Junior Rotter was a British comic strip, created by
Trevor Metcalfe
Trevor Metcalfe (born May 1939 in Brotton, Yorkshire) is a British illustrator and comic book artist. Known for his comic strips in IPC Magazines comics such as Sweet Tooth and Junior Rotter in ''Whizzer and Chips''.
Influences include Leo ...
in 1980. The series were originally published in the magazine ''
Whizzer and Chips
''Whizzer and Chips'' was a British comics magazine that ran from 18 October 1969 to 27 October 1990, when it merged with the comic '' Buster''. As with most comics of the time, ''Whizzer and Chips'' was dated one week ahead of the day it actua ...
'', and from 1990 on in ''
Buster
Buster may refer to:
People First name
*Buster Drayton (born 1952), American boxer
*Buster Glosson, retired U.S. Air Force lieutenant general
*Buster Mathis (1943–1995), American heavyweight boxer
*Buster Mathis Jr. (born 1970), American heavyw ...
'' when the two magazines merged.
Concept
Junior Rotter was a spoof of
J.R. Ewing
John Ross "J.R." Ewing Jr. is a fictional character in the American television series ''Dallas'' (1978–1991) and its spin-offs, including the revived ''Dallas'' series (2012–2014). The character was portrayed by Larry Hagman from the serie ...
, the
breakout character from the TV soap opera ''
Dallas
Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...
''.
His sister, Sue Helen, is a parody of Sue Ellen, from that same series. Except for their names it had nothing else to do with this soap opera. Junior Rotter and Sue Helen were sibling rivals. Rotter was a bad boy, while Sue Helen was a decent, charming and helpful person whom he tried to trick, always failing in the end. Their rivalry often extended into an all-out conflict. The final issue of ''Buster'' included a page showing the ultimate fates of the characters; Junior Rotter was shown as becoming the
Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
.
Similar characters
A similar character, also loosely based on the character from ''Dallas'', named Jay R Hood appeared in rival publisher
DC Thomson's ''
Nutty'' coincidentally. This strip also featured a character named Sue Helen who acts as Jay R's most common victim.
Sources
British comics characters
1980 comics debuts
Comics characters introduced in 1980
2000 comics endings
Child characters in comics
Comics about children
Gag-a-day comics
Fictional tricksters
Comics set in the United Kingdom
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