Bank Holiday Reading: The 1976 Frankie Stein Holiday Special

Frankie Stein Holiday Special 1976

Holiday Specials may be few and far between these days when it comes to British comics – it’s simply too expensive or publishers to “sell in” one shots, sadly. But this doesn’t mean you can’t dip into your collection and pick out some appropriate reading.

Case in point – a rather battered, much-read copy of the Frankie Stein 1976 Summer Special.

This was the second of eight Frankie Stein summer specials  and features a smashing
cover is by the late Robert ‘Bob’ Nixon. But (with  apologies to Bob) the real reason I got it was for the Ken Reid strips inside.

For a measly 25p, you got seven Ken Reid illustrated strips (most single page; some double page and one in colour (the back page).

How could this not wet your appetite for all things Ken Reid?

Not to be confused with the simulacrum teenager from Monster High, Frankie Stein was, of course, Ken’s creation and despite the undoubted quality of Nixon’s version of the hapless monster, it’s Reid’s that most fans of the character recall.

First created for Wham!, he and his “father” Professor Cube went on to feature in Shiver & Shake in 1973, moving to Whoopee the following year. He also appeared in Monster Fun  (where he acted as ‘editor’) and his “Dad” even got his own one-off strip in the 1979 Whoopee! Annual.

In recent years, Egmont sought to revive the character for TOXIC – even commissioning strips – only to discover they didn’t own the character.

Frankie Stein Holiday Special 1976

Rounding off the Special is an episode of the Buster strip “Crabbe’s Crusaders“, drawn by Carlos Cruz. It was extremely short-lived in Buster, running for just a handful of issues in January 1969.

Frankie Stein Holiday Special 1976 - Crabbe's Crusaders

Frankie Stein and Crabbe’s Crusaders copyright TimeUK



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