The Knockout (1939-1961?) |
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C. H. Chapman first started drawing 2 page strips for the Knockout in 1939, following a number of picture strip formats in the Magnet. However, due to the nature of the picture strips and other commitments, Chapman found it hard to keep to deadlines, and was replaced by Frank Minnitt as artist after 9 episodes. You can read the original Chapman comic strips on the Friardale site in the story papers section. The strip was gradually modified to become more slapstick, and the cast was drastically pruned so that by 1942 the Famous Five had disappeared, being replaced by Jones Minor. Frank Richards was paid an honorarium of £5 for each strip produced, and the Knockout incorporated the Magnet when it stopped production in 1940, and was finally renamed Billy Bunter’s Knockout in 1961. The Knockout Fun Annuals from 1940 onwards not only printed original Minnitt strips, but also reprinted some of the earlier Comet strips. Following Minnitt’s death in 1958, the strip was taken over by a number of other artists, particularly Reg Parlett. A wide selection of these strips were reprinted in the Big Fat Bunter Book. You can also read a scan of an original Knockout from 1953 on the Publications page.
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