A LOOK AT SHIVER & SHAKE STRIPS: HIRE A HORROR

Hire A Horror was a strip that originated in COR!! and appeared there regularly throughout the run of the paper from 1970 until 1974, running up to 200+ episodes. Those of you who followed the COR!! series on this blog last year may very well remember the post that I did on the feature. If you didn’t follow the series, you may wish to check the post out because in addition to factual details and my babble, it also includes some nice examples from the hand of the original artist Reg Parlett and his successor Bob Nixon, and even some images of original artwork by Reg Parlett.  Click HERE for the old post.

When COR!! comic merged into BUSTER on June 22nd, 1974, Hire A Horror didn’t make it to the combined paper. However, a week after the merger the strip reappeared in SHIVER AND SHAKE No. 69 with the cover date of June 29th, 1974. The ‘spooky’ SHIVER section of the paper was a natural home to the strip that was an excellent example of the horror comedy genre. On the occasion of the transfer to SHIVER AND SHAKE, the strip was given a small face-lift with an excellent new logo by Robert Nixon.

Hire A Horror ran in SHIVER AND SHAKE for ten weeks until the penultimate issue. We’ll never know if the brief run in SHIVER AND SHAKE was part of a plan to transfer it to WHOPPEE! (if it was, the plan didn’t materialize in the end, although Hire A Horror did appear in WHOOPE AND SHIVER & SHAKE just one more time as part of the mini book in the issue dated October 26ht, 1974 ), or was it simply the case of artwork being submitted by the artist prior to the decision to put COR!! to rest. In any event, the last episodes of the series are a treat to the eye, as illustrated by the examples shown in this post. All but one were drawn by Bob Nixon and one (in No. 74) was by Tomboy artist (Mike Atwell?). Mr. Nixon proudly signed all of his sets.

For the sake of accuracy it has to be noted that on two occasions Hire a Horror made guest appearances in SHIVER AND SHAKE in the Star Guest from COR!! feature (issue No. 17 (June 30th, 1973) and issue No. 67 (June 15th, 1974)).  Both were nice sets by Bob Nixon; here is one: 

COR!! INTERMISSION – 1978 HOLIDAY SPECIAL UPDATE

Those of you who followed my COR!! series on this blog last year may remember that it didn’t include a review of COR!! 1978 Holiday Special for the simple reason that I didn’t have a copy to review. 

Well, I have recently won a copy on eBay and my collection of COR!! is now as complete as it can ever be (except that I have only one of the four free gifts that were offered with the paper during its lifetime). When writing the series I deliberately reserved a slot for the Special and have now updated it with full details and a review. You can read it HERE. 

A LOOK AT SHIVER & SHAKE STRIPS: THE GHOST'S REVENGE

The main character of the strip was another ghostly headless cavalier with a ball and chain. I’ve lost count of them in the SHIVER AND SHAKE – I think it was the fourth of maybe fifth strip in the paper that he featured in.

This one had a grudge against Bloggs family because their ancestor Sebastian Blogg of Cockfosters was the headsman who chopped the ghost’s nut off umpteen hundred years ago. The ghost turned up at the Bloggs house and vowed to take his ‘most awful revenge’ on them. The family weren’t really scared of him but the silly old spook was a nuisance so they always tried to fool him and slip away from him. The ghost usually caught up with the Bloggs and found ways to annoy them. Sometimes he fell victim to his own plots to the joy of the Bloggs.

The Ghost’s Revenge ran in SHIVER AND SHAKE issues 58 – 79 (April 13th 1974 – October 5th, 1974) and missed Nos. 70 and 74. The strip was part of the 'spooky" SHIVER section of the paper. The majority of the episodes were by Arthur Martin (please, correct me if I am wrong); the episode in issue 72 was by Tomboy artist (Mike Atwell?) while the episodes in issues 75, 77, 78 and 79 were by David Jenner. The strip didn’t survive merger with WHOOPEE! Here is the last episode:

A LOOK AT SHIVER & SHAKE STRIPS: BLUNDER PUSS

Blunder Puss was part of a small-scale revamp of SHIVER AND SHAKE that took place in issues 57 and 58 when three new strips were launched (Riddle-me Ray in No. 57 (Apr. 6, 1974) and Blunder Puss alongside with The Ghost’s Revenge in No. 58 (Apr. 13, 1974)). The arrival of the Ghost’s Revenge and Blunder Puss was trumpeted a week before the premiere with a full-page add in issue 57: 

Blunder Puss was the World’s most accident-prone cat. In the introductory episode we find out that Blunder Puss has already lost eight of his cat’s lives so he only has one left. The clumsy and clueless puss would be as good as doomed if it wasn’t for the help from the eight souls of his expired lives who became his guardian angels:

Blunder Puss kept his guardian angels really busy saving him from the endless nasty CATastrophes. Check out a few random episodes:

Blunder Puss was illustrated by Jim Crocker. The strip was part of SHAKE section and ran until the last issue of SHIVER AND SHAKE missing just one week (you won’t find it in issue No. 73 with the cover date of 24th August, 1974). It survived merger with WHOOPEE and continued to appear on the pages of its new home until the end of February of 1976. (whoever wrote the script didn’t bother with a proper ending of the series – the strip was put to rest quite abruptly without an apparent reason for this and no, Puss didn’t lose his last life in the final episode).  Blunder Puss must have been doing pretty well in the popularity charts of WHOOPEE! and often received full colour privileges. The colour logo at the top of this post is from the Whoopee! era.

A LOOK AT SHIVER & SHAKE STRIPS: RIDDLE-ME RAY

Riddle-me Ray was a super riddler who claimed he could solve any riddle in the World! The problems that he occupied himself with were often rather strange and he solved them in his own unique ways, usually involving word-play.

Riddle-me Ray was another feature where readers could win cash prizes, this time by supplying a riddle to beat Riddle-me-Ray. It’s difficult to tell for sure, but it looks like the response to the challenge wasn’t overwhelming because the first time that the contributor was credited was in the 14th episode (in issue No. 70 cover-dated August 3rd, 1974). During the first weeks the writer came up with some clever riddles and solutions, such as When is a department store like a boat? - When it has sales, or What month of the year does a soldier hate the most? - A long march, or my favourite one - How can a hunter in the woods find his lost hound? - By putting an ear to the tree and listening to the bark. The majority of the ideas sent by readers were admittedly rather weak, such as What has a tongue but can’t talk?  - A shoe, or What language does nobody understand?  - Baby language, although I did like this one:

The feature was launched in issue 57 (April 6th, 1974) and ran until the last issue (No. 79 dated October 5th, 1974), missing one week in the process (there was no Riddle-me Ray in Shiver and Shake No. 75). The strip didn’t make it to the combined WHOOPEE AND SHIVER AND SHAKE. The first episode was one and a half pages long and all the subsequent ones were one-pagers. The illustrator was Mike Lacey who was substituted by someone else on two occasions in issues 73 and 75. Mike Lacey drew his self-portrait in the episode that appeared in issue 63 (May 18th, 1974):