Young MacDonald and His Farm was a series that appeared in COR!! Holiday Specials and Annuals in the period 1973 – 1986 (with a few breaks in the early years).
The Editor was undecided as to which word of the title (if any) he wanted inside inverted commas... |
Andy “Young” MacDonald lived on a remote farm in the highlands of Scotland with his Grandfather, Andy “Old” MacDonald. Andy’s job was to help the old man run the farm but his real passion was inventing machines and building life-size mechanical models of various animals which he could control with a complex control box. The boy had a workshop in a vast cave that he kept secret from his Grandpa because the old man saw no good in machines and would not have anything mechanical on his land. He always looked down on Andy’s hobby and inventions. Young MacDonald’s original intent was to use his mechanical creations for different jobs on the farm but they also came handy in repelling and capturing sheep-rustlers, kidnappers and other evil-doers whenever they chose to trespass or do their dirty deeds on or around Old MacDonald’s land.
Andy's moles at work:
In the first episode Andy and his mechanical zoo save the film star Gary Gregson from a cunning kidnapper. Film director rewards Andy with a big fat check and the MacDonalds can now afford a holiday. Art by Ron Turner.
Andy's giant gorilla accidentally interferes and ruins a film shoot:
Andy's mechanical monsters closing up on the kidnapper:
The army of Andy's mechanical monsters on the march to Seaburg:
COR!! Comic Annual 1983, one episode, 8 pages. Andy finds himself alone against a gang of crooks who have hijacked a truck and captured Old MacDonald and constable McTaggart. To make things worse, the villains get the drift of Andy’s ability to control the “funny animals” and take away his remote control. Andy climbs into one of his special models – a life-size giraffe that he can control from inside and stops the crooks from getting away with the loot. Art by Ron Turner.
Surprise mole attack:
Last two pages of the episode:
Andy meets the space aliens:
The episode features some previously unseen exotic additions to Andy’s zoo, such as a mechanical bat with a built-in radar and a giant octopus:
The second episode (a 5-pager) is a Christmas story. It starts with another attempt by Andy to persuade Old MacDonald that his mechanical animals can be useful. Andy introduces his latest invention – a fire-breathing mechanical dragon that accidentally sets the barn alight. Robot jumbo puts the fire out but floods half the farmyard. Outraged, Old MacDonald orders Andy to get rid of all the beasties once and for all. Wandering about with his mechanical zoo, Andy meets Santa who was due to appear at the store in town but careered into a snowdrift. Grateful for saving him, Santa invites both MacDonalds to the party. Andy’s mechanical reindeer are the only transport they can use to get there in the snowy weather. I’m not quite sure, but I get an impression that the art is by the same illustrator who drew the episode in the 1981 COR!! Holiday Special and signed Parko. Here is the last page of the episode:
Here's Andy feeding his rhino: