On this day, 6 July 1974: Whoopee!
Toy Boy: Terry Bave (artist)
On this day, 6 July 1974 … Only a year after the close-down of Knockout – a comic aimed at those with less pocket money and costing 2½p for 20 pages – Whoopee! was knocking them out at twice the rate: 5p for a massive 40 pages. This really does feel like a quality comic, printed (in its early months at least) on a good grade of paper, thick and heavy in the hand, and bursting with strips – 26 in all. A lot of weekly work went into Whoopee! and it was clearly seen as the prestige title in the humour pack (it’s shelf-mates at this point were Buster, Whizzer and Chips and Shiver and Shake, the latter of which it would subsume later in the year). It’s hard to know which stories to select for the scans below but I hope I’ve given a good sense of the variety. Favourites for me are The Upper Crusts and the Lazy Loafers, The Ghost Train and Scared-stiff Sam (all of which have the two-page treatment), The Bumpkin Billionaires (a bounteous three pages!) and the ghastly Evil Eye.
Hee Gee and his Nag: Alf Saporito (artist)
Snap Happy: Mike Lacey (artist)
Little Miss Muffit: Joe McCaffrey (artist)
Evil Eye: Reg Parlett (artist)
The Upper Crusts and the Lazy Loafers: Reg Parlett (artist)
Clobber: artist unknown
Ernie Learner: Jim Watson (artist)
Spy School: Graham Allen (artist)
The Lone Ranger: Mike White (artist)
Whoopee! Holiday Guide: Barrie Appleby (artist)
Whoopee! Holiday Guide: Barrie Appleby (artist)
The Ghost Train: Brian Walker (artist)
Scared-stiff Sam: Mike Lacey (artist)
Clever Dick and Dozy Mick: Tom Paterson (artist)
Ad Lad: Trevor Metcalfe (artist)
Wanted: Ken Reid (artist)
Pop Snorer: Sid Burgon (artist)
Kid Cartoonist: L Hudson (writer and artist)
The Bumpkin Billionaires: Mike Lacey (artist)
The Bumpkin Billionaires: Mike Lacey (artist)
Toy Boy: Terry Bave (artist)
