Strange Hill
Encyclopedia
Strange Hill is the title of two British comic strip
s, one of which ran in Whizzer and Chips
, the other in The Dandy
. The title is a reference to the long running BBC
TV show Grange Hill about a school of that name. Both strips were set in horrifying schools.
The Dandy version was a very "safe" version of Hammer Horror clichés, similar to Number 13
in The Beano
or the US TV series The Munsters
. The focus was on the school's only normal pupil, who was remarkably unfazed that his schoolmates included a vampire
, a mummy
, etc. The full title was Eddie Potter at Strange Hill School. This is not a parody of Harry Potter, who didn't exist yet.
By contrast, the Whizzer and Chips version featured a normal teacher, at a similar, but much more grotesque school. Unlike the lead character in the DC Thomson strip, "Teach" found his sanity rapidly decaying as he faced his horrific pupils.
It could be argued that the difference between these strips highlight the differences between the relatively safe, conservative humour of DC Thomson and the more edgy, bizarre Fleetway
style.
Comic strip
A comic strip is a sequence of drawings arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions....
s, one of which ran in Whizzer and Chips
Whizzer and Chips
Whizzer and Chips was a British comic magazine that ran from 18 October 1969 to 27 October 1990, when it merged with the comic Buster. As with most comics of the time, Whizzer and Chips was dated one week ahead....
, the other in The Dandy
The Dandy
The Dandy is a long running children's comic published in the United Kingdom by D. C. Thomson & Co. Ltd. The first issue was printed in 1937 and it is the world's third longest running comic, after Detective Comics and Il Giornalino...
. The title is a reference to the long running BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
TV show Grange Hill about a school of that name. Both strips were set in horrifying schools.
The Dandy version was a very "safe" version of Hammer Horror clichés, similar to Number 13
Number 13 (comics)
Number 13 is a comic strip that appeared in the UK comic The Beano. It made its first appearance in issue 2333, dated 4 April 1987, and ran until the 1990s. Its final appearance came in issue 3152, dated 14 December 2002, though only three strips appeared after 1997. It was drawn by John Geering...
in The Beano
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...
or the US TV series The Munsters
The Munsters
The Munsters is a 1960s American family television sitcom depicting the home life of a family of monsters. It starred Fred Gwynne as Herman Munster and Yvonne De Carlo as his wife, Lily Munster. The series was a satire of both traditional monster movies and popular family entertainment of the era,...
. The focus was on the school's only normal pupil, who was remarkably unfazed that his schoolmates included a vampire
Vampire
Vampires are mythological or folkloric beings who subsist by feeding on the life essence of living creatures, regardless of whether they are undead or a living person...
, a mummy
Mummy
A mummy is a body, human or animal, whose skin and organs have been preserved by either intentional or incidental exposure to chemicals, extreme coldness , very low humidity, or lack of air when bodies are submerged in bogs, so that the recovered body will not decay further if kept in cool and dry...
, etc. The full title was Eddie Potter at Strange Hill School. This is not a parody of Harry Potter, who didn't exist yet.
By contrast, the Whizzer and Chips version featured a normal teacher, at a similar, but much more grotesque school. Unlike the lead character in the DC Thomson strip, "Teach" found his sanity rapidly decaying as he faced his horrific pupils.
It could be argued that the difference between these strips highlight the differences between the relatively safe, conservative humour of DC Thomson and the more edgy, bizarre Fleetway
Fleetway
Fleetway, also known as Fleetway Publications and Fleetway Editions, was a UK publishing company which mainly produced comic magazines. For a time owned by IPC Media, they are now a division of Egmont Publishing....
style.