![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Playbox-annual-1955.jpg\")
\nBy many & various (the Amalgamated Press)
\nNo ISBN<\/p>\n
\nBy many & various (the Amalgamated Press)
\nNo ISBN<\/p>\n
These materials were created long ago in a different society for a very different audience. As such much material is inadvertently funny, blatantly racist and\/or sexist and pretty much guaranteed to offend somebody sooner or later. Think of it as having to talk to your grandparents about \u201cback when everything was better\u201d\u2026<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n If you don\u2019t think you can tolerate – let alone enjoy – what\u2019s being discussed here, maybe it\u2019s not the book you need today. Why not look at something else or play a game instead?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n This is probably the most controversial and potentially distressing book I\u2019ll review this year – so why have I? <\/em><\/p>\n There\u2019s a long-cherished but perhaps rather dangerous idea opining that beauty is greater than truth and the comics work in this book is of an astoundingly high quality. The problem is that it\u2019s frequently applied in support of unchallenged assumptions about race, gender, class and culture. <\/em><\/p>\n These splendidly entertaining stories, strips, puzzles. poems and jokes come from a time and place where everything was fine and as it should be – as long as you were white, comfortably well off and preferably male\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n Normally I review graphic novels and comics collections with a view to readers and potential purchasers becoming fans of the picture-strip medium beyond their usual comfort zones. Here though, I\u2019m cautiously applying modern critical sensibilities to once ubiquitous items that shaped generations. On one level, an entire genre of pictorial edification seems forever lost: permanently removed from the contemporary cultural scene. With material like this though, I can\u2019t honestly say whether that\u2019s a good thing or not\u2026<\/p>\n If you\u2019re lucky enough to stumble across a copy or any similarly-vintage volume, I hope my words convince you look for yourselves. I\u2019m always on my high and wide horse about the paucity of classic vintage strips, stories and comics but I think we need to create an academic benchmark in the entertainment ether for cases like this one.<\/p>\n Material available to the young and older readers of the 21st<\/sup> century will never be of this nature again, but that doesn\u2019t mean it should be shoved aside and forgotten. This sort of stuff shaped generations and it needs to be studied in context.<\/p>\n These are slices extracted from our communal childhood, and must not be swept away or covered up – like Japan\u2019s removal of its role in WWII ( apparently excised from the country\u2019s school history texts) or our own government\u2019s sly massaging of history and culture to wash away common folk, social inequity, and the accomplishments of women, the labour and union movements\u2026<\/p>\n Playbox Annual <\/strong>1955 <\/strong>was released by The Amalgamated Press in 1954 (dating was year-forward on such bumper, hard-backed premium editions so the book would have been released in the Autumn intended as a Christmas staple). For nursery kids and their parents or adult guardians, radio, comics and being outside in the fresh air were the order of the day. Television was still in its infancy. DC Thomson\u2019s exuberant and anarchic stable of titles were the favourites of older children, but their fare for toddlers was all but indistinguishable from that of other publishers.<\/p>\n Far less open to change or innovation, Alfred Harmsworth\u2019s AP \u00a0was the most prolific purveyor of children\u2019s papers, with a pedigree stretching back to the end of the 19th<\/sup> century and a stranglehold on syndicated and licensed characters (especially screen and radio stars) which kept well-intentioned, nostalgic parents coming back for more\u2026<\/p>\n Playbox <\/strong>was AP\u2019s Jewel in the Crown. It had launched – prior to the company\u2019s official foundation – on 19th<\/sup> October 1898, running until 1909 with illustrators and writers such as Julius Stafford Baker, Stavert Johnstone Cash, Mabel F. Taylor and Mabel Lucie Atwell as regular contributors. Favourite features endured through merger and amalgamations (I guess the clue was in the name) until a second volume appeared on St. Valentine\u2019s Day 1925.<\/p>\n It was a rebranding and relaunch of Jungle Jinks<\/strong> and this iteration lasted until 11th<\/sup> June 1955, whereupon it again morphed into a more contemporary title by merging with Jack and Jill<\/strong>.<\/p>\n For much of that second life, Playbox<\/strong> benefitted from the cachet of undisputed UK comics superstar Tiger Tim<\/strong> and his chums The Bruin Boys<\/em> – Bobby Bruin<\/em>, Jumbo Elephant<\/em>, Willie Ostrich<\/em>, Georgie Giraffe<\/em>, Jacko Monkey<\/em>, Joey Parrot<\/em>, Porkyboy Pig<\/em> and Fido Pup<\/em> – who spent their days learning to be civilised at Mrs Bruin\u2019s Boarding School<\/em>. The feature was originally rendered by Stafford Baker, but eventually became a multi-artist enterprise encompassing many of the country\u2019s greatest artists.<\/p>\n Tim had first appeared in Harmsworth\u2019s Daily Mirror<\/strong> in 1904, graduating in 1909 to The World and His Wife<\/strong> and its weekly children\u2019s supplement – Playbox<\/strong>. The gang also appeared in the Rainbow<\/strong> weekly colour comic (from February 1914) with Tim as cover feature until its demise in 1956.<\/p>\n In 1919, Tiger Tim\u2019s Weekly<\/strong> (nee Tales<\/strong>) launched, augmented by its own annual from 1921 (first one dated 1922 – got it now?). At a time when merchandising deals for children\u2019s stuff were in their infancy, the characters were so popular that Britains<\/em> – a toy soldier manufacturer – launched a line of lead figures to sell alongside their more militaristic and farm animal fare.<\/p>\n In this twilight years album – the 47th<\/sup> yearly release – the line-up as ever includes not only anthropomorphic Tim and Co. but also general features (prose and strip), fact pieces and plenty of puzzles and games to keep the nippers engrossed – and quiet – for hours\u2026<\/p>\n Once again: when this book was released, our views of other races and cultures ranged from patronisingly parochial to outrageously insular to smugly intolerable and just unforgivable. As with every aspect of British – Hell, all \u201cWhite Culture\u201d – there was an implicit assumption of racial superiority – notwithstanding the fact that every empire is built on multi-nationality; and even within living memory WWII could not have been won by white warriors alone.<\/p>\n Which brings us back to ethnic stereotyping. All I can say is what I always do: those times were so different. Mercifully, the best of us have moved beyond the obvious institutionalised iniquities of casual racism and sexism and are much more tolerant today (unless you\u2019re obese, gay, gender-nonconforming, trans, vegan, liberal, or childfree and happy about it). If antiquated attitudes and caricaturing offends you, don\u2019t read this or any old comics – it\u2019s your choice, but perhaps you shouldn\u2019t condemn just on my or anybody else\u2019s say-so without seeing what\u2019s here\u2026<\/p>\n Moreover, class and regional differences underpinning this entire era are far more insidious and egregious – just look at Sexton Blake<\/strong> and his assistant Tinker or upper middle-class, highly educated Dan Dare<\/strong> and his canny, competent but inescapably comedic \u201cEe baih gum\u201d sidekick Digby<\/em>\u2026<\/p>\n I fear historic portrayals and inclusions of other races have always and will always be controversial and potentially offensive from our elevated standpoint, and we have mostly moved on since those pitifully ignorant times. It\u2019s not really even an excuse to say, at least in our post-war comics, that baddies were mostly our kind and all those differently-hued cultures were victims: generally friendly, noble savages not<\/strong><\/em> trying to eat us\u2026<\/p>\n Nor will this diversion ameliorate the shock of one particular illustrated story at the back of this particular book: I\u2019m saying nothing further now, but By Crikey you\u2019ll know what and why when we get to it\u2026<\/p>\n This cosy, royalty-rich annual (so, so many kings and princesses!) begins in traditional manner: following stunning 2-colour frontispiece Wibblewobble Town<\/em> (by Tom Wilkinson?) we open with western prose adventure \u2018Cowboy Courage\u2019<\/em> as young Cowboy Dan<\/em> come to the rescue of \u201credskin maid\u201d Wild Rose<\/em> and her pony White Cloud<\/em> in a beautifully limned monochrome yarn, before Stavert Johnstone Cash wishes \u2018A Merry Christmas to All\u2019 <\/em>in a frenetic tableau starring cat clan the Fluffkins<\/em>.<\/p>\n Via illustrated prose, a genteel dispute between King Nosegay<\/em> and Wizard Wobble<\/em> is settled on \u2018The Giant Haystack\u2019<\/em> before the Bruin Boys merge doggerel and comic strip in cooking clash \u2018\u201cPlop!\u201d Goes the Pancake\u2019 <\/em>(probably drawn by Herbert Foxwell) whilst\u00a0 text tail (!) \u2018The New Puppy\u2019<\/em> reveals how a big baby mutt learns to get along with aging tabby cat Montmorency<\/em>\u2026<\/p>\n \u2018Sky-High for Treasure\u2019<\/em> combines strip and verse as two lads hunt pirate treasure (by Mabel Atwell?) whilst we resort to prose for \u2018The Princess with the Purple Hair\u2019<\/em> before returning to red & black tones for Cowell\u2019s squirrelly tableau \u2018The Tickletails are on the Move\u2019 <\/em>and Hugh McNeill\u2019s fairy forest romp \u2018Ring A-Ding Ding!\u2019<\/em>, all supplemented by Cash\u2019s poetic pinup \u2018Mow-Pram Rides\u2019<\/em> and an animal inspired \u2018Hamper of Jokes\u2019<\/em>.<\/p>\n Many inclusions are traditional \u201cblock-&-pic\u201d (a progression of panel drawings accompanied by a paragraph of typeset words), such as McNeill\u2019s \u2018Two Boys in a Boat\u2019<\/em>, but \u2018Home by Howdah\u2019<\/em> is a modern comic strip story in all but content.<\/p>\n Fairy tale wonders and staggeringly lovely art masking and reinforcing so many poisonous attitudes about privilege, class and race are all out in force here, as the worst of \u201cblackface minstrel\u201d shows manifests as a bunch of jolly \u201cpicaninnies\u201d who have to find an animal alternative to a crashed motor car\u2026<\/p>\n Prose and monochrome return in \u2018Peter to the Rescue!\u2019<\/em> as a cowardly boy finally finds the motivation to be a hero and \u2018Hair-Raising\u2019 <\/em>offers tonsorial tips for urbane birds before Tammy<\/em> Twinkle<\/em> shares a forest folk day out in text treat \u2018Off to the Sea\u2019<\/em>, after which McNeill rolls out some seasonal chuckles in \u2018Here\u2019s Santa Smiler\u2019<\/em>\u2026<\/p>\n Block-&-pic thriller \u2018Robin Hood\u2019s Pupil\u2019 <\/em>finds young John <\/em>and his sister Catherine <\/em>seized by Normans before devising a way to summon the immortal hero and – following more jokes in \u2018Breezy \u2018Bus-Stop Chatter\u2019 <\/em>– eerie prose yarn \u2018Friendly Snowmen\u2019 <\/em>sees some seasonal wanderers lending a frosty helping hand to a lad who wants to buy his ailing little brother some sweets\u2026<\/p>\n \u2018Laugh with Chic\u2019<\/em> (McNeill) segues into puzzle page \u2018A Happy Holiday\u2019<\/em> and more Bruin Boy larks in \u2018Topsy-Turvy Trick\u2019 <\/em>before Dick and Pusskins <\/em>(Whittington and his animal asset) turn a job search into a tobogganing treat in \u2018Icy Trip\u2019<\/em> whilst prose parable \u2018The Dragons\u2019 Picnic\u2019<\/em> sees a scaly family pay their regal respects and save a king in distress\u2026<\/p>\n More casually racist cartoon virtue signalling sees a friendly white store owner help Little Raven<\/em> and his father Chief White Wing<\/em> when they desperately need a surfeit of pelts to buy off \u201cBlackfeet\u201d raiders. All the generous \u2018Paleface Friends\u2019 <\/em>get in return is the useless gold clogging up the natives\u2019 river\u2026<\/p>\n A burst of activity is encouraged by \u2018Trick Fun\u2019<\/em> and \u2018River Race\u2019<\/em> before text thriller \u2018Air Rescue\u2019 <\/em>sees housebound Linda <\/em>play a big part in saving a sinking yachtsman, whilst \u2018Reg and Ron\u2019 <\/em>endure scholastic shocks in strip form prior to more puzzles in \u2018Strangers Around\u2019<\/em> and \u2018Games for Your Party\u2019.<\/em><\/p>\n A burst of black and orange heralds Cash\u2019s Fluffkins tableau \u2018Sports day\u2019 <\/em>and Foxwell\u2019s Bruin Boy strip \u2018Christmas Snowball and Fun for All\u2019<\/em> before we\u2019re back in the world of appalled sensibilities with prose fantasy \u2018Ching Chung\u2019s Pets\u2019<\/em>, after which McNeill charms again in kiddies\u2019 seaside adventure \u2018Off for a Float in Chic\u2019s Paddle-Boat\u2019<\/em>\u2026<\/p>\n Tableau \u2018The Woolly Boys\u2019 Train-Ride\u2019<\/em> closes the colour section before prose treat \u2018Farmer\u2019s Boys\u2019<\/em> finds two wilful animal slackers learning the value and rewards of hard work, and illustrated verse \u2018Lazy Trains\u2019 <\/em>brings us to a text tract of boarding school mice enjoying illicit \u2018Cheese Pie for Supper\u2019<\/em> and illustrated instructions on how to cast \u2018Shadow Pictures\u2019<\/em>.<\/p>\n Apprentice Val<\/em> works for \u2018Grundvik the Toy-maker\u2019<\/em> and foils a robbery in this text thriller in advance of pictorial epigram \u2018The Buntings\u2019 Dress Parade\u2019 <\/em>and more Bruin Boy hijinks in \u2018Wigwam Surprises\u2019, <\/em>after which \u2018Playbox Theatre\u2019 <\/em>details how to make a play at home\u2026 Another \u2018Puzzle Page\u2019 <\/em>leads to historical adventure as a cabin boy Bob <\/em>unearths \u2018The Pirates Treasure\u2019<\/em> and Chic invites \u2018Too Many to Tea\u2019<\/em>. That\u2019s just as well because you\u2019ll need a bracing beverage to get past this year\u2019s visit to (African? Caribbean? Alabamian?) favourite vacation spot and the \u2018Darkietown Yacht Race\u2019<\/em>. I have words but I\u2019m not going to use them\u2026<\/p>\n Dickensian Victoriana sees two vagrant lads clean a widow\u2019s chimney and encounter \u2018Lucky Smoke\u2019 <\/em>and rich rewards after which city kids have \u2018Country Fun\u2019 <\/em>in a prose tale sporting beautiful and uncredited silhouette illustration, prior to cartoon gag \u2018A S\u2019talking Stork Surprises Sam\u2019<\/em> segues into cheeky kitten \u2018Flips\u2019<\/em> shares his diary and \u2018Adrift on Ice\u2019<\/em> shows and prose the valour of two kids in the arctic looking for food for their mother\u2026<\/p>\n What passed for age-appropriate children\u2019s content back then might raise a few eyebrows these days but we\u2019re back on solid ground when \u2018Percy Pump\u2019s Pranks\u2019<\/em> in prose bring the festivities to a close, leaving only room for a \u2018Playbox ad\u2019, <\/em>editorial comment in \u2018My Letter to You\u2019 <\/em>and a back cover adorned with advertorial \u2018Cadburys Puzzle Picture\u2019<\/em>\u2026<\/p>\n Popular fiction from a populist publisher will always embody some underlying assumptions unpalatable to some modern readers, but good taste by contemporary standards was always a watchword when producing work for younger children. Some interactions between white children and other races is a little utopian, perhaps, but more insidious problems arise from the accepted class-structures in many stories and the woefully petrified sexism displayed throughout.<\/p>\n None of this detracts one jot from the sheer creative power of the artists involved, and perhaps the best we can hope for is that readers use judgement and perspective when viewing or revisiting material this old. Remember, Thomas Jefferson may have kept slaves, but Britain\u2019s Royal Family, our museums and educational institutions all benefitted hugely from the trade; it\u2019s only been illegal to beat your wife since the 1970\u2019s (The Domestic Violence and Matrimonial Proceedings Act 1976), and even today and far too often people who die in police custody apparently only have themselves to blame\u2026<\/p>\n So before I go off on another one or get put on another government watch list, let\u2019s return to the subject at hand and say that despite all the restrictions and codicils this is in many ways a beautiful piece of children\u2019s art in the time-honoured fashion of Enid Blyton, Dodie Smith and Arthur Ransome, with lovely illustrations that would make any artist weep with envy. By many & various (the Amalgamated Press) No ISBN These materials were created long ago in a different society for a very different audience. As such much material is inadvertently funny, blatantly racist and\/or sexist and pretty much guaranteed to offend somebody sooner or later. Think of it as having to talk to your grandparents … <\/p>\n
\n\u00a9 1955 The Amalgamated Press.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"