FOOTBALL THEME IN BRITISH HUMOUR COMICS TO CELEBRATE EURO 2012 (DAY 12)

SMASH! No. 3 (19th February, 1966) had as many as four strips with the footy theme! Plus a nice Bad Penny rugby set signed by Leo Baxendale, but this is a football post, so it doesn’t count :)

Percy's Pets was drawn by Cyril Price, Tellybugs by George Parlett, Charlie's Choice by Brian Lewis. Absence of Leo Baxendale’s signature in The Swots and the Blots set suggests it may be by one of his ghosters...

FOOTBALL THEME IN BRITISH HUMOUR COMICS TO CELEBRATE EURO 2012 (DAY 11)

My last two football posts contained back covers of JAG with official team photos. Below is a take on the “genre” by Ken Reid. The Were’Wolves’ United was the last in the long-running series of World-Wide Weirdies monster pin-ups in Whoopee!  It appeared in the issue dated 21st October, 1978. The only other football-themed World-Wide Weirdies poster (The Mid-‘Freak’ Match) was in Whoopee! issue dated 24th April, 1978. 

A LOOK AT COR!! STRIPS: NIPPY NIBBS

Nippy Nibbs was a feature about daily life and antics of an ordinary boy. Illustrated by Eric Roberts, it was in fact a reprint (with a full-colour face-lift) of Niblo Nibbs from Film Fun. It first appeared in the issue dated 28th August, 1971 (issue No. 65). The total number of appearances in COR!! was 22, the last one (½ page only) on 11th March, 1972 (issue No. 93).

First appearance in COR!! dated 28th August, 1971 (No. 65)

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

FOOTBALL THEME IN BRITISH HUMOUR COMICS TO CELEBRATE EURO 2012 (DAY 10)

In the interview for the FANTASY EXPRESS fanzine Joe Colquhoun regretted that “…Football Family Robinson was rather cut off in my prime. Even though it was football, it was football with tongue in cheek, and a lot of rather ribald humour, and offered some good characterisation of the entire family. It appealed to me, the zaniness of it really, and it had a good author, Tom Tully”.

FOOTBALL THEME IN BRITISH HUMOUR COMICS TO CELEBRATE EURO 2012 (DAY 9)

Joe Colquhoun (whose Kid Chameleon tale I covered in a series of 4 posts in the COR!! section of this blog) also drew an excellent football comedy strip Football Family Robinson in the short-lived JAG comic from the late 60s. In his interview for the Fantasy Express fanzine Joe Colquhoun said it was one of his favourites that he would have liked to have done more of. The beautifully painted colour sets graced the spacious front and back pages of the tabloid-sized paper. Here are the first three instalments and three more will follow tomorrow. 

A LOOK AT COR!! STRIPS: CHALKY

Chalky was another long-running IPC strip that originated in COR!! It was about a little boy who drew things with his chalks. The concept was so simple that there is little to comment here. Simple or not, it must have been a big hit among readers: it ran in COR!! from 24th July, 1971 until 15th June, 1974 (issue Nos. 60 – 211) and then continued in Buster for more than two decades! 

The regular Chalky artist in COR!! was Arthur Martin but it is interesting to note that the first two sets were by different illustrators: the first one was by Terry Bave and the second – by Les Barton.

The first episode from COR!! dated 24th July, 1971 (No. 60), illustrated by Terry Bave

The second episode from COR!! dated 31st July, 1971 (No. 61), illustrated by Les Barton

From COR!! dated 14th August, 1971 (No. 63), an early episode by Arthur Martin

FOOTBALL THEME IN BRITISH HUMOUR COMICS TO CELEBRATE EURO 2012 (DAY 8)

Here are two takes on football in the Medieval times. The episode of Match of the Week by Mike Lacey is from Shiver and Shake with the cover date of 13th October 1973 (No. 32) and General Nitt and his Barmy Army by Leo Baxendale is from Wham! No. 63 (28th August, 1965).