Review by Frank Plowright
Considering The Perishers had by 1968 been running for almost ten years in the Daily Mirror, the paper was extremely slow in issuing strip collections to begin with. Back Again followed three years after The Perishers Strike Again, and picked up with strips run in the newspaper during 1962 and 1963. It’s not as if the strip was only marginally popular as the slightly larger format introduced with this collection is due to the strips being produced to different dimensions. In his notes to The Perishers Omnibus, in which a selection from this collection appears, writer Maurice Dodd notes it being due to promotion to a solus position, rather than being run alongside other strips.
The title is Dodd’s modification of the government slogan of ‘I’m Backing Britain’, introduced to spark the economy during a slow period by promoting British goods, and for a brief while ubiquitous accompanied by the Union Jack flag.
Having established the boundaries and characters, this selection is very much as you were, with a single big change noted below. It’s funny all the way through, but largely via astute variations of already introduced ideas. If there’s a step forward it’s Wellington gradually becoming more introspective and considering the workings of the world. That doesn’t, however, distance him from reality. He still grapples with understanding Boot (and vice versa), needs to sell carts to buy food, and has the persistent problem of avoiding Bully Bloggs.
There is one innovation apparent as artist Dennis Collins has begun using an occasional piece of creatively stylised lettering, as seen on the sample art. It’s a progression on the lower case used for Baby Grumpling’s thought balloons. This is in addition to his impeccable cartooning, brilliantly bringing the characters to life, no matter what their mood.
Once again, the running order is eccentric. Strips are collected in batches that are more or less chronological, but with bizarre interruptions. Two strips of Maisie assaulting Wellington with red paint are interrupted by one of Wellington’s latest invention, for instance. Introductions here include the mention of rhubarb thrashing, a piece of absurdity Dodd enjoyed for years, as was the case for Wellington’s birthday being October 25th. He also supplies the abandoned railway station on a discontinued line that Wellington moves into with surprisingly little fanfare. It’s beautifully drawn by Collins and when introduced is seen from distance with the background featuring the oversized piping Wellington has vacated. Disappearing are the jokes of Baby Grumpling throwing his toy bricks at everyone, but almost at the end of the collection, with no fanfare, he starts speaking for the first time, confronting Santa.
With strips so old and often dependent on clever wordplay there’s some inevitable dating of then contemporary phrases, but many ideas are just as relevant today. In one strip Wellington wonders if the Earth is really flat, and that’s being concealed by the government in order to win the election. Buy into Dodd’s form of slapstick and wordplay and there’s laughter on every page, while Collins is masterful.
Having been slow to issue Perishers collections, in 1968 the Daily Mirror finally picked up the pace, and Playtime With the Perishers was also issued that year.
