Below
are the remaining two Buster covers by Leo Baxendale from 1967, followed by
examples of The Cave Kids and The Pirates by Bax from the same period. It
appears that the artist also did the lettering throughout the runs of both
strips.
By
way of a teaser for the next post, I can say that I decided to check if I can find
more examples of cap-less Buster. Come back soon to see some results of my quest.
In the meantime, here’s an image of Buster-less cap from 1985:
Great stuff! Curiously, the lodger's face has obviously been redrawn by someone else for some reason. He looks like Hitler, but I wonder how Leo had intended him to look?
ReplyDeleteCurious, indeed. Perhaps Leo wanted the lodger to look like Andy Capp? Hitler was a weird twist, wasn't it?
DeleteIrmy, I couldn't say whether the lodger originally looked like Andy Capp or not, but I'd say it's pretty certain that it's meant to be Buster's dad. ('though Andy had long been ignored by the comic by 1967). After all, slippering a kid isn't usually something that a mere lodger would do. Was that the only appearance of the lodger, do you know?
DeleteI also was under an impression that slippering was the prerogative of Dads and teachers, not some lodgers, even if they were Hitler-look-alikes :)
DeleteI haven’t looked for the lodger specifically so I’m not sure if he made other appearances in the strip.
Just thought... I wonder if Leo had drawn Andy Capp in those panels? The 'lodger' is wearing Andy's scarf, and of course Buster was originally billed as the Son of Andy Capp. It also makes more sense that it'd be Buster's dad giving him the slipper, not some lodger administering punishment.
ReplyDeleteAndy Capp was exactly my impression...
DeleteYes, going by the times of our postings we both had the same thought at the same time.
DeleteNice finds, Irmantas!
lodger is written slightly different it must of been his Dad before...Andy Capp..panel 9
ReplyDeleteWill be fun to see if Tom Paterson slipped up and showed Buster full head of hair...seem to remember he did when he started drawing Buster..
I have only looked through the years 1965 - 1970 and taken a quick view at Tom Paterson's first year, so if Tom did draw cap-less Buster, it remains to be found :)
DeleteOn 22/10/83, we were told that Buster appeared without his cap on 4/4/81, 6/3/82 and 20/11/82, to give but three instances. On 4/6/83, Jack Oliver gave another image of Buster without his cap, which was amusing but alas gave us virtually no real answers! Hope these help.
ReplyDeleteI will definitely check the issues you have mentioned, many thanks!
Delete