WEEKLY OUTPUT – GRAHAM ALLEN

A look at IPC comics cover-dated March 30th 1974 tells us Graham Allen was also quite busy at the time. His output that week amounted to 4 pages – 2 of Fiends and Neighbours in COR!!, plus 2 of Spy School in Whoopee!

The next post will cover Ken Reid's work in the comics cover-dated March 30th 1974, before we move on to the heavyweights...

Images are © Rebellion Publishing IP Ltd

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A LOOK AT COR!! STRIPS: FIENDS AND NEIGHBOURS

The appearance of Fiends and Neighbours in COR!! issue dated 24th November, 1973 (No. 182) was probably the last good thing that happened to COR!!  Alfred Jones and his wife (whose name I haven’t found mentioned in the strip), a childless mid-aged traditional couple, got new neighbours Mr. and Mrs. Really-Ghastlies and their two kids – daughter Bella and son ‘Orrid (who had tiny horns and slept hanging down from the curtain rail). Later in the series the Joneses discovered that their neighbours also had a giant baby who used to go missing for weeks on end hiding in the bushes. Mister Really-Grastly’s name was Igor and the Mrs. was never addressed by name (as far as I can tell). 

In the opening episode the nosey Mrs. Jones is eager to meet their new neighbours so she pops round and pretends she wants to borrow a cup of flour. The lady is in for a series of shocks at the peculiar looks and ways of the new neighbours as she makes their acquaintance:

First episode in COR!! issue dated 24th November, 1973 (No. 182)

The Really-Ghastlies were a strange lot indeed, without any doubt they were close relatives of the famous Adams Family in America (no direct references were made in the strip though) and they also had family in Transylvania (we know that Bella’s grandmother lived there). The chambers of their crumbling mansion were decorated with coffins, skulls and old family portraits of witches, devils and fiends. The family’s favourite pet was a monster-octopus by the name of Cyril who appeared in many episodes. Little ‘Orrid had a pet vampire bat Grockle. Other pets included meat-eating fish and a jelly-monster by the name of Fido who fed on ant eggs. Besides, the Really-Ghastlies had a baby dragon and a vulture named Vernon, not to mention a whole swarm of other small creepy creatures that inhabited the mansion and the hideous man-eating plants that grew in the garden. Over the weeks the unfortunate Joneses also got to know their neighbours’ visiting relatives such as gnome cousins from the haunted wood and the giant cousin Boris. To make things even more exciting, in the last COR!! episode ‘Orrid made himself a Frankenstein friend by the name of Clunk-Click.

The comedy of the strip was created by “cultural differences” between the neighbours who never ceased to shock and surprise each other. There is probably no need to say which family always fell victim to the ‘shocks’ part of the bizarre neighbourly relationship. The Really Ghastlies, however, were also puzzled at the ways of the Jonses who they thought were a couple of very weird neighbours...

From COR!! issue dated 8th December, 1973 (No. 184)

The feature was beautifully illustrated by Graham Allen who drew all but one of the 30 episodes in COR!! weeklies (the episode in the issue with the cover date of 18th May, 1974 (No. 207) was by another artist). During the short run of the strip the Really Ghastlies appeared on two front covers of COR!! issues dated 1st December, 1973 and 2nd March, 1974 (Nos. 183 and 196). They also led the crowd of COR!! characters on the front cover of the last issue of COR!! marching to join the lineup of BUSTER. 

The feature survived merger with BUSTER and continued there until 22nd November, 1975. Ray Moore’s BUSTER index says that the script writer was Les Lilley, so I believe it is safe to assume that the same writer also contributed scripts for the COR!! episodes. 

I saw some Fiends and Neighbours reprints in the short-lived SCREAM horror comic of the 80s.

From COR!! issue dated 11th May, 1974 (No. 206)

Here are details about appearances of Fiends and Neighbours outside of COR!! weeklies. As this is one my favourite strips and a highlight in COR!!, there is a good chance to find examples of the artwork in my blogposts dedicated to the particular Holiday Specials and Annuals.

1974 Special – 2 episodes by an artist whose name I don’t know

1975 Annual – 1 episode by an artist whose name I don’t know

1976 Annual – 1 episode by an artist whose name I don’t know

1977 Annual – 1 episode signed by Tom Paterson

1978 Annual – 1 new episode by Graham Allen

1979 Annual – 2 episodes by Les Barton (one signed) + 1 reprint

1980 Annual – 2 episodes by Les Barton

1981 Annual – 2 episodes by Les Barton

1981 Special – 1 episode by Les Barton

1982 Annual – 2 new episodes, one by Les Barton and one by an artist whose name I don’t know

1982 Special – 1 episode by Nigel Edwards

1983 Annual – 1 episode Les Barton

1983 Special – 1 new episode by an artist whose name I don’t know

1984 Annual – 1 new episode by Les Barton

1985 Annual – 1 new episode by Les Barton

1986 Annual – 1 new episode by Nigel Edwards

A LOOK AT COR!! STRIPS: MY FAVOURITE ENTRIES IN THE COR-MEDY CHOICE FEATURE

In response to Peter’s request, below are full versions of my personal favourite entries in the first series of COR-medy Choice competition. 

As I have written in my reply to Peter's comment, had I had an opportunity to cast my vote, I would have been in the minority: I’d have been interested to see more of Sheik Oleg. I find the absurdity of this first episode quite amusing and wonder what would have followed. IMHO, Professor Potty, Fun-Time Machine and Snappy Sam were quite robust ideas with development potential. 

Of course, this is all from my current perspective as an adult; kids probably saw things differently. Seeing that Val’s Vanishing Cream and The Pipes of Stan got the majority of the votes, I find it a bit surprising how children wanted to see more of “kids-with-gimmicks” – type strips, despite having so many of them already in the pages of COR!! as well as other companion and rival comics.

A LOOK AT COR! STRIPS: COR-MEDY CHOICE, FIRST SERIES

COR-Medy Choice feature was introduced in the issue dated 21st April, 1973 (No. 151) to give readers an opportunity of selecting a new fun-series from ten brand new comedy ideas presented over a period of ten weeks. Here is how the idea was packaged in the header and the footer of the weekly instalments:

Here are brief synopses and the opening panels of all ten entries:

The Fun-Time Machine, 2 pages, 21st April, 1973, issue No. 151: Boy and girl use a Fun-Time Machine invented by their Grandfather. They travel to Roman times and find themselves in the middle of a Roman arena facing a gladiator. They cause mayhem in the arena and return home safely. Illustrated by by Les Barton:

Scarey Crow, 2 pages, 28th April, 1973, issue No. 152: A crow is sick and tired of people trying to scare his kind with scarecrows, etc., so he decides to give humans a taste of their own medicine. His first attempt fails but he declares he is not done scaring humans yet... Illustrated by Terry Bave:

Seymore Son of Tarzan, 2 pages, 5th May, 1973, issue No. 153: Seymore who is a fat bald kid tries to build a new do-it-yourself tree house together with his assistants – a dumb-looking ape Cyril and an exotic animal that most probably is a wild boar; the effort involves a series of accidents and ends in destruction of the tree house and the tree. Illustrated by Stan McMurtry:

Val's Vanishing Cream, 2 pages, 12th May, 1973 , issue No. 154: Val finds a jar of vanishing cream in the bag of old cosmetics that her Mom asks her to pop in the bin. Val uses it well: she makes the teacher’s cane vanish and class is over without a single caning. Illustrated by Mike Lacey:

Snappy Sam and Flash Harry, 2 pages, 19th May, 1973, issue No. 155:  Snappy Sammy and Flash Harry are cameramen working for two competing papers – Morning Piffle and Daily Bilge. Sammy is a bespectacled kid and Harry is an evil grown-up who plays tricks on his rival and interferes with his job; in this episode they both have an assignment to take some pictures of a famous football player. Illustrated by Graham Allen:

Sheik Oleg, 2 pages, 26th May, 1973, issue No. 156: Sheik Oleg is a fat and short bloke who walks around with a pet – a strange rodent. He buys an old camel from Cyril Swindle (used camels salesman who looks a lot like Grimly Feendish) so that he can ride home in style; the camel immediately goes missing  and Sheik Oleg goes looking for it in a rubbish dump. He then takes the ponging camel to a camel wash but gets scrubbed himself instead. Illustrated by Stan McMurtry:

My Old Man's A Junkman, 2 pages, 2nd June, 1973, issue No. 157: Dusty Binn, Rag and Bone merchant, and his son Rusty live at the end of the posh Ritzy Avenue and run a scrap business to the great dissatisfaction of their wealthy neighbours. I don't know who the illustrator was. Any suggestions, please?

Professor Potty and Son, 2 pages, 9th June, 1973, issue No. 158: Professor Potty is a crazy scientist (who looks a lot like an older and bald version of Valiant’s Billy Bunter) tries to prove that well-accepted theories are wrong. In this episode he challenges two theories: the one that elephants don’t forget, and the one that sound vibrations can shatter things. Illustrated by Les Barton:

Doctor Quackpot, 1 page, 16th June, 1973, issue No. 159: A tale about a daft doctor who receives weird patients. In this episode the patient is a guy with a cowboy hat only he is not a cowboy. He uses the hat to cover his hair because he suffers from multiple dandruff. The whole room gets filled up with dandruff in a few moments and Dr. Quackpot calls his mate Vet for assistance. The Vet who appears to be just as daft brings penguins along so that they can enjoy themselves in the “snow”… Illustrated by Tony Goffe:

The Pipes of Stan, 1 page, 23rd June, 1973, issue No. 160: Stan has a pipe which turns people to stone while the second blow brings them back to their selves and so forth any number of times. This again looks like the work of Tony Goffe to me:

Voting coupon was included in COR!! issue dated 30th June, 1973 (No. 161), alongside with a recap of all 10 competition entries:

Results of the vote and the winner were announced in COR!! issue dated 18th August, 1973 (No. 168): 

A LOOK AT COR!! STRIPS: 5 MINUTE WANDA

5 Minute Wanda was a strip about a loopy lass who could do things for only 5 minutes because she got bored very quickly. It was illustrated by Graham Allen and had a very short run of just 15 weeks from 6th January, 1973 until 14th April, 1973 (Nos. 136 – 150).

First episode

From COR!! issue dated 24th February, 1973 (No. 143)