SHIVER AND SHAKE Annual 1975 had 160 pages and cost 80 p. The
book came out when the weekly was still up and running: the first ad of the
book can be found in the issue cover-dated 31st August, 1974 (No. 74).
For me it
is one of the most interesting IPC annuals ever with lots of quality new
material and multiple artists offering their takes on popular characters.
Here is the summary of the contents: Creepy Creations Calendar
- 1975 (4 pages), Ghouldilocks (3 episodes by Stan
McMurtry, one in full colour), Webster (2 episodes by Terry Bave,
one in full colour), Dr. Heckle
(4 instalments, one in full colour), Scatty Bat (3 episodes), Sweeny
Toddler (2 episodes, by Tom Paterson or Martin Baxendale), The
Hand (5 episodes, all by different artists), The Shiver Givers (2
episodes, probably by Tom Williams), Grimly Feendish (4 episodes), Frankie
Stein (3 episodes), Biddy’s Beastly Bloomers (two
episodes by different artists), Horrornation Street (2 episodes by Tom
Williams), Scream Inn, The Duke’s Spook
(3 episodes, all by different artists), Shake (2 episodes in full colour by
different artists), The Forest Legion (6-page episode in full colour), Nutter
(3 episodes, two in full colour), Tough Nutt and Softy Centre (3
episodes, one in full colour), Damsel in Distress (3 episodes, one
in full colour), Match of the Year – Winter Sportsmen versus Snowmen (4 pages), Wiz
War (3 episodes, including one special episode Wizard Prang and Demon Druid
‘Wiz’ Wizardry Galore), Moana Lisa (2 episodes by Peter
Davidson), Lolly Pop (two episodes by different artists), The
Fixer, Eagle Eye (8-pager), The Desert Fox (3 episodes by Terry
Bave), Mirth Shakers (2 instalments), The
Phantom Piper (8-pager), Sports School, Mickey
Muggins, Money Maze puzzle, Ed (2 episodes,
one in full colour), Soggy the Sea Monster (2 episodes by
Robert Nixon, one in full colour).
The
features marked in red were one-offs that hadn’t
appeared in SHIVER and SHAKE
publications before. Dr. Heckle and Mickey Muggins are hardly
worth mentioning – I find nothing interesting about them. Quite the opposite
applies to the other two. Let’s leave The Phantom Piper for the end of the
post. As for Creepy Creations 1975 Calendar, it was
another excellent piece from the hand of Ken Reid. 4 pages of the brightly
coloured calendar were on the inside covers and the pages opposite them, three
months per page. Check out some examples of the Creations from the calendar:
There was
more of Ken Reid’s art in the Annual. The three Frankie Steins included in the
book were reprints from WHAM! Nos. 39, 67 and
80, all with a few panels dropped because panels of the original one-page episodes
were re-arranged to fill two pages. Here are some sterling images from two
different episodes:
Frankie Stein episodes weren’t the
only reprints in the Annual – so were the installments of Scatty Bat (reprinted from
Whizzer and Chips), Wiz
Wars (from POW! and SMASH!) and Grimly Feendish (from SMASH!).
As can be
seen from the summary of contents above, all episodes of Ghoudilocks, Webster, Desert Fox,
Horrornation Street, Moana Lisa, Soggy the Sea Monster and a few other strips
were illustrated by their regular artists.
And now
comes the interesting part because different episodes of a few popular strips were
illustrated by different first-rate IPC artists. I don’t remember seeing
another IPC funnies annual with so many examples of this interesting practice.
Mike Lacey
and Terry Bave illustrated one episode of Shake each. Then there were two
episodes of Lolly Pop: a 4-pager by Robert Nixon and a 3-pager by Sid
Burgon. Both artists worked on the feature in the weeklies. Here are four
sample panels, two from each set. In the first pair Pop is mean and miserly,
and in the second he is devastated and furious because his fortunes have been ruined
by Archie, as always:
Next comes Biddy’s
Beastly Bloomers, with one set drawn by Sid Burgon:
… and the
second by another artist who I think was Tom Paterson:
The further
we go, the more exciting it gets. There were three episodes of The
Duke’s Spook included in the book; one was by Arthur Martin who I
believe was the strip’s regular artist in the weeklies:
… the other
one by Les Barton who was often invited to step in for other artists in different
IPC Annuals and Holiday Specials:
… and the
third by Frank McDiarmid who did numerous one-off ghostings in IPC publications
in the mid-70s, particularly in the Annuals and the Star Guest feature in the
weeklies. I believe he is also responsible for one episode of Damsel
in Distress in this Annual. Here is the complete set of The
Duke’s Spook by Mr. McDiarmid:
The trend
is championed by The Hand with as many as five sets, all by different artists, four
of whom I think I can identify as Arthur Martin:
… Les
Barton:
… Frank
McDiarmid:
… and Tom Paterson:
... plus one
whose name I don’t know:
So much for
different artists’ takes on the same character. But the goodness doesn’t end
here. Here is the opening panel of The Match of the Year by Mike
Lacey (snowmen came on top in the end):
The Forest
Legion made their second appearance (after 1974 Annual), only this
time in full colour. Here are the first two pages of the 6-page tale in which the
team of vigilant forest animals bust the crooks Boss and Butch once again:
An episode
of Scream
Inn by Brian Walker would have improved this excellent book even
further. Unfortunately, you can’t have it all and the 3-pager was illustrated
by the same ghost artist who was responsible for the instalment in the 1974
Holiday Special; here is a taste of the story in which a Snowman tried to spend
a night in the haunted bedroom to win a million pounds:
Adventure ingredient
of the package was an 8-page episode of Eagle Eye by Ron Turner, who, to my
regret, wasn’t responsible for weekly instalments. Here is the opening page of
the story in which ‘Eagle Eye’ Tommy Trotter and two safari park guides nab a
gang of professional crooks who attempt to steal an exotic onyx from the park:
Eagle Eye wasn’t Ron
Turner’s only contribution to SHIVER AND SHAKE 1975 Annual. The second was this
extraordinary one-off Phantom Piper story. Extraordinary
because Ron Turner specialised in sci-fi and adventure stories and this is the only example that I am aware of when
he tried his hand at the comedy genre. The set below proves what a universal
artist Mr. Turner was. I find his humour style very appealing. There is something about the pages below that
reminds of Harvey Kurtzman’s work, don’t you think? Here is the tale
in its entirety:
The Phantom Piper is a real find - superb! Thanks for posting it.
ReplyDeleteLovely. i actually have this and dug it out of the attic for my 6 yo to enjoy (passing on the curse? Blessing?). I didnt check for the Ken Reid stuff tho and so I need to have a closer look and single them out for bedtime reading - thx for this.
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