Wednesday, December 4, 2019

SERIALISED FACEACHE STORIES – PART SIXTEEN: MARATHON (GUINNES BOOK OF RECORDS)



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


2 comments:

  1. 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.

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  2. On 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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