Calamity James
Encyclopedia
Calamity James is a comic strip in the UK comic The Beano
. It is about a boy, named Calamity James, (a pun on Calamity Jane
) who has disastrous luck. He first appeared on November 1, 1986, in issue no. 2311. A copy of his first strip is viewable here. His strip replaced Biffo the Bear
and Little Plum
, which had both been reduced to a half page by this time. He has a pet called Alexander Lemming, (a pun on Alexander Fleming
).
There were several variations of the visual appearance of Calamity James before a final image was decided on. Calamity James has black hair, wears black trousers, and has a red jumper with the number 13 on it. He has big eyes, and lots of buckteeth, but in his early days, he had small eyes and only two buckteeth. In earlier strips he was also shown under a permanent black rain cloud.
A distinctive feature of the strip is its cluttered appearance, with much surreal and incidental background detail. Various themes recur; notably the "Little Squelchy Things" which appear in a wide variety of guises and tend to be visual gags, though they may take part in the story (for instance, James may trip over one), and a constant scatter of winning lottery tickets, notes with a large sum of money on them, diamonds, gold bars, and bags with 'Vast Dosh' written on them which James walks past yet somehow never manages to notice. Once, when he was complaining about his lack of money, Alex told him to look around (he was surrounded by one of each of the above), as if he had just noticed them, but then it turns out he was referring to busking. Another recurring feature is the appearance of bizarrely-named factories and other buildings, such as "Lumpy Custard Factory" and "Knicker Elastic Testing Sheds", that appear in the background throughout the strips.
Tom Paterson
has been the main artist for the strip, although Steve Bright has drawn it on occasions, and Bob Dewar ghosted the strip in the 1980s. John Geering
and Henry Davies drew some preliminary sets for the character before he first appeared in the comic. He hasn't appeared as regularly as some other characters, as Paterson has also drawn other strips for the same comic including Minnie the Minx
, The Numskulls
and Dennis the Menace
.
As the current Beano editor Alan Digby was not keen on the strip, Calamity James gradually appeared less frequently, became reprints and was eventually dropped. However, ex-Beano editor Euan Kerr, who had played a significant role in the creation of the character, was now editing the monthly BeanoMax
, which he continued to appear in, although Digby has since become editor of that publication. Recently, he has mainly appeared as reprints, both in the weekly Beano and BeanoMax. He made a surprise return to The Beano in issue no. 3507, again as a reprint. He also made an appearance in the 2010 Beano Annual, and again in 2012.
friend and pet, Rarely has as much bad luck as his owner. One of Alexander's hobbies is plummeting from great heights, which often helps James overcome his fate. He also tends to anoint James with balm or ointment if he gets hurt. In one strip, James gave his shirt to Alexander Lemming, and he had a day of bad luck and James had a day of good luck. Soon, Alexander got fed up with the jumper and gave it back. This credits the belief that James' number 13 is a source of his bad luck.
As loyal a friend as he seems to be, he rather seems to enjoy watching his friend suffer.
see James' misfortunes as a cruel punishments for him being poor, ugly and stupid, whilst others can relate to his misfortunes and see themselves in that position themselves. James can be seen as a symbol of inspiration, because even though everything in his life seems to end badly, he always tries to lead a normal life.
22 November 1986 James' pet, Alexander Lemming, debuts. Issue No. 2314
29 October 1988 "Little Squelchy Things" debut. Issue No. 2415
Around 1989 James is changed slightly in appearance, including bigger eyes, and more buckteeth.
1993 The strip is rendered in full colour
1997 the strip is digitally rendered in brighter, shinier colour
2001 Tom Paterson takes over Minnie the Minx. By 2003 this, and Paterson's other work for D.C. Thomson, means that James begins to appear on an increasingly infrequent basis.
2004 Steve Bright draws several strips during the year. Of the James strips in 2004, 11 were drawn by Paterson and 8 were drawn by Bright.
2007 the strip is retired, as Tom Paterson starts drawing Dennis the Menace. His final appearance in the weekly comic came in Issue No. 3375.
31 October 2009 James's strip makes a surprise reappearance in the weekly Beano. Issue No. 3507.
also gained himself the nickname Calamity James.
The Beano
The Beano is a British children's comic, published by D.C. Thomson & Co and is arguably their most successful.The comic first appeared on 30 July 1938, and was published weekly. During the Second World War,The Beano and The Dandy were published on alternating weeks because of paper and ink...
. It is about a boy, named Calamity James, (a pun on Calamity Jane
Calamity Jane
Martha Jane Cannary Burke , better known as Calamity Jane, was an American frontierswoman, and professional scout best known for her claim of being an acquaintance of Wild Bill Hickok, but also for having gained fame fighting Native Americans...
) who has disastrous luck. He first appeared on November 1, 1986, in issue no. 2311. A copy of his first strip is viewable here. His strip replaced Biffo the Bear
Biffo the Bear
Biffo the Bear was a fictional character who had his own comic strip in the British comic The Beano. Biffo was an anthropomorphic bear resembling Mickey Mouse who gained the front cover of the comic starting from issue 327, dated January 24, 1948, replacing Big Eggo...
and Little Plum
Little Plum
Little Plum is a fictional character in the UK comic The Beano.The eponymous hero and his friends Chiefy, Pimple and Hole-in-um-Head are members of the "Smellyfeet" American Indian tribe, who spend much of their time clashing with their rivals the "Puttyfeet" tribe. Other characters include Dr...
, which had both been reduced to a half page by this time. He has a pet called Alexander Lemming, (a pun on Alexander Fleming
Alexander Fleming
Sir Alexander Fleming was a Scottish biologist and pharmacologist. He wrote many articles on bacteriology, immunology, and chemotherapy...
).
There were several variations of the visual appearance of Calamity James before a final image was decided on. Calamity James has black hair, wears black trousers, and has a red jumper with the number 13 on it. He has big eyes, and lots of buckteeth, but in his early days, he had small eyes and only two buckteeth. In earlier strips he was also shown under a permanent black rain cloud.
A distinctive feature of the strip is its cluttered appearance, with much surreal and incidental background detail. Various themes recur; notably the "Little Squelchy Things" which appear in a wide variety of guises and tend to be visual gags, though they may take part in the story (for instance, James may trip over one), and a constant scatter of winning lottery tickets, notes with a large sum of money on them, diamonds, gold bars, and bags with 'Vast Dosh' written on them which James walks past yet somehow never manages to notice. Once, when he was complaining about his lack of money, Alex told him to look around (he was surrounded by one of each of the above), as if he had just noticed them, but then it turns out he was referring to busking. Another recurring feature is the appearance of bizarrely-named factories and other buildings, such as "Lumpy Custard Factory" and "Knicker Elastic Testing Sheds", that appear in the background throughout the strips.
Tom Paterson
Tom Paterson
Tom Paterson is a Scottish comic artist who drew characters for Fleetway in 1973–1990, and D.C Thomson from 1986-onwards. He lives in Leith, with three kids, and is a Hearts supporter.He is famous for drawing comics such as:-Fleetway:...
has been the main artist for the strip, although Steve Bright has drawn it on occasions, and Bob Dewar ghosted the strip in the 1980s. John Geering
John Geering
John Keith Geering was a British cartoonist with a distinctive, occasionally flamboyant style, most famous for his work for DC Thomson comics including Sparky, The Topper, Cracker, Plug, Nutty, The Beano and The Dandy....
and Henry Davies drew some preliminary sets for the character before he first appeared in the comic. He hasn't appeared as regularly as some other characters, as Paterson has also drawn other strips for the same comic including Minnie the Minx
Minnie the Minx
Minnie the Minx is a fictional character in the British comic The Beano. Created and originally drawn by Leo Baxendale, she first appeared in issue 596, dated 19 December 1953 making her the third longest running Beano character, behind only Dennis the Menace and Roger the Dodger...
, The Numskulls
The Numskulls
The Numskulls is a comic strip in The Beano, a UK comic. The strip is about some tiny human like creatures that live inside the head of Edd Case , a boy, and control his actions.The Numskulls are:...
and Dennis the Menace
Dennis the Menace (UK)
Dennis the Menace, later called Dennis the Menace and Gnasher and now Dennis and Gnasher, is a long-running comic strip in the British children's comic The Beano, published by D. C...
.
As the current Beano editor Alan Digby was not keen on the strip, Calamity James gradually appeared less frequently, became reprints and was eventually dropped. However, ex-Beano editor Euan Kerr, who had played a significant role in the creation of the character, was now editing the monthly BeanoMax
BeanoMAX
The BeanoMAX is a monthly British comic published by D.C. Thomson & Co. Ltd It is a spin-off of the UK comic, The Beano. Each issue has 44 pages and costs £3.50.The first issue was published on February 15, 2007 and was a Comic Relief special.- Strips :...
, which he continued to appear in, although Digby has since become editor of that publication. Recently, he has mainly appeared as reprints, both in the weekly Beano and BeanoMax. He made a surprise return to The Beano in issue no. 3507, again as a reprint. He also made an appearance in the 2010 Beano Annual, and again in 2012.
Alexander Lemming
James' long-suffering lemmingLemming
Lemmings are small rodents, usually found in or near the Arctic, in tundra biomes. They are subniveal animals, and together with voles and muskrats, they make up the subfamily Arvicolinae , which forms part of the largest mammal radiation by far, the superfamily Muroidea, which also includes rats,...
friend and pet, Rarely has as much bad luck as his owner. One of Alexander's hobbies is plummeting from great heights, which often helps James overcome his fate. He also tends to anoint James with balm or ointment if he gets hurt. In one strip, James gave his shirt to Alexander Lemming, and he had a day of bad luck and James had a day of good luck. Soon, Alexander got fed up with the jumper and gave it back. This credits the belief that James' number 13 is a source of his bad luck.
As loyal a friend as he seems to be, he rather seems to enjoy watching his friend suffer.
Squelchies
According to Professor Alexander's Guide to Squelchies, there are the following types of Squelchy:- Common Little Squelchy Thingy
- Little Specky Squelchy Thingy
- Little Hairy Squelchy Thingy
- Little Baby Squelchy Thingy
- Little Pimply Squelchy Thingy
- Little Scottish Squelchy Thingy
- Little Very Squelchy Little Squelchy Thingy
- Little Viking Squelchy Thingy
- Very Rude Little Squelchy Thingy
- Rather Posh Little Squelchy Thingy
- Little Pig-nosed Squelchy Thingy
- Little Flying Squelchy Thingy
- Brainy Little Egghead Squelchy Thingy
- Little Froggy Squelchy Thingy
- Very Shy Little Squelchy Thingy
- Evil Little Vampire Squelchy Thingy
- Microscopic Little Squelchy Thingy
- A Skinnymalinky Little Squelchy Thingy
- Gluttonous Little Squelchy Thingy
- A Dead Mysterious Little Squelchy Thingy
- Daft Little Bounching Squelchy Thingy
- Little Squelchy Thingy That Goes "neep neep!"
- Little Accident-prone Squelchy Thingy
- Little Squelchy Thingy With The "Windy Pops"
- Little Squelchy Thingy With a Very Silly Hat
- Little Squelchy Thingy With an Even Sillier Hat
- Little Squelchy Thingy With an Appalling Taste in neckwear
- Little Squelchy Thingy With a lisp
- Very Confused Little Squelchy Thingy
- Very Little Cheeky Squelchy Thingy
Interpretations of Calamity James
The scripts behind the strip commonly satirise consumerist values, which may be held by the writer. Some readers, such as George GaleGeorge Gale
George Gale may refer to:*George Alexander Gale, Canadian jurist*George Gale *George Gale *George Gale , , American judge*George Washington Gale , priest and teacher...
see James' misfortunes as a cruel punishments for him being poor, ugly and stupid, whilst others can relate to his misfortunes and see themselves in that position themselves. James can be seen as a symbol of inspiration, because even though everything in his life seems to end badly, he always tries to lead a normal life.
Timeline
1 November 1986 Calamity James debuts in the comic. Issue No. 231122 November 1986 James' pet, Alexander Lemming, debuts. Issue No. 2314
29 October 1988 "Little Squelchy Things" debut. Issue No. 2415
Around 1989 James is changed slightly in appearance, including bigger eyes, and more buckteeth.
1993 The strip is rendered in full colour
1997 the strip is digitally rendered in brighter, shinier colour
2001 Tom Paterson takes over Minnie the Minx. By 2003 this, and Paterson's other work for D.C. Thomson, means that James begins to appear on an increasingly infrequent basis.
2004 Steve Bright draws several strips during the year. Of the James strips in 2004, 11 were drawn by Paterson and 8 were drawn by Bright.
2007 the strip is retired, as Tom Paterson starts drawing Dennis the Menace. His final appearance in the weekly comic came in Issue No. 3375.
31 October 2009 James's strip makes a surprise reappearance in the weekly Beano. Issue No. 3507.
David James
Because of his goalkeeping mishaps, English goalkeeper David JamesDavid James (footballer)
David Benjamin James is an English footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Bristol City.On 14 February 2009, he achieved the all-time Premier League appearance record with 536 appearances, overtaking Gary Speed. He held this record until being overtaken by Ryan Giggs on the 14th May 2011...
also gained himself the nickname Calamity James.