Comics UK

On the Cheeky Weekly blog I've just posted an example of the Little Ed strip from Whoopee!

http://cheekyweekly.blogspot.co.uk/2012 ... heeky.html

I know this wasn't the first strip to include the artist as one of the characters, whose hand is seen drawing or altering the artwork as the strip progresses. It probably wasn't the last, either.

Can anyone supply the names of other strips that used this idea?

Doodle in Whizzer and Chips, 1975/76, had the artist's hand and voice participating each week.

Jim Petrie's 2000th and last episode of Minnie the Minx comes to mind. He appears in the story, and when Minnie minxes him, he responds by first putting her in a dress, then giving her blonde curls. Minnie is angry, and the strip ends with Jim thanking the readers, and saying that he hopes we'll like the new artist (evidently we didn't though, since Tom Paterson only lasted a few years before being replaced by Ken Harrison).

In an early Lord Snooty, the gang go and visit Mr Watkins who is drawing their adventures. In WHAM! Eagle -Eye meets Mr Baxendale.

Smart Art? Beezer or Topper. The artists hand holding the pencil was featured each week with the character dictating the action by talking to the artist. Someone else can elucidate, please.

stevezodiac wrote:Smart Art? Beezer or Topper. The artists hand holding the pencil was featured each week with the character dictating the action by talking to the artist. Someone else can elucidate, please.

As far as Thomsons were concerned, Steve, this concept originated much earlier than Smart Art. It was called Our Artist At Work, and it appeared regularly in The Rover from the 1920s. The example below, from issue 212 (Mar. 20 1926), was drawn by Allan Morley, and shared the back cover equally with Nosey Parker, Our Prize Busybody.

Here are some more that I'm sure I have posted previously at some point.

Thanks for the replies, folks. Those OAAW strips are superb, thanks for posting them, Phoenix.

Phoenix wrote:Here are some more that I'm sure I have posted previously at some point.

The character in that second one looks identical to Big Fat Joe. Which as you may already know appeared in the Beano drawn by Allan Morley (unsurprisingly the same artist who drew that strip) and later became one of Lord Snooty's pals.

You're right. So Joe first appeared around 12 years before his official debut?

Digifiend wrote:So Joe first appeared around 12 years before his official debut?

Well, a bit at a time, but he was certainly showing initiative, and no little greed, despite the fact that he was only half the boy he was hoping to become. Perhaps he was disappointed not to become Billy Bunter!

Here's Claws from Whoopee!, trying to stop the readers looking at him.

J Edward Oliver used to be a character in his strips in "Sounds", "Disc" etc - I think Alan Moore also appeared in some of his humour strips in Sounds and in Maxwell the Magic Cat - Jack Kirby & Stan Lee used to appear in some strips (and a lot in "Not Brand Eech" comic as did Roy Thomas, Steve Ditko and John Buscema and other DC and Marvel editors , artists etc did the same) Leo Baxendale in at least his " Billy the Kid" books made an appearance & I think Ken Reid also may have had some interaction in his Power comic strips (maybe just as a balloon but I seem to remember a picture of him and his writer in Dare a Day Davey).

http://www.jeoliver.co.uk/

McSCOTTYS GHOST wrote:J Edward Oliver used to be a character in his strips in "Sounds", "Disc" etc - I think Alan Moore also appeared in some of his humour strips in Sounds and in Maxwell the Magic Cat - Jack Kirby & Stan Lee used to appear in some strips (and a lot in "Not Brand Eech" comic as did Roy Thomas, Steve Ditko and John Buscema and other DC and Marvel editors , artists etc did the same) Leo Baxendale in at least his " Billy the Kid" books made an appearance & I think Ken Reid also may have had some interaction in his Power comic strips (maybe just as a balloon but I seem to remember a picture of him and his writer in Dare a Day Davey).

It would be very helpful, Mc's G, if you could post examples of all the above. If I'm counting correctly, that would be a minimum of nine scans, which require just three posts.

I'm looking them out now actually(apart form J Edwerd Oliver as the link goes to his character)