The Ghoulies!, A 1975 IPC comics parody

Right then...in the mid-seventies there was a comic called Monster Fun, which, as its title suggests, was a kind of comedy horror comic. One of the regular features of the comic was a weekly pull-out section called 'Badtime Bedtime Books', which ran to eight pages and usually took the form of a parody of a nursery rhyme, pantomime story, TV show, film or well-known children's story, with a macabre, ghoulish or black comedy twist.

And in 1975, artist Mike Brown decided to spoof the Goodies!

Here 'tis...(well, the first page anyway!) Sorry it's such a huge file but it needs to be, because otherwise it'd cause SERIOUS eyestrain!

Cheers for that TC, looks fun! I'm starting to think how fun it would have been if the Goodies did a Halloween special - they could have easily spoofed all the great horror films/characters - especially as it was so popular in the '70s. Perhaps spoofing things like Texas Chainsaw Massacre on a family-friendly BBC show wouldn't have gone down awfully well, though!

If the Goodies had done, say, just one more series, they would have been bang in time for the rise of home video and the subsequent video nasties scare. That would've made for loads of fun, and I think they'd have done a better job of spoofing the genre than the Young Ones did. I had an idea for a 'fan fiction' Goodies episode a couple of years back - Graeme is running a video library (he was always one step ahead!) and Tim ("It's an X film, I'd be frightened!") discovers that all the films he stocks are gory, violent and disgusting. Then he discovers they're all directed by Bill...

Similar ground to the 'Gender Education' episode, but they could've gone a few steps further. Especially if those silly folk at LWT had had the decency to treat the Goodies with more respect than to put them on Saturday teatimes!

Bill has often said that he loves gross black comedy and one of his all time favourite songs is South Park's 'Uncle F***a' number, so I'm sure he would have had a ball parodying films like Zombie Flesh Eaters, I Spit On Your Grave and Last House on the Left!

There's a sneaky reference to The Texas Chainsaw Massacre in the 'Change of Life' episode - after seeing it, Tim throws up into a bin!

Nice find.

The Goodies do horror hmmm I would love to of seen them send up the genre more so the B grade horror films.

Ha! I inexplicably love the Concorde broomstick - that daft shaped thing was designed for being made fun of.

I read

as

And got a sort of innocent-yoof-raised-by-television-and-goes-all-aggro mental image. Which works as well!

On the subject of GOODIE-related cartoonery, I have been trying, for ages, to locate the early FEB? 1975 'RADIO TIMES' cover which featured an excellent caraciture depiction of the trio: this had BILL and TIM scaling a GRAEME visage of MOUNT RUSHMORE-like proportions.

This cover was entitled the 'GOODIES ASCENT' and was a brilliantly-executed work, which was done by a female caricaturist, I believe.

Going by memory, this tied in with the beginning of the SERIES 5 shows. This image may exist on this site already [if it doesn't , it certainly deserves to be!] so if anyone can help me on this one, all help would be gratefully appreciated.

You have quite a remarkable memory there, LM!

I believe you mean this one:



I'm not sure where I got this from, and unfortunately I don't have it any larger than that. Still, I hope it'll do.

Ooh, ta CM.

I have seen that before, but only just noticed Bill is suddenly a redhead!

thanks very much, CM: the image may be small, but it's a lot better than nothing, and it's great to just see it again in any format....

------------there were only TWO GOODIES 'RADIO TIMES' covers, I believe, and I definately purchased the TV TIMES of early '82 [?] that depicted the trio on the cover.

You're welcome!

Not only is Bill a redhead, but they seem to have aged him quite unfairly as well! Poor Bill.

I think there was another Radio Times cover but I can't remember how that one looked. I know the TV Times cover you mention, though, it must be this one:



Don't suppose anyone knows what the other Radio Times cover is like, do they? I'm sure I've seen it before...

I think the other Radio times,depicted a mechanical digger with Tim , Bill and Graeme in the Claw, from New Office.

I'm not sure but I think.. there may be image of it on the LWT DVD Special features disc, (disk 2).

I actually had the T V TIMES cover pinned up on my wall, CM! Great to see it again! I remember the interview [which seemed to consist of BILL at home]; you're right, Jenny, the only other 'RADIO TIMES' GOODIES cover was the mechanical-digger one, which heralded in SERIES 3: two RT covers is still a pretty modest headcount considering they were BEEB stalwarts for almost a decade, however.........

Bill was a good Goodie but there is no acounting for taste.

With what you can get away with these days, I wouldn't want to watch a series of The Goodies that gave in to that side of Bill's nature, I'm afraid.