Review by Frank Plowright

It’s not only the cover design that marks this selection as distinct from the earlier hardcovers collecting the classic Scottish newspaper strips. For starters, instead of alternating the strips as previously, they’re compartmentalised, and it’s the first of the hardcovers to move beyond strips drawn by Dudley D. Watkins, who died in 1969. The credited artist here is Tom Lavery, who’s obviously given a brief to modernise the Broons, as fashions, hairstyles and 1970s cars are seen around Glebe Street, although Oor Wullie remains his timeless scruffy self. However, either Lavery’s style modified rapidly at one stage, or the later material is actually the earliest strips drawn by Peter Davidson. Watkins is represented by a single signed strip despite this being a 1970s collection, so it’s possible.

Also introduced to The Broons is a slight element of continuing soap opera as the glamorous Maggie meets sports. teacher Dave. Over time he’s frequently featured, although as the reprinted strips aren’t dated there’s no indication as to whether his presence was over a year or the entire 1970s. The strips lead up to their wedding, although the cover copy rather gives away that it doesn’t happen.

The whole affair is built up for an extended time, with Dave’s snobbish mother good value, but then dropped like a hot stone with Dave never seen again. Even editor and current writer of both strips Morris Heggie has no idea why, but he and Leslie Stannage supply an alternative ending both surprising and funny.

As ever, the writers of the reprinted strips remain uncredited, but the strips have the same gentle humour that’s characterised them from the start, and working from what Watkins established, Lavery’s art is ideally suited, lively and polished in bringing all the characters to life.

Wullie’s strips are slightly more formularised, many of them either having Wullie imagining outcomes around a scenario, such as he and his pals having a mobile shed, or exploiting the comedy rule of three, where three mishaps are followed by a stroke of good fortune. Despite Primrose featuring on the back cover and in promo illustrations inside, she doesn’t actually appear in any of the strips, but several Broons do, even if Daphne’s not named.

Also distinguishing this volume from earlier hardcovers is the effort made by the editorial team to imbue a sense of occasion. Funny letters between Dave and Maggie separate the strips, there’s an accompanying CD of a showband playing favourite 1970s party tunes interrupted by a few jokes, and a separate wedding planner booklet. However with their values, spreads of wedding themed cartoons would have been better left in the 1970s.

Otherwise it’s the usual mixture of great cartooning and guaranteed laughs found in any of the hardcover reprints.