1979 COR!! Holiday
Special, 40 p., 64 pages.
The contents were: Gus Gorilla (2 new episodes and one reprint
in full colour, all by Alf Saproto), Hire
a Horror (5 reprints, one in full colour), Ivor Lott and Tony Broke (4 reprints, one in full colour, and 1
original episode), Puddin’ Tops (2 episodes,), Tricky Dicky, Whacky (4
reprints, one in full colour), Seaside
Crossword, Benny Bendo, Patch-Eye Hooker (2 episodes), Nightmare (by Les Barton), The
Gasworks Gang (3 reprints from old COR!! weeklies, one in full colour), Beezz Neezz (2 episodes), Tease Break (2 instalments,
one in full colour); Football Madd (1
reprint and 1 new episode by Les Barton), Tomboy,
Andy’s Ants (signed by Terry Bave), Blackpool in Space (signed by
Alan Hodge), Jelly Baby, Donovan’s Dad (signed by Terry Bave), Chalky, Teacher’s Pet, Willy Worry (signed
by Terry Bave),
There were three one-offs in the this Holiday Special:
Puddin’ Tops stories were
reprints of a strip illustrated by Terry Bave that appeared in the early issues
of Whizzer and Chips.
Beezz Neezz was a tale about a bee that suffered from a bad case of hay fever and couldn’t go near pollen.
Blackpool in Space (illustrated and signed by Alan Hodge) was a ‘SF’ tale about a holiday
resort of the future and a conflict of two rock manufacturers over secrets of making bars of rock. Here are all 4 pages of the story:
That Blackpool in Space is a fun story, especially the first few panels. Must've been fun to draw that traffic jam.
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile, would you agree if I said that Ivor Lott & Tony Broke are the funniest duo to ever appear in British comics? Can't get enough of them, myself!
I do agree that the duo are funny, the early ones by Reg Parlett are my favourites. The quality of artwork is always my priority, good stories do nothing for me if they are poorly rendered, that’s why I am not so keen on Ivor Lott & Tony Broke when other artists took over (although I like some early sets by Bob Nixon). Frankie Stein (Ken Reid’s version) and Scream Inn from Shiver and Shake and then Whoopee! occupy the top positions in my list of best UK comic strips.
ReplyDeleteNice to see Blackpool in Space again after all these years. I'm the "Alan Hodge" and it was the first strip that I actually wrote, at the behest of Bob Paynter, as well as drawing. I went on to create, write and draw Captain Kid, the Pint Size Pirate for Whizzer & Chips which was initially cancelled then brought back (by popular demand?) with a 2 page relaunch. Frankly I couldn't really draw strips that were written by other people. I simply couldn't visualise the characters. I did some stuff for Thompsons but it was written by Dundee staffers and I was never really pleased with the finished work.
ReplyDeleteHi, Alan, it's nice to hear from someone who was actually part of it!
ReplyDelete