Fun size - Black Bob story.

[stevezodiac]

Was the Black Bob story in this issue of Dandy Fun-Size a new story or a reprint?

[Digifiend]

I have Ray Moore (Kashgar)'s story listing here in The Very Best of Black Bob. If you can name the story title, it should be easy to find. There's no mention of Fun-Size Dandy.

[stevezodiac]

Here's the splash page but I suspect it may have been made up especially for the Fun Size. I don't recall the Black Bob strips having titles in the Dandy did they?

[Digifiend]

No, but they did in the Weekly News and the Black Bob Books. Black Bob and the Black Prowlers was previously in Weekly News dated 22/3/1952-31/5/1952, Black Bob Book 1957, and issues 990 to 1000 of The Dandy (dated 12/11/60-21/1/1961). Hmm, that means the year on that splash page should really have said 1952 instead of 1950.

[Phoenix]

Hmm, that means the year on that splash page should really have said 1952 instead of 1950.

Not necessarily, Digi. The date 1950 only indicates the year in which the story was set. The year of its first appearance in print could well have been quite a bit later.

[Digifiend]

I suppose so. Black Bob isn't set in comic book time - I don't think 1944 stories mentioned that there was a war on, did they? Same with the final run in 1982, which didn't mention the Falklands War (because of course it was reprint) despite being set in Argentina.

By the way, the Black Prowlers story is actually in the Very Best of Black Bob as well.

[stevezodiac]

Was the splash page unique to the Fun-Size?

[Digifiend]

Seems to be, yes. The version in the book mentions no year, and the picture of Bob seems to be from another story.

[Kashgar]

The splash page was created for the Fun Size publication.

[stevezodiac]

Obviously an existing Bob image but with some rather weird lettering pasted on. A strange choice of font - totally out of keeping with a Black Bob story methinks.

[Lew Stringer]

Obviously an existing Bob image but with some rather weird lettering pasted on. A strange choice of font - totally out of keeping with a Black Bob story methinks.

I could be mistaken but the Bob image on that splash page looks new to me. Perhaps Keith Robson ghosting Jack Prout?

[Digifiend]

The title font does remind me of the style Robson used for some Jonah and General Jumbo titles in the 1990s Dandy and Beano annuals. And he drew Young Black Bob in 1989, so that conclusion makes perfect sense.

[Classic Comics]

Yep, it was definitely Keith Robson. Had the Dandy Fun-Sizes stayed in the Dandy office rather than heading off to another office's care, Keith would have drawn a manga-style Whizzers From Ozz for me. And I think he'd have made a brilliant job of it.