Comics UK

continued: Also this week: I'm adding a few examples of thumbnail sketches of a few strips.....sorry they're a bit faint: I'll see what I can do regarding getting them more bold-looking in the uploading.



These rough sketches are the most important stage in creating strips in my view: they are great for seeing if a strip idea is viable, or worth scaling up into a finished drawing. I am on my fourth bulging binder of these roughs: well over 1000 ideas on file, most of which haven't been drawn up yet.........naturally, all ideas won't be getting used, but even if an idea doesn't work, it can always be strengthened later, and if it's no use at all, well, I've only spent a few minutes on it.



This method is also fine for working out drawing problems/ composition/layout etc [any decent idea will usually mean the cartoonist tackling unchartered territory] and saves a lot of time working out the finished penciling.









Advantages: great quick way to see if an idea is worth inking up properly:

Disadvantages: often, the spontenaeity of the original can never be recaptured during penciling and inking the full-scale drawing.

Ere! The original Brotherhood of Man weren't too bad! They had different line up to the "Save Your Kisses" lot eg Tony Burrows, Tony Greenaway (Who were the `Pipkins` as well) plus Sue & Sonny! (who later sang "Doctors Orders)

Ever heard "California Sunday Morning" by them? I rate it!

I've got that image of Veronica firstly in a floral Mini-then hotpants! in me mind now!! So it's a darkened room and buckets of iced water for me!

alanultron5 wrote:Sue & Sonny

I think it should be Sunny, Alan, rather than Sonny as in Sonny and Cher. The two girls were actually sisters and used to perform as Sue and Sunshine. The bill below is from the Ace of Clubs in Leeds in 1966. I met them the following year in the offices of Island Records. I'm not sure whether they had adapted their name by then but they were certainly Sue and Sunny when they did backing vocals on Joe Cocker's outstanding cover of the Beatles' track With A Little Help From My Friends.

STRENGTHENING A GAG:


The 'powdering nose/ gasmask' gag had potential, but needed tightening up and a stronger punchline, I reckon [as did others] .

This reworked version is a stronger strip, and ready to scale up for inking:



Another example of why it's often better to do roughs first, before moving onto the more time-consuming inking process.


Some of these roughs can wait up til 2 years before making the transition to finished strip.

Sue & Sunny were on Bill Oddie's "Hare Krishna Chant" his version of the Radha Krishna Temple `ditty` chorus' included.... "Hari Secombe. Hari Corbett, Sue and Sooty, Sweepy Sooty"

Nice sketches Rab! Musing on background preperation-have you considered giving your main players potted biographies? I know Baby B can't have much about him to write about-but if Baby Grumpling of the Perishers can have a bio, your Baby B deserves one!

alanultron5 wrote:Sue & Sunny were on Bill Oddie's "Hare Krishna Chant" his version of the Radha Krishna Temple `ditty` chorus' included.... "Hari Secombe. Hari Corbett, Sue and Sooty, Sweepy Sooty

Please explain, Alan. What do Sue and Sooty have to do with Sue and Sunny?

You would have to know the `Hari Krishna` song to understand! They were doing parody on the `Hari`/Harry = Harry Corbett and Sooty and Sweep + Sue!

alanultron5 wrote:You would have to know the `Hari Krishna` song to understand! They were doing parody on the `Hari`/Harry = Harry Corbett and Sooty and Sweep + Sue!

Your assumption is correct, Alan, I don't know the Hari Krishna song, possibly because it doesn't sound like the kind of thing that would float my boat, but I had figured out that it was a parody of some description. However, you have not really answered my question What do Sue and Sooty have to do with Sue and Sunny? I know that Sooty, Sweep and Sue (actually spelt Soo I think) were characters in the Sooty Show, but what links them to the singers Sue and Sunny? For your point to be valid the girls would have to be mentioned in the song, or be singing in it at some point, or be puppets with Harry Corbett's hands up their skirts, or be portrayed sitting crosslegged in a long cream-coloured robe playing a sitar, or having something going with Bill Oddie, or some combination thereof. Perhaps Soo and Sooty were dressed like Sue and Sunny and were singing one of their songs?

Yes! You got it spot on!

this week's pencil roughs:





----followed by this weeks inking.

Running Gags: [1]: National smile day:

this very simple idea has given me loads of milage for gags, and it's not over yet:

alanultron5 wrote:Yes! You got it spot on!

What a curious reply, Alan. A simple apology would have been quite sufficient.

The sequel to the Liberation strip:

Panel 1: as before
Dog: "Here we go again... LIBERTY!"

Panel 2: as before

Panel 3: a girl playing a piano and a boy sitting on top of it:

"or Lib and Archie and their magic piano!"

(See Whizzer and Chips Annual 1978 front cover - the strips inside were by Joe McCaffrey, but the lettering in the title panel looks like Sid Burgon)

red rug to the bull and illegal alien were the best...

like the wheeling the bull out..very surreal..

Glad you liked some of them, Peter!


This week has seen a few 'crime and punishment' ideas, so here's another drawing on this theme:

Back to "Hari Krishna" The song-as a parody of the `Hari-Krishna` chant, played on the word Hari/Harry. OK? Now! Bill Oddie gave chorus' with `Harry Secombe`, `Harry Champion`, `Harry Langdon`, `Harry Lauder` etc. He even used phrases such as "Harry along the Bus now" and "Harryverdici Roma" Not funny in print-I know!

Sue & Sunny were doing back up vocals to all this! One of the Harry's `done` was Harry Corbett of `Sooty & Sweep` fame (Not to be confused with Harry H. Corbett of "Steptoe Fame) So- they sang "Harry Corbett, Sweep & Soooty, Sue & Sooty, Sweepy Sooty" Or a reasonable facsimile thereof! Sooty, Sweep & Sue were Harry Corbetts puppets! Just a coincidence that Sue was name of singer too!

Record was on John Peels Dandelion label 1970. Peel can be heard at the end of the `song!` when they all `corpse`! Howzat?