It was 1984, two years before the launch of OiNK and Lew Stringer was asked by IPC Magazine‘s Group Editor of HumourBob Paynter if he’d like to contribute to the new comic. At this point Bob hadn’t yet asked for it to be renamed from its original moniker of ‘Rrassp!’ (after seeing several pig related items in it), but the first draft of a dummy issue had been produced and it was slowly coming together.
Bob was looking for more cartoonists who could bring their own unique style of humour and art to the mix. OiNK was to be very different in every conceivable way to IPC’s other comics and they were putting a lot of money and resources behind its launch. As such, it was the perfect launching pad for those trying to break into the mainstream.
“Brand new characters often take a while to get right and Tom looked more like Frankenstein’s monster in this concept than a school bully!”
Lew Stringer
At this point in his career Lew had produced some strips for Marvel UK and in 1985 would begin contributing Robo-Capers for The Transformers. By the time OiNK launched he’d be a well known name to fans of those comics, but this wasn’t yet the case.
A “dim skinhead bully character” was suggested to Bob and according to Lew he suggested in return, “Perhaps his dad could be pushing him to be a bully to follow the family tradition, to inherit his boots”. This will sound familiar to anyone who has read the review of the preview issue.
Thus began Lew’s development of what would eventually become Tom Thug (What a Mug!) in OiNK. “I knew IPC liked puns on existing concepts and it sounded a bit like Tom Thumb,” he explains.
Previously on Lew’s personal comics blog he shared his very first rough sketches of Tom from 1984 and with his kind permission I’m able to share them with you here now on the OiNK Blog as we look forward to the review of #1.
You’ll see how the original idea was somewhat different to the character we all came to know and love in the regular comic. As Lew explains, “Brand new characters often take a while to get right and Tom looked more like Frankenstein’s monster in this concept than a school bully!
“Anyway, after a few more sketches, I eventually gave Tom a rounder look and something I felt comfortable submitting. Bob only wanted to see the strip in a pencil stage at this point, and here’s the actual artwork I sent him.”
This is the original rough page which showed Bob what Lew’s first story idea would be, setting the foundations for what would hopefully become a regular strip. Bob decided to rewrite the script a little, which Lew says tightened things up and created a better build-up to the punchline.
A lot of the content of this dummy comic made its way into the free preview issue. Remember as well, when Lew and Bob originally spoke an earlier version of the issue had already been created, so this gives an idea of just how long new comics could take to be developed, approved and finally given the green light for publication. Below is the completed Tom Thug strip as published in the preview.
Tom proved incredibly popular with OiNK readers (including this one) and regularly made it into reader’s lists of favourites. When the comic finished he was one of only three characters to make the transition to Buster alongside Lew’s Pete and his Pimple and Mark Rodger’s/Mike Green‘s Weedy Willy. Incidentally, Tom crossed over with both in the pages of OiNK, but he was the only one to last beyond six months in the merged comic. (You can see the crossover with Weedy Willy here and with Pete here.)
He quickly became one of Buster’s most popular characters too, something editor Allen Cummings acknowledged in a letter to Lew in 1990. The “Brats” mentioned here is a reference to The Vampire Brats, another Buster strip Lew was drawing, written by OiNK co-creator/co-editor Mark Rodgers and later Roy Davis.
In fact, across both comics Lew ended up creating an incredible 440 strips for the “dim skinhead bully character”.
At the time some parental groups felt OiNK’s contents were a bad influence on children and even these days I read the occasional comment online from someone who is confused at having a school bully as the main “hero” of a strip. But they’ve spectacularly missed the point. He was never the hero.
As Lew put it himself on his blog, “The intention of making him the villain of the story was to act as some contrast to all the goody-goody characters in IPC comics. The idea being that the reader would be laughing AT the character, rather than with him, and more importantly to act as some form of catharsis for readers who had been bullied in real life.”
On the back cover of the preview issue of OiNK was this full-page advert for the first issue of the comic to go on sale in newsagents the following week. It focusses entirely on the free gift, but then again the 31 pages before this were all a promotion for the contents of the new regular comic. Plus, when you’re giving away an honest-to-gosh record with your premiere issue you’re going to make a big deal out of it.
This promo was created by co-creator/co-editor Patrick Gallagher. Just to clarify no, Horace (Ugly Face) Watkins isn’t half-naked, there are definite bottoms to those trouser legs!
You can expect the full review of #1 this coming Monday 3rd May 2021, marking 35 years to the day when my favourite comic of all time went on sale for the very first time. Mark your calendars, the 32-month OiNK retrospective is about to begin.
It’s been 35 years to the day of writing this since readers of IPC‘s Whizzer and Chips, Eagle and Tiger and Buster received their comics inside a plastic bag with a piggy pink pig emblazoned on the front. Inside, tucked in behind their newsprint comic was a big, bold, brash and glossy new comic called OiNK!
This was the preview issue of OiNK and, unlike preview issues in the years to come, this was a full-sized 32-page comic. It must’ve been quite the revelation for readers to hold these large, bright pages in their hands, especially with that Ian Jackson cover. This was the first time young readers would’ve been introduced to his unique style; the jagged lines of editor Uncle Pigg and the gag of a medieval torture rack setting the stage for something truly original and anarchic.
One of the three co-creators/co-editors Patrick Gallagher created the bright pink logo which immediately stood out. The impact of that first page was carried on to page two with Ian showing us the inner workings of our editor’s office. This is complete with staff, OiNK’s take on infamous campaigner Mary Whitehouse and even an embattled accountant who can’t quite fathom how they’re going to pull off such a high quality comic, the first issue of which would go on sale just seven days later.
Next to this is our very first OiNK strip, Cowpat County from fellow Northern Ireland local DavyFrancis, written by famed comics writer and another OiNK co-creator/co-editor Mark Rodgers. This first appearance sees 80s environmentalist and television presenter David Bellamy pop up, only to come a cropper in Farmer Giles‘ (whose name we wouldn’t know until #14) world. If all this could happen to him when placed into the real, unfettered countryside, what about those used only to city life? We’d get plenty of chances to find out, and all very accurate of course.
The preview issue throws everything at the reader
The preview was mainly made up of strips from a dummy issue previously put together to sell the concept to IPC. As such, some of our favourite characters may look a little different here because they’re earlier versions of the ones we’d become used to; we’ll see them evolve and change as we make our way through the regular comics. Below is the very first Burp the Smelly Alien From Outer Space from Jeremy Bank for example, his first strip for a children’s comic.
What a great introduction. Burp would be present in almost every issue of OiNK and we’d start with a near-constant series of attempts to ingratiate himself to the human race, all failing in spectacular fashion. In later issues we’d see vacations in space, a surreal and rather dark humour develop and we’d even become acquainted with the lives of his internal organs. These would culminate in an epic story that originally came at just the right point in my life to teach me about puberty! No, really. You’ll have to wait until Christmas 2023 for that review though.
Even simple things like Ian’s and Jeremy’s unruled, freehand panels would’ve set the comic apart. Strips are of varying lengths, some even tucked in beneath (or down the side of) others and in a huge variety of styles. The fresh appeal is very apparent, especially after reading the issues of the established comics it was packaged with. Here’s a quick glance at a selection of what the young readers were suddenly being exposed to, starting with Patrick and Mark’s co-creator/co-editing partner-in-laughs Tony Husband‘s iconic hero, Horace (Ugly Face) Watkins.
Horace (Ugly Face) Watkins by Tony Husband Weedy Willy written by Graham Exton, drawn by Mike Green Harry the Head by Marc Riley who also stars as Snatcher Sam Rubbish Man by David Haldane
OiNK definitely couldn’t be accused of having any kind of ‘house style’, unlike other comics which expected cartoonists to draw within certain parameters. It’s also chock full of content and the format of cramming as much into each page as possible provides a satisfyingly meaty read. An animal-free meaty ready, obviously.
Showing how the aim was to rip up the rule book, throw out tradition and create a comic that was genuinely very funny, the preview issue throws everything at the reader and a surprisingly high amount sticks. One such idea was the pig-ifying of popular culture. Nothing was safe. From celebrities, television shows and musical artists, to movies, cartoons and literature, if a pig-themed pun could be made of a name you could bet OiNK would take advantage.
This Hambo poster from J.T. Dogg (real name Malcolm Douglas) wasn’t even the first such piggy pun. By the time readers got to this stunning centre-page spread they’d have already been treated to the delights ofWillyHAM ShakesPIG and Terry WogHAM, along with mentions of Ian BotHAM, Lester PIGgott and PIG Country. But let’s take a moment to appreciate that poster.
J.T. Dogg’s work is simply stunning. As well as this series of OiNK Superstar Posters he’d provide the artwork for The Street-Hogs and Ham Dare: Pig of the Future amongst others. What’s even more incredible is how he worked. At the time cartoonists would draw their strips at twice the size of the published comic, the finished page reduced at the printing stage. But not Malcolm. He’d complete all of his work at 1:1 scale! Sadly no longer with us, you can check out some more of his extraordinary work in his obituary.
Now it’s time for a commercial break.
The first of many Madvertisements to come, they went big to begin with, didn’t they? I mean, sausages made of minced up butchers isn’t exactly subtle. This is the perfect example of how they could push the boundaries of good taste and we kids loved it. It was just good, cheeky fun. On the top half of the page you can see Tony’s son, Paul Husband who would go on to appear in the occasional photo story. Nowadays Paul is an amazing professional photographer whose work you can check out on his website and Instagram.
“Rock’n’roll madness!”
Tony Husband describes working on OiNK
On more than one occasion working on OiNK has been likened to being in a punk band, especially by Tony. He describes those OiNK Manchester offices as “rock’n’roll madness”. Located in the same office building as the Happy Mondays‘ manager, next door to Haçienda nightclub DJ Dave Haslam and, while the city was at the height of its MADchester music and culture scene, the comic’s team even included former The Fall band member (and future BBC Radio 6 Music presenter) Marc Riley.
The rock’n’roll madness led to some hilarious scenarios, such as when Tony and Patrick were invited to London to appear on a breakfast TV show. They were given the impression they were appearing to discuss their new comic appealing to a new audience of young readers. However, the true intent was soon clear when the first question referred specifically to the following Madvert.
Asked if they felt joking about smashing up friends’ bicycles was the “right message to send”, the presenters spectacularly missed the point of OiNK. But according to Tony it was worth it in the end because his and Patrick’s expenses were all paid for, including travel and a night in a 5-star hotel. Then on the return train journey Tony brought out a few of the small bottles of booze he’d sneaked out from his hotel room, thinking they’d have a tipple on the way home, only for Patrick to empty out a plastic bag full of every single bottle from his room. By the time they hit Manchester they could hardly walk off the train.
In among the wealth of talent who had never contributed to children’s comics before were some more familiar names. However, they were now given free rein to produce strips they simply couldn’t elsewhere and let’s face it, if you could give such freedom to anyone, it would been Tom Paterson.
Pigg Tales would be the general name used on and off for some of the bigger one-off stories, written and drawn by a variety of people. The Revenge Squad showed what Tom could bring to OiNK but unfortunately he’d only show up in five editions of the comic throughout the course of its whole run. According to OiNK writer Graham Exton they really wanted him on board but he was just too busy to be able to contribute more. Such a shame because he was a perfect fit.
Finally, right at the back of the comic a certain character is introduced for the very first time. He’d go on to appear in all but one regular issue and then carry on for many more years in Buster after OiNK folded. A school bully may sound like a strange creation for a strip, even for such a wacky new venture, but by the end of his first story it’s clear that while he may be the star, he’s certainly never going to be the hero.
Lew Stringer‘s Tom Thug remains one of my very favourite comic creations of all time and I’m really looking forward to reliving his misadventures all over again. It’d take a while before he’d be able to tie those laces, he’d cross over with other characters like Lew’s own Pete and his Pimple and Mike Green‘s Weedy Willy, even leave school and sign on for unemployment which was definitely a first in comics history. The original designs for Tom and the first draft of this very strip can also be seen in a special blog post.
So there you have it, a little look into how potential new pig pals (as regular readers were referred to by Uncle Pigg) were first introduced to the world of pigs, plops, puns and parody. Then, as if the promise of more of this insanity wasn’t enough there was news of a free flexidisc record with #1, surely a free gift as unique as the comic it would be attached to. I hope you’ve enjoyed this look at the preview issue. There are also other posts on the site detailing the countdown to the release of the comic to keep you busy until Monday 3rd May and the review of the first issue of OiNK. So off you trot on your trotters and I’ll see you then.
As we approach Monday 26th April 2021, the 35th anniversary of the preview issue of OiNK, let’s take a look at an article from the time written by Tom Thug and Pete and his Pimple creator Lew Stringer for Fantasy Advertiser. An introduction to the new comic just before its release, it was the first time readers of the fanzine heard about OiNK.
Fantasy Advertiser was the creation of Frank Dobson and had been printed since 1965 as an “Ad Zine”, being handed off to a series of editors over time. It featured listings of British and American comics for sale in the UK long before the internet made this a lot easier, alongside features like the one you’ll see below. Lew was a regular contributor with a column in every issue.
Lew would cover news of new comics, discuss classic titles and interview creators such as Mike Higgs, Kevin O’Neill etc. It sounds very much like his later Blimey! blog which, while it’s been closed, is still a treasure trove of British comics information.
The OiNK article featured in #96 of Fantasy Advertiser, dated May 1986 and you can read it in full below. I think the first paragraph perfectly sums up why Mark Rodgers, Tony Husband and Patrick Gallagher created OiNK in the first place. There’s also an interesting reference to the specific things other children’s comics required of their cartoonists and the rules they had to follow, which this new team would gleefully abandon. There are some details about the two dummy issues created to sell the concept to IPC Magazines, their positive reaction and how it was Bob Paynter, the Group Editor of Humour who approached Lew to join the comic. (When I’ve spoken with Patrick and Tony over the years they’ve often referred to Bob as “OiNK’s champion at IPC”.)
“The humour is the kind we like. Violent, anarchic, weird, generally lunatic and very modern.”
Mark Rodgers, OiNK co-creator/co-editor
There’s a great description of Lew’s Tom Thug and how he was a new, different kind of comics character, an interesting look at the independent nature of OiNK and how it was put together in a way unlike any other children’s title of the time. You’ll also see a few select panels from the early issues, including Tom Paterson‘s excellent Wet Blanket who is returning to print in a special collected book later this year.
Thanks to Lew for the kind permission to share this with you all. Just click on it below and have a read for yourselves.
Also note the correct influences for OiNK here and the absence of any mention of Viz. OiNK was never a children’s version of that (admittedly very funny) comic and was never intended to be, despite what is usually erroneously mentioned elsewhere online or in magazines.
David Hathaway-Price has, with permission, archived many of those Fantasy Advertiser issues digitally, at his Classic UK ComicsZines website, including the issue featured here. The fanzine continued until #115 in 1991, eventually relaunching as an online resource in 2010 by one of its previous editors, Martin Skidmore.
Don’t forgot to come back on Monday 26th April for the review of that preview issue of the world’s funniest comic, the whole reason this website exists. An amazing two-and-a-half years is about to begin. Not to be missed, pig pals.
This gorgeous Andrew Wildman cover (Transformers, G.I. Joe, Venom: Carnage Unleashed) opens the second issue of Marvel UK‘s new Visionaries monthly, released on this day back in 1988, showing some of our heroes and villains surrounded by the magical totems that’ll become part of their very being. We’ll get to that further down the review, but is that a price increase already? It’s only 5p but back then that was quite the hike, especially for a second issue.
Not only is the price increase a bit strange, so is the Vision On editorial which doesn’t mention anything about the issue’s story, instead focussing solely on other Marvel releases. The recap of the previous chapter is then pasted on top of the next page, excising the top third of the strip! It is atmospherically written though.
Last time, Reekon pulled on a lever as a large stone gargoyle rushed towards Leoric, Ectar and Feryl but what the lever did could easily have been missed because of where the story stopped. The metal gates that trapped them with seemingly no hope of survival would have come down at the top of this page. So not only could it have been missed last issue, this time it’s been deleted by editor Steve White.
An even higher grade of paper really does justice to Andy’s cover and the opening pages of the strip
Thankfully the strip itself more than makes up for any shortcomings in repackaging it for UK readers plus the outer eight pages are made of an even higher grade of paper than last time. A shame the rest is of the usual stock because these glossy pages are lovely and really do justice to Andy‘s cover, as well as the opening pages of the strip from penciller Mark Bagley, inker Romeo Tanghai, letterer Janice Chiang and colourist Julianna Ferriter.
Adapted by Jim Salicrup from Flint Dille‘s animated teleplay it’s all action this time around, with the knights from across planet Prysmos now inside Iron Mountain facing the trials of Merklynn the ancient wizard. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t time for humour, as we see when the startled gargoyle runs off like a yelping dog, and then there’s this panel featuring Darkling Lord leader Darkstorm and (the voice of) Mortdredd, his snivelling follower.
In fact the first several pages contain some comedy gold. Below, Cravex hears some apparently noble knights talking of forming what sounds very similar to Leoric’s vision of the Spectral Knights. It’s all talk though, humorously told with mention of their skills and expertise but their actual plans amounting to nothing more than monthly meetings. It reminds me of some office managers I’ve had to work with in the past.
Then, after being surprised by an animated skeleton pushing him over a crevasse, Darkstorm’s superior climbing skills and cool head save him and he finds himself beside a vat of milk from a giant spider, which ominously looks on overhead. Realising that in order to fulfill his ambitions he’ll need underlings he traps three knights in the sticky goo and forces them to pledge their allegiance. Cindarr‘s sole requirement had me roaring.
Hmm, a League of Knights dedicated to Justice? One with a bird-like mask? Could this be a little joke at the expense of the DC Universe? (Thanks to blog reader David Teller for this snippet of information.)
We see some personal rivalries begin here too. The Cryotek-versus-Cindarr fight is interesting as it’s actually the Spectral Knight who loses his temper. Showing a fearsome, darker side and swearing to kill his enemy, his magical totem in the final pages is revealed to be the grizzly bear for his incredible strength and endurance, so I’m interested to see how these two aspects of his personality develop in tandem in future issues. But I want to concentrate on one particular grudge match here.
At the time, having only one or two female warriors was deemed enough in everything from He-Man and the Masters of the Universe to The Transformers. The former at least had a female-centric spin-off but the latter had only one female robot in a cast of hundreds. This has been remedied in the intervening years but we can see now just how woefully inadequate it was at the time. Galadria and Virulina, shown here in a thrilling underwater fight scene, weren’t even toys and were instead creations of Flint’s. I hope they’ll get as much coverage as their male counterparts in future issues.
While the comic’s origin was based on the cartoon’s, there were already key differences. Something that irked me about the same story in the cartoon was the fact only the characters who’d receive the magical powers in the end had the hologram-shaped chest panel. It kind of gave the game away, but in the comic they’ve shown several background characters with the same design. It’s not overly done, we’re always aware of who’s going to make it and who isn’t, but it’s a welcome change.
It may be over three decades later and it may be based on a toy line, but this is still a thrilling read.
Something else a comic can do is expose the inner thoughts of the characters and it’s used here in abundance, and not in that annoying way of just describing what we can plainly see is happening to them. Instead, it’s used to add depth to reactions and portray their inner doubts and fears.
As we approach the final pages a huge climactic battle between the knights is interrupted by a booming voice as a huge wooden door nearby contorts into the shape of Merklynn‘s face. Daring them forward, they’re faced with horrors on the other side.
It’s actually Darkstorm who feels a certain level of familiarity with the screaming souls in front of them. They march on and Merklynn explains this was their final test, the spirits really being mystical reflections of their deepest, darkest fears and in conquering them they’ve conquered their inner demons. It’s quite startling to turn the page over and see this image. It may be over three decades later and it may be based on a toy line, but this is still a thrilling read.
It’s at this point we finally get some more background into the previous Age of Magic. It’s played out over a page previously shown in the preview mini-comic but essentially Prysmos was a planet with a strong-willed race of humans, able to achieve anything they set their minds to for the good of their neighbours. The strongest were the Knights of Prysmos and from these arose the Mages of Prysmos. Only a few were able to predict the cataclysm when the Age of Science came, of which Merklynn was one. By secreting his power inside the mountain upon which his castle once stood he was able to ride out time until the suns aligned again and the ages were reversed.
“Be not afraid, Knights of Prysmos! Accept these totems as your just reward! Only you had the vision it took to succeed in finding this chamber! Truly thou art Visionaries!”
Merklynn the Great Mage
Then it’s on to the finale and the part I, as a fan of the toys and cartoon, had been waiting for. It was time for the new Knights of Prysmos to receive their totems, their magical emblems that would encapsulate each individual character, granting them unique special powers, regardless of their intentions beyond the mountain.
Looking over these particular images sparks happy memories. I had so many of these toys it’s like being reunited with old friends. It’s been a great start and we haven’t even seen any of their powers being used yet. But given what we’ve seen them all achieve as people grasping for the power to rule or rebuild, it’s already a compelling story and I think this is mainly thanks to the way the characters have interacted with one another. They feel real, which is no small feat given they’re based on action figures.
Judging by these beginnings, if Visionaries had proven more popular and had had the chance to develop over the course of a few years, I would say these human characters could’ve risen through the ranks of comics to sit proudly alongside the likes of Larry Hama‘s superlative G.I. Joe creations. I’m well aware I’m saying this after only one story, but I’ve a feeling the remaining issues are going to back that up.
For now The End… The Beginning finishes with everyone safely transported back to the entrance of Iron Mountain, where a rock formation in the shape of its soul occupant’s face (he does like doing stuff like that) ends the proceedings with some ominous words for all those assembled.
After this initial story the comic would diverge completely from the cartoon and I’m looking forward to seeing what direction it goes in, what with the animated series being one of the best of its time. I really do get the feeling all is set for a story unlike any other. The comic team should be proud of their adaptation (I usually can’t stand comic adaptations of films and shows) and now we’ll have to wait a whole month to see what they bring to the world of the Visionaries.
To round off here’s a quick look at the only two non-strip pages in the comic after the editorial. I know how much people love these retro advertisements. This month there’s another Marvel UK monthly looking for attention, then that small promotion in the preview comic for what I’m sure was a superlative poster gets the full back page treatment.
I can remember the whole family sitting down and watching ALF together on the TV every week. We’d giggle along with the canned laughter as we watched the adventures of the Alien Life Form, real name Gordon Shumway from the planet Melmac, taking shelter in the home of the Tanner family after his planet was destroyed when everyone turned their hairdryers on at the same time. I think I can remember buying an issue of the Marvel comic, which was a basic repackaging of the American title along the same lines as Visionaries.
It’s been great fun revisiting this story on the planet of Prysmos so far. I’m eagerly awaiting the next edition and I hope you’ll join me too, #3 of Marvel UK‘s Visionaries‘s review shall be here from Wednesday 19th May2021.
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