The Knockout Fun Book.
The Knockout Fun Book was a companion to the Knockout Comic. It first appeared in 1941 and ran until 1962. It was renamed the Knockout Annual in 1957.
Most of the Greyfriars content consisted of comic strips but a few original stories did appear and are listed below. The 1955 issue contained three genuine Hamilton stories.
Bill Lofts and Derek Adley published a booklet on Hamilton's work after the Magnet closed in 1940. There is an interesting article on the Knockout on P11-18. You can read the booklet here.
Following his success with drawing Bunter picture strips for the Magnet CH Chapman was commissioned to draw similar strips for the Knockout comic. However due to other commitments he was unable to keep up with demand so Frank Minnitt took over. In 1951 Frank wrote to Hamilton and told him that he had been drawing Bunter for the last 14 years. Hamilton replied saying that although no artist he also drew something for that page - a reference to the £5 honorarium paid to him by the publisher every time they used his character. You can see a scan of the letter here.
Items that have been scanned can be viewed or downloaded by clicking on the links from the table below.
 |
