Wattie CheungThe popular Scottish comedy “Still Game” is celebrating its comeback – with Jack and Victor as a new comic release.
Creators Greg Hemphill and Ford Kiernan worked with a team of writers and artists to adapt the stories for a new format.
The popular BBC comedy about a group of pensioners ran in nine television series and three sold-out live shows at the OVO Hydro in Glasgow.
The first book comes out next month. Hemphill, who played Victor McDade, said the comics are like looking at the show again “with fresh eyes.”
Wattie CheungHe said: “We still love Jack and Victor, and Ford and I still talk about them. The comic book version of Still Game has its own high points.
“There are things in the comics that the cartoonists put in that didn’t exist in our minds or in the television series.
“So there are lots of Easter eggs in there for the readers.”
Scottish publisher Scunnered Ink was hired to create the animated version, with editor Gordon Tait having previously worked on classic characters such as Dennis & Gnasher, Oor Wullie and The Broons.
He said: “Some of the artists we approached were very busy and in high demand, but when they found out it was a Still Game comic book, they immediately said yes.
“Not every TV show lends itself to comic book adaptation, but Still Game was perfect.”
Scunnered inkKiernan, who played the role of Jack Jarvis in the show, said he felt the idea tapped into a long-standing Scottish tradition.
He said: “We in Scotland have been waiting for Christmas for a long time an annualand then spend an hour in a corner on Christmas Day reading it.
“In that respect it’s an old-fashioned idea, back to the roots, and that’s what I like about it.
“Gordon took our idea of seeing the Still Game gang in comic form and made something wonderful out of it.”
The first volume – He Who Hingith Aboot Getteth Hee Haw – will be released on September 16th. A second volume of stories is already in the works.
