Comics UK

Hard to believe its 40 years ago I still vividly remember picking this up after school , with Valiant and Smash its still my all time favourite comic still have the first 50 issues - great stuff.

I picked up the "Creativity of Ditko " book - a nice 205 page coffee table book today -it has a lot of complete 5/6 page type stories reprinted from his early Charlton and Marvel (Atlas?) mystery work with some one off Spidey , Warren, DC pages (and a few pencilled pages from a Charlton strip) - a r...

The Beezer (in the 60s ) was my favourite kids comic - I never felt it go the credit it deserved among fans -I regularly see copies of old Annuals (77 - 90 ) in second hand shops (there are about 5 in the Glasgow area at present so hopefully some in your area) for around £3 each - There was also a "...

Leo Baxendale used to always have on e of his "cats" in his stories and in winter his trade mark snowman -Hint Emerson used to have the "half moon2 and a weird background

Yep I can also agree as a kid in the 60s that I (and my pals) also regularly climbed trees to get apples , conkers etc just something kids did then and there seemed to be more forests around near towns/cities than now.

Of course Odhams allowed some artists to sign their names in the 60s in Smash, Wham & Pow -particularly Ken Ried, Leo Baxendale - as noted elsewhere DCT allowed Dudley Watkins and others to sign their newspaper strips (Oor Wullie etc)

I remember a similar strip about a squirrel in Playhour or Harold Hares Weekly but so long ago I'm not sure which one it may have been too many strips abut Squirrels in those books (plus there was Tufty so I get confused - but I remember he wasn't a cockney Squirrel detective/cop )

Actually it was 3 and a bit pages of Dan (from the 30s) plus a front and back cover illos - Korky only got 2 pages -Brassneck, Winker Watson , Corp Cott and Black Bob all got more actually story pages

Its hard to say what's 50s as not dated and I'm not Dandy expert - Stips include: Addie and Hermy, Korky, Bamboo town etc (30s -40s) a Black Bob story (Poor Blind Bob) , Blitz Boy, Whako, Jocks and Geordies , Bully Beef and Chips, Umbrella Men, Hovercraft Snatchers, Winker Watson, Corp Clott, Smashe...

Yeah its out I picked it up on the way home at Glasgow Central Station (WH Smiths) on FRIDAY night - £5.99 has a "copy" of Dandy no1 in the last 20 or so pages - for me I would have liked to have seen more 60s work but its still a nice book has some nice Ken Reid (Bing Bang Benny) and Bill Holroyd o...

Got the Dandy Special in WH Smiths in Glasgow on the way home very nice

Stunning site "Klakadak" just a stunning amount of rare brilliant art by Reid and Leo Baxendale - I may be gone a long time lost in this blog

Strange as it seems I know exactly what you mean I enjoy picking up titles bit by bit it's fun checking old 2nd hand shops, Amazon, fairs etc in search of that elusive issue - although it once took me over 6 years to pick up a run of 20 1970's House of Mystery (DC comics) 180 -199 (I already had iss...

Its the art for me also - for US comics I collect (and read) comics by my favourtres (quite a wide selection) Neal Adams, Steve Ditko, Alex Toth, Paul Gulacy, Alex Nino, Buscema brothers, John Severin Bruce Timm etc etc (about 15 artists I actively will look out for) For UK its almost totally Odhams...

America is a different market though and the (mostly) super hero genre has always had a traditionally large cult following and unlike the Beano and Dandy you don't grow out of reading Batman etc as quickly as say Desperate Dan and the like - Plus the recent movie blockbusters help a lot to generate ...