Comics UK

Beano is missing some great artists...

I miss the most Robert Nixon.....John Geering...Jim Petrie (Minnie)...Sid Burgon...Les Pretend artist....Vic Neill....
Gordon Bell...

It seems when 1998 came the comic changed...for me. ..when David Sutherland semi retired
of course I could add other artists like David Law etc...


Hunt E....Dave Eastbury...Jim Hanson....Nigel P.....do add a lot to the comic now.......
still miss my favourite artists........maybe the ones above will be my new favourites later on........

John Sherwood, who drew Les, died in late 2003. He had also drawn the Nibblers and at one time, Tiny for the Topper (and assorted Bash Street Kids stories)

To be honest I think there's some cracking artists who have freshened it up alot. I remember Nigel Parkinsons first strip being Minnie the Minx visiting her cousin in Minnieapolis (wasn't it? I may be wrong!) - bloke who did Zap Zodiac doing Minnie and this week, Chester - great choice. Really like his work. No-one can beat Tom Paterson but he offers something more to it rather than ghosting artists usually do.

It's Steve Horrocks, and I believe he has taken over from Tom officially.

People die, it can hardly be helped.

For me Gary Northfield's Derek The Sheep and, before him, Mike Pearse's Bash St Kids long stories were the best thing to appear in the comic for 20 years.

And have you seen My Own Genie in The Dandy? This is brilliant stuff, it's what kids should be getting excited about. Strips drawn by people old enough to be their great-grandad are increasingly less likely to hit the spot.

kevf wrote:Strips drawn by people old enough to be their great-grandad are increasingly less likely to hit the spot.

I dunno. Most of the best artists seem to have remained popular all their lives - Dudley Watkins, Leo Baxendale, Ken Reid, Reg Parlett, Robert Nixon, to name but a few, tended to draw strips which always scored highly as reader's favourites.

You're right that the styles of some veteran artists proved less popular as time went on, but then again not all younger artists were popular either, and faded out of the biz as quickly as they entered.

I agree there's some good new stuff around now though. I really like Steve Horrocks' work on Minnie. Derek the Sheep is very funny, and My Own Genie is a cracking strip.

Lew

AndyB wrote:John Sherwood, who drew Les, died in late 2003.

That's sad to hear. I don't think he was very old was he? His Les Pretend strips were great. Quiet, steady artwork that was very funny without being over the top.

Lew

Euan told me when I wrote to him last year that John was in his early 50s.