Index
» Introduction
» #1
» #2
» #3
» #4
» #5
» #6
» #7
» #8
» #9
» #10
» #11
» #12
» #13
» #14
» #15
» #16
» #17
» #18
» #19
» #20
» #21
» #22
» #23
» #24
» #25
» #26
» #27
» #28
» #29
» #30
» #31
» #32
» #33
» #34
» #35
» #36
» #37
» #38
» #39
» #40
» #41
» #42
» #43
» #44
» #45
» #46
» #47
» #48
» #49
» #50
» #51
» #52
GOODIES 'COR!!' COMICS SYNOPSES
(by Linda Kay)
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(from C&G 71 - December 2001)
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First published by IPC Magazines Ltd. on June 6th, 1970, Cor!! was a weekly collection of comic strip madness featuring the likes of such regular characters as Gus the Gorilla, Ivor Lott and Tony Broke, Rat-Trap (in which readers were asked to submit ideas for trapping the rotten Dr. Rat), Jelly Baby, Wonder Worm and Jasper the Grasper, among others.
The comics were similar to other popular publications of the time, following in the footsteps of such established comics as The Beano, which Bill can be seen reading in early Goodies episodes before switching to Cor!! itself, and The Dandy (featuring Bananaman, which The Goodies voiced in animation). Whizzer and Chips, Shiver and Shake and Whoopee were other British comics of the same genre.
These collections of comic strips were an imaginative mixture of wild sight gags involving grotesque or silly characters spouting puns and jokes, many of which probably date back to the earliest of music hall routines but were undoubtedly fresh and clever to a brand new audience of impressionable juvenile minds hungry for irreverent and outrageous humor.
In 1973 The Goodies were added to the list of comic characters to grace the pages of Cor!!, published every Monday. Apparently licensed for just the one year, The Goodies were unique in the fact they were the only adapted characters featured with the comic's pages with copyright credit being given to Bill Oddie, Tim Brooke Taylor (sans hyphen) and Graeme Garden. According to Robert Ross' book "The Complete Goodies" the strips were all authorised and approved by The Goodies prior to publication and Tim still displays an original Cor!! strip in his study.
One of several photos of the Goodies appeared along with the words "We Do Anything Any Time" in the first panel of every entry with each strip running two pages. As was typical with these compilation-style comics no artists or writers are credited. It's apparent from the varying styles in which The Goodies are rendered that several different artists took turns drawing the strips. As this series of articles progresses I shall attempt to note which strips seem to be drawn by the same artist. No titles are given for the individual strips and I will not make any attempt to name them myself in this series. The strips will be identified by issue number and date instead.
When I recently purchased a number of the comics from a dealer in London the gentleman I spoke with on the phone asked, "How is it a woman in sunny California comes to be interested in an old British comic like Cor!!?" In truth I've always been fascinated by comics, so when I found out The Goodies had been immortalized as such I became interested in finding out more about them and collecting the various issues. I thought fellow fans may enjoy summaries of the series as well as interesting notations, tidbits and things to look for in the various issues, so it is in that spirit I'm offering the first of a hopefully continuing series of articles to the C&G.
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Note: A scan of the original Cor!! comic strip now appears at the end of each of Linda's Cor!! Comic Synopses (Brett - Feb 2012)
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The front cover of the first edition of Cor!! featuring The Goodies in 1973.
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A typical example of how The Goodies were represented in cartoon form.
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