Whoopee!! its Easter!!

Jack Clayton


Terry Bave


Nick Baker


Mike Lacey


Jim Petrie



Robert Nixon


Terry Bave


Frank Mc Diarmid


Joe McCaffrey


Sid Burgon


Robert Nixon

Inspired by Lews blog on his Easter comic cover theme I'd thought I would just focus on one issue. Whoopee and Cheeky 1981.
This is how comics celebrated Easter and its great...whether its egg rolling, winning huge Easter eggs, Easter parades, Easter Fairs, Easter egg hunt,Going to the seaside and visiting Aunties recieving Easter presents. Also Easter bonnets are featured in the Cheeky story and of course the Baker boy is carrying hot cross buns!!
As you can see Easter can cover many topics..

Changed wording to my own thoughts-
The Beano and Dandy today should celebrate Easter more in there comics....
To give The Beano a little credit at least the Dennis story was on the topic of April Fools day..

http://lewstringer.blogspot.com/2010/04/easter-comics-of-past.html


In the issue was a toothpaste advert!!!...after all that chocolate me thinks...:)

The Sparky People title panels with the office cat!

The later years of Sparky comic sure did take the title panels seriously and were often different each week.


The Sparky People used the office cat in the titles or on the top of the page...normally reporting on this weeks story. Also the lettering was different each time.

Late 50's and 1960's Beano fun logo mastheads

A nice logo by Dudley D. Watkins. Has some echos to the new Lord Snooty the Third logo by Nigel P.



I like this one a lot by Leo..:)






Leo Baxendale has of course done some very good logos..mastheads..



Jim Petrie did some great logos different every week as well..sometimes the logo blended into the background of the picture.



A lovely fat horse..


Davy Law did some nice logos changing every week...this is when the logo showed a bit of the story.









Ron Spencer has done some super Little Plum logos.









David Sutherland has done some wonderful Bash Street logos and still drawing a different one today. The king of logos!!




Always liked the spinning top logo...










The Three Bears had some very memorable logos..maybe its because it made you hungry...drawn with relish by Bob McGrath.

What is fun about logo mastheads is it gives the artist a chance to be surreal...wacky..fun..
Maybe Todays Beano can bring back some mastheads fun...Ball Boy...Minnie the Minx..for example look a bit samey and could do with a change.
Lord Snooty the Third is good...Johnny Bean and of course Fred's Bed..
The Bash Street kids has the best logos in The Beano.

From Jim Petrie

Hi Peter , Just an Update as Radio 4 is broadcasting prog-Comic reunion 20th at 11,15 am. Its a chatty history past &present . My comment "Minnie kept me in porridge all those years!" may be in. Should have added WATERY porr.!!Comments re D Dan are hilarious.Of course Dave Torrie ex Dandy ED is a seasoned story teller and a mine of info re Office & characters. Best wishes Jim


On a side note I was to be on the show interviewed as well as a comic fan.
But it got cancelled 3 times due to someone else cancelling in London. I was just too far away for the interviewer to come to my own home being from Surrey Guildford the interviewer from the Midlands.......so bit annoyed and disappointed.. :( ..... :D anyway should be a good program to listen too.
Peter Gray



More emails from Jim...
Brings back memories.Craig Ferguson & myself were chuckling over Fatty F last month-Craig wrote the scripts for the FF feature as well as Minnie -all 1st class works Catch up with u later Best wishes Jim

The website I did on Jim Petrie comic work...Minnie the minx...The Sparky People...etc..
http://uk.geocities.com/pjgjimpertie/

I though those stories were very clever...so now we know who the writers was...loved Minnie for the topical references...tv...in the news...craze..etc
and good movie spoofs... Peter Gray




Another email from Jim Petrie

Hello Peter, I had forgotten some of the characters U showed on the JP site.!! Just getting acquainted again. Thank U ,Peter.I dont have a Comp but I use the Council ones now & again. 2 Russian women told me that I had been spotted on Google-they are Scientists at the Uni.so here I am.

I saw Gordon Cook on the Sparky site-must add a comment there.T-lady was to be 2pages but no page rate increase so I kept to 1page-wasnt sure of how much mileage in T-lady too! The Creative Scriptwriters arent recognised for their 1st class work. R.D. Low ,Managing Ed. spoke of the Creative teams in DCT and how 1/3 of the pages could carry the Comic, He wasnt keen on artists meeting others. John Geering wanted to meet everyone when he started here-official line was Dont mix writers and artists.It didnt work !!
Best wishes Jim

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He seems to be saying that an artist with one style couldn't do more pages in the comic....though as said before David Sutherland did because he had different styles.
Peter Gray

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These comments are also found at comicsuk forum.
http://www.comicsuk.co.uk/Forum/viewtopic.php?f=127&t=1673

Kashgar
I've mentioned this 'page restriction' rule before in relation to adventure strips in the Thomson tabloid comics where, for example, if a new strip was appearing drawn by, say, Ken Hunter and the editor wanted to reprint an old strip that happened to be drawn by the same artist, he would be forced to have the old strip redrawn by another artist in order to conform to the rule.




Hello Peter, Pas son any comments I send U, I just use the facilities at the Uni. Methinks RD Low would be speaking about the popular characters making the Comic 1st class and if they had 1/3 of the pages the 2/3 would be supporting. Wasnt about artists. the readers polls would give a lead and they could change as we know!! I preferred a simple script to draw from and I drew Minnie up to her usual japes .All the writers were on the ball . they turned out marvellous ideas. "We start with blank pages every week" RD s comment.Must leave youa as this is Life Drawing evening- group of fellow artists with Dundee Art Society for practice & improvements. Yours JIM

Anyone got any questions for Jim let me know!
Nice he is still drawing...Peter Gray

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Craig has emailled me see his message at the website..

Thanks Craig..made my day

He is also willing to answer any questions....as a writer for Minnie...please let me know and I can email him.

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Jim's retirement on the BBC news
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/1106186.stm