KEVIN OR TREVOR? THAT IS THE QUESTION...

Sometime back in February or March of 1985, BOB PAYNTER, group editor of IPC's humour division, asked me if I might have any ideas for a new comic which was in development.  "It's going to be like VIZ, but not quite as rude!" he informed me.  As far as I remember, the comic was an 'out-of-house' production being developed in Manchester (I think - could have been Birmingham) and IPC were only going to print and distribute it through their usual channels.

I turned my mighty brain to the task and soon came up with a daft idea for someone who owned a pair of talking socks.  At first I was going to call him TREVOR, being slightly more alliterative, but decided instead to christen him after KEVIN BRIGHTON, one of the IPC art assistants, who worked at the desk next to mine on the 26th floor of KING'S REACH TOWER.

I was living in Southsea at the time, and I recall as if it were only yesterday, sitting in the cafe on the top floor of Portsmouth's central library, working on the rough of the first (and - so far - only) episode of KEVIN & His TALKING SOCKS.  I duly handed it in to Bob, who sent it off to the OINK boys (for that was the very comic being developed) for consideration.  Some weeks later I asked Bob if he'd had any response, but he hadn't, so we assumed that my strip hadn't found favour and promptly forgot about it.  Several months later, however, I decided to draw up the finished strip - just for my own satisfaction.  Below is a scan of the photocopies I made of the original roughs before giving them to Bob to send on (which were never returned), and which I used as a guide when I drew up the finished page.

 

Click to enlarge, then click again for optimum size

Interestingly, some time after OINK hit the stands, a new strip appeared called HECTOR VECTOR & His TALKING T-SHIRT.  Coincidence?  Subliminal influence?  Rip-off?  Don't suppose I'll ever really know, but it certainly gives me pause for thought.  The strip at the top of the page is scanned from an A3 hand-coloured photocopy, hence the wrinkles and wavy border lines in places.  It was produced in a hurry for The ILLUSTRATED COMIC JOURNAL about fifteen years ago - see footnote under the strip for details.

At the risk of overkill, here it is again, in its original, one-page format.  Created, written, pencilled, inked and lettered by myself.  Nice of me to take the blame, don'tcha think?

******

Unfortunately, due to Lew Stringer maliciously implying on another forum that this post contradicts my claim to never having actively sought a career as a strip cartoonist during my lettering years (he's saying I'm lying in other words), it behoves me to emphasize some important points.

1)  Bob Paynter sought my participation, not the other way around. 

2)  Responding to an invitation for ideas is not pursuing an ambition.

3)  Had the idea been accepted (instead of just copied), I would've been unavailable to draw the strip.  My 'involvement' would've ended upon acceptance.  Hopefully that clears things up.

Although at one time I did entertain aspirations to become an adventure comic strip artist, I swiftly abandoned them once my freelance lettering career took off.  I never actively sought any kind of regular or long-term work as an artist on any comic during my fifteen year stint in the industry.

Further details are covered in passing on this post.  No doubt a certain 'someone' will try to manufacture a discrepancy, but everything I have ever said on the subject is consistent under scrutiny with the application of just a little contemplative consideration.