Comics UK

As it is almost upon us I just thought I'd start a strand to the long-forgotten joys of Guy Fawkes Night. Bonfires in nearly every back garden and your very own personal cache of fireworks that your Dad would set off in the space of about fifteen minutes. A limited thrill extended by the judicious use of a time-delay procedure instigated between you and your mates which would result in a sort of 'fireworks tour' from garden to garden at fifteen to twenty minute intervals.
Oh and all those beautiful colour covers on special Guy Fawkes editions of our favourite comics. ( full colour was a must though, internal strips trying to convey the same with a limited palette, or worse still black and white, were invariably doomed to failure). How I miss seeing Mickey the Monkey or Ginger setting off what seemed like a whole boxful of fireworks simultaneously in the final frame, the logistics of how this was achieved never being explained, and not thinking for one minute about the safety aspects of such a feat.
I just remember enjoying Guy Fawkes Night totally unaware, if the modern interpretation of such events can be believed, that I had just managed to survive childhoods' equivalent of the Somme!

I'm sure Lew will show off some of these covers on his blog...I asked in Jan for this on his request page...so have waited a long time...

[img:400:300]http://i15.ebayimg.com/01/i/000/be/f3/7edc_1.JPG[/img] all I could find on ebay so far and very small...looks like the cart has catherine wheels..

Guy Fawkes was always a bit of a damp squib for me I never got it (possibly as it was always baltic when I was a kid and I was too close to Halloween and Xmas) but I did love the UK comics at this time as Kashgar says the brilliant work by DDW on Ginger , Micky the Monkey, Lord Snooty etc and especailly Leo Baxendales efforts (I remember a Little Plum Guy Fawkes page withthe 3 Bears etc I think he incorporated this into a puzzle page where you had to find the 3 Bears in the shape of fireworks etc - lovely stuff) also loved the Easter, Halloween, New Year and of course, the big one the Christmas strips in the comics

Peter Gray wrote:I'm sure Lew will show off some of these covers on his blog...I asked in Jan for this on his request page...so have waited a long time...

Hopefully I'll put a few images up over the next few days, but for now here's a couple of firework adverts from comics of 1965:

http://lewstringer.blogspot.com/2007/11 ... p-sky.html

Lew

...And in the meantime here are a couple more pyrotechnic blasts from a less PC past. Firstly a touch of Baxenalia from The Beezer in November 1962:

[img:617:880]http://uk.geocities.com/philcom55/banfire.jpg[/img]

- next a 'Frank Bellamy' effect by Mr. Baxendale, scanned from the 1964 Fireworks edition of Wham!

[img:800:750]http://uk.geocities.com/philcom55/leobel.jpg[/img]

- And from Beezer again, a genuine curiosity: Guy Fawkes advertising the 1963 Christmas Annual...!

[img:900:382]http://uk.geocities.com/philcom55/bbook.jpg[/img]

...Over to you Lew! - Phil Rushton

A nice colourful Buster and Jet from 1971.

[img:705:1024]http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u283 ... x/BUST.jpg[/img]

And a black and white Bad Penny, don't try this at home folks or in the streets.

[img:745:1024]http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u283 ... xx/PEN.jpg[/img]

Great scans!

I've now added a blog about firework comics, with a bunch of images myself:

http://lewstringer.blogspot.com/2007/11 ... -plot.html

Excellent blog Lew really enjoyed it and some great scans that I haven't seen before (ditto Phil') thanks

Indeed, fantastic blog entry. I like fireworks issues, too; Whizzer and Chips had a few quite nice covers, including the 1972 one where Sid's Snake Slippy sticks his head up out of the chimney to watch the local display .... but some of them do give me qualms.

The cover story on Whizzer and Chips issue 3 - the one with that free Guy Fawkes mask - has lots of kids standing around holding roman candles and the like in their hands and waving them about as a matter of course (the same goes on inside the issue) and it does seem fairly irresponsible. Obviously it's not reality but it's not that far removed - it's not like having a rocket shooting through the floor and up your hooter - and I think the amount of fireworks injuries to children did significantly drop after people started being a bit wiser about the issue.

So while it's hard not to get the odd feeling of "what were they thinking?" a lot of the fireworks issues were quite distinctive and are very good to look back at.

Raven wrote:
The cover story on Whizzer and Chips issue 3 - the one with that free Guy Fawkes mask - has lots of kids standing around holding roman candles and the like in their hands and waving them about as a matter of course (the same goes on inside the issue) and it does seem fairly irresponsible.

That's one cover I was going to use but oddly enough I've somehow mislaid ALL my Whizzer and Chips comics! Never mind.

Lew

heres a warning to cats...not very funny Korky page to welcome you to the 1957 annual.......

http://www2.snapfish.com/getimageforsha ... /otsi=SAIS

thanks Lew for the blog on fireworks in comics and others for the great scans...hope you like my scan

Blimey poor korky What a state, nice scan.

A late addition: The new issue of Viz is out, sporting Timmy the Spoilt one in appropriate Devil suit on the cover. Unlike the weekly comics of yesteryear that would have a Halloween issue followed by a Fireworks issue, Viz has, being a monthly, got both Halloween and Fireworks Night in the same issue. Of all the characters to be using fireworks, they've got Biffa Bacon and his folks lighting up a banger. Oddly enough, they're being disturbingly sensible about it, reciting all the usual rules about keeping fireworks in bikkie tins and lighting them one at a time, and not going to a dud in case it goes off in your face. Then you get to the punchline! I won't mention it here as 1: it may be deemed a spoiler and 2: being Viz and Biffa Bacon, it's sick.

My local shop stored all it's fireworks in a vast safe that wouldn't look out of place in FORT KNOX........SAFER, to be sure, but definately more boring and unexciting..........

see the full story at my blog..
juist amazing that it was normal to buy chemicals at a Chemist and then make your own fireworks!!! Paddy B really is great at drawing every panel is well observed and captures the 50's like you were there...