I've written the introduction for a fantastic new book that reprints a classic humour strip from my childhood. The Swots and Blots is a 180 page volume collecting all of Leo Baxendale's work on the strip from 1969 to 1971 when it was in Smash! weekly.
Although The Swots and the Blots had been in Smash! since issue 1 in 1966 it was drawn by other artists for the first three years. With this book, publisher Irmantas Povilaika has selected the strips from the point where Leo Baxendale took over writing and drawing the series, - and needless to say with Leo at the helm it reached new heights of hilarity and absurdist comedy. (No exaggeration. This was genuinely one of the funniest strips in British comics.)
The Swots and Blots is published under official licence from Rebellion and in very limited quantities, - so order quickly if you want one. The hardback edition is limited to 150 numbered copies (and comes with a free colour print) while the softback edition is limited to just 50 copies. The printing and reproduction is excellent. My photos here don't do it justice. The inks are solid black.
The book is only available directly by post from the publisher in Lithuania at this link:
https://www.kazoop-comics-shop.com/
...and if you don't have the other books that Irmantas has published, you can purchase those there too.
4 comments:
I'm glad you drew our attention to this. I had wondered which classic 1960's strip you meant when you mentioned you were writing an introduction for one some weeks back. I was hoping for an Odhams character but for some reason never thought of the Swots and Blots.
Given that Ken Reid and Mike Higgs characters are already collected, I was hoping for Grimly Fiendish (as I'm also a fan of The Damned ).
But the Swots and Blots were a mainstay of my childhood. I'm much more familiar with them than I am the Bash Street Kids. They must be one of the longest lasting Smash! strips if they appeared in issue 1 and continued through the Valiant days.
Anyway, I clicked over and ordered a copy after reading your blog. It arrived very quickly and is a handsome collection. Sits on the bookshelves nicely alongside Beano and Dandy annuals. Kudos to Irmantas for his work in curating these collections.
I was fascinated to read in your intro that Bad Penny joined them for a while. She's another fondly remembered Smash! star. I always thought of her as the council estate version of Minnie the Minx. As a 7 year old I went to school with several young girls who reminded me of her.
I'm reading through it slowly, because that's the best way to handle a collection that was originally published in standalone weekly instalments. The stories have stood the test of time well. Anarchic stuff that , if anything, is far funnier now than I remember and not just a nostalgia fest.
I had something of a repressed childhood and was never sure how to relate to characters like Dennis or the Blots. At the time I probably identified more with Walter or Cyril Swot, unfortunately. But I became more comfortable in myself after experiencing the underground comics and punk rock of the 1970s, so I have a much greater appreciation of this material than little 7 year old me ever had.
All in all, great stuff , and thanks again for highlighting it on your blog.
I think A Grimly Feendish collection would be somewhat disappointing because Leo Baxendale only did the first few before leaving Odhams in 1966. Most of the Feendish strips were drawn by others such as Stan McMurtry. Although 'Mac' is a great artist himself the strips became less anarchic than when Leo did them.
It would be nice to see Eagle Eye Junior Spy collected (from Wham!) where Grimly first appeared as a recurring villain. Quite a few of those were by Leo. All the early ones are in colour though, and run across centrespreads, so it'd be a big expensive book to produce.
That's a good point, same problem we'd have with Space Jinx from Smash! (as you pointed out a few weeks back).
I've only seen a few of those early issues of Wham! I started reading it two years later when the Fantastic Four reprints started, but those couple from from 1964 I have read were impressive looking comics. But maybe too (relatively) expensive compared to the competition in those days.
Yes, perhaps they misjudged the demand for a glossy humour comic. After a while it lost three of its four full colour pages, the price rose from 6d to 7d and then in 1966 it went to newsprint.
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