When the bell rings! Bash Street kids 19th Feb 1955

Early Leo Baxendale work..

Clumsy Claude is drawn by Bill Ritchie
I like Wilfred's tank also the running perspective!! Both strips sure were full on in those days...police and army!

Beryl the Peril ghost drawn as a one off by Bill Ritchie...normally drawn by Davy Law

 The Topper 9th Sept 1961
Its fun seeing how an artist tries out a new style..

The Topper comics -Beryl the Peril does The Avengers!

1966 Topper

Nice seeing this...

1961 Topper ghosted by Bill Ritchie! Its always fun seeing how well an artist can do different styles...this is a good Davy Law style...notice the horizon lines and different perspectives...Bill must of seen that in his work.

UPDATE Bill Ritchie lending a hand to draw Korky with James Crighton

found this advert in The Beano of this issue..


A nice cat like Korky by James the last panel...But the top three is by Bill...maybe the original plan was the cover to just be Korky filling the whole page?!

Looks like Bill Ritchie to me, Peter: very unusual!

I can't remember any other instance of Bill 'ghosting' although he's not really hiding his style [on frame 3 especially].
The main picture with the 'whizz-bang' or whatever looks like Crichton job, though.......
Nice find! Spy

http://www.comicsuk.co.uk/Forum/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=4533

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korky_the_Cat
Reading the wiki it shows when Charles Griggs starts in
Charles Grigg from issues 1052 to 2116 (January 20, 1962 to June 12, 1982.)
But has I've proved on the last post Charles was drawing the odd Korky before that date!

Image taken from comic vine...reloaded up on here
http://www.comicvine.com/the-dandy/49-26867/?page=15

See the first Bill Ritchie's Toots from Bunty number 1 thanks to stevezodiac

1958 Bunty number 1
What a masterpiece and this character ran for over 30 years by the same artist Bill Ritchie!!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bunty

I have finally found the sketch that Bill sent to me some years back after I had written to him: stevezodiac

what a gem to own..

just found the envelope that that sketch came in and Bill also sent me a nice letter and some Cat Street photocopies including this one featuring the artist himself (with a little note from him at the bottom) ..stevezodiac

Interesting to seeing all the cutting Bill had collected for reference to his drawings..






Quotes and pictures from comicsuk forum..
http://www.comicsuk.co.uk/Forum/viewtopic.php?f=127&t=3350&start=90

Bill Ritchie's Syd the Sport from Rover and Wizard Thanks to Bruce..

From Bruce's blog...thanks Bruce for finding this new Bill Ritchie gem..

http://toonworks.brucelaing.com/comicblog/2011/09/07/sydsport/#comment-390

Bill Ritchie's cartoon strips in the Rover and Wizard

Rover and Wizard 11th Jan 1964

What a master Bill is...love the before and after gag so clever..
also the ref one is spot on...
I have to admit I havn't read any of these text stories maybe I should..I did buy it in the hope that there was some cartoons inside..not many But some good Bill gems..

Bill Ritchie's The Dandy's Smitten

20th July 1991 The Dandy

Heres a short lived Bill Strip I've recently rediscovered...a nicely painted coloured strip...

It sure shows the mixed feelings a boy goes through in this strip..

UPDATE More Bill Ritchie comic work and even a Scotty dog sculpture to enjoy..

.....I like Bill's comic strips..the sausage gag is great..works great even without words..

It sounds as though Bill must have had a soft spot for dogs as, along with the long-running adventures of Bunty's black Scotty Dog 'Haggis', he also drew a strip called 'Top Dogs' for the story paper Wizard during the early 1960s in which a different cartoon dog appeared every week: Thanks to philcom55

My mate Steve sometimes has to buy bulk lots of comics off ebay just to get a few issues he doesn't have, lucky for me I get the doubles. He gave me a bundle of Hotspurs, Wizards and Nikkis last Saturday. In the Hotspur no. 618 dated 21/8/71 there was this reprinted Bill Ritchie. The other reprints of this strip were by a different artist. This looks like late 50s Ritchie, anyone know when it first appeared? Thanks to stevezodiac for the imkage

That Uncle Windbag strip would indeed be from the 50s, in The Beano. The third series was done by Ritchie and appeared from issue 744 (20/10/56) to 763 (2/3/57).

The reprints you say are by a different artist are probably from the second series, drawn by Charles Grigg, from issue 579 (22/8/53) to 596 (19/12/53).

The first series was back in 1938, in the first 20 issues, drawn by Charles Holt. Thanks for the answer Digifiend

Thanks MMi for the photo of the Scotty dog..

My father-in-law was very good friends with Bill and my wife considered him, very much, as an uncle. When she came back from the funeral it reminded her of a bit of sculpture he did for her when she was a child. Now proudly sat pride-of-place in our living room.

As you're all a fan of his talents, I could take a photo of it.. MMi

Its great seeing new Bill Ritchie work and even a sculpture done in his comic style.

All from the comicsuk forum post..
http://www.comicsuk.co.uk/Forum/viewtopic.php?f=127&t=3350&start=60

A new Bill Ritchie's character for us to see Game Gus from The Wizard

Thanks to philcom55 from comicsuk forum

http://www.comicsuk.co.uk/Forum/viewtopic.php?f=127&t=3350&start=60

'Game Gus - He's Game for any Game' first appeared in Wizard No 1551 dated Nov 5th 1955 and finally appeared in No 1654 dated Oct 26th 1957. Thanks to Kashgar

The Broons and Oor Wullie in colour and Wee Jock Sparra

Drawn by Ken Harrison who also drew other Dudley D Watkin's characters like Lord Snooty and Desperate Dan. Here is what it looked like for a short time in colour in the Sunday Post. Which I think it suits it well..

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ken_H._Harrison











Heres a new Bill Ritchie character I havn't seen before and what good fun it is...
reminds me of his other bird character Dicky Burd in the Beezer of the early 70's.

http://petergraysukcomicartists.blogspot.com/2009/09/bill-ritchies-beezer-comic-workeg.html
Thanks to stevezodiac for the images...

Just to fill in a few details.
THe Broons and Oor Wullie strips remained in colour until Sunday Post dated 7th Aug
1994 which was also the last time they appeared in something titled the 'Fun Section'.
(The original tear out a page and fold it 4pg Fun Section had last appeared on 28th Aug 1988).
Bill Ritchie's 'Wee Jock Sparra' appeared in the Fun Section from 12th Dec 1991 to 16th May 1993.
BTW in its 48 year history the Sunday Post Fun Section, besides the Broons and Oor Wullie, featured over 40 other strips not including the time in the late 1970's when it ran reprints of strips from other Thomson titles inc Desperate Dan and Toots from Bunty.

Thanks to Kashgar for the info..

See more at the link-
http://www.comicsuk.co.uk/Forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=3634

Plug comic 1977- Using photos in comic pages

Gordon Bell


David Gudgeon



Bill Ritchie




Vic Neill

Plug comic used to its advantage the high quality of the paper used and mixed photograhs into stories and used well for the letter page.

Bill Ritchie's Supporting Life from Plug comic 1977/78 and early Beezer characters from 1958.

I like the use of the scalf used in the title lettering and different in these three examples..great it gave fun facts about each team..the lead character is Plug's little Brother..I like the zaniness of this..very cartooney and silly. Also it uses photos to a great effect..they print well on the high quality paper of Plug comic..
The Roll of Honour at the end is also given a bit of added cartoon fun different each time..












One of the joys of The Beezer book is the pages are all in colour and mostly handpainted..and Bill is great at this..with lovely shading...

Charlie Chick was the first character Bill drew for The Beezer..the one above is from the first Beezer annual. It feels to me an early version of Baby Crockett..the chick became a baby has more can be done in the storytelling and visuals..
Bill also drew many one offs in The Beezer annuals which are always nice to read..
The seven day Weekly is also from the first Beezer book 1958..the ripped out pages of a diary works great as panels on a page..nice to see the frames used in a creative way..



http://www.comicsuk.co.uk/Forum/viewtopic.php?f=127&t=3350

Bill and the Beezer

Bill was proud of the fact that he was the only comic artist to have had his work published in every issue and every related publication of the Beezer. Every weekly issue (including the combined Beezer & Topper), every annual and every summer special devoted to the comic carried an example of Bill's work.
Here is a brief list of what that work consisted of

Charlie Chick 1-33
Baby Crockett 34-1809 Beezer & Topper 1-153
Wooly West 196-218
Smiffy 577-1685
Dicky Burd 684-853 1158-1181
Hairy Dan Football Fan 854-1307
Hungry Hoss 1315-1650
Pam (Positively a Menace) 1686-1744
Scratcher 1759-1809 B&T 6

Beezer & Topper

Gnatasha 3-152
On the News 58-148
Madverts 117-123

He also did a lot of feature art and one off strips for the Beezer Books and Summer Specials.


Re Bill's work in Thomson comics other than the Beezer from memory I can't think of anything significant that he contributed to the Dandy although he did draw Beryl the Peril in the early years of the Dandy Comic Library along with issues featuring Baby Crockett.
Similarly he did very little for the Topper except in 1980 reviving Barney Bulldog from Sparky for a short time and Kong in 1989.
Sparky
John Bull Dogg (Barney Bulldog) and the Moonsters obviously spring to mind.
Beano
Clumsy Claude - the blunder boy 653-696
Uncle Windbag - that story teller feller 744-763
Pooch 767-799
Two-Gun Tony - the King Street Cowboy 1818-1891
Sweet Sue 1892-1969
Cracker
Simple Spyman
Buzz
Twitz of the Ritz
Plug
Supporting Life
Thanks to Kashgar for the list of Bill's work at DC Thomson..more to come as Bill also drew for Girls and Boys comics other than just the humour ones

Bill Ritchie's Simple Spyman from Cracker comic

All from Cracker comic 1975.







Love Simple Spyman I only have three comics of Cracker..must get some more..I like his beard!:)

Bill Ritchie's Twitz of the Ritz -Buzz comic

Buzz 9th May 1973.

You can really see the different pen line thickness in this one..
It really has an old fashioned feel to it with Bell Boys..shoe shiners..chef hats..
Billy Buttons is the bell boys name..buttons is of course in Cinderella..so the boys are like the slaves to the ugly sister Mr Grumpy.
A grumpy angry character must be a lot of fun to draw...a real Sergeant Major type..
love the big open shouting mouth in the title panel...

http://home.btconnect.com/thetopper/twitzoftheritz.htm

http://www.comicsuk.co.uk/Forum/viewtopic.php?f=140&t=3353
See Bill Ritchie's Bunty comic's Handy Mandy from 1959. thanks to philcom55

http://www.comicsuk.co.uk/Forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=2614
See Bill Ritchie's Toots celebrating 30th Anniversary of Bunty.
Thanks to stevezodiac