• The Crazy Crankies– Judy: #1520 (25 February 1989) – #1527 (15 April 1989)
• Artist: Andrew Wilson

Plot/Thoughts

The Crankies are a family that are reminiscence of “The Munsters” or “The Addams Family”. They are a group of misfits surrounded by normal people and they don’t realise how different they are.

Apart from the youngest girl Medina, each family member has “talent”. The father can make things disappear, the mother can see into crystal balls, Zena the eldest  daughter can move things with the wink of her eye, Ivan the towering brother can change things with a snap of his fingers and finally uncle Petrov  is a mad scientist type.

They lived isolated in their castle until it was blown up and they were forced to move into an ordinary house in a town. They are very upbeat  family and they don’t realise how different their way of doing things is.

While adjusting to their new life they find themselves having a learning curve. Their neighbours aren’t too pleased when they do such things as change their dogs to rabbits, or set off fireworks in the dining room during lunch.

Medina  is the first to realize they are different .

So she tries to help her family fit in. They still have a several mishaps, such as when they find themselves in situations where they are running low on food and discover a supermarket but don’t realise they have to pay for items.

Medina discovers, from her new friend, about such strange things as money, jobs and school. Things finally settle down at a festival talent contest. While Medina is worried about her family entering, its actually the one place where their talents are appreciated and they get offered a theatre and TV contract.

This is one of my favourite stories. It is a typical type of fish out of water set up but the characters are likeable and the situations they find themselves in are amusing.. The art by Andrew Wilson, is detailed, expressive and all the characters look great and distinct.  Overall it’s just lighthearted fun story that’s entertaining to read and is actually one of the few stories that ages well.