{"id":29824,"date":"2024-05-15T14:53:27","date_gmt":"2024-05-15T14:53:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/?p=29824"},"modified":"2024-05-15T14:53:27","modified_gmt":"2024-05-15T14:53:27","slug":"ken-reids-creepy-creations-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/2024\/05\/15\/ken-reids-creepy-creations-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Ken Reid\u2019s Creepy Creations"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"
\nBy Ken Reid<\/strong>, with Reg Parlett, Robert Nixon <\/strong>& various (Rebellion Studios)
\nISBN: 978-1-78108-660-5 (HB\/Digital edition)<\/p>\n

If you know British Comics, you\u2019ll know Ken Reid. He was one of a select and singular pantheon of rebellious, youthful artistic prodigies who – largely unsung – went about transforming British Comics, entertaining millions and inspiring hundreds of those readers to become cartoonists too.<\/p>\n

Reid was born in Manchester in 1919 and drew from the moment he could hold an implement. Aged nine, he was confined to bed for six months with a tubercular hip, and occupied himself by constantly scribbling and sketching. He left school before his fourteenth birthday and won a scholarship to Salford Art School, but never graduated. He was, by all accounts, expelled for cutting classes to hang about in cafes. Undaunted, he set up as a commercial artist, but floundered until his dad began acting as his agent.<\/p>\n

Ken\u2019s big break was a blagger\u2019s triumph. Accompanied by his unbelievably supportive and astute father, Ken talked his way into an interview with the Art Editor of the Manchester Evening News and came away with a commission for a strip for its new Children\u2019s Section. The Adventures of Fudge the Elf<\/strong> launched in 1938 and ran until 1963 with only a single, albeit lengthy, hiatus from 1941 to 1946 when Reid served in the armed forces.<\/p>\n

From the late 1940s onwards, Reid dallied with the resurgent comics periodicals: with work (Super Sam<\/em>, Billy Boffin<\/em>, Foxy<\/em>) published in Comic Cuts<\/strong> and submissions to The Eagle<\/strong>, before a fortuitous family connection (Dandy<\/strong> illustrator Bill Holroyd was Reid\u2019s brother-in-law) brought DC Thomson managing editor R.D. Low to his door with a cast-iron offer of work. On April 18th<\/sup> 1953, Roger the Dodger<\/strong> debuted in The Beano<\/strong>. Reid drew the feature until 1959 whilst creating many more, including the fabulously mordant doomed mariner Jonah,<\/strong> Ali Ha-Ha and the 40 Thieves<\/em>, Grandpa<\/em> and Jinx<\/em> amongst many more.<\/p>\n

In 1964, Reid and equally under-appreciated co-superstar Leo Baxendale jumped ship to work for DCT\u2019s arch-rival Odhams Press. This gave Ken greater license to explore his ghoulish side: concentrating on comic horror yarns and grotesque situations in strips like Frankie Stein<\/strong>, and The Nervs<\/strong> for Wham!<\/strong> And Smash!<\/strong> as well as more visually wholesome but still strikingly surreal fare as Queen of the Seas<\/strong> and Dare-a-Day Davy<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

In 1971 Reid devised Face Ache<\/strong> – arguably his career masterpiece – for new title Jet<\/strong>. The hilariously horrific strip was popular enough to survive the comic\u2019s demise – after a paltry 22 weeks – and was carried over in a merger with stalwart periodical Buster<\/strong> where it thrived until 1987. During that time, Reid continued innovating and creating through a horde of new strips such as Harry Hammertoe the Soccer Spook<\/em>, Wanted Posters<\/em>, Martha\u2019s Monster Makeup<\/em>, Tom\u2019s Horror World<\/em> and a dozen others. One of those – and the worthy subject of this splendid collection – is Creepy Creations<\/strong>. Gathered here are all 79 full colour portraits from Shiver & Shake<\/strong>: episodes spanning March 10th<\/sup> 1973 to October 5th<\/sup> 1974 as well as related works from contemporaneous Christmas annuals.<\/p>\n

After the initial suggestion and 8 original designs by Reid, Creepy Creations<\/strong> featured carefully crafted comedic horrors and mirthful monsters inspired by submissions from readers, who got their names in print plus the-then princely sum of One Pound (\u00a31!) Sterling for their successful efforts. The mechanics and details of the process are all covered in a wealth of preliminary articles beginning with \u2018Creepy Creation Spotter\u2019s Guide\u2019<\/em> listing the geographical locations so crucial to the feature\u2019s popularity and is backed up by a fond – if somewhat frightful – family reminiscence from Anthony J. Reid (Ken\u2019s son) in \u2018The Erupting Pressure Cooker of Preston Brook\u2019<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The convoluted history of Ken\u2019s feature (which came and went by way of 1960s cult icon Power Comics<\/strong>, Mad<\/strong> magazine, Topps<\/strong> Trading Cards<\/strong> and even stranger stops), originally intended to save him having to draw the same old characters every day, is detailed in an engrossing historical overview by Irmantas Povilaika dubbed \u2018Plus a \u201cFunny Monsters\u201d Competition with These Fantastic Prizes\u2019<\/em> before the true wonderment ensues.<\/p>\n

Astounding popular from beginning to end, Creepy Creations<\/strong> offered a ghastly, giggle-infused grotesque every week: a string of macabre graphic snapshots (some, apparently, too horrific to be published at the time!) beloved by kids who adore being grossed out.<\/p>\n

Seen here are ratified Reid-beasts like \u2018The One-Eyed Wonk of Wigan,\u2019<\/em>, \u2018The Chip Chomping Tater Terror of Tring\u2019<\/em> and the \u2018The Boggle-Eyed Butty-Biter of Sandwich\u2019<\/em>, his stunning kid collaborations on arcane animals like \u2018The Gruesome Ghoul from Goole\u2019<\/em> or \u2018Nelly, the Kneecap-Nipping Telly from Newcastle\u2019<\/em>, and – due to the staggering demands of weekly deadlines – also offers cartoon contributions from UK comics star Reg Parlett & Robert Nixon.
\n\"\"
\nSupplementing and completing the eldritch, emetic experience are a selection of Creepy Creations Extras<\/strong>, comprising images and frontispieces from Christmas Annuals, the entire \u2018Creepy Creations Calendar for 1975\u2019<\/em>, 4-pages of \u2018Mini Monsters\u2019<\/em> and the entire zany zodiac of \u2018Your HORRORscope\u2019<\/em>…<\/p>\n

Piling up even more comedy gold, this tome also includes tantalising excepts from the Leo Baxendale Sweeny Toddler<\/strong> compilation and Reid\u2019s magnificent World-Wide Wonders<\/strong> collections.<\/p>\n

Ken Reid died in 1987 from complications of a stroke he\u2019d suffered on February 2nd<\/sup>. He was at his drawing board, putting the finishing touches to a Face Ache<\/strong> strip. On his passing, the strip was taken over by Frank Diarmid who drew until its cancellation in October 1988.<\/p>\n

This astoundingly absorbing comedy classic is another perfect example of resolutely British humorous sensibilities – absurdist, anarchic and gleefully grotesque – and these cartoon capers are amongst the most memorable and re-readable exploits in all of British comics history: painfully funny, beautifully rendered and ridiculously unforgettable. This a treasure-trove of laughs to span generations which demands to be in every family bookcase.
\n\u00a9 1973, 1974, & 2018 Rebellion Publishing Ltd. All Rights Reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Ken Reid, with Reg Parlett, Robert Nixon & various (Rebellion Studios) ISBN: 978-1-78108-660-5 (HB\/Digital edition) If you know British Comics, you\u2019ll know Ken Reid. He was one of a select and singular pantheon of rebellious, youthful artistic prodigies who – largely unsung – went about transforming British Comics, entertaining millions and inspiring hundreds of … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “Ken Reid\u2019s Creepy Creations”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[42,90,66,125,97,127],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-29824","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-best-of-british","category-cartooning-classics","category-horror-stories","category-humour","category-kids-all-ages","category-nostalgia"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4AFj-7L2","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29824","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29824"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29824\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29827,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29824\/revisions\/29827"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29824"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29824"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29824"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}