31 October 2022

Worzel Gummidge monthly

I've looked before (here) at Marvel UK's Worzel Gummidge weekly so I thought it only right that I also look at its predecessor title Worzel Gummidge weekly. This ran for a dozen issues in 1981/2 and at least some of the issues contain comic artwork by John Cooper.

Worzel Gummidge monthly, Marvel UK, issue 1, October 1981

Worzel Gummidge monthly, Marvel UK, issue 2, November 1981

Worzel Gummidge monthly, Marvel UK, issue 3, December 1981

Worzel Gummidge monthly, Marvel UK, issue 4, January 1982

Worzel Gummidge monthly, Marvel UK, issue 5, February 1982

Worzel Gummidge monthly, Marvel UK, issue 6, March 1982


Other issues to follow - all images taken from here

30 October 2022

Fizog

An unusual one this one...It's Fizog - “the world's funniest kids comic”. Unfortunately, it wasn't the world's most successful comic as it seems to have only lasted three issues.

Written and published by Dean Wilkinson, who also created the short-lived Acne comic, the contributors included Lee Healey, Mervyn Johnston, Phil Neill, Gary Small, Bear Hackenbush, Will Kevans, Nick Miller and Paul J. Palmer.

It certainly looks like the sort of title that a publisher like Fleetway might have produced. But you could be confused into thinking it's actually a comic for adults, designed to look like a comic for kids. Just look at the final frame of "Johnny Lightfingers", in the first issue, and you could be forgiven for thinking that this would never have been published in an actual kids comics). 

Confused? Maybe you weren't the only one because three issues is a pretty short run. Anyway, happy collecting!

"Alarming as it may seem, Fizog was genuinely intended for kids," cartoonist Lew Stringer tells us. "Yes, they were trying to shock, and it could be argued they went too far but kids see such scenes differently to adults, (hopefully) having not experienced violent traumas in real life. Like those gory Civil War News bubblegum cards some of us collected in the 1960s which depicted stabbings, impalements, and other bloody scenes of war but at six year's old, we didn't bat an eyelid. (If anything, they taught us to avoid violence)."

Fizog faced competition from the similarly titled Fizz, set up by the owner of Acne who, Derek Wilkinson, who was a previous editor of Acne, once told George Shiers, was “trying to spoil Fizog

“Nobody wanted to work for him any more,” Wilkinson told George. “I got Fizz stopped as he was reproducing old Acne artwork without permission."

Fizog issue #1, December 1994 - January 1995






Features "Lew's Talk" on the cover; "Garstang D'Gore's Not So Weird Tales", drawn by Lee Healey; "Johnny Lightfingers", drawn by Mervyn Johnston; Petes Past on Pals", drawn by Nick Miller; "Bendy Wendy', drawn by Phill Neill; "Billy Idle'; "Marge Ick's Tricks", drawn by Lee Healey; "The Crazy Adventures of... The Dead Family!'; "Brian Brine - The Big Fat Swine'; and "Ratbag the Dog"; and "Billy, Ricky and Doodle".


Fizog issue #2, February 1995 - March 1995



Features "Marge Ick's Tricks", written by Dean Wilkinson, drawn by Lee Healey (cover story); "Al Eenbeeng (Alien Being), drawn by Meryvn Johnston; "Kid Biscuit", drawn by Meryvn Johnston; "Bendy Wendy", drawn by Phill Neill; and "Junior Jailbird".

• George Shiers reviews the issue here on Whacky Comics

Fizog issue #3, April 1995 - May 1995


Features "Totem Paul" by Meryvn Johnston, "Billy Idle", drawn by Paul J. Palmer; and "Punk Rocker Rabid Judo Dogs", written by Dean Wilkinson, with art by Lee Healey, a strip left on a cliffhanger when "Ish 4" never appeared, victim to cash shortfall and changing habits of the target audience, more attracted to computer games in the early 1990s, than comics.


This item was updated on 31st October 2022 to add covers and incorporate comments from Lew Stringer first featured in comments to the original post, below, and provide additional background


29 October 2022

Andy Capp original art - Cartoon Museum, part 2

One of the highlights of the recent Andy Capp talk at the Cartoon Museum was the opportunity to look at some of the original artwork that was on display. This is a small selection from the family's archive...

I highlighted some of the art previously - here - and now there's a chance to see some of the other art that was on display...





28 October 2022

Jet Morgan playsuit

Somewhere I have a photo of this actual playsuit - from maybe the Museum of childhood in Bethnal Green (now known as Young V&A) - I can't find it right now. Anyway, it's a welcome debut on the blog for Jet Morgan (star of Journey into Space) and his playsuit - images swiped from the catalogue below (recently for sale on ebay)...



I'm sure there was a Dan Dare spacesuit which looked just like that but, frustratingly, I can't find an image. There was this Dan Dare spacesuit..

Anyway, good luck adding this playsuit to your Jet Morgan collection.

Update: Here’s a picture of the actual suit, via Aphadrome. the site notes indicate the fabric playsuit comprises a silver grey jacket with a red chest panel with Space Pilot graphic and includes trousers, red gloves and a fabric helmet with red trim and a vinyl visor. 

There was a generic box for a range of outfits, but the box indicates that this is a "Jet Morgan" space suit, though the example shown is marked Space Pilot.




27 October 2022

UPDATED: Asterix calendars

It's that time of year again when thoughts start to turn to next year, to that end I wondered if I'd be able to replace the 2022 Asterix calendar on my wall with a new version for 2023, luckily it seems I can...

Asterix calendar 2023



A chance find at a bookshop in December 2019 has meant that, happily, an Asterix calendar has been hanging on my wall this year. 

2022 appears looks set to be a bumper year for Asterix calendars with these two calendars currently available on Amazon...


Working out a gift list for last Christmas inspired me to see if a calendar has been produced for...and, good news, it has been...and it's been on my wall all year


 
the calendar previously on my wall...



...I then started wondering if there had been calendars for other years...so far I've found just this one


A quick bit of googling brings up plenty of 'kalendars' for the German market but few others - or maybe they've just dropped the word 'kalendar' from the title (so that it can be sold more widely).

Anyway if you know of any other Asterix calendars do let me know - thanks.

If you're interested in comic calendars then you can check out my previous posts on the subject...

1). Beano & Dandy calendars are here
2). Commando calendars are here
3). Judge Dredd calendars are here
4). Broons calendars are herehere and here
5). Oor Wullie is here
6). Dan Dare calendar is here
7). Miscellaneous calendars are here
8). Viz calendars are here

26 October 2022

Mick McMahon signs Dredd apex edition

To celebrate the publication of the 'Judge Dredd by Mick McMahon, Ape Edition' Forbidden Planet have announced a signing with Mick. It says here ...

Using scans taken from the original art, complete stories such as “Frankenstein II”, “The Wreath Murders”, and “Dream Palace” are published alongside pages from “The Cursed Earth”, “The Day the Law Died”, “The Judge Child”, and “The Fink”, his colour 1980s Annual work is also presented in this book too, with the complete “Pinboing Wizard”, and selected pages from other colour classics.

From the first published Judge Dredd story to his iconic work on serials such as ‘The Cursed Earth’ and ‘The Judge Child’, McMahon’s constantly evolving style has helped make him one of the greatest Dredd artists of all time. Famed for his ‘big boots’ design and vivid imagination, McMahon’s work helped define Dredd’s world and won him legions of fans.

From his dynamic early work influenced by Dredd co-creator Carlos Ezquerra to his later utterly unique style, this Apex Edition showcases the evolution of his career in unprecedented detail and demonstrates how McMahon came to influence generations of comic book artists.

Complete stories such as ‘Judge Whitey’, ‘Frankenstein II’, ‘The Wreath Murders’, and ‘Dream Palace’ are published alongside pages from ‘The Cursed Earth’, ‘The Day the Law Died’, ‘The Judge Child’, and ‘The Fink’. As well as his brush and pen work, the reproduced pages include many of their original titles and word balloons, as well as printer’s marks and other ephemera, giving fans the chance to see these pages in all their glory.

All signing events may be subject to short notice change or cancellation. Please keep checking our Events Page for up to date information.

The signing takes places on Saturday 10th December 1-2pm at the London megastore 

25 October 2022

UPDATED: Eagle comic free gifts

For ages, I've wanted to track down images of all the free gifts that were presented with the original Eagle comic.

The list below is taken from Cliff Wanford's 'Eagle collectors handbook' and is my guide to what's out there to collect...

Right then let's see what we can find...all updates highlighted in red (thanks to Jonathan Crossfield)

Volume 2, issue #34 (2/34) - Christmas catalogue






Volume 2/35 - Christmas catalogue
assume same as above

Volume 3/33 - Christmas supplement
image not to hand - can you help?

Volume 4/8 - Coronation supplement
image not to hand - can you help?

Volume 4/23 (11/09/53) - Eagle extra

Volume 4/24 (18/09/53) - Eagle extra

Volume 4/25 (25/09/53) - Eagle extra

Volume 4/26 (02/10/53) - Eagle extra


Volume 4/27 (09/10/53) - Eagle extra

Volume 4/28 (16/10/53) - Eagle extra

Volume 4/29 (23/10/53) - Eagle extra

Volume 4/30 (30/10/53) - Eagle extra

Volume 4/31 (06/11/53) - Eagle extra

Volume 4/32 (13/11/53) - Eagle extra

Volume 4/33 (20/11/53) - Christmas supplement








Volume 4/34 (27/11/53) - Christmas supplement
image not to hand - can you help?

Volume 4/35 (04/12/53) - Christmas supplement
image not to hand - can you help?

Volume 5/47  (19/11/54) - Christmas supplement








Volume 5/48 (26/11/54) - Christmas supplement









Volume 5/49 (3/12/54) - Christmas supplement








Volume 6/46 (18/11/55) - Christmas supplement




Volume 6/47 (25/11/55) - Christmas supplement







Volume 6/48 (02/12/555) - Christmas supplement







Volume 6/49 - Christmas supplement
image not to hand - can you help?

Volume 7/47 - Christmas supplement
image not to hand - can you help?

Volume 7/48 - Christmas supplement
image not to hand - can you help?

Volume 7/49 - Christmas supplement
image not to hand - can you help?

Volume 11/11 (09/03/60) - Passport to adventure wallet

Volume 11/12 (16/03/60) - supplement - world transport (cut and fold booklet)

Volume 11/13 (23/03/60)- supplement - space (cut and fold booklet)

Volume 11/14 (30/03/60) - supplement - the real wild west (cut and fold booklet)

Volume 11/15 (06/04/60) - supplement - underwater world (cut and fold booklet)

Volume 12/5 (04/02/61) - supplement - post office (cut and fold booklet)

Volume 13/10 - Marvels of this modern age album (with 12 cards)

Volume 13/30 - Holiday extra supplement
image not to hand - can you help?

Volume 14/10 - wallet of soccer cards








Volume 15/8 (22/02/64) - Roger Moore tells you how to be a detective

Volume 15/23 - model glider

Volume 15/41 - 4 Olympic medals
these were free with the issue dated 10th October 1964; Boys' World had closed on 3rd October 1964 (and been merged into Eagle) and there clearly wasn't time to re-brand the free gift

Volume 15/42 - The Olympic games supplement





Volume 15/43 - pocket chess and draughts set




Volume 15/44 - Eagle indoor games [chess variants, fox & geese and a colour Dan Dare battle game]




Volume 16/1 - sporting records booklet
image not to hand - can you help?

Volume 16/27 - On Europe supplement
image not to hand - can you help?

Volume 16/41 - Get going with Eagle supplement - 1. getting into sport
image not to hand - can you help?

Volume 16/42 - Get going with Eagle supplement - 2. getting into sport
image not to hand - can you help?

Volume 16/43 - Get going with Eagle supplement - 3. getting into sport
image not to hand - can you help?

Volume 16/44 - Get going with Eagle supplement - 4. getting into sport
image not to hand - can you help?

Volume 16/45 - Get going with Eagle supplement - 5. road safety
image not to hand - can you help?

Volume 16/46 - Get going with Eagle supplement - 6. space
image not to hand - can you help?

Volume 17/3 [15/01/66] - flashing morse transmitter



Volume 17/4 - the world of signals supplement
image not to hand - can you help?

Volume 17/6 - the world of espionage supplement
image not to hand - can you help?

Volume 17/21 - the GPO tower supplement
image not to hand - can you help?

Volume 19/4 (27/01/68) - super cut-out model of Ford Escort car


Volume 19/5 (03/02/68) - super cut-out model of Ford Escort car