Comics UK

I'm currently writing a book on the history of Whizzer and Chips, and was just wondering - would you read it?

So far it covers all the free gifts along with pictures, the merges, appearences of characters in other comics, the logo change and general important points in the comic's history. (It's very detailed as well - currently over 3500 words and I've only just started!)

Also, if you would read the book, what would you like me to cover in it?

All help much appreciated!

Have you got copyright clearance to include strips from the comic?

If nothing else I'd be interested in a comprehensive index - preferably along the lines of those produced by Steve Holland and Ray Moore for titles such as Lion and Dandy. You would, of course, have to obtain permission from the current copyright holders if you wanted to sell it; maybe Steve can give you some idea of what this would entail via his Bear Alley site (though he's often very busy so don't expect an immediate reply!).

- Phil Rushton

I've never read one of those indexes - what sort of things do they include? I'll see if I can track one down on ebay or amazon.

I'll contact Steve and see if he can help me!

I'd love to read a book on my favourite comic, i'd definitly buy it

George Shiers wrote:I've never read one of those indexes - what sort of things do they include? I'll see if I can track one down on ebay or amazon.

I'll contact Steve and see if he can help me!

I wasn't sure what constituted a comic index until the subject recently came up on this thread http://comicsuk.co.uk/Forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=4859
Based on my understanding of the principle, I produced this Cheeky Weekly index http://cheekyweekly.blogspot.co.uk/2012 ... eekly.html

Thanks for the link! I'll see if I'm any good at it

I would by it without hesitation because, hey, it's about Whizzer & Chips.

But if i saw it was coming out, what would I hope was in it? I would hope that it would have full info on all the strips with pictures, including info on them from before they came under the command or Sid or Shiner if they were from mergers (so what philcom55 said, essentially) and just a nice set of chapters telling me all about a great British comic.

And personally if I was making it, I'd put in 'Spot Oddball', a little game of finding Oddball hidden in pictures throughout the book. It's an idea I've had for a while, he just seems so perfect for cameos. Obviously you'll be more focused on writing a good book rather than cameos from space balls but I thought I'd mention it nonetheless.

dwitefry wrote:I would by it without hesitation because, hey, it's about Whizzer & Chips.

But if i saw it was coming out, what would I hope was in it? I would hope that it would have full info on all the strips with pictures, including info on them from before they came under the command or Sid or Shiner if they were from mergers (so what philcom55 said, essentially) and just a nice set of chapters telling me all about a great British comic.

And personally if I was making it, I'd put in 'Spot Oddball', a little game of finding Oddball hidden in pictures throughout the book. It's an idea I've had for a while, he just seems so perfect for cameos. Obviously you'll be more focused on writing a good book rather than cameos from space balls but I thought I'd mention it nonetheless.

I'll add in a character list, although I can't promise every single character as I don't have every single issue! I suppose that could be updated for a second version though (if that ever happens)

And a spot Odd-Ball challange? I'll see what I can do...

George Shiers wrote:

dwitefry wrote: I'll add in a character list, although I can't promise every single character as I don't have every single issue! I suppose that could be updated for a second version though (if that ever happens)

Yeah, there's so many more issues per year for a British comic, and with so many changes happening in each series it's hard to track em all down and know the lot, so I don't think anyone would hold it against you if you didn't quite know everything about Ray Gunn or Toffee Nose or someone.

I would buy it but to be honest i would only take on such a project if i had access to every single issue so you could include every detail & things such as correct number of issues all the printers strike dates so we would know the exact weeks it wasnt published etc. and what was mentioned earlier about characters from mergers like where they come from the number of issues & dates of their original comics,maybe i could do a short one for Wow or Jackpot as i have all those

H George ,

The devil is in the detail. Do not undertake this task lightly without first having access to every weekly , summer special and annual. This would also include flyers , any promotional material and all free gifts. Any mergers etc would also have to be fully documented. Of course we then need a comprehensive listing of writers , artists , letterers , editors. So I hope you can see from my few suggestions the enormity of the task that lies before you. And a second edition is only feasible if it becomes a best seller. Which to be blunt it won't. We are a small niche group here. Sorry to appear so harsh but that is the reality of the situation. By all means go ahead and publish online your findings , but don't expect it to sell in huge numbers as a hard copy edition,

sincerely and with all respect,

The Cap.

I'd buy it.

One of my many "ideas of things I'd like to do that, in reality, I'll almost certainly never get round to" is a similar book about Oink! It'd be a smaller undertaking as it only ran for a couple of years, and many of its contributors are still active so should be easy to hunt down for interviews etc. But (a) I don't think I'd ever have the time to do the research and writing necessary and (b) I'd probably sell about 37 copies. Still, it's nice to dream.

I'd have to agree with Cap'n Storm. Personally, it's not of interest to me - I don't really care who drew what. But I look at some of the attacks the likes of Crikey! got and, if you're producing a history book, you have to be spot on, otherwise expect a wave of criticism.

If it's more a celebration of these stories, rather than a tome, probably an easily updated website might be your best bet, then publish your thesis when you think you have the material.

Comic fans are pretty unforgiving and comic historians even more so. Are you ready for that?

starscape wrote:I'd have to agree with Cap'n Storm. Personally, it's not of interest to me - I don't really care who drew what. But I look at some of the attacks the likes of Crikey! got and, if you're producing a history book, you have to be spot on, otherwise expect a wave of criticism.

If it's more a celebration of these stories, rather than a tome, probably an easily updated website might be your best bet, then publish your thesis when you think you have the material.

Comic fans are pretty unforgiving and comic historians even more so. Are you ready for that?

I think some of the criticism that Crikey! received was deserved though. With the best will in the world, if some articles are written by people making guesswork or relying on hazy memories, what's the point of the article? (If the author admits it's only guesswork, fair enough, but not if it's presented as fact.)

A magazine or book that gives an overview on the history of a specific comic has to at least try to get it's facts right because once the information is out there it's going to be taken as gospel. (One example being the error-riddled article about Smash! that was in Crikey No.3. The same errors were repeated on Wikipedia months later because the author obviously put his faith in that article.)

Overall of course, before Tony gets too down about the above, Crikey! was a great mag and it's info was reliable. (And if Borders hadn't closed I'm sure the mag would still be with us, improving every issue as it had been.)

So, yeah, unless you can write a solid overview of the history of Whizzer & Chips perhaps a different angle would be better? An eBook reviewing the issues you have for example, and the changes over the years? (Not that W&C saw many changes, which was one cause of its downfall imho.)