Thursday, July 11, 2013

Genghis Grimtoad, Look Alive

I put this up on Faceboook a few days ago, finally getting around to putting it here! https://www.facebook.com/HiberniaComics?ref=hl

In 1982 IPC launched Look Alive, the title to take over from the increasingly old fashioned Look and Learn. 

The title was a lifestyle magazine for boys edited by Kelvin Gosnell, but neither the newsagents or the readers knew what to make of it and it folded after only five issues. It was a little ahead of it time, magazines that are available now like Kraze and Toxic would have similar content. 
One unusual story was Genghis Grimtoad by Wagner Grant and Angus McBride, a Look and Learn artist. The creators held onto copyright, Wagner says this is down to Gosnell only buying first serial rights. 
The story was revived for Marvel UK's Strip, this time drawn by Ian Gibson. The first two pages of each version are below. Wagner, Grant and Gibsonstill own this story, it would be nice to see it in print again or even continued. Thanks to Richard Sheaf for tracking down copies of Look Alive.