scans_daily

Today is Remembrance Sunday, traditionally the day to honour those in the military who have fallen in wars throughout the world, and throughout the years.

And I recently came into ownership of a fascinating collection, "The Dandy - 1937 to 2012" a collection from 75 years worth of a single British comic (For those in the UK, it's available from WH Smith and I thoroughly recommend it).

The Dandy is about to cease publication and move to an entirely online platform, which makes me a sad icon_UK, but such is life.

I'll be posting more from it in the weeks ahead, but for now a couple of these seem apt for the day, since as part of that 75 year span was, of course, World War II.

I've added the trigger warning for racism, since the depiction of Germans within may be considered to be tasteless.

( Some wartime stereotypes under the cut )

( And how it was looked back from the 1960's )

icon_uk

with toys.

Warning: some slight racism, creepy concepts, killer toys, cheesy horror movies and another 1960's UK comic series under the cut.

( Dare you enter 'The House of Dolmann'? )

abates

While IDW is currently doing an awesome job publishing Generation 1 based comics, they're not publishing an ongoing Transformers: Prime comic. Transformers: Prime is the current main TF cartoon, a CGI-animated series being shown on The Hub (previously Discovery Kids).

Titan Magazines over in the UK has been publishing a Transformers magazine which comes out once every four weeks since 2007, and while for most of its life it has been based around the Michael Bay movie franchise, last year they switched it over to be Transformers: Prime themed. The magazine includes such features as a letters page where the letters are answered in-character by Megatron and Arcee, an astrology column hosted by Starscream, and an eight-page comic. While intended for a somewhat younger readership than the IDW comic, the stories are fun.

So I thought I'd post parts of the comics from the second (just under 2 pages out of 8) and third (approx 2 pages out of 8) issues.

( Read more... )

icon_uk

American comics in the early days tended to have strapping, handsome heroes (or if not, then they were someone like the Thing, whose physical monstronsity was countered by a heart as big as all outdoors.

In the UK, that wasn't such a given, or heroes not always so clear cut, and certainly not always so handsome. As a case in point, this is the origin of one of the more durable, but now sadly almost unknown, British comic heroes... And often in those aimed at younger kids than their American counterparts.

From the pages of SMASH comics in the late 1960's comes

( The Incredible Adventures of Janus Stark )

icon_uk

Well, I caved in and bought that "Best of 2000AD" book I mentioned a while back and it has some choice samples of very very early 2000AD, first issue early, and many more from later periods, so I thought a little pot-pourri might be fun to share.

Sadly the 1/3 rule, laudable though it is, is a complete swine to factor in for a five page story, since I don't even get two whole pages, but I work with what I have.

( Starting with the furore triggering 'INVASION!' )

( Shako - Lassie he ain't! )

( Ever wonder what the ABC in ABC Warriors stood for? )

( And finally, sports )

skjam

One of the recurring themes in the early years of 2000 AD was the future sports story. These carried over most of the tropes of regular sports comics, but with more violence and death, because that's what sports were going to be like in the future. I thought you might enjoy a storyline from "The Mean Arena."

It is the year 2025, and the up-and-coming sport is "street footbal". So called because instead of a nice open field, it's played by cordoning off a few city blocks along a street and using the buildings and terrain therein. (Though several teams have remade their hometown strips into more exotic obstacle courses.) Weapons are allowed, though the lethal ones are supposed to be used only on nonliving objects such as "droid" decoys.

The protagonist is Matt Tallon, who went off and did well in the American league, while his brother Paul became a star in Britain. Recently, Paul died during a game, which most write off to the unfortunate accidents that plague the sport. But Matt smells a rat in just how fast Paul went from all-star to a personal and professional tailspin. To investigate, he joins Paul's last team, the struggling Slater's Slayers. Sure enough, it turns out Paul was killed by a small group calling themselves the Hexa Gang, apparently just to see if they could.

At this point in the story, Matt's already disposed of Jaws Jensen (the player who inflicted the injuries that actually killed Paul) and Dr. Simon Jessup (the medic who declared Paul fit to play despite previous injuries.) In his last game, Matt learned that one of the Hexa Gang is a woman....

( Are you ready for some football? )

Hope you enjoyed this football game!

Your thoughts and comments?
SKJAM!

Current Mood: sore

skjam

Packed in with each issue of Judge Dredd Megazine (now available at Barnes & Noble!) is a smaller magazine reprinting strips from 2000 AD or the Meg itself. I thought you might get a kick out of last month's entry, "Death Planet."

Love that 50s B-movie poster look.

Four representative pages from different six-page chapters, originally published in 2000 AD #62-70, and bagged with Judge Dredd Megazine #321.

( Everything trying to kill you. )

There's also a backup feature called "Angel" about a test pilot who becomes fused with his onboard computer and gains superpowers. The special guest star is the U.S. president, who takes a liking to the man.

Your thoughts and comments?

SKJAM!

Current Mood: contemplative
Current Music: "Flying Saucer Boogie"--Eddie Cletro

greenmask

Oh, it's your lucky day! Because it's time for more BUNTY!

Unfortunately these are pretty bad scans (so unusual from me) because they are from a 1966 annual; I cannot fit the thing into a scanner. Please try to love them anyway.

I have comprehendable stories for you, I have "unusual" art for you, I have story summaries that give a impression of the premises that were used to make engaging stories for girls in Britain in 1966! GRAB BAG.

( Read more... )

espanolbot

Miyazaki's Concepts of Good vs. Evil, and Matt Rhode's 'My Hero'

Though not strictly actual comics in the sense that they'd be okay in of themselves to be posted here, I thought that these are relevant enough to our community that people might think that they're cool in their own right.
( Warning for one kind of huge image )

skjam

Here's another New Year's post! This strip was taken from "Dandy and Beano--Magic Moments", a book reprinting some favorite holiday comics from Britain's long-running weeklies.

The Beano specializes in "naughty" characters, such rapscallions as Dennis the Menace, Minnie the Minx, the Bash Street Kids, and the famous comedy duo we hear from today....

( Long-time readers will guess right away )
Your thoughts and comments?

Happy New Year,
SKJAM!

Current Mood: silly
Current Location: My bunker
Current Music: "Let the Good Guys Win"

icon_uk

Another tale from Zoidstar, courtesy of the 1986 Zoids Annual

Most Zoids stories are told, not surprisingly, from the point of view of the Zoids, they ARE the major players after all, and have a toy line to promote..

( A story told from a different perspective... )

icon_uk

For

greenmask, some more from the UK Zoids comic... well, not the comic per se. The ongoing nature of the stories and the short length make that a bear to trim. This one is courtesy of the Zoids annual from 1986.... Which makes this it's silver anniversary and I feel TERRIBLY old.

( They don't transform, but DAMN they're cool! )

icon_uk

I recently came across this story in old copies of Transformers Weekly I found in a longbox, and thought I'd share.

There's a G1 cartoon episode, "Autobot Spike", which deals with what happens when the mind of a wounded Spike Witwicky (the Autobots human sidekick) is placed inside a convenient robot body made out of spare Autobot parts whilst his body undergoes a life saving operation. Naturally, he goes stark staring mad, and runs amok, until he is eventually stopped and brought back to be restored to his old self... As disturbing Frankenstein body-horror stories go, it's not a bad 22 minute toy-based cartoon.

This is NOT that story, though it does examine the question... "What CAN a race of 40 foot tall alien battle robots possibly do to help their squishy little human buddy stay safe?"

The cover offers a clue... (The story is written by Transformers legend Simon Furman, and the art is a very early example of Barry Kitson, another find of Marvel UK)

( Well, it was this or they try to find a second hand Gundam going cheap )

icon_uk

Every now and again you find a comic, magazine or book you'd just love to be able to scan the entirety of, because it's just that good/bad/stuffed full of crack.

Such a book is the "Eagle Annual: The Best of the 1950's Comic" I found in a remaindered bookstore. It's magnificent in it's own special way. Like a comic book infused with an episode of Blue Peter...

The masterful artistry of Frank Hampson, the creator of Dan Dare, deserves a number of posts all of it's own, and someday I'd love to do that, but I think we need some lulz at the moment, so I'm unapologetically going for the crack here.

As you read these, bear in mind that these are all from the 1950's; WWII was a VERY recent experience for everyone, a time before sexual equality as anything more than the butt of jokes, racism was perhaps too endemic to actually HAVE a name, and the British class system was in full effect. Every page can be read in the clipped Received Pronunciation you've possibly heard in old radio and TV recordings. That's not to justify or excuse anything contained herein, but just to provide some context.

Much like the BBC, The Eagle aimed to "Entertain, Educate and Inform" it's readers, so whilst you for the likes of Dan Dare, PC 49 and other strips, there were plenty more material intended to keep

So we start with a sample of good clean wholesome fun, featuring Dan Dare and his chums, and perhaps the world's most inappropriately named sidekick

( Shower room frolics! )

And never let it be said that the Eagle's Special Investigators weren't prepared to go that extra mile for their magazine!

( I become a Knife-throwers Assistant )

( Colditz and... camels? )

( Christmas message and Career choices! )

( Mechanics is FUN! )

( Short, to the point and practically incomprehensible )

( Forget Hostess Cupcakes )

( More career options! )

( Seld Defence )

( Cowboys and Curious Creatures )

greenmask

I am doing just that.

Last Bunty-post we talked about how much worse Bunty got towards the end, mostly based on memories and bitterness. Well, we were right. There was a MASSIVE drop-off in quality somewhere after 1979. I know, because eBay told me.

So let's revisit the good times. Let's take a look at what the six-to-twelve year olds got to read about in 1977. On Shakespeare's birth/deathday*!

I'm not scanning this story for you, because the episodes I have aren't very interesting, but get a load of this convoluted premise:

For those who're struggling with the tiny print, it reads: Tessa Trent's inheritance had been stolen by her wicked cousin, Tansy, who looked very like her. tessa was told that she was Tansy, the poor relation, anf her claims to be the rightful heiress were dismissed as a jealous disorder of the mind. Tessa was kept prisoner in a grim nursing home run by Dr Wardour where a servant-girl, Dorrie, who believed Tessa's story, obtained work. Dorrie and Tessa's former nurse, Nurse Ellis, tried without success to find somebody who could identify the real Tessa Trent. Then, one day, Tessa escaped from Winterhall.

..Now I know why I like commas so much.

( Read more... )

greenmask

A little more 90s Bunty for ya, Dailians. This story of a dog (whose internal monologue we were privy to) who belonged to a family of common people(no!!), who.. I think they inherited a manor house somehow. WHAT an uncommon juxtaposition. And then it was re-inherited by someone else, who was posh? Which meant that the dog liked him more, because some dogs are just drawn to fine manners (or the illusion of fine manners). It feels to me like it ran forever, though I can't actually give you the facts. Basically every week the dog (Walter) ran into some sort of faux-moral dilemma which left him torn between the posh (secretly a butt, what a tweest) and the not-posh (good-hearted folk, 'gainst all evidence!).

But again - the art. The aaaart!

( Read more... )

This partial-page is a bonus, because.. I just though it might appeal here. Especially if you don't read the 'backstory box'.

( Read more... )

greenmask

Time for a bit more of this, I think:

And we're in the dark days now, the beginning of the end. Which is also when I was a reader, just about. These were the tales that made me a comics-fan.

Or maybe I should say, this was the art?

( Read more... )

skjam

This short piece is brought to you at the request of

twomasks who asked for "more Judge Dredd." The bad news is that most of the classic Judge Dredd stories are only six pages long, and even this longer piece is only ten pages. So, what can we fit in 3 1/3rds pages? As it happens, everything up to the introduction of the main character of the story. So, from Judge Dredd Megazine #298:

( Someone finally figures out what all those 'ends in a bloodbath' plot descriptions adds up to... )

Your thoughts and comments?
SKJAM!

Current Mood: sore
Current Music: Just finished Coverville

greenmask

What ho scans_daily! Welcome to Day 9 of our 30 Days of Winter series. Today it's GIRL COMICS, so watch your nads lads.

I figure this is about the right time (although it's about eight hours later than I planned, due to an adventure in which I possibly got a job, definitely lost my debit card, and walked between two towns in the dark) to introduce the Four Marys. As our own icon_uk has mentioned in previous Comics For Girls post comments, the Four Marys' strip ran weekly from 1958 to 2001 - the entire run of my beloved Bunty as a pocket money comic.

They're four "third-formers" at St Elmo's who - what-a-coinkydink - share the same first name. St Elmo's is a boarding school for girls, and hijinks NATURALLY ensue.

The Marys (that feels so much like it needs an apostrophe) and their wicked peers "the snobs" Mabel and Veronica had a great many adventures, although not as many adventures as they did published strips. I really, really wanted to show the difference in art styles over the years by scanning the same story from 1961 and 1991 but after having the 1991 issues by my bed for four months.. this week I have somehow managed to lose them. Whyyyy.

( Nevertheless. Let's look at how they grew, huh? Cotty, Simpy, Raddy & Fieldy )

Sometimes before I go to sleep I imagine the Marys on the Venture Bros, and it's glorious.

So, chums.. what's your favorite girly comic? I bet it's ripping.

Stay tuned for tomorrow's theme: HEROES AND VILLAINS. dun dun dunnnn

And our full 30 Days of Winter calendar is here; don't get caught short!

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Bringing the crack since December 2003

Entries tagged with medium: british comics

What sort of comics were British kids reading during WWII?

Another UK hero... or heroes... sort of... it's complicated, but then it always is...

Outside the Big Two - Titan's Transformers Prime comics

Beyond the big two - A most unusual British hero

Some samples from early 2000AD

Slayers vs. Vampires--Street Football Edition!

Old-fashioned Sci-Fi action

Leviathan

(no subject)

Two Fantasy Comics of Interest

Ringing in the New Year

Another Zoids story...

Powerplays - Zoid style!

In honour of the passing of Marvel UK, an old Transformers UK story

The Eagle - A comic.. and so much more

"Do your friends a favour - lend them your "Bunty!""

Girls have problems.. girls read comics.. comics.. about PROBLEMS!!

G-g-g-girls' comics!

(Request) Judge Dredd in..."Meat"

30 Days of Winter: Day 9 - Girl Comics! Master Post

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