Sunday 2 December 2012

Minor Dandy Obscurities

Just one more quick Dandy thing before it's all over (not to say there won't be Dandy-based stuff here in the future - it's just I like to work with loose themes). Here are several things that appeared in the comic during the late 1980s and early 1990s - and they don't seem to be remembered by most people. I like them anyway - and if you DO remember them, good for you!

First up is James, the World's Worst Schoolboy, by Jimmy Glen. I've talked about him before, but this one's worth seeing:


It's the complete lack of sense that's amusing with this one, and also the bit with the teacher crying. Really it's just nine funny pictures, but it's fun.

Richard's Snitch (by... Gordon Bell?) is just plain odd. A boy with a big nose, and that big nose has a face. And a mind of its own.




From the 1986 Summer Special is this Kath & Mouse, a set of characters I've never seen anywhere else. Reading this one as a seven-year-old stirred up a variety of confusing new feelings, so there's that.

Why is there a tentacle under the bed?

And finally, another nice bit of Tom Paterson-based joy. The World's Daftest Discoveries with David Chattenborough was a series of splash pages packed with all sorts of jokes, silly words and strange things to look at. The third of these featured "The Hairy Highland Haggis Hatchery of Glen MacHyooch":


One day, some sensible person will collect the complete works of Mr. Paterson and put them into a massive heavy book. One day.

8 comments:

  1. Believe me, if I had the money, a Tom Paterson coffee table book would be pretty high on my list of priorities - along with a long overdue DVD release for 'Death Weekend' AKA 'The House By the Lake'!

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    1. Death Weekend's on YouTube!

      Biker-based rape revenge film, sounds fun. Just downloading it now, I'll stick on a DVD for you if you want?

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    2. I've still got my Brent Walker VHS copy in a big-arsed PVC box, thanks! (Proud)
      That 'Richard's Snitch' strip is deeply disturbing for some reason. It reminds me of Spike Milligan's repeated use of large, phallic, obviously false noses.

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    3. Didn't want to point it out myself in case no-one else was seeing it! "Morning exercises" indeed...

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  2. I don't think that particular James strip was drawn by Jimmy Glen - style is wrong, both for the people and the lettering. There's a signature saying "Joey" in the fourth panel.

    I think Kath and Mouse is by Henry Davies.

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    1. The amount of times I've read that James strip and never noticed that "Joey" - intriguing, certainly.

      Thanks for the Henry Davies information there... Just looked him up and he's got a VERY wide range.

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  3. I seem to remember those 'World's Daftest Discoveries' also appearing in the older annuals. Dunno if they were reprints or not but man could I spend all day looking at those pages! 'Mysterious Cave-Dwelling Mutant Haggis'? 'Dreaded Flying Cannibal Haggis'? Mr Paterson is truly a comics legend for his humour as well as drawing ability.

    On a similar note, I seem to remember there being some Calamity James full-pagers like this in the 1990 Beano annual where he was the cause for some of the world's greatest disasters/mysteries such as Atlantis, the Mary Celeste etc. More pages that can be looked at endlessly.

    Perhaps a regular 'Paterson Preservation' feature could be an idea for TwoHeaded Thingies?

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    1. Uncanny, I was fully intending on featuring just those very Calamity James pages within the next few days! That was my first Beano annual, and almost every page of it's a winner - but THOSE pages especially.

      "Paterson Preservation"'s a good idea indeed.

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