philcom55 wrote:According to my trusty copy of Kashgar's invaluable (and sadly out of print) Book of Beezer...
Would I take it this is some sort of guidebook with info on strips, dates, etc? That's something that would be very interesting to me.. Does it ever crop up on ebay or such??
Would you be able to give me any more info about this publication please Kashgar??
Hi Davey,
Thanks for your interest.
That is exactly what it is, a guide book to the Beezer from its inception in 1956 to its demise as a weekly comic with the final issue of Beezer & Topper. The only things it doesn't reference are those few Beezer Books and Summer Specials that were issued after its publication in 1995.
It gives the starting and finishing dates of all Beezer strips and stories and identifies pretty well all of the artists involved in their production.
It was a companion volume to the other Thomson comic 'guide books' that I did the Dandy Monster Index, The Beano Diaries, The Magic Index and Topper Tales and I still have plans to finish the set off with a final guide devoted to the Thomson comics published from Sparky onwards.
That's exactly what I'm after.. will definitely have to pick up the Beezer and Topper volumes. I see bookpalace.com has the Topper, Dandy and Beano volumes.. so might go there unless you know of a better vendor? (I assume you don't sell them directly or anything?)
As for the Book of Beezer I guess watching E-Bay and other auction/book sites would be my best bet?
Hmm I see there's a Buster index by Steve Holland from the same publisher (with cover by a certain L. Stringer).. might have to check that out too
No doubt Kashgar is too modest to say it himself, but I can confirm that all his DC Thomson indexes are excellent publications and invaluable for any serious collector of British comics. The same goes for the ones produced by the estimable Steve Holland and his various collaborators relating to most of Fleetway's output (and in his case I think there are long term plans to produce improved versions when time allows, beginning with the superb pocket library volumes that are currently being prepared. It's always worth a look at his Bear Alley site to keep abreast of details).
Steve is up the walls at the mo.being heavily involved in a plethora of books.But good news is he hasn't forgotten the old Indices(mainly because I annoy him so much ).There are plans to release updated versions with better production quality possibly sometime next year(sales and costs being factored in of course).My kudos also to Ray for his sterling work in the past.They have been a boon to the comics fans and collectors alike.Take a bow.Here's a virtual pint !
Well, my Topper Tales arrived today, and I must say it's excellent. I can only imagaine the amount of research that goes into something like this. Fantastic job Kashgar, I know it's going to prove invaluable - thanks for writing it!
As for Book Palace, I ordered the book yesterday afternoon and it came through the letterbox this morning. 'nuff said
).There are plans to release updated versions with better production quality possibly sometime next year(sales and costs being factored in of course).My kudos also to Ray for his sterling work in the past.They have been a boon to the comics fans and collectors alike.Take a bow.Here's a virtual pint ! 