''Faceache'' was a
comic strip appearing in
British comics
A British comic is a periodical published in the United Kingdom that contains comic strips. It is generally referred to as a comic or a comic magazine, and historically as a comic paper.
British comics are usually comics anthologies which are t ...
in the 1970s and 1980s. He was created by
Ken Reid.
Publication history
''Faceache'' first appeared in issue #1 of ''Jet'', dated 1 May 1971. The strip was retained when ''Jet'' merged with ''
Buster'' later that year, the first merged issue dated 2 October 1971. Reid continued drawing ''Faceache'' until his death in early 1987.
Dez Skinn
Derek "Dez" Skinn (born 4 February 1951) Miller, John Jackson"Comics Industry Birthdays" ''Comics Buyer's Guide'', 10 June 2005. Accessed 14 August 2010WebCitation archive is a British comic and magazine editor, and author of a number of books o ...
and Frank McDiarmid took over from then on, until the strip ended in the issue dated 1 October 1988.
Proposed collected edition
Rebellion Developments
Rebellion Developments Limited is a British video game developer based in Oxford, England. Founded by Jason and Chris Kingsley in December 1992, the company is best known for its '' Sniper Elite'' series and multiple games in the '' Alien vs. P ...
is due to republish the ''Faceache'' series as part of ''The Treasury of British Comics''.
Fictional character biography
Ricky Rubberneck was a boy with a "bendable bonce" (head), his skin like stretch rubber. At will, he could ' his face into anything. The term "faceache" was commonly used in England from the 1950s onwards to mean "miserable-looking person".
Several of the stories were set at Belmonte School, home to two other recurring characters — his friend Cyril, and the
headmaster
A head master, head instructor, bureaucrat, headmistress, head, chancellor, principal or school director (sometimes another title is used) is the staff member of a school with the greatest responsibility for the management of the school. In som ...
Mr. Snipe. The word ''scrunch'' had been slowly overtaken by '.
As the years went by, the name Ricky Rubberneck was dropped, and the character was simply called "Faceache". Also, his got more and more complex, with him able to appear identical to other people, and even his entire body into various (monstrous) shapes, rather than just his face. In one strip he turned himself into a
dodo
The dodo (''Raphus cucullatus'') is an extinct flightless bird that was endemic to the island of Mauritius, which is east of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean. The dodo's closest genetic relative was the also-extinct Rodrigues solitaire. The ...
, tricking his teacher into believing that that bird was not extinct; in another, he became a grotesque
mole
Mole (or Molé) may refer to:
Animals
* Mole (animal) or "true mole", mammals in the family Talpidae, found in Eurasia and North America
* Golden moles, southern African mammals in the family Chrysochloridae, similar to but unrelated to Talpida ...
-like creature, burrowing under a smoke
chimney
A chimney is an architectural ventilation structure made of masonry, clay or metal that isolates hot toxic exhaust gases or smoke produced by a boiler, stove, furnace, incinerator, or fireplace from human living areas. Chimneys are t ...
and causing it to collapse.
Later appearance
An adult Faceache appears in the 2005–2006 comic book
limited series Limited series may refer to:
*Limited series, individual storylines within an anthology series
*Limited series, a particular run of collectables, usually individually numbered
* Limited series (comics), a comics series with a predetermined number ...
''
Albion
Albion is an alternative name for Great Britain. The oldest attestation of the toponym comes from the Greek language. It is sometimes used poetically and generally to refer to the island, but is less common than 'Britain' today. The name for Scot ...
'', as one of a number of comics characters who have been imprisoned by the British government. In ''Albion'' Faceache's real name is said to be "Frederick Akeley".
[''Albion'' #1-6 (WildStorm C Comics Aug. 2005–Nov. 2006).]
See also
*
British humour
British humour carries a strong element of satire aimed at the absurdity of everyday life. Common themes include sarcasm, tongue-in-cheek, banter, insults, self-deprecation, taboo subjects, puns, innuendo, wit, and the British class syste ...
References
{{Buster, state=collapsed
British comic strips
Comics characters introduced in 1971
1971 comics debuts
1988 comics endings
British comics characters
Child characters in comics
Shapeshifter characters in comics