A LOOK AT COR!! STRIPS: BARNEY'S BRAINBOX

Barney’s Brain Box was a series about an absent-minded boy Barney Biggs who was able to concentrate on only one thing at a time. The problem with Barney was that he frequently fell into a state of dopiness. As a result, Barney’s fantasies and daydreams pushed reality to the back of his mind making him forget all about his errands and commitments. COR!! readers could see what went on inside Barney’s head. Barney’s “brainwaves” were portrayed as little creatures (brain-bods) inside his brain box. The conflicting nature of the brainwaves inevitably resulted in battles and humorous clashes between reality “brain-bods” and fantasy “brain bods” as the former struggled to win Barney’s attention back from the latter. To make things even more complicated, the setting kept alternating between reality and Barney’s brain box as goings-on in the real World altered the course of events in Barney’s head. Luckily for Barney, reality “brain-bods” usually prevailed, and just in time for him to avoid trouble

From COR!! dated June 20th, 1970 (No. 3)

The feature only lasted for 31 weeks from the first issue until the first issue of 1971 in which Barney made a New Year resolution to think of only one thing a time and thus put an end to his problems.

The concept of Barney’s Brain Box was similar to that of a number of older UK strips such as The Nervs, Georgie’s Germs, Numskulls, maybe even Buster’s Daydreams, but it was a scrumptious feature nonetheless. The short-lived series occupied two pages (except in the issues dated 11th July 1970, 15th August 1970 and 3rd October 1970 (Nos. 5, 11 and 18) where it was 1 and ½ pages long). It was illustrated by several artists such as Mike Lacey and Tony Goffe, but the majority of the episodes were by the unconfirmed illustrator who drew Football Madd and some other strips in COR!!, Peter Davidson perhaps?

From COR!! dated 8th August, 1970 (No. 10)

A LOOK AT COR!! STRIPS: FREDDIE FANG THE WEREWOLF CUB

Freddie Fang the Werewolf Cub - he does a bad deed every day. Another nice series in COR!! from the hand of IPC’s prolific artist Reg Parlett. Obeying the orders of his evil Werewolf Scoutmaster, Freddie Fang has to play foul and do a bad deed every day but always fails because his attempts keep resulting in good deeds or backfiring on himself or the Scoutmaster. Later in the run Freddie Fang became a willing accomplice and perpetrator of bad deeds, very eager to earn his bad conduct badge. 

Both Freddie's parents were normal human beings, nothing was said about when and how he became a werewolf and there was no apparent reason why the editors wanted him to be one. The only explanation I can think of is that it was because of the Scoutmaster: it would have been strange for a normal scoutmaster to act as the instigator of Freddie’s evil deeds. He had to be made something sinister so IPC scriptwriters decided to portray both main characters as werewolves.

The series ran for 112 weeks from the first issue until 22nd July, 1972 (No. 112).

From COR!! issue dated 29th August, 1970 (No. 13)

From COR!! issue dated 28th November, 1970  (No. 26)

A LOOK AT COR!! STRIPS: SPOILSPORT

Spoilsport was about an evil-minded fellow who never played the game. Nobody’s gonna have any fun while he’s around: he derives his pleasure from spoiling things, sports and games for other people but always suffers in the end. It was illustrated by Graham Allen who contributed quite a few strips during COR’s!! 4-year run. Spoilsport continued from the first issue until 22nd July, 1972 (No. 112) with a few gaps towards the end of its run. It missed the following dates: 26th February, 1972 – 25th March, 1972 (Nos. 92 – 95), 8th and 15th April, 1972 (Nos. 97 and 98), 20th and 27th May, 1972 (Nos. 103 and 104) and 8th July, 1972 (No. 110).

From COR!! issue dated 25th July, 1970 (No. 8)

From COR!! issue dated 7th November, 1970 (No. 23)

A LOOK AT COR!! STRIPS: ANDY'S ANTS

Andy’s Ants belonged to the elite club of COR!! strips that started in the first issue and lasted throughout the entire 4-year run of the paper. It told weekly adventures of a boy named Andy and the army of ants whom he befriended and could converse with.

The first episode in COR!! No. 1

The feature was created and illustrated by Terry Bave who shared his memories about the strip in part 2 the article A Line in Chuckles in the Summer 1986 edition of Golden FUN. Originally the Baves conceived the idea for Whizzer and Chips but it wasn’t developed properly. It involved a boy character with a collection of weird insect pets and was code-named Ivan’s Insects. The idea had been sparked off by the fact that one of Baves’ young “fans” collected all kinds of creepy crawlies. After some thought they altered the basic idea and came up with Andy’s Ants which involved a lad with an army of pet ants. The Baves wrote the initial script, Terry Bave then roughed-out an introduction page and submitted it to Bob Paynter for consideration. The editor liked the idea very much and gave Terry Bave the go-ahead for the artwork. The feature was approved for the new comic with IPC script writers supplying the weekly scripts. Andy’s Ants proved very popular with COR!! readers. The illustrator reminisced that the feature was a great fun to draw, especially when the script called for a large number of ants to appear. I remember reading somewhere that Bob Paynter was particularly fond of large numbers of ants and often told art assistants to add more of them to the original artwork.

From COR!! issue dated 26th August, 1972 (No. 117)

The strip was a black-and white one-pager but starting from issue 143 quite a few of the episodes were in full colour. Andy’s Ants also made 4 front cover colour appearances on 14th July 1973, 29th September 1973, 2nd February 1974 and 6th April 1974 (issue Nos. 163, 174, 192 and 201).

The strip was revived as a new series Adam and his Ants in WOW! comic in the early 80s.

From COR!! dated 23rd March, 1974 (No. 199)

A LOOK AT COR!! STRIPS: WALLY AND OLLY

Wally and Olly. The series was about the World’s brainiest owl Olly and the World’s dimmest mouse Wally. The cunning Olly plotted all kinds of violent schemes involving explosives, chemical substances, sharp cutlery, mallets, trap holes, catapults, you name it, so as to eat the silly mouse. The schemes always backfired on the wicked owl. A lot like Tom and Jerry stuff, only here the mouse was an ignorant nitwit. It was another short-lived feature that started in the first issue and was dropped by the end of the first year: the last episode appeared on 17th October, 1970 (issue No. 20).

First episode from COR!! issue No. 1

I don’t know who the illustrator was but it looks like it was the work of one of those artists to whom historians of British comics usually refer as ‘European’. This has always puzzled me a bit, because when I was in school my Geography teacher taught us that Britain was also part of Europe…

A LOOK AT COR!! STRIPS: KID CHAMELEON, PART FOUR (FINAL)

Kid Chameleon and the Mystery of the Old Gondola (5 weeks from 1st January, 1972 until 29th January, 1972, issue Nos. 83 – 87)

Walking the streets of Venice, Kid Chameleon sees a sack thrown into the canal out of the window and it turns out there’s a human being inside. Kid rescues a skinny boy by the name of Pietro Spogetti and finds out that the fat man who has just tried to get rid of him was the boy's uncle Mario. Kid Chameleon teaches Mario a lesson by kicking him down the stairs. Kid thinks he has done a good deed, but the boy tells him he has only made things much worse: the uncle is very powerful because he owns many gondolas and makes much money. The boy only has one gondola left to him by his father and he works very hard to make a living. Mario has tried to buy the boy out because he wanted to have all gondolas but Pietro refused, so now Mario beats and bullies him every day. Now that Kid has beaten Mario, he has made things much worse for poor Pietro. At that very moment the two boys are confronted by Mario’s friends who threaten to beat them up. Kid Camouflages himself and defeats the thugs but amidst the commotion, Mario tows Pietro’s gondola away: 

From COR!! issue dated 15th January, 1972 (No. 85)

Kid dives into the canal and goes after Mario in order to force him tell the truth why he wants the old gondola so badly. Mario disappears in the traffic of the Grand Canal but Kid finds him again with the help of his lizard friends. Mario has brought the gondola to the edge of a lagoon on the outskirts of the city and started breaking it up with his axe. Having smashed the prow of Pietro’s gondola, Mario retrieves some precious paper but Kid grabs it from his hand. The paper has drawings of a gondola that can make man a fortune. Pietro can now develop his Dad’s gondola while Mario pays for his crimes in a prison cell. Kid’s quest continues.

Kid Chameleon Enters for the European Cross-Country Race (6 weeks from 5th February, 1972 until 11th March, 1972, issue Nos. 88 – 93)

Kid reaches the Italian city of Pisa. He witnesses some posh English youngsters pester a poor artist. Kid intercedes for the poor old fellow and the bullies begin ridiculing him. The artist tells him they are English schoolboys entered for the European cross-country race and the big one is Clive Smythe, British Schools’ Champion, the favourite in the race. The bullies have more fun at Kid’s expense when they persuade him to hold the leaning tower of Pisa so it doesn’t fall. Kid becomes really furious for being made a fool. At first it looks as if the snobbish Clive is going to have the upper hand thanks to his judo skills, but Kid plays his own game and Clive ends up in a fountain. The bullies chase Kid but they are not fast enough. Frank Carter, the sports’ master in charge of the four British boys, is fascinated because Kid has just outrun his best athletes: 

From COR!! issue dated 12th February, 1972 (No. 89)

Carter offers to enter Kid for the European Cross-country race. Kid agrees because he sees it as a chance to beat Clive, but Clive’s plan is to put Kid out of the race. On the day of the race Clive spills some drawing pins on the track. Kid injures his bare feet and goes through a lot of pain and trouble before he finally wins the race with the help of his lizard friends.

Kid Chameleon Brings the Murderer to Justice (5 weeks from March 18th, 1972 until 15th April, 1972, issue Nos. 94 – 98)

Kid crosses the border from Italy into Switzerland. He slips down the slope and crashes into the bottom of a fat school-teacher who is out on a nature ramble with her pupils. The lady smacks him on the head with a newspaper for hitting her and calling her fat. Kid can’t believe his eyes because the newspaper has a photograph of the man he is after. Kid asks the teacher to read the report and learns that the man on the photo is an Englishman and well-known international thief called Matthew Blain. He is now trapped by the police on the upper slopes of a mountain known as the White Tower. Kid arrives at the foot of the mountain and discovers it is all sealed-off by the police. Using his talents, Kid slips past the cordon and reaches the upper slopes. After a lot of shooting and a mountain slide Kid attacks Blain and renders him powerless. The boy demands to know the truth about his parents’ death and Blain tells the story:

Final episode of Kid Chameleon in COR!! issue dated 15th April, 1972 (No. 98)

And that was the end of the tale about Kid Chameleon (a.k.a. Gavin Webb as we now know).

Kid Chameleon’s adventures weren’t limited to COR!! weeklies. Two short stories also appeared in the annuals – 1972 COR!! annual and an obscure BIRTHDAY BOOK FOR BOYS 1972.

The scene of the 6-pager in COR!! 1972 annual is set in East Africa. Kid Chameleon saves Jill Carter and her Dad’s money from the wicked crooks Trent and the Carnival Strongman Samson who are plotting to escape with the takings of the carnival. The episode was illustrated by a different artist but I can’t identify who. Here's a sample page:

The episode in the BIRTHDAY BOOK FOR BOYS 1972 was 8 pages long. Kid Chameleon is in a small East African town where he foils the plans of Baxter and his accomplice Basher who have disguised themselves as artists to rob the local bank. Illustrated by Ian Kennedy. Here are the last two pages of the short story:

A LOOK AT COR!! STRIPS: KID CHAMELEON, PART THREE

Kid Chameleon beats a Gang of Child Kidnappers (13 weeks from 3rd July, 1971 until 25th September, 1971, issue Nos. 57 – 69)

By now Kid Chameleon has reached the outskirts of a big industrial town in East Africa. He tries to seek shelter from a dust storm and ends up on board a cargo airplane. Kid resists the pilots’ efforts to seize the stowaway. In the course of the fight the boy tumbles on the instruments panel and smashes half of it to pieces. The plane crash-lands in Egypt and Kid loses his pursuers by climbing over a wall of a posh oriental residence. He meets Musti Fatah, owner of the house. Upon hearing that the intruder is wanted by authorities for running off after the plane crash, Musti Fatah realises that Kid’s presence endangers his own plans. To prevent his house from being searched, the wealthy merchant decides to hand Kid over to the authorities and throws him into his dungeon. There Kid finds himself in the company of an Arab boy who is held captive. The boy’s name is Ali Hassan, he is son of a wealthy Bedouin Sheik. Ali tells Kid that Musti Fatah plans to take him across the desert to Cairo and demand a high ransom. Fatah overhears them talking and realises that Kid now knows the truth and has to be disposed of as soon as they reach the desert. The thugs roll the boys up in carpets and load them onto camels. The lizard boy manages to escape and follows the caravan at safe distance in order to try and rescue Ali. He suffers an accident and is picked up by some Bedouin camel riders led by Sheikh Hassan, father of Ali. Kid tells him about the trouble that his son is in and the Bedouins ride towards the oasis of El Kabir to look for the snivelling snake-eyed merchant Fatah, unaware that he and his men had dug a deadly trap for any unwanted pursuers.  A fight breaks out. Fatah escapes carrying Ali away with him:

From COR!! issue dated 11th September, 1971 (No. 67)

The Sheikh is prepared to yield to the black-hearted merchant’s demands for a ransom of two million piasters for Ali’s safe return but Kid Chameleon thinks of a clever plan and finally foils the kidnapper’s evil plot assisted by his reptilian friends. The Sheikh reunites with his son and Bedouins capture the merchant who will now meet the justice that he deserves. Kid continues his long and wearying quest for the man who shot his parents.

Kid Chameleon helps American Oilmen Deal with Arab Terrorist Rebels (7 weeks from 2nd October, 1971 until 13th November, 1971, issue Nos. 70 - 76)

Kid is now in Egypt, walking along an oil pipeline that runs along the river Nile. Suddenly he is seized by some jeep-riding angry American “lily-skins”. The Americans tell him that for months now a bunch of rebels has been sabotaging their rigs and pipelines and they believe that Kid is one of them. Kid realises he is being blamed wrongly. The lizard boy uses his talents and makes a rough escape. As the oilmen drive off, their jeep gets bombed. Kid rushes to the scene and sees two men with guns who are going to finish the Americans off. Kid intervenes and the would-be assassins run for their lives. An ambulance comes from the oil rig. The two oilmen accuse Kid of blowing their jeep and Kid can’t escape this time. They take him to their camp and lock him up in the paint store. A mysterious figure with a stocking mask unlocks his door and starts shooting at him with a catapult. A messy fight breaks out and Kid soon finds out that his attacker is a red-haired girl by the name of Mary-Lou McGraw who has come to get even with him for what he did to her Dad. Kid escapes from the store and takes the girl with him so that she can’t raise alarm until he is far away. Suddenly he sees the same two men who tried to kill the girl’s father breaking into the camp. Kid is going to capture them by climbing onto a derrick and dropping on them with force but it turns out that the derrick is the Arabs’ target and they blow it up:

From COR!! issue dated 30th October, 1971 (No. 74)

Kid’s fall is broken by water in the fractured tank. The girl sees the villainous Arabs as well and she now believes Kid's innocence. But her Dad and the other drillers who are trapped in a bunkhouse must be saved. Kid calls his lizard friends for help; they dig a tunnel under the flames and Kid wiggles into the bunkhouse where the situation is becoming desperate. The men crawl to safety through the tunnel. Mary-Lou tells them about Kid and they realise he had nothing to do with the rebels. Kid is determined to bring the terrorists to justice. He picks up the villains’ trail and soon catches up with them. The Arabs are driving to Alexandria to get some sleep. Camouflaged, Kid uses a signpost to pin the two rebels down.

Kid Chameleon’s First Encounter with the Man Who Murdered his Parents (6 weeks from 20th November, 1971 until 25th December, 1971, issue Nos. 77 – 82)

Kid is now in Alexandria, Egypt. He sees two men fighting and Kid scares the attacker off. The robbed man tells Kid that no one knows the thief’s identity but every time he strikes he leaves a strange sign as his trademark of crime. The sign is exactly like the badge of Kid’s parents’ killer. The scent leads Kid to the port where a big passenger liner is about to depart and he knows that the wicked man is on board. Kid sneaks into the liner. He realises it won’t be so easy to spot the villain in the crowd of passengers. He decides to try the dining saloon and thinks chandelier is the best vantage point. Kid burns himself on hot light bulbs, crashes down and causes a mess: 

From COR!! issue dated 4th December, 1971 (No. 79)

Waiters grab Kid and take him to the captain who never did like stowaways very much. Captain orders to lock Kid up until they dock in Italy. Upon arrival Italian authorities are ready to take him ashore. Suddenly Kid sees the skull and dagger emblem on the bag of one of the disembarking passengers and realises that at long last he is staring into the face of the man who had shot his parents. Kid escapes from his guards and then the dock area. Camouflaged, he runs through the streets of the city where Christmas activities are taking place but the man disappears in the crowd and the quest has to begin all over again.

The next and final post dedicated to Kid Chameleon will cover the last three stories of the saga: Kid Chameleon and the Mystery of the Old Gondola; Kid Chameleon Enters for the European Cross-Country Race and Kid Chameleon Brings the Murderer to Justice, plus two stories from the annuals.