COR!! COMIC ANNUAL 1983

COR!! Comic Annual 1983, £1.95, 128 pages

Contents: Football Madd (by a new artist), Ivor Lott and Tony Broke (two 4-pagers signed by Crocker + 3 reprints), The Gasworks Gang (4 reprints from old COR!! weeklies), Artful Artie (2 episodes), Wilfred the World’s Worst Wizard (2 episodes, one signed by Alan Rogers), Tease Break (5 instalments), Jack Pott (2 episodes, one signed by Crocker), Whacky (4 reprints), Helpful Hettie (By Tom Williams), Willy Worry (3 reprints),  Jasper the Grasper (a new 4-pager by Trevor Metcalfe), Teacher’s Pet (3 episodes), Cheery Chuckles jokes (4 episodes), Gus Gorilla (2 episodes), Young MacDonald and his Farm (by Ron Turner), Benny Bendo (2 episodes), Hire A Horror (4 reprints from old COR!! weeklies), Puzzles page, Moose, Chalky (2 episodes), Donovan’s Dad (signed by Terry Bave), Nightmare (by Les Barton), Percy Grower and his Fantastic Fertiliser, The Slimms (signed by Terry Bave), Biffer (possibly by Mike Brown), Spotter (By Tom Williams), Briny Brain teasers, Jelly Baby (2 episodes), Gus’s Gags (2 episodes), Swopper Stan (new episode by Mike Lacey), Fiends and Neighbours (by Les Barton), Val’s Vanishing Cream.

In this annual Football Madd was illustrated by an artist whom I don’t remember seeing anywhere else. I have to admit I am not very well familiar with new British artists from the 80s:

There were four one-offs.

Artful Artie was a version of Smartie Artie – a strip that appeared in COR!! 1982 and 1984 annuals. Both Arties were illustrated by the same artist. It was basically the same strip with a variation of the name. Smartie Artie appeared in two books and technically is not a one-off so it will be covered separately (although frankly there’s little to cover – I don’t think much of the stories or the artwork). Here is a sample page of Artful Artie:

Percy Grower and his Fantastic Fertiliser was an one-off by the artist who illustrated Benny Bendo – a regular in COR!! Specials and Annuals. Does anyone know the artist’s name please?

The third one-off was Moose:

And last but not least, there was a set of Biffer, possibly illustrated by Mike Brown:

As can be seen from the summary of the contents, Crocker contributed and signed quite a large number of sets in this Annual. I can’t decide if he also drew the episode of Val’s Vanishing Cream, here is the opening page:

Les Barton was back with more creepy humour of Fiends and Neighbours, this time Mr Jones witnesses Mr. Really-Ghastly involved in some serious BDSM action with his weird guests. Here’s a taste: