Comics UK

The episode that explains how Faceache found himself at Belmonte appeared in Buster and Monster Fun with the cover date of Jan 14th, 1978. Faceache has a diabolical dream about a headmaster welcoming him at his ghastly establishment. Next morning he’s woken up by Dad who has won £ 75,000 in the pools. At last they can go on that World cruise Dad has always dreamed about. Faceache is delighted because now they can live permanently in a posh hotel. Dad realises that because of Faceache’s scrunging hobby they’ll get kicked out of hotels all over the Globe. He announces that Faceache’s future home will be Belmonte. Faceache thinks it is the name of a posh hotel. Instead, Dad takes him to the Belmonte School for Uncontrollable Young Whelps. Dad is off on his World cruise, leaving Faceache in the iron hands of Mr. Albert Thrashbottom, the Headmaster who makes his first appearance in that same issue. Mr. Snipe joined the lineup a week later in Buster and Monster Fun dated Jan 21st, 1978.

However, this wasn’t the last last time that the readers saw Faceache’s Dad: he was shown just one more time on board a luxury liner as it sailed past Mr. Thrashbottom drifting helplessly mid-ocean in his boat after having transported Faceache and Mr. Snipe to Bleak Rock Island for a one-boy survival course. Dad’s last appearance was in Buster and Monster Fun dated February 11, 1978.

Thanks for the info added to the blog..what amazing facts you have on Ken Reid's comic work we've seen on this forum...hope you do more on your own blog on Ken...or get writing that book on Ken Reid

pic of 1st Faceache
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/JET-1-1st-May ... 2c87025790

Has he been inspired by Basil Wolverton to some extent for his monsters?

Nagorama wrote:Has he been inspired by Basil Wolverton to some extent for his monsters?

I would say so , there is a likeness to Wolverton's Plop stuff.

japandroid wrote:

Nagorama wrote:Has he been inspired by Basil Wolverton to some extent for his monsters?

I would say so , there is a likeness to Wolverton's Plop stuff.

I think Ken's Faceache predates Plop! by several years, so the similarities are just a coincidence.

-MikeD- wrote:

japandroid wrote:

Nagorama wrote:Has he been inspired by Basil Wolverton to some extent for his monsters?

I would say so , there is a likeness to Wolverton's Plop stuff.

I think Ken's Faceache predates Plop! by several years, so the similarities are just a coincidence.

I've recently got a big early run of Whoppee and a set of Plop. As you say Faceache does predate Plop but the similarities were pretty striking at times. Does anyone know if all the Worldwide Weirdies were by Ken, some I thought weren't but could have been off days.

japandroid wrote:I've recently got a big early run of Whoppee and a set of Plop. As you say Faceache does predate Plop but the similarities were pretty striking at times. Does anyone know if all the Worldwide Weirdies were by Ken, some I thought weren't but could have been off days.

I thought he drew all of them, but there were certainly a few Creepy Creations in Shiver & Shake by a hand other than Ken's.

There's more information here on Kazoop's excellent blog...
http://kazoop.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/a- ... epy_5.html

Creepy Creations and Worldwide Weirdies would have made spectacular gum cards or stickers in the Wanted series format.
https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=wante ... 80&bih=491

Wolverton was well-known for his grotesque characters long before Plop, and some of them were featured in British publications. While I've always thought of Reid as the 'British Wolverton' however, I doubt if there was any direct influence: they were both true originals!

- Phil Rushton

When I think of Wolverton It's always the crab creatures from 'They Crawl By Night' that springs to mind
https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/imag ... -lMfTJA4Eg

japandroid wrote: I've recently got a big early run of Whoppee and a set of Plop. As you say Faceache does predate Plop but the similarities were pretty striking at times. Does anyone know if all the Worldwide Weirdies were by Ken, some I thought weren't but could have been off days.

As far as I am concerned, I can see no similarity at all, especially if you look at Ken's work in retrospect. His style developed naturally, reaching its peak in the Odhams period (WHAM!, SMASH! and POW!). His later work sort of emulated the art of those glorious years but Ken couldn't really be himself anymore, allegedly because of IPC "censorship". As regards World-Wide Weirdies, I don't think there was a single one which was drawn by someone else, contrary to Creepy Creations - the predecessor of WWWs in Shiver and Shake, a few of which were reprints or were drawn by substitute artists, or perhaps were the drawings by some talented kid contributors who took the call for ideas by WHOOPEE! very seriously.

japandroid wrote:When I think of Wolverton It's always the crab creatures from 'They Crawl By Night' that springs to mind
https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/imag ... -lMfTJA4Eg

... this hardly looks like Ken Reid at all, doesn't it?

klakadak-ploobadoof wrote:

japandroid wrote:When I think of Wolverton It's always the crab creatures from 'They Crawl By Night' that springs to mind
https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/imag ... -lMfTJA4Eg

... this hardly looks like Ken Reid at all, doesn't it?

Uh...no, it doesn't and I didn't say it did. I referred directly to Wolverton's Plop work as a comparison to Reid's work of the same period.
Nice crab creatures though eh?

klakadak-ploobadoof wrote:

japandroid wrote:When I think of Wolverton It's always the crab creatures from 'They Crawl By Night' that springs to mind
https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/imag ... -lMfTJA4Eg

... this hardly looks like Ken Reid at all, doesn't it?

No but these do
https://superradnow.wordpress.com/tag/boris-karloff/

It seems they didn't influence each other after all but I enjoy the monstrosities produced by their minds and talents equally