Faceache

Faceache was a comic strip in, originally, the UK comic "Jet", first appearing in issue 1, dated 1 May 1971.

Drawn by Ken Reid, Ricky Rubberneck' was a boy with a "bendable bonce" (head), his skin like stretch rubber. At will, he could "scrunch" his face into anything. Several of the stories were set at Belmonte School, home to two other recurring characters - his friend Cyril, and the headmaster Mr. Snipe. The strip was retained when "Jet" merged with "Buster" later that year, the first merged issue dated 2 October 1971. The word "scrunch" had been slowly overtaken by "scrunge".

As the years went by, the name Ricky Rubberneck was dropped and the character was simply called Faceache. Also, his scrunges got more and more complex, with him able to appear identical to other people, and even scrunging his entire body into various monster-like shapes, rather than just his face. In one strip he becomes a grotesque mole-like creature and burrows under a smoke chimney, causing it to collapse.

Reid continued drawing Faceache until his death in early 1987. Frank McDiarmid took over from then on, until the strip ended in the issue dated 1 October 1988.

An adult Faceache appears in the 2005 comic "Albion", as one of a number of comic book characters who have been imprisoned by the British government. In "Albion" Faceache's real name is said to be "Martin Hives".

External links

* [http://www.fustar.info/2006/12/12/195/ Scrunge and Un-Scrunge]