Philip Boyce, who runs the brilliant OiNK blog, devoted to one of Britain’s most anarchic comics of yesteryear, launches what we may make an annual celebration of British Christmas comics. All the best of the season, readers!

Merry Christmas, everyone! On my OiNK Blog, I’ve had fun rediscovering favourite classic comics in real time. I love the Christmas season and as a kid adored our festive issues, so downthetubes has invited me to count down my personal Top Five Classic Christmas Comics. The fifth place position goes to… Big Comic Fortnightly #14, a title now owned by Rebellion Publishing.

Is this a cheat? A way of getting no less than nine comics into one position in the countdown?

For Christmas 1987 I was incredibly excited to get my trotters on The OiNK! Book 1988, the first annual for the comic that introduced me to the medium. However, I also received The Big Comic Book 1988. Containing a whopping 256 pages of classics from Buster, Whizzer & Chips and Whoopee, it certainly made a statement!

It was actually the second book in a series, which proved so popular it spawned a fortnightly comic the following year. With 52 pages at only 35p, Big Comic Fortnightly was too good to miss. Normally, each issue’s cover was a collection of black and white panels from the strips inside, but for their first Christmas issue an old Jackpot cover by Sid Burgon was used instead. Not that I knew it was old at the time! I thought it had been created just for Big Comic, it was Christmas after all. They did, however, replace all of the repeating Jackpot covers.

Upon opening this as an adult, the strip on page three transports me right back to that Christmas 35 years ago is I see “Gums” the shark, in a suitably themed strip. He even gets snow down in the depths! Sort of. “Gums” was by far my favourite Big Comic Fortnightly, and remains so to this day when I read the yearly books. Drawn by John Geering, I’ve even asked for the new collected hardback book from the Treasury of British Comics this year. This one character alone would be enough to cement Big Comic Fortnightly on this list, if I’m honest.

That’s not to say the rest of the issue isn’t just as good. There were only ever two colour strips, on the inside of the regular title’s glossy covers, the rest printed in black and white on a thinner matt paper than the likes of OiNK and Buster etc., to help keep costs down further. We didn’t mind at all. It added to the retro feel and kept such a packed comic within the pocket money range. One of the colour strips this time was “Full O’Beans”, as drawn by the always entertaining Tom Paterson.

Even without his signature (something not usually seen within IPC and Fleetway comics outside of OiNK) you’d know it was Tom, from a certain object on the snowy ground outside the Old FolksHome. While it’s probably not a surprise to tell you every single strip in here is a Christmassy one, all issues of Big Comic Fortnightly (and later stablemate, Funny Fortnightly) always did feel properly curated. Every time a character appeared for the first time, it was their original first strip. Each issue’s selection felt complementary of each other and there were even some themed issues, like a brilliant Leo Baxendale special.

It was never a simple case of randomly selected reprints, and we really appreciated the extra effort from whoever was doing the choosing. It was an instant hit for Fleetway, and since they had ownership of all the strips it was very cheap to produce, hence the bargain price, which my parents appreciated. While it never turned weekly, it did spawn Funny Fortnightly, so for a while we were treated to a weekly dose of classic funnies.

Funny Fortnightly didn’t last, turning monthly before being cancelled soon after. However, Big Comic carried on all the way to No. 170, when it too changed to a monthly, although it only managed one issue in that format before being cancelled and replaced by the short-lived BVC (Big Value Comic). There were also eight giant books in the series, the full collection of which certainly look the part on my bookshelves.

With every single page chock full of Christmas cheer this is certainly a comic worth treating yourself to on eBay this festive season. Every character featured in the comic is in here and celebrating: Joker, Lazy Bones, Sammy Shrink, Buster, Deadly Hedley, Mustapha Mi££ion and Toy Boy, to name just a few. There are even some special one-off strips pulled from various titles such as “Xmas Past – A Charlie Dickens-Type Story”, “The World’s Worst Santa”, and “Santa May Be Late This Year”, thrown in for good measure.

Surely no-one (except, maybe, Toy Boy) is more suited to a Christmas special than Sweet Tooth though! I can actually remember this page from 1988, such a fan was I (and I still am) of homemade Christmas puddings…

While the books started off with reprints from Buster, Whizzer & Chips and Whoopee, even by this early stage in the comic’s life that had grown to also incorporate strips from Cor!!, Cheeky, Wow, the aforementioned Jackpot, Crazy and Monster Fun. Basically, if you bought any IPC comics as a kid, you’ll find yourself taking a very happy trip down memory lane with any issue of Big Comic Fortnightly. But this is a special one, and deservedly kicks off my Top Five.

Philip Boyce

Over on the OiNK Blog, Philip is currently reading the Big Comic Book series in real time, one hefty volume every Christmas, which you can check out here

The Treasury of British Comics Presents: The Tom Paterson Collection
ISBN: 978-1781089408
• Buy it from AmazonUK (Affiliate Link)

Scottish artist Tom Paterson is one of the most inventive and influential cartoonists British comics have produced. Inspired by the work of George Martin, Leo Baxendale and Ken Reid, Tom became a comic artist at a young age, working for Fleetway and DC Thomsons on such classic strips as Sweeny Toddler, Calamity James, Buster, Grimly Feendish, The Numskulls, Bananaman and Dennis the Menace.

At the beginning of his career Tom was ghosting artists like Baxendale, but his own style and sense of humour quickly developed and Tom’s work soon became unmistakable. His trademark stinky, striped sock often appeared in the panels of his work – a useful identifier born out of an age where publishers frowned upon artists signing their work. Along with the sock came the additional, visual comedic gags scattered throughout the strips, giving each one that instant re-readability.

Classic Gums: The Monster Fun Years
By Roy Davis, Robert Nixon, Alf Saporito
Out: 9th November 2023 
Paperback | 128 Pages | ISBN: 978-1786189998

The first Gums collection is here, including the complete run of strips published in Monster Funthrough 1976.

The hapless, loveable shark with false teeth was a highlight of the short-lived Monster Fun comic and proved to be so popular with the fans that he appeared as the front cover strip for most of the run.

The Great White (toothless) shark stalks a territory around the Australian coast, where he constantly butts heads with local surfer, Bluey. While Gums is out to snack on the youngster, Bluey is determined to take the shark’s false teeth as a memento!

Frank Roy Davis was born in Fulham, London in 1921. He studied at West Kensington Central School, originally intending to enter a clerical career. His talent for art led him a different direction and his first job was as a studio artist for the wallpaper designers Arthur Sanderson & Sons. 

After serving with the RAF between 1940-1946, he went on to join the Gaumont British Animation studio. After its closure in 1950, Davis began a career as a freelance cartoonist. His work was published in Tatler, the Daily Mirror and Punch, amongst others. In 1964 he joined the staff at IPC, writing scripts for several of their comic titles, including Lion (“The Backwoods Boys”), Whizzer and Chips (“Sid’s Snake”, “Odd Ball”), Jet (“Faceache”) and Monster Fun (“Gums”). Although he left IPC in 1974, he continued to work as a freelancer for them until 1992 when he retired. 

As well as being a member of the British Cartoonists’ Association, he also was a founder of the Cartoonists’ Club of Great Britain. He passed away on 11th November 2004.

Robert Nixon was born in North Yorkshire on 7th July 1939, the fifth of six children. His artistic skills were recognised by his teachers at a very early age. Nixon won several art competitions and a scholarship to Middlesbrough Art College in 1955. Unfortunately his time at college came to a premature end after his father died, but after a short character as a local lithographic artist, Nixon left to pursue a career as a cartoonist with DC Thomson. He took over “Little Plum” in The Beanoafter Leo Baxendale left the publisher in the early 1960s. He would also take over the art chores on “Roger the Dodger” from Ken Reid and “Lord Snoot”y from Dudley D. Watkins. 

In the 1970s, Nixon started to work for IPC, illustrating the stand out strips, “Gums” and “Kid Kong” in Monster Fun. He also took over from Ken Reid once again on “Frankie Stein”. 

Nixon would return to DC Thomson in the mid-80s where he took up drawing “Roger the Dodger” again amongst other strips, including “Beryl the Peril” in The Topper. He passed away on 22nd October 2002.

Alf Saporito worked for Fleetway/IPC from 1967 until the early 80s. His big break came when illustrating “Gus Gorilla” – the strip which appeared on the cover of Cor!! Other strips included one featuring the comedian Charlie Williams in Shiver & Shake and “Master Spy” in Valiant. 

Alf is probably best known for his work on “Gums”, taking over after original artist Robert Nixon moved on. Alf remained on the strip when it moved into Buster.

Treasury Of British Comics Annual 2024
• Hardback sold out | Digital Edition available from AmazonUK (Affiliate Link)

For over a century, the comic book annual has been an essential Christmas stocking filler for British children. The Treasury of British Comics have dived deep into the archives, selecting slick and exciting stories from past annuals, specials and regular issues, including strips from such titles as Lion, Starlord, Misty, Action, Wham!, Scream!, Smash!, Battle and Valiant to name but a few. Including the best of British talent like Brian Bolland, Cam Kennedy, Ken Reid, an uncredited Stan McMurtry (aka “Mac”, the strip unfortunately, wrongly credited to Leo Baxendale), Mike Western, Brian Lewis, Joe Colquhoun and Pat Mills, there are also three brand new strips – The Leopard from Lime Street Vs The Spider by Simon Furman, David Roach and Mike Collins, Black Beth by Alec Worley and DaNi and Gustav of the Bearmacht by Kek-W and Staz Johnson.

Monster Fun, Rebellion’s modern take on the classic British humour comic, is on sale now in all good newsagents, and available on subscription – and back issues are available here

Big Comic Fortnightly, characters and other titles mentioned © Rebellion Publishing Ltd.

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. He is currently editor of Star Trek Explorer, published by Titan – his third tour of duty on the title originally titled Star Trek Magazine.

Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine, Babylon 5 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, Comics, Features, Reviews

Tags: Big Comic Fortnightly, Gums, Humour Comics, Jackpot, John Geering, Philip Boyce, Rebellion Publishing, Sid Burgon, Tom Paterson, Treasury of British Comics Annual