Comics UK

shame the great flood ended already......the rats one would have been fun to read...etc..though for a December issue it ended in the right season..the icebergs breaking through was dramatic wrecking the street and Christmas decorations...

Red Rory is nice.....good cliff hanger...

Ghastly Manor is in this issue..which was discussed here...

Liked the Send for Kelly......


hope we get a complete adventure story this time...
so the shortlist
Jellymen (my choice)
Swarm of wasps one.. from The Dandy (Lews choice)
Anyone got an adventure story they want to see..

Is Puss 'n' Boots back or still conspicuous by its absence?

not in....

though the sparky people.....spoofer..leo's Banana Bunch...nice Dudley work.are..

Is that three issues without Puss 'n' Boots now? I wonder if the new editor dislikes it.

'CLASSICS 140.'..........Dunno if you have checked it out yet, Raven, maybe no 'PUSS and BOOTS', but a little-seen JOHN GEERING gem, 'MONKEY BIZNESS' makes an appearence, and it exudes all the zest and zip [not to mention ZEAL ] of the lavish, lush and lustrous strips typical of his 1973 output.......

There is a beautifully-drawn BAXENDALE 'BANANA BUNCH', ---and looking at the level of craftsmanship, I am not surprized his weekly page-count was lower than the average comics artist of this era.

ALSO!!------'GHASTLY MANOR!!!' -----is this a FIRST for 'CFTComics?'------a good, vital example here, contains skeleton appearences....VERY rare in a THOMSON comic from this period.

STILL no sign of the late-60s 'NUMSKULLS' tale I look out for every CHRISTMAS, though.......this story detailed the problems encountered by a tiny 'NUMSKULLS' SANTA CLAUS goes through in order to deliver their tiny gifts.........


------'me-mo-rieees are made of this'................

ISPYSHHHGUY wrote:'CLASSICS 140.'..........Dunno if you have checked it out yet, Raven, maybe no 'PUSS and BOOTS', but a little-seen JOHN GEERING gem, 'MONKEY BIZNESS' makes an appearence, and it exudes all the zest and zip [not to mention ZEAL ] of the lavish, lush and lustrous strips typical of his 1973 output.......

I've not been buying it since P & B were dumped, ISPYSHHHGUY, but I really like Monkey Bizness and have ordered Dandys from that period just for that strip. You know, I hadn't realised it was John Geering! No wonder I like it ... yes, it's full of zest. I wonder how long it ran.

'P.C. BIG-EARS', also by JOHN GEERING, appeared in .DANDY' a wee bit earlier.....for me, THE rarest-ever J.G. strip from his early period was 'TROUBLE BRUIN' from 'SPARKY' [1970]''''remember, it was about a bear trying to nick honey from bees........possibly J.G'.S most animated-cartoon-like comic strip ever, this somehow failed to click with readers.

Hi ISPY I imagine the Numskull Santa strip to which you are referring is the one in which he can't get into their man's mouth while he's sleeping to deliver their presents so he puts the pressies in his Xmas dinner serving of mashed spud instead. If it is it was published in Beezer No 624 (30/12/67).
As to the two John Geering strips you mentioned 'Monkey Bizness' featured in Dandy Nos 1662 (29/9/73) - 1770 (25/10/75) and 'Trouble Bruin' subtitled 'the funny Honey Hunter' appeared in Sparky Nos 280 (30/5/70) - 314 (23/1/71).

kashgar....the 'NUMSKULLS' tiny Santa Claus scenario you mention is DEFINATELY the one that has haunted all my Christmas pasts for an incredible FOUR DECADES........this was back when SANDIE SHAW was in vogue!!!!! I knew the 'NUMSKULLS' tale involved MASHED POTATO........

----for some reason, 'mashed-potato' gags pepper my 'BEEZER' memories: around the same time, a 'BANANA BUNCH' story ended with 'COOKIE' bursting skywards out the gang-hut roof in a sea of mashed-potato.............

Did anyone spot the error in The Great Flood?