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Christopher Wickham

@cwickham.bsky.social

300 followers 700 following 650 posts

Quite a fast reader. cwickham.blogspot.com

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Christopher Wickham @cwickham.bsky.social · Dec 23

A look back at all the least terrible things written by me in 2024. cwickham.blogspot.com/2024/12/best...

Original 1982 cover of "The Warlock of Firetop Mountain", depicting an old warlock and a dragon

Wayne Campbell and Garth Algar, as seen on a "Wayne's World" sketch from Saturday Night Live

Richard E. Grant throttles David Mitchell

Desperate Dan exclaims "Wh-what's going on? It's either an earthquake or the Dandy's under attack!" as the masthead of the Dandy falls on him

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Christopher Wickham @cwickham.bsky.social · 10h

On rediscovering a childhood memory of one of the funniest things I ever read. cwickham.blogspot.com/2025/10/the-...

Cover of the Bash Street Kids Annual 1995, depicting Plug, Danny, Spotty and Wilfred blowing soap bubbles shaped like their own heads.

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Christopher Wickham @cwickham.bsky.social · 3d

Some highly significant analysis of the adventure gamebook scene in the early nineties. cwickham.blogspot.com/2025/10/the-...

A rather sinister-looking scarecrow, from the cover of Fighting Fantasy #44 'Legend of the Shadow Warriors'.

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Christopher Wickham @cwickham.bsky.social · 10h

On rediscovering a childhood memory of one of the funniest things I ever read. cwickham.blogspot.com/2025/10/the-...

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Michael Edison Hayden @michaelehayden.bsky.social · 1d

“They are highly organized … [they] have purchased their own animal costumes”

Andy ngo mad about muppets again — this time in Chicago

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Christopher Wickham @cwickham.bsky.social · 1d

Whoever's just DMed me: I can't verify my age, so I don't know who you are or what you're trying to tell me

Christopher Wickham @cwickham.bsky.social · 1d

Anyway, another addition to the collection of signed comedians' memoirs today.

Title page of 'White Male Stand-Up' by Alan Davies, signed 'To Christopher, Alan Davies'

Christopher Wickham @cwickham.bsky.social · 1d

Whoever's just DMed me: I can't verify my age, so I don't know who you are or what you're trying to tell me

Christopher Wickham @cwickham.bsky.social · 1d

'I asked AI to plan my dream summer holiday. Here's how it turned out'

Steven Moffat stares menacingly into a camera on the red carpet at the BAFTAs

Christopher Wickham @cwickham.bsky.social · 1d

Having published something that would have been perfect for Halloween a month ago, I am now halfway through writing a piece that would be ideally suited to Christmas.

Reposted by Christopher Wickham

Hot Blooded Tough Guy Rusty Shackles @rustyshackles.bsky.social · 2d

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Christopher Wickham @cwickham.bsky.social · 1d

I have referred to those things as 'the spinny thing that rarely works' my entire life, very gratifying to see where it came from again.

Christopher Wickham @cwickham.bsky.social · 1d

Always good when you manage to find a childhood memory that's been stuck in your head for the better part of three decades in a comic annual you've just bought in a charity shop.

A page of cut-out pieces for a board game in a Bash Street Kids annual. It includes one of those spinners you're meant to put a pencil through, captioned 'The Spinny Thing That Rarely Works', and beneath it 'A word of advice - buy a dice'. Above the game cards is the line 'Lots of pieces to lose, and later find under your bed covered with fluff.'

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Christopher Wickham @cwickham.bsky.social · 2d

Today I purchased a Simpsons car shade and went to a talk by Tony Robinson, if you can think of a better Saturday I'd like to hear it

A bad picture of the esteemed actor, comedian and television presenter Sir Tony Robinson.

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𝚁𝚎𝚍 𝚁𝚊𝚌𝚑𝚎𝚕 @rachrua.bsky.social · 2d

Bob Mortimer on WILTY reading a card that says “I once did the conga wi

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Christopher Wickham @cwickham.bsky.social · 2d

Yes!

Christopher Wickham @cwickham.bsky.social · 3d

Some highly significant analysis of the adventure gamebook scene in the early nineties. cwickham.blogspot.com/2025/10/the-...

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John J. Hoare @dirtyfeed.org · 3d

Brand new on Dirty Feed: what was special about the Fawlty Towers episode "Basil the Rat"?

Short version: it had two days in the studio, while every other episode only had one.

Long version: www.dirtyfeed.org/2025/10/tc8-...

Fawlty Towers, "Basil the Rat": the Major spots the offending creature in the bar.

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Christopher Wickham @cwickham.bsky.social · 4d

@eddierobson.bsky.social Re: this month's Fact of Fiction, the Numskulls appeared in the Beezer and Topper from 1990 to 1993. They moved to the Beano two months after B&T closed, debuting there in the first full-colour issue.

(I realise this is not very important to the article as a whole.)

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Chris Boyd @paperghost.bsky.social · 4d

imagine wearing a 7th doctor jumper to a tory conference in a world where this story, and many other stories, exist

"Helen A was intended to be a caricature of then British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.[4][5][2] Hancock stated that she "hate[d] Mrs Thatcher with a deep and venomous passion".[3] In 2010, Sylvester McCoy said that the production team was "a group of politically motivated people and it seemed the right thing to do. [...] Our feeling was that Margaret Thatcher was far more terrifying than any monster the Doctor had encountered." Andrew Cartmel, the story's script editor, said that he "was very angry about the social injustice in Britain under Thatcher" and was "delighted that came into the show."[4][5] The Doctor calling on the drones to down tools and revolt was intended as an allusion to the 1984–85 miners' strike and other industrial disputes in then-recent memory.[5] Most of this element was eventually toned down"

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John Rain🥇 @johnrain.co.uk · 5d

I have been criticised for being part of the Riyadh comedy festival. This is why I did it -
Omid Djalili

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Christopher Wickham @cwickham.bsky.social · 6d

I sincerely hope I never have to write anything about Young Foo the Kung Fu Kid, which is quite possibly the most racist thing ever to appear in any British comic. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cracker...

Cracker (comics) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Christopher Wickham @cwickham.bsky.social · 6d

It is fascinating for many reasons, including someone being smart enough to realise the joke wasn't going to stay funny for much longer and retiring it, and I thought it might be worth scanning in every edition, but one strip features a Pekingese TV chef with a racist accent.

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Christopher Wickham @cwickham.bsky.social · 6d

If it helps to be more specific: "Dog's Breakfast TV", a story about a breakfast show presented by anthropomorphic dogs, ran for just 14 strips...

An edition of the comic strip "Dog's Breakfast TV"

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Christopher Wickham @cwickham.bsky.social · 6d

The artist of the strip in question is still with us and active in the comics scene (although it was his only work for DCT), and I wonder if maybe he'd rather not have me put up an example of his work and describe it as racist in an otherwise affectionate piece.

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Christopher Wickham @cwickham.bsky.social · 7d

The original, rejected design for James by Henry Davies, rejected for being too depressing.

The character was almost scrapped after other artists couldn't make it work, but eventually the new-to-D. C. Thomson Tom Paterson managed to nail the tone they were going for.

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