ISBN: 978-0-90080-431-1 (TPB)
This book includes Discriminatory Content produced in less enlightened times.
As we apparently stumble into another global conflagration sparked by hatred and steered by greedy, needy raving lunatics, why not return with me again to the early days of World War II and experience the charm and creativity of the English in the face of impending disaster and unfolding calamity? Or perhaps I should say try and find this wonderful reproduction of one of those war years’ most popular strips, now all but forgotten…
Cartoonist, comics creator and celebrated animator Brian White first created this roguish charmer of a toddler in 1933 and he outlasted the Nazis by a good margin, only putting down his toys in 1947. However the bonny lad’s pantomimic antics – most strips were slapstick gags without dialogue – were loved by children and adults in equal measure. The feature ran in The Daily Mail and even with wartime restrictions, seasonal annuals were a foregone conclusion. The public demanded it.
Brian “H.B.” White was born in Dunstable in 1902 and divided his artistic gifts between moving pictures and cartooning for comics and papers. His other strip success included Dare-a-Day Danny and Little Tough Guy in Knockout; Keyhole Kate in Sparky; Plum Duffy in The Topper and Double Trouble for the London Evening Standard.
His film work was as impressive and far-reaching, beginning with cartoon short Jerry the Troublesome Tyke in 1925 and ending with the Halas & Batchelor team that created the landmark animated film Animal Farm in 1954.
HB died in 1984, but his work is timelessly accessible and deserves to be re-discovered.
Bold, vivid and ingenious, The Nipper Annuals were a part of British life for almost two generations, but in this splendid revived and resurrected edition topics of Wartime utility played the foremost part of the morale-boosting process in strips and features actually produced in the earliest weeks of the war.
As well as the superb bold line artwork, there are plenty of fascinating advertisements of the period for the grown-ups; dedicated pages for the kids to draw their own strips (ready-ruled with panels and borders – always the worst job, as any cartoonist will tell you!) and a handy calendar for 1940. Please recall, British Annuals were released around autumn to be on sale during Christmas time and were always forward-dated for the following year.
And to top it off the entire package also doubles as a colouring book! What Larks!
Kidding aside, this was a wonderful look back offering insight into our comic strip past from a master craftsman. That it has such entertainment and socio-historical value is a blessed bonus, but the real treasure is the work itself. All credit to those responsible for re-releasing it, and I fervently wish more companies would make similar efforts to keep our cultural history accessible.
© 1995 B&H Publications/White Crescent Press Ltd. (I presume.)
Today in 1927 Spanish comics master Victor de la Fuente (Haggarth, Los gringos, Tex Willer, et al) was born, followed by Portuguese star Carlos Roque (Wladimyr) in 1936; Cuban raconteur Eduardo Muñoz Bachs (El Cuento); Kirby-trained US journeyman Steve Sherman in 1949 and controversial Italian megastar Tanino (RanXerox) Libertore in 1953.
Latterday leading lights include US Manga trailblazer Toren Smith of Studio Proteus, arriving today in 1960; amazing Amanda Conner (Batgirl, Power Girl, Harley Quinn) in 1967; J. Scott Campbell (Gen 13, Danger Girl) in 1973 and Rafael Albuquerque (Blue Beetle) in 1981. In 1999, Argentine scripting powerhouse Ricardo Barreiro (Bárbara, Slot Barr, As de Pique, Ciudad, Estrella Negra, Parque Chas, El Eternauta: Odio cósmico) died today.