Illustrated Chips 1906 flyer.

[stevezodiac]

I recently bought two volumes of the Jester from 1906, between the pages of one was this advertising flyer for Chips. It is tabloid sized so has been scanned as four A4 parts.

[Lew Stringer]

They should bring it back.

Lew

[Kashgar]

And just think from these rarified beginnings it all ended with Buster giving a raspberry and two-fingered salute to his loyal readers nearly a century later.
I wonder what lay 'Beyond the Golden Mist'? The Golden Rain!

[Lew Stringer]

And just think from these rarified beginnings it all ended with Buster giving a raspberry and two-fingered salute to his loyal readers nearly a century later.

Do you really see that attitude in the final Buster Ray? I saw it as a way of tying up the stories for the readers, and also bidding an emotional farewell. I don't see how it gave "a raspberry and two-fingered salute to his loyal readers". Editor Allen Cummings had a lot of time for the readers and rather than "giving (them) a two-fingered salute" was hoping that Egmont would keep the title going so it could celebrate it's 40th anniversary in May 2000. He was pretty gutted when Buster ended and perhaps that came across in some downbeat aspects of that final issue but after all it was the end of an era.

Besides, the lineage of those comics may have ended (with Buster not merging into anything) but British comics themselves are still around and some of us still have elements of that "traditional" style in our work. Toxic may not appeal to some tastes but it is still from the same company that published Buster.

Lew

[Digifiend]

That's a point. If Toxic ever needed to resort to reprints, they could always call on Buster's lineage. It worked for The Beano recently (Rasher) and Buddy in the 80s (Jonah), which both printed strips from 20+ years before. Not that Toxic would though. It'd be like going back in time!

[Kashgar]

I think Lew it was just the 'Don't place a regular order with your newsagent' 'I've wanted to say that for years' sign off that I found a little churlish in the end. But I will admit that it being the equivalent to a raspberry and a two-fingered salute was rather overstating the case.
And while the demise of Buster was the end of an era I do appreciate that it wasn't the end of the story. Heaven forbid that I should come across as some old fuddy-duddy who doesn't appreciate that. In fact I rather admire the way that the comics of DCT (my main interest as you know) have responded to the current comic climate.
I'm also aware that, inevitably, despite all they do they will all lose in the end and be swept away. But then, that will not be the end of the story either.

[Digifiend]

Buster's demise wasn't even the end of the Fleetway story. By then, Fleetway was owned by Egmont. Sonic the Comic would still run for another two years, and was the last to carry the Fleetway name. A year after its demise, Toxic launched.

The Beano won't lose for a good while yet, but I can't say the same for The Dandy.

[Lew Stringer]

That's a point. If Toxic ever needed to resort to reprints, they could always call on Buster's lineage. It worked for The Beano recently (Rasher) and Buddy in the 80s (Jonah), which both printed strips from 20+ years before. Not that Toxic would though. It'd be like going back in time!

Don't give them ideas like that! This is my livelihood!

Actually there are already reprints in Toxic. Just recently they've started reprinting my old Team Toxic strips in the back of the mag as "Team Toxic Classic", with my new ones in the front. New strips by Jamie and Laura are still in there though, although John Short and Alex Patterson's Rex has been dropped. However with four pages of new material every issue (plus occasional games/posters which feature brand new art) there are no less pages of new material than before, and for new readers there are MORE pages of strip than ever, counting the reprint.

Lew

[Digifiend]

Don't worry Lew, I was joking! Hence the "not that they would, it would be like going back in time". Come to think of it, having two Team Toxics was copying Beano's two Dennis strips per issue, except that The Beano wasn't using reprints, apart from one Christmas episode.