Rushton

Although I'm a bit too old to have any nostalgic recollections of Burgon or Bave from when I was still a child one thing that really impresses me is the extent to which they both seem to have genuinely enjoyed their work.- Phil Rushton

Oddly enough I'd guess that most subscribers to GF at the time were rather more interested in seeing articles about the comics of previous decades than those, like Whizzer & Chips, that were still being published. If the reaction on Comics UK is anything to go by this material would appear to have become a lot more popular now that a whole new generation of 'eighties kids' have grown up.

If Alan Clark himself is out there somewhere (and as far as I know he's still alive) I hope he forgives me for making these brief 'samples' available to a wider audience - especially as they seem to show there'd now be a very real demand for some kind of publication which gathered together the 'Best of Golden Fun' in full.- Phil Rushton


Here is a list of the main contents of the 19 issues of Golden Fun.

1.
The Hotspur by D. Neil [10 sides]
The career of Dixon Hawke by Derek Adley [7 sides]
Sports Fun by Bill Lofts [6 sides]

2.
The rise and fall of the English adventure strip by David Ashford [31 sides]

3.
Teddy Tail of the Daily Mail by Derek Adley [5 sides]
Homeless Hector - the tail (sic) of a lost dog by Bill Lofts [4 sides]
The Detectives by Will Costain [11 sides]
The Silent Three and other secret societies by Mary Cadogan [8 sides]

4.
My favourite characters in comics by Mary Cadogan [5 sides]
An appreciation of Denis McLoughlin by David Ashford [2 sides]
Over the rainbow to Happy Days - Alan Clark interviews Denis Gifford [3 sides]
Collector's notebook by Sarah and Colin Baddiel - with David! [4 sides]

5.
Roy Wilson 1900-1965: a biography/appreciation by Alan and Laurel Clark [15 sides]
An interview with Roy's widow [12 sides]

6.
A short story by Mrs Wilson [8 sides]

7.
Wilson the Wonderman! by Bill Lofts and Derek Adley [15 sides]
Radio Fun by Will Costain [3 sides]
George and Terry Wakefield - a biography/appreciation by Alan and Laurel Clark [10 sides]

8.
David Ashford interviews Frank S. Pepper [11 sides]
The Shipwrecked Circus by Alan and Laurel Clark [6 sides]
Percy James Cocking by Bill Lofts [8 sides]

9.
The comics of war by Mary Cadogan [21 sides]
The man who drew Claude Duval by F. T. Holmes [4 sides]
Tom Browne, R. I. - a biography/appreciation by Walter Bell [4 sides]
Alan Vince interviews Ron Embleton - action artist [7 sides]

10.
Alan Clark interviews Reg Parlett - master of the art [17 sides]
The hardboiled man is back! Denis McLoughlin by David Ashford [3 sides]
Alan Clark interviews Brian Walker [8 sides]
In search of Strang the Terrible - a biography/appreciation by Keith Hodkinson [5 sides]
Dan Dare - studio of tomorrow by Alan Vince [5 sides]

11.
The fantastic art of Ron Turner - a biography/appreciation by John Lawrence [12 sides]
Alan Clark interviews Wally Robertson [7 sides]

12.
Alan Clark interviews Bob Nixon [9 sides]
The Wolf of Kabul by Bill Lofts and Derek Adley [6 sides]
Alan Clark interviews Alfred Bestall [10 sides]
Alias Barry Ford - a tribute by David Ashford [5 sides]
Alan Vince interviews Charles Chilton [8 sides]

13.
Braddock - master of the air by Colin Morgan [12 sides]
Gerald G. Swan's Funnies and Thrills by David Ashford [20 sides]
An Oojah sketch by Will Costain [3 sides]

14.
Alan Clark interviews Ken Reid [19 sides]
Daft I call it! - the story of Hugh McNeill by David Ashford [14 sides]

15.
Dennis! - an appreciation of the comic characters of David Law by Norman Wright [7 sides]
Alan Clark interviews Sid Burgon [8 sides]
Reg Perrott - trailblazer of the adventure strip by David Ashford [10 sides]
A line in chuckles (Pt. 1) by Terry Bave [10 sides]
Rupert Little Bear : the story of Mary Tourtel by Alan and Laurel Clark [5 sides]

16.
Frank Minnitt by Alan Clark [13 sides]
Alan Clark interviews Roy Davis [8 sides]
A line in chuckles (Pt. 2) by Terry Bave [9 sides]

17.
Sexton Blake in pictures by David Ashford [11 sides]
The art of Paddy Brennan by Ray Moore [15 sides]
A line in chuckles (Pt. 3) by Terry Bave [6 sides]

18.
William Blain by Alan Clark [5 sides]
J. H. Valda by Len Hawkey [4 sides]
Allan Morley by Alan Clark [10 sides]
Down the wishing well - a profile of James Clark by Ray Moore [5 sides]
What the comic artist should know - John Turner by Alan Clark [11 sides, 10 of which reprint the chapter Drawing For The Children's Comics from his book What The Press Artist Should Know (London: Isaac Pitman, 1936)]
Big Scion - the story of a small publisher by Steve Holland [3 sides]

19.
H. S. Foxwell by Alan Clark [13 sides]
B. O. Wymer by Alan Clark [6 sides]
David Ashford interviews Alan Philpott [6 sides]
The cat's whiskers - a profile of James Crighton by Ray Moore [5 sides]
R. G. Thomas by Alan Clark [3 sides]

Please note that all articles and interviews are liberally illustrated.


Thanks Phil Rushton its been amazing discovering this
...lets hope these can be available in full some how maybe some kind of payment to Terry Bave to read and sent by email?
I'd personally love to read it..
See the post at comicsuk for more info on Golden Fun and other info..
http://www.comicsuk.co.uk/Forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=4636&start=15

Sunday 13 November 2011

Roy Wilson's colour front piece from Radio Fun annual 1952


I have the annual and had to show you this in full colour..It is brilliant how all the sports merged into one and in different sizes and amazing angles..
The image is leaping off the page!!

These frontpieces of old annuals are great fun..
I've only seen this image in the Comic art of Roy Wilson by Alan Clark in black and white..so heres the nice painted version..

See the first Sammy Shrink thanks to Phil Rushton!!:)


Dave Jenner (Punch and Jimmy artist from The Beano of the 60's) started the strip..
So that is how Sammy got his name...he shrank!!!

Here's the "origin" of Sammy Shrink from Wham! 118.

As Terry Bave explains in his autobiography 'A Line in Chuckles' Sammy Shrink was his first professional comic strip assignment. The editor of Wham! told him it was the least popular strip and on the verge of cancelation when he took it over with no.151 - yet it went on to be his longest-running character. To begin with he was asked to ghost the original artist in order to maintain continuity, but over time he was allowed to inject more and more of his own style.
Phil Rushton






Terry Bave's first official Sammy Shrink.

Here's Terry's first published Sammy Shrink strip, as reproduced in the first section of his autobiography when it appeared in the Winter 1985 issue of Golden Fun. Strictly speaking it wasn't his first attempt, however, as he was so dissatisfied with how that turned out he tore it up and started again.
Phil Rushton




Pow! and Wham! 31st Aug 1968 no.85 back cover.. Terry Bave




Knockout 3rd Feb 1973 an early Sammy Shrink when it started again in Knockout..


Whizzer and chips incorporating Knockout 30th June 1973
The first Whizzer and chips Sammy Shrink when Knockout merged with the comic..


Whizzer and chips 4th June 1988 When Sammy could get bigger or smaller!!


All quotes and the two images are from comicsuk forum link below..a part 2 of this topic will follow sometime..Terry Bave in Golden Fun!
http://www.comicsuk.co.uk/Forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=4636

Friday 11 November 2011

Better late than never..Bonfire night issue Cracker's Happy Harry and Sister Sue by Reg Parlett


thanks to the excellent often read and reread book The Comic art of Reg Parlett 60 years of comics by Alan Clark I can bring you this gem..
also note the message underneath...Todays Beano and Dandy did celebrate the fireworks night in the biggest way ina long time:)

After hearing about someone swinging a cat by the tail on youtube...cruelty was around in 1936 the poor dog having a fire cracker tied to his tail...also it shows the danger of making fireworks!!!!

I love the rockets used as panel breaks to the page and the cheerful faces on them and the title panel is delightful..

Theres some great early comic firework fun here..

http://www.comicsuk.co.uk/Forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=4646

http://www.comicsuk.co.uk/Forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=1663

Theres been some really good stuff at comicsuk forum recently which I'll touch on soon....I recommend you have a look for yourself..

Thursday 27 October 2011

Happy Birthday Leo Baxendale..



From Beezer book first one...
Look at the great different perspective Leo has done for this busy page..also not too over crowded But you're always seeing new things each time..
I so want a book collected together of the Banana Bunch poster pages! :)

Thank you Leo for some great comic work to enjoy over and over again...
Cheers to you Sir!!! :)

My favourite comic artist of all time has to be Leo Baxendale
with Tom Paterson following straight after..

See Lew's blog as well..

Blimey! Its another blog about comics!: Leo Baxendale 81 today: Today is the 81st birthday of the great Leo Baxendale, the original artist and creator of The Bash Street Kids , Little Plum , and Minnie the minx...

Thursday 13 October 2011

The Best British Comic Convention ever...the first trip I'd like to do in my time machine if I had one!!






















Years ago one of the greatest joys of attending a comics convention was the official programme for which many artists would donate a page of artwork. 'Comics 101', held in March 1976, was one of the earliest such events and though I wasn't able to attend in person I did manage to acquire the booklet produced for it. To be honest I'd forgotten all about it but having just accidentally stumbled across it again I thought it'd be interesting to post some of the contributions here - especially as a worrying number of the artists represented are no longer with us.

Thanks to Phil Rushton for the pictures and info on this amazing event..

What is so great about these pictures is some of these artists were in there 80's and things like Casey's Court and Laurel and Hardy seems like such a long time ago..But here they are alive and well in 1976. Its fun seeing the same style they would use for that era..
If anyone actually went to the event it would be fun to hear more...please email me and I'll do a blog post on your experience..I may look green when you tell me;)


More p[ictures and info at the link...comicsuk forum..
http://www.comicsuk.co.uk/Forum/viewtopic.php?f=127&t=3233