FOOTBALL THEME IN BRITISH HUMOUR COMICS TO CELEBRATE EURO 2012 (DAY 13)

I find it interesting that many DC Thomson characters were so broke that the majority of  football strips I managed to find in my collection show their efforts to see a match for free… 

From BEANO No. 896 (19th September, 1959)

From BEANO No. 750 (1st December, 1957)

From BEANO No. 765 (16th March, 1957)

A LOOK AT COR!! STRIPS: THE ADVENTURES OF SONNY STORM

The Adventures of Sonny Storm. In the opening episode Sonny comes across an old cupboard in the attic and finds a photograph and a funny-looking rattle. The man in the photo is his Mom’s great-uncle Ebeneezer who spent many years living with the Sioux Indians in America and he must have brought the rattle back with him. Inscribed on the handle are the words: By Medicine-Man and Sacred Feather, Repeat These Words and Ask for Weather. Sonny soon discovers that the mysterious artifact is a magic weather stick which enables him to create his own private weather. Sonny can now control different atmospheric phenomena and cause them at will; occasionally he gets a chance to use the weather stick to catch some evil-doers and crooks. The two-pager ran for 45 weeks from 25th  September, 1971 (No. 69) and was given a proper ending in the issue dated 22nd July, 1972 (No. 112) in which Sioux Indians came to Sonny’s town as part of a travelling circus and reclaimed the artifact. Sonny gladly returned it to the rightful owners. Artist unknown.

From COR!! issue dated 27th May, 1972  (No. 104)

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”.