Comics UK

philcom55 wrote:As far as I know they were never actually published Phoenix. These are original pieces specifically drawn for 'Uncle David's nephew.

So how did you end up with them Phil if you don't mind me asking?

They all came up on ebay, though I only managed to acquire three myself. I always think it's a shame how such priceless family heirlooms get broken up and scattered in the course of time. At a recent boot sale I picked up a remarkable photo album which covered a woman's entire life in meticulous detail, including the first and second World Wars: fascinating as social history with respect to single women in the twentieth century, but it's so desperately sad that nobody seems to have cared enough about her to hold on to it when she finally died.

colcool007 wrote:
While I have been writing this, the football strip has been bugging me and it looks like the 1940s/1950s Alloa Athletic strip so I wonder if Fred hailed from that part of the country and used that strip intentionally.

Good call, here's their kit from 1947-55 although the socks say it was the 1955-56 kit:

I think David's nephew lived in Falkirk, so Alloa Athletic could well have been his team.

Here's a shot of the original book along with some of the illustrations it contained taken from ebay. Sadly the brilliant drawing of Korky the Cat by James Crighton was one of the first to go!

Adam Eterno wrote:Good call, here's their kit from 1947-55 although the socks say it was the 1955-56 kit:

Wow, time-travelling socks in 1948. To be fair though, Thomsons were pushing the belief boundaries that year anyway with Redstoke United's master footballer Pickford in The Goal Maker. He had apparently had three lives already, all twenty years apart, during which he had played at inside right for Prestford Wanderers in 1888, Rimthorpe Albion in 1908, and Lingbury Rovers in 1928. The 1948/49 serial was a riveting read, one that I have returned to many times over the years. I have no recollection of ever having sucked dummies, but if I did have any, I'm sure they will have had sports stories enthusiast printed on them. I constantly find myself reading all kinds of serials from the Big Four but if pressed I would have to admit that for choice I would select sports serials, detective serials, science fiction/fantasy serials, Wild West serials and school serials. I enjoy serials with similar themes in Thomsons' comics for girls although I must admit their detective serials are rather thin on the ground. Maddie Hatter is definitely no Nancy Drew.

philcom55 wrote:I think David's nephew lived in Falkirk, so Alloa Athletic could well have been his team.

There could be a case for calling Paw Broon in then as that it his neck of the woods and he might know if the mystery player is based on a local hero.

Apologies Phil, in my haste I was confusing Dave Spink with another Dave, Dave Ogilvie. It was the latter who drew the Sparky and girls picture paper stuff.

No need to apologize Kashgar, this is all fascinating stuff. I wonder if Dave Spink was mainly another layout artist them?

David Spink was certainly a layout artist in the main.
BTW Jimmy Crighton, although he contributed to this selection, was never a
member of the Meadowside art dept. At the time he drew his contribution he
would still have been working in the Bank Street art room before he began to work
from home in the 1950's. Other comic artists who worked from Bank Street included
Davey Law and Jimmy Clark.

Col drew my attention to this but I haven't a clue who the player is, which team it is or who drew it. Actually, I avoid anything to do with football. I was a fan and followed Airdrie when I was a teenager and I think that put me off.

It's a shame that 'Uncle' Dave Spink seems to have been a relatively minor player in DC Thomson's art department as, looking at the pictures of him included in 'This Was The Wizard' it's just occurred to me that his cowboy drawing was almost certainly a self-portrait as well. It also makes me wonder if Thomsons might have kept a store of visual props such as cowboy outfits for their artists to dress up in and use as reference.