Review by Luke Williams
For those of us who have memories that go that far back, Dinner Ladies from Hell first saw print in the ill fated, creator owned, weekly anthology TOXIC. Initially, the strips in the comic were written by well-established creators of British comics, Pat Mills, John Wagner & Alan Grant (before Wagner and Grant stepped away).
However, soon into its run, there were a few strips from less well knownr creators, most notably Jeremy Banx and David Leach, who contributed a bizarre strip called “The Driver”. It didn’t have much plot but involved the titular driver piloting a huge many wheeled juggernaut through anything and everything in its path, wreaking pain and destruction everywhere he went. It was very violent, surreal and in quite bad taste – a great fit for Toxic, and a welcome break from the other more conventional strips in the comic, and much celebrated by those who know.
Banx and Leach then contributed strips independently, and “Dinner Ladies” was Leach’s effort. Although it has a very different pace and is a more conventional strip, it has a very similar sense of humour.
“Dinner Ladies” proposes that the end of the world would not be brought about by four hooded horsemen of the apocalypse men, but by four middle aged to elderly school cooks, wielding their tools of destruction, instant mash, school custard mushy peas and boiled liver.
The only person who could possibly stop them (or at least, the first person listed in the phone book) is Professor Henry Wittering. Seemingly hopelessly outclassed and out of his depth, he is joined in his fight by the depleted membership of SORIE (the Sacred Order of Religious Instructors and Educators). However, numbers and knowledge aren’t enough: if the reluctant allies are to have any chance at all at defeating the Dinner Ladies they need to find lost holy artifacts and gain more allies, from the most unlikely of places.
Dinner Ladies is a mix of, if not pitch black, then definitely charcoal grey humour, with a Pythonesque surrealism and ridiculousness. Above all, it’s very British, and played very straight, despite the bold chunky cartoony art, and the dinner ladies themselves are very disturbing. Characters meet gruesome and occasional bizarre ends as the story unfolds. Certain references date it and although the title sounds like it is something written by a (possibly disgraced) children’s author, don’t let that put you off. Think of it as an old IPC humour strip, but from Hammer Horror.
Quirky, and perhaps not to everyone’s taste, but recommended for if you are looking for something a little different to read.
Luke Williams
Dinner Ladies by David Leach is available direct from David Leach wherever he’s doing a show, including the upcoming London Comic Con (15th – 16th November 2026) Southend Comic Con (22nd November) and Wycombe Artisan Christmas Market (27th – 28th November); or enquire direct via davidleach2000@yahoo.com for cost in your country; and from Dead Universe Comics, 5 Bourbon St, Aylesbury HP20 2PZ
Who the Heck is David Leach?
David’s career as a cartoonist, writer, and editor spans over 35 years, when at the age of 23 he started working as British animator, Bob Godfrey’s ‘ghost artist’ drawing Henry’s Cat comic strips. The following year, he went freelance and become the country’s first Government-sponsored cartoonist thanks to the Enterprise Allowance Scheme.
He created his most popular character, Psycho Gran, in 1987 for the much-loved kids comic, Oink. He’s worked for Whizzer & Chips, Gas, Brain Damage, UT, Casper, Action Man, and LEGO Adventures. His work in the cult British 1990 comic, Toxic! (where he co-created “The Driver”, and created “The Dinner Ladies From Hell”) led to him writing and drawing The Toxic Crusaders (#8) for Marvel US.
During his career he has written and edited newspaper comic strips of Ren & Stimpy, Spider-Man and Wallace and Gromit for a variety of newspapers including The Sun, The News of the World, The Sunday Times, The Saturday Telegraph, and has also written for Private Eye.
David is currently the Senior Creative Editor at Titan Comics, where he edits the Blade Runner range of titles: (2019, 2029, 2039, and Origins), Rivers of London and Conan. He’s also edited The Phantom of the Opera and Man Who Fell to Earth graphic novels, V.E. Schwab’s Shades of Magic, and ExtraOrdinary, and Lavie Tidhar’s Adler. His previous editorial and writing credits include The Prisoner (which he plotted), Dan Dare, Fighting American, Anno-Dracula, The Blacklist, Captain Kronos, Hammer’s The Mummy, and Adventure Time. He also edits Titan Comics’ vintage range of comic book titles including Flash Gordon, Mandrake the Magician, Elric, and Peanuts.
Psycho Gran currently appears in David Lloyd’s digital comic Aces Weekly and her own comics, published by Dead Universe Comics. The first three issues of David’s autobiographical comic – David Leach Conquers the Universe, reviewed on downthetubes – are also published by Dead Universe Comics.
Outside of comics, in 2014 David won Channel Four’s Come Dine With Me.
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Brought up on a diet of Commando, British Boys Annuals and Asterix, Lucas Williams’s day job limits his reading time. Luckily for everyone else this also restricts his writing time.
Categories: British Comics, Comics, Creating Comics, downthetubes Comics News, Features, Reviews
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