The preview issue of OiNK was reviewed last week here on the blog and the first issue will be popping up tomorrow. But before then I thought I’d share a couple of little extra tidbits about that free promotional edition.

The first thing I want to show you is a little photo I discovered on the OiNK Comic Facebook group when trawling through years of images from fans and cartoonists alike. One of OiNK’s three creators, Patrick Gallagher shared this a good few years ago now so the quality isn’t great (in fact this is the full size of the image so it won’t enlarge if clicked on) but what it shows is the original cover of the dummy issue.

You can see how the logo is a separate piece of paper stuck on there. This was the mock up given to IPC Magazines to see if they’d give it the green light for development and most of its contents would eventually make its way into the preview issue itself. The cover would be redrawn by the superlative Ian Jackson. In an amazing exclusive, Patrick was also able to get the following quote from none other than OiNK editor, Uncle Pigg:

“Undoubtedly the Holy Grail of OiNK artifacts, worth its weight in swill and lovingly cobbled together in the last century AD by a hodge-podge army of scribes and scribblers for the joy of piglets and children alike… the OiNK dummy issue! The one-off mock-up that secured the commission for the subsequent 68 published issues and spin-offs. But what’s inside?… Ah! Maybe one day all will be revealed! Anyone interested to know?” – Uncle Pigg x

Yes, Uncle Pigg, we’d be very interested!

• 

Next up is this cover to the issue of Whizzer and Chips which the preview issue came bagged with. The same week’s Buster comic also gave it away but made no mention of OiNK inside, but here it makes the front page strip. Shiner, Sid’s Snake and Sammy Shrink welcome Buster to the Comics Characters Club and an unfinished drawing of Uncle Pigg joins them!

A few times in the OiNK preview Uncle Pigg is shown drawn by various artists and some chose to have him surrounded by flies and a seemingly strong odour, things that were dropped for the comic proper. I’m assuming when Tom Paterson drew this cover strip the final look of our esteemed editor hadn’t been locked down yet. This might also explain his braces and going topless!

Okay, so that’s us all ready for the start of the OiNK real time read through. Starting tomorrow and continuing all the way through to the end of 2023, whether you’re eager to relive some cherished memories or discover the world’s funniest comic for the first time, I hope you’ll enjoy the ride.