This entertaining look through the annals (and annuals) of British comics is proving to be an overlooked gem, tucked away on BBC Four. The second episode tackled the differences between comics for boys (adventures, war, blood) and girls (fashion, ballet... abuse?)
As Armando Iannucci (our narrative thought balloon) explained, the early-1950s saw a wave of American horror comics washing up on British shores after the war. Tales From The Crypt and other ghoulish titles caused parents to shake their heads in condemnation. But only one man, Reverend Marcus Morris, was so disgusted he offered kids a more wholesome, British alternative: The Eagle.
On 14 April 1950, Morris' Eagle took flight, introducing a generation of kids to the adventures of Dan Dare - Pilot Of The Future, and other iconic characters from this age of imagined, exciting space travel. Eagle was such a big success, the creative time developed a "sister" publication very quickly: the less-excitingly named Girl.
At first, girls didn't like Girl, until market research bore fruit and they began running strips like "Belle Of The Ballet" and "Angela The Air Hostess", to huge popular success. Girl even included cookery tips and features like "how to make lampshades." Oh, and one issue had a pin-up of the Duke Of Edinburgh for girls to stick on their bedroom wall. Seriously, did anyone ever do that? Own up.
As we discovered in last week's episode with the Dandy and Beano, success breeds imitators -- the most popular being Bunty, with its popular strip "The Four Mary's". Then, the 60s arrived and changed the face of comics forever...
For boys, the swinging 60s meant war action with Victor, Commando and Valiant (which introduced Captain Hurricane.) A comic artist of the time, Gordon Livingstone, waxed lyrical about how the WWII vehicles and uniforms were painstakingly researched and meticulously detailed, although no strip was allowed to show blood and gore. The true horrors of war were glossed over by wise-cracking Brits and stupid Germans with dueling scars and habit of yelling "Achtung!"
It was around this time that Roy Of The Rovers began its run, fuelled by the popularity of George Best in 60s pop-culture. Celebrity fans Frank Skinner and pundit Mark Lawrenson were impassioned speakers about the fun, excitement and ridiculousness of Roy's footballing adventures.
For girls, the 60s equalled sex. Well, okay, "romance". Comics with cheesy titles like Mirabelle, Romeo, Serenade and Valentine were catering for the girls becoming women. This new breed of teenager. D.C Thomson published seminal magazine Jackie, named after writer Jacqueline Wilson, who was there to gush over its trailblazing attitude. Unlike most comics, Jackie was designed by the women's magazine department, giving it an adult glossiness; with fashion, make-up tips and advice columns.
Heading into the 1970s, I was very surprised to learn that our modern era of serious-minded "graphic novels" came about because of the girls comics! Market research revealed teenaged girls wanted to feel emotion when they read comics, so a male-dominated industry began pumping out shocking tales of home abuse, work violence and heartwrenching melodrama, in publications like Tammy.
One Tammy strip, "Slaves Of War Orphan Farm", best encapsulated the vogue for downbeat storylines. "Cinderella Spiteful" and "Little Miss Nothing" were other examples of cruelty and misery being used as "entertainment" for girls of the period... and they lapped it up!
The serious, emotional attitude made its way over the boy comics very quickly, leading to realistic war stories, such as 1979s seminal Charley's War -- perhaps the first noteworthy example of a comic's abilitity to enlighten, educate and move through drawings.
The 80s began to erode teenager's comics, just as it had done the youngster's comics. Roy Of The Rovers began playing football alongside 80s popstars Spandau Ballet as a shameless marketing plot, then stole Dallas' "Who Shot J.R?" storyline for a number of issues, before Roy was involved in a helicopter crash and had his foot amputated in 1993.
Girl's comics began to run "photo strips" (one featuring a young George Michael), which gradually replace tradition drawn strips. As with last week, the programme skipped over the 90s, and again pointed to the 80s as the period when comics in general fell out of favour. British kids began to get their entertainment from more vibrant sources, like films, videos and television.
It's the last episode next week, and it looks like they've saved the best for last; with the history of 2000 A.D, the pioneering work of Alan Moore and the rise of the graphic novel...
17 September 2007
BBC Four, 9.00 pm
As Armando Iannucci (our narrative thought balloon) explained, the early-1950s saw a wave of American horror comics washing up on British shores after the war. Tales From The Crypt and other ghoulish titles caused parents to shake their heads in condemnation. But only one man, Reverend Marcus Morris, was so disgusted he offered kids a more wholesome, British alternative: The Eagle.
On 14 April 1950, Morris' Eagle took flight, introducing a generation of kids to the adventures of Dan Dare - Pilot Of The Future, and other iconic characters from this age of imagined, exciting space travel. Eagle was such a big success, the creative time developed a "sister" publication very quickly: the less-excitingly named Girl.
At first, girls didn't like Girl, until market research bore fruit and they began running strips like "Belle Of The Ballet" and "Angela The Air Hostess", to huge popular success. Girl even included cookery tips and features like "how to make lampshades." Oh, and one issue had a pin-up of the Duke Of Edinburgh for girls to stick on their bedroom wall. Seriously, did anyone ever do that? Own up.
As we discovered in last week's episode with the Dandy and Beano, success breeds imitators -- the most popular being Bunty, with its popular strip "The Four Mary's". Then, the 60s arrived and changed the face of comics forever...
For boys, the swinging 60s meant war action with Victor, Commando and Valiant (which introduced Captain Hurricane.) A comic artist of the time, Gordon Livingstone, waxed lyrical about how the WWII vehicles and uniforms were painstakingly researched and meticulously detailed, although no strip was allowed to show blood and gore. The true horrors of war were glossed over by wise-cracking Brits and stupid Germans with dueling scars and habit of yelling "Achtung!"
It was around this time that Roy Of The Rovers began its run, fuelled by the popularity of George Best in 60s pop-culture. Celebrity fans Frank Skinner and pundit Mark Lawrenson were impassioned speakers about the fun, excitement and ridiculousness of Roy's footballing adventures.
For girls, the 60s equalled sex. Well, okay, "romance". Comics with cheesy titles like Mirabelle, Romeo, Serenade and Valentine were catering for the girls becoming women. This new breed of teenager. D.C Thomson published seminal magazine Jackie, named after writer Jacqueline Wilson, who was there to gush over its trailblazing attitude. Unlike most comics, Jackie was designed by the women's magazine department, giving it an adult glossiness; with fashion, make-up tips and advice columns.
Heading into the 1970s, I was very surprised to learn that our modern era of serious-minded "graphic novels" came about because of the girls comics! Market research revealed teenaged girls wanted to feel emotion when they read comics, so a male-dominated industry began pumping out shocking tales of home abuse, work violence and heartwrenching melodrama, in publications like Tammy.
One Tammy strip, "Slaves Of War Orphan Farm", best encapsulated the vogue for downbeat storylines. "Cinderella Spiteful" and "Little Miss Nothing" were other examples of cruelty and misery being used as "entertainment" for girls of the period... and they lapped it up!
The serious, emotional attitude made its way over the boy comics very quickly, leading to realistic war stories, such as 1979s seminal Charley's War -- perhaps the first noteworthy example of a comic's abilitity to enlighten, educate and move through drawings.
The 80s began to erode teenager's comics, just as it had done the youngster's comics. Roy Of The Rovers began playing football alongside 80s popstars Spandau Ballet as a shameless marketing plot, then stole Dallas' "Who Shot J.R?" storyline for a number of issues, before Roy was involved in a helicopter crash and had his foot amputated in 1993.
Girl's comics began to run "photo strips" (one featuring a young George Michael), which gradually replace tradition drawn strips. As with last week, the programme skipped over the 90s, and again pointed to the 80s as the period when comics in general fell out of favour. British kids began to get their entertainment from more vibrant sources, like films, videos and television.
It's the last episode next week, and it looks like they've saved the best for last; with the history of 2000 A.D, the pioneering work of Alan Moore and the rise of the graphic novel...
17 September 2007
BBC Four, 9.00 pm
