A suitably getting in the party mood cartoon by Mays from The Bystander, from the issue dated 20th November 1936. At the height of the depression, a bit of a light relief for its readers, although its core audience were probably cocooned from the worst of that, unlike much of the population.
The Bystander launched in 1903 and ran until 1940, running for over 2000 issues, when it was absorbed by sister paper, The Tatler, which published for some time afterwards as the Tatler and Bystander, presumably victim to wartime paper rationing, which also impacted comic publishing.
Established in 1903 by George Holt Thomas, the son of illustrator and social reformer William Luson Thomas, founder of The Graphic, The Bystander joined a series of publications belonging to The Illustrated London News (ILN).
The Bystander was a satirical, whimsical title, focused on British “high society”, appealing to a conservative, affluent readership, offering light-heated reading, with articles on fashion, theatre, and sports, reflecting everyday life amongst Britain’s social elite.
While its gossip about the aristocracy, advice on antiques, and reports on the fishing and hunting seasons probably had wide appeal, the title also provided a platform for some influential writers, such as Daphne du Maurier and Hector Hugh Munro, better known by his pseudonym “Saki”, and artists, cartoonists, including Bruce Bairnsfather, best known for his popular “Old Bill” cartoons about World War One.
While some of its content is “of its time”, the racist and discriminatory attitudes of society back then in evidence, The Bystander is nevertheless an intriguing resource for those working in the fields of literary studies, the history of art, and social history. To say nothing of offering some great cartoons, even now!
• A digital archive of The Bystander is online at British Online Archives
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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.
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