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| Copyright REBELLION |
BUSTER had several good artists in his time, but possibly the best remembered (to those of a certain age) is the late ANGEL NADAL, who drew the strip from 1962 to '74. (REG PARLETT took over when COR!! was merged into the comic.) This particular page is from an issue dated October 29th 1966, and is relevant because it's all about 'Firework Night'. (Or 'Bonfire Night' or 'Guy Fawkes Night', or whatever it's called these days.) This is scanned, panel-by-panel, from the original art, which I own - and very glad am I to have it to be sure. (And it's not for sale.)
Thanks to PHILIP CRAWLEY for alerting me to where I could find an image of the published page (www.bustercomic.co.uk), but I've now replaced it with a scan from my very own, newly-acquired copy.
I've never heard it called 'Firework Night' - I've always said Guy Fawkes Night or Bonfire Night. I'll be out in my back garden tonight watching the local fireworks displays!!
ReplyDeleteBut tonight is also the 9th anniversary of my mother's death so I'll be remembering her too.
A poignant moment for you then, CJ. You can imagine your mother at your side as you watch the fireworks. She'll probably be there in some way, even if you can't see her. As for 'Fireworks Night', Buster calls it that, so presumably others do also.
ReplyDeleteI’m currently reading the new League of a Extraordinary Gentlemen vol 4. The first issue had a frontispiece on Leo Baxendale of Issue 2 has Frank Bellamy! I recommend taking a look. One habit Alan Moore has which I find quite annoying is he gets into a story and doesn’t tell you who the characters are but reveals it later, which means you may spend two or three issues wondering who is who and what their name is.
ReplyDeleteAnother habit that Alan Moore has which I find quite annoying, PS, is viewing sodomy as something to be sniggered at, and ruining the literary characters of famous authors who, if they were around, would be horrified by what he's done with them. And this from a writer who bleats about 'his' Watchmen characters (Charlton rip-offs) being written by other people.
ReplyDeleteYou’re not the first to notice that! But anyway give Issue 2 a look at the cover at least. It’s a parody of tv 21. That’s why I bought it
DeleteI'll see if I can find a picture of it on the Internet, PS.
ReplyDeleteThanks for publishing this from the original art. I remember when Buster first came out and as 12 year olds we split between Snigs and Dinkles as per the strip. One question has always haunted me. How did Andy Capp and Florrie end up with a son? Or is Buster some other relationship?
ReplyDeleteThat's always puzzled me too, T47, ever since I learned of the connection - which was years after the fact and long after it had been abandoned. Buster's mum never looked like Flo' (Andy's wife), so I suppose we'll have to assume that the old rascal had a bit on the side. (Though I doubt that such a suggestion was ever intended by Buster's writers.) I don't know whether Reg Smythe would've approved of the idea, or even if he was ever consulted on it beforehand, but perhaps once he found out he put a stop to it. Or maybe even Fleetway eventually decided that Andy was such a rogue that it would be a good idea to drop the connection. However, back on one of Buster's birthday's, a picture of him was inserted into an Andy Capp strip in the daily Mirror, adorning the wall of Andy's living room, so somebody was having a bit of fun. That strip is on the blog somewhere.
ReplyDeleteUpdate: The post is called Buster, son of Andy Capp - Part One.
It would have been a great strip if Buster was sent to the Off License or the Turf Accountant or even to the corner shop for a packet of cigarettes. A really good example for us all. Instead he was a mild Dnnis the Menace.
ReplyDeleteThank's for the lead to your older post. It's interesting that someone dared to add the photo frame to the Andy Capp strip. I wonder if the powers that be even noticed or if that reference remained if that days strip was in one of the many paperback reprints?
Andy actually appeared in a few early strips, but just a glimpse of his legs or partially obscured in some way so that his face was never visible. I doubt that the pasted in shot of Buster would've appeared in reprints - I think it was just added in for that day as it was Buster's birthday. If I remember correctly, that's exactly what the Buster badge looked like, so it's interesting to see just how much he resembled a young Andy Capp. In fact, I suspect that readers not familiar with Buster would just have assumed that it was a pic of Andy as a boy.
ReplyDelete