Comics Britannia reviewed

Lew Stringer · Post by **Lew Stringer** » 16 Sep 2007, 20:17

Raven wrote:In part one, I thought it was quite strange seeing people roaring with booming laughter at some of the original strips. Much as I loved them, and even at their best, I never thought the British humour comics ever induced room-shaking belly laughter like maybe a Fawlty Towers episode might - more like quiet inner chuckles or delight at best, and I think at least one other participant said they didn't think they ever actually laughed at their favourite humour comics as kids, but read them quite seriously.

Did anyone else here ever actually laugh out loud at the Beanos, Sparkys, Dandys, Cor!!s and Whizzerzes and Chipses? Despite their claims, they were never really funny in *that* way, were they?

The strips that were being laughed at were from the 1950s. Those classic Baxendale and Dudley Watkins strips were often laugh-out-loud funny. (I'm not speaking from rose-tinted nostalgia as they were before my time, but the back issues and reprints I've read were definitely genuinely funny.) Seventies strips? Not so hilarious in my opinion, as the "edge" had gone from the comedy.

I do however recall laughing at Ken Reid's Nervs strips in Smash! in 1968 and I've definitely laughed out loud at Viz numerous times.

Thing with comedy is it all depends on the person reading it and the mood or the situation it's being read in. One could also criticize adventure strips. Were they ever truly "nerve chilling" or "senses-shattering" as self-proclaimed?

Lew

Raven · Post by **Raven** » 16 Sep 2007, 20:46

Lew Stringer wrote:

The strips that were being laughed at were from the 1950s. Those classic Baxendale and Dudley Watkins strips were often laugh-out-loud funny. (I'm not speaking from rose-tinted nostalgia as they were before my time, but the back issues and reprints I've read were definitely genuinely funny.)
Lew

I agree that they're funny too, and I love Leo's charming little extra bits in the corners of Plum panels and Dudley's way out early stuff, etc. but I don't find them uproariously *laugh-out loud funny* at all. Amusing rather than hilarious. Maybe I'm just a quiet inner grinner.

Not *all* edge had gone from the 70s strips - Puss 'n' Boots and Bully Beef and Chips, to name but two, were pretty violent. I'm not sure I've seen anything quite so grotesque or edgy in humour strips as the Ken Reid-drawn - also very intelligent - Dare-a-Day Davy from Pow in the '60s, though; maybe you could feature that one in your blog one day, Lew?

Viz at its best - mmm, yes, that's certainly been closer to actually-make-you-laugh humour.

Captain Storm · Post by **Captain Storm** » 16 Sep 2007, 22:25

Raven wrote:

In part one, I thought it was quite strange seeing people roaring with booming laughter at some of the original strips.

Strange really.I admit that the strips may have caused the occasional smirk to appear on my face,but I wouldn't be exactly rolling in the aisles.More pseudo-rent-a-gobs anybody?

Peter Gray · Post by **Peter Gray** » 16 Sep 2007, 23:38

I've laughed out loud quite a few times...

Cuddles and Dimples did....when the health visitor came over to check if they were fit parents...they arrived at the worst possible moment and got taken away in a white van

Kev F has made me laugh out loud recently a comment was made which was topical to now...wish I could remember it..

I mostly smile and talk out loud "Going that was good!"

Lew Stringer · Post by **Lew Stringer** » 16 Sep 2007, 23:40

Raven wrote:
Lew Stringer wrote: I'm not sure I've seen anything quite so grotesque or edgy in humour strips as the Ken Reid-drawn - also very intelligent - Dare-a-Day Davy from Pow in the '60s, though; maybe you could feature that one in your blog one day, Lew?

I mentioned it very briefly, back in January:

http://lewstringer.blogspot.com/2007/01 ... w-no1.html

Hope that serves as a teaser until I have time to cover it more in depth.

Lew

philcom55 · Post by **philcom55** » 16 Sep 2007, 23:59

Raven wrote:Did anyone else here ever actually laugh out loud at the Beanos, Sparkys, Dandys, Cor!!s and Whizzerzes and Chipses?

Possibly not - I can remember laughing uncontrollably at Ken Reid's Frankie Stein in Wham! though!

Personally I think that some comic artists, like some silent comedians, age better than others. For me Ken Reid, David Law and Leo Baxendale are like Buster Keaton, the Marx Brothers and Laurel & Hardy in that their work is still as funny today as when it was produced. With Dudley Watkins and Charlie Chaplin on the other hand their humour now seems badly dated, even though the technique remains hugely impressive. IMHO of course!

- Phil Rushton

Raven · Post by **Raven** » 17 Sep 2007, 00:14

Lew Stringer wrote:
Raven wrote:
Lew Stringer wrote: I'm not sure I've seen anything quite so grotesque or edgy in humour strips as the Ken Reid-drawn - also very intelligent - Dare-a-Day Davy from Pow in the '60s, though; maybe you could feature that one in your blog one day, Lew?

I mentioned it very briefly, back in January:

http://lewstringer.blogspot.com/2007/01 ... w-no1.html

Hope that serves as a teaser until I have time to cover it more in depth. :)

Lew

Oh, I know you did! But it's not the 24 page retrospective that the public demands ...

ajsmith · Post by **ajsmith** » 17 Sep 2007, 10:02

Puss and Boots was laugh out loud hilarious!
Anyone agree that the surreal style of humour used on many John Geering strips (particularly that and "Bananaman") was very surreal and sophisticated, something that's almost never been recognised. It was very Goodies/Python, every bit as comparable to them in the absurdity stakes. Guess Morris Heggie and Steve Bright would also have contributed to this brand of humour?

Cap Haggis · Post by **Cap Haggis** » 17 Sep 2007, 22:23

Have to agree I have never laughed out loud at any comic strip the way the "adults" did in the documentary - it was more a silent giggle and a broad smile (and a nice glow inside of well being as a kid) - the closest I got to a good belly laugh as a kid was via Ken Reids Frankie Stein and Faceache (with a hint of a squirm at the grotesquness of it all) , Leo Baxendales work (mostly swats and blots) and I would also put "Puss n Boots" in that list along with "I Spy" - The only other humour comics that give me that same glow are Thrud the Barbarian and Groo - VIZ can make me laff but I feel ashamed afterwards

. Thought Comis Britannia tonight was exellent loved the ending focussing on CHARLIES WAR and was good to see the emphasise on Girlls comics - I had no idea Tammy sold so many books evey week (1/4 million!!!wow!)

Lew Stringer · Post by **Lew Stringer** » 17 Sep 2007, 23:40

Cap Haggis wrote: I had no idea Tammy sold so many books evey week (1/4 million!!!wow!)

Sales figures like that were fairly normal for comics of the sixties and seventies. The cancellation figure for comics in those days (say around 180,000) would be considered a massive success today. Just shows how times (and print costs) change.

Lew

Peter Gray · Post by **Peter Gray** » 18 Sep 2007, 00:12

Not knowing much about girl comics it was good to learn something...

The Tammy comic designed to make girls cry really struck me.....very gritty the world war 2 strip in the mode of Charlies War...very hard hitting and extreem

Also the girl teens were drawn great by the Spanish artists...and fun to see the fashions...the artists on girl comics were top notch..
again good to see it in order and showing the period at the same time..

Again comics today are missing whole genres...hope we see them again
Girls and boys adventure comics...football...love...horror...

Football comics almost came back....Striker...

the program missed out Look-in...

Lew Stringer · Post by **Lew Stringer** » 18 Sep 2007, 00:54

Peter Gray wrote:
Again comics today are missing whole genres...hope we see them again
Girls and boys adventure comics...football...love...horror...

Football comics almost came back....Striker...

the program missed out Look-in...

No tv-based comics are mentioned in the three documentaries unfortunately. No Film Fun, no TV Century 21, no Look-In, despite that genre now dominating the UK market. Perhaps a documentary for another day?

The theme of the series, as you'll see next week, is the old "comics have grown up" angle. Not exactly true in the case of comics in newsagents, (which these documentaries mostly focus on) but never mind.

Viz gets a fair bit of coverage next week, as does Action, Deadline, and 2000AD, before going off at a tangent a bit by covering Watchmen (an American comic, albeit done by Brits).

Another aspect that is ignored is the rise of Manga in the UK. They're the comics that many British kids are buying today, particularly girls. Again, a documentary for another time perhaps.

Lew

Raven · Post by **Raven** » 18 Sep 2007, 01:44

Lew Stringer wrote:
The theme of the series, as you'll see next week, is the old "comics have grown up" angle. Not exactly true in the case of comics in newsagents, (which these documentaries mostly focus on) but never mind.

It's a trait of the modern documentary to have little agendas and concoct beginnings and ends that work well, but very rarely reflect the truth, which is much more complex and much less pat.

As in last week's Comics Britannia - DCT was the great creative force in the '50s whereas by the 70s comics were a sausage factory hiring less talented ghost artists and completely uninspiring. Absolute rubbish but it gives them a neat ending.

The Steve Ditko doc - it works well that Ditko & Lee split up in the mid-60s and Ditko abandoned Marvel forever after the disagreement - ignoring that he returned to work for them from the late 70s.

Next week, I presume, will be how society became more complex and kids more sophisticated, leading to much more hard-edged and complex adult-orientated comics and the death of the traditional juvenile title - despite the fact that there are probably more comics for younger children now than ever before, and the newsagents' shelves are overflowing with children's titles.

There's good stuff and much to enjoy in all the programmes of this season so far, but it's a pity they feel the need to impose these tidy, convenient, pat beginnings and ends, and depict things as following a straight line, which never reflects how things truly were or are. BBC4's recent Children's TV on Trial series similarly had its agendas, which bore no relation to actual fact - but anything which doesn't fit is always conveniently ignored.

Raven · Post by **Raven** » 18 Sep 2007, 01:53

ajsmith wrote:Puss and Boots was laugh out loud hilarious!
Anyone agree that the surreal style of humour used on many John Geering strips (particularly that and "Bananaman") was very surreal and sophisticated, something that's almost never been recognised.

I'm not as familiar with Bananaman, but I totally agree about the relative sophistication of Puss 'n' Boots - I mentioned in another thread that I thought by its double-pager peak period it was possibly the best ever DCT strip, with its strange and unique blend of whimsy and violence! Great scripts as well as great art. But it seems to be almost totally unrecognised or celebrated.

Some of the Puss 'n' Boots strips in the Sparky Books are especially nice, too.

finisterre · Post by **finisterre** » 18 Sep 2007, 03:54

"The Slaves of War Orphan Farm" - how brilliant is that!

Comics UK