Who created Black Bob?
Posted: 06 Jun 2022, 17:57
Hi all,
A simple question but perhaps not a straightforward answer. I'm a Black Bob fan and of course the wonderful "Very Best of Black Bob" book has a wealth of information on him, an expanded version of what was included in "The Art and History of the Dandy".
Both these sources say that Kelman Frost created the series, under the instruction of RD Low (following a discussion about Lassie Come-Home). The "Art and History" says that all 21 original prose stories were written by Frost.
Fair enough, except Wikipedia disagrees, with no mention of Frost. Instead, it says, under the Black Bob article,
"The characters were created by John Hunter (1903-1984), originally from Hawick, who worked as a journalist in Dundee, and then came to stay in Selkirk, living in a house in Elm Row, and owning a china and gift shop in Market Place. He wrote the original stories, which were then illustrated by DC Thomson's staff artist, Jack Prout."
This is similar to the content on https://blackbob.org.uk/, the Friends of John Hunter and Black Bob.
(Then again, the Wikipedia article also says, "Black Bob originally appeared as a text story in The Dandy in issue 280, dated 25 November 1944; in that story, Black Bob follows his owner's nephew who is playing truant and tries to bring him back to school." It doesn't sound right to me - the first episode introduces Bob, who's actually trying to find his way back home, having been kidnapped. The second part deals with him being "rescued" by a girl, then he gets into a fight with a dog in part 3... I don't yet have the remaining parts, but it's my long-term plan to acquire them! The overall arc is him trying to get home, though, not chasing a truant.)
So the question is - who's correct? Is it the former editor of the Dandy, or the fan site? It's unusual to see two completely different accounts of how a character was created.
I'd be interested in any thoughts people may have...
A simple question but perhaps not a straightforward answer. I'm a Black Bob fan and of course the wonderful "Very Best of Black Bob" book has a wealth of information on him, an expanded version of what was included in "The Art and History of the Dandy".
Both these sources say that Kelman Frost created the series, under the instruction of RD Low (following a discussion about Lassie Come-Home). The "Art and History" says that all 21 original prose stories were written by Frost.
Fair enough, except Wikipedia disagrees, with no mention of Frost. Instead, it says, under the Black Bob article,
"The characters were created by John Hunter (1903-1984), originally from Hawick, who worked as a journalist in Dundee, and then came to stay in Selkirk, living in a house in Elm Row, and owning a china and gift shop in Market Place. He wrote the original stories, which were then illustrated by DC Thomson's staff artist, Jack Prout."
This is similar to the content on https://blackbob.org.uk/, the Friends of John Hunter and Black Bob.
(Then again, the Wikipedia article also says, "Black Bob originally appeared as a text story in The Dandy in issue 280, dated 25 November 1944; in that story, Black Bob follows his owner's nephew who is playing truant and tries to bring him back to school." It doesn't sound right to me - the first episode introduces Bob, who's actually trying to find his way back home, having been kidnapped. The second part deals with him being "rescued" by a girl, then he gets into a fight with a dog in part 3... I don't yet have the remaining parts, but it's my long-term plan to acquire them! The overall arc is him trying to get home, though, not chasing a truant.)
So the question is - who's correct? Is it the former editor of the Dandy, or the fan site? It's unusual to see two completely different accounts of how a character was created.
I'd be interested in any thoughts people may have...