Monthly Archives: July 2012

“Nobody Knows My Face!”

Mandy, ,
  • “Nobody Knows My Face!” – Mandy PSL: #143 (1990)
  • Artist:  J. Badesa.

Plot

Millie Mason is a budding actress with dreams of becoming a star. It seems she’s on her way to fame when she gets spotted by an agent, Eddie Tanner. Unfortunately every role she gets cast in she ends up in a costume, mask or in the shadows, so nobody sees what she looks like. Her agent  also thinks keeping the mystery of what she looks like will make her an even bigger star, with a big reveal.  Millie finally gets sick of being unknown and threatens to quit if  she can’t appear as herself., for her next interview. Eddie agrees and Millie is delighted. Only on the day of the big reveal she ends up getting mumps and is all bandaged up anyway!

Thoughts

Firstly, yes that is Dennis the Menace on the cover. Of course Mandy and Beano were both published by D.C. Thomson, it was quite common for the comics the reference another comic, sometimes characters would even be seen reading the comic they were part of! ! In this instance Millie’s first job is appearing as Dennis the Menace for a grand opening.

Millie then  gets her big TV break, doing a series of commercials. As Jane the Germ Killer, she gets interviews and fame and when her contract is finished in a year there will be a big reveal of who she is.  Apperently Jane the Germ Killer is a big hit.  I know some advertisements have been a staring path for big careers (like Brad Pitt or Leonardo DiCaprio) but I don’t remember them getting TV interviews for just staring in the ad! Then during a public appearance as Jane, Millie is kidnapped.  The kidnappers threaten to publicly unmask her if they don’t get paid. At first Millie is scared but she also thinks of the benefits i.e. that people will finally know who she is! She is disappointed to find out it is all a big publicity stunt by the agency.  Apparently they  didn’t tell her about the stunt because  they wanted her reactions to be realistic. Which is bad enough  but once they got her to the safe house, that may have been a good time to explain everything. But no, instead they tie her up and leave her wondering what is going to happen until some nice agency guy decides to turn up later. It just makes an unethical situation even worse

 

Even Millie sees how terribly wrong this is and wants out. She lets them know they can’t sue her for breaking her contract without her letting everyone know about the publicity stunt. The agency agrees but only on the condition that she never reveals she played the character. They are going to replace her with another actress and pretend she was always the one. Yep thats showbiz for you!

So Millie’s back to square one, and she can’t even use her television experience on her resume. She does gets another chance when she stars in a TV mini series. Unfortunetely her face is hidden in shadows. This trend of masks and shadows continues, until she decides she has had enough and quits. Eddie convinces her to come back to the business after he gets his writer friend to write a script based on the idea of “The Girl with a Thousand Faces”. Using a similar idea to the Jane the germ killer ad campaign, they are also going to build up the idea of the mystery girl but this time he promises she will get her big reveal at the end.

Really I couldn’t see this concept work today, people would track down Millie Mason no bother, on IMDB/Wikipedia or some social networking site.  Actually I find it difficult to believe even in pre-web/social networking  days, that not one reporter didn’t track her down! Eventually Millie gets her big moment to finally show her face….only to end up in hospital with the mumps.

This story has some unrealistic setups, particularly the kidnapping plot, but the story isn’t one to take it too seriously either. Millie could have come off as a very unlikeable character,  a girl that seems to be in the acting business not for the roles but to become famous. Yes she does come across a fame hungry at times but as its played mostly for laughs, she isn’t a terrible character. You don’t wish for her downfall. You sympathise with her frustration, but can also see the humour in the situation.  The big joke of all this build up only for her to be covered in bandages for her unveiling, is played with a kind of; roll of  the eyes “typical”  rather than as a devastating blow.

The Door to Yesterday

Mandy, ,
  • The Door to Yesterday – Mandy PSL: #40 (1981)
  • Reprinted –  Mandy PSL:  #207 (1994)
  • Artist: David Matysiak

Plot

Sally Dean is staying with her aunt for the holidays. Aunt Mabel is a housekeeper to a scientist Mr. Winslow. Sally follows Mr. Winslow through a door in his attic and finds herself lost and alone in London in 1851. For weeks she tries to track down Mr. Winslow, finally grabbing his attention at a local music hall. Mr. Winslow gets her back to the present where no time has passed.

Thoughts

Firstly the artwork is great, I’m pretty sure its by David Matysiak, but if I’m wrong feel free to correct me.  The Victorian era is really captured in the clothes, streets and overall look. The grimy streets, overcrowded halls and in contrast the grand houses and the wonder of the Great Exhibition of 1851. Everything is wonderfully visualised. The characters are all expressive, Sally is a character that is shown to adapt to her situation but  her dejection when she thinks her only way home is blown up also is clearly illustrated.  Matysiak can switch between an everyday scene to an atmosphere of fear and creepiness brilliantly.

He’s definitely a favourite artist of mine.

The story itself is interesting. Mr. Winslow doesn’t come off as some crackpot scientist but is instead portrayed as a gentleman. In the middle of the night Sally notices him dressed up  in Victorian clothing going into the attic she follows him and is surprised to find herself out onto a foggy street. When the door shuts behind her she decides she best catch up to him but finds herself lost in the fog. Getting tired she falls asleep in a doorway. She is taken in by the people of the house. She decides its best not to tell them the truth particulaly when they enquire about her “strange” clothes. Instead she says she is an orphan and she came to London to look for a friend.

Sally is a great resourceful character, she first decides its best not to draw too much attention to herself by wearing the clothes that were lent to her. In the meantime she also goes about trying to track Mr. Winslow down. She hands in  some  of her coins to the local newspaper hoping to attract Mr. Winslow’s attention, unfortunately Winslow assumes they are coins he dropped and explains it a way to the newspaper without coming in contact with Sally. She manages to track him down to the hotel he was staying at but he has already moved on. Undeterred though she offers her services as a receptionist at the hotel so she sorts out a place to stay and money.

She continues to show her good detective skills in trying  to track Mr. Winslow down, she gets close to him at an exhibition but loses him in the crowd. She does manage to find her way back to the door she came through but is distressed when she arrives just as it is scheduled to be destroyed.

Despite this blow she doesn’t give up hope that Mr. Winslow may still be able to help.. She finally meets him at a Music Hall but they are seperated when a fight breaks out. She tries other music halls, during a talent competition hour, she has the idea to offer her talents as a maths wiz with her handy calculator. She gets the approval of the the audience but most importantly Mr. Winslow sees her and is able to meet up with her after the show.

Just when things are looking to be resolved, another obstacle is placed in front of them when a policeman arrests Mr. Winslow for his part in the fight at the other music hall. Sally isn’t going to let another thing get in her way of getting home, when she is so close. So she takes matters  into her own hands.

Finally Mr. Winslow gets Sally back home through another door, it turns out he has many ways to get back home (that’s convenient!). Sally arrives back at the time she left.

Sally  is an admirable character she is adaptable, smart and not afraid to get into a confrontation when needed. She is also shown to be kind and helpful to people, particularly those who helped her. She is at the same time – brave and stands up to people when needed.  She reprimands a man for not listening to a singer and throwing rubbish at her.

Mr. Winslow is a gentleman and shows his enthusiasm for science without looking like a mad scientist. The supporting characters for the little they are shown still get show their traits clearly. Miss Peacock an earlier character is shown to be disapproving and uptight, Mrs Brown who gives Sally a job at the hotel is kindly and shows concern for Sally.

The story itself takes the advantage of time being fluid. It establishes Mr. Winslow and Sally interacting early on before quickly moving into the main time travelling plot. It takes its time setting Sally up in this Victorian era, she is trapped for weeks, so the time period is able to be explored. The time period itself is just the backdrop for the detective side of the story as Sally searches for Mr. Winslow and a way back home. So there is a lot going on to squeeze into 64 pages and I think the pacing is done well.