Tom Thug celebrates Buster's 35th Anniversary (1995)

I was looking through some old copies of Buster the other day and even by 1995 the long running publication was still a very good comic. Full of wild comedy action from the likes of Jimmy Henson, Bert Hill, Jack Oliver, Mark Bennington and many more. OK, it had become a fortnightly comic by then, and some reprints were appearing inside, but it was still a lively fun comic that easily held its own against rivals like the Beano.  

I was a regular contributor on Buster from 1988 to 1996 (with reprints of my Tom Thug strips following until the final issue in 1999). The issue we're looking at today is the 35th Anniversary issue, dated 26th May 1995. Sadly, this would be Buster's last significant birthday as the comic would end before it reached its 40th. 

Editor Allen Cummings was always open to ideas and we had a good working relationship. He really was a great editor. (He's retired now but still enjoying his football.) I suggested that my Tom Thug strip that week could include a bunch of guest stars from the comic's past, and he was happy to oblige. Characters such as Faceache, Big Chief Pow-Wow, Elmer, Thundercap, Tin Teacher, and even mighty Galaxus made a cameo appearance. 

This page was a pleasure to write and draw. Admittedly, you could probably see the "Birthday BASH" punchline coming a mile off, but hopefully the sense of occasion made up for it. 

Further on in the comic I also designed an advert for the next issue, which would begin a multi-part pull-out booklet reprinting classic strips from over the 35 years. I designed that too, and I'll post more about that another time.

 

A Book of Nonsense

As you know, I've been interested in the history of comics since I was a child, so whenever there's a new book published on the subject I'll grab it. Therefore I had no hesitation in buying The Great British Comic Riot, a softback allegedly full of info about UK comics of the 1980s. I knew it was Print On Demand, and only available through Amazon, so I wasn't expecting a definitive work. Sadly, it even fell far short of that!

I won't sugar coat this. It's the most inaccurate book about comics I've ever read. 

There are mistakes on almost every page, attributing the wrong strips to the wrong comics, gushing about characters that never existed, and basically fabricating things that never happened. How could an author make such errors? Quite easy, when the "author" is so obviously A.I.

Amongst the chaos that claims Whoopee merged with Nutty (two different companies), that Buster comic ended up being called Buster and Friends, and inventing a "popular" 1985 humour comic called The Joker, it even finds a way to print misinformation about me. 

Claims I wrote two books about the life and work of Tom Paterson. Nope. Total fabrication.

 

Claims I was influenced by Viz to create Tom Thug and that Tom moved from Oink! to The Beano "rubbing shoulders with Dennis and Walter". Nope. I wasn't even aware of Viz when I created Tom, and he moved to Buster, not The Beano. 

The misinformation about me is only mild but I wanted to nip it in the bud before others use it as research. Taking it into context of the entire book being wrong, it's a publication to avoid. Sadly, the A.I. "writes" with such assertive confidence that some will think this volume is an accurate account of British comics history. Nothing could be further from the truth!

If you want to read more about how bad this book is, hop over to John Freeman's Down the Tubes blog where he's posted about it at this link:

https://downthetubes.net/caveat-emptor-the-great-british-comic-riot/ 

In short, give the book a big swerve and save your money! 

(To be fair to Amazon, they did refund me when I complained about the book. However, they still have it listed for sale. I hope no one else is fooled into buying it. Support REAL writers and REAL well researched books on comics history! Kick A.I. into the bin!)

 

Team Toxic in Holiday Horror

As the sun's blazing on this Bank Holiday weekend I thought I'd post an appropriate Team Toxic story that I did back in 2005 for Toxic magazine No.46.

As long time followers will know, Toxic magazine (no relation to the '90s Toxic comic) has been running since 2002 and I produced Team Toxic strips for about 16 years of that run. (These days they occasionally use reprints of my old strips, but of course Egmont don't pay a reprint fee.)

The story is set in Skegpool, which I created as a fictional coastal resort in many of my strips, dating back to Combat Colin. Team Toxic face the Sand Witch, one of the recurring villains I created for the series. (The Team Toxic characters were designed by John Rushby who drew the first 13 or so episodes.) The colours on the strip are by the talented Lorna Miller who was the fantastic colourist on these early episodes. 

Anyway, it's a scorcher out there so I hope you can find some shade to read this blog! 

 

OINK! The Documentary is coming!

Last year at Macc Pow, myself and others were interviewed for a new documentary about Oink! comic, and now, to celebrate the comic's 40th Anniversary, Oink! The Documentary will have its premiere showing at this year's Macc Pow Comic Art Festival. 

Here are the details from the press release...

***OiNK! THE DOCUMENTARY***

WORLD PREMiERE on Saturday 27th June, 8pm at Cinemac Macclesfield

Join us for The WORLD PREMIERE of a new documentary by CLAIRE BEND and ROB REED looking at the creation, life and legacy of the hugely influential, cult British comic OiNK! Hosted by Cinemac Macclesfield, Macclesfield’s independent cinema

Featuring interviews with key creators involved, and lifelong fans, this documentary delves deep into the pig-pen and covers you in sensational swill! Post screening there will be a Q&A and drinks with the filmmakers and contributors from the film hosted by Alex Fitch from AWESOME PODCAST.

We hope to see you there folks!

Saturday 27th June

Cinemac Macclesfield

FREE TICKETS ON THE DOOR – NO PRE-BOOKING

8.00–9.30pm

Cert PG

 

Tekno the Canary

I'm gradually catching up with the list of private commissions I have to do. I think it was a mistake taking on so many as I don't have the same energy I did when I was younger (plus living with a chronic illness makes me more tired than usual). My apologies for the delays. When I've cleared this backlog I will accept some commissions in the future but they'll be limited to a few drawings every few months, and single character poses, nothing complex. At present though, I'm not taking any more on so please don't send requests yet.

Above is a photo of a commission I did recently of Tekno the Canary. This was a character I created many years ago when I was a writer on Fleetway's Sonic the Comic. Although I never actually drew her in the comic (that was handled by talented artists such as Richard Elson, Nigel Dobbyn and others) I did design her look in an initial pencil rough. So it was nice to do a proper finished drawing of her. 

Tekno the Canary was part of the freedom fighters led by Sonic the Hedgehog although she soon ventured off into separate strips to have adventures with her best friend Amy. In recent times some fans have written their own fiction where Amy and Tekno are in a relationship, and if fans want to think that, its their prerogative, but as far as I'm concerned they were just good pals.

Sgt SHOUTY will Shout Again!

Sgt Shouty of the Moon Force is a character I created for The77 comic when it launched back in 2020 and he's been in every issue since, plus the two 77 annuals. The Kickstarter for issue 12 ended recently and I've done another page for it featuring the futuristic hero. I'll post more about it when the issue is published.

In case you were unaware, The77 is a British independent comic with brand new strips and characters, mostly by relative newcomers but also by oldsters like me too. If you're interested in back issues of The77 you can buy them directly from their webshop at this link:

https://the77comic.bigcartel.com/product/mega-print-bundle

The UK print industry: The beginning of the end?

 It's now confirmed that TG Jones are closing many of their stores across the UK. Up to 150 risk closure, and that might only be the beginning. The Coventry branch (shown above) will close in June, and Leicester and Hull are also confirmed. 

We can cast blame for the reasons but rather than me doing a long post focusing on that you can read more about it on John Freeman's Down the Tubes blog at this link:

https://downthetubes.net/private-equity-firm-modella-begins-restructuring-tg-jones-150-stores-reportedly-at-closure-risk/

This is very bad news for British magazines and comics. Although supermarkets such as Asda and Tesco have a magazine section these days they don't have the range that TG Jones have. 

Many magazines and comics survive now because the majority of their sales are through subscription, but shop closures mean that they're likely to lose new readers buying mags / comics to try them out. Existing readers could start subscribing but not everyone can afford the expense of paying a big 6 to 12 month sub fee in one go. Especially if you're accustomed to buying several magazines a month. (2000AD have a good subscription model where readers are charged per month. Much easier on the bank balance.)

Casual buyers will also be affected. For example, I only buy SFX, Scream, Commando and others if the content interests me. I'm not going to take out a subscription for every issue. 

Smaller, independent comics that aren't stocked by the supermarkets will be affected. I'd like to be optimistic about this situation but at the moment it's not looking good.

Sympathies of course to all the shop staff set to lose their jobs. This is a worrying time for them, and for everyone who will be affected by the knock on effect of the closures. 

- Lew Stringer 

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