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Hoses of the Holy in the Parallel Universe

May 21, 2006

Perishers Revisited

Finding my old entry about the wonderful Perishers for the Book Review Blog prompted me to buy a couple more of the Omnibus collections. I've just received #2 (which covers the period 1964-1966, nostalgia fans) and I'm awaiting #3 (1966-1968).

They really are priceless. Enormously funny, beautifully drawn, chock-full of social commentary, and yet as fresh today as they were forty years ago. Miles better than Peanuts, I think, and also as beautifully drawn as some of the Calvin and Hobbes. Click on the images below for a full-size view!

Here's one that completely sums up my attitude towards career, work, and ambition:

And another that explains why I'm thinking of going into teaching:

For Doctor Who fans, here's one from 1964, which must be one of the earliest examples of Doctor Who's impact on our culture. I think the dustbin is a fantastic drawing:

And finally, an example of the beautifully rendered full-strip artwork (they also often did the same thing across several panels). It's a shame, but the quality of the Perishers was diminished greatly when original artist Dennis Collins retired in 1983 (he died in 1990). Post-1983 strips were drawn by writer Maurice Dodd himself (who'd previously only sketched the strips roughly for Collins to work from), or any one of several others, none of whom could draw as well as Collins. Maurice Dodd died at the end of 2005. So I leave you with another classic Baby Grumplin' moment:

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