Recent Comments

1. over 12 years ago on Andy Capp

   My point was that, if you look across all the ways in which this might be measured – including how long the strip’s lasted, original creator’s length of tenure, number of titles carrying it, combined total readership, international reach, merchandising value, spin-offs in other media – then Andy Capp, Peanuts and Blondie are in a class of their own.

   And Andy’s the only British strip on that list.

   Of those potential rivals you name, The Far Side lasted only 15 years (against Andy’s 55 and counting), Beetle Bailey claims a peak of only 200m readers (against Andy’s 250m) and Heathcliff lasted only 28 years under its original creator (against Andy and Reg’s 41).

2. over 12 years ago on Andy Capp

   Reg Smythe was the greatest British newspaper strip cartoonist of the 20th Century. So why don’t we treat him that way? Andy Capp: The Full Story

3. over 12 years ago on Andy Capp

   I’ve just posted this essay on-line. The Andy Capp fans I’ve heard from so far have enjoyed it.

   Andy Capp: The Full Storyhttp://www.planetslade.com/andy-capp-reg-smythe01.html

   Reg Smythe’s Andy Capp was the greatest British newspaper strip of the 20th Century, but few people realise how much of his own troubled childhood Smythe poured into Andy and Flo’s lives. Andy was essentially a portrait of Smythe’s wastrel father, Flo a version of his formidable mother, and their town a portrait of the pre-war Hartlepool where Smythe grew up.

   PlanetSlade’s latest essay traces Smythe’s own biography, explores its parallels in Andy’s world, and considers the strip’s very early wife-beating jokes. There’s also a look at how the balance of power has shifted between Andy and Flo down the years, a discussion of the live-action sitcom starring James Bolam as Andy and my own analysis of just what made Smythe such an accomplished and stylish cartoonist. We also have new interviews with the three cartoonists continuing Andy’s exploits in The Mirror today.