Comic Cuts — 3 May 2024

Look behind you!

First up, no blathering on about the garden this week. We've had too much rain, so I have only been tinkering around the edges of the patio and stripped some ivy that was growing over the back garden gate, which we have never used as it simply leads into the estate beyond out fence which hasn't anything useful like a second-hand bookshop or a chippie.

So how have I been keeping myself busy? Well, I've somehow managed to sign myself up to write a bunch of introductions, so I thought I'd get some of the preparatory work out of the way. I already had quite a few notes for a piece on Jeffery Farnol, plus a full-length biography to read; I split my time between that and a shorter piece on a comic strip which I see has now been announced. It's 'Slave of the Screamer' by Tom Tully with artwork by Jesus Blasco, which just happens to have been a favourite of mine when I was reading Valiant at the tender age of eight. I was still eight when it finished, and I only kept reading because Janus Stark and Simon Test joined, thanks to a merger with Smash!.

Anyway, I'll leave any other reminiscences to the introduction, which is now done. So is the first draft of the Jeffery Farnol, although the idea is to cut it back and run it alongside a biographical piece about H. Rider Haggard at the back of the upcoming Blasco collection. I'll probably write an introduction to the book, too, as I like to offer plenty of value for money in my collections (I think the Frontline UK book had four articles: an introduction and biographical sketches of Bill Corderoy, Ian Kennedy and Clemente Rezzonico, the writer and artists).

The other introduction is to a German Don Lawrence collection, although I've only started jotting down notes at the moment. I did spot a historical blunder in the opening panel, and our column header, which made me grin, so I thought I'd share it, so I'm really looking forward to reading the rest of the strip.

Another thing that made me grin... we have a lot of roadworks going on at the moment, so there are loads of road signs popping up everywhere. I liked this one because, in order, they tell you the diversion has ended, then they divert traffic to the left, and finally, reveal that the road ahead is closed, and wants to send traffic to the right.

Like many, we have our local election today (I'm writing  this Thursday afternoon so we can get out this evening to vote and get our traditional Election Fish 'n' Chips) and I do have one question. We're expected to vote for a Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner (PFCC) for the Essex area, and the four choices each have a named political affiliation. Surely a person who oversees the fire and police services MUST be independent of any politics to have a fair and unbiased view of the services? I don't want someone in charge whose politics may sway any decision they make.

I seem to have had a bit of a political week, having brought up a long-standing annoyance to one of our local councilors the other day. The drain just down the road has collapsed and doesn't drain away any water. So when it rains, we end up with a lake across the the road that blocks off the pathway, fills our opposite neighbour's driveway, and – after heavy rain – washes across the road and down our driveway whenever a car drives through it.

There are also other dangers: I mentioned above the estate at the back of us.... well, it's full of kids trying to get to school every morning and they either cross and re-cross the road or walk down the road to avoid getting their shoes soaked. And in full flood, drivers cannot see there are double yellow lines on the blind corner and they will park.

I've mentioned this previously to council members but nothing has been done. So this time I went public and posted photos on a local Facebook group asking specifically who needed to be contacted to get something done. Within 24 hours, we had not only had a response from our councilor, but he had contacted the relevant section of Essex County Council and reported the problem to Essex Highways and we now have a case number so we can follow any progress.

I'm not expecting anything to happen soon as there are so many traffic diversions around at the moment, but I'll certainly be keeping an eye on things.

That's enough politics. I'm off to read a comic strip!