Jack and Jill (Teddy Bear)

[philcom55]

I'm afraid I don't know the artist of that version of 'The Water Babies' Phoenix, though I agree that it is very nicely painted. The paperback format seems quite unusual, which makes me wonder if it could have been produced as a wartime austerity edition like some of the early 40s Rupert Annuals.

Charles Kingsley really was a publishing phenomenon comparable to Lewis Carroll, having written two children's books that have barely been out of print (albeit in edited form) for 150 years - both of which have inspired countless illustrated editions during that time (I actually have three different versions of 'The Heroes' delineated by the story paper and comic strip artist Thomas Heath Robinson!). Also, while Kingsley's novel 'Westward Ho!' tends not to be read much nowadays (though in its day it too was a standard classic), it retains the distinction of being one of the few books to give its name to an actual town - exclamation mark included!

As a matter of interest (and in keeping with the nursery comics theme of this thread) here's another comic strip version of The Water Babies - this time produced for Robin by the Graham Johnstone sisters in 1962.



- Phil Rushton

(Incidentally, I've just checked the publishing history of The Water Babies and was surprised to discover that this very year is the 150th anniversary of its first edition)

[philcom55]

Just a thought, but do you think that piece could be from a special Phil?

That is interesting about using Letratone was that common?

Just thinking should I add 'Harold Hare' to the title as it joined Playhour?

It could well have appeared in a special. As far as I know the first Playhour Special didn't appear until 1969, and Harold Hare never even had one at all - as a result of which the first few Jack & Jill Holiday Specials featured characters from all three titles.

The cover of this 1962 Holiday Special makes it clear that it was aimed at regular readers of any of Fleetway's nursery comics - thus neatly bringing Harold Hare strips 'on topic' without having to change the title of this thread!



I really like this cover. To my eye Jack and Jill's faces seem unmistakably Lupatelliesque (if that's a word!) - though the actual painting looks as though it might have been done by Ron Nielsen.

On the subject of Letratone - apart from Phil Mendoza's contributions nearly all of Harold Hare's regular strips made extensive use of this technique in order to compete with the lush gravure tones of Playhour and Jack & Jill. 'Wendy and her Wonderful Toby Jug' was no exception, as can be seen from this story that was drastically trimmed so it could be included in the above special.



...And here are some of the panels, scanned directly from Bill Lacey's art (which, as far as I can tell, is the only original Toby page to have survived IPC's 'clearouts' of the 1970s and 1980s). As you can see, the tiny black Letratone dots become clearly visible at this resolution.





- Phil R.

[matrix]

Now you have mentioned about Letratone that's all I can see in 'Harold Hare' funny never really noticed it before.

I agree about that cover, I also like those covers that have all the characters together, and a clever way to add Harold Hare. Speaking of which, another connection was Dagwood duck who first appeared in colour in Jack and Jill in the middle of 1958, then in 1959 in 'Harold Hare' before losing out to Donald when Walt Disney merged in April 1961.

Colour scans beautifly done by Ron Neilsen with credit to 'Look and Learn' site.

Sorry can't get it in one scan.

[philcom55]

This is a scan of the only original Dagwood art I've been able to find:













As you can see, the board is so large that my scanner can only accommodate it one or two panels at a time - a clear indication that it was originally drawn for Harold Hare rather than one of Fleetway's more compact weeklies.

The interesting thing about this is that it looks as though the original tones have been peeled off (something that's quite easy to do with Letratone) so it could be rather crudely coloured in for a later reprint in the 1981 Teddy Bear Annual. (According to a printing direction written in the margin the red colouring was to be converted to yellow)

Unfortunately there's no signature visible but, going by the Look & Learn site, it sounds as though it might have been drawn by either Gordon Hutchings or Terry Willers.

One thing that really impresses me about so many of these nursery strips is the way in which they tell a simple narrative without any need for captions: comics storytelling in its purest form!

- Phil Rushton

[DavidKW]

Just going back to the start - in brackets Teddy Bear is mentioned which merged into J&J.

I have memories of the Teddy Bear comic, reading a few at pre-school. I think it had a bit of advice for kids called "Teddy Bear says" in a one picture caption.

I think it also had a strip called "Silly BIlly" about a boy who, you guessed does silly things (I remember one where he ends up squirting himself with ketchup from a tomato shaped dispenser, like you got in Wimpy Bars/Golden Egg restaurants).

Can anyone clarify please?

[Raven]

Just going back to the start - in brackets Teddy Bear is mentioned which merged into J&J.

I have memories of the Teddy Bear comic, reading a few at pre-school. I think it had a bit of advice for kids called "Teddy Bear says" in a one picture caption.

I think it also had a strip called "Silly BIlly" about a boy who, you guessed does silly things (I remember one where he ends up squirting himself with ketchup from a tomato shaped dispenser, like you got in Wimpy Bars/Golden Egg restaurants).

Can anyone clarify please?

Yes, it was Silly Billy: 'The little boy who makes you laugh.' He'd do things like put potatoes in the washing machine, and sellotape all his stamps to the table so they wouldn't blow away.

Yes, Teddy Bear Says ('It is naughty to touch the knobs on the television set' ,'Never go out in the rain without your raincoat on', etc.) would appear next to Teddy's weekly letter or an inset in A Story For Bedtime.

A very nice nursery comic, Teddy Bear.

[philcom55]

Here are examples of 'Silly Billy' and 'Teddy Bear Says', along with a page from 'Edward and the Jumblies' - possibly the most fondly remembered of all Teddy Bear's regular features:







(Incidentally, is it just me or does that female jumbly in the final panel look surprisingly 'goth'?)

- Phil Rushton

[Raven]

Did train windows used to be that unsafe?!

[philcom55]

Definitely! There wasn't so much danger of being decapitated, but it was entirely possible you'd be hit by a beer bottle or cigarette end thrown out of another window.

...Ol' TB knew what he was talking about!

- Phil R.

[Raven]

Actually, I do remember the stick-your-head out ones between carriages quite well, but not ones like that within carriages.

Teddy Bear's weekly little letters were certainly better than Bobo Bunny's. Bobo was a huckster on a Stan Lee scale, using his little soapbox to flog the latest products. Not Teddy, who'd write things like "I do like it when Mummy takes me into toy shops. I always see so many toys that i would love. But I try to remember not to ask for things if we have not gone in to buy me anything. That pleases Mummy."

[philcom55]

I think you're probably right about Bobo Bunny; if this episode is anything to go by he and his family seem to have had a definite consumerist agenda!







As far as I'm aware Bobo was a Dutch creation whose strips were translated for a British audience. I certainly don't remember him setting the world on fire on this side of the Channel - better by far imho (and more long lasting) were the home-grown adventures of Pinkie Puff, the baby elephant with the 'Mr. Fantastic' trunk!



- Phil Rushton

[Raven]

Bobo Bunny was another nice nursery comic, though; Uncle Bungle and Clever Dick was another nice double-pager. and there were some very good full page illustrations. And you've proved that Bobo wasn't always plugging stuff in his letters.

I'm also a fan of Pinkie Puff and Purr, who later turned up in the very fine Hey Diddle Diddle weekly, from issue 45, January 27th 1973 (reprints?) - full of good stuff, that title - and then Playhour.

Each of these titles should have their own thread, really, then we'd move forwards to having that much desired Nursery Comics section!

[Phoenix]

Actually, I do remember the stick-your-head out ones between carriages quite well, but not ones like that within carriages.

If I remember correctly, they were opened and closed by means of a leather strap which, as it had several vertical holes in it, allowed you to adjust the amount of air you wanted to allow in, or the rate at which you wanted the cigarette smoke to escape. When fully closed, the bottom of the window frame sat in a kind of safety channel or slot.

[AndyB]

They certainly did, and you will still see them on heritage railways. They particularly applied to doors in the middle of carriages.

[Phoenix]

I particularly remember them in carriages which didn't have a corridor, so all compartments had such windows. I seem to recall them on both sides of the compartments too.