Great British Comic Characters Reinvented: Grimly Feendish

By John Freeman on November 14, 2015

Grimly Feendish reinvented by Rob Moran

Artist Rob Moran has sent us a very different looking Grimly Feendish to the fun-filled would-be ruler of the world from 1960s comics for our Great British Comic Characters Reinvented competition. We hope you like it!

Created by Leo Baxendale, Grimly Feendish (alias The Rottenest Crook in the World) is a villainous character who first appeared in Wham! (in Issue 4, cover dated 11th July 1964) and Smash!, published by Odhams Press). His goal? World domination of course, which he attempts to achieve using various monsters and outrageous plot devices such as exploding treacle.

The original Grimly Feendish

The character was revived in 2005 for DC Comics six issue series, Albion, written by Leah Moore and John Reppion and drawn by Shane Oakley (who posted a version of Grimly here on his own blog back in 2007. There is no collection of his adventures.

Rob Moran is an award-winning illustrator, comic book artist and writer, based in the UK. As a writer he has created various comic titles and wrote a nationally syndicated US newspaper comic strip. As an artist he has been a magazine illustrator, newspaper cartoonist, computer game designer and has created posters for the Scottish Opera. As a graphic artist, he has been published in the UK, Europe and the US with such companies as Marvel, Dark Horse, Image Comics, Silver Phoenix Entertainment, Classical Comics, 2000AD and many others.

He’s currently trying to drum up support for an amazing-looking Lovecraft project conceived with Jasper Bark and you can read an interview with him and Jasper about it here on downthetubes.

Great British Comic Characters Reinvented Competition

For our latest competition we want you to give us your “New Look” to a classic British comic character of your choice, be it Black Max, Doomlord, Steel Claw, The Spider or I-Spy. No decade is off limits, no character – apart from Dan Dare, who we’ve already done.

• Please send your entries to the downthetubes at downthetubesnet@yahoo.co.uk – no high res files, ideally 1600 pixel width at least and no web links. Entries must be received by 12 noon on Thursday 26th November 2015. Please also include a brief bio and relevant web links to your own work with your entry. Good luck! As usual, the prize will be a random book or comic from our archive!

Grimly Feendish © Time UK

About the Author
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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.