A LOOK AT COR!! STRIPS: PERCY GROWER AND HIS FANTASTIC FERTILISER

Phil Millar did one more strip in COR!! publications and the title was Percy Grower and his Fantastic Fertiliser. It appeared in the 1982 COR!! Holiday Special and COR!! Annuals 1983 and 1984, one episode in each. 

Percy was one of those kids with gimmicks, his was a spray container of super fertiliser that made plants grow to enormous size. Percy put the fertiliser to good use helping folks and punishing Christmas-tree pinching bullies: as many as two episodes involved tricks with Christmas trees.

Here is the first episode from the 1982 COR!! Holiday Special. Percy doesn’t have a spray container yet and keeps his fertiliser in a simple bottle:

A LOOK AT COR!! STRIPS: BENNY BENDO

Next in line is Benny Bendo – a humour strip about a lad who had a super-power to bend objects with his hypnotic glance. The illustrator was Phil Millar. Benny Bendo appeared in COR!! annuals and specials from 1978 until 1985.

It’s interesting to note how the editor experimented with the subtitle of the strip trying to find the perfect one: the opening episode was entitled Benny Bendo - His Hypnotic Glance Has an Amazing Effect on Things. The next two episodes in the 1979 Annual had two different versions of the title: one was Benny Bendo – His Hypnotic Glance Has Amazing Effect on Things, and the other one was Benny Bendo - His Uncanny Hypnotic Powers Bend Anything! A year later it was modified slightly to become Benny Bendo - His Uncanny Powers Bend Anything! Starting from the 1980 Holiday Special it became Benny Bendo - His Strange Powers Bend Anything. Apparently, the editor was satisfied with the version because it was kept until the very end (except that one or two episodes had no subtitle at all and were simply entitled Benny Bendo).

Here is an account of all Benny Bendo’s appearances:

1978 Annual (one episode of 4 pages). In fact it was a series of short adventures. Here are the first two pages:

Quite possibly the strip also appeared in the 1978 COR!! Holiday Special but I just don’t have a copy to check yet…

1979 Annual (two episodes, 4 pages each). The first episode was actually another series of short adventures. In the second Benny Bendo visits a Fun Fair. 

1979 Special (one episode of 2 pages). Benny Bendo goes to the seaside. Here is the full episode:

1980 Annual (one episode of 4 pages). Benny’s adventures in winter.

1980 Special (one episode of 4 pages). Benny goes on holiday to the lousy Mudsea Holiday Camp.

1981 Annual (3 episodes). Benny meets smash-and-grab raider Sam-the-Snatch (2 pages); Benny visits the Zoo (1 page) and Benny takes a winter holiday (4 pages).

1981 Special (one episode of 2 pages). Benny’s adventures on his uncle’s farm.

1982 Annual (one episode of 3 pages). Benny plays golf;

1982 Special (two episodes, two pages each). In the first episode Benny takes a day trip to the sea and entertains his mates in poor weather. In the second Benny goes fishing and meets a bloke who is swimming where it’s not allowed.

1983 Annual (2 episodes).  The first one is another winter fun episode in which Benny makes an artificial ski-run in the park (2 pages); in the second episode Benny  helps a family travelling by car (3 pages). Here's the second page of the first episode:

1983 Special (one 1-pager). Benny helps a lady get her dog back without paying a reward to the crook.

1984 Annual (one episode of 2 pages). Benny helps carol singers get a sledge for the children’s home:

1985 Annual (one episode of 2 pages). Benny helps catch a bank thief and then saves a Lord Lummy’s son and heir from the kidnapper.

A LOOK AT COR!! STRIPS: SOLDIER SPOON

Soldier Spoon was a simple strip about private Spoon and his antics in the army camp. Suspiciously like Corporal Clot of the Dandy. 

Soldier Spoon appeared in 1975 and 1976 COR!! Summer Specials (4 one-page episodes in each) and in 1976, 1977 and 1978 COR!! Annuals (3, 4 and 4 episodes respectfully, all of them two-pagers). I don’t know the artist’s name.

First episode in COR!! 1975 Holiday Special

From 1978 COR!! Comic Annual

A LOOK AT COR!! STRIPS: WILFRED THE WORLD'S WORST WIZARD

Wilfred the World’s Worst Wizard was a story that only appeared in COR!! annuals and was illustrated by Alan Rogers. The title says it all – the loony wizard’s spells usually went wrong and put him in trouble, most frequently with his wife. The scene of the Wilfred tales was set in Medieval times.

Here is a quick account of all Wilfred the Wizard tales:

1979 Annual: two 3-page episodes, one immediately after the other. Wilfred tries to get a job as a court wizard with one of the local kings but fails his audition; then he comes across a mean princess in distress whom he saves from the dragon and marries but soon comes to regret it.

Wiflred's first encounter with his future wife

1980 Annual: a 4-page episode (the only one with the short version of the title, Wilfred Wizard) in which Wilfred Wizard tries to help Peterkin find a wife to look after him and tidy his cottage.

1981 Annual: two 4-page episodes. In the first Wilfred Wizard tries to make the King’s sad-faced daughter (probably his wife’s little sister) laugh and win a reward of 100 crowns. For once he succeeds but only thanks to his clumsiness, not the magic. In the second episode (signed by the artist) Wilfred tries being a knight-errant but ends up on his usual night errand when his beefy wife refuses to move off her sofa to make him supper.

1982 Annual: one 4-page episode signed by the artist. Wilfred Wizard sparks a war between the King and his nasty neighbour Baron Wasteland. All turns out well in the end thanks to Wilfred’s spells that actually work but the King and his men still prefer to excuse themselves when the Wizard wants to demonstrate more of his tricks.

1983 Annual: two 4-pagers. In the first one the King makes Wilfred Wizard take the place of his knight whom the nit renders unfit for the jousting tournament. In the second tale (signed by the artist) Wilfred decides to make himself big and strong so that he can run all the errands and appease his mean wife. Here is the whole episode:

1984 Annual: two 4-pagers. In the first Wilfred goes to cut himself some wood to warm his chambers and brings home a dragon who is grateful to the daft wizard for (accidentally) lighting his fire with a Roman candle and saving his life. In the second episode Wilfred uses his magic to get a new cart so that he and his wife can make it to Aunt Griselda’s castle on time for lunch:

1985 Annual: two 4–page episodes, both signed by the artist. In the first story Wilfred joins the King’s court on their way to the picnic at the sea-side. When the tide washes the cart out to sea, Wilfred Wizard transports the King and his party home on an improvised flying carpet, without realising it is tartan cloth that will take them to Scotland. In the second tale Wilfred Wizard tries to please his wife and get her a bearskin coat like the one her sister has. The missus is in for a shock when Wilfred’s spell makes all of her clothes disappear leaving her bare-skin:

1986 Annual: two 4-page episodes, both signed by the artist. In the first tale Wilfred is the only one in the castle who is not ill with cold and succeeds in repelling the attack of the army of the King’s enemy Baron McBadd. In the last tale Wilfred tries his best entertaining auntie Groanface at the King’s banquet. It turns out he picked a cook book to learn his tricks from while the cook used Wilfred’s spell book to make his special soup that turned all the guests into frogs…