1984 SHIVER & SHAKE ANNUAL

1984 SHIVER & SHAKE Annual. The price was still £ 1.95 but the volume got even slimmer and only had 96 pages. Like in the 1983 Annual, two different kinds of paper were used - quality white paper for sections with colour pages and pulp paper for the middle section of the book. 

Contents: Wacky Winter Sports (in full colour by Terry Bave), Webster (2 sets by Terry Bave), Sweeny Toddler (2 sets by Tom Paterson, one in full colour), Blunderpuss (2 sets by Terry Bave, one in full colour), Castle Cackle (3 instalments), The Duke’s Spook (2 sets, one in full colour), Horrornation Street (2 sets by Jim Crocker, one in full colour), Shake (4 sets, two in full colour by Mike Lacey, all are reprints), ‘Orrible Hole (2 sets, one in full colour by Crocker), Lolly Pop (2 new sets: a 4-pager and a 3-pager by Sid Burgon), The Desert Fox (by Terry Bave), Shake’s Jumbo Jests (gags by Crocker), The Forest Legion (a 4-pager), Tough Nutt and Softy Centre (2 sets by Norman Mansbridge, one definitely a reprint), Frankie and the Beanstalk (a 5-page tale by Brian Walker), Sports School (2 sets by Jim Watson), The Hand (by Les Barton), Grimly Feendish (2 sets signed by Swotts), Ghoul Getters Ltd. (2 sets by Trevor Metcalfe from SHIVER AND SHAKE Nos. 73 and 77, one coloured-in), Shiver and Shake’s Diamond Dungeon Game (by J. Edward Oliver), Moana Lisa (2 sets by Peter Davidson, one in full colour), Shiver’s Posts For Ghosts (text story with illustrations by Crocker), Ghouldilocks (2 reprints, art by Stan McMurtry), The Hand Presents Me and My Shadow, Toby’s Timepiece (a 5-pager by Ron Turner), Shake’s Picture Posers (spot-the-difference puzzle, reuses an old ShSh cover), The Ghost’s Revenge (4 pages by I don’t know who), Shiver’s Ghostly Giggles (gags by Crocker), Frankie Stein (4 pages by Brian Walker), Shiver (by Terry Bave).

Upon opening the book we find a busy colourful winter sports scene with lots of SHIVER AND SHAKE characters, all drawn by Terry Bave:

With 10 pages of artwork, Terry Bave was the biggest contributor, followed closely by Brian Walker and Jim Crocker (9 pages each). The latter substituted the regular artist Tom Williams on both Horrornation Street episodes in this Annual:

The Forest Legion got a new artist but I don’t know the name. It is the first ever episode without Boss and Butch who are probably spending their days in jail since their last adventure in the previous Annual… This time Winnie the Witch treats the legionnaires to some magic buns and turns them into her slaves so that they do all the chores for her. Mole is the smart one who doesn’t eat his bun; he uses a spell from the Witch’s spell-book against her and makes the nasty old woman lift her spell from his mates.

There are two Frankie Stein stories in the Annual, both illustrated by Brian Walker. In Frankie and the Beanstalk Prof. Cube tries out his new plant food and grows a giant beanstalk. He causes grand-scale disaster when he chops it down as Frankie climbs to the top hoping to find the goose that lays golden eggs. The beanstalk is so tall that Frankie hits the ground in France and the beanstalk disrupts maritime transport across the English Channel. Frankie crosses the Channel back to England and returns home where an accidental spill of the plant food turns him into a giant…

In the second story Dad has to buy a new set of furniture because Frankie’s broken every piece in Mildew Manor but Frankie smashes it again when he tumbles head over heels down a pile of dirt and into the house after Dad jabs him with a spade.

Frankie sitting on a pile of dirt 
moments before Prof. Cube digs himself 
out of it underneath him.

Both Grimly Feendish tales were illustrated by a new artist who signed them as Swotts. In the first episode Grimly plans to “clean up” the town by drowning it in soap-suds from the local laundry. In the second tale Grimly robs a toy shop but gets into trouble when he tries to pay for some sweets with Monopoly money. Here are sample panels from both sets with the artist’s signature:

There are a couple of new features in the Annual. One is Castle Cackle, drawn and signed by Mitch. Here is one of the three installments from the book:

It is the first time that a text story is included in a SHIVER AND SHAKE publication. In a 2-page tale called Shiver’s Posts for Ghosts the protagonist (Shiver the spook) tells us about his efforts to earn himself some cash by standing in for other ghosts while they go on holiday. Check out the first page of the feature below. Jim Crocker provided illustrations.

I would also like to mention Shiver and Shake’s Diamond Dungeon game drawn and signed by J.Edward Oliver:

As usual, I’ve saved my personal highlight for the end of the blogpost. I am not a fan of Toby’s Timepiece but this time I find the story quite good. Ron Turner’s artwork makes it even better. Here it is in full: