Author Topic: Lucky Me.  (Read 12870 times)

Offline Roger Kettle

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Lucky Me.
« on: November 18, 2007, 10:13:31 PM »
I've been VERY lucky in my professional life. Beau Peep has been running for nearly thirty years and Horace, nearly twenty. Along the way, both strips have been dropped by an incoming editor, only to be reinstated, thankfully, within a reasonably short time. This is an occupational hazard. New editors arrive at a newspaper, wanting to stamp their mark on it and a lot of re-shaping takes place. I completely understand this.
I have decided that, if Beau Peep is ever dropped again, I will kill him off. He will die on the page. (I should explain that, if I die first, I'll be more than happy for someone else to take over the writing). To recap, if a new editor comes into The Star tomorrow and decides to get rid of Beau, I will kill him. (Beau, not the editor). This will be great fun! But how would I do it? I've just realised that this should be a competition---how would you kill Beau Peep? Personally, I'd attempt a huge tear-jerker but what do you guys think?

peter

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Re: Lucky Me.
« Reply #1 on: November 18, 2007, 10:17:35 PM »
Just ask doris

Offline The Peepmaster

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Re: Lucky Me.
« Reply #2 on: November 18, 2007, 10:20:54 PM »
Just ask doris

How about he has a trip to the North East of England, falls in the canal, and you just get a poignant last scene of his kepi floating.. in,.. in the.. sob.. stagnant water...?  :'(
Nostalgia is not what it used to be. 😟

Vulture

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Re: Lucky Me.
« Reply #3 on: November 18, 2007, 10:23:23 PM »
I think Peter has the right idea: we should finally meet Doris. She could be an assassin.

Offline Roger Kettle

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Re: Lucky Me.
« Reply #4 on: November 18, 2007, 10:48:36 PM »
Just ask doris

How about he has a trip to the North East of England, falls in the canal, and you just get a poignant last scene of his kepi floating.. in,.. in the.. sob.. stagnant water...?  :'(
In-joke. I was once asked to write a sequence where Andy Capp was thought to be dead. Thankfully, it never came to pass.

Malc

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Re: Lucky Me.
« Reply #5 on: November 19, 2007, 12:10:44 AM »
I think it should be a serious, poignant and tear-jerking finale, totally out of sync with what the strip has been about over thirty years.

Check out the strip Funky Winkerbean, which has a character who has recently died of breast cancer.
I'm not kidding, it would bring a tear to a glass eye, this is brilliantly done.
http://www.kingfeatures.com/features/comics/fwinker/about.htm

Apply the same approach to Beau Peep and it would be seriously hilarious.

Offline The Peepmaster

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Re: Lucky Me.
« Reply #6 on: November 19, 2007, 12:23:11 AM »
Beautifully drawn, Malc. If you scroll down and see the drawing of the two guys on a bench by the tree, you just have to admire the artist's skill.

That scenario in the strip was powerful too. It took me a short while to realise I could view strips for subsequent days. Very moving.
Nostalgia is not what it used to be. 😟

Offline Roger Kettle

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Re: Lucky Me.
« Reply #7 on: November 19, 2007, 09:13:41 AM »
Great stuff. A tough subject, beautifully drawn and sensitively written.

Malc

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Re: Lucky Me.
« Reply #8 on: November 19, 2007, 10:29:16 AM »
I actually felt tears welling up reading that, but I may be a little sensitive, my mum had a mastectomy last week.

Offline Roger Kettle

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Re: Lucky Me.
« Reply #9 on: November 19, 2007, 10:39:12 AM »
Wish her well from us all, Malc.

Offline Mince

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Re: Lucky Me.
« Reply #10 on: November 19, 2007, 12:03:51 PM »
If Beau Peep dies, it should be in an act of bravery that no one sees or that Dennis gets the credit for.

Rob Baker

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Re: Lucky Me.
« Reply #11 on: November 19, 2007, 07:53:56 PM »
Wow, what a grim post!  :o  You don't know something that we don't Roger, do you, and you're preparing us for the shock?

I'm always hoping for a new Editor to run the Star (ie return it back to a paper that you're not embarrassed to buy, without having to wrapping a Playboy around it). But if killing off Beau is the price to pay, the Editor can stay as long as she likes. 

But if you do decide to end the Strip, you could always give the Nomad his first success - he's at last able to return to his Tribe with the head of an enemy warrior (Beau's).

Bloody Hell this is depressing!

Offline Roger Kettle

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Re: Lucky Me.
« Reply #12 on: November 19, 2007, 09:51:22 PM »
No, Rob, I don't know anything you don't. This all stemmed from a conversation I had with my son the other night. We were talking about the time The Daily Star dropped Beau. (I was surprised he remembered as he was only about 8 at the time). Anyway, I reckoned that, if it happened again, I just wouldn't have the energy to fight it----and what a wonderful opportunity to go out gloriously!
Then again if, two weeks after it was dropped, another paper came in with a huge offer, it would all have been a dream and Beau would emerge, dripping, from the shower....

Offline The Peepmaster

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Re: Lucky Me.
« Reply #13 on: November 19, 2007, 10:02:15 PM »
You could name him Beau Peep II and give him a number after his name, (a bit like James II, who was a King). That would be a quite exciting slant, although half of me doesn't want it to happen.
Nostalgia is not what it used to be. 😟

peter

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Re: Lucky Me.
« Reply #14 on: November 19, 2007, 10:03:54 PM »
You could name him Beau Peep II and give him a number after his name, (a bit like James II, who was a King). That would be a quite exciting slant, although half of me doesn't want it to happen.

But then he would be Beau the first again