The phrase “British comics” has, over recent decades, seen a quite drastic shift in meaning. For a long time, British comics were affordable entertainment that youngsters picked up at the newsagent with their pocket money, and which covered a variety of genres from knockabout comedy to swooning romance, sporting exploits to high-flying sci-fi. Today, however,…
Sweeney Toddler is Good, Gloopy Fun
Sweeney Toddler Leo Baxendale (art/lineart/lettering) Treasury of British Comics/Rebellion April 2019 Sweeny Toddler is a wonderfully ridiculous little comic strip. Beloved by Brits, who first saw him in the pages of Shiver ‘N’ Shake Magazine, the semi-vicious toddler and his exasperated parents eventually moved to Whoopee! Magazine, then survived mergers with Whizzer and Chips and…
Of Window Washers and Walkovers: Bella at the Bar
Bella at the Bar Jenny McDade & Primrose Cumming (Writers), John Armstrong (Artist) Rebellion July 2018 In 1971, Fleetway began publishing Tammy, a weekly comic for girls. One of its long-running stars was the newly-collected Bella at the Bar. However, what new readers might not realize (and what no one mentions in the collection’s introduction)…
Corpse Talk: Ground-Breaking Comics
Corpse Talk: Ground-Breaking Women Adam and Lisa Murphy Phoenix at David Fickling Books, March 1st 2018 There are children for whom this will rank among the most valuable books of their lives, and it only costs ten pounds (penny change). I appreciate this is an introduction with what’s perhaps offputting grandeur, but I’m afraid I…
Nothing You Can Say Can Tear Me Away From My Guy: Semi-Radical Romance Comics
There’s nothing like a good bit of media to bring to mind a good bit of criticism—to deepen it, to clarify. There’s nothing like freedom to remind you of discipline—how it works, which parts help you grow, which parts curtail. I read a lot of comics made for mean slutty girls, and I had to…
Hollers and Amazons: Leo Baxendale’s Bad Girls
When British comic legend Leo Baxendale sadly passed away last month at the age of 86, he left behind a rich legacy of truly brilliant characters. The “enfant terrible” Sweeney Toddler, the affable archvillain Grimly Feendish, the blundering Three Bears–each of these left their mark on generations of comic-readers in the United Kingdom. But out…
