Come In and Introduce Yourselves!

Unfortunately, a lot of kids now are not only happy with the more simplistic stuff, they would probably consider the more detailed work in your 1969 example old fashioned and odd looking. We tend to like what we are used to. But yes, the colour is a definite improvement. Strange to think that not that long ago, even the annuals weren't in full colour let alone the weekly.

Though finally admitting that some strips work better in black & white was one of the best moves 2000AD ever made.

A good point, Tony, and I would like to mention that is definately takes considerable skill to turn out an effective comic under limited-space circumstances......a lot of artists still manage to put out a lot of great work in the condensed format.

I'm a bit of a hypocrite, as I actually do my own very tiny strips in an attempt to look 'modern!'

MR X wrote:A good point, Tony, and I would like to mention that is definately takes considerable skill to turn out an effective comic under limited-space circumstances......a lot of artists still manage to put out a lot of great work in the condensed form.

They do, I agree. I'd still far rather see the more detailed, less overtly cartoony stuff I remember from the 70s, but I'm sure there's still a lot of talent at work on today's comics.

I still can't get to grips with the new look Dennis, mind...

The new Dennis is a bit bland for me, and apparantly DAVEY LAW'S daughters are up in arms as to what has happened to their fathers' iconic creation!

It just looks 'too corporate' for my tastes..........the BEANO of the 50s has been described as 'conservative', but it's positively anarchic compared to a lot of modern TV animation!

MR X wrote:The new Dennis is a bit bland for me, and apparantly DAVEY LAW'S daughters are up in arms as to what has happened to their fathers' iconic creation!

That doesn't surprise me. There's very little resemblance left to the original.

It just looks 'too corporate' for my tastes..........the BEANO of the 50s has been described as 'conservative', but it's positively anarchic compared to a lot of modern TV animation!

There does seem to be a certain blandness creeping into TV animation, I agree. Simplistic moralising rather than energetic and innovative stories. Oh Dangermouse, where are you when we need you?

...though, before this thread slippery slopes too much:
http://lewstringer.blogspot.com/2009/08/another-political-correctness-gone-mad.html

I'm Neil and really pleased to see this forum exists.

I don't collect comics so much these days, often too expensive and then disappointing. Tend to stick to collections and graphic novels.

Was a big collector of British Marvels which got me collecting comics as an obsession, but always read comics from my infancy. I used to get Teddy Bear when I was at infants school. I can remember being bought the first issue of TV21 when I was in bed with chicken pox: illness always improved one's chances of being bought a comic!

I regularly got Beano and Tiger in the 70s, Smash, Fantastic, Terrific in the sixties. Also used to enjoy my sister's Bunty and Princess Tina.

But most of all I'm delighted there are fellow Sparky fans on the forum. I'm looking forward to reading Alan's article on what I think was a wonderful comic. Now if you excuse me I need to go and count my nirdles...

drneil wrote:I'm Neil and really pleased to see this forum exists.

I don't collect comics so much these days, often too expensive and then disappointing. Tend to stick to collections and graphic novels.

Was a big collector of British Marvels which got me collecting comics as an obsession, but always read comics from my infancy. I used to get Teddy Bear when I was at infants school. I can remember being bought the first issue of TV21 when I was in bed with chicken pox: illness always improved one's chances of being bought a comic!

I regularly got Beano and Tiger in the 70s, Smash, Fantastic, Terrific in the sixties. Also used to enjoy my sister's Bunty and Princess Tina.

But most of all I'm delighted there are fellow Sparky fans on the forum. I'm looking forward to reading Alan's article on what I think was a wonderful comic. Now if you excuse me I need to go and count my nirdles...

Welcome Neil. Glad to see a fellow British Marvel fan here; I actually learned to read on these. i still have a sizable collection of them, and am pathetically grateful to Pnini for resurrecting the venerable Mighty World of Marvel (if in name only).

Hi, I'm Andrew. I've been reading comics since my I was bought my first issue of The Dandy when I was five. I'm a librarian, writer and critic who started writing about comics a year or two ago (I have an article scheduled for a future issue of Crikey!, which is great!). I blog at 'Mad About Comics', located at http://andrew-madaboutcomics.blogspot.com/ and I'm currently writing a book on Alan Moore's Swamp Thing issues for Sequart Books.

Andrew Edwards wrote:Hi, I'm Andrew. I've been reading comics since my I was bought my first issue of The Dandy when I was five. I'm a librarian, writer and critic who started writing about comics a year or two ago (I have an article scheduled for a future issue of Crikey!, which is great!). I blog at 'Mad About Comics', located at http://andrew-madaboutcomics.blogspot.com/ and I'm currently writing a book on Alan Moore's Swamp Thing issues for Sequart Books.

Welcome aboard, Andrew-glad to see you here.

Thanks Tony - it's great to be here!

Andrew Edwards wrote:Thanks Tony - it's great to be here!

So, I'm guessing you're a big Moore fan, then? I remember those Swamp Thing issues well. Particularly since they introduced the wonderful John Constantine. Still tend to prefer his earlier, British published work, though.

Yes, I'm a pretty big Moore fan. While I do rate some of his US stuff (obviously Swamp Thing, and Watchmen) I'd agree that his UK stuff is amazing, particularly Marvelman and V for Vendetta, which I still think of as British, despite the US reprints and continuations. I also like his 2000 AD short stories, his Capt Britain work, and even the early cartoons he drew for Sounds and his local paper. I'm not as taken with some of his current/later work, but it's still fairly good.

One glaring gap - I recently realised that I've yet to read Halo Jones, and for no good reason either! It's still sitting on my shelf a couple of years after I bought it. I'll have to rectify that!

Andrew Edwards wrote:Yes, I'm a pretty big Moore fan. While I do rate some of his US stuff (obviously Swamp Thing, and Watchmen) I'd agree that his UK stuff is amazing, particularly Marvelman and V for Vendetta, which I still think of as British, despite the US reprints and continuations. I also like his 2000 AD short stories, his Capt Britain work, and even the early cartoons he drew for Sounds and his local paper. I'm not as taken with some of his current/later work, but it's still fairly good.

One glaring gap - I recently realised that I've yet to read Halo Jones, and for no good reason either! It's still sitting on my shelf a couple of years after I bought it. I'll have to rectify that!

I think as far as his 2000AD stuff goes, I'd say Skizz was probably my favourite. Halo Jones was a very well written strip but I could never quite relate to Halo as a character in the way that I could to the likes of Roxy, Loz and Cornelius. And of course, the fact that it was cut short didn't help.

I read the recent Rebellion reprint of Skizz and enjoyed it. It was a really good mix of mundane reality and SF. I think it's really underrated, actually. It seems to be a work that's not mentioned much in work about Moore

Andrew Edwards wrote:I read the recent Rebellion reprint of Skizz and enjoyed it. It was a really good mix of mundane reality and SF. I think it's really underrated, actually. It seems to be a work that's not mentioned much in work about Moore

A serious oversight, I agree. It's also frequently dismissed as Moore doing ET, when in fact, he wrote the story before the little Muppet turned up on the big screen (Moore and Spielberg seem to have been working on virtually the same idea totally independently at almost exactly the same time).

Yes, I suppose that would be annoying for Moore as well!

Andrew Edwards wrote:Yes, I suppose that would be annoying for Moore as well!

Particularly since Skizz was by far the better story. A shame 2000AD had to follow it up with two rather lacklustre sequels by Jim Baikie (should'a stuck to drawing, Jim)...

Andrew: I followed ROSCOE MOSCOW and later STARS: MY DEGRADATION both of course written and drawn by ALAN MOORE [under his 'CURT VILE' psyeudonym] in 79 onwards for SOUNDS music mag, as you mention......


pretty subversive stuff, with some less-than-legal POPEYE/OLIVE OYL variations, I remember! I quite liked these strips, though, they were very like US 'underground' comics in style.


here's an unusual full-page mega-frame [the strip was normally in multiframe format] of ROSCOE MOSCOW drawn by MR MOORE [good job a lot of the details are practically invisible here!]-----this was miles from the BEANO:

MR X wrote:Andrew: I followed ROSCOE MOSCOW and later STARS: MY DEGRADATION both of course written and drawn by ALAN MOORE [under his 'CURT VILE' psyeudonym] in 79 onwards for SOUNDS music mag, as you mention......


pretty subversive stuff, with some less-than-legal POPEYE/OLIVE OYL variations, I remember! I quite liked these strips, though, they were very like US 'underground' comics in style.

Didn't know you were a fan of underground comics? Any in particular?

I know who ROBERT CRUMB is, Tony, and though I don't collect his work, I have a fair few of his reprint stuff in 'comix' history books......the FABULOUS FURRY FREAK BROTHERS by GILBERT SHELDON is another gem that some folks on here must be familiar with.........

I am pretty open-minded regarding most forms of comics, and although I don't go out of my way to amass more obscure stuff, I love flicking through this sort of stuff in 'FORBIDDEN PLANET' and elsewhere......

here's a couple of examples of CRUMB'S work: sometimes, he delves into quite adult themes, and these items here are quite restrained:






I do think CRUMB was a brilliant cartoonist however [even if I don't especially endorse the drugs 'cop-out' factor ] and in 'adult' cartooning, I probably prefer this stuff to UK counterparts like VIZ.

Hi Mr X

Yes, that mega panel is something else...! I think it was a homage to S Clay Wilson.

I wrote an article on Roscoe Moscow for the Sequart.com website, as well as Maxwell the Magic Cat and The Stars My Degradation. I really like this early stuff. Incidentally, the whole of Moore's work for Sounds is available to view at: http://www.4colorheroes.com/alan_moore_sounds.html

Moore has given his blessing to this project, btw.

I just had a look at some ROSCOE MOSCOW on there, Andrew, and it still looks pretty bizarre!

Rab and I are both fans of Les Bartons work too! Rab, with his artists eye has helped me appreciate Les' work more on the `I. Spy` strip he drew for Sparky comic 1969-70.

Hi, I'm James Spiring, using the same username I use on Comics UK. I bought Crikey! issues 11 and 13 from Amazing Fantasy today (that shop lives up to it's name!), and having read 13, noticed a slight error regarding Peter Piper. He appeared in The Dandy Book roughly a decade ago - I'll check which one tomorrow if I can. I don't know if he was ever in the weekly comic, but Topper wasn't his last appearance anyway.

Great magazine, I'll read 11 tomorrow and see if I can pick up 8, 9 and 10 next time I go to that shop (couldn't afford them all, so I picked the latest issue and the one with the Euan Kerr interview in). 12 was already nowhere in sight, which means it must've been popular!

Good to have you aboard, James. Sales of #12 have been pretty good, in fact-it seems to have sold out in a few places (I think the ad in Doctor Who Magazine helped). If you want a copy, let me know.

I didn't realise Piper had been revived in the Dandy Book; do you recall which one?

Tony! Peter Piper appeared in a few late 1990s Dandy comics too (I have two with him in) He was drawn by the artist who drew the "Blinky" character! Not too my taste though!

alanultron5 wrote:Tony! Peter Piper appeared in a few late 1990s Dandy comics too (I have two with him in) He was drawn by the artist who drew the "Blinky" character! Not too my taste though!

Could have been worse, Alan-they could have brought back Invisible Dick...

Invisible Dick today would more than likely have a 'girl's locker room 'flavour for exploration by the 'invisible one'.....a far cry from SPARKY of yore.

MR X wrote:Invisible Dick today would more than likely have a 'girl's locker room 'flavour for exploration by the 'invisible one'.....a far cry from SPARKY of yore.

Judging by what I saw of the Dandy Annual, it would indeed. Whatever happened to the innocence of comics?

alanultron5 wrote:Tony! Peter Piper appeared in a few late 1990s Dandy comics too (I have two with him in) He was drawn by the artist who drew the "Blinky" character! Not too my taste though!

Yeah, Nick Brennan. I'm not a big fan of his either. The annual strip was in two parts, and the storyline was that he got new pipes for Christmas, so Mum binned his old ones. But the new ones destroyed things instead of bringing things to life, so he had to chase the dustcart and retrieve his old ones! Since he did appear in the comic, I would assume it wasn't a very popular revival. It's probably the 2000 annual. I can't find my copy right now, but I've checked the others from that era and haven't found the story.

Hi all

New to the forum but soon to catch up on the mag itself. A great read.

Real name Pete and being 42 years young my 'era' as it were, (first time around) was circa 1972 through to the early 80's by which time I realised that comics were for kids!! (ahh, the folly of youth). I really believe that I grew up in THE BEST of times for a comic loving lad and have great memories of the likes of Valliant, Beano, Beezer, Crunch, Cheeky, Whizzer and Chips, Plug, Action, the launch of Warlord, ditto Bullet (and the respective clubs you could join), and the arrival of the stellar 2000ad. That might sound like I was some rich kid with tons of disposable pocket money, but truth be told I bought, (or was bought in the days before pocket money itself) one or two titles a week and switched my alleigence at regular intervals. For instance, I bought the first three issues of Warlord only, the first two of Vulcan, the first seven of Bullet, the first issue only of Target, and an impressive first twenty seven of 2000ad. I'd always check out most of these titles at later dates to see if they had changed, and to be honest, most had, for the worst.

It was Marvel UK that really grabbed me as a kid. After my Mum bought me MWOM #20 in Feb 1973 I was pretty much hooked to the character of Daredevil and still am to this day. I love pretty much every title they produced, (couldn't afford every one each week, however), but stuck around with them pretty much until '81 or '82 in one form or another. Absolutely hated Dez Skinns 'Marvel Revolution' of 1979.

A Marvel UK fan! I knew I wasn't the only one! Welcome Pete, welcome. you're also the first person in many a moon I've heard mention The Crunch, a title which absolutely terrified me as a kid...

tony ingram wrote:A Marvel UK fan! I knew I wasn't the only one! Welcome Pete, welcome. you're also the first person in many a moon I've heard mention The Crunch, a title which absolutely terrified me as a kid...

Many thanks, Tony. I've just sent off for some back issues of the mag and am looking forward to reading the Marvel UK retrospective in particular. Am I right in thinking there has been a publication called 'From Cents to Pence' promised for a while now looking back at Marvel in this country? I seem to remember originally reading about this years ago but it looks like its never going to happen.

I think I stuck with The Crunch for three issues before moving my fickle young self onto pastures new. Recently reaquainted myself with Issue One via a winning bid on Ebay and it brought back great memories.

The book in questioned has been long promised by author Rob Kirby, but seems to be on hold at the moment. I've been waiting for it, too...

Shaqui Le Vesconte, editor of the 'Gerry Anderson Complete Comic History' and (up-and-coming next year) 'Look-in Extra' websites.

Long standing comic and TV fan.

shaqui wrote:Shaqui Le Vesconte, editor of the 'Gerry Anderson Complete Comic History' and (up-and-coming next year) 'Look-in Extra' websites.

Long standing comic and TV fan.

Glad to see someone giving Look-In the attention it deserves! Welcome, Shaqui.

I used to buy Look-in, it was a great magazine.

Hourglass wrote:I used to buy Look-in, it was a great magazine.

Some terrific art-particularly on strips like Timeslip and Follyfoot! Admittedly many of the humour strips were a little lacking (in humour, mostly) but the adventure strips were almost invariably great.

Hello yall.

I'm not really American, i've just been watching the Beverly Hill Billies.

My 1st comic I read would have been the Beano before moving on to Eagle/Commando which would have been my uncles old manuals at my Grans house As you probably guess this is my attempt at humour , and failing miserably.

Anyway. I'm off for now until I can come up with something more productive to say, so I'll say love the forum, from what I've read.

Welcome! That may be the shortest username I've ever seen, what does it mean?

tony ingram wrote:Welcome! That may be the shortest username I've ever seen, what does it mean?

it was my mess deck number, I used to serve in the royal navy.
I was going to use some comic book hero's name but thought I'd go for something different.

is that the time! I'm off to bed.

You could have called yourself 'JONAH', 3hZ, but that would be a bad sea-faring omen.

Welcome to the site.

Just to say `hello` again. Not been too well and have to take it easy for a while! Just a few friendly posts for now! Best wishes to all! Alan.

alanultron5 wrote:Just to say `hello` again. Not been too well and have to take it easy for a while! Just a few friendly posts for now! Best wishes to all! Alan.

Take care of yourself, Al. You're missed around here.

Thank you Tony! I will be taking it slowly for a bit, but its nice to pop on here for a few minutes at a time and catch up a bit!

alanultron5 wrote:Thank you Tony! I will be taking it slowly for a bit, but its nice to pop on here for a few minutes at a time and catch up a bit!

How are things going?

Hi, new member. From Belfast in Northern Ireland. Recently rekindled my interest in British Comics. I regard Wham, Smash and Pow as probably the best comics to be produced in the UK, but am also very keen on Don Lawrence, TV21 and indeed most british humour or adventure titles.

Looking forward to talking to you.

Stigandnasty wrote:Hi, new member. From Belfast in Northern Ireland. Recently rekindled my interest in British Comics. I regard Wham, Smash and Pow as probably the best comics to be produced in the UK, but am also very keen on Don Lawrence, TV21 and indeed most british humour or adventure titles.

Looking forward to talking to you.

The more the merrier! Actually, my own first exposure to the Power comics was a Fantastic annual (1970 or 1968, I believe) which I found curiously enchanting due to its eccentric colouring (the Scarlet Witch dressed head to toe in green: c'mon guys, didn't her name give you a clue?). I only later discovered the earlier ones (and Terrific) but they were well worth picking up, I agree...