Comics UK

As Xmas fast approaches and the New Year beckons it seems an appropriate time to take stock of how well, or badly, the world of British comics and British comic collecting has done in 2008.
The Beano's 70th birthday, and publisher D C Thomson's celebration of the fact, was surely a high point that may well never be repeated but what else gave cause for celebration?
Do you love DFC and does Dandy Xtreme continue to grow on you as it now completes its first full year of publication?
And what about collecting, what were your high points and low points, what did you manage to nab and what got away? And spare a thought for the poor guy who spent £1750 on a copy of Beano No1 only to discover he'd been conned into parting with the cash for the 24pg reprint that was given away with the Sunday Post in the summer! Surely the collecting nadir of the year by any standard!

For me, there have been so many highlights. Getting a couple of articles in Crikey! was certainly up there. As was eventually picking up the 'banned issues' of 2000AD. Plus visiting DCT was a highlight or was that last year?

Low point was picking up a pile of early Bullets that looked like they had been used to help make confetti. Otherwise, a great year for building up my collections.

what were the 'banned' '2000 AD' progs the 'DREDD' 'CURSED EARTH' instalments, colcool?

ISPYSHHHGUY wrote:what were the 'banned' '2000 AD' progs the 'DREDD' 'CURSED EARTH' instalments, colcool?

They were issues 71 and 72 which featured the Burger Wars which cheesed McDonalds and Burger King off by a large margin, and issues 77 and 78 featured more copyright infringement than you can shake a stick at were the ones that came close to killing 2000AD as the lawyers were circling and were ready to start a multi-million lawsuit (That was when a million was a big deal!). The story was part of the Cursed Earth Arc and was called Giants Aren't Gentlemen and the copyright infringements came thick and fast from the script droid Jack Adrian (aka Chris Lowder) and the mighty art droid Brian Bolland. The mad scientist had more than a passing resemblance to a certain Col Saunders. Plus, you had a lot of the 60's adverts getting a passing mention like Planter's Peanuts and Pirelli's Tyre Man. Not to mention a certain Jolly large person of the green persuasion. There are more, but I have had too much falling down water to identify them all as many of them are from before my time!

Scans are out there and show most of the story. Enough for most to realise why Fleetway/Egmont dare not re-print the story.

Anyhoo, back to the topic, I am chuffed to bits to get one of my latest Ebay buys. I can now mark off 1971 as far as getting issues of Victor is concerned. I have now got the lot for the 10th year of Victor and can take out another 8 blanks and add in another 19 copies of which I have the story but not the comic (which makes 27) to cover holes in my collection.

Plus, I have picked up the Summer Special for the appropriate year so it is another hole plugged. The only thing that could trump this is to win the current Ebay auction for issue 1 of Victor.

RE: DREDD: 'CURSED EARTH':


yes, I remember the BOLLAND 2-parter very well, from 1978, 'SOUL FOOD' I think it was called........a particularly bizarre image was the 'ALKA-SELTZER' boy dissolving away ........ a shame these episodes are not widely seen these days: probably serious collectors items, I'll bet.

I have seen part of the Burger Wars one too. The only few frames they dare reprint, where Dredd and Spikes are standing on a van with nooses around thier necks, Dredd saying "This is against the law!" and the driver of the van saying "There's only one law out here, burger law!". The van then drives away as Spikes grumbles "what a stupid way to die!"

Anyway, I'd say good points of the year were the Beano's 70th. The re-re-re-re-re launch of Classics Illustrated for a new generation shouldn't pass without notice either (distribution has been "patchy" to say the least, mind. Never seen a single issue in Lincoln, got number 3 in Ely today though). The continued success of the various picture-library reprints is a good sign too.

A bad point... er, was the new Dan Dare this year? An insulting "re-imagining", combined with a huge "DAN DARE RETURNS!" publcity campaign no doubt encouraging many 40-something Eagle readers to scour Smith's shelves for it. Meanwhile those that did manage to find specialist comic shops were told it had sold out, as the dealers, used to dealing in US comics, had little idea what Dan Dare was or how popular it would be. A disaster from start to finish. But it may have been in 2007, my memory isn't too good. Those Eagle annuals with the intrusive "retro" aged look really annoy me too.

Personally, i have had a few collecting coups this year. Finding a 1940 issue of Tiger Tim's weekly in a charity shop, or getting a 1967 cup final Eagle for free where good moments. The beautiful bound volume of Adventure from 1958 is great, as was a year's worth of Chums from 1906-7 for £2.50! (but in horrible condition).

My personal worst moments were probably chasing a 1958 volume of Hotspur, (i was all geared up for Red Circle and Alf Tupper out me ears) "just expecting" to win it and being outbid at the end annoyed me (probably why i spent a lot on the same year's Adventure's a few weeks later!). Also i saw a first edition of Tom Brown's Schooldays in an Oxfam for £15 one week, but could only get to that shop on Wednesdays. By the next week somebody had bitten thier arm off, of course. I'm still kicking myself for not buying it.

RE: DREDD 'CURSED EARTH':

all you good chaps are articulate and dedicated to all good things comichood; but sometimes good old VISUALS are called for:

Strangely satire as a defence can be used on copyright-look at Mad's history of using copyrighted characters.

And this defence could have been used in the Burger Wars stories-two chains fighting over sales turf.however MacD has way bigger legal teams.Who remembers the Mc Libel 2.Showing my age.

The satirical element of the Other tale was less and Bolland art was just too accurate.

However the main reason they cannot be used now is IPC signed a contract saying that they would never reprint them.

Worst of 2008-DFC-sorry- bought the first 30 issues and could not find any child of any age that liked it.And Phillip Pullman-go back to books.

Strangely satire as a defence can be used on copyright-look at Mad's history of using copyrighted characters.

And this defence could have been used in the Burger Wars stories-two chains fighting over sales turf.however MacD has way bigger legal teams.Who remembers the Mc Libel 2.Showing my age.

The satirical element of the Other tale was less and Bolland art was just too accurate.

However the main reason they cannot be used now is IPC signed a contract saying that they would never reprint them.

Worst of 2008-DFC-sorry- bought the first 30 issues and could not find any child of any age that liked it.And Phillip Pullman-go back to books.

brisey wrote:Strangely satire as a defence can be used on copyright-look at Mad's history of using copyrighted characters.

And this defence could have been used in the Burger Wars stories-two chains fighting over sales turf.however MacD has way bigger legal teams.Who remembers the Mc Libel 2.Showing my age.

I'm sure I read an interview recently with someone in the know who said that McDonalds had not actually threatened anything and it was the publishers who panicked over it. Perhaps I dreamed it but if I can find the interview I'll let you know.

Lew

Highlights of 2008 for me would be seeing that UK comics are still alive and kicking with the launches of The DFC and Marvel Heroes, the great Derek the Sheep book, Classical Comics showing that adventure comics can still be done if put into a new format, the huge History of The Beano book...

I'm sure there's many other comics / books I enjoyed but that's the few I can remember at present.

Personal high was landing a regular gig in The Beano.

Lew

I think i read that too, that Mcdonalds or Burger King never complained, but they decided not to take the risk.

I beleive the Jolly Green Giant company did complain, but allowed 2000AD to publish an "apology" in which the real giant meets Dredd and gives him loads of cans to help on the journey

High: comics-wise, DFC in Tesco. Real life, the girlfriend (still can't quite believe it's true)
Low: still no sign of another "real" Dandy...

Lew Stringer wrote:I'm sure I read an interview recently with someone in the know who said that McDonalds had not actually threatened anything and it was the publishers who panicked over it. Perhaps I dreamed it but if I can find the interview I'll let you know.

Lew

'In 'Burger Law!', Judge Dredd has to cross the Cursed Earth, the radioactive wasteland of middle America, to deliver a vaccine to Mega-City Two on the West coast.
En route, he and his punk charge, Spikes Harvey Rotten, are caught by one of two feuding rival gangs devoted to their favourite brand of hamburger.
The publishers' jittery lawyers prevented this pre-Super Size Me fast-food satire, by T.B Grover, alias John Wagner and Mike McMahon, from ever being reprinted since it first appeared in 2000ad Prog 72, 8 july 1978.
This suppression was unnecessary as neither chain complained.'

Quote taken from the book: 'Great British Comics' by Paul Gravett and Peter Stanbury.

Is this the article you saw, Lew?

Jim