The new three-part documentary Comics Britannia, on BBC Four, is definitely worth a look, even if you've never been that keen on comics. My own childhood memories are of dog-eared Funday Times' being passed around the school bus, or leafing through a copy of the Dandy in dentist waiting rooms. I always found them an alluring way to spend time, but they never excited me enough to actually buy one...
Come to think of it, I don't remember anyone spending their pocket money on comics in the 80s and 90s. The bubble had pretty much burst from the market in those days, with most kids I knew preferring to save up for Super Nintendo games and football sticker albums. Well, until Viz came out!
But even I enjoyed Comics Britannia's first part, which focused on kid's comics like Dandy, Beano, Whizzer & Chips, Wham, Beezer, Topper, and the rest. Armando Iannucci narrated the show, which was entertaining and revealing in equal measure. Celebrity fans like Jacqueline Wilson, Michael Rosen and Nick Park chipped in with memories of reading comic strips, while writer/producers like Leo Baxendale, David Roach and Ian Gray gave anecdotes from their world of speech bubbles.
It was particularly interesting to see how comics began back in 1937 with D.C Thomson & Co. publishing The Dandy, featuring characters like Lord Snooty (a posh boy who hangs out with street kids) and, unfortunately, racism in strips like Bamboo Town. The Dandy was an immediate smash-hit, so the Beano was released a mere 35 weeks later, developing a more anarchic attitude with Dennis The Menace and The Bash Street Kids in the 1950s.
We were introduced to pioneering artists whose names mean nothing to the general public; talented men like Dudley D. Watkins, creator of Desperate Dan; Davey Law, creator of Dennis; Leo Baxendale, creator of Minnie The Minx, amongst others. Outrageously, these overworked geniuses were rarely allowed to sign their artwork, didn't own their characters, and never received royalties when their strips were reprinted! Scandalous.
The 60s heralded a glossier vibe, a huge increase in competition (particularly from Wham) and comics began reflecting the era's madcap humour, particularly with Ken Reid's Jonah -- a one-man seafaring disaster influenced by The Goon Show's zany comedy style.
By the 1970s, comic circulation was on the wane, due to the rise of TV and video-games as alternative passtimes for kids. The quality had also dipped significantly from the 50s heyday, with popular characters now ghost-written because the original artists had moved on. Leo Baxendale, who suffered a nervous breakdown thanks to the workload piled on him, bowed out from the business with Badtimes Stories.
Things got so bad in the 80s that the programme itself essentially ignored the "modern era", where our politically correct world has neutered Desperate Dan, so the cowboy can't eat endangered species, invade countries, or smoke cigars.
In 2007, top titles Dandy and Beano are still going (but not strong), although there is cause for celebration on 3 December -- when granddaddy Dandy turns 70 years old! It's quite remarkable comics have hung on against video games and the internet, although big concessions have been made: the Dandy is now fortnightly, suffixed "Xtreme", and the first issue had Bart Simpson on the cover...
If you haven't seen Comics Britannia, I recommend you rectify that immediately. It was a pleasure to have some childhood memories stirred and gain an insight into this overlooked strand of British entertainment. It was also quite cathartic to discover even the celebrity fans never laughed out loud when reading Beano...
10 September 2007
BBC Four, 9.00 pm
Come to think of it, I don't remember anyone spending their pocket money on comics in the 80s and 90s. The bubble had pretty much burst from the market in those days, with most kids I knew preferring to save up for Super Nintendo games and football sticker albums. Well, until Viz came out!
But even I enjoyed Comics Britannia's first part, which focused on kid's comics like Dandy, Beano, Whizzer & Chips, Wham, Beezer, Topper, and the rest. Armando Iannucci narrated the show, which was entertaining and revealing in equal measure. Celebrity fans like Jacqueline Wilson, Michael Rosen and Nick Park chipped in with memories of reading comic strips, while writer/producers like Leo Baxendale, David Roach and Ian Gray gave anecdotes from their world of speech bubbles.
It was particularly interesting to see how comics began back in 1937 with D.C Thomson & Co. publishing The Dandy, featuring characters like Lord Snooty (a posh boy who hangs out with street kids) and, unfortunately, racism in strips like Bamboo Town. The Dandy was an immediate smash-hit, so the Beano was released a mere 35 weeks later, developing a more anarchic attitude with Dennis The Menace and The Bash Street Kids in the 1950s.
We were introduced to pioneering artists whose names mean nothing to the general public; talented men like Dudley D. Watkins, creator of Desperate Dan; Davey Law, creator of Dennis; Leo Baxendale, creator of Minnie The Minx, amongst others. Outrageously, these overworked geniuses were rarely allowed to sign their artwork, didn't own their characters, and never received royalties when their strips were reprinted! Scandalous.
The 60s heralded a glossier vibe, a huge increase in competition (particularly from Wham) and comics began reflecting the era's madcap humour, particularly with Ken Reid's Jonah -- a one-man seafaring disaster influenced by The Goon Show's zany comedy style.
By the 1970s, comic circulation was on the wane, due to the rise of TV and video-games as alternative passtimes for kids. The quality had also dipped significantly from the 50s heyday, with popular characters now ghost-written because the original artists had moved on. Leo Baxendale, who suffered a nervous breakdown thanks to the workload piled on him, bowed out from the business with Badtimes Stories.
Things got so bad in the 80s that the programme itself essentially ignored the "modern era", where our politically correct world has neutered Desperate Dan, so the cowboy can't eat endangered species, invade countries, or smoke cigars.
In 2007, top titles Dandy and Beano are still going (but not strong), although there is cause for celebration on 3 December -- when granddaddy Dandy turns 70 years old! It's quite remarkable comics have hung on against video games and the internet, although big concessions have been made: the Dandy is now fortnightly, suffixed "Xtreme", and the first issue had Bart Simpson on the cover...
If you haven't seen Comics Britannia, I recommend you rectify that immediately. It was a pleasure to have some childhood memories stirred and gain an insight into this overlooked strand of British entertainment. It was also quite cathartic to discover even the celebrity fans never laughed out loud when reading Beano...
10 September 2007
BBC Four, 9.00 pm
