WAS THE 1980'S THE GOLDEN AGE OF COMICS??????

Old Forum Fella · Post by **Old Forum Fella** » 02 May 2006, 00:40

With great titles, Characters, artists at their peak.......the 80's was the best time.......I collect comics mostly from this era!!.....Buster, Whizzer and Chips, Whoopee!, School Fun, Wow!, Beezer, Topper, Jackpot, The Beano with Dennis the Menace and Bash Street Kids with David Sutherland, Tom Paterson with Buster and Sweeny Roddler, Reg Parlett with Creepy Comix and Buster, J.Edward Oliver with Cliff Hanger and Mastermind, Robert Nixon with Frankie Stein, Laser Eraser, Family Trees, Buytonic Boy, Ivy the Terrible, Roger the Doger, 50 years of Beano and Dandy 1988!! Ken Reid Faceache
The 50's had super Leo Bax and Ken Reid,
The 60's The birth of Buster and Whizzer and chips
The 70's (a very good era as well!) Monster Fun, Sparky at its best, Cheeky, Whoopee starts 1974..
Though the 80's is the best!
Maybe because I was buying comics then!!!! being 29!!! Peter Gray See my cartoons at my website-

http://uk.geocities.com/pjgcartoons/

Originally posted by Peter Gray on the old forum on 26/02/2004

Old Forum Fella · Post by **Old Forum Fella** » 02 May 2006, 00:40

Just have to reiterate Peter that for me the best decade is siimply the decade that person first read and enjoyed his/her comics - whatever age a person was then - saying that, despite being pretty young in the 1960s the '60s were pretty cool - 60s saw the creation of great new comics and characters like Frankie Stein by its only true artist Ken Reid also the Nerves ( a strip they'd never run now in any kids comic) and Dare a Day Davy also by Reid, Baxendales run on WHAM , SMASH, POW with Swots and Blots, Sams Spooks, Eagle Eye and Grimly Fiendish and his wok on Valiant with Basher and Bluebottle etc and of course the late Robert Nixon getting his style sorted out in that decade . The 1970s I felt wasnt a great decade (probably the decade I grew up with comics in as well) as Marvel and DC took over big time here - the 80S I at first thought were pretty dire but youve convinced me now some not bad stuff after all

Originally posted by Paul McScotty on the old forum on 27/02/2004

Old Forum Fella · Post by **Old Forum Fella** » 02 May 2006, 00:41

Yes, I started reading comics in the 60's and I still get a buzz of excitement over TV21, SMASH!, WHAM!, POW!, Buster, Sparky, Beano, even Solo and those other fly-by-nights! But whikle you always think the era you discovered comics in was the best, you also always think every previous era was just a little bit old-fashioned and not quite right, and every subsequent era was rubbish, give or take a handful of good stuff. In reality, of course, every era is 70-90% duff! Except, curiously, the current one. Probably because there are so few titles compared to the 70's-80's heyday, but I feel both Beano and yes, Dandy, are as good today as they've ever been, current Dandy reprints or not.

Originally posted by Spud on the old forum on 27/02/2004

Old Forum Fella · Post by **Old Forum Fella** » 02 May 2006, 00:41

The 80's was great for the simple fact that it had the Nutty comic which created my favourite comic character of all time Bananaman. I also like some of the boys comics of this period from Victor,Walord & Champ.

Originally posted by Azteccomics on the old forum on Azteccomics

Old Forum Fella · Post by **Old Forum Fella** » 02 May 2006, 00:41

the 80's were great: Bananaman, Nutty, Buster. The 70's were great; Krazy comic, Buster. The 60's were great; Wham!, Buster. The 50's were great; Eagle, Bash Street/Minnie/Jonah The 40's were great... well, I could go on and on and on, probably all the way to Weary Willie and Tired Tim or the Bruin Boys; get the picture? Some kids now reading what we consider rancid old leftovers will be raving about them in years to come! It's always a Golden Age for SOMEBODY!! There's a magic in comics that the child always grasps and we adults are always trying to get back! It's no wonder we always think the comics were better when we were kids. You think so, I think so, and I bet everyone else will think so. A handful of innovators aside (you all know who i mean), most comics creators are just doing a job, and it's our good fortune that we still enjoy the comics they do today while having that secret knowledge that the past was rosier

Originally posted by Anonymous on the old forum on 27/02/2004

Old Forum Fella · Post by **Old Forum Fella** » 02 May 2006, 00:42

I personally feel that the golden period for British humour comics ran from the mid-60's through to about 1982. DC Thompson had the Beano, Dandy, Beezer, Topper and Sparky running, whilst Fleetway always had 4 titles running with the Buster and Whizzer & Chips, and later Whoopee, as the main spine. As soon as home computers came into fashion then comics started to become redundant and it started to reflect in some of the strips. A lot of the stories, artwork even, and characters introduced after '82 was well below par compared to previous material.

Originally posted by Mark on the old forum on 02/03/2004

Old Forum Fella · Post by **Old Forum Fella** » 02 May 2006, 00:42

Radical thought!! I still think the 60's were really special!! It's alla bit too psychological for me, I like COMICS!!

Originally posted by Spud on the old forum on 27/02/2004

Old Forum Fella · Post by **Old Forum Fella** » 02 May 2006, 00:43

Spud - I agree (despite my original message) the 1960S seems a really special innovative decade for all the arts - Marvel comics, Harvey, even DC reinventing itself etc. I strated to seriously collect UK comics in the early 1980s (scunnerd by then by 80% of the US drivel - some great stuff as well I know) but I remember ordering a large batch on UK comics through Exchange and Mart (over 100 and only for ?20) anyway I wasnt expectign that much thought it was going to be mostly a nostalgia trip but when they came in I didn't realise how good and fresh the 60s comics were Valliant, Wham, Smash, Lion, Buster etc cammed with stories and great art - as I loked at th efew 70s comics inthis batch I stillthought they were good but there was something no as good as the 60S ETC ETC. Still comics like Battle, Warrior, Nutty were all as good as the classics

Originally posted by PAUL mCOLDSCOTTY on the old forum on 27/02/2004

Old Forum Fella · Post by **Old Forum Fella** » 02 May 2006, 00:43

Its interesting that people view the 60's as the golden age and not the 50's.......with Eagle etc...The golden age gets nearer and nearer...the 80's for me.......Other people would say the 30's maybe!!
Bananaman by John Geering the best in Nutty by a long shot...still got the poster!!.......I also loved the T.V series.....I remember how exciting seeing the British comics come to life!! Did you know Eric Wimp came from the moon as it is banana shaped......Did Eric live on his own...a alien boy with no other family......I wish I had the N0.1 Nutty to find out more of the origin.
The 80's the golden age!!!!-
Brian Walker's work Boxatricks and Mike's Bike are another highlight of the 80's......Terry Bave Odd Ball, Sid Burgeon's Joker, Mike Lacey what a amazing talent!! Sid's Snake, Shiner, X Ray Specs, Bumpkin Billionaires, Nick Barker's Smiler, Calamity James started 1986....Tom Paterson, Euan Kerr became editor in the 80's (very good!)
Dennis the Menace......Pie Face.....Curly...Softies were at there fun best.....Searching for Gnasher..lots of super stories.......
The 80's is the golden age......of comics!!!!

Originally posted by Peter Gray on the old forum on 27/02/2004

Old Forum Fella · Post by **Old Forum Fella** » 02 May 2006, 00:44

The 50s probably was THE golden age of uk Sci Fi comics in that it produced the EAGLE Dan Dare Frank Bellamy etc - But if your being objectinv eand not nostalgic the 60s was without doubt the tops for hunour and youth comics (and I'm a late 70s 80s "child") Boxatrick great if you liked it fot me a piece of 2nd rate stuff (buy as you say a great underated artist)Bananamans pretty cool I agree - Patterson excellent but if not for Baxendale Pattersons stuyle would be very different (dare I say average) Shhiner sids snake were 70s not 80s as was Odd Ball and Joker (in Knockout and Whizzer adn Chips) Dont agree at all Dennis the Menace was at his best in the 80 s at all *the 60s with Davy Laws art story pure style) the 80s a golden age yes if your 30 odds but the 60s were style and far more adventurious 0- this is of course only my oppinion as is yours (abd very cvalid it is) Peter

Originally posted by Janus Stark on the old forum on 28/02/2004

Old Forum Fella · Post by **Old Forum Fella** » 02 May 2006, 00:44

Then again some of the creations in the current Beano will go on to be classics, Robbie Rebel is fantastic great art work & its the first story I always read, so you'll probably find the kids that read today's Beano having the same conversation 15 years down the line as were having. Long may it continue...

Originally posted by Azteccomics on the old forum on 28/02/2004

Old Forum Fella · Post by **Old Forum Fella** » 02 May 2006, 00:44

Well said Aztec and thats they way it should be.

Originally posted by Paul McScotty on the old forum on 28/02/2004

Old Forum Fella · Post by **Old Forum Fella** » 02 May 2006, 00:45

Oink was great in the 80's.

Originally posted by Anonymous on the old forum on 28/02/2004

Old Forum Fella · Post by **Old Forum Fella** » 02 May 2006, 00:45

For me the great decade will always be the 70's. You still had the greats that the earlier years produced but then things got taken up a notch with the arrival of comics like Warlord, Starlord and of course 2000AD. The Marvel UK weeklies opened up those stories to a new audience and over in the states the big 2 moved on from the super-heroes and offered us the likes of Conan, Tomb of Dracula, the b&w mags, and a whole host of horror, sci-fi and adventure books. Add to these the Eropean stuff that was emerging and was suddenly available to an English reading audience gave us more diversity than ever before. That all said tho, I do agree that all the decades more than have their plus points. For me tho the 80's pretty much saw the decline of the great British weekly and for that reason alone I could never have it as my "Golden Age" decade.

Originally posted by Wrighty47 on the old forum on 29/02/2004

Old Forum Fella · Post by **Old Forum Fella** » 02 May 2006, 00:46

I was not alive in the 80's but I have read loads of comics from that time. My older cousins were comic mad and they have got piles of them. This is were I read them from. They have Beano,Buster,Whizzer and Chips,Topper,Beezer and Whoopee! They are all very good and they had much better stories than the Beano and Dandy nowadays. I can't really comment on the 50,60 and70's. 80's maybe were the best but the worst time for comics came after that, The 90's. The end of many of the great comics.

Originally posted by Ricky on the old forum on 29/02/2004