Tom Thug in 1991

When I created Tom Thug for Oink! in the 1980s the intention was that it'd be a cathartic experience for anyone who was bullied to see the bully get his just desserts every week. That's how most episodes played out, with Tom's bad deeds backfiring on him by the final panel.

This episode, from Buster dated 28th September 1991, is a bit unusual in that Tom doesn't end up in the karma-type situation of losing due to his own misdeeds. As he doesn't actually do any bullying in this one, there was no need to have him fall foul of it. It was during this period that I'd decided to make Tom's overly-fussy mum a teacher at his school, to cause embarrassment to Tom and puncture his belief that he was a hard case. It added a new spin to the long-running strip although most weeks the traditional plot of his bullying backfiring on him was still used. 

Script and art by me, with lettering by Jack Potter. Jack was a brilliant letterer who'd been in the industry for years, but I didn't care for the tails of the balloons touching the edge of characters. That's usually a lettering no-no. Speech balloons only need to point to the characters, not look like they're physical balloons tethered to them! 

I hope you like this page from my archives. Click on the image to see it full size. I'll show something else from years ago soon. If you have any preferences, let me know by posting a comment below...

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