It Was To Be Titled "The New Hornet"!

I have to admit that "the Scottish company whose name must not be spoke" has provided slight irritation but a great deal of amusement to me as a comics pro.

In the 1980s an editor from that company asked myself and Ben Dilworth to "pop in" to their Fleet Street offices for a chat and to bring in various projects I had been talking to them about. 

On that hot, sunny day, we turned up and spoke to a rather bemused doorman.  "There aren't any editors or staff working here -this is just a mail drop address" he told us.  He read the letter we had been sent and nodded his head: "Well, you are right but I'm the only one here!"

?

We had no idea at the time but that company were known for this sort of thing.  At a UK Comic Art Convention, the late Denis Gifford had to go on stage and apologised as he had only been told the night before that the companies much lauded anniversary panel featuring editors and creators was not taking place.

"They told me they had just decided 'ah, we're not going' yesterday", Denis told me.

Then there was the announcement that they were to publish European style comic albums and the pocket sized Starblazer sci fi title would be the first to get this treatment.  No explanations they had "just decided not to bother".

Now, I had corresponded and even talked a few times over the phone with that company's editorial staff.  They were excited and wanted to take up an idea I had put forward (no, they had no idea and never offered an explanation as to the Fleet Street appointment fiasco) to revive some of their old characters.

This was mentioned in detail on the old CBO and I do not want to go into it in detail here. The title would have been "The New Hornet".  I did various dummy covers as well as a strip featuring the now adult General Jumbo who gets "drafted" into a war -even did rough colour swatches for it.

John P. Welding, more of him in another post, wrote and drew The Cat -Billy The Cat's successor turns up (well, falls through a window) beaten and dying and so Billy once again has to don the costume.

I had a horror strip, drawn by Tom "Zine Nasty" Elmes called "Xendragon" and it would only need a few name changes to turn it in to that companies "Mr Pendragon".  Tom also had to make changes to art. The page below (the only one I have as an editor lost the rest) featured demon complete with very large and erect phallus!!  Someone at the company might have died if they'd seen it (no!  we're better than that).

I can only remember one other strip.  I still have those pages and they are beautiful.  Written and drawn by ace comics pro John Erasmus, Captain Hornet was to be the main feature -obviously.

 

These were top artists and the best the UK had to offer so how could it fail?

Remember (I have the letters) I contacted that company in the 1980s with this project.  Then in the 1990s and I have -as I write- still got those letters.  I talked to these people.  One day, I sent a quick letter as well as a newer dummy cover (which they NEVER returned -apparently they "really don't need to since he's our character" -?).

This is the letter I got back.  I never EVER post or let people see correspondence (you can all wait til I'm dead) but I have had so much **** from the company and its butt-hole lickers that I am doing so now to prove it DID happen despite what they claim.

 "Coincidentally we are working on something similar"....Yes. Yes, you were.  You were working on this project with me!  I have the ****** letters to prove it.  Now, after years of talking/correspondence and sending in all the material on "The New Hornet" they had never heard of me before?!!!

I telephoned them.  They had no idea who I was.  I quoted letters from them and their references. Nope. No idea who I was or what "The New Hornet" was.  I copied all correspondence and sent it to them special delivery.  They signed for it.  "We have no idea what you are talking about".

And I had to tell all the hard working creators who had each been sent the letter from THAT company stating which characters it would like to see revived...that it never happened.  "But we have the letter!" they said.  

Of course, after all the work with pro creators I'm guessing THEY decided they just could not be bothered and if they acted like amnesiacs they could avoid paying a "kill fee".

This is why that company does not deserve any respect.