A golden Oldie

By John Freeman on 23 February 2008

In celebration of his 100th birthday Willaim Geoge Bunter, better known of course as Billy Bunter, features proudly on the cover of the Oldie magazine this week.

The Oldie promises “…Deliciously politically incorrect, the Bunter stories were nevertheless underpinned by the virtues of tolerance, decency and loyalty. Bill Hagerty celebrates the Fat Owl’s centenary”.

The fat owl of the Remove alos had radio programme dedicated to him this week. It was on Radio 4 on Tuesday (19th, at 11:30 am) and was entitled ‘Billy Bunter’s Birthday Bash’ and was presented by Gyles Brandreth. It’ll be on the radio 4 website for a bit I’m sure.

About the Author
Latest Posts

John Freeman

John is the founder of downthetubes, launched in 1998. He is a comics and magazine editor, writer, and Press Officer for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He also runs Crucible Comic Press.

Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine and Overkill for Marvel UK, Babylon 5 Magazine, Star Trek Magazine, and its successor, Star Trek Explorer, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics; and has edited several comic collections and graphic novels, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”, and Hancock: The Lad Himself, by Stephen Walsh and Keith Page.

He’s the writer of comics such as Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs”, with Dave Hailwood.