Comic creator Andy Fanton seems to be on a mission to take over the Beano this week, – he wrote this week’s Little Plum, Ball Boy and the issue features his first ever script for Beano legends The Bash Street Kids!

Portsmouth-based Andy, whose past credits include work for Cosgrove Hall and The Dandy, is also now working on adult humour title VIZ.

“VIZ is another of those titles I’ve often dreamt about getting my work into,” Andy notes in a recent web post, “ever since I was a pimply adolescent reading the comic and laughing at all the swears and feeling peculiar in the trouser area when seeing the ads for phone sex lines in the back. Now, years later, I’ve finally done it! And I still feel peculiar in the trouser area.

“My VIZ debut [in Issue 226] is a series of three, three-panel gag-strips entitled ‘Internet Troll’, with the ingenious twist that the troll in question is an actual troll. See what I did there? Genius, I know. This was originally an idea pitched to another title, but when things went a bit quiet there I threw in some extra curse words and sent it off to Viz HQ, who picked it up.”

• Both The Beano and VIZ are on sale now in all good newsagents across the UK. And some truly evil ones.

Andy’s Web Presence

• Web Site: http://www.andyfanton.com
• Andy’s “Lord Likely”: http://www.lordlikely.com
• The Carrotty Kid: http://http//carrottykid.blogspot.co.uk/
• Twitter: http://twitter.com/FantonEsquire

John Freeman

The founder of downthetubes, which he established in 1998. John works as a comics and magazine editor, writer, and on promotional work for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine, Star Trek Explorer (previously known as Star Trek Magazine) and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics. He has also edited several comic collections, including volumes of “Charley’s War and “Dan Dare”. He’s the writer of "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.

Categories: British Comics, British Comics - Current British Publishers

Tags: Andy Fanton, The Beano, Viz