In Review: Classics from the Comics 172

There's the usual great mix of strips from a variety of DC Thomson humour comics in the latest issue of Classics from the Comics, on sale in all good newsagents now.

Favourites this time around have to be a 1977 episode of Spoofer McGraw, a teller of tall tales who regularly befuddled his duffel-coated mate in Sparky, sometimes, I recall in response to readers letters. Sparky was always one of my favourite DCT titles (although I was never very keen on Puss and Boots, who also feature this issue) and as Spoofer comes up with an absurd explanation for the arrival of a large cement mixer on his street, it's hard not to see why.

Humour is always in the eye of the beholder but there's plenty of fun to be had this issue, with two simple but effective 'sight gag' strips starring Mickey the Monkey from Topper; Little Plum taking up weightlifting, only to discover it's not all it's cracked up to be; a brilliant 21-frame Desperate Dan page by Dudley D. Watkins (21 frames! How often do you get that on one page today?) from 1956; a really bizarre Pansy Potter as she takes on, and betters, a weird-looking spiv character selling springs (springs? why?!); and a great Figaro! strip from 1962, from Topper, that pretty much rounds the whole jam-packed issue off.

There are also a couple of adventure strips - Space Kids by Ron Smith from Beezer, General Jumbo from Buddy, and older material too, from Adventure and the origial Wizard (although I'm not so sure these text stories are as good as the selected comic strips. They sit a bit uneasily with the rest of the comic, I think).

Once again, it's a fine mix and there's plenty for fans of The Beano and sadly now long-gone DCT comics to enjoy. I do hope though, that we'll see a return of creator credits, which was beginning to creep into the title but seems to have been dropped this time around. Other than that, £2 well spent, in my view!

• Classics from the Comics, published by DC Thomson, is on sale now in all good UK newsagents, price £2 Click here for subscription information

Cover image © 2010 DC Thomson, published with full permission

Classics from the Comics plays Cops and Robbers

Issue 169 DC Thomson's Classics from the Comics is now on sale in all good newsagents -- another gem of a 68-page retro monthly, full of comic classics from the publisher of The Beano and The Dandy.

Humour strips in this 'Cops and Robbers'-themed issue include 'Little Plum', 'The Sparky People' (the bumbling office staff of the much-missed Sparky comic, terrorised by an always unseen editor), 'Dennis the Menace', 'The Jocks and the Geordies', 'PC Big Ears' (followed immediately in the comic by 'Bill the Burglar' - surely that should be the other way around?), 'L Cars', 'Baby Face Finlayson' and more.

There's also a number of adventure strips including more from 'General Jumbo' and 'The Truth About Wilson'

For fans nostalgic for an era when comics appealed not just to the very young, this is another great collection of yesteryear merriment.

• Click here for subscription information

In Review: Classics from the Comics 167

DC Thomson's Classics from the Comics title is a gem of a reprint title, combining a range of cracking humour and adventure strips from comics such as The Beano, The Dandy and other, no longer published titles, into one bumper monthly collection.

Issue 167, on sale now in all good newasgents, includes some cracking strips from 1970s issues of the much-missed Sparky - perhaps one of DC Thomson's most anarchic titles in past times.

While the adventure strips this issue - Morgyn the Mighty and The Truth About Wilson - are pretty dated, it's good to see them alongside humour strips - a mix that was prevalent in the British comics I grew up with but is no longer considered popular.

The issue includes a spotlight on artist Barrie Appleby (interviewed for BBC News back in 2003 here when he turned 65), who has freelanced for DC Thomson for years and whose credits include Dennis the Menace and Roger the Dodger. (His Dennis the Menace work also features in this Dennis the Menace: A Licence to Menace! collection, and you might also like to check out Danny Templar: Invasion Earth, written by Alec Sillifant). Considering DC Thomson rarely used to provide any credits for its creators, it's great to see them getting credit where credit's due in this way.

Humour strips in the issue include Calamity Kate, Biffo the Bear, Corporal Clott, Little Plum, Dennis and Gnasher, Billy Whizz, Baby-face Finlayson, Puss an’ Boots, Roger the Dodger and Hungry Horace.

For just £2, it's a great package of strips from yesteryear. One gem has to be "My Home Town – Woking" - a feature strip that focuses on famous faces associated with one British town, which ran in The Dandy in the 1960s. One of those great reader involvement ideas that could surely be revived!

• Subscribe to Classics from the Comics on the DC Thomson web site

In Memoriam: William Ritchie

Willie Ritchie, sitting at DC Thomson editor Morris Heggie's desk in DCT Meadowside, Dundee with his beloved "Baby Crockett" in October 2009. Photo courtesy Morris Heggie

We're sorry to report the passing of the popular comics artist William Ritchie, who died suddenly at his home in Friockheim, Scotland, on Monday evening.

Born in 1931, he was best known for his work for DC Thomson for over 40 years. He had a long and industrious career, working on titles such as The Beezer, penning such favourites "Baby Crockett", for which he is best known, and "Smiffy" but drew many others strips such as "Barney" for Sparky.

Also a keen photographer and sculptor, he continued to work for DC Thomson even after retirement.

"Bill's enormous catalogue of work will be well known to every British comics fan," noted Beano sub-editor Iain McLaughlin earlier this week, reporting the sad news on the Comics UK forum. "For those of us who worked with Bill, he was one of the folk you always looked forward to seeing. You knew you'd have a good laugh and an interesting chat with Bill.

"His knowledge of comics and artists was extraordinary. And he was just a really nice guy, always gracious and helpful. A genuinely nice man who will be missed greatly by all of us who worked with him."

Scottish newspaper The Courier notes that Glasgow-born “Bill” or “Willie,” also illustrated for various international magazines and exhibited in several European comic book exhibitions and collaborated with Alison Mary Fitt, producing illustrations for the Clan McWee series of books in 2008.

He wasn't always known as a cartoonist: he was one of the country’s top cycle speedway riders as a teenager and competed in the first ever “international” match against England in 1949, and spent his National Service as a corporal in the Military Police, serving in the Korean War.

William is survived by his wife, Anne, and three children, Pete, Ian and Jacqueline. He had four granddaughters and a great-grandson, "all of whom brought him much joy", the Courier notes.

"Bill Ritchie's work was always gently amusing and very individualistic," says fellow comics creator Lew Stringer in his tribute to the artist. "The simplicity of the line disguised the absolute craftsmanship and skilled composition of his pages.

"There's no mistaking his style and it was always of the highest professional standard. Over the decades his work must have entertained millions of children, and that's a proud achievement that I hope will bring some comfort for his family in this time of loss."

• William Ritchie, born 1st August 1931, died 25th January 2010.

Pictures include (click for a larger version) "Baby Crocket" from The Beezer annual 1962, and a superb "Baby Crocket" strip reflecting Bill's superb colouring talents, also from a Beezer Annual; and "The Cat Street Kids" from a 1960 edition of New Hotspur. All images © DC Thomson

Links

• Lew Stringer Tribute
• Peter Gray's Bill Ritchie Gallery
• The Courier news report on Bill's passing

Tim Quinn on Tour

Comics writer Tim Quinn is back on the cartoon workshop and lecture circuit, appearing at The Brindley in Runcorn tonight and elsewhere in the UK (see current dates below).

Tim, whose credits include The Beano, Doctor Who Magazine and The Guardian and was editor of Marvel UK's Spider-Man and X-Men titles, offers would-be creators the chance to learn about comics creation in the workshop and become part of this unique method of visual storytelling.

Celebrating "42,0000 Years of Comic Books" in the evening , Tim Quinn takes you on a highly nostalgic trip down memory lane and takes you behind-the-scenes from his days working for The Beano, Sparky, Bunty, Playhour, Jack & Jill, Buster, The Topper, the Daily Mirror's Jane and Garth, and America's finest, Marvel Comics, to running his own comic book company.

• Tim Quinn - Cartoon Workshop takes place tonight on Tuesday 9 June at 3.30pm - 5pm in the Education Room, The Brindley. Places £5 to book

• The Mighty Quinn presents ARGH! The Ups and Downs of Life as a Comic Book Creator, Tuesday 9 June at 7.00pm in the Studio. Tickets £8, £6 concessions

• Web Link: www2.halton.gov.uk/thebrindley/content/whatson/607947/

Future Dates:
If you are travelling, please check with the venue prior to the concert in case of changes. Check Tim's site (www.mightyquinnmanagement.com/Tim%20cartoon/tim.htm) frequently as new dates are being added all the time.

Friday 12th June 2009
The New Cut Arts Centre, The Cut, New Cut, Halesworth, Suffolk IP19 8BY Tel: 0845 673 2123
Web: www.newcut.org

Saturday 13th June 2009
Morning Workshop, 10.00am New Cut Arts Centre. The Cut, New Cut, Halesworth, Suffolk IP19 8BY

Sunday 14th June 2009
Cartoon Workshops (2.00pm and 4.00pm) The Chelsea Arts Festival, London - venue details TBC Tel: 0845 890 2435 Ticket Price: TBC.
Web: www.chelseafestival.org

Friday 19th June 2009
Afternoon Cartoon Workshop (4.30pm) and Evening Lecture (8.00pm) Ludlow Assembly Rooms, 1 Mill Street, Ludlow, Shropshire SY8 1AZ Tel: 01584 878 141. Tickets: Workshop, £3.50 Show £10/9 concessions
Web: www.ludlowassemblyrooms.co.uk

Saturday 27th June 2009
Afternoon Cartoon Workshop (2.00pm) and Evening Lecture (7.30pm) Hull Literature Festival, Artlink Gallery, 87 Princes Ave, Hull HU5 3QP Tel: 01482 22 66 55. Ticket Price: Workshop £5, Show £5
Web: www.humbermouth.org.uk

Saturday 4th July 2009
The July Project: Afternoon Cartoon Workshop (12 noon) and Evening Lecture (7.30pm) Square Chapel Centre for the Arts 10 Square Road, Halifax,Yorkshire HX1 1QG
Tel: 01422 349 422 Ticket Price: TBC
Web: www.squarechapel.co.uk

Saturday 11 July 2009
Tamworth Assembly Rooms, Corporation Street, Tamworth, Staffs B79 7RD Tel: 01827 709618
Web: www.whatsontamworth.co.uk

Saturday 23rd July 2009
Evening Lecture 7.30pm Tavistock Wharf Theatre, Canal Road, Tavistock, Devon PL19 8AT Tel: 01822 611 166
Web: www.tavistockwharf.com

Friday 21st August 2009
Cartoon Workshops (10.30am and 1.30pm) and Afternoon Lecture (4.00pm) Seven Stories, The Centre for Children's Books, 30 Lime Street, Ouseburn Valley, Newcastle Upon Tyne NE1 2PQ Tel: 0845 271 0777 ext 715 Ticket Price: Workshop, £2, Lecture £3. Plus Admission Fee: £ 5.50 Adults/£4.50 Concessions
Web: www.sevenstories.org.uk

Saturday 19 September 2009
Morning Cartoon Workshops (11.00am - 1.00pm) and Afternoon Lecture (3.00pm) Crawley Library, Crawley Library, Southgate Avenue, West Sussex RH10 6HG Tel: 01293 651 751. Ticket Price: £3.00
Web: www.westsussex.gov.uk/libraries

Tuesday 6 October 2009
Afternoon Cartoon Workshop (2.00pm) and Evening Lecture (7.30pm) Arlington Arts Centre, Mary Hare, Snelsmore Common, Newbury, Berks RG14 3BQ Tel: 01635 244231. Ticket Price: Workshop, TBC, Lecture £6.50 (£5 as part of lecture series package)
Web: www.arlingtonarts.co.uk

Thursday 15 October 2009
Evening Lecture 7.30pm Derby Assembly Rooms, Darwin Suite, Market Place, Derby DE1 3AH
Tel: 01332 255800. Ticket Price: £9.00 adults/ £6.00 for under 16s
Web: http://www.derbylive.co.uk

Saturday 12 December 2009
Morning Cartoon Workshops (10.00am) and Evening Lecture (7.30pm) Limelight Theatre, Queens Park Arts Centre, Queens Park, Aylesbury, Bucks HP21 7RT Tel: 01296 431 272. Ticket Price: 8 adults / 6 concessions / 4 children (under 14). Show + children's workshop ticket offer: 6 (children)
Web: www.qpc.org

(Thanks to Chris Williams for finding this info)

Comic Christmas Covers

Over on his ever-wonderful Blimey! It's Another Blog About Comics!, Lew Stringer has been running a series of features on British Christmas Comic Covers, offerings samples from a wide range of titles, from Film Fun and TV Express to the Beano, Eagle and Buster - including this fab cover from Sparky, back in 1970.

It's a positive joy to see these smashing snow-covered covers of comics yesteryear -- it make you realize just how much we've lost. Still, nostalgia is a powerful antidote!

Lew also offers a number of European and Scandinavian Christmas covers, including one from Nemi.

Here are the links to all Lew's well-received posts so far:

• Christmas Comic Covers - Part 1
• Christmas Comic Covers - Part 2
• Christmas Comic Covers - Part 3
• Christmas Comic Covers - Coincidental
• Christmas Comic Covers - Part 4
• Christmas Comic Covers - Part 5
• Christmas Comic Covers - Part 6
• Christmas Comic Covers - Part 7: International Comics
• Christmas Comic Covers - Part 8
• Christmas Comic Covers - Part 9
• Christmas Comic Covers - Part 10
  

By sheer coincidence, Jon K's ace Random Acts of Geekiness blog started running Christmas comic covers the same day Lew did, except Jon's blog features American comic covers, which he's updating every day. It's a great selection of varied titles from over the decades.

In Memoriam: Les Barton

(via Lew Stringer and Steve Bright): downthetubes is sorry to report the death of cartoonist Les Barton, the artist who originally drew DC Thomson's Sparky comic's brilliant I-Spy character.

Les, who lived in Uxbridge, Middlesex, passed away in a nursing home after a long illness. He was 85.

"I'm sure that other comic enthusiasts more familiar with his long career will be publishing their tributes to Mr.Barton, but to my mind he will always be "The I-Spy artist"," says Lew Stringer on his blog. "Back in 1969, aged 10, I would look forward to every Friday to read the latest installment of comedy-action serial I-Spy in the Sparky. This was a strip in a similar vein to Odhams' Eagle Eye and The Cloak, but it had its own unique charm thanks to the clear penmanship of its artist Les Barton."

Like Lew, I remember Sparky with considerable fondness, and particularly characters such as I-Spy, written in the 1970s by George Glencairn Urwin. You never saw I-Spy's face but what you did see were no end of crazy Heath Robinson-inspired gadgets and other things he used in his eternal war on enemy spies.

He was also responsible for The Wonderful World Inside Ma Kelly's Telly in the same madcap title, which featured the tiny characters who live inside your TV set and act out all the shows, viewers unaware that this is how it is done. That too is a memorable strip, surely owing its heritage to the kind of 'living toys' tales of countless childrens' annuals down the years as well as strips such as The Tellybugs in Smash! and The Numskulls in The Beezer.

The British Cartoon Archive notes that Les was born on 8 December 1923 in Wareham, Dorset. A self-taught artist, he started work at the age of 14 as a telegraph clerk and his first published cartoon appeared in the Militant Miner published by the Revolutionary Communist Party in 1944, one of three titles they distributed (Les would contribute cartoons to many campaigning groups during his lifetime, drawing political cartoons and caricatures for The Statist in 1963 and 1964.

During World War Two he served as a draughtsman in the Royal Signals and War Office Signals and produced his first regular cartoons for WAM (West African Magazine) when he was stationed in Lagos in 1946.

After the war, Les worked as a photographic retouching artist and commercial artist in advertising, and during his diverse career, signing his early work "Lezz", drew cartoons for a huge range of titles during his career such as Revellie, Tit Bits, Sporting Record, Punch, Men Only, the Daily Mirror, The Times and Private Eye.

He was staff artist on The Sun during the Falkands War in 1982.

In addition to his much-loved Sparky work, his comics credits include Billy Bunter in the 1950s. He also drew strips for IPC including Whizzer and Chips (drawing episodes of Harry's Haunted House), Cor! and Oink. He also designed humorous greetings cards for Camden Graphics, Rainbow Cards and Cardtoons.

He continued working into his eighties. In 2004 he provided illustrations for Baxter Vs. The Bookies, written by Roy Granville, which had a follow-up in 2007, both published by Hayes Press.

A water colour and oil painter in his spare time, he was one of the longest standing members of the Cartoonist Club of Great Britain, where he attended the first meeting (on April Fool's Day 1960) and held the position of treasurer for over 20 years.

"During the final days of his illness, Les dictated a letter to his son to be sent to the Cartoonists Club of Great Britain in order to thank them for their 'many cards and cheerful messages during my incarceration (care of Her Majesty's NHS)'. Lew Stringer writes. "It's a warm and heartfelt letter showing how much he appreciated the camaraderie of his fellow cartoonists over the years.

"It tells of the highs and lows as experienced by everyone in the business and ends on a positive note: 'I wouldn't change a damn thing'."

• Les Barton, 8 December 1923 - 20 October 2008
• View a selection of Les' cartoons on the ToonTrek Comic Relief Tour Site

Adventures in Pictures: From Sparky to Starblazer and Beyond

Over on the downthetubes main site, Jeremy Briggs talks to DC Thomson writer and editor Bill McLoughlin, whose career has covered text based story papers, as well as the comic strip humour, adventure and digest titles and who, at a time when more old DCT material is available in book form than for many years, now works for their Syndication Department.

Bill talks candidly about working for DCT, reveals the identity of "Sir" from Sparky - one of those great mysteries of Britain's humour comics - and revels in the idea that someone will one day collect Starblazer in the same way Carlton has made a success of the Scottish publishers Commando books.

• Read the interview on the main downthetubes site