Clarks Commandos - 70s comic strip ads

Lew Stringer · Post by **Lew Stringer** » 23 Nov 2007, 00:30

Steve Holland's brilliant comics blog has just started running the Clarks Commandos strips from the 1970s IPC comics. (I think it ran in Lion and Valiant.) This serial, drawn by Tom Kerr, promoted Clarks shoes, but in some instances it was better than some of the non-advert strips in the comics!

http://bearalley.blogspot.com/2007/11/c ... art-1.html

felneymike · Post by **felneymike** » 23 Nov 2007, 00:34

Hmm, back when i was young Clarks did some other range with an oh-so predictable "comedy superhero", as was the style of the times. But he was also "green" and had this electric car, but the artist had still drawn huge chrome hot-rod exhaust pipes on it which they than had to explain where "just for show" XD. Though i did once think about ambitiously converting my Mini to have an electric engine, one of those new-fangled lithium batteries that actually lasts for a practical number of miles (the Tesla roadster, the electric Lotus Elise, can apparently go 150-odd miles on a charge, which is about the distance i used to go in my Clio before filling it), but i'd also have a compressor blasting 'bursts' of air down the exhaust to make the car still sound cool, which is the most important thing XD (it doesnt have all the soundproofing removed for nothing, you know). Er, that rambled a bit...

Raven · Post by **Raven** » 23 Nov 2007, 01:41

Lew Stringer wrote:Steve Holland's brilliant comics blog has just started running the Clarks Commandos strips from the 1970s IPC comics. (I think it ran in Lion and Valiant.) This serial, drawn by Tom Kerr, promoted Clarks shoes, but in some instances it was better than some of the non-advert strips in the comics!

http://bearalley.blogspot.com/2007/11/c ... art-1.html

And how about those Bovril Brigade ads, too ... think of what a dynamic kid you'd be if stuffed yourself with beef mush *and* wore action shoes.

steelclaw · Post by **steelclaw** » 30 Nov 2007, 14:56

Going through my 1970's wizard comics I've just come across the Clarks shoes adventure ad.
The first one started in Issue 50 January 23rd 1971 and ran for 10 Issues till March 27th 1971.
It's a different story to the one Steve Holland is running.
I wonder how many stories there were.

grumpy old man · Post by **grumpy old man** » 03 Dec 2007, 12:17

I also remember a later strip that had a different artist and instead of the ?Just William? type of story of the earlier strips had the Commandos trapped in a rocket ship and blasted into space.

steelclaw · Post by **steelclaw** » 18 Dec 2007, 16:57

Going through my Wizards I came across this one off strip for Kodak Camera's.

[img:749:1024]http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u283 ... ture-1.jpg[/img]

philcom55 · Post by **philcom55** » 18 Dec 2007, 18:24

Very nice - offhand I can't think of any other examples of Eric Bradbury artwork in a DC Thomson comic!

- Phil R.

Kashgar · Post by **Kashgar** » 19 Dec 2007, 12:17

Neither can I! Still as it is an ad I think I can still stand by my statement to Colin Noble on another thread that Eric Bradbury never drew a strip for Thomsons. Certainly not one that they paid for in any case.

colcool007 · Post by **colcool007** » 19 Dec 2007, 13:44

And I can now see the difference between Bradbury's work and Jim Watson's. Although I could have swore that Colony: Earth had once been attributed to Eric Bradbury, but after a quick check on 2000ADonline, I see that Jim not only drew the art, but scripted it as well!

steelclaw · Post by **steelclaw** » 03 Jan 2008, 17:36

Another Kodak Ad from a Wizard July 1971?

[img:695:1023]http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u283 ... ture-2.jpg[/img]

Comics UK