Sunday, May 17, 2015

TAMMY NOSTALGIA




Further to the previous post about my very limited exposure to UK comics as a kid, I thought I might also say a few words about the issue of TAMMY that I received together with that WHOOPEE! The scans used in this post are made from a replacement copy that I bought some time ago.

The impression that it made on me wasn’t as deep as that created by the other comic, but I distinctly recall being fascinated by two strips. I remember I was mighty impressed by the artwork on Babe at St. Woods that occupied the first three pages of the comic. I now know the illustrator’s name was Jose Casanovas and IMHO he was an outstanding artist – the quality of his artwork and the level of detail are quite extraordinary. I now know he illustrated numerous features in TAMMY throughout the 70s, also a few in JINTY and JUNE so he was predominantly a girls’ comics artist. Mr. Casanovas also did some sporadic Sci-Fi work in 2000AD and STARLORD and even one horror tale in the short-lived SCREAM!, but that’s another story. Here is the episode of Babe at St. Woods from TAMMY cover-dated 19th March 1977:




The other strip that stuck in my memory was The Dream House – a mystery tale about a family whose members somehow turned into dolls one-by one and were trapped in a huge dolls’ house. All those years later, I wouldn’t mind reading the whole story. Below is the three-pager from the issue that I had as a kid. I wonder who the artist was. Mike White, maybe?




For some reason I also found this adverts page very intriguing:


All Images 2015 © Egmont UK Ltd.  All rights reserved. Used with permission.

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6 comments:

  1. KidMay 17, 2015 at 9:47 AM

    Jose Casanovas illustrated the first strip I ever lettered for 2000 A.D. in 1985. It was a Tharg's Future Shock called 'The End Of The World'. Terrific artist.

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    1. IrmantasMay 17, 2015 at 10:34 AM

      Terrific, indeed. I would love to lay my hands on an index of his sci-fi work in 2000AD, etc. - I think it is well-worth collecting, although to me Jose Casanovas will always remain a girls' comics artist.

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    2. KidMay 17, 2015 at 9:18 PM

      You can see the pages I lettered here: http://kidr77.blogspot.com/2012/07/the-end-of-world.html

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    3. IrmantasMay 17, 2015 at 9:23 PM

      Thanks!

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  2. STEPHEN ARCHERMay 17, 2015 at 4:44 PM

    I bought the final Tammy Annual in the hope they might’ve published unseen material from the post-cancellation days. It’s not so farfetched. The 1986 Scream Holiday Special printed the cover of the unpublished issue 18, along with revealing the face of Ghastly McNasty which readers had been previously encouraged to draw. (The prize was eventually won in Eagle).
    Alas it was chock-a-block with reprints, most or all from 1981. Looking at that year in the now sadly now closed Colindale Newspaper Library I spotted: The Black and White World of Shirley Grey (7th Feb – 30th May), Molly Mills and the Sporting Life (8th – 29th Aug) and three Wee Sue stories (10th and 31st Jan, 7th Mar), and no doubt there were others that I missed. What a wasted opportunity.

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  3. Peter GrayMay 18, 2015 at 11:51 PM

    I like how he draws girls hair...and has you say amazing detail in each panel...

    Very creepy the dolls house!! Wonder if Doctor Who was inspired by it..

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