Comics UK

abacus wrote:

paw broon wrote:Abacus, that's a nice find and looks very much like a Swan book. Those 2 pages would fit perfectly in a Swan annual. Any idea of the publication date?

As stated this is a part book with a number of pages missing, it does contain the first page with the ROBERT EDWARDS publisher info.I did type this printer and publisher in an internet search before posting because I was interested in working out an approximate date for myself but came up with no result.
I mentioned that the book was the same format as a Swan publication with a very thin cardboard cover , the only other assistance in trying to give a date is the 2/6 price tag which to me would probably point to the late 40s early 50s.

I have this book. Yes, your estimate of late '40s / early '50s seems accurate. A time when loads of independent British publishers surfaced. It does use some of the same artists as the Swan books (such as Harry Banger) but the publisher, Robert Edwards, is unknown to me. The book isn't even mentioned in Alan Clark's excellent book, The Children's Annual (pub.1988).

However, there's a plug at the end of a strip on page 11 to "Always insist upon a Paget Comic". Paget were the publishers of Bob Monkhouse's Oh Boy! comic and other titles. So perhaps there's a connection between Paget and Robert Edwards.

There was nevertheless a publication called Comic Fun. According to Denis Gifford's The British Comic Catalogue 1874-1974 it would appear to have been published just once in 1948. It had eight pages, cost 3d, measured 8.5''x11'', was blue and red throughout, and was published by Martin & Reid. The editor was Bob Monkhouse. Its content is listed as Ferdy Fixit by Bob Monkhouse, Grandpa's Comic Album by Wally Robertson, Krazy Kids by H. Pease, and Hi King The Viking also by Wally Robertson. It was a companion volume to Funnyland Tales, whose basic details are the same as for Comic Fun, again with just one issue. Its contents were Stan The Stone Age Man by H. Pease, Alec In Funny Land by an unknown artist, Pinty McGinty by Wally Robertson, Al E. Gator by Denis Gifford, and Ivory Valley by John McCail. Neither title is mentioned in Gifford's The International Book Of Comics, nor in The World Encyclopedia Of Comics edited by Maurice Horn, although Martin & Reid are mentioned in the entry for Mick Anglo, as are Bob Monkhouse and Denis Gifford. In the entry for Bob Monkhouse it states that he became freelance editor for Martin & Reid comics in 1948. There is no separate entry for Denis Gifford although in the Proper Name Index there are eight entries for him.

Thanks for the additional info., Phoenix and Lew. I noticed the entry for Comic Fun in the Comic Book Price guide, with fewer details than you 2 have given us. However, on searching further, I found an entry for Funnyland. Again with fewer details than Phoenix reports, and also Funny Features by Martin & Reid #1 1944? with H.E. Pease art. The Guide also list Funny Cuts by Paget, 1948, 2 x 8 page issues with work by Mack Earl. There is also a long list of Paget publications, all around 1948/9, most featuring work by Banger and/or Wally Robertson and Anglo. I hope others can shed more light on whether the 2 companies were connected.

This morning I had a bowl of cereal , two rounds of toast and a packet of crisps thus quoting the kind of words Theresa May might use "BREAKFAST means BREAKFAST".
As a collector I am mainly interested in buying older comics and annuals and only occasionally pick up newer items.One of the newer ones (I here include anything from the '90s to the present day) I am reading at the moment and which many of you have probably already read is the Titan book THE LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN VOL1.Love the amazing artwork in this book which is equal to anything produced in the past .An highly entertaining book.

I think a lot of time the older generations of comic readers look back at the comics of their youth through very much rose tinted spectacles. Some of the modern comics issued nowadays are astonishingly well produced.

That said, its very difficult to compare era's and artists as the whole comic reading dynamic has changed beyond all recognition to what I would consider a must buy. nowadays you buy a title based on the gift given away with it.

For my money we've only had one distinct period of exceptional comic production in the UK - which began with the various DCT titles in the late fifties through to the mid sixties and then ultimately the release of TV21... Still the high water mark of any weekly available UK comic.

It's just as a collector that I add these few thoughts and therefore without a bundle of reference books by my side.
These are my own observations from childhood and not meant for critical scrutiny.
In the '50s I had most of the UK comics at the time nearly all of which were humour comics.
These included the very popular ones such as Beano,Dandy, Film Fun , Radio Fun, Knockout.
When the Eagle comic began it was the first comic to make me aware and amazed by the artwork .I had never seen such realistic almost photo like art before which included Bible stories , Riders of the range , fraser of Africa and Churchill plus of course the centre spread pages.
To be honest ,though astonished by the artwork These comic strips weren't compelling reading for me and I probably left them to read when I had nothing better to do,
Finally without searching through previous posts (I Will check it myself when I get around to it ) it seems odd to me that radio fun went from a colour front page to a red/white/black front page, Usually the reverse happens.

abacus wrote: Finally without searching through previous posts (I Will check it myself when I get around to it ) it seems odd to me that radio fun went from a colour front page to a red/white/black front page, Usually the reverse happens.

Wartime cutbacks. Although its companion comic Knockout wasn't affected in the same way, from what I've seen.

Knockout did switch to just black and red for a time as well, but it didn't last long.

philcom55 wrote:Knockout did switch to just black and red for a time as well, but it didn't last long.

Thanks for showing that, Phil. I have a few from the 1940s but I've never seen any Knockouts with the economical colour scheme before.

-
“And what is the use of a book," thought Alice, "without pictures or conversation?” 
― Lewis Carroll, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland


I agreed when I was young , reading was time consuming and pictures and conversations helped to entertain and move things along.
There was lots of non -reading material for me in the early comics and the arrows point in the picture below to the sort of reading matter below the comic strip pictures which I never bothered to read.

Also many a TV documentary or non-fiction books are padded out ,when the essential knowledge needed to enlighten could be told in a few minutes or pages.
( No comics were harmed creating this picture )

Of late I enjoy reading comics.
As a youngster reading your favourite UK adventure comics you could continue reading each 3/4page serial story by buying the next weeks issue.
As a collector unless you have full comic sets you are limited to a sort of movie trailer of each story.Yes, you can appreciate the artwork but it is not the best type of reading experience.
My enjoyment of comic reading now comes from buying my weekly fix of complete comic stories from a charity shop that has four large boxes of US comics that are replenished regularly.
(1) Firstly I am interested in comics that are grounded in normal characters l.e not superheroes.
(2) I then sort the complete story comics from the serialised comics.
recent buys include--
INDIANA JONES further adventures of
THE GREEN HORNET
THE MICRONAUTS 48 page special
SUGAR AND SPIKE cute kids adventure
DNAgent bought 2 of these one I liked.
Then there's HORROR, MYSTERY, GHOST, SPACE, short stories.
I am also OK with sword and scorcery comics like CONAN.
Recent bloodthirsty comics are not my cup of tea , l don't think they help in creating a positive , calm, happy mindset.
I think if I watched too much Eastenders or Jeremy Kyle It would cause me to become miserable or depressed

abacus wrote: I think if I watched too much Eastenders or Jeremy Kyle It would cause me to become miserable or depressed

I think ANYONE that watches too much (I could argue, any) Eastenders or Kyle would become miserable and depressed!

Adam Eterno wrote:

abacus wrote: I think if I watched too much Eastenders or Jeremy Kyle It would cause me to become miserable or depressed

I think ANYONE that watches too much (I could argue, any) Eastenders or Kyle would become miserable and depressed!

The premise being that what you read ,watch or even your surroundings can have a positive or negative influence on your well being.(that's just my opinion by the way, others may not agree).

abacus wrote: The premise being that what you read ,watch or even your surroundings can have a positive or negative influence on your well being.(that's just my opinion by the way, others may not agree).

Very much my opinion as well. I have hundreds of examples in my life to support the opinion but I am known for being almost too positive at most times so mine is not an unbiased view.

Just finished reading an '80s DC comic adventure that you can steadly follow and also find believable in the traditional type storytelling.Also in this particular one there is more reading material and I like the ways the comic panels have been designed.Not the crash, bang, wallop aproach to story lines that you find a lot of these days.Here are a couple of not too sharp photo examples that I hope give something of the flavour.

picture 2




When a story is well told any of the incredible events that happen you can accept as in the examples of H.G.Wells and Jules Verne.
This is a shrinking man story by the way ,whom when 6 inches tall dons the usual super hero gear and meets people his own size.
I have managed to find a few enjoyable adventure comics of late, many of which are from the '80s and of course complete stories only.

looking at some of the great stuff produced in the '70s' 80s it seems suprising the drop in comic sales.The main superheroes are well known and they probably put other comics in the shade.I don't think I read many comics in that period and now it's a case of delving back in time.I can tell just flicking through a comic whether I will be interested in buying it or not simply by whether it is grounded in every day life or the artwork.