FROM THE ARCHIVES - UNPUBLISHED COMIC STRIP...

My first-ever strip appeared in my local newspaper around 1975 or '76, I think.  (I'm sure it pre-dated my GORDIE GOOSE full-page strip in the BOOTS NEWS.)  It was called E.K. KID, consisting of a single tier of three panels, and earned me a whopping £5.  To be honest, it wasn't very good, but hey, a fiver back then wasn't to be sniffed at.  Mr. ERIC BARR (now sadly deceased) was the discerning editor who tried to encourage a relatively recent school-leaver in developing his talents.

By 1984, my latest creation - PERCY PROON - E.K.'s No. 1 LOON - had already made a couple of appearances in the local rag, so I produced a third helping for possible publication.  It was rejected for being "Too verbose and too violent", though this could simply have been Mr. Barr's coded way of telling me it just wasn't very funny.  I never got a chance to do any more, for later that same year I met IPC's STEVE MacMANUS at a Glasgow comic mart, who promised me some lettering work on 2000 A.D.  A couple of months or so later, at the beginning of '85, my full- time career working for the 'big guns' had begun.

However, that wasn't the last to be seen of Percy.  When I was re-sizing strips for the WHIZZER & CHIPS and BUSTER comic libraries, I would often draw in 'E.K.'s No. 1 Loon' to fill up some space.  (There are a few examples below).  Regarding the above strip, it was drawn with a felt-tip marker and lettered with a fountain pen, and is a nice, clean, nothing-brilliant drawing.  If I were doing it today, I'd vary the thickness of the outlines and give the characters circles around their eyes, because 'dots' alone restrict facial expression to some degree.

Anyway, the above strip has finally made its debut after thirty years languishing neglected in a cupboard.  Hope you like it.  (First one to say it should've been left in the cupboard gets slapped!)

KID KLASSICS - The STARTLING SECRET ORIGIN Of The FANTASTIC FOUR...

Image copyright MARVEL COMICS

(Today's post is taken from Roddy Weed's blog and is

published with full permission - take it away, Roddy...)

******  

Hi, fans - I'm RODDY WEED and I'm back yet again with a few
fascinating facts (that you already know) and loads of fantastic throw-
away theories to amaze & astound you ('cos they're so far-out) on
this, the world's greatest blogazine - DIAL 'B' For BULLSH*T! 

Think you know the origin of the FANTASTIC FOUR?  Well,
I, Roddy Weed, am about to give you the real, honest-to-goodness
lowdown on the true origin of the fab foursome created by STAN LEE
and JACK KIRBY in 1961.  For instance, did you know that the actual
prototypes of the FF were ROBIN HOOD & His MERRY MEN?  Hard
to believe?  Well, I, Roddy Weed, writer of the greatest blogazine in
the history of the world, am going to prove it to you right now.

ROBIN Of LOXLEY, also known as the outlaw ROBIN HOOD,
had four main comrades in his band of SHERWOOD FOREST fol-
lowers.  Namely, LITTLE JOHN, WILL SCARLET, FRIAR TUCK,
and MAID MARION.  Pay attention now, while I exclusively reveal
the astounding, irrefutable conclusions of many minutes of pains-
taking research and several seconds of convoluted contemplation
on the pertinent points which prompt my cataclysmic claim.

REED RICHARDS is clearly based on Robin Hood because
he's the leader of the group in the same way that Robin is chief
of his merry men.  Also, his stretching ability mirrors the expanse-
spanning reach that Robin's arrows allow him in his quest for
justice, enabling him to smite his enemies from a distance.

BEN GRIMM is obviously an amalgam of Little John and
Friar Tuck; John is grim-miened (hence Ben's surname) and a
man of great strength, while Tuck, despite his ungainly appearance
(just like Ben's) has a heart of gold and is possessed of a noble spirit
that echoes his modern-day counterpart.  Likewise, Ben's orange-
hued epidermis is reminiscent of Tuck's ruddy complexion.

JOHNNY STORM is undoubtedly Will Scarlet - the colour
of his fiery alter-ego being the living embodiment of Will's surname.
Just like Will, Johnny is sometimes a bit hot-headed (wilful even),
further confirming the uncanny similarities 'twixt the two men.  No
doubt Will often used flaming arrows to lay his enemies low just
as Johnny has done when tossing fireballs at the bad guys.

SUSAN STORM is inarguably the modern-day equivalent of
Maid Marion.  Firstly, she's the only permanent female member
of the group (like Marion) and, furthermore, she eventually wed
the group's leader, providing persuasive proof that the FF were
(perhaps - maybe - probably - oh, what the hell - definitely)
inspired by and based upon Robin and his outlaw band.

Unconvinced?  Consider PRINCE JOHN then.  Patently the
archetype on whom the FF's arch-foe, DOCTOR DOOM, is based.
Just like John, Doom lives in a castle;  just like John, who conceals
his true persona under the guise of benign ruler of a country, Doom
hides his true visage under a mask.  And in the same way that John
hates Robin and his band and tries to kill them, Doom's mission
is to wipe Reed and his team from the face of the Earth.

The similarities are simply stunning, and 'tis only I, Roddy
Weed, who - despite all these glaring clues staring everyone in the
face for years - has recognised their significance and pieced them to-
gether using my highly imaginative and creative cranium (and a few
reefers) to educate and enlighten your dull and dreary lives and
save you from the tedium of your vapid, pointless existence.

This is I, Roddy Weed, creator of the world's greatest blog-
azine, signing off for the foreseeable future - so that you'll all miss

     me and pine for my return.  (What will you do without me?)