TIGER TIM'S WEEKLY CHRISTMAS NUMBER...

Copyright relevant owner

TIGER TIM made his first appearance in a one-off comic strip in The DAILY MIRROR on April 16th 1904, before getting his own spot in The MONTHLY PLAYBOX, a children's supplement to The WORLD And His WIFE MAGAZINE, in November of that same year.  He was also featured in The PLAYBOX ANNUAL, the first of which appeared in 1909.  Then, when The RAINBOW was launched in 1914 (dated February 14th), Tim had the front cover spot, along with his chums The BRUIN BOYS.  So far, JULIUS STAFFORD BAKER had been the artist, but before long, S. J. CASH and then HERBERT FOXWELL took over the artistic reins.

Under Foxwell, Tiger and his pals became virtual superstars, with Tiger getting his own comic, TIGER TIM'S TALES, the first issue of which was dated June 1st 1919. Around eight months later, the comic was relaunched as TIGER TIM'S WEEKLY (issue dated January 31st).  Tiger may well be the longest-lasting regular comic character ever, as, even after the demise of his own starring titles, his last appearance was in 1985 in JACK And JILL WEEKLY. 

Anyway, all that aside, I thought you may appreciate seeing a Festive number of ol' Tiger's title from 1923 - just to give you a taste of Christmas past.  Apologies to any Glaswegians who thought this post was going to be about the former RADIO CLYDE DJ, also named Tiger Tim. 

CHRISTMAS DENNIS HAS TO GO - SAY GOODBYE WITH A "HO HO HO"...

Copyright D.C. THOMSON & Co., Ltd

And here's the final part of our DENNIS The MENACE 'Christmas' cover gallery. As mentioned previously, out of 39 books over a period of 55 years (1955-2110), only the five that I've featured in this and two previous posts have had anything resembling a Festive-themed cover - and any hint of such has been entirely due to the use of a 'snowy' scene in which Dennis got up to his usual mischief.  (Though, as can be seen on the back cover below, it wasn't snow in this instance but ice cream.)

No sign of baubles, choir singers, Christmas cards or Santas - or any other traditional images associated with the Season were utilised in suggesting the time of year.  Who knows, but if the Dennis books ever reappear in the future, perhaps Santa may show up yet.  And if he does, no doubt Dennis will be pulling his beard or stealing his reindeer for a ride 'round the block.  Now wouldn't that be something?

The above two painted illustrations would make a great Christmas card.  Are you listening, DCT?

MORE FESTIVE FUN & FRIVOLITY With DENNIS The MENACE...

Copyright D.C. THOMSON & Co., Ltd

Continuing our DENNIS The MENACE book covers with a hint of Christmas about them, we now present two, count 'em - two - from a few years back. There isn't a Menace book for 2012, though that's maybe because DCT don't want to detract attention (or sales) from the BEANO/DANDY Dennis Celebration book which is in the shops even as I type these very words.  Perhaps there'll be a Dennis & Gnasher book next year - we'll just have to wait and see.

In the meantime though, enjoy this reminder of when Dennis and his chums occasionally played in the snow.

Another two still to come.  Don't miss 'em!

FREE CHRISTMAS COMPETITION TIME - A DENNIS The MENACE BOOK COULD BE YOURS...

Images copyright D.C. THOMSON & Co., Ltd

As it's nearly Christmas, I thought I'd do something different in the world of blogging and have a competition.  (As long as it's not breaking any rules.)  The prize is a pristine, unread copy of D.C. THOMSON's 50th Anniversary book on DENNIS The MENACE, published back in 2001.

Unfortunately, only UK residents can enter, and - as this is a competition for collectors - only over 21s, so no kids please.  (Though you can ask a parent to enter on your behalf.)

Please also note that this competition isn't open to fellow bloggers with their own comics sites - it's  'civilians' only.

To win this Collecters' item classic, all you have to do is answer the following five questions:

1)  Who was Dennis the Menace named after?

2)  What month and year did he first appear?

3)  Which two other famous comic characters is Dennis's artist Davey Law also known for?

4)  What was the original name of the character from The People's Journal who was transformed into Dennis for publication in the Dennis books?

5)  What other famous comics character was revealed to have a 'Dennis the Menace' haircut in 1999/2000?

Type your answers in the comment box with your real name and age - no further details.  The names of all those with five correct answers will be put into a hat and one will be chosen at random in about 10 days.  I will then post the winner's name, who can contact me with his or her postal details, which will not be published publicly and will be immediately discarded once the book is sent. P.O. Box Numbers are acceptable.  No other contact from me will follow and no personal communication outside of this blog will be entertained.

Competition closes on December 28th, 2011.

Okay peeps, what are you waiting for?  GET TO IT!

CRIKEY! YOGI BEAR & FRIENDS CHRISTMAS CRACKERS...

Copyright relevant owner

Not too long ago, I parted with a pile of old comics (TV EXPRESS WEEKLY) that were gathering dust in a wardrobe.  They were originally  IPC file copies which had been given to me a quarter of a century ago, but apart from some superb RON EMBLETON colour covers, the only other pages that appealed to me were some lovely HANNA BARBERA strips such as YOGI BEAR and his friends.  I scanned the covers and the HB strips before passing them on, so I'm able to offer you a little treat here by sharing with you some of the earliest, U.K. produced HB TV tie-in strips from 1960.  I didn't bother noting which strips go with which covers or mastheads so it's a bit 'pot-luck', but here's the first of some lovely Festive frivolities to feast your peepers on.

  

And don't forget to check out YOWP's great blog on all things HANNA-BARBERA here - it's not to be missed.

SEASONAL SPIDEY SWINGS OVER THE CITY IN THE SWIRLING SNOW...

Copyright MARVEL COMICS

Here's a nice little cover from the 1995 The AMAZING SPIDER-MAN Annual (released at the end of '94). It's got a nice Christmas feel about it.  Wonder if Spidey is wearing his heavy underwear under his cossie?  (Incidentally, the back cover was the same as the front.)

FESTIVE FUN For EVERYONE - With DENNIS The MENACE...

Copyright D.C. THOMSON & Co., Ltd

Surprisingly, out of the 39 DENNIS The MENACE books published by DCT from 1955 to 2010, only five of them have covers that could be considered even remotely Festive.  No indoor adorned Christmas trees, Santas, reindeer, presents, decorations or whatever - only snow - and only one snowman.  You'd have thought a scene of Dennis menacing SANTA would've been ripe with possibilities for a good Seasonal cover, but no - so we'll have to make do with what we have.

On the run-up to Christmas, I'll feature the front and back covers of those five books. The first is from 1985, which was the last book to come out two years after the preceding one, and also two years before the following one.  This means that the 1987 book (published in '86) became the very first actual Annual, as it came out one year before the next one.  (There were no books issued between the 1978 and 1983 editions.)

So... enjoy Dennis's hi-jinks as he gets up to mischief on the 'slopes'.  Snow joke.  (Get it?  'S'no joke.  Groan.)

Remember... click on the images to enlarge... then click again for optimum size.

NEXT:  SEASONAL SPIDEY!  

The 2011 CHRISTMAS BEANO - A REVIEW...

Images copyright D.C. THOMSON & Co., Ltd

A nicely coloured and atmospheric wrap-around cover by STEVE BRIGHT adorns this year's CHRISTMAS BEANO.  It's not actually referred to by that Festive appellation though, the only name in evidence being that of the comic.  At least they've given the logo a touch of snow, which is nice to see.  Bright is a well-respected artist (and deservedly so), but a few of the characters on the back cover look as if they're running around in a miniature village on account of being out of proportion to the background.  A minor quibble perhaps, but it's slightly jarring to notice such an obvious discrepancy in perspective from an artist of Bright's calibre.  If he was responsible, that is, as some of the characters may have been added by other hands at a later stage in production.

That apart, it's hard to find much fault with The Beano (ignoring such 'filler' material as a contents page and other 'padding').  It's nicely drawn throughout, with consistently rendered, legible lettering - and clear, easy-on-the-eye storytelling which puts its companion paper, The DANDY, to shame.  As The Beano outsells its sister title by about five to one (at the last count), you'd think the struggling Dandy would follow The Beano's template in an attempt to emulate its success (comparatively speaking) - seems like the obvious way to go.  But no - The Dandy continues to trudge its path to potential oblivion by ignoring the solid storytelling principles epitomised by The Beano.  (Relax - D.C. THOMSON won't allow The Dandy to die - yet.  However, it's possible it could still expire in spite of DCT's efforts to save it, as there would simply be little point in keeping it going if sales eventually fall below a certain level.)

Good as The Beano is, however, it's extremely telling that one of the best strips in it (in my humble opinion) is the above reprint of a DAVEY LAW-drawn DENNIS The MENACE tale from (by the looks of it) the 1950s.

The comic is ridiculously over-priced at £3.99, on account of being burdened with a pile of plastic poo that surely nobody in their right mind would see as anything worth having, but if you have £4 to spare, you could possibly spend your money on a lot worse.  (The Dandy Christmas Special for example.)  It would be far better though, if it were priced at around the £1.99 mark.

Click here for The CHRISTMAS DANDY REVIEW!  

The 2011 CHRISTMAS DANDY - A REVIEW...

Copyright D.C. THOMSON & Co., Ltd

This year's The DANDY CHRISTMAS SPECIAL comes in at a whopping £3.99 for 44 pages, at least nine of which are comprised of adverts and/or 'filler' material.  A contents page?  In a comic?  Give me a ruddy break!  The cover - by JAMIE SMART - is surprisingly not too bad, and demonstrates that, at least with large single illustrations, he can turn in an acceptable drawing from time to time.  Unfortunately, however, although his outlines are far more smoothly rendered than the last time I looked, the interior DESPERATE DAN page suffers from the same crammed, confusing, minimalistic storytelling technique which ensures a headache to anyone trying to determine what's happening.  (There is a slight improvement though.  Perhaps if he works at it?)

Unfortunately, Smart doesn't have a monopoly on a lack of coherent and sequential narrative style.  Far too many of the interior strips are comprised of flat, static, repetitive and uninspired drawings, which don't serve to advance the story from one panel to another.  Verbosely lettered word balloons abound, fighting for space with the art, which seems to be trying to force its way into view from the edges of the panel borders.  There are exceptions of course.  LEW STRINGER's POSTMAN PRAT is quite amusing, but even the usually competent (if often uninspired) Stringer seems to be trying to match some of the less well-rendered offerings with a more simplified approach than he normally employs.

NIGEL PARKINSON is the undisputed star artist in The Dandy, though even his wonderfully drawn HARRY HILL strip is a bit 'top-heavy' with dialogue.  Perhaps that's unavoidable with a strip based on a character known for his humorous patter, but at least the lettering is legible and well-rendered.  CUDDLES & DIMPLES is also nicely illustrated - again by Nigel - but in a slightly different style.

The lettering of the word balloons in the issue is better (in the main) than when the comic was relaunched last year, but there are still a few instances where it could be improved.  It's slightly disconcerting having to adjust one's eyes to different styles from one strip to another, and I can't help but feel that the overall reading experience would be improved with a more consistent font throughout the comic.

This issue comes with a load of useless tat that even the most simple and easily-pleased child would be hard-pressed to get excited over, but it's included in an attempt to justify the vastly-inflated price of £3.99, which I'm sure many a parent must balk over.  If you buy The BEANO Christmas number also, both comics will set you back a whopping £7.98.  Yet for one pence more (£7.99), you can currently pick up both The Beano and The Dandy Annual in a 'buy one, get one free' offer at WH SMITH's.

If you want my advice, buy the Annuals, which are far better value for money.  At least £2 has been added to the cost of each comic by the inclusion of a pile of plastic sh*te which isn't worth 50 pence and will be discarded and forgotten about in minutes.

Click here for The CHRISTMAS BEANO REVIEW.    

FESTIVE FIREBALL...

Images copyright relevant owner

In the 1964/'65 FIREBALL XL5 Annual, ALAN FENNELL (future editor of TV CENTURY 21, LOOK-IN, and writer of various GERRY ANDERSON TV shows) wrote ROBERT On The RAMPAGE, a story set against a Christmas party background.  (He wrote all the stories and features in the book.)  I believe ERIC EDEN drew this four-page tale, being one of four artists who illustrated the Annual, so - continuing our Festive theme - here it is in all its glory for your personal perusal and appreciation.  Enjoy.

  

"And everyone has a happy time."  Yeah - everyone except Robert, that is.  I sure hope he punches Steve's lights out in a rematch.  If Eden wasn't the artist of this tale, then it was either EDDIE PAUL, GERRY EMBLETON, or GERRY WOOD - you can take your pick.

NEXT:  The MENACE At CHRISTMAS!  (After The Christmas Dandy and Beano Reviews.) 

MERRY MIGHTY MARVEL'S COSMIC CHRISTMAS CRACKER...

Copyright MARVEL COMICS

The MIGHTY WORLD Of MARVEL... what a super comic!  At least, it was for about the first thirty or so issues before it died on its @rse!  When MWOM first hit the shelves on Saturday, September 30th, 1972 (dated October 7th), it had six full-colour pages to complement the green-hued spot-colour throughout the rest of the issue.  With issue #5, the colour pages were increased to eight, although they were cut back to four with issue #20.

By the time #65 (above) came 'round, only the front and back covers had colour, the interiors being saddled with a dull grey pall from the over-application of Letratone throughout.  Only the banner (no, it wasn't Bruce) at the top of the cover gave a clue to the fact it was Christmas, plus the back page Seasonal greeting from Stan and the Bullpen.  You'd think they could have stuck a bit of snow on the front cover logo at least, eh?

Sadly, the world of British Marvel was never again quite so mighty as it had been in its earliest issues before bad printing became the order of the day.  But let's raise a glass to it anyway.  After all - it's (nearly) Christmas!

    

NEXT:  FESTIVE FIREBALL - DON'T MISS IT!

SAMMY SHRINK'S CHRISTMAS...

Copyright REBELLION

Here's the cover to one of two Christmas issues of WHAM! for 1966 (for the other one, see the post: A HINT Of A GLINT THROUGH The WINDOW), giving Whamsters double the Festive fun for that particular year.  Not so unusual as you might at first think - it just depends on where the 25th falls in the week as to whether a Christmas-themed issue can be fitted either side of it.  I've seen the same thing happen with The BEANO and other titles over the years.

Once again, I'm not 100% certain who the artist is on The TIDDLERS strip - BAXENDALE, BROWN, LACEY or McMURTY?  It doesn't seem loose enough to be Bax, although there's a hint of him in there.  But what else would you expect if he was being ghosted by another?  I'll stick my neck out and say Lacey, but don't whip me with a wet shoelace if I'm wrong.

DAVE JENNER was the original artist on SAMMY SHRINK, although TERRY BAVE ghosted his style pretty effectively when he first took over the strip, gradually introducing his own style as time passed.  Without digging through all my back issues of Wham! to sort out the facts and figures as to when Bave took the reins, I'm pretty sure the above strip (from the previous issue - #132) is by Jenner, who would go on to draw strips for THOMSON's The BEANO, with TOM, DICK & SALLY perhaps being his best known.  

More Christmas covers to come!

IT'S A SURE-FIRE SMASH HIT...

Copyright REBELLION

Here's the cover of the last Christmas edition of the old-style SMASH! from 1968.  A mere three months later, the comic got a new-look and the MARVEL reprints (The FANTASTIC FOUR & The MIGHTY THOR) were jettisoned in favour of home-produced content.  (As 'home-produced' as strips drawn by foreign artists can be; the writers were British though.)  I believe that LEO BAXENDALE usually drew The SWOTS And The BLOTS, but the above page looks like the work of MIKE BROWN or MIKE LACEY perhaps.  (Feel free to chip-in.)

However, there's no doubt that this two-page BAD PENNY strip is by ol' Bax, as it has all his trademark daftness and drawing style.  You have to hand it to him - his strips were usually always a visual delight, and tended to feature more daft sight-gags per page (and sometimes per panel) than an entire issue of MAD.  Someone should gather together all the IPC strips that Bax produced and publish them in a series of special collectors' editions.  He wouldn't like that unless he got paid, of course - but I'm sure comics fans everywhere would love it.  Although younger readers would probably presume that they were all drawn by TOM PATERSON.

   

I'M NOT KIDDIN' AROUND ANYMORE...

As an experiment, I've decided to change the name of my blog
to something more pertinent to the topics featured here.  I may
change it back again depending on the response I get - if any.

CHRISTMAS CAPERS WITH WHIZZER & CHIPS...

Images copyright relevant owner

Continuing our Christmas comic covers selection, here's a few from one of the last long-running great humour publications released by IPC - WHIZZER & CHIPS.  Ol' W&C lasted about 21 years before the plug was pulled and it was merged with BUSTER.  One of my greatest thrills was when BOB PAYNTER (who was then group editor of the IPC Humour Dept and the first editor of W&C) asked me - at the end of a busy day - to letter the SID'S SNAKE and SHINER strips of both sections of the comic when I was down in London on one of my regular visits back in the mid-'80s.  After an eight or nine hour journey without sleep and then working for eight hours, I was probably too fatigued to do my absolute best, but they turned out okay.  Anyway, soak up the atmosphere of these fab festive favourites from years gone by.

I lettered quite a few strips for Whizzer & Chips - in fact, my first published work (CAP'N KID & The PIRATES) for IPC appeared in the comic.  It wasn't the first strip I lettered for them (that was a THARG'S FUTURE SHOCKS story for 2000 A.D.), but because of scheduling, the W&C one (which was the second one I did) appeared first.  I recall once lettering a SAMMY SHRINK strip (drawn by TERRY BAVE) and being amazed at working on a character I had read as a child.  And I'm sure I did a fair bit of lettering for Annuals and Summer Specials, plus I was a regular re-size artist on the W&C comic libraries.  In fact, I remember seeing the very first issue of the regular title advertised in SMASH! back in 1969, and getting up about 7a.m. the following week to run over and buy it at the newsagents across the road.

 Ah, if only it were still with us - as well as a long list of other comics.

WHAM-A-LAM-A-DING-DONG...

Copyright REBELLION

Ah, memories!  Here's the last ever Christmas WHAM! (#185) from 1967.  Little did I know when I purchased this from my local newsagent 44 years ago that there would be only two more issues of this classic title before it was merged with its weekly companion paper POW!  LEO BAXENDALE's creation, The TIDDLERS (not sure if he drew this one though), adorned the Festively-themed cover, although they had evolved into more of an imitation of The BASH STREET KIDS (also by Leo) over the years since their first appearance in '64.  Bax, of course, was also responsible for The SWOTS And The BLOTS over in SMASH!, so he was no stranger to strips about riotous schoolkids and their teacher.

The above GREETINGS From The FLOOR Of 64 page was in all five POWER COMICS that year, which is why it features characters from all of them.  Wham!'s forthcoming merger had doubtless been determined weeks (if not months) in advance, but the text on the page gives no indication of its imminent demise.  And small wonder - why spoil Christmas for Whamsters by spilling the beans at this stage?  Best to leave it to the New Year, when there was a sense of optimism in the air with which to counter bad news.  I must confess to never being too impressed by the combined POW! & WHAM! (not quite sure why), and was actually glad to see it incorporated (as junior partner) with SMASH! around eight months later.

So... raise a glass of lemonade or soda pop to that classic Christmas comic of yesteryear - WHAM!

SANTA AND THE SUPER SEVEN - WOTTA KNOCKOUT!

Copyright REBELLION

I make no apologies for posting this classic Christmas cover yet again (having done so about two or three times before), because it epitomises everything that was once good about the British comics industry (when we had one) and British Annuals in particular.  As most people will know, Annuals usually went on sale around August or September, so that pesky kids could pester their parents about which one (or maybe even ones) they wanted to find in their Christmas stockings on the 25th.

As Annuals were published for the following year (for example, 1973 Annuals went on sale in 1972), not all of them featured Yuletide-themed covers. Perhaps it was thought that doing so relegated them far too quickly to 'last year's present' in the minds of kids, but it could also have a more positive aspect.  To an Aunt and Uncle struggling to think of a prezzie for 'wee Jimmy', a Christmassy-covered Annual would be sure to recommend itself as a distinct possibility. However, regardless of the whys and wherefores, KNOCKOUT Annual 1973 is as Festive a cover as anyone could wish for.

So... here it is again. (MIKE BROWN was responsible for the art chores, if I remember correctly.)

TAKE A PEEP At POW! - The CHRISTMAS ISSUE...

Copyright REBELLION

Another of the 'big five' (as I l call 'em) POWER COMICS was POW!, companion paper to WHAM!, SMASH!, FANTASTIC and TERRIFIC.  As well as a mix of British strips, Pow! featured reprints of SPIDER-MAN and NICK FURY, later also publishing The FANTASTIC FOUR once Wham! had been merged with it. Pow! was probably the weakest of the Power Comics, but it still had things to recommend it to the reader intent on seeking out a nice selection of humour and adventure strips. Above is the Christmas issue from 1967.

The back page is DARE-A-DAY DAVY, another surreal KEN REID strip, where readers were invited to write in and dare Davy to do something.  Those chosen had the delight in seeing their suggestion brought to life in the typical madcap Reid manner and also win a pound into the bargain.  What more could a child want out of life?  One tale was deemed so horrific that it wasn't printed, only showing up, I believe, in a fanzine article a number of years after Pow!'s demise.  As it was pulled at the editing stage, it was never properly lettered, but that's something I may put right when I have the time.  Remind me to show it to you one day.  In the meantime, click on the image to enlarge and enjoy Ken Reid's anarchic lunacy at its finest.

WHAM! AT CHRISTMAS - THE COMIC, NOT THE BOYBAND...

Copyright relevant owner

WHAM! comic was meant to be ODHAMS PRESS and LEO BAXENDALE's answer to The BEANO.  Unfortunately, they must have misheard the question, because the former only lasted about 3 and a half years, whereas the latter is still going strong (relatively speaking) over 70 years later.  One can't help but wonder if Wham! would have survived for longer had it been printed on cheaper paper and similarly priced to The Beano.

I guess we'll never know, alas, but in its day it was a very fine comic indeed - and though I didn't start buying it 'til it had discarded its photogravure printing, I now have quite a few of those early issues in my collection.  One such is the Christmas number above from 1965 (it was a very good year), and I thought I'd share it with all you lucky peeps out there in Blogger land.

One of the most (if not the most) popular strips in Wham! was one created not by Leo Baxendale, surprisingly, but by KEN REID, the original artist of ROGER The DODGER in the aforementioned Beano.  The strip in question was FRANKIE STEIN, who was so popular that he survived Wham!'s demise in early 1968, being resurrected in SHIVER & SHAKE and MONSTER FUN COMIC in the early and mid-'70s.  He also starred in his own series of  eight Holiday Specials and two softcover Annuals.

ROBERT NIXON did most of the art chores in Frankie's later incarnation, but to those of us who were familiar with Reid's earlier treatment of the character - good as it was to see ol' Frankie back - the new strips never quite matched the absurd shenanigans of the originals.  So, presented above, for your reading pleasure, the Frankie Stein strip from the 1965 Christmas edition of the late, lamented Wham!  They sure don't make comics like that anymore (unfortunately).

HAVING A SMASH-ING CHRISTMAS...

Copyright relevant owner

When SMASH! was revamped and relaunched by IPC in March of 1969, it bore very little resemblance to its previous ODHAMS incarnation.  A few strips survived, but, without the various MARVEL reprints, the comic had lost a great deal of its uniqueness.  (Well, as unique as a companion paper to WHAM! could be.)  Which is not to suggest by any means that the newer version of the comic was bereft of charm, but it was a different type of charm to what had gone before.  Above is the cover to the first Christmas issue of the new Smash!, which, contrary to what I've just written, manages to conjure up similarities to the earlier look of the title - only the different logo betrays the cheat.

Above (from the Christmas ish) is BAD PENNY by LEO BAXENDALE, which I always preferred to his similarly-themed strip, MINNIE The MINX in The BEANO.  Minnie came first, but Bax's art had evolved into a seemingly simpler, but much more madcap and funnier style by the time he got 'round to drawing Penny. Give me Penny over Minnie any day of the week.  Bax created some good strips for Wham! & Smash! - but it's interesting to note that he never initiated legal proceedings against IPC over copyright like he did with Thomson's.  It's true that the Odhams/IPC/Fleetway characters never had the longevity or success of his DCT ones, but surely the principle of the matter supersedes any material considerations?