Comics UK

It only occurred to me this morning, Peter, that Dudley Watkins was allowed to sign his own work from some point, so I looked through both the annuals again. I can report that every page bar one in each annual is signed by Watkins. I've scanned the two that are not signed, and I post them below.

so quite a few reprints in the 70's books..I'd thought they were Dudley's work..

those two are hard to tell if they are by Tom..

Peter Gray wrote:so quite a few reprints in the 70's books..I'd thought they were Dudley's work..

those two are hard to tell if they are by Tom..

Looking at the body language of the characters I'm pretty sure they're both by Dudley Watkins, although it's not easy to tell at a small size. However if you look at the tails from the speech balloons you'll see they're a bit squiggly, which is a technique used in older strips. By the mid 1960s the speech balloons were more uniform in design, with tails that swooped without squiggles.

Tom Lavery's style was considerably more simplistic than that of Dudley Watkins so I doubt those are by him. I would guess the comic Wullie is reading (Buzz) has been edited for the reprint and originally it would have been The Topper.

Why edit it in the first place, since the Topper still existed? Of course, different story if it was one of the story papers.

Lew Stringer wrote: I would guess the comic Wullie is reading (Buzz) has been edited for the reprint and originally it would have been The Topper.

Apologies if this is obvious, but where is Wullie reading Buzz?
(I've had a look at the preceding scans)

Here.

Thanks, Phoenix

Digifiend wrote:Why edit it in the first place, since the Topper still existed?

No doubt because Buzz needed more of a push at that time than the other comics.

A Tom Lavery "Oor Wullie"



and "Broons"

Sorry, I thought they would have appeared slightly bigger. If any body would like to see them larger just ask.

At last..
I can see Tom did a good job..

Tom is underrated. Is he still alive?

Tom Lavery drew the Broons and Oor Wullie in the 70s - I liked his work. He also drew Fred The Flop in...? (Buzz I think then Topper and Buzz).

Yes, and the last incarnation (blonde) of Scrapper in the Beezer.

Scrapper only had one incarnation, who originally appeared in Cracker. Snooty's pal, the only other one I can think of, wasn't the same character (just like how Bunty's Toots isn't the Bash Street Kid).