Andy Capp: The Full Story.
July 23, 2012 11:49 AM   Subscribe

Andy Capp: The Full Story.
Reg Smythe’s Andy Capp was the greatest British newspaper strip of the 20th Century, but few people realise how much of his own troubled childhood Smythe poured into Andy and Flo’s lives. Andy was essentially a portrait of Smythe’s wastrel father, Flo a version of his formidable mother, and their town a portrait of the pre-war Hartlepool where Smythe grew up. PlanetSlade's latest essay traces Smythe’s own biography, explores its parallels in Andy’s world, and considers the strip’s very early wife-beating jokes. There’s also a look at how the balance of power has shifted between Andy and Flo down the years, a discussion of the live-action sitcom starring James Bolam as Andy and my own analysis of just what made Smythe such an accomplished and stylish cartoonist. We also have new interviews with the three cartoonists continuing Andy’s exploits in The Mirror today.
Role: Author & publisher
posted by Paul Slade (6 comments total) 3 users marked this as a favorite
This project was posted to MetaFilter by xingcat on July 26, 2012: Andy Capp: The Full Story.

This was really interesting! Thanks!
posted by mmmbacon at 1:48 PM on July 23, 2012


When did he invent hot fries?
posted by LiteOpera at 3:53 PM on July 25, 2012 [3 favorites]


Thanks for this! I read the Shultz biography last year, and would love to read a full biography on Smythe. Your project is just about as close as one can get to that, it seems, so I'm appreciative.
posted by xingcat at 6:27 AM on July 26, 2012


Yay! This is great! Boo! I can't find a single page version so can't send it to my Kindle :(
posted by DarlingBri at 6:46 AM on July 26, 2012


Thanks for kicking it over to the main board, xingcat - always much appreciated. The closest thing I know of to a full Smythe biography is Les Lilley's The World of Andy Capp, which I drew on quite heavily in writing my own piece. It's out of porint, but Amazon has cheap second-hand copies here (UK) and here (US).
posted by Paul Slade at 6:48 AM on July 26, 2012 [1 favorite]


You're welcome, Paul Slade! It seems like a popular topic already!!

Also, thanks for the heads-up about the book. I'll definitely check that out.
posted by xingcat at 8:13 AM on July 26, 2012


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