![\"Augustus](\"http:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/04\/augustus-and-his-fait_86221.jpg\")
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By Graham<\/strong> (Mirror Books) Cartoons and gag-panels are a universal medium but we purveyors of sequential narrative have an unhappy tendency to become protective and parochial about our own particular specialism within the medium. How many times have I heard an artist or writer working on a hot new comic-book property, revelling in sales of sixty-to-seventy thousand monthly copies, disparage a strip such as Hagar the Horrible<\/em> or Garfield<\/em> whose daily readership can be numbered in millions, if not billions? Let’s all just try to remember that tastes differ, and that we all make lines on a surface here, and most especially that TV and Computer Games are the real enemy of our industry, shall we?<\/p>\n Rant over.<\/p>\n Mainstream cartooning is a huge joy to a vast readership whose needs are quite different from those of hard-core, dedicated comic fans, or even that growing base of intrigued browsers dipping their toes in the sequential narrative pool. Even those stuck-up stickybeaks who have pointedly \u00e2\u20ac\u0153never read a comic\u00e2\u20ac\u009d have seen and enjoyed cartoon strips or panels, and in this arena Britain has produced more than its share of classics.<\/p>\n Alex Graham, best known for the charming and reassuringly middle-class Fred Bassett<\/em> strip, was a jobbing cartoonist for nearly fifty years and in that time produced a vast range of work that delighted readers on a wide range of subjects. He died in 1991, and Bassett was continued by his daughter Arran and artist Michael Martin. I’ll save the details for upcoming Fred Bassett<\/em> reviews.<\/p>\n Augustus and his Faithful Hound<\/em> is a less well-known strip that appeared in the late 1970’s in The Woman’s Journal<\/strong><\/em>, a home-maker’s magazine with a highly specialised demographic. The strip is a perfect fit: the gently amusing and reassuring exploits of a timid young lad and his equally timid, if boisterous, dog. The drawing is highly polished, captivating and charming; the gags undemanding and very reassuring \u00e2\u20ac\u201c and that’s just what they’re supposed to be. This was not a venue for sarcasm, slapstick, surrealism or brisk, salacious vulgarity. These were cartoons to make your mum laugh, and as such they are perfect.<\/p>\n I’m sure there’s not much chance of this collection ever being reprinted, but if you chance across a copy, try it before dismissing it. The craft and skill is just as hard-learned as any superhero, fantasy or horror artist’s, the results fitted the brief perfectly and the audience was so very happy with the result. Other than a bigger cheque and global celebrity, what more could a creator possibly want from his labours?<\/p>\n \u00c2\u00a9 1978 Woman’s Journal. All Rights Reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By Graham (Mirror Books) ISBN: 0-85939-120-5 Cartoons and gag-panels are a universal medium but we purveyors of sequential narrative have an unhappy tendency to become protective and parochial about our own particular specialism within the medium. How many times have I heard an artist or writer working on a hot new comic-book property, revelling in … <\/p>\n
\nISBN: 0-85939-120-5<\/p>\n