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| The very first FRANKIE STEIN strip from WHAM! #4. Copyright REBELLION |
FRANKIE STEIN, drawn by KEN REID, first appeared in issue #4 of LEO BAXENDALE's WHAM! on July 4th, 1964. (Issue dated 11th.) The comic was intended as a 'SUPER-BEANO' by publishers ODHAMS PRESS, to be a direct rival to D.C. THOMSON's then twenty-six year old companion paper to The DANDY.
Wham! only lasted for around three and a half years, so measured against the longevity of the Beano, plus its own aspirations, it must be considered a failure; though, truth to tell, it no doubt made its money back - and then some - for Odhams. Frankie Stein, on the other hand, managed a respectably long run in one form or another, especially in the later ROBERT NIXON incarnation of the '70s.
After Wham! ended, Frankie (sans PROFESSOR CUBE's son, MICKY) popped up again in SHIVER & SHAKE in 1973, moving to WHOOPEE! when the two titles merged in '74. He also appeared in MONSTER FUN COMIC in 1975, as well as eight Holiday Specials ('75-'82) devoted to his loveable self - plus a pair of softcover Annuals ('76 & '77). He continued to appear in reprinted form in various publications by IPC/FLEETWAY/EGMONT in the late '80s and early '90s, before finally succumbing to the oblivion that had engulfed his birth-comic back at the beginning of 1968.
Although Bob Nixon's version had its own charm for a new audience, nothing could really compare to the original Ken Reid Frankie of the '60s - utter comic lunacy at its very best.
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When Frankie re-appeared in the '70s, I was disappointed to see that, except for reprints (where him saying 'dad' was often changed to 'prof'), Micky was absent - and sometimes he was excised even from them. However, looking over Frankie's old strips recently, I was surprised to discover that, out of the last 16 stories to appear in Wham!, Micky appeared in only one of them. Perhaps, then, the '70s, Micky-less, version was merely picking up where the '60s run had left off - namely, with Professor Cube's boy more or less permanently phased out of the picture.
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SPECIAL BONUS: Feast your eyes on this photo of an original piece of Ken Reid Frankie Stein art, first published in Wham! #134, December 31st, 1966. (Issue dated January 7th, 1967.)
Awesome Ken Reid artwork! The guy was a one off...
ReplyDeleteI love Ken Reid's work - so great to see this! :)
ReplyDeleteYup, and he slicked up one of my drawings back in 1973 on the back page of an issue of Shiver & Shake. There's a post about it somewhere on this blog. If I remember correctly, it's titled "Rich Beyond the Dreams of Avarice..."
ReplyDeleteKen Reid, a wonderful artist and a true eccentric. Apparently his favourite treat was a Walnut Whip with a half of black and tan (beer and stout).
ReplyDeleteInterestingly, nobody's ever succesfully tried to imitate Ken Reid's style - as far as I know that is. He seems to have been a one-off.
ReplyDeleteIn response to my own comment above, other artists have ghosted Ken's style from time to time, but the results were always obvious and inferior. I believe Keith Robson drew some Jonah strips a few years ago, and he's the only artist thus far to do such a good job that kids would've been hard-pressed to tell the difference
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