It’s been a while since fan favourite OiNK cartoonist Lew Stringer has released one of his excellent collections. At the time of writing the only one reviewed so far on the OiNK Blog since I relaunched this site in 2021 is Derek the Troll (definitely check that out). Beginning next year in a new series of posts I’ll be getting caught up with a myriad of releases from Lew and many other OiNK contributors, something I’m particularly looking forward to.
However, any brand new publications will get covered upon their release from now on and this is the case with Lew’s Fanzine Funnies. Between 1991 and 2006 Lew created a series of daft comic strips for Camera Obscura, a fanzine for a small branch of Two and Six, a fan society for the classic 60s TV show The Prisoner. Originally based around the eponymous white sphere from the series and later focussing on a fictional obsessed fan, in the opening editorial Lew hopes readers will still find them amusing even if they’re not familiar with the subject matter. Having finished this collection I can assure you this is most definitely the case.
The Prisoner may have only had 17 episodes but a devoted fanbase grew up around it and Patrick McGoohan’s Number Six character. It may have been broadcast ten years before I was born but its signature phrase, “I am not a number! I am a free man!” was still being used in everything from comedy sketches to television commercials, as was Rover the huge white ball-like creature (apologies if that’s an erroneous description, I’ve never seen it and am writing from memory) who is first up in these strips.
Taking one of these ‘Rover’ sentries and redefining him as an out-of-work actor after the series ended is a genius idea and opened up a myriad of possibilities. These include ludicrous auditions for new roles, a rabid fan following for what is essentially a giant balloon, time travelling to 1992 to escape these people only to appear at a reunion for the fan society and getting his own Saturday morning cartoon show, Hanna-Barbera style.
Lew even ties The Prisoner in with his own ‘Lewniverse’ of characters in a way. Rover has an agent, and that agent’s name is Roy L.T. Check, who may be familiar to fans of Combat Colin from the pages of Transformers. Alongside all of this daftness are a range of special additions like a Prisoner clothing line, a Doctor Who page and even that old Lew staple, a board game.
“Coathangers are featured for precisely 8.57 seconds in the opening minutes. That’s almost 9 seconds… 6 upside down!”
Alistair Sadgitt
The fans in the society even have a bit of fun poked at them. For example, in the future they hold their meetings on the moon (because Portmeirion in Wales where the show was filmed has been moved there to protect it from pollution) and Rover is bluntly honest when he tells them what he really thought about the show. It’s all in good jest and shows the fans could have a giggle at themselves and not take things too seriously.
However, I’m sure we all know from our own personal acquaintances over the years or from social media those fans that do take things far too seriously; the intense fanboys that like to try and lord it over the rest of us and who are simply best ignored. The second half of this collection focuses on Lew’s version of one of these people and he’d give any of them a run for their money. Meet Alistair Sadgitt (sad git).
While there are plenty of Alistair strips I think this page perfectly sums up the character. The show ended with so many open-ended questions that fan theories and discussions have continued ever since, often picking out supposed clues and running themes from the episodes to try and explain the unsolved mysteries. However, as you can see Alistair takes this to the nth degree.
Complete with his Number Six-like jacket (not actually tailored, it has masking tape for its trimmings) his overly-obsessive ways are the funniest aspect of this collection. I may not be familiar with The Prisoner but I certainly am with the type of person Lew is taking the hand out of here. On a related note, it’s mentioned that he’s 42-years-old. I’m 45 at the time of writing! Either Alistair’s ways have aged him or I’m a lot older than I feel!
Towards the rear of the comic are a selection of strips and images taken from other publications or created for fan events, my favourite being one in which the main character of the show is retooled as a traditional humour comics character, called Number Six and his Unmutual Tricks! As a fan of OiNK, which turned traditional comics on their heads, this reads like as much of a spoof of those comics as it does The Prisoner.
Any fan of Lew’s (or indeed funny comics in general) should find plenty to enjoy here, and plenty to laugh along with. However, for fans of The Prisoner it’s an essential purchase. Presented in landscape format with 32 pages in total, all printed on top quality paper stock and a card cover it’s a high quality piece of self-publishing, just like all of Lew’s other collections. All of this for only £5 plus postage? Bargain.
To order your own copy just head on over to Lew’s eBay seller’s shop where you can also sometimes find original art and more for sale. Lew accepts all forms of payment and not just PayPal either. At the time of writing, Fanzine Funnies had only been released a couple of weeks ago and is already on its second printing. You could definitely do worse than bookmarking Lew’s eBay page and keeping a regular eye on it to see what else pops up, he sometimes reprints some of his sold out comics further down the line, and don’t forget his personal blog too where new comics are obviously announced first.
“He’s not a number, he’s a free weather balloon.”
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