Comics: Whacky
There is no doubt that for many years up until the
1980s corporal punishment was treated like one big joke in the comics. Boys and
girls were forever ending up over their father’s knee for a dose of the slipper
or left touching toes while teacher slashed the cane across their bottoms. Oh,
how we laughed.
One of the most prolific spanking strips appeared in
the comic Cor!! This ran from 1970 until 1974 before it merged with
another comic called Buster.
This was Whacky
(we met him briefly before, here)
“He’s always getting whacked”. The artist found many ingenious ways of ensuring
Whacky ended up with a sore bum.
Needless to say, the classroom provided ample
opportunities. The (unimaginatively named?) Mr Thwackery was the schoolteacher
intent time after time to find reasons to wield his cane.
Whacky appeared in the first edition of Cor!! on 6 June 1970 in a
prominent position in the comic. It didn’t take long before he was touching his
toes. He aims an ink pellet at “Specs” Brown, misses and hits Thwackery on the
nose. The cane is frayed and smoking by the time the schoolmaster lets up.
Although the comic folded as a stand-alone title in
1974 publisher International Publishing Corporation continued to produce Cor!! holiday
specials and annuals until at least 1984 – and Whacky was still getting the
cane even though social attitudes to corporal punishment had changed and the
cane was to be banned in schools in 1986.
Perhaps, with these changes in mind the cane was eventually
banned at Whacky’s school as this strip from the 1984 annual testifies. The
canes are taken away by the caretaker to be burned but Mr Thwackery just can’t
let go. He devises ways to “accidentally” whack Whacky until unintendedly he
assaults the headmaster.
The final panel of the strip (which might have been to
the final edition of Whacky ever) shows the headmaster caning Mr Thwackery. (A
schoolmaster being himself caned; surely a dream of many naughty boys over the
ages). And, as in the first-ever strip the cane is left broken and smoking
after the ferocity of the thrashing.
Look out for more from Whacky in coming weeks.
For
more on Comics or Story Papers, click here
Traditional School Discipline
Comments
Post a Comment