Back in the 1960s kids TV was a lot better than what we get today -in fact TV was better all round. Saturday morning TV with cartoons and serials until the blight of Multi Coloured Swap Shop hit Saturdays.
I had thought my inspiration for the magicians -later sorcerers- Kotar and Sabuta was the Hanna Barbara Arabian Nights cartoon. But then I recalled that I had created and made them out of Plastacine (modelling clay as used to make Wallace and Gromit) as there were no action figures in those days. "The Lady" I believe was Lady Silana as she fitted in with the duo.
Back in those days we had the bedside cabinet which was where you put "The Porcelian", "the Jerry" or if you stored it under the bed the "Gazunder" ("goes under). Sorry, again, kids, not every house had an indoor toilet for night time use. In this case my gran would never put a chamber pot in a cabinet so other things were stored in itr and, when it went into defunct status it was mine: I got under carpet felt to make a carpet and added bits and pieces so that my magic folk had a sanctum sanctorum.
Above: everyone gets older! Left Willy Soames and Oasis t-shirt wearing John Clane and Right -Pete Forrest
K & S were created in the late 1970s as were the trio that went on to become Crime Busters UK Salar The Combustable Man (John Clane), "Bell" (Maddy Bell) and The Human Ball (Willy Soames). Oh, they had a companion whilst "circus acts -the Misssing Link. Solar was based on a circus act on TV where a "fire breather" created balls of fire in his hands and tossed them into the air. Now that seemed cool enough to me. At the time I had not seen the DC Legion of Super Heroes or Bouncing Lad but when I did I changed The Human Ball's costume -he was inspired by a strip I vaguely recall seeing in an old British weekly comic. Bell, again before I saw the character Black Canary and her sonic voice, was based on a banshee screaming that I had seen on a kids TV show. The "Missing Link" was based on reading too many history books and theories on early man and the "missing link" between humans and apes.
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Above: Maddy Bell at the barbecue whole the Avenger and Jon Future wait(c)2025 BTCG
Pantomine on TV and story books gave me Peter Forrest and his often odd Geni. Making all of these out of Plastacine filled the hours and I also made characters from Marvel and DC who joined my characters in adventures along with some British favourites such as Billy the Cat, Billy Whizz and so on.
Above: Mayfly in a never finished strip by Phil Horton? (c)2025 BTCG
Mayfly (Elizabeth Flare) was another of the originals. Reading mythology and fairy tales as well as watching TV programmes and plays inspired the character. Her mother turned up during a winter storm at a convent. The mother died but her newborn baby was adopted and raised at the convent the mother's name was unknown but after her burial in the grounds of the nearby church a flare of light burst out of nowhere over her grave and so Elizabeth became Elizabeth Flare.
Above: The Avenger tells everyone he has a plan. Jon Future believes the Avenger has a plan. Pete Forrest stays safely back (c)2025BTCG
Pete Forrest was an idealist and when civilians were threatened in a South American war he went to help but even a Geni couldn't stop him being hit by shrapnel (hence the walking stick). (c)2025 BTCG
The Avenger was a slightly later arrival in about 1969/1970 and was just someone, at the time a school pupil, who was fed up of petty crime and bullying. Like D-Gruppe a lot of my characters go back to the 1960s and 1970s. A time before mobile phones, home computers and all the insanity of the internet -we just had parks, streets and our imagination to entertain us.
