J.Edward Oliver: Pop Cartoonist and 70s undiscovered Comics Grand Master

[ajsmith]

Anyone know his work?
If not, you'll thank me for this link:http://www.jeoliver.co.uk/
Enjoy this amazing comic universe!

[Catalogue Trousers]

Heh, the Morgue Mistress is clearly another cameo by long-term JEO (and others...alright, including me) RFH-giver Madeline Smith!

I love JEO's work - many thanks for the link. I'm mainly familiar with his strips for Record Mirror during the mid to late 70s, which are a perfect match of daft humour with surprising intelligence.

[ajsmith]

 Stunned to discover today that the first 225 episodes s have been uploaded digitally here: http://www.jeoliver.co.uk/episode1to21.htm . Enjoy!

[Exit]

As a boy, I used to enjoy the strips he did for Jackpot and Buster: part of the appeal for me was finding the images he regularly included in each strip, such as a box with a wind-up handle.  There are more, but I can't remember what they are.

[NoSleep]

I met him a few times back in the early 70's, when his day job was a cartoon strip in the music paper Disc & Music Echo. I was introduced via a relative whom I met whilst doing a bit of extra-curricular artwork at my school during the adult education classes in the evening. He was still living at his parent's place at the time. I went with another friend who was also madly into comic art, and it was mainly to see and discuss his own collection of DC and Marvel comics. Of course we discussed his work, too. He was fascinated by 3D comics at the time and had devised a way of presenting 3D art without the use of the usual 3D goggles; by using a hand mirror. He used this on at least one strip in Disc & Music Echo, I recall.
He was also publishing his own stuff in A5 format and I bought one of these (sadly lost somewhere over the years). His chosen genre was Horror and I remember it didn't skimp on the gruesome. He also gave us a viewing of an 8mm Horror film he had directed (along with some friends), which was pretty crude but was probably fun to make. All I remember of this is the sacrifice scene; someone sacrificed a cat (not really) then drunk its blood, which then spilled copiously from their mouth for the camera.

He also loaned me his copy of Uncle Meat by Frank Zappa & The Mothers of Invention.

[NoSleep]

Just looked closer at those strips above. Instant Garbage was the name of his self-published comic book as far as I can recall; that name certainly rings a bell.

[ajsmith]

Just looked closer at those strips above. Instant Garbage was the name of his self-published comic book as far as I can recall; that name certainly rings a bell.

Wow, thanks a lot for sharing your personal experience with Mr Oliver, I never thought that a forum member would have met him in his heyday, (and borrowed his copy of Uncle Meat!) that is incredibly cool. He strikes me as a great undiscovered British eccentric and polymath, with a voracious appetite for all aspects of pop culture that is reflected in his work. Absolutely first rate artist too. btw was the comic at the bottom of this page the self published comic you bought at the time? http://www.jeoliver.co.uk/garbage.htm

[NoSleep]

That's the one! I never thought I'd see that again.

[NoSleep]

Now that I thought a little more about it, I recall we were also discussing the underground comics (both US & UK) as they were a big thing for ourselves as well as Jack (we probably noted the influence of Jack Kirby on Spain Rodriguez, etc).

[ajsmith]

Now that I thought a little more about it, I recall we were also discussing the underground comics (both US & UK) as they were a big thing for ourselves as well as Jack (we probably noted the influence of Jack Kirby on Spain Rodriguez, etc).

I was astounded when reading the strips that were recently uploaded to see he included a whole sequence featuring appearances by various Robert Crumb and Gilbert Shelton characters in episodes 73-5 here: http://www.jeoliver.co.uk/episode70to95.htm (and this comes directly after a Peanuts/Flook mash-up! - it's like the Who Framed Roger Rabbit of my favourite strip cartoons !)

[Catalogue Trousers]

In a similar vein, there was a sequence in his strip for Record Mirror wherein Fresco Del Raye was killed (again) and went to the underworld, where he encountered Cerberus...with the heads of Snoopy, Fred Basset, and Boot...

[Jake Thingray]

Heh, the Morgue Mistress is clearly another cameo by long-term JEO (and others...alright, including me) RFH-giver Madeline Smith!

I honestly don't know anything about 'underground' cartoons, and am trying to write a play based on a certain utterly pedestrian practitioner from Northampton, so need to ask -- is this view of women common practice among those Turnock sought to emulate? Or was it another example of him bringing his fixations and neuroses into his work, as with his assumption that because there were (then) Goodies fans on this forum, no-one would object to his mentioning them constantly?

[Catalogue Trousers]

Well, if you check out some comics by Robert Crumb, then yes - although Crumb seems to have some pretty unpleasant hang-ups generally. You could also find something of the same approach towards the female form in the comics of Hunt Emerson and Gilbert Shelton, but Hunt and Shelton are genuinely lovely guys and don't seem to have any nasty hang-ups at all. Go figure.

[NoSleep]

That's a difficult question to answer. I'd take the time to look at some Robert Crumb strips yourself, at least, as his representations of women are the ones that appear to have been the most influential in Northampton, but it's a helluva lot more nuanced and self-aware. Maybe check out his "Dirty Laundry" which is co-written by his wife and daughter.

[Small Man Big Horse]

I honestly don't know anything about 'underground' cartoons, and am trying to write a play based on a certain utterly pedestrian practitioner from Northampton, so need to ask -- is this view of women common practice among those Turnock sought to emulate? Or was it another example of him bringing his fixations and neuroses into his work, as with his assumption that because there were (then) Goodies fans on this forum, no-one would object to his mentioning them constantly?

You're writing a play about him? Jesus, that sounds harsh, is there really any need to do such a thing?

[Jake Thingray]

I'm using him as a basis, fictionalised to some extent, and plan to centre on the nature of communication gone wrong -- he wants applause and to be singled out as better than everyone else, but doesn't realise integrating with others, which he can't or won't do, is the only way to attain that. One could almost feel sorry for him in his having retreated from life to lick his wounds, but in so doing he's become so utterly solipsistic, for example when he demanded to know if any other CaBers had bought one of his comics, neglecting to realise we don't all live in Northampton. The problem I have at the moment is how to create a dramatic arc, as in real life he just makes the same mistakes over and over again, and is still rehashing his rants on here from years ago.

[ajsmith]

If anyone's interested, I see that the other half of the strips run has been uploaded from here:

http://www.jeoliver.co.uk/episode226to245.htm


..onwards.

[peterwsanders]

Jack's web site is still on the go. We have added a lot of material that has never been seen before, and a guestbook for people to share their memories of Jack and his work:
http://www.jeoliver.co.uk/
Amazingly, it has been 11 years since Jack died.

[madhair60]

Used to love his work in Buster.