By various (DC Thomson & Co)
ISBN: 978-1-84535-347-6
Released as part of the seventieth Anniversary celebrations of the comics company that has more than any other shaped the psyche of generations of children, this wonderful hardback compilation rightly glories in the incredible wealth of quality that has paraded through the flimsy pages of the Beano and the Dandy.
The book takes as its broad theme the antics of characters who have waged an incessant war against boredom and repression amidst the chalk-clouded, grubby corridors of school, risking corporal punishment, exhausted writing hands and ritual humiliation to keep us all amused and rebellious at heart.
Within these pages you will find cracking examples of Old Ma Murphy (by Alan Morley), Korky the Cat, Hooky’s Magic Bowler Hat (by the wonderful Chick Gordon), the Pocket Grandpas (both the 1940’s prose feature and the 1970’s strip drawn by Ron Spencer), Big Eggo, Miss Primm (Alan Morley again), Tough Nellie Duff (the Strong Arm School Marm), and Billy Butter the Brainy Goat.
More substantial offerings honour Biffo the Bear (by both Dudley D. Watkins and Leo Baxendale) and Dennis the Menace, Our Teacher’s a Walrus and Lord Snooty (both by the incredibly prolificWatkins), Winker Watson and the unforgettable Dirty Dick (both illustrated by the unique Eric Roberts).
Greedy Pigg, Mr Mutt and Jammy the Sammy were all by the indefatigable A.G. Martin whilst Baxendale’s immortal Bash Street Kids (which began its term as ‘When the Bell Rings’), Desperate Dan (by Watkins), Whacko! and Robin Hood’s Schooldays (by Spencer again) are well represented too; but it’s the tantalising glimpses of such minor celebrities as Dopey Dinah, Bamboo Town, and Keyhole Kate that I’d like to see more of sometime.
There’s a raft of bonus features such as an article on long-lost prose stories like Jimmy the Double Dunce, and Through Fire and Flood with Bobby Trent, a complete 8 page full-colour Bananaman strip from 1985 that was given away in schools and dentists, by John K. Geering and the unpublished final episode (#837 if you’re counting) of the Jocks and the Geordies from the Dandy.
This strip was never completed and is presented as unlettered black line art, with the artist’s script printed below: a fascinating insight for anybody seeking a career in the industry. In fact this book is a treasure trove for the aspiring pro as many strips are reproduced from original camera-ready artwork – with printers’ instructions, editor’s notes and even un-erased pencil lines on show – highly educational for those looking for secrets and details of “the processâ€.
Notwithstanding all that, the true magic of this collection is the brilliant art and stories by a host of talents that have literally made Britons who they are today, and bravo to DC Thomson for letting them out for a half-day to run amok once again.
© 2008 DC Thomson & Co. Ltd. All Rights Reserved.