While OiNK‘s creators Tony Husband, Patrick Gallagher and Mark Rodgers assembled an insanely great mixture of various art styles from the best cartoonists and illustrators around, many would agree Ian Jackson‘s work is considered the seminal OiNK look. His main strips were Uncle Pigg, Mary Lighthouse and The Sekret Diary ov Hadrian Vile and his covers always elicited an excited reaction when I picked up the latest issue.
As well as his jagged, animated and highly original drawings he was also the person behind the covers which featured actual model work. Who can ever forget the famous OiNK Book 1988‘s pig face (and tail) and the first Holiday Special cover of plasticine and cardboard, which you can see at the top of this post.
To mark OiNK’s 35th anniversary, John Freeman has written a fascinating post all about Ian for his Down the Tubes website. When I was writing the previous version of the blog Ian was one contributor to the comic who remained an enigma, so I’m very happy to see this could be rectified this time around, starting with John’s research.
Above, you can see Ian with his brother, John Jackson a family law barrister in Leeds, who shared on Twitter this photo and a recent piece by Ian of the Sandsend valley where his shop, Wild Hart resides. It’s a gorgeous illustration and it reminded me of a certain other map of Ian’s I remember enjoying somewhat.
John’s post goes into more depth on Ian’s catalogue of work, such as his work for Punch magazine, which fellow OiNK cartoonist Jeremy Banx also contributed to. I wasn’t aware of a children’s cartoon co-created by Ian called Minuscule Milton, the art style of which is clearly recognisable. It’s a lovely looking thing indeed.
It also includes some more OiNK information, such as this quote from an interview in 2015.
“I received a phone call from cartoonist Tony Husband,” Ian recalls, “telling me of a new comic he and two other writers/ artists were putting together. TheOiNKwork (I drew Uncle Pigg, Mary Lighthouse and Hadrian Vile) gave me no alternative but to go freelance properly, so a month before my 21st birthday, I became my own boss.”
Created for CBBC and broadcast between 1997 and 1999 it tells the tale of a very, very tiny little boy who lives in a clock on a mantlepiece, with only his canine friend aware of his existence.
John has plenty of information on Ian’s further work in illustration, model building, cartoons and more on the Down the Tubes post. For any fans of OiNK it’s an essential read and you can even watch an episode of Milton’s show while you’re there.
Off we go! Happy 35th anniversary to my very favourite comic of all time and what I truly believe is still the funniest to ever grace shop shelves. The preview issue released the week before had prepared some for what was to follow, but the actual premiere issue made quite the impact all by itself with a free record on the cover and a matching cover image to promote it. This could not have failed to catch the eye.
We’ll take a closer look at the free gift in a bit but first let’s start with editor Uncle Pigg taking no nonsense from critic Mary Lighthouse on page two. Written by Mark Rodgers and drawn by Ian Jackson, these strips were a regular fixture for many of the early issues and starting in #3 would introduce the fortnightly subject of each issue. These subjects would include your traditional Christmas and Hallowe’en editions, but could also be anything from music, computer games or pets, to space, health or war.
There’s no subject this time obviously but there’s certainly an edge to the first few pages. Our editor introduces strips such as Ed Banger, the boy with the invincible headbutt and Mike and Spike, the naughty boy with a mohican and his equally naughty pet hedgehog. Both were drawn by Patrick Gallagher, who also put the cover together. Very modern, very 80s characters, both feel like they were intended to be regular fixtures, but Ed would only return once and after appearing in the preview issue this was Mike and Spike’s last strip.
But that was one of the things we loved about OiNK, the forever changing line up of regular, occasional and one-off characters kept things fresh and exciting rather than formulaic and predictable. In fact, it’s only upon looking back on the series I realise some of my favourite regular characters weren’t regular at all. But one thing we could always count on were spoof advertisements.
The half-page Uncle Pigg’s For Sale Column mimicked the kind of thing we’d see in local newspapers, except here they’re all being sold by one person, or rather pig. A precursor to the infamous GBH catalogue company in later issues, here everything is poor quality for extortionate prices. I particularly like the couple of running jokes, the ‘Barrel of Monkeys’ and ‘Live Shark’ gags rolling over into subsequent, even funnier adverts.
It might seem strange to have the above as one of our first highlights of the premiere issue rather than a strip, but these were ubiquitous with OiNK. However, only a few page turns later a strip was set to astound the eyes of the young readers used to black and white or one-colour pages in their comics. The Street-Hogs were ready to make their grand entrance.
Written by one of the comic’s three creators/editors Mark Rodgers, who wrote so much of OiNK, it’s a spoof of classic Saturday morning television serials and their constant, increasingly ridiculous cliffhangers and even more ludicrous heroic escapes. However, inspiration could be traced back to everything from the 60’s Batman to Starsky & Hutch.
It was all brought to life by the incredible talent of illustrator J.T. Dogg who, while comic artists usually drew their pages at a larger scale which was then shrunk down during publication, created his pages at the same size as the finished product. Knowing this fact makes his beautiful colour work even more incredible in my eyes.
No wonder the The Street-Hogs are so fondly remembered to this day by so many pig pals
Dirty Harry, Emma Pig, Hi-Fat and their informant Hoggy Bear would fight against the butcher mafioso and find themselves in one escape-proof scenario after another for the first 11 issues, returning later for further serials. As well as being hilarious, Mark’s scripts also brought a real adventure vibe to things, albeit in suitable OiNK fashion. No wonder they’re so fondly remembered to this day by so many pig pals.
The premiere issue saw some returning characters from the preview such as Burp,Weedy Willy and chat show host Terry Wogham met The Invisible Man, and there was the second OiNK Superstar Poster as well. This time it was Bacon Stevens (I’m sure Shaky would’ve approved) and friend of the comic BBC Radio DJ John Peel also got the OiNK treatment. New addition Hadrian Vile would prove to be an instant hit and appear in almost every issue too.
Burp by Jeremy Banx Weedy Willy written by Mark Rodgers, drawn by Mike Green Terry Wogham panel by Patrick Gallagher OiNK Superstar Poster by J.T. Dogg Hadrian Vile written by Mark Rodgers, drawn by Ian Jackson
One thing I particularly loved were the OiNK takes on children’s stories. We’d also get lots of cheeky digs at specific cartoons and toys but when OiNK took classic children’s book staples and created their own originals they were simply magical, and no pun is intended here.
Daz‘s The Wonderful Adventure of Billy Batt and his Magic Hat takes the idea of rhyming children’s stories, told in picture panels and captions, and illustrates it in what could be mistaken as a somewhat traditional fashion. That is, until you actually read it.
Daz (Dave Skillin) would contribute quite a few of these to the early issues of OiNK, each one starting off innocently enough, building anticipation in the reader. As I read them, I’m just waiting for that moment in each story when it starts to take a turn for the surreal, the comedic or the horrific. Then of course, they’re all capped off with a killer last line in the moral.
So, it’s time we talked about that free gift.
“Poo-poo, tinkle-tinkle, parp-parp, OiNK!”
Actual lyrics to The OiNK Song
Over a year later the team would bring us a record called The OiNK 45 which readers could buy through mail order. This is what I did back in 1987. It contained three songs, two of which had originally been on this special floppy flexidisc (although they were recorded and beefed up for The OiNK 45). Specially tuned to be enjoyed by young ears but excruciating for adult ones, The OiNK Song and The OiNK Rap were irritatingly catchy and I loved annoying my family with them at a volume they simply shouldn’t have been played at.
Along with silly dance moves (and alternative uses for the disc for those without record players) on a special double page spread were the lyrics. Whenever OiNK is brought up on some random social media chat it’s never too long before someone quotes the chorus of the song on the right!
Both were recorded by former member of The Fall, creator of Harry the Head and BBC Radio 6 Music presenter Marc Riley, The OiNK Song’s effect of multiple squeaky pigs being achieved by overdubs. Co-creator/co-editor Tony Husband produced some of the electric percussion for the rap song and, according to Tony recently, “that influenced Public Enemy and Run DMC and all those people Dr. Dre talks about as a major influence.”
To hear the full version of the songs I heard at the time you can check out the post all about The OiNK 45.
I’m very happy to see Tom Paterson return for the premiere issue after his Revenge Squad in the preview. Drawing another Pigg Tale written by Mark Rodgers, this strip makes the previous one look like a warm up. This is Tom without any of the constraints he had to work under elsewhere. It epitomises silliness and is chock-full of his trademark sight gags and background jokes. Take your time in reading this one.
Young hot dog salesman Jimmy Bung would save the world against a crazy array of villains by leaping into the nearest dustbin
I love all of the little incidental details such as the explanation of where Jonesy’s underwear came from, the sound effects and descriptive words used throughout and the obligatory bangers and mash. I even like his depiction of Uncle Pigg, even though by this time it was agreed he wouldn’t be a typical smelly pig. If Tom had been able to become a regular contributor his collection of strips by the end would’ve been second-to-none, but at least we can enjoy such brilliance as Testing Time.
One more highlight for this issue and it’s a rare colour outing for OiNK’s very own superhero. David Haldane contributed quite a few strips to the comic, including Hugo the Hungry Hippo and the dark humour of the Torture Twins. Rubbish Man was his main character, where young hot dog salesman Jimmy Bung would save the world against a crazy array of villains by leaping into the nearest dustbin and becoming the smelly superhero, with everything from cold custard to mouldy mashed potato at his fingertips. Quite literally.
Haldane’s style has changed somewhat from the preview; his outlines are chunkier, the panels are fuller and overall it’s a much bolder look. It’s all very random, like organised chaos, which suits the comic perfectly. I love it. From the gorgeous colour work to the handily bleeped out curse words, it’s the final strip of the issue and a great way to end things for now.
As first impressions go this has been a huge success and a joy to read from beginning to end. The sheer variety in the art styles alone was enough to make it stand out, but put those styles into genuinely funny strips, make them all different lengths, squeezing in as much as you possibly can to make use of every available space and print it all on extra large, glossy paper and what do you have? A comic like nothing else on the market. In other words, you haveOiNK.
Issue two’s review will be here in a fortnight on Monday 17th May.
To mark the 35th anniversary of the first issue of OiNK going on sale not only does the site’s real time read through begin later today, I was also invited on to Belfast author Andy Luke‘s podcast to wax lyrical about all things porcine. Andy’s podcast, The Drew & Look Show covers the topic of writing for all sorts of media, from film and television to novels and of course comics.
A fan of OiNK back in the 80s, Andy was eager to mark today with a special edition of his show and I was more than happy to take part. Andy has a way of approaching his subjects from interesting new angles, which made this a really fun way to spend an afternoon. In fact, we chatted for over two-and-a-half hours but don’t worry, Andy’s editing skills have chiselled away at it so that it’s a more manageable length for you all.
We cover topics such as the reasons OiNK existed in the first place, its origins in a Manchester library and discuss it in the context of the politics and punk music of 1980s Britain in which it was created. Andy describes the comic as a “sentient creature” and we discuss how as a whole it felt different in comparison to its contemporaries, how OiNK was as a complete package.
We hone in on a few of the main contributors to the comic and the mark they left on us, the humour they helped develop in our young minds and the impact it’s had on its readers as they’ve grown up (physically grown up, anyway) and in the wider context of the comics industry and beyond.
Everything is discussed, from its non-smoking and anti-bullying messages which had an impact without feeling like they were messages at all, to its mail order brand GBH. We try to touch on as many of the characters, writers and artists as possible and we had a blast doing so.
So whether you’re on the commute on this rainy Bank Holiday Monday or are at home wondering why there’s no James Bond movie on the telly, you can mark OiNK’s anniversary by listening to us for a little over an hour-and-a-half, talking about the best comic ever created.
The Drew and Look Podcast is available on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Just search for the name of the show.
The preview issue of OiNK was reviewed last week 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 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, 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.
UPDATE: Later in OiNK’s run Tom Thug made his way into Whizzer and Chips for a special crossover event. You can check it out here.
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.”
OiNK Blog 