Saturday, 9 November 2013
A corpulent curiosity
I was surprised to discover over at the Kazoop blog that among the strips in the 1983 Shiver and Shake Annual, which was published towards the end of 1982, was an appearance by Cheeky Weekly's own bulging buffoon, Tub. Our portly pal had simultaneously appeared in the 1983 Cheeky Annual, and his final appearance in a Cheeky title came in the last ever Cheeky Annual cover-dated 1985. The Shiver and Shake '83 Annual strip was not a reprint, and I didn't expect to see Tub moonlighting in another annual while still on the Cheeky payroll!
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Did you know that the cover of the ’85 Cheeky Annual was a reprint of Krazy’s 12/2/77 cover? Can’t find an article about this annual so this seems as good a place as any to mention it. This seems shocking; true, it wouldn’t be so many years before Funny Fortnightly reused Krazy covers all the time, but that’s not the point – annuals were inviolate! All those treasured memories of Ivor Lott lording it over Tony with big lollies, etc...
ReplyDeleteI didn't realise that the cover was a reprint until I read Bruce's post about it here http://comicsblog.brucelaing.id.au/cheeky1985-01/
DeleteI'm not sure if any other Fleetway annuals used reprinted designs (like you I always assumed the covers were lovingly created - seemingly mostly by Mike Lacey - to order, for each year's batch of bumper versions of the comic weeklies), but I suspect it was quite a rare occurrence. I suppose IPC knew the '85 annual would be the last so knocked it out without spending much on it - they certainly used a lot of reprint stuff inside.
It was the newness of the covers that was their most striking aspect. I don’t suppose I’d have expected, even at the innocent age of 11, to have got this annual at Christmas '84 (which I didn’t) and found it bulging with brand new strips. On a similar note, read Ivor Swap in British Library today and wondered if Geering worked his magic on Cor’s Swapper Stan strips; warrants further investigation.
ReplyDeleteI know nothing about Swopper Stan other than what I've read on the Kazoop blog http://kazoop.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/look-at-cor-strips-swopper-stan.html
DeleteCertainly seems similar to Ivor, although apparently Mike Lacey was the 'regular illustrator' - I suspect Irmantas means that all the Stan strips were by Mike - I'm sure he'd have mentioned any ghost artists by name. Interesting re different spellings swop/swap.
A nifty comparison’s called for to be certain, but I only need say Why Dad Why for you to see why I’m thinking Geering revitalized an otherwise dry strip. These were the days when John Keith Geering was at the top of his game, up to and including those mediocre Bog Paper days – and then he went and died at 58. Surprising we’ve not all gone bananas without him…
ReplyDeleteAah, I'm with you now - sorry to say my comics chronology is not what it should be - so I presume Ivor made his debut after Stan.
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