Desert Island Strips

[Raven]

I'm a big fan of the Andrew Wilson-illustrated The Byrds of Paradise Isle from Buster and Monster Fun, the Wonder-Car team defected from Chips to Whizzer to get stranded as The Castaways in the early 70s (drawn by Ron Turner), ISPY has waxed lyrical about The Young Castaways from early Sparky in the past, and we've recently had posts about Castaways on Voodoo Island and Desert Island Daisy in the girls' comics.

Does anyone have any favourites from the tropical island castaway adventure genre? Are there many others?

I'm not sure Desert Island Dick counts!

[philcom55]

Two obvious candidates from DC Thomson were Beano's 'Shipwrecked Circus' and Beezer's 'Kings of Castaway Island'.

- Phil R.

[Raven]

One DC Thomson South Seas series I rather like is Guardian of Pagoda Light from The Hotspur (1972/73), about a 17th Century Captain and a native boy living on a dangerous headland, operating a navigational light to guide ships to safety for the East India Company traders, foiling rivals keen to destroy it, and making great use of the tropical setting.

Thanks, Phil. Now, what was that castaways strip in Buddy ... an update of Shipwrecked Circus, I think ...

EDIT: Circus Island!

[Raven]

Oh, and of course there's Lonely Larry from The Hotspur, and maybe the best DC Thomson South Seas saga: The Island of Monsters from The Dandy.

I'd be very interested to hear if there were any other island-bound IPC adventure serials.

[Raven]

What about Shipwrecked School from Ipc?

I didn't mention Shipwreck School as it's not adventure, but it was my favourite strip in Wow. A great idea for a humour strip. Okay, it doesn't just have to be adventure!

Whizzer and Chips did another tropical island adventure serial from late 1979: The Island of Fear.

[Peter Gray]

Desert Island Dick from Topper;0)

The moving island in The Beano annual..

[Raven]

The moving island in The Beano annual..

Do tell more!

I've remembered another IPC serial now; one of those spot the clues and win prizes serials - Island of Suspicion from Jackpot.

[philcom55]

Of course there was also the long-running School Friend series 'Jill Crusoe'.

(...And, come to think of it, didn't the Wild Wonders start out as castaways?)

- Phil R.

[Peter Gray]

the island had wheels like a car!!

[Raven]

the island had wheels like a car!!

What period was this from? Do you have any to elaborate on plots?

[philcom55]

...'The Tuffs of Terror Island' by one-time Wally Woodite Tony Coleman?

- Phil R.

[Raven]

(...And, come to think of it, didn't the Wild Wonders start out as castaways?)

They were from an island in the Hebrides, though; not very tropical! And I'm not sure if they were castaways rather than natives of said Worrag Island.

...'The Tuffs of Terror Island' by one-time Wally Woodite Tony Coleman?

Oh, yes, of course, on their Australian isle of giant birds, with their ape man pal Urrg. I must have another look at some of them.

[philcom55]

Of course, one interesting aspect to that last one is that it started out in TV21.

Two more Fleetway/IPC candidates: 'Gorilla Island' and 'Castaways of Shark Island' in Tiger.

- Phil R.

[Raven]

Of course, one interesting aspect to that last one is that it started out in TV21.

Two more Fleetway/IPC candidates: 'Gorilla Island' and 'Castaways of Shark Island' in Tiger.

- Phil R.

I haven't heard of those Phil, and would be interested to know more. Presumably these are from the days before Tiger became all sports? The Tiger of the Sixties seems quite interesting.

[philcom55]

1960s Tiger was a great title - at least as good as Lion and Valiant imho.

Gorilla Island was a nice 'Planet of the Apes' type story drawn by Frank Langford which actually predated the Charlton Heston film - though to be honest I'm not sure that the fictitious African island of Congola strictly counts as a desert island.



Castaways of Shark Island featured a much more traditional 'Lord of the Flies' scenario in which a group of boys had to rely on their wits to survive when they were shipwrecked on a tropical island in the middle of the Pacific. Interestingly this series was drawn by a baffling array of different artists which even included Don Lawrence at one point (though I don't have those episodes).



- Phil Rushton