Tom Thug
Encyclopedia
Tom Thug was the title of a long running comic strip in the British comic Buster
. However, it first began in Oink!
in May 1986. Created by cartoonist Lew Stringer
, Tom was encouraged by his skinhead
father to be a school bully like he used to be. However, Tom was so incompetent he couldn't even tie the laces of his boots. As the strip progressed, every issue would show Tom's attempts at bullying backfire often with slapstick
consequences.
The strip proved popular enough to transfer over to Buster when Oink! folded in 1988. Asked by the editor Allen Cummings to focus the stories on Tom at school, the strip underwent a title change to Tom Thug's Skooldayz (a spoof in name only of Tom Brown's Schooldays
). There, Tom Thug continued to run until December 1999 (Busters final issue), although the last couple of years were reprints of earlier stories due to budget cutbacks by the publisher. However, during its run, Tom Thug had become one of the comic's most popular strips and even replaced the lead character Buster on the cover on occasion (a rare privilege).
In the final issue of the comic at the beginning of 2000 in a segment written and drawn by Jack Oliver, Tom Thug was revealed to have possess great intelligence after passing an exam with flying colours, much to his own chagrin. However this was not the ending that the strip's creator Lew Stringer would have given the character.
Buster (comic)
Buster was a long-running British comic which carried a mixture of humour and adventure strips, although the former increasingly replaced the latter...
. However, it first began in Oink!
Oink! (comic)
Oink! was a British comic for children which was published from 3 May 1986-22 October 1988. It set out to be deliberately anarchic, reminiscent of Viz but for children....
in May 1986. Created by cartoonist Lew Stringer
Lew Stringer
-Biography:Stringer began his career from the late 1970s with a series of fanzines, many featuring his popular Brickman character; these were read by several pro creators who encouraged Stringer to try comics as a profession and Stringer recalls that "Alan Moore actually introduced me to one of...
, Tom was encouraged by his skinhead
Skinhead
A skinhead is a member of a subculture that originated among working class youths in the United Kingdom in the 1960s, and then spread to other parts of the world. Named for their close-cropped or shaven heads, the first skinheads were greatly influenced by West Indian rude boys and British mods,...
father to be a school bully like he used to be. However, Tom was so incompetent he couldn't even tie the laces of his boots. As the strip progressed, every issue would show Tom's attempts at bullying backfire often with slapstick
Slapstick
Slapstick is a type of comedy involving exaggerated violence and activities which may exceed the boundaries of common sense.- Origins :The phrase comes from the batacchio or bataccio — called the 'slap stick' in English — a club-like object composed of two wooden slats used in Commedia dell'arte...
consequences.
The strip proved popular enough to transfer over to Buster when Oink! folded in 1988. Asked by the editor Allen Cummings to focus the stories on Tom at school, the strip underwent a title change to Tom Thug's Skooldayz (a spoof in name only of Tom Brown's Schooldays
Tom Brown's Schooldays
Tom Brown's Schooldays is a novel by Thomas Hughes. The story is set at Rugby School, a public school for boys, in the 1830s; Hughes attended Rugby School from 1834 to 1842...
). There, Tom Thug continued to run until December 1999 (Busters final issue), although the last couple of years were reprints of earlier stories due to budget cutbacks by the publisher. However, during its run, Tom Thug had become one of the comic's most popular strips and even replaced the lead character Buster on the cover on occasion (a rare privilege).
In the final issue of the comic at the beginning of 2000 in a segment written and drawn by Jack Oliver, Tom Thug was revealed to have possess great intelligence after passing an exam with flying colours, much to his own chagrin. However this was not the ending that the strip's creator Lew Stringer would have given the character.