Crikey Issue 2

[colcool007]

Now that is an obscure reference to comics Ray. I must admit that I like one or two 'fluffy' articles like the Lady Penelope one, but even though I had to read Steve's article twice to make sure I understood it, it's the type of article that I prefer. Even Tom Elliot's take on Sparky, while not a view I would subscribe to, is at least a view on Sparky that would otherwise not have surfaced.

And no-one can say that it has been bad for comics. The 11 letters printed have come from people that I can't say are members of this or any other comics bulletin board so if it is stimulating interest and discussion about UK comics, then it has got to be good for that if nothing else.

I would like to see at least one article on the current state of mainstream UK comics or an article on UK Indie comics. Plus an additional errata page. Like a Oops! We got it wrong article so that people can add to their knowledge and correct common urban myths like Dudley's last page.

[Captain Storm]

Hi Ray,ooops!So it was Colin-doh! Anyway,I wasn't criticizing Steve's article-absolutely loved it...now where's me anorak...just pointing out the extreme opposites needed to get the right mix...a good dollop of facts blended with some entertaining reading.Steve had both.Hope he writes more.

[Lew Stringer]

I don't agree with Tom Elliot's take on the Kidnapped Kidds, but at least he has taken a stab at it. But again, it suffers from a lack of referencing.

This is the major problem with Crikey! Presumably the writers have the comics they're writing about right next to them whilst they're doing the article, so adding issue numbers, etc to the piece should be simple!

The other negative factor is the slapdash attitude to "facts". I can only assume the writer hasn't a clue what bulimia is, or he wouldn't have assumed Hungry Horace was bulimic. Perhaps he doesn't know what a cannibal is either, as Sparky certainly wasn't one. This really should have been caught by the sub-editor, as should the rather alarmist (and chronologically wrong) comparisons to the Moors Murderers.

If writers insist on bringing in real world issues into an article on comic strips then there's no reason, in this age of the internet, that those facts cannot be quickly checked.

I'm afraid that when I start reading an article littered with such inaccuracies I start to wonder if the rest of the article is correct, which makes the reading experience not as enjoyable as it should be. That's annoying as I truly want to enjoy Crikey! It's a great idea to produce a magazine on UK comics, and I admire Brian & co for setting it up, but some of those articles need to focus more on accuracy so that we, as subscribers, can enjoy it more.

Lew

[Kashgar]

All that follows is also being sent via email to the Crikey team just in case anyone thinks that I'm guilty of being a 'closet' critic of Crikey.
Nutty Notions - I do think that they should adopt a consistent dating policy in this feature and stick to it. Either go with the single date for when a strip first appeared or use the double-date approach to indicate the extent of a strips tenure, but not both.
For example Rob Riley is given the single date 1968 when in fact the character, from his first appearance in Ranger till his end in Look & Learn actually ran for four years 1965-1969. So it's hard to see what the single date 1968 is referring too.
Similarly the Cornelius Dimworthy strip 'The Wonder Dart' is given the double-date 1964-1966 but sadly the second of these dates makes no sense whichever way you look at it. If it is meant to refer to the end of 'The Wonder Dart' episode in the Dimworthy saga then it should be 1965 and if it is meant to refer to the end of the Dimworthy saga altogether then it should be 1967.
Also 'Patty's Pie' given that it ran from one year into another could also have done with a double-date 1964-1965 and, if not, why use the single date 1965 when the single date convention should have seen the date 1964 used as this was the year in which the strip began its run.
All a bit confusing.
Nutty Notions is also a feature that positively cries out for some artist indentification and this time they do at least give a couple of artists their due. Other, unnamed artists, this time around include Terry Patrick (The Blind Flyers), Paddy Brennan (Sandra and the Stranded Ballet), Jesus Blasco (Rob Riley) and Sam Fair (The Wonder Dart).
My Comicy Saturday
Difficult to criticise pieces that are simply culled from memory but since the writer Glenn B Fleming makes a point of mentioning it as something that happened in 1964 when he was nine Ranger magazine wasn't actually published until Sept 1965.
The other problem with this feature, and indeed a problem with the magazine in general is the seemingly woeful lack of source material they have to hand. In this feature we have art examples that cover a period in time that I doubt the writers childhood interest in comics did and surely in a personal nostalgia piece like this featuring items that are relevent to the writers own time-frame should be paramount. The 'he read Paddy Payne in the Lion' stick in a 1969 Lion cover and 'he read the Beano' stick in a 1960 Bash St (which we'd already seen last issue) just doesn't do it for me.
To be truthful, I hardly think that a magazine devoted to the love of comics in all their glorious diversity is going to grab readers by publishing the same piece of artwork in consecutive issues or indeed the same piece of artwork twice in the same issue, as they have with the 1969 Eagle cover this time around. Please, please, go out and buy, or even beg, steal or borrow a few more comics.

[colcool007]

...Nutty Notions is also a feature that positively cries out for some artist indentification and this time they do at least give a couple of artists their due. Other, unnamed artists, this time around include Terry Patrick (The Blind Flyers), Paddy Brennan (Sandra and the Stranded Ballet), Jesus Blasco (Rob Riley) and Sam Fair (The Wonder Dart).
....

Are you sure it's Paddy Brennan? With the artwork featured, I would have put good money on it being Ron Smith. Terry Patrick was also my take on the blind flyers. As to the rest, they're over my head.

Agree that I would love to see more hard fact but also don't mind the odd fluff article. I have also advised Brian Clarke to come in and read these threads as it is good feedback for him to know what we love and loathe.

[Captain Storm]

ColCool wrote:

I have also advised Brian Clarke to come in and read these threads as it is good feedback for him to know what we love and loathe.

I have asked Brian the same thing.It would be good for him to get involved here..maybe drop off a few drafts or emails to the experts here for proofing.Also he could use the advise of the panel to clear up any errors or omissions.And yes I agree he could easily build up a collection of scans from the folks here.Typically 600dpi hi-res jpegs.I'm sure that no matter what the comic needed somebody here has it.A veritable library awaits,I'm sure

[Lew Stringer]

ColCool wrote:

I have also advised Brian Clarke to come in and read these threads as it is good feedback for him to know what we love and loathe.

I have asked Brian the same thing.It would be good for him to get involved here..maybe drop off a few drafts or emails to the experts here for proofing.Also he could use the advise of the panel to clear up any errors or omissions.And yes I agree he could easily build up a collection of scans from the folks here.Typically 600dpi hi-res jpegs.I'm sure that no matter what the comic needed somebody here has it.A veritable library awaits,I'm sure

Wouldn't it be easier for the people writing the articles to write about the comics they have in their collection, rather than ask others to supply images for articles written from their hazy recollections?

Lew

[Captain Storm]

I agree Lew,but sometimes it is nigh impossible to get the comics yourself.So it becomes a case of asking for a little outside help sometimes.This would occur if you were writing about a favourite character and didn't have all the material or needed a few missing issues to give a comprehensive article.I have spent a few hundred already trying to piece together the Starhawk saga from D.C. Thomson but am still unable to get my hands on the missing Hotspurs I need.On an unrelated character namely Adam Eterno-who featured in Lion and Thunder Holiday Special 1971...I would pay good money for that!But it is unavailable...and no scans exist except a low res photo.So to answer your question,if I could only write about comics in my collection,it wouldn't make a paragraph
Anybody for a piece on Cosmic comic issue 0,Johnny Nero,The Spider and The Claw from the Fleetway libraries,Judge Dredd megazine from '95,Spellbound Issue 1,Toby from the '70s,Jag Annual,....prized possessions but nothing approaching complete... And the reason I am writing about my favourite characters (without complete hard copy to hand)is because nobody else will

[Kashgar]

Are you sure it's Paddy Brennan? With the artwork featured, I would have put good money on it being Ron Smith. Terry Patrick was also my take on the blind flyers. As to the rest, they're over my head.

Agree that I would love to see more hard fact but also don't mind the odd fluff article. I have also advised Brian Clarke to come in and read these threads as it is good feedback for him to know what we love and loathe.[/quote]

Absolutely certain the 'Sandra' strip is Paddy Brennan Col.
More response to Crikey No 2 in the next few days.

[Kashgar]

I agree Lew,but sometimes it is nigh impossible to get the comics yourself.So it becomes a case of asking for a little outside help sometimes.This would occur if you were writing about a favourite character and didn't have all the material or needed a few missing issues to give a comprehensive article.I have spent a few hundred already trying to piece together the Starhawk saga from D.C. Thomson but am still unable to get my hands on the missing Hotspurs I need.On an unrelated character namely Adam Eterno-who featured in Lion and Thunder Holiday Special 1971...I would pay good money for that!But it is unavailable...and no scans exist except a low res photo.So to answer your question,if I could only write about comics in my collection,it wouldn't make a paragraph
Anybody for a piece on Cosmic comic issue 0,Johnny Nero,The Spider and The Claw from the Fleetway libraries,Judge Dredd megazine from '95,Spellbound Issue 1,Toby from the '70s,Jag Annual,....prized possessions but nothing approaching complete... And the reason I am writing about my favourite characters (without complete hard copy to hand)is because nobody else will

If it's of any interest Cap I can at least tell you that the artist who drew the Adam Eterno strip in the 1971 Lion and Thunder Special was Ted Kearon the one and only time he drew the character as far as I'm aware.

[Kashgar]

Back to Crikey No 2 and the Tom Sweetman article 'Golden Broon'. First off I'll start with a couple of nit-picks.
"They lived in a tenement flat - 11 of them" - No, just ten of them as Granpaw had his own house. A fact which is mentioned elsewhere in the article.
The Broons "cottage in the country" - please at some point refer to it by its given name "the but an' ben".
Now to more definite mistakes.
"The Broons Annual" - the Broons and Oor Wullie books have always been published on alternate years so neither have ever been annuals.
"part of the legendary Merry Mac's Fun Parade" - Since their inception the Broons and Oor Wullie were always part of the Sunday Post Fun Section. The Merry Mac joke feature, which was called Merry Mac's Fun Express in the early days in any event, was just another Fun Section feature.
Maggie was never 'in earlier times' called Sadie.
Auchentogle - The Broons, who in the very early years were clearly residents of Glasgow and referred to as such, have never lived in Auchentogle, although in recent times Auchenshoogle has been bandied about as their place of residence. Auchentogle was actually a strip in its own right in the Fun Section's early years (1936-1940) occupying the back page of what was, at that time, an eight-page pull-out. Drawn by Chick Gordon it featured a gang of street urchin type kids led by Jock McDade.
When the Fun Section was cut down in size during the war Auchentogle as seperate strip ceased to be, but the name continued to turn up now and again in the Broons and Oor Wullie strips as a place that existed, but at some distance from where Wullie and the Broons themselves lived e.g Wullie would visit his aunties tea-rooms in Auchentogle.

[Captain Storm]

Kashgar wrote:

If it's of any interest Cap I can at least tell you that the artist who drew the Adam Eterno strip in the 1971 Lion and Thunder Special was Ted Kearon the one and only time he drew the character as far as I'm aware.

Crikey! I'd better let Steve Holland know.From the photo we had it looked like Solano Lopez or one of his studio(maybe Munoz)but thanks for that.Also if you feel up to it,aside from the obvious Solano spot illos for the specials and annuals can you identify the artists for the specials and annuals run over at http://adameternoforever.tripod.com/id15.html 'Cos we can't

[Lew Stringer]

Also if you feel up to it,aside from the obvious Solano spot illos for the specials and annuals can you identify the artists for the specials and annuals run over at http://adameternoforever.tripod.com/id15.html 'Cos we can't

I'll help Ray out a little if I may. The artist for the 1972 special story looks like Eric Bradbury.

I'm thinking the 1972 Thunder Annual strip may be by the guy who drew Skid Solo (forget his name) ghosting Lopez' style. The figures in panel 1 page 5 look a bit like his rather stiff style.

No idea who drew the 1973 annual strip but I quite like the style. Obviously a "new" artist but one with talent.

Lew

[Captain Storm]

Thanks for that Lew.Eric Bradbury's name has cropped up before and proven to be not so.So hopefully that is not the case now.It's probable that some spot illo's were done by freelancers for a pittance and so don't reflect any recognisable style.Will forward to Steve as he is stuck on this as well.Cheers,Lew.Will get back to you soon.

[Captain Storm]

Hi Lew,re the 1972 Thunder Annual Adam Eterno strip Steve Holland replied thus:

I'm guessing the 'Skid Solo'
artist Lew is thinking of is John Vernon.

Hope that helps.
Regards.