Robert Nixon has comics featured in just about every comic I ever read as a kid. He started out on the Beano contributing to Little Plum, Roger the Dodger, Lord Snooty and Grandpa and later shifted to IPC working on Frankie Stein, Gums, Kid Kong and many, many others. He returned to D.C. Thompson in later years drawing Ivy the Terrible, Beryl the Peril and Geezer. His style ranged from incredibly detailed (see King Arthur and his Frights of the Round Table) to relatively simple, but always grade A stuff!
In Mildew Manor, resided Frankie Stein and his "dad", Professor Cube. Frankie, a hulking brute with brawn far outstripping his meagre wits, was a gentle soul who never quite grasped the havoc his strength could cause. Professor Cube, meanwhile, carried the constant regret of having brought Frankie into existence. His brilliant but twisted mind was forever occupied with concocting elaborate plots and sinister inventions—each one designed with a single purpose: to rid himself of the son he wished he had never made.
Nixon took over drawing duties on Frankie Stein from Ken Reid, another hugely popular comic artist of the day. Under his penmanship Frankie became much friendlier looking and, out of the two I would go for Nixon's version every time.
The level of detail in these pages from Shiver and Shake, February 1974, is astounding - especially the last page. Unbelievable considering this is a weekly comic.
FRANKIE STEIN POSTERS
Speaking in the early eighties, Nixon said that, among the characters he had drawn, Kid Kong was up there with Frankie Stein as his favourites, and both shared the cover of Monster Fun's Christmas issue in 1975. In his introductory story, Kid - son of the legendary King Kong - breaks free from the circus, finds himself some clothes (swiped from the 'outsize' of a school uniform shop, and is adopted by Granny Smith who, being a little on the short-sighted side, sees him as a "poor little lad" and invites him in from the cold. Kid stayed throughout the whole run of Monster Fun and transferred over to Buster comic when they merged in 1976.
In later outings, drawing duties on Kid Kong were taken by Rob Lee, who's style was very similar to that of Nixon's (I admit to finding it difficult to tell the difference). He was revived again in the new 2020's Monster Fun with a completely new look as drawn by Karl Dixon.
THE BEST OF THE REST
Here are a handful of my other favourite Bob Nixon titles. I’ve also added Ivy the Terrible—a strip which came after my comic reading time, though I have discovered that Nixon himself regarded it as one of the strips he most enjoyed drawing in his later years.
COLOURFUL COVER ART
I discovered long after the publication dates that, in the late 80's and 90's Nixon provided The Beezer and Topper with some amazingly detailed and colourful covers - every one a masterpiece. Here are a few I have since collected.
What better way to celebrate 1977's Silver Jubilee than a parade of your favourite stars of Whoopee?
Alongside all the full colour covers, the posters and the huge number of comic strips Nixon was producing for the comics, he also somehow found time to illustrate a few joke books. I had to grab a couple of them for myself. Here are the covers and a selection of Bob's doodles from inside.I need to get on eBay and find the others!
Robert Nixon sadly passed away in October 2002 aged just 63. All three of my favourite comic artists from that glorious moment in time are now no longer with us - Frank McDiarmid, Sid Burgon and Robert Nixon. A tribute  can be found at the link below