a scanner/printer combination would set you back about 50 quid, Alan.......it definately helps with the visual side of things; however, next time, I intend shelling out for an A3 job, to accomodate larger-scale artwork......
----I look forwards to seeing your thoughts on 'SPARKY'S' earlier period, though; just bung a new thread in the 'COMIC' title section: I, too was unsure where exactly to place some themes on here when I started.
-----okay, back to
'SPARKY' 1969 and to Alans' frankly less-than-favourite-strip, ; 'INVISIBLE DICK'........this strip holds the distinction of dating 'way back to 'DANDY' number one in DECEMBER 1937, [then drawn by GEORGE RAMSBOTTOM]: the main difference in the early version was that young DICK owned a 'bronze bottle' that contained 'queer liquid' with the power to render people and objects invisible.
DICK had actually [dis]appeared even further back than early 'DANDY': in a 'ROVER' serial, circa 1922! The version illustrated above is by TONY SPEER, which ran for an impressive 9 years. True, revisiting these stories now reveals a glaringly obvious repetitive-story syndrome [with 'local toughs' or other undesirables getting their comeuppance courtesy of young DICK DIXON'S black-beamed torch] , however the example shown here features a rare 'continued-from-last-week' set-up.
'SPOOFER Mc GRAW', that teller of tall tales so beloved of the SPARKY scriptwriters themselves, was an untypically detailed vehicle for GORDON BELL, who was more prone to sketchier artwork in many of his strips; a high level of consistent imagination---in the early days, especially-----helped this strip to stand out. Aided and abetted by SPOOFER'S dozy sidekick, BO, and his mutt, of course:
'DAVEY SPACER' [artist unknown] re-appeared in summer of this year in his final outing for the comic. Back in '69, this was hi-tech space-opera stuff, however in the case of this particular tale, the space hardware would give way to extremely whimsical elements, involving an alien planet of mermaid-like beings.
'KINGS of the CASTLE' was quite possibly the most skilfully-executed strip that ever graced 'SPARKY': also arriving in late summer, KEN HARRISON'S lavish strip is a must for anyone interested in studying accomplished comics artwork, the main forte here being in the depiction of crowd scenes [every character was a complete individual, even in epic battle scenes] and in elaborate gag set-ups.
KEN also had a successful rag trade business asides fro his comics work, which perhaps explains why he never 'crossed over' onto top-drawer characters like 'DESPERATE DAN' [the only artist who seriously gave D D WATKINS a run for his money regarding this character, I reckon] until much later, around 1983.
no assessment of 'SPARKY' is complete without mention of 'HUNGRY HORACE', here sporting his fetching 'knife-and-fork' jersey motif that characterized this early ALBERT HOLROYD era. The following story has an unusually sadistic ending for a strip such as this:
'SPARKY' was never to completely lose the 'fairytale' veneer of it's 'nursery' past, however, and 'MR. BUBBLES' probably represents the pinaccle of the comic's whimsical outpourings; at the time, I thought this stuff was fine, and even today, the dream-like qualities of this strip hark back to a more innocent, carefree point in comicdom's past. Dated to be sure, but I wouldn't want it any other way!
