One artist defection I only discovered in retrospect was Eric Roberts. Growing up in the early 1960s his versions of Dirty Dick and Winker Watson were pure DCT to me, so it came as quite a shock when Fleetway started reprinting stories he'd drawn for Knockout years before. Here's the long-running character 'Mike' (later renamed 'Smiler' when he resurfaced in The Big One and Buster ).
- Phil Rushton
IPC vs DCT
Moderator: AndyB
- ISPYSHHHGUY
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Re: IPC vs DCT
I think Eric done another strip for IPC called SMILER, Phil, in one of their 'early 70s explosion' titles....they may have been another couple of short-lived strips as well. These looked a bit dated, so perhaps they were reprints as well?
Thanks for adding the above worthy piece.
I must admit that this next one is a bit of a mystery, however [and has intruiged me for several years] :
It's from the 1971 IPC title KNOCKOUT, and I'm pretty sure that this BEAT your NEIGHBOUR title-frame is the work of John Geering: this illustration certainly fits in with his more detailed style of that period.
However, I can't recall ever seeing Johns' work anywhere in a full strip of these characters, or indeed anywhere else within IPC until much later on in the 70s, almost near the end of the decade.
Why would very early 70s IPC employ John Geering to provide just this one drawing? --maybe he considered moonlighting for IPC at one time, but more work materialized for him at DCT, and he changed his mind............[?]
image from Steelclaws' ace KNOCKOUT site:
http://knockoutcomic1970s.blogspot.co.uk/
EDIT: KNOCKOUT [1971 version] comics just arrived 15 minutes ago; sure enough, John Geering put out a strip called Mucky Mick.......a sort of proto-SMUDGE, very like the later BEANO strip. How I missed JG's work at IPC first time around beats me!
Thanks for adding the above worthy piece.
I must admit that this next one is a bit of a mystery, however [and has intruiged me for several years] :
It's from the 1971 IPC title KNOCKOUT, and I'm pretty sure that this BEAT your NEIGHBOUR title-frame is the work of John Geering: this illustration certainly fits in with his more detailed style of that period.
However, I can't recall ever seeing Johns' work anywhere in a full strip of these characters, or indeed anywhere else within IPC until much later on in the 70s, almost near the end of the decade.
Why would very early 70s IPC employ John Geering to provide just this one drawing? --maybe he considered moonlighting for IPC at one time, but more work materialized for him at DCT, and he changed his mind............[?]
image from Steelclaws' ace KNOCKOUT site:
http://knockoutcomic1970s.blogspot.co.uk/
EDIT: KNOCKOUT [1971 version] comics just arrived 15 minutes ago; sure enough, John Geering put out a strip called Mucky Mick.......a sort of proto-SMUDGE, very like the later BEANO strip. How I missed JG's work at IPC first time around beats me!
Re: IPC vs DCT
Interesting points made here.
I'd say in a shoot-out it's about 50:50 in the humour comic stakes for many reasons that would take too long to explain.
For the boys' action comics IPC have the edge in terms of artists & memorable strips & characters.
On the girls' front IPC win for the 60s & 70s - again aprt for the above along with more you can warm to & racier strips. However DCT got the upper hand in the 80s largely thanks to recruiting artists who had been working for years at IPC before - such as John Armstrong & Rob MacGilivray.
I'd say in a shoot-out it's about 50:50 in the humour comic stakes for many reasons that would take too long to explain.
For the boys' action comics IPC have the edge in terms of artists & memorable strips & characters.
On the girls' front IPC win for the 60s & 70s - again aprt for the above along with more you can warm to & racier strips. However DCT got the upper hand in the 80s largely thanks to recruiting artists who had been working for years at IPC before - such as John Armstrong & Rob MacGilivray.
- ISPYSHHHGUY
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- Joined: 14 Oct 2007, 13:05
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Re: IPC vs DCT
Yes I agree, David: IPC were the tops in boys' 'adventure' stuff,: DCT put out a lot of good hi-octane stuff in the mid-70s with WARLORD, and BULLET, but IPC upped the ante even further with ACTION and 2000 AD, two publications which helped bolster and rejuvenate an ailing UK comics industry!