ANOTHER of the "less famous" titles from DC Thomson is this one, called Cracker (87 issues from 1975 to 1976). It featured an immensly unlikeable spud called Sammy. He appeared on the cover and throughout the comic, making comments on the various strips within:
I'll be looking at Cracker in more detail another day (it's got some good stuff by Ken Harrison, Barrie Appleby, Gordon Bell and John Geering, after all). For now, and in the whole October "context", here's my favourite thing about Cracker - it's the Ghastly Geezers Gallery!
The usual drill - give some kids a bit of paper and a pen, and tell them to draw some monsters. Send them in and win a pound or a "weirdy consolation prize", whatever THAT is. Here's all the ones I have to hand:
Some talented kids out there! The one-legged Sherlock Holmes thing is my favourite. Wonder if any of them grew up and continued with the doodlings? All in all, it's a fun idea, tried and tested. See also the Flinklegloop stuff from the Dandy, fifteen years later.
The Sherlock Holmes that you like is in fact a rip-off: the kid copied it shamelessly from a pull-out book from an 1974 edition of Whoopee! and Shiver and Shake comic where the character appeared as Mini-Monster SHERLOCK FOOT and was drawn by Ken Reid…
ReplyDeleteThe Eerie Geezer is also a rip-off. The kid copied one of Faceache’s scrunges from Buster and Cor!! dated 23rd November, 1974. Judging by the examples you have shown, I suspect Ken Reid’s work was a major source of kids’ contributions in the Cracker competition.
ReplyDeleteOn Tony Hart's gallery program on youtube a kid had drawn the mad toaster which was Ken's Wanted poster copied...so you are right..
ReplyDeleteOoh, those cheeky scamps! Well, I still like Red-Nose Bert and Woody Wonder.
ReplyDeleteSo... This is Faceache's debut in a DC Thomson publication! I don't have that issue of Buster, is there anywhere online I could see it?