Tuesday, September 22, 2015

BUSTER COVERS BY LEO BAXENDALE



The Spanish artist Angel Nadal was responsible for the vast majority of BUSTER covers in the period from 1962 till 1974. The few exceptions included six episodes of Buster's Diary by Leo Baxendale in 1967 (the issues cover-dated 6th May, 15th July, 5th Aug, 26th Aug, 23rd Sept and 21st Oct).

My speculation is that the Editor wanted to have insurance in case Nadal’s artwork didn’t arrive on time in the post from Barcelona, so he asked Leo Baxendale to draw some and kept them “in reserve”. Here are some of the covers. I prefer Nadal’s version of Buster’s Diary. 





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11 comments:

  1. KidSeptember 22, 2015 at 12:00 PM

    If you say they're by Bax, I'll take your word for it, Irmy, 'though I'd have guessed some were by Mike Brown or Stan McMurty if you hadn't said otherwise. Seems that even Baxendale had his limitations, as his style doesn't quite work on these pages, in my opinion. I much prefer Angel Nadal.

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    1. IrmantasSeptember 22, 2015 at 12:16 PM

      Leo Baxendale illustrated The Pirates and The Cave Kids in Buster at that time using the same style so I am confident it is him.

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  2. Peter GraySeptember 22, 2015 at 1:58 PM

    Grea to see...
    the biggest thing here is Buster has no hair!!!!!!!!!! His hair is never shown...seems he is bald!!

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    1. IrmantasSeptember 22, 2015 at 2:10 PM

      Well, I think I can see e few hair protruding from underneath his cap, just like in Nadal's version. But yes - all kids in the strip appear to be nearly bald - perhaps Bax thought this made them look funnier. All his kid characters in The Pirates and The Cave Kids drawn at the same time are also like this.

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  3. Andy BoalSeptember 22, 2015 at 2:56 PM

    Indeed, unmistakeably Baxendale, especially the fight scenes, and what’s more the scripts are clearly written for him rather than Nadal - in fact, I wonder if he wrote his own!

    It’s a pity you don’t have the July and September examples.

    The next question is whether this is the only time that Buster’s hair or lack thereof was shown in the regular strip. The other times were in the three part poster for his 21st birthday, and of course Jack Oliver’s sign-off page in 19999.

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    1. IrmantasSeptember 22, 2015 at 4:27 PM

      I have all the issues, it’s just that I’ve shown only four of the covers here. I will add the other two tomorrow to make the set complete.
      As for the hair, I honestly don’t see how Baxendale’s version differs from Nadal’s in this regard because both have three hairs sticking out in front from underneath the hat…

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    2. Lew StringerSeptember 22, 2015 at 4:39 PM

      It's the ambush panel from the first cover, Irmantas. Buster's cap flies off to reveal he's got a bald/shaven head.

      Great finds! Quite unusual to see Buster have an aspect of Wham! to it.

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    3. IrmantasSeptember 22, 2015 at 4:43 PM

      Aha, now I get it, thanks! I wonder if I can find any similar situations drawn by Nadal or other Buster artists.

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    4. Peter GraySeptember 22, 2015 at 11:23 PM

      I think when Tom Paterson started drawing Buster he might of done it once then..until he knew the rule..

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  4. Peter GraySeptember 22, 2015 at 7:41 PM

    When you show the next two can you also show the other pages thanks..

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  5. KidSeptember 23, 2015 at 1:42 PM

    I think Bax must have (why do people say 'of'?) churned these out in a hurry. They look rather sparse, and even that fight in the first one lacks Bax's usual frenetic energy. It looks more like a half-hearted imitation of Bax. When Bax's own work looks like a pale imitation of itself, it's a safe bet that he wasn't taking too much time over it.

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