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 

©2026 lewstringercomics.blogspot.com

 

Comic Life

I had a relatively happy childhood growing up in the 1960s and early 1970s. There were also sad times of course, just as there is in anyone's young life; family hardships and illness, the death of pets, school anxiety etc, but on the whole they were good times. 

It helped to have an interest in something. Comics and drawing were my passions, and still are. As a result, I was never bored. Not once. If I wasn't out playing with my friends I'd be perfectly content to stay at home reading my comics or watching TV. 

We didn't have a lot of money. We lived in a council house, never owned a car, and by the time I was ten my Dad had to give up work due to thrombosis. (He had two operations to remedy it, neither of which were very successful, and he died suddenly in 1974 at the age of 52.) 

I was an only child, but I wouldn't say I was spoilt, because I was practical about what I knew my family could afford. I never had a bike and that didn't bother me. We had one holiday a year, usually a week in Blackpool but some years only a couple of days. I never had a record player until I was 15, but I did have comics regularly; Smash!, TV21, Dandy, Beano, Fantastic, Pow! and more. Back then, comics were cheap. Seven comics a week was my limit for a while, bought for me by my mum or other family members, but I'd try any new comic that was launched, even if only for the first issue, plus various American comics.

Comics not only expanded my reading and comprehension but also stimulated my imagination to create my own little comics drawn with ballpoint pens and felt tips on Silvine drawing paper folded in half to make a booklet. I became fascinated by the process of creating comics, and of their long history.

Thankfully, I never experienced the disappointment that many seem to have endured in that my mum never threw out my comics without asking me first. She knew how much they meant to me. When I eventually left home I took the comics with me.

Discovering comics, and the support of my family (particularly my mum) gave me the incentive to work in the comics industry. I did have a non-comics office job for a few years after I left school but it wasn't the path for me and I eventually quit to pursue my ambitions. Now, after 43 years in the comics industry, and all the experiences and friendships I've made, it was definitely the right direction to take. I feel that things are winding down now though but it's been a good run. My only regret, and it's a big regret, is that although I dated some nice women along my journey I never married and it's a solitary life without a soulmate. The family I had are all long gone now, but I think about them every day and I'm grateful I was so fortunate to receive their love and support. 

 

Conventional thoughts

With the current world situation, it was absolutely the right decision for the organizers of the London Film and Comic Con to postpone their events until 2027. Rising oil prices, uncertainty of international flights, it's a nightmare for anyone planning a big event to host guests from America. 

I'll really miss LFCC as it's one of my favourite events, but hopefully we'll all be back next year for the re-scheduled summer show on 14th and 15th August 2027. https://londonfilmandcomiccon.com/

I do have a few smaller shows coming up this summer, the first of which will be the Macc Pow Comic Art Festival on Saturday 27th June at Macclesfield Town Hall. Check out the details at this link:

https://maccpow.co.uk/

I'm pacing myself this year so I don't do events too closely to each other as I get very tired after a weekend's show. After Macc-Pow, my next show will be in August. That hasn't been announced yet so I'll reveal more about it on a blog post here as soon as it is.

After that, I'll be at the High Vis Kings Heath Comic Con on Saturday 19th September, just outside Birmingham. You can read all about that at this link: https://highviscomic-con.com/

Following that... I'll be going to the Thought Bubble Comic Convention in Harrogate on the weekend of 14th and 15th November. However I won't be a guest or exhibitor at that one. I'm going along as a visitor just to catch up with friends in the industry I haven't seen for years. I've heard good things about the event and have never been so I thought I'd check it out. 

All of these plans depend on my health of course. At the moment my cancer is stable and still doesn't require treatment but if that changes I'll have to cancel some shows. I'm hoping my health stays stable though and I'll be able to get out and about or there won't be a lot of joy to life otherwise. 

Anyway, let's see how it goes!

Original script from SONIC THE COMIC plus more in this week's auction

I'm selling something different this week. My actual typed script for a Tails story that I wrote for Sonic the Comic No.149 way back in 1999. As you can see at the top, I faxed this seven page script to the editor, Deborah Tate, but this is the original script not her fax copy.

The script gives descriptions and dialogue for every panel that instructed the artist on what to draw. Characters involved in the story include Tails, Charmee Bee, Shortfuse and more. Most of my scripts were lost years ago in a computer crash before I backed them up so this is a unique collectors' item for fans of Sonic the Comic! 

Also up for auction this week:

My original art for a Daft Dimension comic strip I drew for Doctor Who Magazine No.526 in 1999...

...and a full colour Tom Thug page I drew for Buster dated October 27th 1990.

 

Bidding on all these items ends on the evening of Sunday 10th April. Here's the link...

https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?sid=graphite47 

 

Mervyn's Monsters!

What's this? I've always said that this blog is exclusively to promote my own work but here I am plugging a book by Leo Baxendale!? Well, Mervyn's Monsters gets a free pass because it contains a new introduction written by me.

 

Published by Irmantas Povilaika who did those two superb Ken Reid books several years ago, Mervyn's Monsters collects the full run of Leo Baxendale's comedy adventure serial that ran in Buster weekly in 1968. Similar in premise to Baxendale's Eagle-Eye, Junior Spy that he previously did for Wham!, the book involves a kid who works for the secret service, aided by his monsters in the fight against the villainous Mush, a bad guy in the Grimly Feendish mould. 

And of course it's very funny. Some of Leo's best work. 

Mervyn's Monsters is published with the permission of the copyright holders Rebellion and available in hardback (with an A4 print) or softback. The print run is limited, and only available to buy directly from Irmantas himself at this link:

https://www.kazoop-comics-shop.com/

Dandy advance preview

If you go over to Amazon you'll see that they have a few preview pages from The Dandy Annual 2027, just to whet your appetite before the book is published in August of this year. 

It includes page one of a two page Dinah Mo story I did. (There will be three two page Dinah Mo stories by me in the annual, my final work for D.C. Thomson). 

Here's the link:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dandy-Annual-2027-featuring-characters/dp/1917436440

Who could that possibly be satirizing?

I'm currently working on the Sgt. Shouty page for the next issue of The77. Here's a clip from the previous issue showing the un-named villain who was a threat to society. (He was dealt with shortly after.)

 

Doctor Who Magazine No.629

There's a new issue of Doctor Who Magazine in shops this Thursday, (issue No.629), so here's a clip from my Daft Dimension strip, and the cover to look out for! Click on the image to see it larger.

********************************

Remember TOUGH GUY AND SCRUFFY?

Tough Guy was the vainest superhero in the world, super-powered but definitely not super smart! Aided by his far wiser assistant Scruffy, the characters were creations of mine that appeared in the short lived Triffik! weekly in 1992. 

A few years ago I compiled all the Tough Guy stories into a 32 page PDF comic that can be downloaded from my KoFi shop. Suitable for all ages, you can buy the comic from this link to download and read on your device:

https://ko-fi.com/s/fb5e501d04 

 

More recollections of OINK!

I'm thinking about Oink! a lot this week as it's 40 years since the comic was launched. It appeared at just the right time, as the 1980s were such a vibrant and refreshed environment for comics. We had Warrior, The Daredevils (featuring Captain Britain), Watchmen, The Dark Knight Returns, American Flagg, Knockabout, Escape, Charley's War in Battle, plus Marvel UK, numerous fanzines and more, and 2000AD at arguably its peak years. 

It puzzles me when I sometimes read comments saying that comics died in the mid-1980s because I know for a fact that the comics industry was really buzzing. (Quite often, those negative comments are from people who simply stopped buying comics when they left school in the Eighties.) 

Many of us back then would meet up regularly at London Comic Marts at Central Hall (and of course the nearby Westminster Arms pub) and there was a genuine excitement about the new projects that were forging ahead. People such as Dave Gibbons, Brian Bolland, Kevin O'Neill, Nick Landau, and more were the first wave of fans-turned-pro to enter the industry, and then those of us working for Marvel UK and Oink! were the next wave. (Of course there had been previous decades of many new creators joining the industry but by and large they hadn't come the route of fanzines and organised fandom, because it didn't really exist as such until the 1960s). 

Most of us who freelanced for Oink! (and also for Marvel UK and 2000AD) were around the same age, and perhaps too raw at the time for the long established comics, but we had ideas and developing styles to do something a little different. I'm not saying we knew better than our predecessors, just that we didn't want to comply to the same traditional formula, at least not at that young age. 

Anyway, I won't waffle on any further. It was a magical time in comics and I'm glad I was there. Oink! never set the world of comics alight like Watchmen or V for Vendetta did, but we worked hard and enjoyed what we did and I'm glad it's still fondly remembered 40 years on.

Tom Thug at 40!

 

It was exactly 40 years ago today when Oink! made its debut! Those were the days, my friend, we thought they'd never end... but but it lasted longer than a lot of comics, and one character endured more than others.

Oink! first appeared as a 32 page preview issue, bagged free with Whizzer and Chips, Eagle, and (I think) Buster on Saturday 26th April 1986. The contents of that preview issue were actually the pages we'd all done for the 'dummy' issue back in 1984. A dummy issue is a comic presentation that editors would pitch to management to see if they'd go for it. Many such 'dummies' of various comics never got the green light, but Oink! did... even though it took two years for IPC to finally launch it.

COVER BY IAN JACKSON.

At the time, IPC realised that their "traditional" type of comics were not as popular as they had been so they wanted something fresher and a bit more in tune with the times. They'd tried Krazy ten years earlier but even that had the usual look to it, so they looked beyond the established writers and artists to bring in newer talent for Oink! 

Oink's editors Mark Rogers and Patrick Gallagher had experience in writing for Buster and other comics, and the third editor, Tony Husband, was a popular cartoonist who'd contributed to various magazines. Together, and with Graham Exton (before he emigrated to the Bahamas) they had a vision for a more anarchic comic using newer talent. IPC's humour group editor Bob Paynter, with his 20 plus years of experience, contacted new creators too, such as myself. 

The very first Tom Thug strip.

I came up with Tom Thug, the brainless bully, and Bob Paynter developed the idea of him wanting to live up to the family lineage of Thugs (but always failing). I'm pretty sure now that Bob's input was inspired by the Dick Emery skinhead and his dad characters on TV ("Daaad! I got it wrong again!") but that never occurred to me at the time. (Hey, I was in my twenties. I didn't spend much time watching TV in the evenings.)  

Having brought me into the comic, Bob then just oversaw the production and left Mark, Patrick, and Tony to commission and create Oink! up in their studio in Manchester. Tom Thug became a regular fixture and I contributed to every issue, dealing solely with Mark Rogers who proved to be an excellent and creative editor. I also created other characters such as Pete and his Pimple, and (as writer only) Ham Dare (a Dan Dare parody) with Malcolm Douglas on art, and Sherlock Hams and The Hog of the Baskervilles (you can guess what that was a satire of) with art by Ron Tiner. 

Oink! was a fantastic comic to work for and we all had a great time. Sadly, for various reasons, it didn't last beyond 68 issues (69 if we count the Preview) and merged into Buster in 1988. Well, a few strips merged. I was thankfull that my Tom Thug and Pete and his Pimple strips had proven popular enough to make the leap over. Not without some changes though; Tom Thug (who had left school in the latter issues of Oink!) became a schoolboy again, and Pete's Pimple was no longer allowed to burst and cover people in pus. (Perhaps for the best.)

In its neutered form, Pete's Pimple didn't last long in Buster, but Tom Thug proved to be very successful. My idea was never for Tom to be an anti-hero like Dennis the Menace. (I felt the "cheeky scamp" trope was old hat by the Eighties.) Tom Thug was the villain, not someone to admire. An ignorant, stupid bully who always got his just desserts. The readers were invited to laugh at Tom, never with him. As we know, real-life bullies rarely get their rightful comeuppance so I hope the readers of Oink! and Buster felt some catharsis to see such a cretin get constantly defeated in the comics. 

Tom Thug ran in Buster until 1996 in new stories, and then a further three years as a reprint. (New owners Egmont had decided that making Buster all-reprint would cut costs (as creators are not paid for reprints), but it doomed the comic and it folded at the end of 1999.)

I gave Tom Thug a cameo appearance in the two Cor!! Buster specials that Rebellion published a few years ago but today's Oink! anniversary made me wonder what Tom would be like today if he'd continued to age as I'd intended when he was in Oink! So here we go....

 

Tom Thug 2026... As Tom was 16 in the later issues of Oink! he'd be in his fifties now. Like many of his type he never learned from his mistakes, became an habitual petty offender and spent his life in and out of prison. He's currently wearing a tag, has a self-made badly spelt tattoo, and is as dim as ever. Good news is that his cat Satan is still alive because (as far as I'm concerned) pets live forever in comics.  

So that's Tom, trapped in a cyclic fate of his own making as always! Happy anniversary ya mug! :) 

For more Oink! goodness, check out the dedicated Oink! Blog hosted by Phil Boyce. It's piggin' brilliant...

https://oink.blog/

Auction ending today!

This week's auction of my original comic art ends tonight! (Sunday 26th April). Here's a reminder of what's on offer...

A two page Pigswilla story from Oink! (1987)

A two page Tom Thug story from Buster (1994) - and page one of that is actually the front cover!

A Pup Parade strip from the Beano (2019).

A Daft Dimension strip from Doctor Who Weekly (2026). 

All bids welcome! Here's the link...

https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?sid=graphite47&_sop=1 

Good luck!

 

Remember this cover?

I always felt privileged when Tom Thug took over the cover spot on Buster comic. By the 1990s he'd proven to be almost as popular as the title star himself, so the editor gave me the opportunity of doing three or four covers. A rare honour. 

Anyway, I did this cover for Buster dated 19th August 1994... and I'm currently selling the original artwork! The auction includes this front cover plus page two of the story that completes it. Bidding ends this Sunday so if you're interested in owning the artwork here's the link...

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/206220113346?itmmeta=01KQ0BT9JSP9D7HFBHKY6J169Y&hash=item3003ad35c2:g:-6MAAeSwaZBp5QPq 

 

LFCC Postponed until 2027

Sad news today that this year's London Film and Comic Con has been postponed until 2027. It would have taken place in mid-June 2026 but is now delayed until August 14th and 15th 2027.

Having been a guest at the LFCC events for years (and was to be at this summer's show too) I can assure you that the organisers would not have made this decision unless they absolutely had to. They're a hard working team who always put on a great show, and I'm sure no one is more disappointed than they are.  

LFCC (and its comics section the London Comics Festival) always have an impressive number of guests from the various fields of entertainment and over the years it's proved to be a popular event. Certainly one of my favourite conventions. However, circumstances beyond their control have forced this decision. 

You can read more about the postponement over on John Freeman's Down the Tubes comics news site:

https://downthetubes.net/london-film-and-comic-con-cancelled-returning-in-2027/

 

Here's wishing LFCC to return in fine form next year. Meanwhile, I'll see you at other conventions this year such as Macc-Pow on 27th June. 

OINK! art! BUSTER cover! And more in my latest art auction

I've just listed more of my original comic art on eBay and the auctions will run until next Sunday evening (26th April). 

You'll see them all at this link:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?sid=graphite47

Remember Pigswilla, the giant robot pig from Oink! comic? There's a two page full colour strip from 1987 awaiting your bids. I know this character was popular, although he only made a handful of appearances so here's your chance to grab this rarity! 

 

In the 1990s, Tom Thug had become one of the most popular strips in Buster comic, and even took over the cherished cover spot from Buster himself a few times! One of those covers (including page 2) is in the auction right now!

It was a pleasure to have a decent run on Pup Parade for a while in the Beano several years ago as it had been one of my favourite strips as a child. One of the strips I drew in 2019 is up for bids!

 

 

Finally, something recent. So recent in fact that the issue I drew it for is still on sale! It's my Daft Dimension artwork from Doctor Who Magazine No.628 featuring the Quarks! In the auction right now. 

Here's the link again. Good luck with your bids!

https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?sid=graphite47