Cecil - the Stone Age Scrapper.

A strip from The Victor

See The Victor

first series - issues 377 to 386 (11th May to 13th July, 1968) ;

second series - issues 444 to 457;

third series - issues 507 - finishes after 517 (title - ?). S1969 (col. first page only); S1971, (col.); S1972.

Writer:- The Victor editorial team. Artist:- C. D. Bagnall.

Main cast:- Cecil, the stone age scrapper; Pete Pringle, his manager.

Time period:- 1970's.

Pete Pringle, boxing manager is down on his luck. His presenter boxer couldn’t win a fight if his opponent in the boxing ring was unconscious. But fortune is about to smile on Pete, through a piece of good luck. The ice under which Pete is camping on, melts and reveals a complete frozen caveman, Cecil. Pete, not realising his good luck, in an act of humanity thaws out the stone age man. It’s only later after Cecil has knocked out several people with apparent ease that Pete has the brilliant idea of training him to be a world champion boxer. And if he can guide Cecil to win the World Heavy-Weight Boxing Championship, Pete will finally get his chance of being a manager of a world champion.

Unfortunately, Pete finds that it's not going to be easy to achieve his life's ambition for the following reasons:-

a) It's not easy getting Cecil into the boxing ring and once there fight his opponent.

b) Being a stone age man, there is plenty of things that Cecil doesn't understand. This in turn leads to much confusion and hilarity.

c) There is also the problem that the only food Cecil will eat is bananas.

and d) Cecil's vocabularly is somewhat limited. His favourite word appears to be, punk.

I didn't really enjoy this series much, in my younger years. Even though it was a comedy series, I just found it too silly. But re-reading the series today, I'm full of admiration for Bagnall's artwork. His ability to draw comical faces and situations produces some marvellous visual jokes and images.

The following adventures of Cecil are from issues 377, 382 and 386.