Welcome to the second of four parts to this OiNK Interview Series, in which I sent the same four questions to some of OiNK’s greatest talent and I’m publishing their answers all together, one question at a time. The response to last week’s post has been phenomenal and the blog’s stats have been skyrocketing. Every time this happens it’s always great to know I’m not alone in keeping this wonderful comic close to my heart all these years later.
Last week I asked the team what their fondest memory of their time on OiNK was and many of them mentioned working as part of this particular team. Suitably then (even though I sent all of the questions at once) this second question digs down into those previous answers a little. It seems those creating OiNK enjoyed reading it just as much as we did!
QUESTION TWO
Whose work did you admire the most in OiNK?
LEW STRINGER Tom Thug, Pete and his Pimple, Pigswilla, writer of Ham Dare
“Difficult question because with so many different styles everyone brought something fresh and exciting to the comic. Jeremy Banx was always one to watch because he pushed the envelope with what he could get away with. J.T. Dogg did spectacular work of course and I was pleased with our collaboration on Ham Dare, Pig of the Future. It was also good to see David Leach’s style develop. Psycho Gran is such a great character and I’m pleased he still creates new stories for her today.”
DAVY FRANCIS Cowpat County, Greedy Gorb, Doctor Mad-Starkraving
“There were so many artists I admired on OiNK but my absolute favourite is Ed McHenry. He introduced me to dip nibs and they were a real game changer in how my style looked. I’m very lucky I met Ed, he is a true gentleman who loves his work. Fun fact: He was a drummer for Roy Orbison in the sixties. Fun fact 2: I hitched a lift in Roy Orbison’s white Rolls Royce.”
DAVEY JONES Henry the Wonder Dog, Pop-Up Toaster of Doom, Kingdom of Trump
“There were loads of really good artists working on OiNK, Lew Stringer and Ian Jackson spring to mind. I think it was Jeremy Banx’s stuff that struck me the most. It was very funny, and unlike anything I’d seen in British kids’ comics before. There was one Burp strip about him going on holiday to a secluded planet, and he’s inadvertently brought along a wasp in his spaceship which escapes onto the planet, and he knows then that he can never return – the presence of the wasp has ruined his paradise. I don’t know why that has stuck in my head all these years.”
PATRICK GALLAGHER co-creator and co-editor of the whole shebang, designer of the OiNK logos
“Ian Jackson’s.”
KEV F SUTHERLAND Meanwhile…, The Three Scientists, March of the Killer Breakfasts
“I loved Frank Sidebottom‘s stuff, and was also a fan of his music, so being in the same comic as him was a thrill. I thought Jeremy Banx and Lew Stringer‘s stuff were the funniest. Lew is the deserved star of the comic and it’s no surprise that his was the work that carried on into Buster.”
GRAHAM EXTON writer Fish Theatre, Herbert Bowes, Murder in the Orient Express Dining Car
“This is tough, as there were so many great writers and artists. I was very partial to Ian Jackson‘s covers and Hadrian Vile strip, and I always found Jeremy‘s nose-related strips hilarious.”
IAN JACKSON artist Mary Lighthouse, Horace (Ugly Face) Watkins, OiNK Book 1988 covers
“Jeremy Bank‘s Burp.”
ED McHENRY Wally of the West, umpteen OiNK puzzle pages, Igor and the Doctor
“Awkward question. Let me explain. When each new copy of OiNK appeared, I would clip out my stuff, this was then placed in my safe deposit box at my bank, the rest of the issue was then used to line the bottom of our budgerigar’s cage. So tell me, did I miss anything good?”
DAVID LEACH Psycho Gran, Dudley DJ
“I admired them all. I felt humble to be in the same comic, it was a comic that made me laugh. I loved the different styles, I genuinely don’t think I had a favourite, although the three artists I felt symbolised OiNK were Husband, Stringer and Banx.”
STEVE GIBSON artist Judge Pigg, countless GBH Madvertisements, Ponsonby Claret
“Favourite OiNK artist? Banx. No question. Funny, witty and a great writer/cartoonist. I loved getting to see his original art. Only met him once in London for about 4 seconds as I had to dash back for a train.”
JEREMY BANX Burp, Mr. Big Nose, Jimmy ‘The Cleaver’ Smith
“So much good stuff to choose from. So many talented artists and writers. Mark Riley‘s Harry the Head always sticks in my mind. Loved the simplicity of his drawings and his daft ideas.”
Can I just say I agree with every single answer here? I’d have been useless if someone asked me this question. My answer would’ve been as long as this whole post. Our next question is one I’ve been particularly looking forward to. After reading about them admiring each other’s pages we ask about their own creations. It should be an interesting one (again). Come back next Saturday, 14th December 2024 for the responses to this:
What’s your personal favourite piece you contributed to OiNK?
In 1975 the greatest movie ever created was released across the world, becoming the first blockbuster and entering the public consciousness, making it ripe for official sequels and the obligatory spoofs. Out of the latter, the best by far was a UK comic strip which first appeared in Monster Fun in 1976, making the transition to Buster the year after and remaining there until 1984. It’s been an absolute joy to get reacquainted with Gums.
When he appeared on the cover of Monster Fun #35 he was an instant hit. In fact, I was surprised to find out he didn’t last even longer in Buster. I discovered him in the Big Comic Book series (and its fortnightly comic) in the late 80s and even though I hadn’t seen Jaws by that stage I was aware of it, and got the joke of a great white shark with dentures straight away, including the tagline ‘A Shark Worse Than Its Bite’ and the comic’s version of the famous Jaws theatrical poster.
I was thrilled to receive this first collection of Gums strips last Christmas. Released by Rebellion, within its 132 pages is the character’s entire run from Monster Fun, made up of 39 strips from the regular issues and a further 12 from the annuals which continued through to 1985. It’s such a shame OiNK’s annuals didn’t continue after the comic was cancelled.
There are actually a few links with our piggy publication here. One of OiNK’s original writers, Graham Exton has written the introduction to the book, the character was co-created by IPC Magazine’s Bob Paynter who championed the idea of OiNK from the off, of course there are a few strips by John Geering who contributed some fantastic pages for Uncle Pigg and there’s even one strip drawn by Roger Rental’s very own Ian Knox, and another by The Slug’s Lezz!
He wouldn’t exactly be a threat to Richard Dreyfus, would he?
While I’ve fond memories of Gums from Big Comic, I don’t recall many strips featuring Bluey, the Australian surfer who ends up in a back and forth with Gums over the false teeth. Often, whoever wins at the end of one week’s strip would still be in possession of the dentures the next, these small story arcs of a sort adding to the addictive nature of the book.
All of the strips here are written by Roy Davis (Faceache, Joker, Vampire Brats) and while the strip might sound like it could be one-dimensional, the end result is anything but! Think of the best Looney Tunes cartoons, specifically Roadrunner and Wile E Coyote which never stopped being original and hilarious despite the simple premise, and you’ll get the drift. Yes, it’s that funny! Unlike those cartoons though, you never know who’s going to win from one strip to the next.
Because of the way I was introduced to the character through reprints of John Geering’s Buster strips, I was initially a bit disappointed he doesn’t feature much, but I very quickly grew to love original artist Robert Nixon’s (Rodger the Dodger, Korky the Cat, Frankie Stein) work. Alf Saporito (Gus Gorilla, Nosey, Master Spy) takes over after a fashion, ghosting Robert’s art somewhat but then developing a more detailed style, with Les Barton (The Slugs, I Spy, Knight School) drawing one when Alf must’ve been on a break, although it’s deliberately ghosted so you’d never recognise that it’s Lezz.
Here’s one of John’s strips from the book for you to enjoy.
For being a shark, Gums is wonderfully expressive as you can see from the highlights I’ve chosen. Below, he gets so paranoid that any food is just bait thrown in by Bluey that he almost wastes away. Then there’s a scene that actually had me laughing out loud. During an on-the-water carnival full of people wearing large cartoon character heads, he steals a hat from a clown and puts it on his snout, then steals ketchup from a picnic on the beach and smears it over his mouth. Bobbing up and down alongside a boat, he tricks the police into thinking he’s a passenger in fancy dress!
It’s completely insane! It’s brilliant! He may think he’s the most terrifying creature in the ocean but he’s completely inept, yet he’s so inventive with his crazy schemes he ends up very loveable. He never actually catches any people or any of the sea creatures he chases, and he’s just as partial to a pork pie or a creamy dessert than he is to actual fish or people.
Later strips taken from the Monster Fun annuals point to how things had developed in the pages of Buster, with less Bluey and the introduction of Cap’n Mayhem and an ensemble cast of underwater characters (such as Olly the octopus), giving it an underwater sitcom kind of feel. These are more in line with that I remember enjoying as a kid but I’ve loved every single moment of discovering his earlier escapades. From foretelling Jaws’ many sequels by exclaiming “Revenge! Revenge!” in the early pages to becoming a bobbing clown, this is an unmissable collection of classic comedy that hasn’t lost any of its ability to make the reader laugh.
There’s a reason a Gums strip will always appear in each Big Comic Book review. Even out of so many pages he’s always the funniest. You can pick up his own excellent book at any good comics store or book shop, or you can order it directly from Rebellion’s online shop. To finish, since I’m covering this during the festive season (so you can throw unsubtle hints at your loved ones), here’s a rare moment of unity between the great white and the young surfer to mark the occasion.
This must’ve been an exciting cover for fans of the new Transformers comic from Marvel UK, with that crossover event splashed across it, taken from the American comic and drawn by Mike Zeck. But that’s not why it’s being featured on the blog. Inside, this issue contained information on the first of the seven Christmas issues for the Cybertronians produced between 1984 and 1990.
At this early stage the comic was a very different beast to what most will remember. In its first year it was a 32-page fortnightly comic filled with lots of extra features beyond the two comic strips, all of which were given equal billing to the Transformers themselves. Hence why the Next Issue promo has a preview image for Machine Man and our lead characters are nowhere to be seen!
As regular blog readers will know I’ve read all 332 issues (plus annuals, specials etc.) of this series in real time over on the blog’s Instagram and there’s now a blog post enabling you to check it all out in whatever order you wish. The American Transformers Generation 2 monthly is also in the middle of a full read through on the blog at the time of writing. Now, I’m kicking off a special yearly series of posts for the 40th anniversaries of original comic’s Christmassy editions and books.
Beginning in 14 days and continuing over the next several years, every Christmas I’ll be taking those special issues and annuals already covered briefly on Instagram and giving them the full blown OiNK Blog treatment on each of their 40th birthdays. Some of them are amongst my very favourite issues of the comic’s run and the hardback annuals were festive feasts, often including elements of lore that continue to this day in the likes of the recent Transformers One!
The first Transformers Annual wasn’t released until the comic’s second year so in 2024 we’ve just got #7 of the original fortnightly to have a gander at. It’s got a lowkey Christmas vibe compared to what came later but it’s still a fascinating look at how these yearly treats kicked off, and an interesting look at just how different Transformers was in those first 12 months. So come back on Sunday 15th December 2024 for the latest Cybertronian addition to the blog.
Welcome to first post in what should be a fascinating four-part OiNK series this festive season. I came up with some general questions about our favourite comic and handed them over to no less than 11 of OiNK’s finest contributors. Every Saturday between now and Christmas Day I’ll publish all of the responses for each question in turn, so we can get an insight into what it was really like to be a part of the world’s greatest comic.
The OiNK team have always been so forthcoming with information ever since the blog began and their enthusiasm for the comic hasn’t diminished one iota in the decades since they first tickled our funny bones. It’s been a joy to put these posts together and reach out to some of my comics heroes. So what’s the first question?
QUESTION ONE
What’s the fondest memory that comes to mind when you think back to OiNK?
DAVY FRANCIS Cowpat County, Greedy Gorb, Doctor Mad-Starkraving
“Fondest memory was meeting all the artists and writers at the OiNK launch party. It’s a bit of a lonely profession drawing cartoons and comics so it was great to meet up and yack about drawing and comics.”
DAVID LEACH Psycho Gran, Dudley DJ
“That first UKCAC show in 1988, I think, when I got to meet other cartoonists for the first time. I met Davy Francis, Lew Stringer, Davey Jones, Ed McHenry and Banx. It was wonderful. I felt I’d found my people.”
DAVEY JONES Henry the Wonder Dog, Pop-Up Toaster of Doom, Kingdom of Trump
“Probably just that sense of open-mindedness you got from the editors. My main point of contact was Mark Rodgers and I’d send him script ideas which he’d either approve or turn down. But you always felt that he’d be open to any kind of silly ideas. I remember buying a volume of Spike Milligan’s Goon Show scripts from a jumble sale, and for a while after that the stuff I was submitting was a bit Goon-ish. So you felt you could sort of muck about and try out different things.”
STEVE GIBSON artist Judge Pigg, countless GBH Madvertisements, Ponsonby Claret
“Memory? I remember meeting Mark and Tony (Husband) and Pat (Gallagher) as they were cobbling the first few issues together. They were working from inside a cupboard in Manchester back then. It was hard to tell them apart because we all had hair then, including Pat. It felt like an exciting time to draw comics, and I could always meet a deadline because I learned to draw in my sleep thanks to Pat nagging me. Hey Pat! How are you?”
PATRICK GALLAGHER co-creator and co-editor of the whole shebang, designer of the OiNK logos
“Meeting up with Tony and Mark immediately after we received the news that OiNK had been formally commissioned.”
IAN JACKSON artist Mary Lighthouse, Horace (Ugly Face) Watkins, OiNK Book 1988 covers
“Photo story shoot with Mark Rodgers dressed as aliens, and his girlfriend Helen as someone we were trying to abduct from a local park.”
ED McHENRY Wally of the West, umpteen OiNK puzzle pages, Igor and the Doctor
“Printed on quality paper with excellent colour reproduction, everybody could sign their work or get a printer credit, well paid and all your artwork returned. What’s not to like as they say.”
GRAHAM EXTON writer Fish Theatre, Herbert Bowes, Murder in the Orient Express Dining Car
“Visiting Tony‘s house with Mark was brilliant because Tony was such a nice chap. I noticed his stack of Peter Hammill albums in a corner – we bonded over music. We also had a fun time discussing Uncle Pigg‘s helpers, the Plops.”
JEREMY BANX Burp, Mr. Big Nose, Jimmy ‘The Cleaver’ Smith
“A lot of fond memories. Getting the ideas and drawing them up against the clock was hard work but fun. Meeting up with the other OiNKers at conventions and stuff was a highlight. I remember, with great fondness, the process of getting the idea that Burp‘s organs should be independent living beings with their own ecology. Also when I realised that his liver should be Dr Devious, the notorious super villain. The nice thing about that was it felt like the character was revealing himself and it almost wasn’t me doing the work at all.”
LEW STRINGER Tom Thug, Pete and his Pimple, Pigswilla, writer of Ham Dare
“There are lots of happy memories but I think just having regular work in an IPC comic for the first time felt like a major achievement, even though I’d been contributing to Marvel UK for a few years by then.”
KEV F SUTHERLAND Meanwhile, The Three Scientists, March of the Killer Breakfasts
“It was my big break, so the best thing was being a proper professional comics creator at last. I was holding down a day job and doing my OiNK work at night, and it had taken a whole year of sending something off every single week before I got in. I would send something to 2000AD who’d say ‘you’re too cartoony, you should send it to OiNK’, and to OiNK who’d say ‘you’re too action-y, you should send it to 2000AD’. OiNK broke first.”
And so it begins! Even though very few of the OiNK team ever worked from their Manchester offices, you’d never think it from these replies. They were clearly a fantastic team, whether they ever met each other or not, and admiring of everyone else’s creations. It pleases me no end that it seems OiNK was such a great comic to work on. Make sure you come back next week, Saturday 7th December 2024 for question two, which will be:
As is traditional on the blog the first festive post after the Christmasintroduction is the next volume in the Big Comic Book series from Fleetway, collecting together more classic strips from their flagship title Buster, as well as Whizzer and Chips and Whoopee, the latter of which had already ceased publication by the time this series began. This hardback 256-page whopper pretty much keeps to the same formula as before, which is no bad thing.
With all eight books on the shelf behind me as I read, it feels like a real event to finally be able to crack open another and see what’s been included this time. Of course, I grin from ear-to-ear as I flick through it and spot a certain toothless great white shark on several pages, once again drawn by John Geering from the pages of Buster. He may not have been the original artist but for me he was the first whose undersea world I saw and this strip is written by OiNK’s very own Graham Exton.
I just laugh so hard at how expressive John’s version of the character is. Despite a shark being somewhat limited in details, John’s expert way with Gums’ eyes can convey everything from sadistic humour to intrigued, self-importance or even fear! I adore his drawing of the white whale too. As for what appears to be some kind of distant, abandoned underwater city and a briefcase or petrol can in the first panel, I’ve no idea. I’ve even asked some experts and we’re none the wiser. It just seems too specifically drawn to be some random background detail. Perhaps it refers to something from a previous Gums strip.
This isn’t the last you’ll hear of Gums or the only highlight of his you’ll see this Christmas. If you’re a fan of the Jaws wannabe you’ll want to come back here on Wednesday 4th December 2024 to read a full review of Rebellion’s first Gums book! It collects together all of the original Monster Fun strips and I’m hoping it’ll prove to be one of the highlights of the holiday season on the blog this year (I haven’t read it yet).
This is the first I’ve seen Boy Boss., written by OiNK co-editor Mark Rodgers. According to Graham, “His experience of Big Business were working in a betting ship in Whitby, tending bar at his dad’s British Legion in Redcar, and packing tampons for the Christmas rush at Lewis’s department store in Leeds. So he was very much winging it.” (Thanks for commenting on the post with this, Graham!)
Originating in Wow! and merging into Whoopee, Boy Boss is the owner of a huge multi-national corporation but he’d rather be out playing with his mates. That’s the basic premise. He also has a put-upon assistant by the name of Jasper who tries to keep him on the straight and narrow and ultimately boring life that would serve the company’s bottom line the best. While there are funny moments, I can’t help but notice two of his strips make jokes of things we rightly scorn today, namely getting employees to work through the breaks and insisting they’re reachable on days off or even on holiday (which at the time of writing is a hot topic on social media).
I’m not for one moment suggesting artist Frank Diarmid (Roger the Dodger, Kid Kong, Frankie Stein) would’ve supported such things, it’s just a silly comic strip and they’re genuinely funny, especially the endings of both where Boy Boss is actually on the receiving end of his own ideas. I’m just making the point that these are examples of some the contents of these books showing their age a bit.
They were already classic strips from older editions of the three weeklies when this was published in 1988, never mind now. However, having read three of these mammoth books so far it’s comforting that they still read so well decades later. Although, there may be one character who could be seen as somewhat problematic today, who I’ll get to further on.
Just how big does a VCR need to be?!
I had to check on the artists for the next two strips with those friends of the blog, Lew Stringer and John Freeman. For (deep breath) Ivor Lott and Tony Broke with Milly O’Naire and Penny Less (phew!) I was quick to assume it was Sid Burgon but there’s no signature. While it was rare for cartoonists to be allowed to do so back then (OiNK very much broke that mould), Sid always did and his strips elsewhere in this book have his name written on them.
Originally appearing in Cor!, the original strip with just the two boys continued all the way through to Buster’s final issue. The girls had been stars of Jackpot and when it too merged with Buster they came along and the strips also joined together, although the girls’ names were dropped from 1985 despite continuing to appear.
[Speaking about a friend of mine], the similarities to Benny Bones couldn’t be ignored
Every week Ivor and Milly would boast about some material possessions they owned, usually things that were bigger and grander than those owned or coveted by Tony and Penny. Inevitably, in the end their boastful ways would land them in trouble and the two “poor” characters would have the last laugh. There’s a not-very-subtle lesson in there for us all, and I enjoyed seeing the imaginative ways the strip would lead to its predictable conclusion. Although, just how big does a VCR need to be?! Surely more expensive technology is meant to be smaller and sleeker, even in the 70s and 80s?
I haven’t forgotten about the issue of the artist responsible and below is the other strip I wanted to bring up. Whizzer and Chips star, Benny Bones was the ultimate in lazy children and would often put more mental effort into how to get out of doing something than it would take to do it, often falling asleep in the process.
On the day I read this strip my friend Vicki and I were watching the same TV show in our two separate houses. Over a text she asked me what time it was over at and I told her she could just press the button on her remote to find out. Her response was that she was watching it in bed and was too lazy to do that… despite the effort it took to ask me via text! The similarities to Benny couldn’t be ignored, but the fact this very strip contains a similar moment was such a coincidence it had to be included in this review!
So anyway, I found out Colin Whittock drew Lazy Bones until 1986 but there’s no information on who took over. This strip is likely to have been drawn before then but it’s somewhat looser in style than normal. As for Ivor et all, the same conclusion was drawn by the experts. Perhaps Sid was on holiday, for example, and someone had to ghost his style. We’ve no way of finding out so for now I’ll say they’re most likely by Sid and Colin respectively, but there’s a chance some unknown cartoonists were responsible.
Originally in Cheeky Weekly then Whoopee, the Paddywack mini-strips by Jack Clayton were basically about an idiot who made stupid mistakes. While it was never confirmed, there was an assumption he was Irish, back at a time when Irish people could be the butt of jokes in the playground. In these more enlightened times we simply wouldn’t do that anymore. Name aside, there’s nothing in any of the strips of his I’ve read that I’d have a problem with, and I live in Belfast.
I do remember as a teenager telling one of those Englishman, Irishman and Scotsman jokes to an English friend who had told many of them to us. But of course we changed it so the Englishman was the butt of the joke. He was greatly offended! He completely missed the point we were trying to make and continued telling us there was nothing wrong with the way he told those jokes, but ours was wrong. Take from that what you will.
Drawn by the always brilliant Mike Lacey, Kids’ Court only ran for a few years in Whoopee in the 1970s, but it was so memorable when I originally read it in these books and Big Comic Fortnightly. At its core it’s a basic role reversal strip but it’s done so brilliantly and so chaotically it feels highly original. In this world the kids are the cops, the judges and the juries punishing misbehaving adults. I particularly like the way the captured park warden is still in the letterbox when he gets his court date! That made me laugh.
On the very next page from Kids’ Court comes one of the double-page spreads for Jim Watson’s Store Wars, a strip of two halves for me. Originally in Whizzer and Chips, it was basically another version of Ivor Lott and Tony Broke, with Mr. Superstore and his mega-store constantly trying to put the tiny, local Bloggs and Son shop out of business but constantly failing to do so, often spending huge amounts of cash in the attempt.
Having deleted my Amazon account last year I’m enjoying using smaller businesses online and across Belfast so this strip felt particularly relevant upon reading it, if in a highly exaggerated way of course. Why is it a strip of two halves? Because in every example in this book there’s a very funny outcome but there’s always a somewhat patronising statement from Mr. Superstore explaining the joke. They’d be much funnier without these.
Every year I’m trying to show you different strips than those I’ve shown you in previous Big Comic Books (apart from Gums, of course) and lastly for this year is a character I have no recollection of whatsoever from childhood, which is a shame because his pages are great. I did enjoy his inclusion in The Tom Paterson Collection though. From the pages of Whizzer and Chips and drawn by the hilarious Tom, here’s Guy Gorilla.
Transforming into a giant gorilla whenever he eats peanuts, he retains a modicum of awareness of who he is and doesn’t cause any real harm, just a lot of panic and mess. I think it’s a really fun set up and the more episodes I read in this book the funnier it got that no one knows it’s him! Everyone is very aware that there’s a random gorilla hanging around somewhere and Guy’s excuses about why he’s never there at the same time can be so silly, but they take his word for it every time. A great little strip that unfortunately only ran for about a year in total.
And that’s us for another year, folks! As you can see below there’s still a ways to go. With five more Big Comic Books (and two Funny Fortnightly/Monthly volumes) you can expect more classic highlights from some of the most renowned UK cartoonists of all time up until Christmas 2029 at least! That’s if you don’t all get bored of me in the meantime.
This year you can also expect reviews of Rebellion’s Gums collection on Wednesday 4th December and the Buster Book1990 (released in 1989), the first to feature fan favourite OiNK characters after the merge, which you can check out from Thursday 19th December. It’s already shaping up to be the best Christmas on the OiNK Blog yet!
OiNK Blog 