Roy of the Rovers, Battle, Misty and Buster back on shelves

[kevf]

I'm sure it's not my memory playing tricks, but weren't most of the strips in Buster rubbish?

Seriously, imagine you're a foreogn reader, with no nostalgic connection to these strips. Does any strip in Buster stand the test of time? Is there anything that you could genuinely sit down and read, that might bear comparison to an Asterix book or any second strong Looney Tunes comic?

Go on, prove me wrong. Show me a Buster strip that is readable and entertaining.

[kevf]

Can I just add I read Buster every week from sometime around 1972 (I preferred Cor! then they merged) until sometime around 1976. And I have kept every copy. They've been in a box unopened for over ten years and unread for nearly 20, but I'm pretty sure I'm right, they were bobbins.

[Peter Gray]

I like most of Buster strips..I love it..
favourites are Mastermind...Cliff Hanger..Mike's Bike..
Buster himself..Laser Eraser..
Faceache..
X Ray specs..
I'd say Cliff Hanger was my favourite in the 80's..

[Lew Stringer]

Go on, prove me wrong. Show me a Buster strip that is readable and entertaining.

My but you're grumpy these days Kev.

The fact that you read it for four years would suggest you liked it when you were a kid, - and that's the only period that matters for a kids' comic.

Lew

[Raven]

Go on, prove me wrong. Show me a Buster strip that is readable and entertaining.

There were plenty during that period, Kev.

Ken Reid's Faceache for a start.

Interesting that you read this rubbish comic you hated, weekly for four solid years!

[STARBOY]

Yeah I have to agree with Lew, it's the period you read a comic that counts - for me 1966-1971ish Buster was the best and I loved it then, by the mid 70s onwards it left me cold (I was to old for it by then and into reading books (SF) and Marvel DC comics etc) as do todays Beano and Dandys, but kids love em- I also think that Faceache is a strip that stands out a mile in Buster- I don't think the Buster compares favourably to European Comic strips like Asterix, TinTin, Smurfs, Petit Spirou, Kid Paddle etc - but these strips are exceptions (like Calvin and Hobbes etc) - if you put Leo Baxendales Swots and Blots, Bash Street kids, Ken Reid FrankieStein, Nerves etc etc in a collected book I reckon they'd be marveled at as well (actually they are already)- I agree though that European books like Pilote , Spirou, Echo etc with strips like the aforementioned, and the adventure strips like Blueberry etc were/are amazing, but UK kids comics are just aimed at a different market and format.

[Raven]

They're completely different as you say, but I think many of the best Buster adventure strips - from Galaxus to Pete's Pocket Army - probably would compare quite favourably (the artwork alone was fantastic), as would the best of the humour strips (after all, there was some great Reg Parlett, Ken Reid and Leo Baxendale work in there.) But aimed at juniors, certainly - and probably done under great weekly deadline pressures.

[kevf]

You're right, they were readable when we were so young we knew no better. But what I'm questioning is whether, as a reprint, especially 40 years later, whether they stand up as readable stories.

I got Cor!, Buster and Whizzer & Chips as a kid. And Whoopee, and Monster Fun. Let's face it, I was spoilt. That was nearly 30p a week they were spending on me! As soon as I discovered the Marvel reprints I started getting those, though surprisingly I seem to have carried on getting Buster for nearly two years after I discovered Marvel.

Okay, I'll get the old rags out of a box and see if anything has any enduring readability. You've dared me.

[Muffy]

Though certainly some story's were just fillers, some still hold up well (hopefully none of the fillers will be there in the reprint).

Mummy's Boy still stands up to the test-of-time (though that might be my opinion). Adventure type stories, like Runaways or Marney the Fox are still entertaining years later.

Still find Ian Knox's art for Terror TV / Strawbelly, good.

Parlett's Rent-a-ghost, It's a nice life and some Buster Diary's story's are fun (though don't know what a ten year old would make of them).

In the Gums tales you can't help feel sorry for the poor toothless shark.

I remember just over ten years ago showing a 7 year old some 1980s Busters - he really liked Chalky.

[STARBOY]

I personally have no doubt that the Buster reprint (80s) edition will stand up very well as readable for kids (and older folk looking back) especially if we're comparing it to whats on offer to kids in most (not all)off todays kids comics - IMHO they will love it (they may miss the colour and glossy paper but the art, characters, and stories (with more that 8/10 panels) will be a hit)

[felneymike]

I found Roy of the Rovers in Lincoln, in amongst the "Kid's football" magazines in the sports section (Shoot, Score etc). I thought it would be a regular thing, didn't realise it was only a one-off til i got home. Oh well, will save me frm spending even more money.

Anyway it's pretty good but i think i would have preferred more comic strips over "nostalgic" reprinted articles and competitions. Like the "ha ha look it's Kevin Keegan, hey remember the funny hairstyles people had back then?" pointless Q&A page.

[bustercomic]

Ok, on the subject of Buster (and yeah - I might be more then a litttle biased here) I quite enjoy reading the older strips.

Bearing in mind I was a Buster reader from 92-last issue I did notice that strips like Double Trouble seemed a little dated (particularly in the late 90s) but I carried on regardless.

Now I'm dealving back into the archives. Strips I have and haven't heard of but never really read. Personally, I think some of the adventures stories stand up a little better - Charlie Peace & Galaxus for instance.

I wouldn't say any of them were rubbish, though. I think they hold as much charm as strips I used to read as a kid in the special Dandy/Beano books using archived reprints. I did enjoy reading those books, and I dont see why kids who enjoy comics now wouldn't enjoy reading these classic Buster strips.

I guess thats part of the job of this poll we're running.....to make sure the strips that were bobbins (love that word, btw) don't get in!

[steelclaw]

My period of buying Buster was when it merged with Jet in october 1971 -1974. I loved it no rubbish strips then.
Von Hoffman's Invasion
Fishboy Denizen of the deep
Galaxus
Sam's city Jungle

[Raven]

People probably don't appreciate their own as much.

I expect if something like Sam's City Jungle was seen with French dialogue and described as a French strip people would say "what a delightful concept for a children's story and so beautifully drawn," etc.

[STARBOY]

Thats a good point Raven and there's def' a bit of snobbery involved (not really by Europeans themselves IMHO) although I think UK comics are in general very well recieved (with several being reprinted overseas and very much appreciated) throughout the world. French/Belgian strips are also collected into books which helps in getting a bigger story out there and in Europe their comics cover a larger age range from kids to "all ages" in the same book. I can see why Kev referes to European readers perceptions - European strips like Kid Paddle and Le Petit Spirou, in terms of the subject matter covered as humour are way ahead of UK strips (IMHO at any rate) with Spirou actually hitting on the difference in the sexes between a boy and girl(shock horror and not just on fart jokes) all done very tastefuly - I still prefer our books though (from 50s - mid 70s)


Le Petit Spirou
http://moramfo.club.fr/index.html

Kid paddle

http://www.kidpaddle.com/en/index.html