Comics UK

Just been looking in detail at Faceache





http://www.petergraycartoonsandcomics.b ... eache.html

http://www.petergraycartoonsandcomics.b ... d-70s.html

http://www.petergraycartoonsandcomics.b ... chool.html

Whats your thoughts on Faceache...your memories of it..
Looking at it it still holds up very well...it has all the qualities you want in Ken..I think because he wrote it..its still a very dark strip and is just as good as hes 60's work..

World Wide Werdies etc were also from another world...

Face Ache was a very funny strip especially when he could throw his scrunge on other peoples face's. Some cracking artwork by Ken, the sort of strip he was great at, stupid faces galore.

Ken was an absolute master, but I feel that too many of his scenarios are seen from the same angle, with two characters at mid-shot, clearly he loved drawing from this angle.

I much prefer his more adventurous POV angles but each to their own....

I've got a book with the complete Queen of the Seas and the complete Nervs... But I'd murder (metaphorically) for a complete Faceache book!

I love his work! Ken did a short lived strip called "Banger and Masher" about 1971 in one of the IPC comics. It might have been Valiant & Smash or Lion & Thunder. Not sure which, but sadly it was very short lived!

'Banger and Masher' ran in Valiant for just a year right at the beginning of the 1970s, though I think some of the later episodes were drawn by Frank McDiarmid. Here's one of Ken's from September 1970:



- Phil Rushton

Wow! what a dark strip...Bully Beef and chips eat your heart out!!!

would be interesting seeing Frank's version of this strip...he really was the one to ghost Ken...

Ken of course did the football strips in the 70's which has been shown on Kazoop blog

http://kazoop.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/fo ... cs_30.html

http://kazoop.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/fo ... cs_29.html

So many good comic work by Ken in the 70's...

Just love the ending!! thanks kazoop...

Apart from his last episode of 'The Nervs' I think 'Banger and Masher' must have been the most darkly violent of all Ken Reid's strips. To be honest I'd completely forgotten how many gruesome, near lethal injuries the principal characters managed to sustain each week. One can't help wondering whether Ken was using his artwork at that time as a kind of therapy to exorcise his own inner demons.

Here are three more examples (I'm afraid I couldn't find any of the McDiarmid ones):







I particularly like the little twerp in glasses who starts to steal the scene from Banger and Masher themselves in some of the later episodes!

- Phil Rushton

unbeatable draughtsmanship---stupendous!

There was a total of 39 Banger and Masher episodes in Valiant weeklies, they ran from the issue with the cover date of 4th July, 1970 until 3rd July 1971 and were all illustrated by Ken Reid. Valiant was affected by industrial action and missed 11 weeks from 21st November 1970 until 30th February 1971. Besides, there was no Banger and Masher in Valiant issues dated 22nd and 29th May 1971 and 26th June 1971.

Thanks K-P! I did wonder about that McDiarmid credit in the Valiant Index.

- Phil R.

The nerd character does help..to make it better as it is very bleak..very angry strip...
Puss and Boots helps for me due to them being animals..its strange seeing it has two boys..bit too close to the truth...

1974. another 70's comic page by Ken..

Just done a post on Faceache's Dad...a very Dicken's story..

http://www.petergraycartoonsandcomics.b ... s-dad.html


Black humour served hot..

I like Segar's Popeye Thimble Theatre comic strip ...so looking in detail at Ken Reid's work has been great to do..

Someone has asked at the blog how did Faceache end up at Belmonte school and did it show the Dad going abroad?

I would love to please see Faceache in Jet comic...also to see the first one.
..is there some on this forum..tried searching for it But couldn't find it..