Ken Reid (1919–1987) was a British comic artist and writer, best known as the co-creator of ''

Roger the Dodger Roger "the Dodger" Dawson is a comic strip character from the comic magazine ''The Beano''. He first appeared in his eponymous comic strip in 1953, and is one of the longest-running characters, known for his tactics of avoiding responsibility a ...

'' and ''

Jonah Jonah or Jonas, ''Yōnā'', "dove"; gr, Ἰωνᾶς ''Iōnâs''; ar, يونس ' or '; Latin: ''Ionas'' son of Amittai, is a prophet in the Hebrew Bible and the Quran, from Gath-hepher of the northern kingdom of Israel in about the 8th cent ...

'' for ''

The Beano ''The Beano'' (formerly ''The Beano Comic'', also known as ''Beano'') is a British anthology comic magazine created by Scottish publishing company DC Thomson. Its first issue was published on 30 July 1938, and it became the world's longest-runn ...

'' and

Faceache ''Faceache'' was a comic strip appearing in British comics in the 1970s and 1980s. He was created by Ken Reid. Publication history ''Faceache'' first appeared in issue #1 of ''Jet'', dated 1 May 1971. The strip was retained when ''Jet'' merged ...

for '' Jet'' (later appeared in '' Buster'').

Biography

Born in Manchester, Reid drew from an early age. At the age of nine he was diagnosed with a tubercular hip and was confined to bed for six months, during which time he drew constantly.Peter Hansen, He left school at thirteen and won a free scholarship to Salford Art School,Ken Reid interviewed by David Britton
Savoy Books, 1979 but was expelled shortly before graduation after being caught in a local café when he should have been in class. He set himself up in a studio as a commercial artist, with little success until his father offered to act as his agent, and bluffed his way into an interview with the art editor of the ''

Manchester Evening News The ''Manchester Evening News'' (''MEN'') is a regional daily newspaper covering Greater Manchester in North West England, founded in 1868. It is published Monday–Saturday; a Sunday edition, the ''MEN on Sunday'', was launched in February 201 ...

''. Reid was invited to submit ideas for a new children's section for the paper, and proposed '' The Adventures of Fudge the Elf'', which first appeared in 1938 and ran until 1963,, ''Manchester Evening News'', 7 February 1987 with a break from 1941 to 1946 when Reid was on National Service. After a brief period contributing to ''

Comic Cuts ''Comic Cuts'' was a British comic magazine. It was published from 1890 to 1953, lasting for 3006 issues. It was created by the reporter Alfred Harmsworth through his company Amalgamated Press (AP). In its early days, it inspired other publishe ...

'' in the late 1940s, Reid proposed a full colour strip called ''Zooville'' to the ''

Eagle Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just ...

''. At the same time,

Dundee Dundee (; sco, Dundee; gd, Dùn Dè or ) is Scotland's fourth-largest city and the 51st-most-populous built-up area in the United Kingdom. The mid-year population estimate for 2016 was , giving Dundee a population density of 2,478/km2 or ...

-based publishers D. C. Thomson & Co., to whom he had been introduced by his brother-in-law, fellow cartoonist Bill Holroyd, invited him to contribute to ''

''. Their managing editor,

R. D. Low Robert Duncan Low (25 August 1895, Dundee – 13 December 1980) was a Scottish comics writer and editor. Employed by D. C. Thomson & Co., he was responsible for their line of comics, and, as a writer, co-created ''Oor Wullie'' and ''The Broo ...

, travelled to Manchester to discuss a proposed new strip, ''

'', with him. Reid accepted their offer, and ''Roger'' first appeared in ''The Beano'' on 18 April 1953. Over the next decade he drew a number of successful strips for ''The Beano'' and its sister comic ''

The Dandy ''The Dandy'' was a British children's comic magazine published by the Dundee based publisher DC Thomson. The first issue was printed in December 1937, making it the world's third-longest running comic, after ''Il Giornalino'' (cover dated 1 Oct ...

'', including ''

'', a strip about a jinxed sailor who brings bad luck to every ship he sails on, written by Walter Fearne. Reid later recalled how much Fearne's scripts made him laugh, but he made many visual alterations to them, cramming as many as thirty panels to a page. In 1964 Reid and fellow artist

Leo Baxendale Joseph Leo Baxendale (27 October 1930 – 23 April 2017) was an English cartoonist and publisher. Baxendale wrote and drew several titles. Among his best-known creations are the ''The Beano, Beano'' comic strip, strips ''Little Plum'', ''Minnie ...

left DC Thomson to work for

Odhams Press Odhams Press was a British publishing company, operating from 1920 to 1968. Originally a magazine publisher, Odhams later expanded into book publishing and then children's comics. The company was acquired by Fleetway Publications in 1961 and th ...

' new titles ''

Wham! Wham! (briefly known in the US as Wham! U.K.) were an English pop duo formed in Bushey in 1981. The duo consisted of George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley. They became one of the most commercially successful pop acts of the 1980s, selling more ...

'' and '' Smash'', which allowed Reid to write as well as draw his strips. He began to explore his interests in "comic horror" and gruesome imagery, which would characterize the latter part of his career, with ''

Frankie Stein ''Monster High'', a fashion doll and media franchise created by Garrett Sander and released by American toy company Mattel on 11 June 2010, features a variety of fictional characters, many of whom are students at the titular high school. The fem ...

'' and ''The Nervs'', the latter of which he took over from Baxendale.Lew Stringer
Ken Reid and the Nervs
3 April 2007 ''Frankie Stein'' was a goofy take on

Frankenstein's monster Frankenstein's monster or Frankenstein's creature, often referred to as simply "Frankenstein", is a fictional character who first appeared in Mary Shelley's 1818 novel ''Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus''. Shelley's title thus compares ...

, about a harmless Frankie living with his mad scientist father, Professor Cube, at Mildew Manor. Frankie doesn't know his own strength and constantly ends up breaking everything. The Professor, meanwhile, is always scheming – and failing – to rid himself of Frankie. ''Frankie Stein'' ran in ''Wham!'' until the comic's cancellation in 1968. One of his first strips for ''Smash!'', in 1966, was ''The Queen of the Seas'', a short-lived masterpiece of comic artistry. The two main characters were drawn in the likeness of comedians

Stan Laurel Stan Laurel (born Arthur Stanley Jefferson; 16 June 1890 – 23 February 1965) was an English comic actor, writer, and film director who was one half of the comedy double act, duo Laurel and Hardy. He appeared with his comedy partner Oliver Ha ...

and

Oliver Hardy Oliver Norvell Hardy (born Norvell Hardy; January 18, 1892 – August 7, 1957) was an American comic actor and one half of Laurel and Hardy, the double act that began in the era of silent films and lasted from 1926 to 1957. He appeared with his c ...

, and the strip's humour was based on their movies. For '' Pow!'' in 1967, Reid created '' Dare-a-Day Davy'', a character who could not resist dares set for him by readers. One episode, in which Davy was dared to resurrect

, was too gruesome for the editors and eventually saw print in the UK small press magazine ''Weird Fantasy'', published by

David Britton David Britton (18 February 1945 – 29 December 2020) was a British author, artist, and publisher. In the 1970s he founded ''Weird Fantasy'' and ''Crucified Toad'', a series of small press magazines of the speculative fiction and horror genres. ...

, in 1969.)Review of "Weird Fantasy 1,"
Savoy History website. Retrieved 8 Feb. 2021. Reid's work on ''The Nervs'' in 1968–1969 turned it into an extremely surreal, even visceral, strip, achieving a rare level of hilarity and bawdiness. Its subversive presentation of comical horror again alarmed IPC's management.Maguire, Peter
''Fudge the Elf: Ken Reid: The Laura Maguire Collection''
Fudge-the-elf.com (2019). Retrieved 7 Feb. 2021. In 1971 he created ''

'', a boy who could ''scrunge'' his face into any shape, for '' Jet'', which later moved to '' Buster'' where it continued until Reid's death. Reid revived ''Frankie Stein'' in 1973 in ''

Shiver and Shake ''Shiver and Shake'' was a British comic magazine published every Monday by IPC Magazines Ltd. It ran from (issue dates) 10 March 1973 to 5 October 1974, when it merged with '' Whoopee!'' As often happens with British comics, many names of stri ...

''; the strip was taken over in 1974 by Robert Nixon in ''

Whoopee! ''Whoopee!'' is a 1928 musical comedy with a book based on Owen Davis's play, ''The Nervous Wreck.'' The musical libretto was written by William Anthony McGuire, with music by Walter Donaldson and lyrics by Gus Kahn. The musical premiered on Bro ...

'', with Frankie ultimately becoming "editor" of ''

Monster Fun ''Monster Fun'' was originally a weekly British comic strip magazine for children aged seven to twelve. Published by IPC Media, it ran for 73 issues in 1975–1976, when it merged with '' Buster''.

''.) Through the 1970s and 1980s he created horror-themed strips for a variety of comics, including ''Creepy Creations'' for ''Shiver and Shake'', ''Martha's Monster Make-up'' for ''Monster Fun'', and ''Tom Horror's World'' for ''Whoopee!''. ''Martha's Monster Make-up'' was similar to ''Faceache'' – about a girl with a mysterious jar of magical cosmetic cream that temporarily transformed someone's face into that of a hideous monster. The strip survived the end of ''Monster Fun'' and moved to '' Buster'' in 1976. Reid was named Best Writer and Best Artist by the

Society of Strip Illustration The Society of Strip Illustration (SSI), later known as the Comics Creators Guild, was a British network for all those involved in any stage of the creative process of comics production. The SSI, which was co-founded in 1977 by Denis Gifford, met ...

in 1978. On 2 February 1987, while drawing a page of ''Faceache'' at his home in

Pendlebury Pendlebury is a town in the City of Salford, Greater Manchester, England. The population at the 2011 Census was 13,069. It lies north-west of Manchester city centre, north-west of Salford and south-east of Bolton. Historically in Lancash ...

Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county and combined authority, combined authority area in North West England, with a population of 2.8 million; comprising ten metropolitan boroughs: City of Manchester, Manchester, City of Salford, Salford ...

, Reid suffered a stroke and died in hospital.

Bibliography

''Manchester Evening News''

*''The Adventures of Fudge the Elf'' (1938–1941, 1946–1963)

''Comic Cuts''

*''Super Sam'' *''Billy Boffin'' *''Foxy''

D.C. Thomson

* ''

'' **''

'', 1953–1959 **''

Grandpa Grandparents, individually known as grandmother and grandfather, are the parents of a person's father or mother – paternal or maternal. Every sexually-reproducing living organism who is not a genetic chimera has a maximum of four genetic gra ...

'', 1955–1957 **''

'', 1958–1963 **''

Jinx A jinx (also jynx), in popular superstition and folklore, is a curse or the attribute of attracting bad or negative luck. The word ''"jynx"'' meaning the bird wryneck and sometimes a charm or spell has been in use in English since the seventeent ...

'', 1963–1964 *''

'' ** '' Little Angel Face'', 1954–1955 ** '' Bing-Bang Benny'', 1956-1960 ** '' Ali Ha-Ha and the 40 Thieves'', 1960–1963 ** '' Big Head and Thick Head'', 1963–1966

Odhams/IPC

*''

'', ''

'', later ''

'', 1964–1968, 1973–1974 *'' Jasper the Grasper'', ''Wham!'', later ''

Cor!! ''Cor!!'', a British comic book, was launched in June 1970 by IPC (International Publishing Corporation), their sixth new comic in just over a year. ''Cor!!'' was edited by Bob Paynter. The comic had 32 pages and included a full colour center ...

'', 1965–1972 *''

Queen of the Seas ''Queen of the Seas'' ( it, Le avventure di Mary Read) is a 1961 adventure film directed by Umberto Lenzi and starring Lisa Gastoni and Jerome Courtland. Plot Cast * Lisa Gastoni as Mary Read * Jerome Courtland as Peter Goodwin * Walter ...

'', '' Smash!'', 1966 *'' Dare-a-Day Davy'', '' Pow!'', 1967-1968 *'' The Nervs'', ''Smash!'', 1968-1969 *'' The Robot Maker'', ''

'', from 1970 *''

'', '' Jet'', later '' Buster'', 1971–1987 *''

Wanted Posters A wanted poster (or wanted sign) is a poster distributed to let the public know of a person whom authorities wish to apprehend. They generally include a picture of the person, either a photograph when one is available or of a facial composite ...

'', ''

'', 1974 *'' Martha's Monster Make-up'', ''

'', 1975–1976, moved to ''Buster'' *'' Tom Horror's World'', ''

'', 1981–1983

References

External links

Fudge the Elf

Comics UK biography of Ken Reid (1919-1987)

published in ''Weird Fantasy'' #1 in 1969, Savoy Pictures website {{DEFAULTSORT:Reid, Ken British comics artists 1919 births 1987 deaths Artists from Manchester The Dandy people The Beano people