Comics UK

Bonjour !
I'm new here, I'm french and I write articles about the comics and their creators since almost 30 years in the french magazine HOP !
For the next issue of our magazine (#139), we are studying the humorous english comics in NANO ET NANETTE : "Bessie Bunter" ("Lea Glouton"), "Stone Age Kitty" ("Pierrette à l'âge de pierre"), "Freddie Frog" ("Plouf la grenouille"), "Flipper the Skipper" ("Capitaine Nageoire"), "Peter Puppet" ("Mr Pantin au pays des jeux"), "Teddy and Cuddly" ("Bibi et Lolo"), "Harold Hare" ("Frout le fameux lapin"), etc.
NANO ET NANETTE was a french comics magazine for young readers. It was published -mostly weekly- during 468 issues by Editions de Chateaudun : 1 (05/15/1955) to 468 (02.01.1966).
During those years, there were many english comics translated in this weekly, for example “Tarna the Jungle Boy”, "Prince the Wonder Dog", "Cherry and the Children", “Lucky's Living Doll“ (“Tina la petite poupée“), “Maypole“ (L'"asperge") (this forum has helped me a lot for the last articles !)... as well as spanish and american works.
And now some questions :
-Who were the artists of "Bessie Bunter" in SCHOOL FRIEND before Cecil Orr and Arthur Martin ?
-Has someone some information about "Flipper the Skipper"'s artists Fred Robinson / Walter Bell / Walter Booth and "Peter Puppet"'s Marion Main / Ron Nielsen / Walter Bell / R. Jordan ?
-Two series are still unknown to me : "Jenny" (all I know is that it was published in JUNE) and "Zouzou Circus" (its french title)
Can you help me with that ?
Merci beaucoup !

Bonjour Marc!

Welcome to the forum.

I may be able to help a little, your 'ZouZou Circus' example was originally called 'The Twins of Twinkle's Circus' which started in 'Playhour' comic in October 1954, but was gone by July 1955, it was still running in December 54. I can not give more details on dates as I have gaps in my collection!
The artist is not credited in the examples that I have, but I wonder if it was by Walter Langhammer? Can anyone add to this?

The scans below are from Playhour no2 dated 23/10/54.

I will post about 'Peter Puppet' later.

In respect to 'Peter Puppet' I can give you approximate dates with information from myself, and the 'Look and Learn' site who own the rights to some british titles.

Hugh Mcneill was the first artist on 'Peter Puppet' from October 1954, by early to mid 1955 he had been replaced by (according to Look and Learn), Basil Reynolds although they do have a question mark by his work.
By october 1955 Marion Main had taken over she continued until (according to Look and Learn again) Walter Bell took over in 1956, with R Jordan (according to Look and Learn) working on the strip by 1958.
Ron Nielsen is credited with some of the annual artwork on Peter Puppet in the 'Playhour' annuals in the late fifties.
I hope that helps and is not too confusing, I wonder if anyone else can add more?

Marc-Andre wrote: -Who were the artists of "Bessie Bunter" in SCHOOL FRIEND before Cecil Orr and Arthur Martin ?
-Has someone some information about "Flipper the Skipper"'s artists Fred Robinson / Walter Bell / Walter Booth and "Peter Puppet"'s Marion Main / Ron Nielsen / Walter Bell / R. Jordan ?

One artist I know drew Bessie Bunter in School Friend was G. M. Dodshon.

Here's Fred Robinson's obituary from the Independent. The UK Comics Wiki has brief biographies (written by me) of Walter Bell and Walter Booth. Hope they're helpful. Can't find anything about Marion Main, Ron Neilsen or R. Jordan, I'm afraid.

Hello everybody,
Thank you very much for the pictures, the informations and the links ; yes, it's going to help !
Please send me your adress in PM for I can ask my editor to send you a copy of next issue of HOP ! with the article.

If it's any help here are a couple of episodes of 'Jenny' which appeared in June in 1963 and 1966 respectively. I'm not sure who either of the artists were, though Jenny's dad seems to have aged catastrophically in just three years!





- Phil Rushton

Thank you !
Yes, three years, a new artist and he's getting much older !