When comics were proper stories.

colcool007 · Post by **colcool007** » 19 Nov 2007, 23:08

It quite lifted me to listen to Parkinson this Sunday as he discussed his happiness in receiving 2 years worth of Wizard as a Christmas present. Not Wizard Mk 2, but the Wizard that he remembered as a kid. Did anyone else catch this chat?

ISPYSHHHGUY · Post by **ISPYSHHHGUY** » 20 Nov 2007, 00:50

I missed this last particular PARKY broadcast, COLCOOL......but, I can certainly relate to this........I treated myself to 2 years of 'SPARKY' comics earlier this year, and it definately brought ME happiness......the images within had haunted me for decades. If I were to recieve 2 years run of late '60s 'BEEZER', [or even early 'WHIZZER and CHIPS' ] this Christmas [it won't happen] I would be truly grateful................

tolworthy · Post by **tolworthy** » 20 Nov 2007, 14:20

colcool007 wrote:Did anyone else catch this chat?

Yes, I can confirm that this was a classic to warm the heart. he was basically saying "The Eagle? These new dumbed down comics aren't for me, I like REAL comics!"

Kashgar · Post by **Kashgar** » 21 Nov 2007, 14:26

Sadly, Parky extolling the virtues of story papers these days is hardly liable to make them come alive for the pre 50 generation. He's about as 'with it' as a gnarled old oak tree in the grounds of one of the National Trust's better properties. Picnic under him on a summer's day sure, but take his advice when it comes to what boys' weeklies are worth dipping into, I think not!

Lew Stringer · Post by **Lew Stringer** » 21 Nov 2007, 15:16

tolworthy wrote:
colcool007 wrote:Did anyone else catch this chat?
Yes, I can confirm that this was a classic to warm the heart. he was basically saying "The Eagle? These new dumbed down comics aren't for me, I like REAL comics!"

You'd think a journalist and broadcaster of Parky's experience might actually know those story papers weren't comics.

Lew

philcom55 · Post by **philcom55** » 21 Nov 2007, 16:15

Lew Stringer wrote:You'd think a journalist and broadcaster of Parky's experience might actually know those story papers weren't comics.

I think the point is that for people of his generation they were the 'real' comics - unlike all those Johnny-come-lately picture strip things like The Eagle!

- Philologist Phil

Lew Stringer · Post by **Lew Stringer** » 21 Nov 2007, 17:25

philcom55 wrote:
Lew Stringer wrote:You'd think a journalist and broadcaster of Parky's experience might actually know those story papers weren't comics.
I think the point is that for people of his generation they were the 'real' comics - unlike all those Johnny-come-lately picture strip things like The Eagle!

- Philologist Phil

Yes I know what he meant, but it's as ridiculous as saying radio is the real cinema.

Lew

tolworthy · Post by **tolworthy** » 21 Nov 2007, 18:28

Lew Stringer wrote:
philcom55 wrote:I think the point is that for people of his generation they were the 'real' comics - unlike all those Johnny-come-lately picture strip things like The Eagle!
- Philologist Phil
Yes I know what he meant, but it's as ridiculous as saying radio is the real cinema.

Lew

Having recently seen Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy on DVD after hearing it on the radio, I know which one has the better pictures.

BTW, slightly off topic (and I hope my daughter doesn't read this) I just bought my daughter one of those cheap eBay Chinese "MP4 player" things for Christmas. It combines radio, cinema (with massive 1.5 inch screen!) and eBook reader. I absolutely love it! Smaller than a credit card and almost as thin, several hours' battery life, and all for 25 quid including postage. It took me a day to work out how to get a movie off a DVD onto the thing (at that price you get really obscure formats that take several steps to convert) but it's worth the effort.

If only they would make comics in this format. The screen size is perfect for a typical panel. I suppose it would be possible to scan them in and save each panel as a separate jpeg, but I fear that regular comic reader software won't be ported to it any time soon. A pity. It's an absolute marvel.

philcom55 · Post by **philcom55** » 21 Nov 2007, 18:53

Lew Stringer wrote:it's as ridiculous as saying radio is the real cinema.

Surely that's only looking at it from our own perspective: we might just as well criticize my father's generation for talking about "wireless" instead of "radio", or my grandfather's for referring to "Britain" as "England"!

- Phil R.

Lew Stringer · Post by **Lew Stringer** » 21 Nov 2007, 18:53

tolworthy wrote:
If only they would make comics in this format. The screen size is perfect for a typical panel.

They do:

http://www.rokcomics.com/

Lew

Lew Stringer · Post by **Lew Stringer** » 21 Nov 2007, 19:02

philcom55 wrote:
Lew Stringer wrote:it's as ridiculous as saying radio is the real cinema.
Surely that's only looking at it from our own perspective: we might just as well criticize my father's generation for talking about "wireless" instead of "radio", or my grandfather's for referring to "Britain" as "England"!

- Phil R.

Not really. Comics were around in Parky's day (Comic Cuts, Illustrated Chips, Film Fun etc) but The (original) Wizard was not a comic. We're not just talking about a slight variation on names. Text stories are not comic strips, just as radio isn't cinema, hence my analogy.

Seems odd that people refuse to accept that today's children's magazines (with comic content) are "comics" but they're ok with Parky's belief that text story papers (with no comic strips) were "real comics".

Lew

philcom55 · Post by **philcom55** » 21 Nov 2007, 21:13

I'm not trying to have a go at you Lew, it's just that this always reminds me of my Dad who remembered referring to papers like Wizard as 'comics' when he used to read them in the 1920s and 1930s. By contrast the current definition is a relatively recent convention. What if the accepted terminology were to shift again in the next twenty-five years so that all picture strips came to be called 'manga' and 'comics' were just stand-up comedians: how would you feel if people began to criticize you for talking about the comics you read as a child?

- Phil R.

colcool007 · Post by **colcool007** » 21 Nov 2007, 21:46

This is getting interesting. My Dad was from the mid-war years (born 1926) and obviously read such sterling publications as Wizard, Hotspur, Rover et al, but never once did he criticise my brothers and I for preferring to read these new fangled publications such as Victor, Commando, etc instead of the venerable Wizard and Rover (which sadly passed away in 1973).

IMHO the text story papers are as much comics as the current crop of Beano, Dandy, Commando and 2000AD. While the content and definition has changed, the context hasn't as they are still aimed at the same core market that saw sales soar to 1 million during the 50's.

Lew Stringer · Post by **Lew Stringer** » 21 Nov 2007, 22:14

philcom55 wrote:I'm not trying to have a go at you Lew, it's just that this always reminds me of my Dad who remembered referring to papers like Wizard as 'comics' when he used to read them in the 1920s and 1930s. By contrast the current definition is a relatively recent convention. What if the accepted terminology were to shift again in the next twenty-five years so that all picture strips came to be called 'manga' and 'comics' were just stand-up comedians: how would you feel if people began to criticize you for talking about the comics you read as a child?

- Phil R.

I didn't take it as a personal "go" Phil.

Thing is, a comic strip and a text story have always been different media. Fair enough if kids of the Thirties blurred the issue a bit and thought any pulp paper weekly was a "comic", but it's been a long time since Parky was a kid. I'd have thought that by now he'd know the difference.

What this boils down to really is Parky being yet another person blinded by nostalgia, thinking that his era was the best. As someone once said, the "golden age" of comics is when you were 12.

Regarding the manga/comics point you brought up; I don't think I'd be that bothered. "Manga" is the Japanese word for comic. They're already the same media, but "comics" doesn't mean text stories. Two entirely different media. The English language already has a rich mixture of words from other cultures so if manga replaced comics, so be it. (Some schoolkids already refer to all comics as manga. Besides, it's probably cooler than the British term "cartoon strip" which I always disliked personally.)

Lew

Lew Stringer · Post by **Lew Stringer** » 21 Nov 2007, 22:21

colcool007 wrote:
IMHO the text story papers are as much comics as the current crop of Beano, Dandy, Commando and 2000AD. While the content and definition has changed, the context hasn't as they are still aimed at the same core market that saw sales soar to 1 million during the 50's.

Children's books are aimed at the same market, but no one ever called them "comics". Sorry folks but there's a clear distinction between text stories and comic strips. I'd have thought comic fans would appreciate that.

Lew

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