Tony Hancock: Inside his Life in Word and Pictures, coming soon from Kaleidoscope

If you enjoyed the recent Tony Hancock night on Gold, then you may want to check out Tony Hancock: Inside his Life in Word and Pictures, from Kaleidoscope Publishing, which includes some vintage comic strips from Film Fun.

For the dedicated Hancock fan, the weighty book features images of archive items in this scrapbook style book with words by Lucy Hancock, Hancock’s great niece, and the Tony Hancock Appreciation Society’s Martin Gibbons and Tim Elms. These include some of the Hancock strips that appeared in Film Fun.

You may have seen some of the items featured, briefly, in the Gold documentary.

Tony Hancock was one of Britain’s best loved comics and his legendary Hancock’s Half Hour series for the BBC was the inspiration for many comedy shows that were to follow. With radio episodes regularly repeated on the BBC, it remains as popular today as ever.

This book offers the opportunity to look behind Hancock the comedian and tell his life story through the phenomenal archive amassed by his brother, Roger, combined with material held by the Tony Hancock Appreciation Society.

Lucy Hancock tells the story of his life through pictures, correspondence and much more, most of it never published before. The book also includes a complete chronological timeline of Hancock’s life featuring stage shows and broadcasts previously unpublished.

The opening panels of the first “Tony Hancock” strip drawn by Terry Wakefield, writer unknown, from Film Fun, cover dated 12th July 1958 (Sample not from book itself)
The opening panels of the first “Tony Hancock” strip drawn by Terry Wakefield, writer unknown, from Film Fun, cover dated 12th July 1958 (Sample not from book itself)

It includes a section, “The Comic in a Comic”, which features items such as the first Film Fun Hancock strip, from the issue of the weekly anthology cover dated 12th July 1958, the front cover of Film Fun annual 1960, and the final Film Fun strip.

The Film Fun brand is today owned by Rebellion Publishing, owners of 2000AD and Monster Fun.

Tony Hancock: Inside his Life in Word and Pictures is available to order here from Kaleidoscope Publishing

Tony Hancock Appreciation Society

A short tribute to Terry Wakefield, the first artist to work on Film Fun’s Tony Hancock strip, from The Tony Hancock Society magazine, Railway Cuttings, No. 43, February 1990


Categories: Audio, British Comics, Comics, Digital Media, downthetubes Comics News, downthetubes News, Other Worlds

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1 reply

  1. Looks reminiscent of Dudley D. Watkins a bit. I love Tony Hancock so this is of interest. I’ve never seen anything on Gold though. Don’t have Sky or whatever er platform it’s on.

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