Judging
by the length of the run, Ivor Lott and Tony Broke was easily
the most successful strip that originated in COR!! Not only did it survive
COR’s!! merger with BUSTER but also continued there for many years to come and
spawned a bunch of imitators in other IPC comics.
|
Early episodes from COR!! issues dated 2nd June, 1970
and 21st November, 1970 ( Nos. 2 and 25) |
The
series exploited the simple theme of class warfare between the haves and the have-nots, the former represented by Ivor Lott and the latter by
Tony Broke. An offspring of wealthy parents, Ivor Lott was a spoilt brat who
lived in luxury, treated his butler and servants like a slave driver and looked
down upon other kids, Tony Broke in particular. Tony was a poor kid, often
referred to as Riff Raff by Ivor. Mean rotter that he was, Ivor Lott usually
came off worst in the end. His megalomanic ways often resulted in destruction
of his Father’s property – mansion (Lott Hall), car, helicopter, plane,
motorboat, etc. The punishment at the hands of Pater Lott was merciless and
Ivor often got whacked in every imaginable way. A good deal of whacking also
came from Ivor’s teacher. Together with Whacky and Patsy (of The Teacher’s Pet), he was one of the characters
who suffered the most in COR!! – and deserved every single moment of it.
Speaking of Pater Lott, he often sympathised with Tony who sometimes
malevolently lent a hand in Ivor’s punishment.
|
From COR!! issue dated 24 April, 1971 (No. 47) |
The
original illustrator was Reg Parlett. The feature (as well as Reg Parlett’s other
work for COR!! and other comics in
the end of the 60s onward) was a product of his
adapting to the modern style of the 70s. In his interview for the Winter 1979
edition of GOLDEN FUN Reg Parlett said he had no trouble adapting, it had
happened fairly naturally over a period of time. The big change for him was that he no longer
did his own lettering which he wasn’t particularly keen on. He also said he had
probably been doing more actual artwork in the 1970s then he had ever before:
in the old days he did everything himself – script, art, lettering, everything.
In the 70s he was given scripts by IPC and had more time to devote purely to
drawing then.
|
From COR!! dated 14th August, 1971 (No. 63).
At the time of writing page one of the episode is available
on eBay at the Buy-it-Now price of £39.99 |
Ivor Lott and Tony Broke
started off as a one-pager in the premiere issue of COR!! In response to a very positive reader
feedback, a few months into the run of COR!! the Editor began dropping hints
about his intentions to promote the feature to two full pages. Starting from 20th
March, 1971 (No. 42) he made good on his promises and the strip was given 1 ½
pages, then two full pages starting from 25th December, 1971 (No. 82). A further promotion took effect from the issue
dated 22nd April, 1972 (No. 99) when the strip was moved to the centre pages
and became a three-colour affair. Robert Nixon began drawing the odd weekly
episode at about then. Starting from 30th
December, 1972 (No. 135) Reg Parlett handed over his illustrator’s duties permanently
to Bob Nixon who remained in charge of the strip until COR!! folded (and for
some time after merger with Buster).
Terry Bave and Mike Lacey also contributed the odd episode in COR!!
|
From COR!! dated 1st April, 1972 (No. 96), still illustrated by Reg Parlett |
Ivor Lott and Tony Broke
made three front page appearances in full colour in COR!! issues dated 5th
May 1973, 2nd June 1973 and 11th August 1973 (Nos. 153, 157 and 167). In
his book The Comic Art of Reg Parlett
Alan Clark writes that the characters were so popular that at the time of
writing the book in the 80s there had been talk of a Christmas Annual devoted
exclusively to Ivor and Tony. Apparently, this didn’t go beyond talk but the
two favourite characters were cover stars in every single COR!! Annual from 1977
until 1986 and COR!! Holiday/Summer Special from 1976 until 1983.
|
An episode by Robert Nixon from
COR!! issue dated 14th July, 1973 (No. 163) |
|
From COR!! issue dated 20th October, 1973 (No. 177) |
I just love Reg's work also very fond of Robert Nixon...so two top artists on this strip..
ReplyDeleteI think I might have bought the ebay Ivor and Tony original if it had part 2 as well...love the fast batting in the second page..
ReplyDeleteI much prefer buying originals complete..
Sid B..Crocker..also later drew the strip..
Same here - I'd also buy the artwork if only it were a complete episode.
ReplyDeleteIvor Lott and Tony Broke was always one of the first strips I went to back in my Buster reading days, and were always the highlight of the Cor!! annuals - always great fun!
ReplyDeleteI understand why Ivor and Tony ousted Gus from the Cor!! annuals and specials covers from 1976 onwards. They were going strong in Buster while most others Cor!! strips had had it. Just wish there’d been a few Gasworks Gang covers featuring the Gang trampling Teach underfoot as they stormed off to begin their summer hols. Sigh
ReplyDeleteGasworks Gang covers would have been great!
Delete