Comic memory

Saw a news report this morning about comics that got my memory juices overflowing which is no means feat these days, as my youth seems to be more important to me than ever before.

Desperate Dan

I was a big fan of most boys own comics the like of The Valiant, The Victor and others, anything surrounding war got my attention. However, mum put an order with the local shop for two comics more suitable for a young mind. I got the Beezer and the Topper while my brother got the Beano and Danny. I never knew why we had which one but that’s the way it was but we were always willing to share.

I lucked out with my comics the Beano and Dandy had some of my favourite characters, in the Danny was Desperate Dan one of my all-time favourites. I never had a cow pie well I suppose I have but never with two horns sticking out of the pie and a tail dangling out of the side. The Beano was stacked with ionic characters that I like such as Dennis the Menace, Minnie the Minx, The Bash Street Kids, Roger the Dodger, Billy Whizz and General Jumbo who I fantasised about being has a kid.

General Peter in my dreams

Alfie (Jumbo) Johnson, age 13, oh how I dreamt of being him and a general of a whole miniature army. It was not just any old army, I had many tiny soldiers but his were remote controlled, they could shoot tiny bullets and he also controlled ships and aircraft along with soldiers and vehicles such as tanks.

He controlled his troops with a wrist-mounted radio control panel and when we were in Woolworths (advertised has the shop that sold everything) I would always keep an eye out for one of the wrist controls maybe that is what I needed for my soldiers. The innocents of a childhood in the days of wind-up toys. I would also need a professor like Jumbo. He would make the models and new upgrades and like Jumbo, I would be the scourge of local small-time crooks and bullies.