Combat Colin creator Lew Stringer, whose credits encompass BEANO, Doctor Who Magazine and many other titles, has just released a new collection, Fanzine Funnies, his latest self-published venture. If you’re a fan of The Prisoner TV series, this is definitely a fun publication you should track down. The first run has already sold out, within a couple of days of launch, but a second run is at the printers.
Fanzine Funnies is a collection of Lew’s comic strips from the 1990s that satirised aspects of The Prisoner TV series, the material originally published in fanzines such as Camera Obscura, that few will have seen.
Just like his superb “Daft Dimensions” cartoon that runs in Doctor Who Magazine, sometimes these strips may be little dependent on knowing the show, but Lew is a master of that intangible, highly valued skill of creating funny strips that balance knowledge of subject matter, in this case, genre TV with funny gags anyone can appreciate. The strips included in this 32-page A5 landscape-format comic are early examples of such skills he’s since honed to perfection down the years.
On offer in this collection are two series Lew created in the early 1990s (some featuring scenes that aren’t suitable for children, just in case there are younger fans of his work reading this).
First up, there’s “Rogue Rover”, telling the story of what happened to “that big white balloon” after the events of The Prisoner, with the roving, and unusually articulate, sphere becoming a jobbing actor and then a time traveller. Some of Lew’s predictions for the future of TV are eerily prescient, and funny, as is a silly Trivial Pursuits-style Prisoner game.
The other series in the comic is “Mumbler Six” featuring Alistair Sadgitt, the most intense fanboy in the world. downthetubes readers will know Lew and I created a similar character, Pedantic Stan, The Comics Fan (his strips previously collected by Lew) but, as Lew says, Alistair dials up the eccentricity of certain fans “Let’s face it, as enthusiasts of genre TV or comics, we’re all a little offbeat to certain degrees but Alistair Sadgitt dials up the eccentricity ”to 11… and beyond!”
Along with a very silly strip about the intensity of fan speculation about The Prisoner that brings a whole new perspective to coat hangers, my favourite strip has to be a Doctor Who/ The Prisoner crossover by way of a nod to certain infamous photo shoot by a former Who companion. I’m sure some of you can guess what I’m alluding to.
A highlight of this collection, for me, is “Number Six and his Unmutual Tricks” a what-might-have-been version of a The Prisoner strip if it had ever run in humour comics like Buster (where the daft bully character he created, “Tom Thug, landed after launching in Oink!). Lew skilfully blends his love of The Prisoner with his knowledge of humour comics with aplomb!
This is a smashing little collection, with a couple of other extras included, that I’m more than happy to recommend, and I’m not alone, given the first 100-issue run has sold out, with more copies already on the way from the printers.
Grab one while you can from your nearest Village shop (joking…order details below).
• Lew Stringer’s Fanzine Funnies is only available exclusively from Lew at comic cons, or from his eBay here
• Check out more of Lew’s work at lewstringercomics.blogspot.com
“The Unmutual Website”, or “TUW”, is dedicated to the 1960s TV series The Prisoner, starring Patrick McGoohan, and the Village of Portmeirion, where the series was filmed. Its aim is to be an “online magazine” for all things Prisoner, including the latest news, photos, links, information about the series, Patrick McGoohan and other cast and crew, plus providing a place for all the talent and discussion in Prisoner fandom to be collated (such as artwork, articles, etc).
The Unmutual is not any sort of club, society, or group. It is just a website.
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, British Comics - Collections, Comics, downthetubes Comics News, downthetubes News, Features, Other Worlds, Reviews, Television
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