{"id":30573,"date":"2024-09-19T13:00:26","date_gmt":"2024-09-19T13:00:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/?p=30573"},"modified":"2024-09-18T16:27:45","modified_gmt":"2024-09-18T16:27:45","slug":"the-adventures-of-captain-pugwash-best-pirate-jokes-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/2024\/09\/19\/the-adventures-of-captain-pugwash-best-pirate-jokes-2\/","title":{"rendered":"The Adventures of Captain Pugwash: Best Pirate Jokes"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"
\nBy Ian D. Rylett <\/strong>& Ian Hillyard<\/strong> (Red Fox\/Random House)
\nISBN: 978-1-862-30793-3 (PB)<\/p>\n

The problem with pirates is that they don\u2019t know when enough\u2019s enough, so here\u2019s another review to reconnoitre: tangentially celebrating the greatest buccaneer of all…<\/em><\/p>\n

John Ryan was an artist and storyteller who straddled three distinct disciplines of graphic narrative, with equal qualitative if not financial success.<\/p>\n

Born in Edinburgh on March 4th 1921, Ryan was the son of a diplomat, served during WWII in Burma and India and – after attending the Regent Street Polytechnic (1946-48) – took up a post as assistant Art Master at Harrow School from 1948 to 1955. It was during this time that he began contributing strips to Fulton Press publications, in the company\u2019s glossy distaff alternative Girl<\/strong>, but most especially to the pages of legendary \u201cboys\u2019 paper\u201d The Eagle<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

On April 14th<\/sup> 1950, Britain\u2019s grey, post-war gloom was partially lifted with the premier issue of a new comic which literally shone with light and colour. Soon, avid excited boys (and girls!) were understandably enraptured with the gloss and dazzle of Dan Dare, Pilot of the Future<\/strong>: the charismatic star-turn venerated to this day and licensed media stars like PC 49<\/strong>…<\/p>\n

The Eagle<\/strong> was a tabloid-sized paper with full-colour inserts alternating with text and a range of various other comic features. \u201cTabloid\u201d is a big page and you can get a lot of material onto each one. Deep within, on the bottom third of a monochrome page was an 8-panel strip entitled Captain Pugwash – The story of a Bad Buccaneer and the many Sticky Ends which nearly befell him<\/strong>. Ryan\u2019s quirky, spiky style also lent itself to the numerous spot illustrations required throughout the comic every week.<\/p>\n

Pugwash, his harridan (sorry, not my word) of a wife and the useless, lazy crew of the Black Pig<\/em> ran (or more accurately capered and fell about) until issue #19 when the feature disappeared. This was no real hardship for Ryan who had been writing and illustrating Harris Tweed – Extra Special Agent<\/strong> as a full-page (tabloid, remember, an average of twenty panels a page, per week!) from Eagle<\/strong> #16 onwards (and there\u2019s a lost star and canon well worth revisiting sometime soon). Super sleuth Tweed ran as a page for three years until 1953 when it dropped to a half-page strip and was repositioned as a purely comedic venture…<\/p>\n

In 1956 the indefatigable old sea-dog (I mean old Horatio Pugwash <\/em>but it could so easily be Ryan) made the jump to children\u2019s picture books. He was an unceasing story-peddler with a big family, but somehow also found time to be head cartoonist at The Catholic Herald<\/strong> for forty years.<\/p>\n

A Pirate Story <\/strong>was first published by Bodley Head before switching to children\u2019s publishing specialist Puffin for further editions and more adventures. It was the first of a vast (sorry, got away with meself again there!) run of kids\u2019 books on a numerous subjects. Pugwash himself starred in 21 tomes: there were a dozen books based on the animated TV series Ark Stories<\/strong>, plus Sir Prancelot <\/strong>and many more creations. Ryan worked whenever he wanted to in the comics world and eventually his books and strips began to cross-pollinate.<\/p>\n

The primary Pugwash is very traditional in format with blocks of text and single illustrations to illuminate a particular moment. But by the publication of Pugwash the Smuggler<\/strong> (1982) entire sequences were lavishly painted comic strips, with as many as eight panels per page, and including word balloons. A fitting circularity to his interlocking careers and a nice treat for us old-fashioned comic drones.<\/p>\n

When A Pirate Story<\/strong> was released in 1957 the BBC pounced on the hot property, commissioning Ryan to produce 5-minute episodes: 86 in all from 1957 to 1968 and later reformatted in full colour and rebroadcast in 1976. In the budding arena of 1950s animated television cartoons, Ryan developed a new system for producing cheap, high quality animations to a tight deadline. He began with Pugwash<\/strong>, keeping the adventure milieu, but replaced shrewish wife with a tried-&-true boy assistant. Tom the Cabin Boy <\/em>is the only capable member of a crew which included such visual archetypes as Willy<\/em>, Barnabas <\/em>and Master Mate<\/em> (fat, thin, tall and all dim), instantly affirming to the rapt, young audience that grown-ups are fools and kids do, in fact, rule.<\/p>\n

For eight years Ryan simultaneously drew a weekly Captain Pugwash<\/strong> strip for The Radio Times<\/strong>, going on to produce a number of other animated series including \u201clatch-key\u201d pals Mary, Mungo and Midge<\/strong>, The Friendly Giant <\/strong>and the aforementioned Sir Prancelot<\/strong>. There were also adaptations of his many other children\u2019s books and in 1997 Pugwash<\/strong> was rebooted in an all-new CGI animated TV series.<\/p>\n

The first book – A Pirate Story<\/strong> – sets the scene with a delightful clown\u2019s romp as the so-very-motley crew of the Black Pig sail in search of buried treasure, only to fall into a cunning trap set by the truly nasty corsair Cut-Throat Jake<\/em>. Luckily, Tom is as smart as his shipmates and Captain are not…<\/p>\n

A 2008 edition of A Pirate Story<\/strong> from Frances Lincoln Children\u2019s Books came with a free audio CD, and just in case I\u2019ve tempted you beyond endurance here\u2019s a full list of the good (ish) Captain\u2019s exploits that you should make it your remaining life\u2019s work to unearth…<\/p>\n

There\u2019s Captain Pugwash: A Pirate Story<\/strong> (1957), Pugwash Aloft <\/strong>(1960), Pugwash and the Ghost Ship<\/strong> (1962), Pugwash in the Pacific<\/strong> (1963), Pugwash and the Sea Monster<\/strong> (1976), Captain Pugwash and the Ruby<\/strong> (1976), Captain Pugwash and the Treasure Chest<\/strong> (1976), Captain Pugwash and the New Ship<\/strong> (1976), Captain Pugwash and the Elephant<\/strong> (1976), The Captain Pugwash Cartoon Book <\/strong>(1977), Pugwash and the Buried Treasure<\/strong> (1980), Pugwash the Smuggler<\/strong> (1982), Captain Pugwash and the Fancy Dress Party <\/strong>(1982), Captain Pugwash and the Mutiny<\/strong> (1982), Pugwash and the Wreckers <\/strong>(1984), Pugwash and the Midnight Feast<\/strong> (1984), The Battle of Bunkum Bay<\/strong> (1985), The Quest of the Golden Handshake<\/strong> (1985), The Secret of the San Fiasco <\/strong>(1985), Captain Pugwash and the Pigwig<\/strong> (1991) and Captain Pugwash and the Huge Reward<\/strong> (1991). These are all pearls beyond price and a true treasure of graphic excellence, so if you feel tempted to go all \u201cPirate Pok\u00e9mon\u201d, feel free to get \u2018em all….<\/p>\n

Although currently, cruelly out of print, Pugwash\u2019s canon (the only sort this band of rapscallions can be trusted with) are widely available through online vendors and should be a prize you set your hearts on acquiring.<\/p>\n

As you might expect, such success breeds ancillary projects, and cleaving close to the wind whilst running in the master\u2019s wake is this minor mirthquake no sassy brat could possibly resist. Compiled by Ian D. Rylett and copiously illustrated by Ian Hillyard in stark monochrome, it\u2019s a fairly standard cartoon joke book as beloved by generations of youngsters and loathed beyond endurance by parents, guardians, older siblings and every other adult whose patience is proven quite exhaustible. It\u2019s the book your teacher confiscates in class but never returns at the end of term…<\/p>\n

Divided into themed chapters \u2018The Captain\u2019s Crackers\u2019<\/em>, \u2018Jakes\u2019 Jests\u2019<\/em>, \u2018Blundering Bucaneers<\/em>, Hysterics in the Harbour\u2019<\/em>, \u2018Fishy Funnies\u2019 <\/em>and \u2018All Aboard\u2019<\/em>, the level of wit is almost lethal in its predictability and vintage (Q: why did the irate sailor go for a pee? A: he wanted to be a pirate.) but the relentless pace and remorseless progression are actually irresistible in delivery.<\/p>\n

With the world crashing down around us and the water levels inexorably rising, we don\u2019t have that much to laugh at, so why don\u2019t you go and find something to take your minds off the chaos to come? Your kids will thank you and if you\u2019ve any life left in your old and weary soul, you will too…
\nPugwash books \u00a9 1957-2009 John Ryan and (presumably) the Estate of John Ryan. All rights reserved. Best Pirate Jokes \u00a9 Britt-Allcroft (Development Ltd) Limited 2000. All rights worldwide Britt-Allcroft (Development Ltd) Limited.<\/p>\n

And in case you were wondering…<\/p>\n

This book includes Discriminatory Content<\/strong> produced in less enlightened times.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Ian D. Rylett & Ian Hillyard (Red Fox\/Random House) ISBN: 978-1-862-30793-3 (PB) The problem with pirates is that they don\u2019t know when enough\u2019s enough, so here\u2019s another review to reconnoitre: tangentially celebrating the greatest buccaneer of all… John Ryan was an artist and storyteller who straddled three distinct disciplines of graphic narrative, with equal … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “The Adventures of Captain Pugwash: Best Pirate Jokes”<\/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":[191,125,97,127,242],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-30573","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-adventure","category-humour","category-kids-all-ages","category-nostalgia","category-pirates"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4AFj-7X7","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30573","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=30573"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30573\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30575,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30573\/revisions\/30575"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30573"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30573"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30573"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}