What was your favourite?

[ISPYSHHHGUY]

I agree that the Nervs was quite possibly the most bizarre, surreal and nightmarish UK comic strip [in the 'funny' vein] ever to appear in print.

It was dumbfounding first time around, and remains so until this day. No doubt a comics historian of the 23rd Century will arrive at the same conclusion....Ken Reid really went to town on this one.

[STARBOY]

Ken Reids strips were the only strips my Dad used to have "concerns" over me reading when I was a kid, he thought they were "disturbing" but never told me not to read them - I always remember him saying to me " are those drawing are upsetting you? ... are you ok with them..... they don't give you nightmares etc (I must have been weeing the bed at the time - ah how life becomes a circle lol) .... then added they're really well drawn, the guy that did them is very good but he msut have a warpped imagination.... I wouldnt want to meet him on a dark night ''.." (I'm sure I'm paraphrasing but that was the jist my Dad was alway open to what I read as a kid) but the truth was that Rieds art did make me (as a 6 year old) feel very uncomfortable but I was fascinated by it as well (as did Ditkos early Spiderman art for some reason) and after my dads comments Ken Reid was always, in my mind a "gibbering maniacal artist" of legendary standing - and in reality he was a lovely family man. A genius, I simply loved (and still do) his stuff and have great memories because of his work - so a big thanks to that warpped artist bloke.

[Lew Stringer]

It's good that parents express concern over such things because a) it's shows they care, and b) it means that the comics in question are doing their job: appealing to the modern generation not the previous one.

It's sad that a minority of parents go too far and start calling for a ban etc. What gives those people the right to decide what other parent's kids read?

When I was eight a Sub-Mariner story about the flooding of a city (in Terrific) gave me a nightmare. When I woke up I thought it was brilliant that a comic had caused such an vivid effect in my sleeping mind and I hoped other comics would cause more exciting dreams like that. (They rarely did.)

[ISPYSHHHGUY]

Ken Reid was meant to be a 'normal', insignificant-looking specimen whose magic was in his mind as hands.

MAD'S Don Martin come up with endless anarchic imagery, but by all accounts he was shy and retiring in person.

Funny how so many readers get a fixed pre-concieved image of how their favourite artists might look or act in person.....I can't think of one comics artist or animator who 'lived up' to the imagery that made them famous.

[STARBOY]

That's very True Ispy I suppose if an artist is drawing superheros he/shes not going to look like Superman/girl and no one can be as manic (and walking the streets) as Reid and Martin etc - excellent turn of phrase " the magic was in his mind and hands" says it all - However there are a few artists that look (to me at least) a bit like their drawings (if that makes sense) ie Gene Colan and Jim Starlin look like their characters - Starlin for example is a blocky (muscular I think) bloke a bit like his characters - similarly a Young (not now) Barry Windsor Smith looked a bit like his Conan characters slim, defined check bones etc -ok I'll get me coat (again)

[ISPYSHHHGUY]

Also, Dik Browne did look a bit like his creation, Hagar!