The Perishers

The Perishers is a British comic strip about a group of urban children and a dog. It began in the Daily Mirror in 1958 and has been written for most of its life by Maurice Dodd (born October 25, 1922). It was drawn by Dennis Collins until his retirement in 1983, since when it has been drawn by Dodd and later by Bill Mevin.

Related Topics:
British - Comic strip - Daily Mirror - 1958 - Maurice Dodd - October 25 - 1922 - Dennis Collins - 1983 - Bill Mevin

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Whilst The Perishers have been dismissed by some Americans as nothing more than a clone of Peanuts, its elements of eccentric British sense of humour, combined with its detailed art style (in its heyday, Collins produced some of the most finely-detailed artwork ever seen in a daily strip), sets it apart.

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Many Perishers strips are polyptychs - a single continuous background image is divided into three or four panels and the characters move across it from panel to panel. The story is set in the fairly drab fictional town of Croynge (sometimes spelled Crunge), which is apparently a south London borough - the name is derived from Croydon and Penge. However, visually the location often resembles an industrial Northern town.

Related Topics:
Polyptych - London - Croydon - Penge

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Thematically, the strip draws upon nostalgic childhood experiences, and often has a static, almost limbo-like atmosphere, in a similar manner to its companion strip, Andy Capp. The main characters largely exist independently of 'the real world', and adults are rarely seen; for example, every year the Perishers go on holiday but always get thrown off the train home, forcing them to walk and arrive home several weeks late (a pun on how a short scene in comic book time can take several weeks when told in daily installments), yet with seemingly no repercussions.

Related Topics:
Nostalgic - Andy Capp - Real world - Holiday - Comic book time

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