Category: Best of British

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Noggin the Nog


By Oliver Postgate & Peter Firmin (Egmont)
Noggin the King ISBN: 978-1- 4052-8152-2 (HB)
Noggin and the Whale ISBN: 978-1- 4052-8153-9 (HB)
Nogbad Comes Back ISBN: 978-1- 4052-8155-3 (HB)
Noggin and the Dragon ISBN: 978-1- 4052-8154-6 (HB)
Nogbad and the Elephants ISBN 978-1- 4052-8142-3 (HB)
Noggin and the Moon Mouse ISBN: 978-1- 4052-8141-6 (HB)
Noggin and the Storks ISBN: 978-1- 4052-8144-7 (HB)
Noggin and the Money ISBN: 978-1- 4052-8143-0 (HB)

Baby Boomers like me consider our childhoods – no matter how feted or feral, and personally privileged or dire and deprived – to have been a golden age in terms of liberty, agency and especially entertainment. That’s probably due in large part to being exposed to the gentle, life-affirming fantasy worlds of these guys.

Today celebrating a century of being splendid, Richard Oliver Postgate was a writer, puppeteer, animator and unrepentant itinerant storyteller who was born to an extremely prestigious, overachieving and drama-drenched family. He entered the world on April 12th 1925 in Hendon Middlesex and was eventually educated at Woodstock School, Woodhouse Secondary, the legendary Dartington Hall School/College and Kingston College of Art. He joined the Home Guard in 1942 but when at last called up, declared himself a Conscious Objector – just as his father had during the Great War. Court martialled and sentenced to Feltham Prison, Oliver eventually became a land-worker growing crops. After the war he worked for the Red Cross in Occupied Germany. On returning to Britain in 1948, he went to Drama School and drifted from job to job.

In 1957, whilst working as a stage manager for commercial TV company Associated Rediffusion, he observed the appalling quality of children’s programming up close and knew he could do better for the same paltry money offered. Writing Alexander the Mouse he convinced a Central School of Art tutor named Peter Firmin to draw the backgrounds for him. After moving on to short-lived deaf-viewer project The Journey of Master Ho, in 1959 the creators formalised their partnership as independent studio Smallfilms. The rest is history… and fantasy and wonder and charm and devastating nostalgia…

When not shaping the minds of 30-years-worth of kids, Postgate continued trying to save the world and refine its inhabitants. He was active in the CND movement, penning their pamphlet The Writing on the Sky and 1981 book Thinking it Through: The Plain Man’s Guide to the Bomb. In 1986, he created a 15-meter artwork for his latterday romantic partner Naomi Linnell’s book Illumination of the Life and Death of Thomas Beckett, repeating the exercise for The Triumphant Failure (about Christopher Columbus) and triptych A Canterbury Chronicle, which ended up in the city’s Royal Museum Art Gallery and Eliot College Campus…

Working when he pleased, Postgate narrated – in the calm, quietly compelling voice that became hardwired into the brains of millions – radio comedy and documentary shows, more books such as autobiography Seeing Things, and accompanied (arguably) his greatest creation Bagpuss – voted in 1999 the Most Popular Children’s Television Programme of All Time – as the plushly-stuffed purple & white cat accrued awards such as an honorary degree from the University of Kent at Canterbury.

Postgate died – hopefully properly and rightly well-contented – in Broadstairs Kent, on December 8th  2008.

Peter Arthur Firmin was born in Harwich on 11th December 1928. Following training at Colchester School of Art and National Service in the Royal Navy, he attended Central School of Art and Design in London from 1949 to 1952. A creative man of many talents and disciplines, he then worked as a stained-glass designer, jobbing illustrator and lecturer.

Whilst teaching at Central in 1957 he was targeted by audacious, up-and-coming children’s TV writer Oliver Postgate who believed (quite rightly) that clever individuals could produce high-quality kids’ viewing at reasonable cost.

After crafting backgrounds for Postgate’s Alexander the Mouse and The Journey of Master Ho, Firmin became equal partner in new venture Smallfilms, which grew in and out of a shed at the artist’s Canterbury home. The kindred spirits initially produced hand-drawn cartoons and eventually stop motion animation episodes for series including Ivor the Engine, Pingwings, The Saga of Noggin the Nog, Pogle’s Wood/The Pogles, Bagpuss, The Clangers and much more. Postgate wrote, voiced and filmed, whilst Firmin – roping in any family and friends in the immediate vicinity – drew, painted, built sets and made puppets. Their spouses were often dragooned too, if they showed useful talents like sewing or knitting…

During those early days Firmin seemed tireless. In addition to the Smallfilms job he also devised, designed and populated other kids shows such as The Musical Box and Smalltime. In 1962 with Ivan Owen he created a fox puppet for The Three Scampies. That creation soon had his own show and career as Basil Brush…

Throughout his life, Firmin continued his cartooning and illustration career. This included writing and/or illustrating a number of books including Basil Brush Goes Flying, The Winter Diary of a Country Rat, Nina’s Machines and Postgate’s Seeing Things – An Autobiography. Firmin also worked as a printmaker and engraver, designer and educator. In 1994 he was asked to create a British postage stamp and produced a magnificent offering featuring Noggin and the Ice Dragon.

Even at their most productive and overworked, Postgate & Firmin always ensured there was plenty of ancillary product such as Christmas Annuals, comic strips, spin-off books, games and puzzles for their devoted young fans. One of the most charming and enduring was a series of “Starting-to-Read” books released by Kaye & Ward between 1965 and 1973. Postgate & Firmin crafted all 8 books in a kid-friendly format gently sharing the further adventures of the Nicest Norseman of Them All…

In 2016 the octet of all ages, easy-going comedy dramas and gently humorous escapades were rereleased as superb hardcover editions perfect for tiny hands, but are now (at least thus far) out-of-print-&-hard-to-find. Starring the full TV cast and illustrated in a variety of duo-toned line-&-colour tomes, they display all the wit and subtle charm of the irrepressible Firmin whilst Postgate seductively and seditiously showed how much nicer things could be if we all tried a little harder to get on with each other.

This is the Saga of Noggin the Nog… Upon the death of his father, quiet, unassuming Noggin becomes king of the northland Viking tribe known as the Nogs. He rules with understanding and wisdom – generally thanks to his advisors: wife Nooka who hails from the far north (we’d call her an Inuit or Inuuk princess these days), bluff old codger Thor Nogson and wisdom-stuffed talking green cormorant Graculus. Despite many fantastic but necessary adventures, Noggin prefers a quiet home life with his people and his boisterous son Knut…

Noggin the King opens with bucolic pastoral scenes of the Nogs, with the good-hearted sovereign helping his people however he can. However, whilst happily repairing the roof of an old farmer, the ruler dislodges a bird’s nest. Bringing the nest and its occupants back to his castle, he cares for the fledglings and mother, pondering if he is also the King of birds in the Land of Nogs. If he is, then they are his subjects too and thus he is responsible for their safety and welfare. Riven with doubt, the King, with Nooka at his side, sets out on a short quest/ fact-finding mission to confirm his suspicions and is rewarded by the feathered kingdom with a great but grave new honour…

Noggin and the Whale features far more light-hearted aspects of kingship as the mild-mannered monarch celebrates his birthday in the usual manner: doling out gifts to all the children of his realm. This year they all get musical instruments, but when they hold an impromptu concert on a boat in the little walled harbour, the merriment is interrupted by a most insistent whale.

Every time the kids get going the cetacean surges up under the boat and eventually even placid Noggin loss his temper and orders the sea-beast to swim away. Instead it glides over to the open harbour gate and sulkily blocks the way, just as Noggish fishing boats are trying to moor up for the night. Nothing the townsfolk can do will shift the surly creature.

Suddenly Prince Knut has an idea. He realises why the whale has been acting so strangely and, after consulting with his father, commissions Royal Inventor Olaf the Lofty to create a unique present for the morose marine mammal…

Originally released in 1966, Noggin and the Dragon sees little Prince Knut and his chums pestering the royal couple to let them go on a dragon hunt. Noggin and Nooka are reluctant at first – Dragon Valley is no place for little boys and besides, the best thing to do with dragons is give them sweets and make friends – but eventually the proud parents capitulate to pester power. To ensure things go smoothly they insist doughty old warrior Thor Nogson goes with them, but as the unruly boys trek into a gathering storm, no one has any idea of the shocking surprise in store for them all…

From the same year, Nogbad Comes Back highlights the return from exile of Noggin’s wicked usurping uncle, just in time to try and spoil the King’s annual animal and vegetable show. Living up to his name, Nogbad the Bad tries to win the glittering jewel-encrusted cup for best flora and fauna by devious cheating and, when that fails, through simple shameful theft. Thankfully, Nooka is not as forgiving and kind as her husband and has been keeping a close eye on her outlaw in-law…

The next year saw two more tomes: one of which may have been a notional precursor to one of Smallfilms’ most successful franchise creations. Noggin and the Moon Mouse begins with Knut enacting an official ceremony at a water trough. Proceedings are utterly disrupted when a strange silver ball crashes down and a child-sized rodent-like creature emerges. Caught up in the excitement, the prince and his unruly pals give chase… until Queen Nooka takes charge. After admonishing the boys, she and Noggin befriend the strange visitor (who actually comes from another world) helping him gather odd household items he requires to return to the stars.

And yes, a few years later a peculiar band of armoured woolly beasties began communicating with us all in their universally comprehensible pennywhistle pipings in a little show called The Clangers…

Nogbad and the Elephants proves there are many perks to being royal. One is wonderful presents such as the gigantic gem-encrusted, long-nosed big-eared beast presented to Prince Knut by the King of Southland. Sadly, the wonderful creature is perpetually unhappy and falls under the sway of crafty Nogbad who lures it away to steal its jewelled coat. Realising it’s been hoodwinked, the piteous pachyderm takes restorative action in its own unique manner, compelling Knut to make his first grown-up decision…

The last brace of tales originated in 1973, beginning with hilariously anti-capitalist tract Noggin and the Money. Here Court Inventor Olaf the Lofty suffers a setback in his dream to modernise the nation. Nogs have been happily soldiering on using barter and trade as long as anyone can remember, so when the big thinker creates coins as currency, he thinks he’s made life easier for everybody. Thor Nogson soon disagrees after he’s despatched to acquire eggs for the royal breakfast and meets rather a lot of resistance to this new-fangled commerce nonsense…

Wrapping up the fun is Noggin and the Storks as the King sagely deals with a minor ecological crisis. Sooty Storks have nested on the chimneys of the town for decades, using the heat of human cooking fires to warm their eggs. This year, as the birds are particularly numerous, the populace are continually being smoked out of their own homes.

Despite his people angrily petitioning Noggin to let them chase the pests away, as king of birds as well as people, the smooth sovereign seeks another, more equitable solution. Cue Olaf the Lofty, who has an idea involving an old chalk quarry, a stand of hollow trees, masses of convoluted piping, steel sheets and tons of firewood…

Serenely bewitching, engaging and endlessly rewarding (both these books and their much-missed, multi-talented originators) the works of Postgate and Firmin shaped generations of children and parents. If you aren’t among them, do yourself a great favour and track down those DVD box sets, haunt the streaming services and buy these books and anything else with their names on it. You won’t regret it for an instant.
Text © The Estate of Oliver Postgate 1965-1973. Illustrations © Peter Firmin/The Estate of Peter Firmin 1965-1973.

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Kusama: Polka Dot Queen (Art Masters)


By Simon Elliott (SelfMadeHero)
ISBN: 978-1-91422-430-0 (HB)

This book includes Discriminatory Content produced for dramatic effect.

The Sixties were an amazing time, I remember them well – which apparently means that I wasn’t really there. However, many others were and this potent revisitation and exploration of one of the most misplaced icons of that era reveals in fabulous fashion how she overcame institutional neglect, habitual sidelining, racial intolerance and gender prejudice to finally see her merit and achievements acknowledged.

Moreover, the long climb and her subsequent fame and influence have been magnified in the decades since, both abroad and – most crucially – in the land of her birth and where she was first discarded. Apparently, living long and well and true to oneself is the best revenge…

Legal eagle Simon Elliot (art obsessive, criminal barrister and stand-up comedian by night) adds to his list of side hustle successes with another superb artist biography to supplement Hockney: A Graphic Life (Frances Lincoln, 2023), and 2024’s Vincent: A Graphic Biography by here encapsulating and reassessing, in potent pictorial terms, the life of Japanese sensation and grande dame Kusama Yayoi.

Avant-garde icon, globetrotting art ambassador, Pop Art Darling and perennial target and headline fodder for paparazzi and media parasites, Kusama is best known for literally thousands of artworks comprised of countless dots painstakingly painted, drawn and stuck down, and her vast “infinity nets” works. However, as seen in this compelling biography, her unique manner of perceiving the world and addressing her mental health issues has also been impressively expressed in other forms of conceptual art, including filmmaking, poetry, fashion design, fiction, performance and video art, as well as tradition but novel sculptural and painted forms. You can actually own a piece of her massive and monumental output simply by buying a copy of the 2012 Penguin Classics Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland which she illustrated.

Born in 1929 in Matsumoto, Nagano Prefecture, Kusama Yayoi grew up in a wealthy home, afflicted by appalling abusive parents in the go-getting yet ferociously hidebound and formal Japan ruled by empire-building militarists. Subjected to a cruel home life and the whims of capricious parents at war with each other, the little girl was ostracised by her siblings and became obsessed with nature and art. She also suffered from periodic hallucinogenic episodes…

Enduring war, occupation in the aftermath and parental pressure to marry beneficially and strategically for the sake of the family, Yayoi pursued her art intensely and reached out to other women artists. In 1958 she managed to escape to America just in time for the art and social revolution to swallow her…

As with other women during the Pop Art era, Yayoi “inspired” white male artists including Andy Warhol and particularly Claes Oldenburg. The latter shared studio space with Kusama, whose rubber and fabric installations only coincidentally predated Oldenburg’s soft sculpture phase… and that’s when her story, artistic ascension, international expansions and eventual triumph begins…

Gloriously vibrant and ebullient, this light-looking but heavy-hitting appreciation, history and assessment of a figure unique even for the weird world of gallery art is a beguiling and powerful introduction to a much overlooked (here in the west at least) artist who deserves to be a household name right beside her avant-garde contemporaries and cherished for everything she’s done since…
Text and images © 2025 Simon Elliot.

Kusama: Polka Dot Queen will be published on 10th April 2025 and is available for pre-

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Bunny vs Monkey: The Whopping World of Puzzles!


By Jamie Smart, with Sammy Borras (David Fickling Books)
ISBN: 978-1-78845-350-9 (Digest HB)

Bunny vs Monkey has been the hairy/fuzzy backbone of The Phoenix since the very first issue back in 2012: recounting a madcap vendetta gripping animal arch-enemies in an idyllic arcadia masquerading as more-or-less mundane but critically endangered English woodlands.

Concocted with gleefully gentle mania by cartoonist, comics artist and novelist Jamie Smart (Fish Head Steve!; Looshkin; Max and Chaffy, Flember), his trendsetting, mindbending multi award-winning yarns have been wisely retooled as graphic albums available in digest editions such as this one.

The tail-biting tension and animal argy-bargy began yonks ago after an obnoxiously annoying little anthropoid plopped down in some serene British woodland, in the wake of a disastrous local space shot. Crashed down in Crinkle Woods, scant miles from his launch site, lab animal Monkey reckoned himself the rightful owner of a strange new world… despite every effort to dissuade him by reasonable, rational, sensible, genteel, contemplative forest resident Bunny. No amount of patience, propriety or good breeding on the part of the laid-back lepine could curtail, contain or control the incorrigible idiot ape.

A keen rivalry arose between them, as the ape intruder crudely made himself at home, and to this day Monkey remains a rude, noise-loving, chaos-creating, troublemaking lout intent on building his perfect “Monkeyopia” – with or without the aid of evil supergenius ally Skunky or their “henches” Metal Steve and Action Beaver. Problems are exacerbated by other unconventional Crinkle creatures, like Pig, Weenie, Ai, Lucky, Le Fox. Mad scientist Skunky’s intellect and cavalier attitude to life presents as a propensity for building extremely dangerous robots, Brobdingnagian bio-beasts and sundry other super-weapons…

Here the mundane multi-coloured – albeit rendered here in multifarious shades of mystifying monochrome tones – manic war of nerves and mega-munitions is pettishly paused for a session of traditional entertainment and activities as the entire cast amble ‘To the Woods’ and into a fun-filled framing comic tale. Exploring and ending up somewhere never seen before, our cuddly combatants mutually discover and take charge of a ramshackle and abandoned “lost” fun-fair. Their ingrained competitive lunacy sees all involved revive old rides but also -and this is where you come in – refit and revamp games and puzzles stalls, seeking to make it a holiday fun ride for all…

Cue a selection of character-themed quizzes, puzzles, tests of skill and imagination and other pen and paper activities, Part One of which focuses on reconditioned ‘Games Stalls’. We open with the titular attention-seeking simian lout. His odd-one-out conundrum ‘I am Monkey’ leads to self-explanatory ‘Bunny’s Cross Words’ and more esoteric wordplay in ‘Action Beaver’s Bibblesearch’, ‘Weenie’s Wall of Words’, and ‘Ai’s Speedy Wordswitches’ before naughty wordsearch ‘Monkey’s Too Rude!’ brings us to pencil-driven ‘Metal E.V.E.’s Hall of Mirrors’, ‘Spaces for Faces’ and ‘Embiggening for Beginners’…

Riddles and enigmas abound next in ‘Codewords with Le Fox’ after which traversing the ‘Amazing Mud Maze’ will afford a pause to assess ‘Who Will Win? Only You Can Decide’ prior to Part Two commencing with ‘Costume Conundrums!’ and paper-folding foolishness for ‘Fortune-Telling Monkey’ and his ‘Laugh of Truth’ before ‘Bunny’s Would You Rather?’ poses challenging questions in advance of really AARRRRD! stuff in ‘Name That Pirate with Weenie and Pig’ and ‘Talk Like a Pirate’, before again asking ‘Who Will Succeed? Only you can decide!’

Part Three contains culinary calamities and chewy comestibles aplenty, all bedecking assorted ‘FoodStalls’. Learn how to deal with ‘Candyfloss Quiffs’ and identify ‘Weenie’s Cake a Difference’ whilst cowering in glee over ‘Cookery Corner: Wobbleberry Buns’. Having cooked but not burned, we wonder ‘What’s That Smell?’, ‘What’s That Noise?’ and ‘Who’s in the Loo?’ and reassess how ‘Only One Will Succeed!’ before Part Four brings us to a House of Horror uncovering Skunky’s private lab wherein lurks ‘Skunky’s Monster Maker’, ‘House of Horror’, and ‘The All-Seeing Eye!’

Should you need to take breath ‘Skudoku’ and ‘Badgoku’ are available as are ‘Metal E.V.E.’s Hints and Tips’ and ‘Skunky’s Number Puzzle’ just before a barrage of life-challenging decisions await those tackling adventure quiz ‘None of the Fun of the Fair’…

The comic story resumes and concludes in traditional shocking vulgar fashion before the last survivors stagger up to the bit with all the ‘Answers’…

Daft, compulsively addictive, dangerously read-out-loud-able and fearfully unputdownable, this cutting edge retro-treat is the perfect gift for anyone with crayons, paper and too many kids.
Text and illustrations © Fumboo Ltd. 2024. All rights reserved.

Bunny vs Monkey: The Whopping World of Puzzles! will be published on March 27th 2025 and is available for pre-order now.

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Toby and the Pixies: volume 2: Best Frenemies!


By James Turner & Andreas Schuster with Kate Brown, Austin Boechle & Leanna Daphne (David Fickling Books)
ISBN: 978-1-78845-338-7 (TPB)

Way back in January 2012, Oxford-based David Fickling Books made a rather radical move by launching a traditional anthology comics weekly aimed at under-12s. It revelled in reviving the good old days of picture-story entertainment intent whilst embracing the full force of modernity in style and content.

To this day each issue features humour, adventure, quizzes, puzzles and educational material in a joyous parade of cartoon fun and fantasy. The Phoenix has successfully established itself as a potent source of children’s entertainment because, like The Beano and The Dandy, it is equally at home to boys and girls, and mastered the magical trick of mixing amazingly action-packed adventure series with hilarious humour strip serials such as this one. Most of the strips have also become graphic collections just like this one…

Crafted by the astoundingly clever James Turner (Star Cat, Super Animal Adventure Squad, Mameshiba, The Unfeasible Adventures of Beaver and Steve) and Canadian cartoonist/designer/animator Andreas Schuster (KLARA AND ANTON in PRIMAX Magazine), Toby and the Pixies began in January 2020 (as I Hate Pixies) and, once out of the compost bag of creative wonders, just wouldn’t stop.

Those first forays were remastered and released as Toby and the Pixies: Worst King Ever! where the unwary and unwise learned how one nerdy boy at a Surburbiton high school – 12-year old overachiever Toby Cauldwell – really began fitting in. After all, it was hard enough enduring overbearing popular classmates like smarmy trendy “online influencer” Joe and snarky bully Steph but at least fellow style exile Mo was in the same boat. Everything changed – generally for the worst – after Toby’s electric toaster-obsessed Dad ordered the little wastrel to sort out the unruly back garden…

That’s when Toby discovered the wild, suburban jungle was, unknown to any mortal, a screen for a fabulous fey realm. This ethereal yet rather mucky enclave had endured unseen in the green shambles of the Cauldwell backyard for countless ages. However – due to an inept and inadvertent act of emancipation sparked by Toby kicking an unfortunately placed plaster garden gnome – the status quo forever altered and the reluctant lad was inadvertently elevated to the position of supreme overlord. It was only for a hidden kingdom of magical morons but they were really happy to be shot of their previous mad mean magical master.

As interpreted by the former King’s advisors Mouldwarp (Royal Druid), wise(ish) Gatherwool (Lore Keeper/Potion Master) and Toadflax (she eats stuff); deliberate or not, despatching King Thornpickle made Toby new absolute monarch. Pixie law also stated said ruler could do anything they wanted… a prospect so laden with responsibility that it made Toby weep with terror…

Just coming to terms with magic actually existing and that freaky, anarchic little imps can do it whilst still being absolute idiots and morons was awful enough, without also still having to survive school’s normal and traditional horrors. Thankfully, as the little odds and sods increasingly impinged and impacted on Toby’s life, education and prospects, they also turned school upside on a daily basis, and Toby’s fellow outcast Mo soon discovered the shocking secret. In the short term, it actually made things worse but now, apart from constant teasing and perpetual whining pleas to visit the magic kingdom, there is a fellow human King Toby can moan at.

… And then succession problems kicked off as magic-slime wielding Princess Sugarsnap – daughter of Thornpickle and rightful heir to a job Toby really, really doesn’t want – started her war to take back the throne…

This second commodious compendium opens with a chance to meet key regulars Toby, Mo, Steph, advisors Toadflax, Gatherwool & Mouldwarp and evil usurper-in-waiting Princess Sugarsnap in a comprehensive double page intro. Then it’s back to school and off the deep end in ‘Chapter 1: Bully’ wherein the pestiferous advisors gear up to look (nothing) like a normal person. The plan is to sort out mean girl Steph, but only serves to amplify suspicions she never used to have, leading to revelation and a well-deserved détente. ‘Chapter 2: Steph Meets the Pixies’ sees her forcibly brought up to speed on the incredible truth of Toby’s life when Sugarsnap launches a slime invasion, ensuring the strictly minor league abuser gets a peek at real stinky evil and, maybe, her own potential future…

Now, still obnoxious and bossy but part of the team, Steph helps contain the chaos when Toadflax trades identities with Toby (without asking permission) and inadvertently deals attention-addict Joe a reputation-ruining life lesson in ‘Chapter 3: Body Swap’ prior to an official invitation to the magic kingdom in ‘Chapter 4: Steph Joins the Team’. The state visit gives her and Toby time to bond over a shared passion – TV sleuth Inspector Humps – and even solve a uniquely fairy felony when someone steals Farmer Haydrizzle’s stinkworms…

Idle playground chatter about wasted time and pointless tasks leads to ‘Chapter 5: Double Trouble’ after Gatherwool unleashes a harvest of doppelgangers by sowing a crop of double seeds. The school is pretty used to weirdness by now, and only unlikable geography teacher Mr. Morris doesn’t make it back next day…

Toby’s perpetually disappointed grandmother and grandfather are compelled to expose their long-suppressed true natures after ‘Chapter 6: Grandparent Grumblings’ sees an unwelcome duty go utterly off the rails when the magically tooled-up advisors come along for the ride, after which the reluctant ruler joins Mo on a birthday jaunt to see the animals in ‘Chapter 7: Zoo’s There?’ Typically unwilling to be left behind, the advisors don’t really get the point of “animal prison” and their mystic meddling has lasting repercussions. At least Mo, Steph and Toby get to become their spirit animals in the vain efforts to fix the carnage…

A terrifying human rite of passage comes next as a school landmark looms for Toby and Mo. Maybe the mania and mayhem happened because he admitted liking pretty blonde Deborah, or perhaps it was just the cursed dancing shoes the King stupidly accepted from the advisors that led to leads to ‘Chapter 8: Disco Discombobulation’…

Rampant capitalism hits the magic kingdom hard and without mercy next, as a property boom is manufactured by cunning cove and self-appointed loan-shark/banker Tricksy the Pixie in ‘Chapter 9: Boom and Bust’. It wasn’t so much all the ugly flimsy new builds, rampant unheeding greed of the elfin borrowers or even the million percent interest rates that caused the inevitable collapse as putting their faith in a base currency that was water soluble and biodegradable…

As the King dealt with the fallout of that crisis Mo and Steph applied tried & trusted narrative principles to a potential pixie couple experiencing romantic frustration in ‘Chapter 10: Fairy Fail!’ – with typically revolting results, and a human fancy dress party (plus irate, interfering advisors) triggers a riot of fanciful manifestations in ‘Chapter 11: Princess-pocalypse’ before the magical misery tours stumble to a pause when a day choosing instruments and performers for the school orchestra only generates a spontaneous wave of despondency in ‘Chapter 12: The Glooms!’ Typically, the talent search degenerates into a cacophony of sadness and woe with magically mutagenic effects even young King Cauldwell and his court are affected: all but Steph who has to do something truly unwelcome to save the day…

Wrapping up the fey foolishness is an activity section detailing ‘How to Draw Steph Expressions’ and  ‘Steph’s Body’ and thereafter closing with the now-standard Special Preview feature focusing on what other word-&-picture wonderment awaits in the periodical Phoenix…

Toby and the Pixies is a joyous concatenation of nonsense no lover of laughs and lunacy should deprive themselves of and a feast of yuckky yoks all kids will gleefully consume.
Text and illustrations © The Phoenix Comic 2025. All rights reserved.

Toby and the Pixies: volume 2: Best Frenemies! is published on March 13th 2025 and available for preorder now.

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The Helltrekkers


By John Wagner, Alan Grant, Horacio Lalia, Jose Ortiz & various (Rebellion)
ISBN: 978-1786187963 (Rebellion 2000 AD)

This book includes Discriminatory Content produced in less enlightened times.

This book also includes Discriminatory Content included for comedic and dramatic effect.

Britain’s last great comic icon has been described as a combination of the other two, merging the futuristic milieu and thrills of Dan Dare with the shocking anarchy and irreverent absurdity of Dennis the Menace. He’s also well on the way to becoming the longest-lasting adventure character in our admittedly meagre comics pantheon, having been continually published every week since February 1977 when he first appeared in the second weekly issue of science-fiction anthology 2000AD. As such, he’s also spawned a rich world where other stars have been born and thrived…

Judge Dredd and the ever-expanding, ultra-dystopian environs of Mega-City One were devised by a creative committee including Pat Mills, Kelvin Gosnell, Carlos Ezquerra, Mike McMahon and many others, with the major contribution coming from legendary writer John Wagner, who has written the largest portion of the canon under his own and via several pseudonymous names.

In a 22nd century America, Joe Dredd is a fanatically dedicated sentinel of the super-city, where hundreds of millions of citizens idle away their days stacked like artificial cordwood in a world where robots are cheaper and more efficient than humans and jobs are both beloved pastime and treasured commodity. Boredom has reached epidemic proportions and every citizen is just one askance glance away from meltdown or blow-up. Judges are peacekeepers maintaining – actually enforcing – order and passivity at all costs: investigating, taking action and trying all crimes and disturbances to the hard-won equilibrium of the constantly boiling melting pot.

Justice is always immediate. They are necessary fascists in a world permanently teetering on the edge of catastrophe, and sadly, what far too many readers never realised is that the entire milieu is a gigantic satirical black comedy with oodles of outrageous, vicariously cathartic action. Just keep telling yourself, some situations demand drastic solutions. It’s what all politicians and world leaders do…

As hometowns go, Mega-City One does not generally engender fond feelings or happy memories, but thankfully does lend itself to all manner of stories from supernatural thrillers to cop procedurals to savagely satirical social broadsides. It’s a place where any kind of tale is begging to be told. Thus John Wagner, Alan Grant & Horacio Lalia’s Helltrekkers – a no-nonsense sci fi thriller B-feature masquerading as a future western and the first serial spin-off from the burgeoning Dredd universe (Dreddiverse?) to not focus on Judges and perps but rather the pitiful proles they pacify and push around. This tome collects the strips from 2000 AD progs 387-415. and was popular enough in its day to win a rotating spot in the comic’s coveted colour section, meaning alternating monochrome and technicolour moments of mirth and madness.

The ancillary feature was written by Alan Grant with regular writing partner John Wagner, co-scribing the voyage as enigmatic “F. Martin Candor” and visually kicked off by fantasy stalwart José Ortiz before Horacio Lalia waded in to illustrate the majority of episodes from the second onwards. This collection offers a note of gloriously gory circularity to proceedings, by closing with a brace of full colour Ortiz “Star Scan” recap features as seen in Progs #387-388 as well as a Lalia cover gallery…

José Ortiz Moya’s 60 plus year career began after he won a contest in Spanish magazine Chicos. During the 1950s, he worked on many digest strips for Editorial Maga, including Capitan Don Nadie, Pantera Negra and Jungla. Agency work saw him produce several strips for foreign publishers, particularly Britain where he illustrated Caroline Barker, Barrister at Law for The Daily Express, Smokeman and UFO Agent for Eagle magazine and The Phantom Viking in anthological top seller Lion. During the 1970s & 1980s Ortiz worked on several popular British strips including The Tower King and House of Daemon for the new Eagle, Rogue Trooper and Judge Dredd for 2000 AD and The Thirteenth Floor for Scream! This last was another stunning horror-show Ortiz co-created with Wagner & Grant.

Whilst doing all of this work on UK kid’s comics, in the US Ortiz was also working on – and is arguably best known – for illustrating stories for Warren’s horror titles, especially Eerie and Vampirella.

Born January 28th 1941, Horacio Nestor Lalia made his first professional sale in 1964 to Hora Cero, and began an association with publisher Columba a year later. After assisting Argentinian comics stars Eugenio Zoppi (Mysterix, Zig Zag, Lord Cochrane) and Alberto Breccia (The Eternaut, Ernie Pike, Sherlock Time, Mort Cinder) in 1966 Lalia started agency work for the Solano Lopez studios on strips for the UK market: generally war stories released by Fleetway. He moved on in 1968, but returned to British comics in the late 1970s, mostly Future Shock stories in 2000 AD.

In 1975 Lalia became a main illustrator for publisher Record but continued working in UK comics and elsewhere. This included for Eura in Italy, Spain’s Norma, Bastei in Germany and France’s Albin Michel whilst simultaneously contributing to Argentinian daily La Razón and Spanish publishing house Bruguera.

So as if Judges, mutants and dinosaurs aren’t enough for you, what’s this all about?

Fed up with their appalling lives in Mega-City One, a doughty band of bold pioneering families – each with their own sordid baggage and backstories – opt to escape civilisation’s dubious security and cross the “Cursed Earth” in heavily-armoured mobile homes in search of a better life and (possibly) less lethal promised land…

Led by – and unfolding via the narrated records of – Trekkmaster Lucas Rudd and assorted survivors, the tale opens with Ortiz draughting the dawn departure of 28 Radwagons carrying 111 former citizens from the city’s West Gate 13. Ignoring Judge advice, the doomed hopefuls are ready to voyage 2000 kilometres to the highly speculative – if perhaps fully fictional – “New Territories”.

Reasons for departure range from painful to tragic. The Glemps want somewhere to raise their mutant baby free from shame, whilst hillbilly criminal clan the Nebbs are getting out before the Judges finally get something actionable on them. The mutual goal lies across a nuke-ravaged, devasted radiation desert left after the war that ended civilisation. Somehow this trackless wasteland can still support life – as represented by mutant enclaves and would-be messiahs, bandit camps, fugitives from Judge justice, hermit hideaways, and the detritus of abandoned science projects. They include resurrected and reconditioned dinosaurs and other abandoned megafauna who have carried on evolving, plus all manner of fresh and interesting lifeforms and monsters guaranteed to keep the Helltrekking lively and never dull…

Veteran guide Banjo Quint rides with the Rudds – Lucas, his wife Amber and son Bud – in the lead wagon, seeking to ride roughshod on the most mismatched, unsuitable and unlikely re-settlers he’s ever seen. Unprepared idiots addicted to a dream, the waggoners are uniformly menaces to themselves and others: a perfect snapshot of why humanity is doomed. That’s confirmed on day one on reaching abandoned theme park Sauron Valley to learn that resurrected dinosaurs are magnificent and tasty. A little later their knowledge expands further as they discover T-Rexes bear grudges, hunt in packs and will stalk prey for thousands of klicks just to get more of that choice, yummy human flavour…

Family units like the Turtles, Lovejoys, Diefenakers, Jumbys, Clampeets, Zapoteks, and Koosh merge but seldom mix, and don’t associate with single seekers like utterly unprepared Mo-Pad hobbyist Rollo Peterson or proper weirdoes like circus family the Hubbles or the hippie Guppy Commune… at least outside of the increasingly common sunset mass-buryings. The Nebbs in Wagon 17 are really a menace to others and seemingly regard their fellow pioneers as an expendable emergency resource. Their selfish wayward antics cause as many fatalities as “natural” Cursed Earth threats like dino herds, radiological diseases such as Black Scab, radioactive smog, sucking patches of quick-quag, flesh-melting acid rainstorms, predatory “mutie” tribes and fugitive criminals from the Mega cities…

It’s no wonder Quint doesn’t make it far past St Louis. The halfway point, it’s only seen by 72 trekkers and as the quest stubbornly continues, that death toll inexorably mounts…

Crafted during the bleakest moments of the last third of the Cold War and unswervingly based on classic western prairie wagon train tales, albeit amped to a mordantly dark and satirically trenchant high point, the grimly attritional saga of the Helltrekkers and its frankly unexpectedly upbeat conclusion is a pure piece of politicized polemic as cathartic entertainment: subversively hilarious, frequently deeply moving and rendered with appropriately stark line and whimsical imagination.

The kind of tale that made 2000 AD such a reliably revolutionary read and anarchically rebellious outpost of dissident counter culture, this complete collection comes with a chilling realisation that maybe those days aren’t over yet…
© 1984, 1985, 2022 & 2023 Rebellion 2000 AD Ltd. All rights reserved.

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The Beano and The Dandy: Comics in the Classroom


By many & various including Dudley D. Watkins, Leo Baxendale, Eric Roberts, Alan Morley, Chick Gordon, Ron Spencer, A.G. Martin, John K. Geering and more (DC Thomson & Co)
ISBN: 978-1-84535-347-6 (HB)

My current editor informs me that it’s half term (AGAIN!?) so here’s a timeless day out revisiting a classic era of halcyon educational highlights heavy on tuck shop excesses, lethally harmful pranks and state-sponsored beatings for comedic effect – nostalgia at its most pungent and effective. And, as is so often the case in case of what old people cherish, This book includes Discriminatory Content produced in less enlightened times.

Released as part of the 70th Anniversary celebrations of the comics company that has more than any other shaped the psyche of generations of children, this impressive magnificent and still readily available hardback compilation rightly glories in the incredible wealth of quality that has paraded through the flimsy pages of The Beano and The Dandy. This splendidly oversized (299 x 205mm) 144 page hardback compilation 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.

Tragically, neither it nor its companion volumes are available digitally yet, but hope springs ever eternal…

Admittedly this book goes through some rather elaborate editing, design and paste-up permutations to editorially explain to modern readers the vast changes to the once-commonplace that’s happened in intervening years. Naturally the process has quietly dodged the more egregious terms and scenarios that wouldn’t sit well with 21st century sensibilities, although to my enlightened sensibilities the concentration on whacking children on the bottom does occur with disturbing frequency – the Bash Street Kids even had their fearfully expectant upraised bums as the strip’s logo for a few years!

However, viewed as a cultural and historical memoire, this is a superb comic commemoration of one of our greatest communal formative forces, with a vast number of strips and stories carefully curated from a hugely transformative period in national history. They’re also superbly timeless examples of cartoon storytelling at its best…

Until it folded, was briefly reborn as a digital publication in 2012, and died again, The Dandy was the third-longest running comic in the world (behind Italy’s Il Giornalino which launched in 1924 and America’s Detective Comics in March 1937). The Dandy premiered on December 4th 1937: breaking the mould of traditional UK predecessors and competitors by using word balloons and captions on some strips, rather than just the narrative blocks of text under the sequential picture frames that had been the industry standard.

A huge success, it was followed on July 30th 1938 by The Beano – and in concert they revolutionised the way children’s publications looked and, most importantly, how they were read. Over many decades the “terrible twins” spawned so many unforgettable and beloved household names who delighted countless avid and devoted readers, and their unmissable end of year celebrations were graced with bumper bonanzas of the comics’ weekly stars in extended stories in magnificent hardback annuals.

During WWII, rationing of paper and ink forced the “children’s papers” into an alternating fortnightly schedule: on September 6th 1941, only The Dandy was published. A week later just The Beano appeared. The rascally rapscallions only returned to normal weekly editions on 30th July 1949, but the restrictions had not hurt sales. In fact, in December 1945, The Beano #272 became the first British comic to sell a million copies, and the post-war period saw more landmarks as the children’s division of DC Thomson blossomed over the ten years, with innovative characters and a profusion of talented cartoonists who would carry it to publishing prominence, even as the story papers died back in advance of more strip anthologies like The Topper (1953) and The Beezer (1956)…

This compilation primarily concentrates via random extracts and selected strips on the development of established 1940s stars – like Biffo the Bear (1948), Lord Snooty (1938), The Smasher (1938, but completely reinvented in 1957), Korky the Cat and Desperate Dan (both 1937), who all survived the winds of change to grow into beloved and long-lived favourites in the new era. They’re highlighted beside the most successful new characters of the fifties -mostly school-aged if not actually school-based – including Dennis the Menace (1951), Minnie the Minx, Roger the Dodger and Little Plum (all 1953) and The Bash Street Kids (1956 or 1954 if you count prototype When the Bell Rings! as the same).

Nevertheless there’s also a wonderful selection of less well known features on view…

This superb celebration of Celtic creativity is packed literally cover-to-cover with brilliant, breakthrough strips with the mirth starting on the inside front with an outrageous 2-colour Frontispiece tableau by Leo Baxendale of When the Bell Rings! It’s mirrored at the back of the book by a similarly hilarious spread starring Biffo by indisputable cartoonist Dudley D. Watkins…

Within these suitably dog-eared pages you will find cracking examples of Alan Morley’s Old Ma Murphy, Korky the Cat, Hooky’s Magic Bowler Hat (by 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 (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 incredibly prolific Watkins), as well as Winker Watson and the unforgettable, irrepressible 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, 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 process”.

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.

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Mega Robo Bros Book 8: Final Form


By Neill Cameron & various (David Fickling Books)
ISBN: 978-1-78845-337-0 (Digest TPB)

Mightily momentous in metal and powerfully potent in plastic, here’s the ultimate upgrade of this solid gold all-ages sci fi saga from Neill Cameron (Tamsin of the Deep, Pirates of Pangea, How to Make Awesome Comics, Freddy) as originally published in UK weekly comic The Phoenix. Purpose-built paladins, the mecha-miraculous Mega Robo Bros have previously learned that even they can’t punch out intolerance or growing pains in electronic exploits balancing frantic fun with portents of darker, violent days to come…
One last time then… It’s still The Future!… but maybe not for much longer…

In a London far cooler but just as embattled as ours, Alex and his younger brother Freddy Sharma are still fooling themselves that they are typical kids: boisterous, fractious, perpetually argumentative yet devoted to each other. They’re not too bothered that they’re adopted. It’s really no big deal for them that they were meticulously and covertly constructed by mysterious Dr. Roboticus before he vanished, and are considered by those “in the know” as the most powerful and only fully SENTIENT robots on Earth. Sadly, recent events have severely challenged those notions…

Life in the Sharma household aimed to be normal. Dad is just your average old guy who makes lunch and does a bit of writing (he’s actually an award-winning journalist), but when not being a housewife, Mum is pretty extraordinary herself. Surprisingly famous and renowned robotics boffin Dr. Nita Sharma harbours many shocking secrets all her own. Little Freddy was insufferably exuberant and overconfident, and Alex had reached an age where self-doubt and anxiety hit hard and often.
The family’s other robot rescues were also problematic. Programmed to be dog-ish, baby triceratops Trikey was ok, but eccentric French-speaking ape Monsieur Gorilla could be tres confusing, whilst gloomily annoying, existentialist aquatic waterfowl Stupid Philosophy Penguin ambushed everyone with quotes from dead philosophers…

Crucially, the boys were part-time super-secret agents, but because they weren’t very good at the clandestine bit, almost the entire world knew of them. Nevertheless, the digital duo’s parents loved them, making life as normal as possible: sending them to human school, encouraging human friends as part of their “Mega Robo Routine”, combining dull human activities, actual but rare fun, games-playing, watching TV when not training in the combat caverns under R.A.I.D. HQ. When situations demanded, the lads undertook missions for bossy Baroness Farooq: head of British government agency Robotics Analysis Intelligence and Defence. The boys were told it’s because they were infinitely smarter and more powerful than the Destroyer Mechs and other man-made minions R.A.I.D. utilises. Now though, everything has changed and old lessons are subject to re-examination…

The saga reopens and concludes with the global heroes’ reputations ruined. After defeating menaces like Robot 23 and thwarting a rebellion sparked by artificial life activist The Caretaker, the Bros repeatedly battled monstrous, deadly damaged droid Wolfram and learned he might be their older brother. Eventually, they had to destroy him, leaving Alex traumatised by guilt and wracked by PTSD…

Over the course of that case they learned that fifteen years previously their brilliant young roboticist Mum worked under incomparable but weird genius Dr. Leon Robertus. His astounding discoveries earned him the nickname Dr. Roboticus. Perhaps that’s what initially pushed him away from humanity. Robertus allowed Nita to repurpose individually super-powered prototypes into a rapid-response team for global emergencies. Their Mum had been a superhero, leading manmade The Super Robo Six. Whilst saving lives with them, she met crusading journalist Michael Mokeme. He proudly took her name when they wed…

Robertus was utterly devoid of human empathy but – intrigued by the Seven’s acclaim and human acceptance – created a new kind of autonomous robot. More powerful than any previous construct, Wolfram was equipped with foundational directives allowing him to make choices and develop his own systems. He could think, just like Alex and Freddy can. Only, as it transpired, not quite…
Robertus demoted Nita and made Wolfram leader of a new Super Robo Seven, resulting in an even more effective unit… until Wolfram’s Three Directives clashed during a time-critical mission and millions of humans paid the price for his confusion and hesitation. In the aftermath, R.A.I.D. was formed and they sought to shut down Robertus and decommission Wolfram. When the superbot rejected their judgement, a brutal battle ensued causing Wolfram’s apparent destruction. Roboticus also disappeared…

Ultimately Wolfram returned, attacking vast polar restoration project Jötunn Base. Covering many miles it was carefully rebalancing the world’s climate, when Wolfram took it over: reversing the chilling process to burn Earth and drown humanity. Ordered by Baroness Farooq to stay put, Alex and Freddy rebelled, but by the time the Bros reached Jötunn, Wolfram had crushed a R.A.I.D. force led by their friend Agent Susie Nichols. After also failing to stop the attacker, kind, contemplative Alex found a way to defeat – and perhaps, destroy – his wayward older brother and save humanity…

Their exploit made the Bros global superstars. Freddy revelled in the attention but Alex could not adjust to the acclaim and horrifying new power levels he attained to succeed… and also the apparent onset of robot puberty. As anti-robot hysteria and skilfully orchestrated human intolerance brought violent incidents everywhere, friction between Alex and Freddy grew: petty spats driving a wedge between them. With hate group “Humanity First” agitating to destroy all robots, their spokesman named the Bros a threat to mankind. The Baroness – in a bid to promote inclusivity – ordered the Bros to appear on TV show Mega Robo Warriors -but it was another trap. As Freddy delightedly trashed an army of warbots, his self-control slipped and Alex realised his sibling’s hostile attitudes and violent overreactions had been building for some time…

When a Humanity First protest at Tilbury Port became a full-on meat vs metal riot, Freddy lost control, attacking humans trashing helpless droids. What might have happened next was thankfully forestalled when all the robots – even R.A.I.D.’s police drones – were corrupted by the pernicious “Revolution 23” virus, and Wolfram appeared, offering oppressed machines sanctuary in Steelhaven: a utopia of liberated mechanoids claiming independence from humanity.…

When Alex dodged his troubles for a day to go out with human friends Taia and Mira and – under duress – Freddy, their trip to Camden Lock was spiced up by holographically incommunicado Crown Prince Eustace (Alex’s best pal and next king of Britain). The trip also provided a huge prize when Mira found a junked bot and worked out the secret of Revolution 23 Malware. More importantly, common people began to turn against Humanity First’s fanatics…

Thanks to Mira’s discovery, the battling Bros had a lead on the mastermind behind all their current woes, but Freddy’s emotional problems reached a point where he couldn’t be talked down. Fired by uncontrollable fury, the younger bot hot-headedly streaked into a trap designed by their most cunning and patient foe. Seized by rage and madness, Freddy began razing London, and Alex was forced to stop him…

Now the final chapter opens in The Global Robotics Court, Alexandria, Egypt, where Mum shares her records of rearing the robot babies she adopted after Roboticus first dropped from sight, making an impassioned plea to save her boys from being destroyed. Against all odds she triumphs, but the boys don’t appreciate it. To keep them alive, Nita Sharma is forced to neuter their powers, reducing them to the same physical and intellectual levels as humans of their equivalent ages. Alex is almost relieved, despite an instant increase in bullying from former school classmates, but Freddy is inconsolable and furious. To compound the agony, his mechanical menagerie – even Stupid Philosophy Penguin – are confiscated by R.A.I.D.

Trapped and impotent as Wolfram’s robot refugees square up for war with humanity, the Sharmas retrench and try to make a new life for themselves. It’s helped slightly by Freddy’s new kitten (a real, organic one) and news that Mum is making a human sibling for the Bros, but the loss of powers, pals like Prince Eustace (commanded to stay away from the controversial robot people) and the ability to help anyone in trouble weighs heavily on Alex and increasingly drives Freddy to more violent acts.

As they are at their lowest ebb, the sadistic arch-nemesis who has secretly manipulated them and orchestrated all the Bros’ woes strikes. Capturing the boys, he reveals their true origins and seeking to complete his grand experiment, tortures Alex with words, moral challenges and the death of his parents… and all of London! The fiend has, however, utterly underestimated his victims, and not counted on the fact that his sentient toys have made many true friends in their short lives: beings willing to risk their own organic and/or mechanoid lives for Alex and Freddy…

In the end it’s a battle of wills and ideologies with Alex and Freddy overcoming their origins and programming to defeat true evil and build a better world for everyone and everything to live together in…

Interweaving real world concerns, addressing issues of gender and identity with great subtlety and in a way kids can readily grasp, this epic yarn has always blended fantasy, action and humour with superb effect. Excitement and tension greatly outweigh hilarity here however, with poignant moments of insecurity and introspection resulting in life-altering thrills, chills, and spectacular action scenes. Alex and Freddy are utterly authentic kids, irrespective of their origins, and their antics and anxieties strike exactly the right balance of future shock, family fun and superhero action to capture readers’ hearts and minds. What movies these tales would make – and now the saga is done let’s hope that jump comes soon!
Text and illustrations © Neill Cameron 2024. All rights reserved.

Mega Robo Bros Final Form will be released on February 13th 2025 and is available for pre-order now.

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Stingray Comic Albums volumes 1 & 2 – Battle Stations! & …Stand By For Action



Written, edited and compiled by Alan Fennel with Dennis Hooper, illustrated by Ron Embleton, with Steve Kite (Ravette Books/Egmont)
ISBN: 978-1-85304-456-4 (Album TPB #1) 978-1-85304-457-1 (Album TPB #2)

This book includes Discriminatory Content produced in less enlightened times.

The worlds of Gerry Anderson have provided generations of fans with life-changing, formative puppet-based entertainment since 1957’s The Adventures of Twizzle and 1958’s Torchy the Battery Boy (made with fellow fantasy puppetry pioneer Roberta (Space Patrol) Leigh before they went their separate ways). Anderson’s later TV efforts included Four Feather Gulch, Supercar, Fireball XL5, Stingray, Thunderbirds, Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons, Joe 90, and truly bizarre transition to live action feature The Secret Service. As was the nature of the times, these audio-visual delights spawned comics iterations, initially licensed to outside publishes but eventually via an in-house publishing venture created in collaboration with City Magazines (part of the News of the World group).

TV Century 21 (the unwieldy “Century” was eventually dropped) patterned itself on a newspaper – albeit from 100 years into the future – a shared conceit that carried the avid readership into a multimedia wonderland as television and reading matter fed off each other.

Stuffed with high quality art and features, tabloid sized TV21 featured Anderson strips such as Fireball XL5 and Supercar as well as the crack team of aquanauts pitted against a bizarre and malevolent plethora of beings who lived beneath the waves. Even the BBC were represented by a full-colour strip starring The Daleks. In-house crossovers were common and graphic adventures were supplemented with stills from the TV shows (and later, films). A plenitude of photos also graced the text features adding to the unity of one of the industry’s first “Shared Universe” products. The comic also offered features, gags, and other (US) television adaptations such as My Favourite Martian and Burke’s Law.

TV Century 21 #1 launched on January 23rd 1965 – Happy Birthday future-boys! – instantly capturing the hearts and minds of millions of children, and further proving to comics editors the unfailingly profitable relationship between television shows and healthy sales. Filled with high quality art and features, printed in glossy, gleaming photogravure, TV21 featured previous shows in strips including latest hit Stingray, prior to next big draw Thunderbirds beginning on 15th January 1966, and incredibly illustrated by Frank Bellamy. It also ran the adventures of future spy Lady Penelope in advance of her screen debut.

In an attempt to mirror real world situations and be topical, the allegorically Soviet state of Bereznik constantly plotted against the World Government (for which read The West) in a futuristic Cold War to augment aliens, aquatic civilisations, common crooks and cosmic disasters that perpetually threatened the general wellbeing of the populace. Even the BBC’s TV “tomorrows” were represented by a full-colour strip starring The Daleks. In that first year, Fireball XL5, Supercar, Lady Penelope and Anderson’s epic submarine series Stingray captivated fans and catered to their future shocks, with top flight artists including Mike Noble, Eric Eden, Ron Embleton, Don Lawrence and Ron Turner.

These collected comic albums stem from the early 1990s (when many of Anderson’s unforgettable creations enjoyed a popular revival on TV and in comics publishing), each reprinting three unforgettable strip thrillers from the legendary weekly, scripted by editor/writer Alan Fennel (and possibly studio partner Dennis Hooper) and limned by the incredible Ron Embleton (Strongow the Mighty, Wulf the Briton, Wrath of the Gods, Biggles, The Trigan Empire, Oh, Wicked Wanda! and many more, in Mickey Mouse Weekly,  Express Weekly, TV Century 21, Princess, Boys’ World, Look and Learn, Penthouse and others). For TV21, he especially distinguished himself on the Captain Scarlet and Stingray strips.

In September 2024 an epic hardback collection – the Stingray Comic Anthology Vol. 1: Tales from the Depths – was released by Anderson Entertainment: a hefty hardback with no digital edition available yet. That’s a book for another time and if it’s beyond your means at the moment, these paperback tomes are still readily available, remarkably cheap and eminently re-readable…

Although reproduction leaves something to be desired, and chronologically adrift in terms of running order, initial compilation Stingray Comic Album volume 1: Battle Stations delivers weekly undersea action by Fennel, Dennis Hooper & Embleton, collectively covering TV21 #23-44, cover-dated 26th June – 20th November 2065. As part of the conceit, every issue was forward dated by a century, so if you still need help that’s 26th June – 20th November 1965…

Spanning #23 to 30 (26th June – 14th August) ‘The Ghosts of Station Seventeen’ see trusty aquanauts Troy Tempest, Phones Sheridan and Commander Sam Shore investigating a research station no scientist can remain in, uncovering sly skullduggery by aquatic aliens, whilst ‘Aquatraz’ (#31-37, 21st August to 2nd October) offers a gritty yet fantastical prison break yarn as our heroes must spring WASP personnel held by Titan at the bottom of the ocean. The action ends with another calamitous battle bonanza as ‘The Uranium Plant Invasion’ (TV21 #38-44, 9th October 2065 November 20th 1965) sees Titan’s forces steal the secrets of atomic energy from the surface men and upgrade their Terror Fish fleet. The resultant war is spectacular, short, and a near-fatal wake-up call for humanity…

 

Stingray Comic Album volume 2 declares …Stand By for Action and re-presents the earliest episodes of the original run in staggeringly lovely 2-page weekly episodes by Fennel & Embleton as crafted for the incredibly rewarding but notoriously laborious and difficult to master photogravure print process. Throughout, these tales run in landscape format spreads – so read across, not down the page, guys…

Crafted by Fennel & Embleton, ‘The Monster Jellyfish’ (TV21 #1-7, 23rd January – March 6th 1965) sees subsea despot Titan of Titanica attack the World Aquanaut Security Patrol with a mutated sea predator, capable of sinking the most modern aircraft carriers in the fleets. Thankfully Troy, Phones and amphibian ally Marina are on the job and Marineville is saved by the sterling super-sub, before plunging on to face the astounding ‘Curse of the Crustavons’ (#8-14, March 13th – April 24th).

Once the threat of losing all Earth’s capital cities to talking lobster villains is dealt with, the drama descends into far more personal peril as ‘The Atlanta Kidnap Affair’ (#15-21, May 1st – June 12th 1965) sees Commander Shore’s capable daughter made a pawn in the ongoing war. Abducted by Titan’s agents whilst on a painting holiday, the incident incites Troy to go undercover to track her down and rescue her…

These are cracking fantasy rollercoaster rides full of action and drama and illustrated with captivating majesty by the incredible Ron Embleton, who supplemented his lush colour palette and uncanny facility for capturing likenesses with photographic stills from the TV shows. Whether for expediency, artistic reasons tor editorial diktat the effect on impressionable young minds was electric. This made the strips “more real” then and the effect has not diminished with time. These are superb treat for fans of all ages.
© 1992 ITC Entertainment Group Ltd. Licensed by Copyright Promotions Ltd. All Rights Reserved.

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The Complete Just a Pilgrim


By Garth Ennis & Carlos Ezquerra with Paul Mounts, Ken Wolak, Chris Eliopoulos & various (Dynamite Entertainment)
ISBN: 978-1-60690-003- (HB/Digital edition) 978-1-60690-007-9 (TPB)

This book includes Discriminatory Content produced in less enlightened times.

As the entire planet ruminates on what about to happen and ponders how many different kinds of “American Dream” can coexist, let’s go back to a future that never happened – yet – but look less like harmless fiction every day…

Like its troubled protagonist, Just a Pilgrim is a much-travelled item that never sat comfortably anywhere, but still has much to recommend it. Originally miniseries Just a Pilgrim (2001) and sequel Just a Pilgrim: Garden of Eden (2002), the property started at Blackbull Comics with Britain’s Titan Books releasing trade paperback compilations, before this deluxe hardcover/soft cover/digital edition from Dynamite Entertainment.

Fleetway veterans Garth Ennis & Carlos Ezquerra have a long association with war comics and the apocalyptic visions of alternate lifestyle bible 2000AD, so combining their kindred sensibilities for near-future post-apocalyptic adventures always pays off in visceral hits and giggles. Since the 5-part miniseries spawned an almost immediate follow-up, they must have been more or less correct, but as the volatile state of the comics industry ended many indie companies at that time, this compilation comes to us via media/intellectual property specialists Dynamite…

Moreover, co-creator Ennis stated that even after past works and collaborations with Carlos Ezquerra (such as Bloody Mary and Adventures in the Rifle Brigade) he was keen to push the envelope on the mythology and iconography of the classic movie western hero/antihero.

The black sardonic ironies of Judge Dredd, Preacher, Hellblazer and True Faith are not present in this exploration of Christian indoctrination ascendant produced with veteran combat illustrator Carlos Ezquerra for Black Bull Comics way back in 2001 and 2002.

This treat is garnished and flavoured with all the iconic spaghetti western tropes and themes of Clint Eastwood via traditional “a man’s gotta do…” John Wayne nonsense taken to its outrageous but so logical extremes, but be warned: in this exploration of religious fanaticism there’s not much room (some, not a lot…) for the cruel, ultra-violent gross-out stuff that made Hitman, The Boys and A Train Called Love such guilty pleasures.

Behind that gripping Mark Texiera cover is a yarn steeped in classic western lore and references as an embattled wagon train picks its way through hostile territory and appalling predators. The kid who is our narrator and viewpoint is helplessly drawn to a charismatic stranger his parents fear but cannot survive without, and death is absolutely everywhere…

The saga of this particular Man With No Name happens on a parched Earth that has been subjected to a vast solar flare that dried up the oceans.

Following Mark Waid’s text preamble ‘If You Call This Introduction “Just an Introduction,” I’ll F***ing Kill You’ the story unfolds in little Billy Shepherd’s own diarised words. The kid is 10½ and riding across the dusty Atlantic floor from sunken wreck to sundered bleaching hulk in ‘Anno Domini’ when raiders attack the convoy of migrant families in search of better lives. Thankfully, the sea floor foragers are singlehandedly driven off by a big guy with a strange long gun and crucifix-scarred face.

The newcomer is murderously pious and after despatching the bandits to their final judgement, offers to guide the trekker through the wastes and awful mutant beasts inhabiting the region to possible wetter climes. Sadly, his staunch resistance has made them all the sole concern of obsessive psychotic quadriplegic blind pirate king Castenado, who diverts all his plundered resources and army of “Buckers” to destroying him and the intruders he’s protecting beginning in ‘To Reign in Hell’…

Despite his upstanding Christian values, the Pilgrim terrifies everyone but Billy and as the brutal voyage and attacks continue, he is finally recognised for the monstrous infamous sinner he used to be – a grisly tale told in of cannibalism and redemption recounted in ‘Bloody Baskets’ before the inevitable showdown with Castenado and his horde in ‘Firestarter’ and blistering conclusion in the Alamo-like mouldering ruins of the Titanic in ‘Pilgrim’s Progress’…

One year later Just a Pilgrim: Garden of Eden sees the wanderer faithfully reading not only the Bible but also Billy’s diary as he discovers a recess in the pacific ocean floor where water still exists; supporting abundant vegetation and a small colony of scientists. The ‘Marianas’ oceanic trench is a staging post where techs seek to fix up a space shuttle to take them all to a new less hostile world. However, under constant insidious assault, and picked off by mutant creatures that reanimate the dead, they are willing to suspend their distrust of the religious maniac if he can stop the killings. It’s an ill-judged compromise as the deaths mount in ‘To the Stars by Hard Ways’ and the colonists are further split by the Pilgrim’s ruthless and sanctimonious safeguarding actions. Most vocal is Dr Christine Page who clashes with him constantly but after he gifts her Billy’s diary she begins to realise how much the fanatic has actually already softened…

When the dead-riders attack in force and torch the garden, little girl Maggy is taken below ground and the Pilgrim leads a doomed rescue party after her. In face of their latest losses, and a most appalling act that has debased them all, the scientists make ready to leave Earth, giving the outcast one last chance to save Maggy and join them in a ‘Last Supper’ that only goes even more wrong. As fate signals the end of humanity’s time on Earth and forces the fanatical zealot to reexamine his beliefs and ask ‘Why Has Thou Forsaken Me?’ the apostle of the apocalypse ends his crusade in the only way he ever could…

If you were wondering, colours come courtesy of Paul Mounts & Ken Wolak, with Chris Eliopoulos lettering this violently engaging, sublimely cathartic and painfully accurate prognostication of what lies in store for us…

Supplementing the iconographic saga is a map of the dry world and travel progress of the Pilgrim, a Cover Gallery of 15 variants by Steve Dillon, Joe Jusko, Mark Texiera, Tim Bradstreet, J.G. Jones, Glenn Fabry, Kevin Nowlan, Bill Sienkiewicz, John McCrea and Dave Gibbons, backed up by an 8-page Pin-Up Gallery from Amanda Conner, McCrea, Nelson, Darick Robertson, Paul Mounts and Jimmy Palmiotti, before closing with a Sketchbook section packed with roughs and character designs by Ezquerra, Jusko and Jones.

Excessively violent, trenchant, savagely satirical, gripping and never less than totally thrilling, this slice of dark, theology shows Ennis and much-missed Ezquerra at their anarchic best, offering an everyman view of all the hell-and-stupidity we can expect.

These are grown-up comics at its very best and long overdue for their rightful place on your bookshelf or in your digital library.
™ & © 2008 Wizard Entertainment. All rights reserved.

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Judge Anderson PSI Files volume 01


By Alan Grant, John Wagner, Brett Ewins, Cliff Robinson, Robin Smith, Barry Kitson, Jeff Anderson, Will Simpson, Mark Farmer, Mick Austin, David A. Roach, Arthur Ranson, Carlos Ezquerra, Kim Raymond & various (Rebellion)
ISBN: 978-1-90673-522-7 (TPB/Digital Edition)

This book includes Discriminatory Content produced in less enlightened times.

A wellspring of spin-off creativity, Britain’s last great comic icon can be described as a combination of the other two, combining the futuristic milieu and thrills of Dan Dare with the terrifying anarchy and irreverent absurdity of Dennis the Menace. He’s also well on the way to becoming the longest-lasting adventure character in our admittedly meagre comics stable, having been continually published every week since February 1977 when he first appeared in the second issue of science-fiction anthology 2000AD. As such he’s also spawned a rich world where other stars have been born and thrived…

Judge Dredd and the ultra-dystopian environs of Mega-City One were created by a creative committee including Pat Mills, Kelvin Gosnell, Carlos Ezquerra, Mike McMahon and others, with the majority contribution coming from legendary writer John Wagner, who has written the largest portion of the canon under his own and several pseudonymous names.

Joe Dredd is a fanatically dedicated Judge in the super-city, where hundreds of millions of citizens idle away their days in a world where robots are cheaper and usually more efficient than humans. Jobs are both beloved pastime and treasured commodity and boredom has reached epidemic proportions. Almost everybody is just one askance glance away from mental meltdown. Judges are pot-watching peacekeepers who maintain order at all costs in a vast bubbling cauldron: investigating, taking action and trying all crimes and disturbances to the hard-won equilibrium of the constantly boiling melting pot. Justice is always immediate…

They are necessary fascists in a world permanently on the edge of catastrophe, and sadly, what far too many readers never realised is that the entire milieu is a gigantic satirical black comedy with oodles of outrageous, vicarious cathartic action. Just keep telling yourself, some situations demand drastic solutions…

In 1980 and Progs (that’s tomorrow-talk for issue number) #149-151 – January 26th-February 9th – with continuity and scenario firmly established, Wagner, writing as John Howard, introduced Judge Death: an undead lawman from an alternate Earth, whose Judges, faced with the same interminable problems as our world, took their creed to its only logical conclusion. If all crime is perpetrated by the living, then to eradicate crime…

After ending all life in his own dimension, the ghostly ghoul extended his mission to ours, wiping out criminals and law-abiding citizens alike, with the Judges – even Dredd – unable to stop him… until the flamboyant and unconventional psychic recruit Judge Cassandra Anderson of PSI Division sacrificed herself to trap the evil spirit forever…

With Wagner clearly on a creative roll, the fans spoke long and loud. Both the Zombie Peacemaker and Anderson returned within a year. Credited to T.B. Grover (still Wagner in Progs #224-228/August 8th to September 5th 1981), ‘Judge Death Lives’ saw a desperate citizen releasing the horror from his eternal tomb at the behest of three more expired Judges: Mortis, Fire and Fear.

Reunited with their leader the Dark Judges went about their lawful occasions, executing vast numbers of Mega-City citizens. It took a trans-dimensional trip to their origin realm – “Deadworld” – before Dredd & Anderson could stop the slayers; and even then, only temporarily. Those magnificent yarns appear often in other collections, and I’ll surely revisit them again soon, but the most important aspect of all that is how both Anderson and Death went on to their own series… which brings us to here, because this book is not about Joe Dredd but rather what can bloom in his honking, big-booted shadow…

Cassandra Anderson, as part of the Judges’ psychic/weird phenomena division is given far more leeway than her straitlaced, buttoned-down street cops colleagues. That made her own exploits far quirkier, outrageous and experimental, thereby guaranteeing her a solo series…

Spanning 1983-1990 and collecting early cases as originally seen in anthological weekly 2000AD #416-427, 468-478, 520-531, 607-609, 612-613, 614-612, 635-644, 645-647, 657-659, 669-670, 712-717 and 758-763, plus self-contained episodes from 2000AD Annual 1984 and 2000AD Sci-Fi Special 1988, the eerie off-kilter terrors begin with another outing for the ‘Four Dark Judges’ as detailed by new lead scripter Alan Grant and Wagner in Progs #416-427, with illustrators Brett Ewins, Cliff Robinson and Robin Smith tag-teaming the art. As with the majority of these yarns, veteran letterer Tom Frame made sense of it all…

The opening tale details how the essences of Death and his subordinate Judges Fear, Fire and Mortis mentally bombard the psychic peacekeeper until she breaks regs and dimension hops to their deceased dimension – “Deadworld” – to sort them out once and for all. However, they quickly overpower her consciousness and use her to unleash themselves on the puling masses of Mega-City One. With another kill-spree in full flow, suspended Anderson breaks a few more rules and finds a way to despatch one Dark Judge and force the remaining trio to retreat. She’s ready for them when they strike again and end up banished to Limbo thanks to fortitude, determination and new Judge tech. It’s the only thing that saves her from her own commanding officers…

Grant, Wagner, Ewins & Frame catered Anderson’s second solo-starring soirée (#468-478) as ‘The Possessed’ sees Anderson investigating a poltergeist at Ed Poe “hab-block” (big, Big apartment buildings) and inexorably drawn into a war with demons led by child-possessor Gargarax. Even PSI-Division’s exorcists are outgunned when Cassandra’s gifts lead her to block satanists secretly summoning the arcane entities by sacrificing relatively innocent waif Hammy Blish, and the conflict and carnage soon spread far, wide and even deep under the mass-metropolis into its appalling Undercity…

Anderson’s hunt for Gargarax ultimately leads her to its private hell and war against a host of devils, but her escape and the ensured safety of Mega-City One come at a grave cost…

The rich history of the City and Anderson’s precognitive visions fuel the next epic yarn as illustrators Barry Kitson, Jeff Anderson, Will Simpson, John Aldrich, and letterers Frame & Steve Potter join Grant & Wagner for ‘Hour of the Wolf’ (#520-531). As vague, surreal dream portents plague the rule-breaking Judge, seeking to warn her of a deadly plot, Sov-City psychic sleeper agents attempt to wreck her city, kill her and liberate the Judges’ greatest opponent – arch terrorist Orlok the Assassin of East-Meg One…

The campaign almost succeeds and costs many more lives before the mass murderer is (barely) thwarted…

Grant, Mark Farmer & Frame deliver a shorter pace-changing romp in Progs #607-609 as ‘Contact’ sees Anderson sent to the far end of the solar system to scope out a strange alien ship that has ignored all other forms of communication or investigative scanning. Good call too, as what she finds are liars and deeply predatory…

Mick Austin joins Grant & Frame across #612-613 as ‘Beyond the Void’ sees Anderson despatched to handle a transcendental incident at the Mahatma Cote monastery. There she finds a Lama’s spiritual journey has taken him to the gateway of Judge Death’s cosmic cell, and must act accordingly. David A. Roach then assumes control of the vision-making for Grant as ‘Helios’ (#614-622) sees her and occasional partner Judge Corey on the trail of a long-dead, vengeance-crazed killer using mind-control and surgical alteration to carry out his schedule of slaughter.  Grant, Austin & Gordon Robson then sort out a solo saga in 2000AD Sci-Fi Special 1988. ‘Judge Corey: Leviathan’s Farewell’ finds the empath chasing ruthless sugar smugglers to the toxin-blighted coastal shores, only to have a deep encounter with something old, uncanny and irresistibly tragic…

Arthur Ranson illustrates Grant’s next extended storyline as ‘Triad’ (#635-644) reveals the true nature of an ethereal serial killer with a penchant for baroque monsters and Fortean events hunting in Mega-City One. The connection to an abused boy is not clear at first but as more bodies spectacularly drop, Anderson’s visions become clearer and much more insistent and soon the hand of an old enemy can be seen.

An unhealthy obsession with robots grips a unique spree killer in ‘The Prophet’ (#645-647 by Grant, Roach & Potter) whilst #657-659’s ‘The Random Man’ – illustrated by Carlos Ezquerra – sees Anderson in pursuit of a sex-&-gambling-obsessed perp in the throes of transition, before Roach returns to limn #669-670’s ‘The Screaming Skull’: a deviously twisted macabre mystery of ghosts, assassins and the world’s oldest motive for murder…

One last extended epic brings the psionic shenanigans to a close as Grant, Roach and Potter take two bites of the cherry (Progs #712-717 and 758-763) to explore the meaning of ‘Engram’ in a Shakespearean saga of Cursed Earth witches, a child of destiny and Anderson in hot pursuit of pyrokinetic mass murderer Verona Rom. One threat ended, a bigger one emerges and the Judge-out-of-water must contend with a ghostly stalker only she can see, not-so-slowly driving her insane. After mounting bouts of madness Anderson is sectioned to an Iso-Cube, whilst her colleagues and superiors dig deep to find what really happened in the Cursed Earth, leading to staggering revelations of her own childhood, a game changing reunion with the witches in the scarred wastelands and rebirth of intent in Mega-City One…

To Be Continued…

Rounding out this initial monochrome compendium is ‘Bonus Strip: The Haunting’ by Grant, Kim Raymond & Tony Jacob from 2000AD Annual 1984 with the Judge battling demonic usurper Dahak for the mind and soul of impulsive scholar Dr Levin who should have kept his hands off the treasures of the Mega-City One Museum of Antiquities…

Supplemented by Ewins’ cover for 2000 AD Prog #468, and biographies of the ‘Writers’ and ‘Artists’ involved, these groundbreaking tales are amongst the very best action adventures Apocalypse-obsessed, dystopia driven Britain has ever produced, neatly balancing paranoia with gallows humour and innate anarchic disrespect for authority (any authority) with pulse-pounding thrills, spills and chills.

This is sheer addictive nostalgia for my generation, but the stories hold up against anything made for today’s marketplace. Buy it for the kids or keep it for yourself; this cheap-&cheerful tome is glorious, funny challenging and beautifully realised… and steel yourself for even better yet to come…
© 1983, 1985,1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990 & 2012 Rebellion A/S. All rights reserved.