Faceache took a recuperation break of one
week after Mr. Thrashbottom used his spring-loaded, lead-filled, double handed
automatic thrasher on the poor lad in the last episode of the previous story
arc, and came back even crazier than before in BUSTER cover-dated 24 Nov., 1979
where the next three-part story began.
Before you scroll down to read the
synopsis, I’d like to remind you that I am celebrating Ken's 100th birthday by
offering free prints of his original artwork with every purchase of THE POWER PACK books! Press here and claim your copies now!
Faceache
overhears the headmaster and Mr. Snipe discuss Belmonte’s financial problems
that could only be solved by attracting more paying pupils through advertising
that they can’t afford. Faceache silently gets an idea he might arrange for some free
publicity by scrunging himself into the Guinnes Book of Records as a boy who
could scrunge 5,000 times non-stop. He sneaks into the lantern lecture room
that has an automatic self-operating camera and starts taking pictures...
As Mr. Snipe and Albert Thrashbottom carry on with their brainstorming, Mr.
Snipe suggests that perhaps parents don’t send their boys there because they’ve
heard of Faceache’s scrunging antics. Mr. Threashbottom agrees and promises to
thrash every scrunging muscle out of the freakish boy if he catches the unnatural
brat scrunging again…
Faceache’s
well-intentioned 5,000 scrunge marathon continues...
In the meantime, Mr. Thrashbottom gets an
idea that smartening the school up might be a good way to attract new pupils.
He plans to shine a powerful spotlight on the school’s noble name so it’ll
stand out for miles around, but at that point Faceache gets completely carried
away and crashes through the school roof in a huge monster scrunge…
Mr.
Thrashbottom is in hysterics…
A
newspaper photographer who happens to be nearby takes a picture of the
head of a diabolical monster sticking through the school's roof...
...and the story takes an unexpected turn…
Characters are
© Rebellion Publishing Ltd
The ending here featured a very familiar trope: the reversal of fortune. It happened all the time with, for instance, W&C’s Wear ‘Em Out Wilf; he’d wear something out and reveal long-lost family loot, thus providing funds to replace whatever he’d ruined. Thankfully, Ken’s earlier images of Thrashbottom’s hysterics and subsequent raging stopped this from being intolerably stale. Someone should do a study of all these tropes; I’ve been disparaging of this particular one but they can’t have been unpopular, the amount of times they were used.
ReplyDeleteOn reflection, 'trope' was a bit harsh; 'plot device' would've been fairer. Still, I think these should be studied; I particularly liked the device which went something like, "Oh no, it's Auntie [whoever]! She's always complaining!" Auntie ended up being sent away hurriedly, saying, "I won't stay in this house another moment!" Brilliant. I am, as before, at your disposal if you want this sort of thing or anything else looked up at BL. BTW you misspelt Guinness - very tasty!
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