Peter Gray wrote:
What was the comic like...I've never seen one....only the odd annual...
It was a glossy pre-school (or "nursery") comic; part black and white, part full colour. It had some good DC Thomson artists on it though, including Bill Ritchie (as you said) and Dudley Watkins.
I had a few of them but by then I was too old for nursery comics (which I'd never taken to anyway) so didn't follow it regularly.
Just read at comics uk they did change the name of the comic ...bimbo wasn't such a good name to little star....I've never seen this either.....what did Dudley draw?
BTW back then "Bimbo" didn't mean what it does now. I'm not sure if it had a meaning back then. It was just the name of the comic's mascot I think.
Perhaps they thought "Bimbo" sounded like an appropriate pre-school "Beano"? The two syllables would be easy for a toddler to pronounce so perhaps thet's another reason?
(I hear the two proposed companion comics Thicko and Dunce never made it past the dummy stage. )
Peter Gray wrote:Where does the name Bimbo come from?
quite a funny name for a comic..
I remember there was a very popular song during the early 1960s called 'Bimbo', recorded by artists like Jim Reeves. At the time I definitely associated this with the comic and I'm pretty sure it would have been a major influence on its title.
Bimbo
Bimbo Bimbo where ya gonna go-e-o
Bimbo Bimbo whatcha gonna do-e-o
Bimbo Bimbo does your mommy know
That you're goin' down the road to see a little girl-e-o
Bimbo is a little boy who's got a million friends
And every time he passed by they all invite him in
He'll clap his hands and sing and dance and talk his baby talk
With a hole in his pants and his knees stickin' out he's just big enough to walk
Bimbo Bimbo where ya gonna go-e-o... (etc.)
Sadly had to remove the stample (mine only had one, no top stample) from my issue #1 recently as it has gone rusy and was starting to eat into the paper.
No one?s mentioned this but the term ?Bimbo? also refers to a certain type of female. Indeed, this is precisely what attracted my attention to the post. Alas, I was to be sadly disappointed.
Bimbo comic was named after its star 'Bimbo' (Bob Dewar) which was drawn in a simplistic manner with a large head and a large cap. 'Bimbo' first appeared on the front cover of Bimbo comic in issue three but didn't remain there long as he was ousted from the front page spot by 'The Beano's' 'Tom Thumb - The Brave Little One'. Although relegated to the internal pages, Bimbo continued in Bimbo comic until 1972 presenting puzzle pages and also starring in a strip with his pet puppy called 'Bimbo and Winkie'.
he didn't stay on the cover long.....a bit like Sparky from
Sparky...................
found a funny line on the back of Sparky at the end of his story issue 113 March 18th 1967.......Next week Sparky goes gay- With a starch spray!
erm gay meaning happy....oh well it made me laugh...
Last edited by Peter Gray on 01 Aug 2007, 23:30, edited 2 times in total.
Always fascinates me to discover a character from in this example Beezer had a previous history that until now was unknown(at least to me)--one Baby Crocket.Brilliant.I think the nursery comics had an Index done on them but I could be mistaken.
Corporal Clott wrote:No one?s mentioned this but the term ?Bimbo? also refers to a certain type of female. Indeed, this is precisely what attracted my attention to the post. Alas, I was to be sadly disappointed.
Cpl Clott is not far off the mark as we can see from this little gem that I found on the net. http://www.randomhouse.com/wotd/index.p ... e=19971020 Isn't Google a useful tool? The Italian connection gains credence when you consider that a lot of Italians captured during the First World War decided to stay in the UK rather than return home. Plus the timing of the Ruby Wright song (charted in 1954) would not have hurt the use of Bimbo for this title. I know it was 7 years before Bimbo but I am sure that it would have seen extensive play on the BBC Light Programme.
I started to say something sensible but my parents took over my brain!
Nice finds Peter. Bob Dewar is a very underrated cartoonist. I must admit that when I was a child I didn't care much for his work but now I can appreciate that behind the apparent simplicity of line was a solid draughtsman with a distinct and charming art style. Top class work that's very easy on the eye, making him a perfect choice for a nursery comic.
As promised a few highlights from the Bimbo back catalogue.
Tom Thumb and Baby Crockett as already mentioned.
Pip the Penguin
Little Snow White
Old MacDonald's Farm
The Teddy Bears
Patsy and her Panda
Young Robin Crusoe
Jingle Bell School etc
BTW Baby Crockett first appeared in Beezer No 34 and the last Bimbo to feature the eponymous character on the cover was No 23.
As said in other posts finally got some old 60's Bimbos...11 of them..1962-65 for about 10 pounds on ebay..
Wendy the Land of Nursery Rhymes was fun...not sure of any of these artists..
Pussy Willow
Jingle bell school
Chirpy Chipmunk
The Cheery Chicks
who drew the teddy bears thats a fun strip..
Loved the bright colour paper for Tom Thumb..Pip the Penguin and Baby Crockett all very good..
Finally got Bobs Bimbo and Frisky the cat...quite a simple graphic..nice big eyes..
in the 1962 version its called Bimbo and the playful puppies..
Its also nice that a colour page is given over to a childrens picture page...send in your colour drawings..so see your painting in Bimbo..nice stuff..
When you compare this top quality comic with other Nursery comics today...it just makes me sad..
young children should be reading Bimbo/Little Star Pippin..Buttons..etc..
Tellytubbies mag is rubbish...very downgradded...dumbed down...badly drawn...no drawings even...a maze...boring cut out...no stories even..yawn
Bimbo was giving away The Magic island...very lovely drawn...Stand out and looks real is the speel..
collect the animals each week (9 in total) to create the Crusoe family...
Peter Gray wrote:
When you compare this top quality comic with other Nursery comics today...it just makes me sad..
young children should be reading Bimbo/Little Star Pippin..Buttons..etc...
There used to be quite a few nice, well illustrated nursery comics, Peter. Have you ever seen any Jack and Jill, Playhour or Treasure?
)
found a funny line on the back of Sparky at the end of his story issue 113 March 18th 1967.......Next week Sparky goes gay- With a starch spray! 
