The strips are divided over two chunky hardbacks; Volume 1 reprints Frankie Stein and Jasper the Grasper, and Volume 2 reprints Queen of the Seas, Dare-A-Day Davy, and the 23 episodes of The Nervs that Ken drew. The strips he did for the annuals are also included, in colour. Each book also contains detailed biographical information on Ken and his work, accompanied by never-before-seen sketches and artwork from Ken's files (thanks to Ken's son, Antony).
Although scanned from 50 year old comics, the reproduction is crystal clear and as perfect as can be imagined, with even the finest detail intact. The paper stock is sturdy, and is matt, which looks and feels far better and more substantial than the glossy stock that publishers often use today.
The two books reprint all of Ken Reid's published strips for the Odhams comics, plus a lovely bonus of the 'banned' Dare-A-Day Davy strip that involved Davy kissing the skeleton of a corpse he'd dug up. (Even the very liberal-minded Odhams editors felt this was too much.) You may have seen a photocopy of that before, but here, the reproduction is excellent.
Ken Reid was unique. Oh, there have been some who have tried to emulate his style a little, and many of us have incorporated tiny quirks of his artwork into ours, but no one has even come close to matching his talent for manic comedy-horror. And who inspired Ken? You can see a little bit of Basil Reynolds in there, and a bit of Basil Wolverton perhaps, and no doubt some influence from Disney's Snow White animated movie, but Ken's style was distinctly his own. He was always one of the best in the business, and these strips represent him at his peak and most unihibited (and therefore at his funniest).
The strips that Ken didn't draw, such as fill-ins by other artists, or the long run of The Nervs by Graham Allen before Ken took over, aren't included, - and rightly so. This is a celebration of Ken Reid after all, and shouldn't be diluted.
People who backed the crowdfunding campaign will also receive prints scanned from some of Ken's original art. These are on a glossy card stock and, again, reproduction is top class.
Quite simply, these strips are the funniest and best illustrated humour strips of the 1960s... and arguably of any decade. These books are limited, so don't miss out!
The books will soon be available to buy on eBay but IndieGoGo is still the best deal and the only place to get the full package (slipcase and prints). You can order them from this link:
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-power-pack-of-ken-reid-books#/
Check out Irmantas' great blog too:
http://kazoop.blogspot.com
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