''Oink!'' was a British comic book magazine for children which was published from 3 May 1986 to 22 October 1988. It set out to be deliberately
anarchic
Anarchy is a form of society without rulers. As a type of stateless society, it is commonly contrasted with states, which are centralized polities that claim a monopoly on violence over a permanent territory. Beyond a lack of government, it can ...
, reminiscent of '' Viz'' but for children. The creators also cited '' Mad'' magazine as a major influence.
Part of its difference in the marketplace was that it attracted writers and cartoonists from a wide range of previous disciplines. It was devised, launched and edited by Patrick Gallagher, ''
Private Eye
''Private Eye'' is a British fortnightly satirical and current affairs (news format), current affairs news magazine, founded in 1961. It is published in London and has been edited by Ian Hislop since 1986. The publication is widely recognised ...
'' regular contributor Tony Husband and Mark Rodgers, although within the fiction of the comic it was "edited" by a character called Uncle Pigg (similar to '' 2000 AD'''s Tharg the Mighty). The comic also followed ''2000 AD'''s lead in crediting its contributors for their work, still a rarity in British comics at that time. Featured artists and writers included Husband's ''Private Eye'' colleague David Haldane, ex- The Fall member and future
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and Contemporary hit radio, current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including ...
Lew Stringer
Lew Stringer (born 22 March 1959 in England) is a freelance comic artist and scriptwriter.
Biography
Stringer began his career from the late 1970s with a series of fanzines, many featuring his popular '' Brickman'' character; these were read by ...
, future Beano writer/artist Kev F Sutherland, future Marvel artist, writer and editor and ''SpongeBob SquarePants Magazine'' editor David Leach, future ''
Financial Times
The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and also published digitally that focuses on business and economic Current affairs (news format), current affairs. Based in London, the paper is owned by a Jap ...
'' cartoonist Jeremy Banks, and satirical media commentator-to-be
Charlie Brooker
Charlton ‘Charlie’ Brooker (born 3 March 1971) is an English screenwriter, producer, presenter, author, cartoonist, and social critic. He first became known for creating and presenting satirical television shows that featured biting criticis ...
. ''Viz'' founders Davy Thorp and Chris Donald also contributed some one-off strips, as did ''The Beano'''s Tom Paterson and John Geering. Illustrator
Steve McGarry
Steve McGarry (born 24 January 1953, Lambiek's ''Comiclopedia''. Retrieved 21 December 2018. in
conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...
groups and a chain of newsagents branding it offensive and unsuitable for children. A notably controversial item was the story "Janice and John and the Parachute Jump", a parody of the Janet and John readers which appeared in issue 7, which prompted an official complaint to the Press Council. The Council ruled in Oink's favour (and the strip was subsequently reprinted in the comic alongside an editorial about the affair) but the negative publicity resulted in some newsagents, including
WHSmith
WH Smith plc, trading as WHSmith (also written WH Smith and formerly as W. H. Smith & Son), is a British retailer, with headquarters in Swindon, England, which operates a chain of railway station, airport, port, hospital and motorway service s ...
, placing it on the top shelves away from other comics, thus damaging its sales potential to its young target audience. An item on how the
poll tax
A poll tax, also known as head tax or capitation, is a tax levied as a fixed sum on every liable individual (typically every adult), without reference to income or resources. ''Poll'' is an archaic term for "head" or "top of the head". The sen ...
meant people owning
parrots
Parrots (Psittaciformes), also known as psittacines (), are birds with a strong curved beak, upright stance, and clawed feet. They are classified in four families that contain roughly 410 species in 101 genus (biology), genera, found mostly in ...
had to pay tax unless they were members of the Conservative Party was read out in the
House of Commons
The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...
.
Originally a fortnightly publication, it became weekly and finally monthly and was finally wound up in November 1988 after 68 issues, though both a summer and winter special were published in 1989, and a final summer special (consisting almost entirely of reprinted material) in 1990. Three ''Oink!'' strips transferred to '' Buster'': "Weedy Willy", "Pete and his Pimple" and "Tom Thug", the latter appearing through to the comic's last issue in 1999.
The comic's editors Patrick Gallagher, Tony Husband and Mark Rodgers, would go on to create the
CITV
CITV is a British children's morning programming block on ITV2 and formerly a free-to-air channel owned by ITV plc. CITV, then Children's ITV, launched on 3 January 1983 as a late afternoon programming block on the ITV network for children aged ...
programme
Round the Bend
''Round the Bend!'' is a satirical British children's television series, which ran on Children's ITV for three series from January 6, 1989, to May 7, 1991. The programme was produced by Hat Trick Productions for Yorkshire Television. After its f ...
for
ITV Yorkshire
ITV Yorkshire, previously known as Yorkshire Television and commonly referred to as just YTV, is the British television service provided by ITV Broadcasting Limited for the Yorkshire franchise area on the ITV (TV network), ITV network. Until 19 ...
and
Hat Trick Productions
Hat Trick Productions Limited is an independent British production company that produces television and radio programmes, mainly specialising in comedy, based in London. The company's logo is depicted as a rabbit pulling a man out of a hat inste ...
. Hat Trick co-founders Jimmy Mulville and Rory McGrath would be credited as script editors on series one, alongside
Geoffrey Perkins
Geoffrey Howard Perkins (22 February 1953 – 29 August 2008) was a British comedy producer, writer and performer. He was BBC head of comedy between 1995 and 2001, and produced the first two radio series of ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy ...
.
In 1987 ''Oink!'' was made into a computer game of the same name.
Mark Rodgers' archives relating to ''Oink!'' are held by Archive Services, University of Dundee.
Notable strips
Some of the most popular recurring characters in the comic were:
* Uncle Pigg, whose staff were known as the Plops (apparently, sentient mounds of
faeces
Feces (also known as faeces American and British English spelling differences#ae and oe, or fæces; : faex) are the solid or semi-solid remains of food that was not digested in the small intestine, and has been broken down by bacteria in the ...
) and who had an ongoing battle with conservative critic Mary Lighthouse (an obvious
parody
A parody is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satire, satirical or irony, ironic imitation. Often its subject is an Originality, original work or some aspect of it (theme/content, author, style, e ...
of
Mary Whitehouse
Constance Mary Whitehouse (; 13 June 1910 – 23 November 2001) was a British teacher and conservative activist. She campaigned against social liberalism and the mainstream British media, both of which she accused of encouraging a more permis ...
) (usually written by Mark Rodgers, artwork by Ian Jackson)
* The Street-Hogs (writer Mark Rodgers, artwork Malcolm Douglas as J.T. Dogg), anthropomorphic crime-fighting biker pigs
* Harry the Head (he was only a head) (Marc Riley)
* Billy's Brain (he was only a brain) (David Haldane)
* Horace "Ugly Face" Watkins (Tony Husband)
* Weedy Willy (artwork Mike Green, sometimes written by Mark Rodgers, Vaughan Brunt or others)
* Pete and his Pimple (the Pimple was on Pete's nose and was bigger than he was) (Lew Stringer)
* The Secret Diary of Hadrian Vile (an obvious parody of Adrian Mole) (writer Mark Rodgers, artwork Ian Jackson)
*
Tom Thug
''Tom Thug'' was a long-running British comic strip, first published in '' Oink!'' in May 1986, then moved to '' Buster''. Created by cartoonist Lew Stringer, Tom was encouraged by his skinhead father to be a school bully like he used to be. Howe ...
(who spent most of the first six months of publication attempting to tie his bootlaces) (Lew Stringer)
* Mr Bignose (Jeremy Banks)
* Burp The Smelly Alien (who could talk to his
internal organs
In a multicellular organism, an organ is a collection of tissues joined in a structural unit to serve a common function. In the hierarchy of life, an organ lies between tissue and an organ system. Tissues are formed from same type cells to a ...
, many of which could talk back) (Jeremy Banks)
* Rubbish Man (an inept
superhero
A superhero or superheroine is a fictional character who typically possesses ''superpowers'' or abilities beyond those of ordinary people, is frequently costumed concealing their identity, and fits the role of the hero, typically using their ...
) (David Haldane)
* Hugo the Hungry Hippo (David Haldane)
* Cowpat County ( Davy Francis)
*
Frank Sidebottom
Frank, FRANK, or Franks may refer to:
People
* Frank (given name)
* Frank (surname)
* Franks (surname)
* Franks, a Germanic people in late Roman times
* Franks, a term in the Muslim world for all western Europeans, particularly during the Crus ...
(Chris Sievey)
* Psycho Gran (David Leach)
Satirist
Charlie Brooker
Charlton ‘Charlie’ Brooker (born 3 March 1971) is an English screenwriter, producer, presenter, author, cartoonist, and social critic. He first became known for creating and presenting satirical television shows that featured biting criticis ...
, who was still at school at the time, contributed various strips, none of which were true "regulars" individually, but which recurred in loose rotation. These included "Freddie Flop (He Falls to Pieces)", "Disgusting Des", "Clint Gritwood, The Trigger-Happy Cop", "The Adventures of
Death
Death is the end of life; the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain a living organism. Death eventually and inevitably occurs in all organisms. The remains of a former organism normally begin to decompose sh ...
" and "Transmogrifying Tracey (She Can Change Into Anything She Likes!)".
Aside from straightforward comic strips, the comic would also include spoof news items, adverts (usually for the fictional GBH brand) and so forth. The comic also featured many parodies of films, TV shows, and strips from other comics. There were also regular photo stories, with photography by James Gallagher (and sometimes Martin Zukor), often starring Snatcher Sam, who was 'played' by Marc Riley.
As the title suggested,
pigs
The pig (''Sus domesticus''), also called swine (: swine) or hog, is an omnivorous, domesticated, even-toed, hoofed mammal. It is named the domestic pig when distinguishing it from other members of the genus '' Sus''. Some authorities cons ...
were a constant theme. Celebrities would regularly be
caricature
A caricature is a rendered image showing the features of its subject in a simplified or exaggerated way through sketching, pencil strokes, or other artistic drawings (compare to: cartoon). Caricatures can be either insulting or complimentary, ...
butcher
A butcher is a person who may Animal slaughter, slaughter animals, dress their flesh, sell their meat, or participate within any combination of these three tasks. They may prepare standard cuts of meat and poultry for sale in retail or wholesale ...
s, the most vicious of whom was Jimmy "The Cleaver" Smith.
For most of the comic's run, each issue had a theme (e.g.,
Christmas
Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...
, holidays, family etc.) which often allowed the comic to experiment. One issue (dubbed "Oink! goes Peculiar") showed everything going wrong in the Oink! offices, leading to strips being printed upside down or being drawn by the wrong artist etc. In another issue, Uncle Pigg and the Plops all went on holiday, leaving a skeleton staff (of literal skeletons) to produce the comic. The themes were dropped when the comic went weekly at the beginning of 1988.
Some items aimed slightly over their target audience's heads – in one strip, Weedy Willy wandered around moaning whilst being followed by a shadowy stranger who was writing down everything he said – for example, "Oh, I would go out tonight but I haven't got a stitch to wear", and " Heaven knows, I'm miserable now." At the end of the strip, the figure was revealed as
Morrissey
Steven Patrick Morrissey ( ; born 22 May 1959), known :wikt:mononym, mononymously as Morrissey, is an English singer and songwriter. He came to prominence as the frontman and lyricist of rock band the Smiths, who were active from 1982 to 198 ...
, getting ideas.
The first issue came with a free flexi-disk single featuring "The Oink Song" and "The Oink Rap" credited to Uncle Pigg and The Oinkletts, mostly the work of Marc Riley.
h2g2
The h2g2 website is a British-based collaborative online encyclopedia project. It describes itself as "an unconventional guide to life, the universe, and everything", in the spirit of the fictional publication ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the ...