Friday 19 July 2013

Combat Colin's first summer


Reflecting the current heatwave (and some wish it could be reflected, but let's make the most of it) I thought I'd dig into the archives for a couple of summer-themed Combat Colin strips I did for Action Force comic. Both are very early strips from the series, before it developed into the action-comedy serials of later. The above one is actually the second Combat Colin strip published, from Action Force No.6. 

The one below is from Action Force No.20. Both are from 1987. Notice the fairground stall owner in the one above and the guy watching from the prom on the one below? It's Loose Brayne, otherwise known as Brickman! When Brickman stomped off into the sunset at the end of the 1986 Brickman one-shot comic I decided to have Loose Brayne show up unannounced and un-named in some of my other strips. I know one reader (Jenni Cole) spotted who it was as she sent me clippings at the time. I wonder if anyone else noticed?



By the way, thanks to Esteban Prieto for sending me a ton of Combat Colin scans the other day, which will certainly save me a lot of time. Especially when I eventually get around to putting together a Combat Colin Collection

5 comments:

Peter Gray said...

I love the humour a lot...also Rasher your comic strip has the same feel..you are great at the comic strip...
love the over the topness and harks from the 60's type humour..

Lew Stringer said...

Thanks Peter. My thoughts have always been that comics should be as daft as possible. :)

Tiniebras said...

I knew that stall holders haircut looked familiar! I also love that fact that even in this early Colin strip you already have the yellow smiley face motive in the ear ring.

Lew Stringer said...

Well spotted! I hadn't even noticed that myself. (Well, I did when I drew it back in '87 obviously.) It soon evolved into a smiley with a tongue sticking out. I don't know why I started putting those in. Probably because of Watchmen and because I used to meet up with Dave Gibbons and Alan Moore fairly often at marts back then.

Lew Stringer said...

He said, name dropping. :)