FIRST GULLIVER GUINEA-PIG STORY BY GORDON HUTCHINGS

It's been a while since I last showed something of Playhour’s Gulliver Guinea-Pig. 

I recently received an email from a reader who is the proud owner of the original artwork for the first Gulliver story by Gordon Hutchings after he took over from Philip Mendoza who was in charge of the strip since it began in May 1958. 

Hutching’s first story, called Gulliver Guinea-Pig and the Rainbow Folk, ran in the 4 consecutive issues of Playhour in January and February 1961, and was so nicely drawn that I decided to show it in full. Here are the first 4 pages, the rest will follow soon. Click to enlarge and enjoy!

Click on the POWER PACK banner in the right-hand column and get your copy of the POWER PACK OF KEN REID - the deluxe two-volume set of Ken’s strips in WHAM!, SMASH! and POW! comics of the ‘60s.

SWEENY TODDLER AS GUEST STAR IN WHIZZER AND CHIPS IN 1973 and 1974

Stephen Archer who is a regular reader of this blog sent me a list of characters from other IPC comic that appeared in the ‘Guest Star’ feature in WHIZZER AND CHIPS in 1972 - 1974. 

As it turns out, Sweeny Toddler, then still a SHIVER & SHAKE star, popped in as many as four times - once in 1973 and three times in 1974! 

I have three of those issues, and I am happy to share the pages here. I’d be curious to see the episode which appeared in WHIZZER AND CHIPS cover-dated the 1st of June, 1974 – the only issue of the four that I don’t have.

For some reason I doubt if the episodes will be included in the forthcoming Sweeny Toddler album by Rebellion... 

I believe the first two were drawn by Tom Paterson, imitating Leo Baxendale’s and Stan McMurtry’s styles, while the one at the bottom is by the ever-excellent Frank McDiarmid. 

Apologies for the image quality – my comics are in bound volumes and are impossible to scan so I photographed them with my phone…

Enjoy!