Lew Stringer’s “Tough Guy and Scruffy” return

Tough Guy and Scruffy No. 1 by Lew Stringer

Way back in 1992, BEANO and Doctor Who Magazine cartoonist Lew Stringer created a superhero humour strip called “Tough Guy and Scruffy” for a new weekly anthology comic, Triffik! – and now, they’re back, in a “Pay What You Can” digital collection.

Published by Innovative Communications, a company who hoped to emulate the success of the BEANO, edited by Paul Cockburn, the comic lined up some creators to work on it, including, among others, Lew Stringer (drawing “Tough Guy and Scruffy”), Tim Perkins (“Buster Case”, “Hannah Hacker” and “Dinoswords“, and Euan Kerr (“Angry Angus”).

The title a long gestation period – planning began in 1989! – and, reportedly, had a huge launch budget but, sadly, traditional British comic weeklies were on their way out and the comic folded after just twelve issues.

Tough Guy and Scruffy - Character Designs
Lew’s character designs for Tough Guy and Scruffy © 2022 Lew Stringer
Tough Guy and Scruffy - Sample Art
Opening panels from the very first “Tough Guy and Scruffy” strip for Triffik, published in 1992. © 2022 Lew Stringer

Now however, for its 30th anniversary, Lew has collected his stories into a new, 32-page digital comic – and you can download it anywhere in the world today – but do consider making a “Pay What You Can” price via PayPal at lew.stringer@BTopenworld.com

Not only does this digital collection include all twelve strips that ran in the comic, three on the cover, but background to the making of the strip and comic, character designs – and, as an added bonus, a fun new story, bringing the utterly silly superhero duo into the 21st century with a bit of festive cheer… and heaven knows, we could all do with a bit of that, eh?.

Tough Guy and Scruffy in the 21st Century
Opening panels from an all-new “Tough Guy and Scruffy” strip © 2022 Lew Stringer

“It’s fair to say that most of you have probably never seen or heard of this strip before as Triffik’s existence was so brief,” says Lew. “Or perhaps you were amongst the readers who managed to catch it over those few weeks? Either way, I hope you enjoy the strips, which are intended for an all-ages audience.”

This is a smashing little digital collection, offering one of the best, crazily inventive strips from Triffik in one place. It’s a shame the title wasn’t a success, but great to see the characters back in (electronic) print!

Triffik No. 8 - cover by Lew Stringer

View and download Lew Stringer’s “Tough Guy and Scruffy” here. Although the cover price is voluntary Lew asks you to please be kind enough to donate £3 to him by PayPal at lew.stringer@BTopenworld.com (let’s give him some festive cheer, OK?)

Don’t forget to tell Lew what you think of “Tough Guy and Scruffy” here on his blog

Tim Perkins published a collection of his Triffik strip, “Dinoswords”, created with the help of writer and editor James Hill, back in 2015, and copies are still available

This Primordial Edition reprints every episode published, and includes the six never-before-seen episodes created prior to the publisher ceasing publication. More info at the-dinoswords.com

Check out a Triffik cover gallery here on Comic Vine

Tough Guy and Scruffy © 2022 Lew Stringer



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