Tag / Smith

by Andrew Pilcher

So now you know

I’d always wanted to do a story about the origin of Smudge’s wall, but was never quite sure how to do it until the 950th anniversary of the Battle of Hastings rolled around. I’d considered a story from World War 2 where the wall was all that was left of a bombed out cat shelter, but it would never coalesce into something tangible that could be told in six pages. I’d also wanted to do a 1066 story. The two dovetailed together quite nicely.

Feinites is the term school kids to the south of England use to say you give up, or want a truce in a game. Most dictionaries, however, spell it as Fainites. Time Out appears to be the equivalent in the States.

by Andrew Pilcher

Repel all boarders

Smudge in a horned helmet. Of course. What else would she wear?

by Andrew Pilcher

To Battle

Let’s get this straight. The Battle of Hastings didn’t take place at Hastings – it took place at Battle. Of course, battle was’t called Battle then, that came later, after the battle. Before the battle it was a field on the side of Senlac Hill. After the battle, William the Conqueror founded an abbey on the site, called Battle Abbey and the town of Battle grew around it. Hastings was where William and his troops stayed for the week before the battle, while Harold, the English king, was trying to get his troops back down from Yorkshire where he had just had to fight another battle against some opportunistic Vikings.

Chumley gets to play the humble local.

by Andrew Pilcher

Pevensey Levels

William the Conqueror’s fleet landed somewhere near Pevensey. We’re not entirely sure where, as a great storm a couple of hundred years later completely rearranged the coastline of East Sussex, and Peveney is now standed about a mile away from the coast.

The area of marshland known as the Pevensey Levels remains – as do the enormous spiders.

by Andrew Pilcher

Meet the locals

Ah, there’s that Brexit attitude intruding again. In one of those nerdy font touches that probably only matter to me, the locals speak in a celtic unical typeface. In panel two, Beachy Head is in the background.

by Andrew Pilcher

1066 and all that

October 2016 was the 950th anniversary of the Battle of Hastings, socalled because it never happened in Hastings. The storyline over the next two weeks was my contribution to the festivities. Note the colour palette based on that of the Bayeux Tapestry and the Norman typography.

by Andrew Pilcher

There’s one in every street…

by Andrew Pilcher

Backstory

The joy of Sandy is that she’s clueless. She remains loyal to her old owner despite being repeatedly abandoned by him. Now, finally, the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals has rescued her and she’s been given a new home. And she’s been unable to comprehend any of it – all she knows is she’s been passed around between a sucession of very nice people.

by Andrew Pilcher

Look who it is!

Of course it was Sandy all along. After guesting for the previous two summers, here she is in her new role as one of the strip’s regulars. By popular request I may add….

by Andrew Pilcher

Lynch mob

Reflecting the new meaner small-minded mood towards newcomers that had manifested itself after the Brexit vote. If anyone’s going to be the reactionary in the group its going to be Smudge. Luckily her brother is a bit more Zen about things.