Low cost school trip, Ramraid Oxfam, "Christ that sun's hot", Yes that's right sir

I'll admit - it's been too bloody hot to be sitting in scanning comics and then writing about them. And somehow I've got a more active social life than I did this time last year, so that's why there's been nothing here for the past five weeks. I am (slowly) working on a "thing" about Zit, one of the more successful (as in, long-running) Viz clones, but I couldn't let this week pass un-noted, oh no. It's been 368 days since I started this blog thing, and in that time it's gotten thirty-four more "followers" than I was expecting, and around 28,000 more "views" than I was expecting, so thanks a lot to everyone, even if you've just stumbled across here whilst looking for something else.

If we all went to the same pubs, I'd happily get a round in, happily!

Meanwhile, just to tide things over (a weird bit of news last week led a handful of people into believing I had died), here's the Beano from the week I was born, in its entirity. Once the rain makes a return, I'll get back to "archiving" all those smutty comics.

A Sparky Xmas

Ah, Sparky - a comic that ended before I was born, and that I've only recently been able to "get into" properly through the wonders of eBay. There was always reprints before then, of course - through Classics From The Comics and the various annual hardbacks put out by DC Thomson under the Dandy Beano banner (or The Beano & The Dandy in more recent years).

One such annual, published in 1993 and given the title of Magic Moments is possibly my favourite of the lot. Here it is:

Got this on Christmas Day, 1993 (get it yourself for a penny - another last minute gift idea!). A big colourful book collecting memorable (or just plain good) bits from the Beano, Dandy, Beezer, Topper and Sparky, including a whole bunch of festive-themed bits for each comic. I've been reading this book every December now for a good few years - it's like a nostalgic look back at a book full of nostalgia (ha!). Anyway, this book is, as far as I can remember, where I first encountered anything to do with Sparky. And here are several of the Xmassy-Sparky strips that are featured in this book:

Gordon Bell's Spoofer McGraw there (every single one of these is a classic) - that fireside chat in the opening panel remains one of the cosiest scenes I've ever seen in a comic.

Dreamy Daniel (also from Gordon Bell), like the Beano's Les Pretend only with less costumes and more dangerous departations from reality (his Easter-based adventure in the same book's also a goody, but it's not Easter right now so we're not allowed to talk about it).

Malcolm Judge's Baron Von Reichs-Pudding - an aerial battle between the Kaiser's dopiest baron and Father Christmas himself. Great punchline on this one! 

John Geering's Puss an' Boots - not only does it look the business, the dialogue's just as hilarious as the drawings (particularly Puss's plea of "DON'T HIT ME!").

L-Cars, a couple of inept (yet ingenious) police officers from Bill Hill - nice little twist at the end of this one.

The thing with Sparky (L-Cars and Puss an' Boots in particular) is that the characters are a lot less one-dimensional than their contemporaries - Puss an' Boots go through extremes of rage, cowardice and sarcasm, whilst Cedric and Frederic of the L-Cars go through childlike idealism, utter despair and, occasionally, moments of true heroism. Sort of like comparing Bugs Bunny to Mickey Mouse, in a way. Providing we survive the end of the world and make it through to 2013, I endeavour to get more Sparky into my life!