The Best of The Rest

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Launched: 5th June 1982

Ended: 25th June 1983

Merged into: Whoopee

Annuals Released: 1984, 1985 & 1986

My resources: The 1984 & 1985 Annuals

The characters that made it to Buster: Creepy Comix, and Spare Part Kit.

The Best of the Rest:

As with several Fleetway Comics of the late 70s/Early 80s, there was no star to Wow! but it did have some very good strips. They included:

Barney's Badges - a Terry Brave creation, Barney had Badges that could help on any occassion
KBR (Kid's Band Radio) - It may have needed some translation, but this strip of Walkie Talkies was a fantastic idea
The Full House - The general day to day goings on in almost any house in the country
Kid Comic - This guy is Cheeky but a lot shorty, always telling jokes!
Boy Boss - The Kid who runs an entire company, much to the dismay of Jasper, who can't stand wastage
Country Cousin - A Country boy living in the town now
Family Trees - They are determined not to be cut down, so they keep on the move.

The Award for Most Promising Strip:

About a year ahead of its time, Shipwrecked School would have been right at home in School Fun. All I can gather is that their cruise ship sank and they are now stranded on an island. It makes you wonder why teacher insists on teaching, and exactly what do they eat, but hey you can overlook these with some great writing.

Another top strip is Team Mates, showing us (among other things) that both boys and girls actually can play football. But the top place goes to Here is the News. It follows the popular ending to the Two Ronnie's Show with some of the funny (and untrue) stories that could make the news. This is made better thanks to the artwork, you've got more then a punchline to this strip - you've got the picture too.

The Award for the Most Disappointing Strip:

Somewhere in the bottom few is The Upper Crusts and Lazy Loafers. At a time when Fleetway had Ivor & Tony in Buster, and having just said goodbye to Milly & Penny in Jackpot, and of course The Toffs and The Toughs from Knockout (among others) did we really need another rich versus poor storyline? Saying that the storyline's aren't bad - it's just another repeated idea.

In my opinion the most disappointing strip is Penny Dreadful. There's nothing particularly poor about the strip but you just don't feel anything (good or bad) for Penny. She was just there. Possibly the only way I can explain her award I'm afraid.

Have Your Say

Were you a Wow! reader? If so, tell us what you thought about the comic. E-mail wow@bustercomic.co.uk with your views. We'll print the best comments here!

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