Ken Reid was an artist who worked on BritishComics from [[TheGreatDepression the late 1930s]] until [[TheEighties the late 1980s]]. He is best known as the original artist for ''Jonah'' and ''Roger the Dodger'' in ''ComicBook/TheBeano'' and ''Faceache'' in ''Jet'' and later ''ComicBook/{{Buster}}''. His work often featured JustForFun/{{egregious}} use of the word spiflication, large numbers of panels on a single page and would often end with the main character(s) running away from an AngryMob.

Born in [[UsefulNotes/FootballPopMusicAndFlatCaps Manchester]] in 1919. He began drawing at an early age. However disaster struck at the age of nine when he was diagnosed with a tubercular hip and Reid was bedridden for six months, during this time the young Reid drew constantly and eventually recovered. He left school in his early teens and earned a scholarship at Salford Art School but was expelled shortly before graduating for truancy.

After his expulsion he set up his own studio with little success. After a short time as a StarvingArtist, Reid had his first big break when his father bluffed his way into an interview with the Art Editor of the ''[[UsefulNotes/BritishNewspapers Manchester Evening News]]''. Reid was hired and his comic strip ''Fudge the Elf'' made it's first appearance in the Evening News in April 1938. This strip immediately proved popular and Fudge dolls were released in 1938 as well as annual hardback collections of the strip which continued until TheFifties and the strip itself continued until [[TheSixties 1963]].

In 1952 Reid turned his attention to comics. Drawing a couple of strips for Amalgamated Press' ''Comic Cuts'' (Comic Cuts had been running since the [[TheGayNineties 1890]] and was for a time thought of as the world's longest running comic). Unfortunately Comic Cuts folded in 1953 but this turned out to be for the better and thanks to some [[ScrewTheRulesIHaveConnections help from his brother in law]] [[note]]Reid's brother in law was Bill Holroyd another prolific artist who worked for DC Thomson[[/note]] Reid began drawing for [[Creator/DCThomson DC Thomson]] in 1953.

The first strip he drew for the publisher was ''Roger the Dodger'' in ''ComicBook/TheBeano''. This strip is [[OutlivedItsCreator still running today]] although Reid stopped drawing it in 1959.
In 1958 Reid began drawing ''Jonah'' for ''ComicBook/TheBeano''. This strip is highly acclaimed and was about a clumsy sailor who [[SinkingShipScenario sank every ship]] he came into contact with. The strip proved popular and was put onto The Beano's back page briefly replacing [[ComicStrip/DennisTheMenaceUK Dennis the Menace]]. Jonah's success wasn't all down to Reid, the strip's writer Walter Fearne was also excellent and Reid often expanded on the scripts putting in more panels than necessary. Jonah ended in 1963 before it could become a FranchiseZombie. After Jonah finished a {{Spinoff}} strip featuring Jonah's sister Jinx appeared this character was similiar to Jonah in her clumsiness but didnt involve sinking ships. Jonah did appear again but not until the 1980s and only as reprints or being drawn by different artists.

Jinx would prove to be Reid's last strip for [[Creator/DCThomson DC Thomson]] and he began drawing for Odhams and their power comics [[note]]These power comics were Smash, Pow, Wham, Terrific and Fantastic and featured a mixture of traditional BritishComics and reprints from Creator/MarvelComics[[/note]] in 1964, because they paid him more money. Reid began by drawing ''[[FrankensteinsMonster Frankie Stein]]'' for a comic called ''Wham!''. Reid had always wanted to draw [[HorrorComicBooks Comic Horror]] and he had his chance with this strip although Frankie Stein was very much a [[SlidingScaleOfComedyAndHorror mix of comedy and horror with the comedy very much dominating]]. Frankie Stein proved a popular strip and after Wham's demise was brought back in a number of other comics but the horror elements were toned down and it was drawn by a different artist. During this period he often tried to push the envelope and one famous Dare-a-Day Davy strip was considered too horrifying to print and was never printed until the fanzine ''Weird Fantasy'' published it in 1969.

IPC took over Odhams and the power comics all [[ComicsMerger merged together]] and by 1971 they had all disappeared. But this wasnt to be the last of Ken Reid because he began drawing ''Faceache'' for a new comic called ''Jet'' in 1971. Faceache was about a boy who could [[ShapeShifting Scrunge]] his face into any shape. Although ''Jet'' was a very shortlived comic merging with ''Buster'' in 1971. Faceache was popular enough to continue in Buster after the merger. During this period he also drew a number of single page pieces of artwork known as ''Wanted Posters'', ''World Wide Weirdies'' and ''Creepy Creations'' the first two of which appeared in ''Whoopee!'' and the latter in ''Shiver and Shake''. These featured large detailed drawings often of some grotesque monster. However Faceache would prove to be his longest running comic strip and ran until Reid's unfortunate death whilst drawing a page of the strip in 1987. The strip continued briefly afterwards albeit under a different artist.

!!List of Comic strips he drew
* ''Fudge the Elf'' for ''The Manchester Evening News''
* ''The Adventures of Dilly Duckling'' this was a small pamphlet advertising rubber ducks
* ''Foxy'' for ''Comic Cuts''
* ''Super Sam'' for ''Comic Cuts''
* Competition pages for the ''Irish Sunday Express''
* ''Billy Boffin'' for ''Comic Cuts''
* ''Roger the Dodger'' in ''ComicBook/TheBeano''
* ''Angel Face'' in ''ComicBook/TheDandy'' This strip didnt last very long partly because Reid didnt like drawing female characters
* ''[[OneOfTheKids Grandpa]]'' in ''ComicBook/TheBeano''
* ''Bing Bang Benny'' in ''The Dandy'' This strip set in TheWildWest was about a cowboy who loved playing with [[StuffBlowingUp explosives]]
* ''[[Literature/AliBabaAndTheFortyThieves Ali Ha-Ha and the Forty Thieves]]'' in ''The Dandy'' This strip was popular enough to appear on the Dandy's back page
* ''Big Head and Thick Head'' in ''The Dandy''
* ''Jonah'' in ''The Beano''
* ''Jinx'' in ''The Beano''
* ''Jasper the Grasper'' for ''Wham!''
* ''Queen of the Seas'' for ''Smash!'' this strip was very much an {{Expy}} of Jonah
* ''Dare-a-Day Davy'' for ''Pow!'' this strip involved readers sending in suggestions of dares for Davy
* ''The Nervs'' for ''Smash!'' this was a [[DarkerAndEdgier darker]] version of ''[[MobileSuitHuman The Numskulls]]'' from ''ComicBook/TheBeezer''
* ''Faceache'' in ''Jet'' and ''Buster''
* ''Martha's Monster Makeup'' for ''Monster Fun'' (this strip was something of a DistaffCounterpart to Faceache)
* ''Tom Horror's World'' for ''Whoopee!''
* ''Challenge Charlie'' for ''Valiant'' (this strip was very clearly an {{expy}} of Dare-a-day Davy and on a number of occassion used the same script)
* ''Banger and Mash'' for ''Valiant''
* ''Sub'' in ''Scorcher''
* ''Football Forum'' in ''Scorcher''
* ''Manager Matt'' in ''Scorcher''
* ''Hugh Fowler'' (the man who hates football) in ''Scorcher''
* ''The Soccer-nauts'' in ''Scorcher and Score''
* ''The Soccer Spook'' in ''Scorcher and Score''
* ''Jimmy Jinks'' in ''Scorcher''
* ''The Triptoe Tryers'' in ''Scorcher''
* ''Wanted Posters'' in ''Whoopee!''
* ''World Wide Weirdies'' in ''Whoopee!''
* ''Creepy Creations'' in ''Shiver and Shake''

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!!Tropes:
* DependingOnTheArtist: Roger the Dodger changed vastly when drawn by a different artist.
** The trope also applies when Ken Reid took over drawing a strip his distinctive style is easily discernible from that of other artists (unless they happen to be Frank [=McDiarmid=]).
** However this trope is averted somewhat with Frank Mcdiarmid who's artwork was almost identical to Reid's.
* ThePerfectionist: Reid was obsessed with putting in as much detail into his work as possible. This was most apparent in the ''Jonah'' strips where it's been reported that he often added more panels than what the original script demanded. Unfortunately, this took a toll on his mental health in later years.
* {{Slapstick}}: Comedy violence featured heavily in his strips.
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