Billy's Boots: The Legacy Of Dead-Shot Keen (Volume 1)

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Scorcher became Scorcher and Score after 77 issues (merging with Score ‘n’ Roar in early July 1971) and finally called “time” with the October 5 th 1974 issue – a further 171 outings. Its favourite features were ultimately absorbed into Tiger in 1980, but Annuals and Summer Specials continued to appear until 1984. Each week, the strip was introduced with the words, “Billy Dane owned an ancient pair of football boots which used to belong to old-time soccer star, Dead Shot Keen. In some strange way, the boots enabled Billy to play in Dead Shot’s style”. Billy's Boots was a popular British comic strip by writer Fred Baker and artist John Gillatt, later continued by Mike Western. The original Billy's Boots was an earlier humorous series, written and drawn by Frank Purcell, which appeared in Tiger from December 23rd 1961 until July 13th 1963, with a similar premise to this later series. The later more serious Billy appeared in the first issue of Scorcher in 1970, [1] and later moved to Tiger when the two comics merged in 1974. In 1985, Tiger in turn merged with Eagle and the strip moved again. Just a year later, Billy's adventures relocated once more, this time to Roy of the Rovers. New adventures were included in the weekly comic until May 1990 (later followed by reprints), before he switched to Best of Roy of the Rovers Monthly. The strip also appeared in annuals, including annuals for comics which had themselves ceased publication. The strip is still fondly remembered by fans of the "golden age" of British boys' comics. [2] In Finland and Sweden, Billy's Boots was published in Buster magazine. In the UK, stories based on Billy's earliest adventures appeared in Total Football magazine until it closed in 2001, and Billy's story was also reprinted for a few months in the defunct Striker comic. Billy’s Boots was a popular British comic strip by writer Fred Baker and artist John Gillatt, later continued by Mike Western. The original Billy’s Boots was an earlier humorous series, written and drawn by Frank Purcell, which appeared in Tiger between 1961 and 1963, with a similar premise to this later series. The later more serious Billy appeared in the first issue of Scorcher in 1970, and later moved to Tiger when the two comics merged in 1974. In 1985 Tiger in turn merged with Eagle and the strip moved again, however just a year later Billy’s adventures relocated once more, this time to Roy of the Rovers. New adventures were included in the weekly comic until May 1990 (later followed by reprints), before he switched to Best of Roy of the Rovers Monthly. The strip also appeared in annuals, including annuals for comics which had themselves ceased publication, and is still fondly remembered by fans of the “golden age” of British boys’ comics. In Finland and Sweden, Billy’s Boots was published in Buster magazine. In the UK, stories based on Billy’s earliest adventures appeared in Total Football magazine until it closed in 2001, and Billy’s story was also reprinted for a few months in the defunct Striker comic.

British kids have always been utterly besotted with sports and comics have continually fed and fuelled their addiction. Even in the days when children’s only exclusive “entertainment” was primarily prose “Story Papers”, tales of playing field rivals, earnest competition, glorious accomplishments, fair play and sporting prodigies dominated. As comic strips took tight hold of kid’s lives during WWII and after, generations of boys grew up wanting to be Wilson, Alf Tupper, His Sporting Lordship, Skid Solo or Roy of the Rovers.However, when the strips were reprinted over in Holland, something different occurred. There, Billy eventually grew up and his repetitive storylines actually led into a different direction, and into a conclusion. Billy's Boots also was published in Turkish in the 1970s as comic series under the name "Sihirli Ayakkabılar" (Translation:Magical Shoes) in a children magazine called " Doğan Kardeş". "Dead Shot Ken" was named "Bombacı Ken" (Ken the Bomber). Young Billy Dane was one of the most passionate football fans at Bingley Road Junior school…unfortunately he was also one of the worst players! Then, one afternoon, Billy’s grandmother got him to clean out her attic and Billy finds a pair of old fashioned football boots that belonged to ‘Dead-Shot’ Keen – a famous centre forward who once played for England.

As the 1960s segued into a new decade, across the United Kingdom, football was king in comics: everything from straight sporting drama strips to wild comedies with strange teams and odd motivations, and even supernaturally-tinged strips like Raven on the Wing… The artwork for the final episode was by Jaap Verwey, who also drew for the Dutch version of Bunty. Not only this, Billy footwear specialist shoes are available in high-top, low-top and Ugg shoe styles, making these special needs shoes ultra-stylish. As well as shoes at SpecialKids.Company we specialise in a variety of special needs clothing , bedding, and other special needs accessories . Now bursting with confidence and hungry to play, he rapidly moves from friendly games to school caps, county matches and even international fixtures, with a heaping helping of drama accruing from his eagerness frequently leading him to play for rivals and opposing teams…sometimes on the same day…

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He’s also an international star, having been translated into Finnish, Swedish, Icelandic, Dutch, Bengali, Turkish and more… By the early 1980s, Billy was playing as centre forward for Groundwood School, alongside pals such as Jimmy Dawson, Reg Wood, Marvin Soames and Harvey Crisp. The strip regularly involved mishaps involving his boots, which were periodically lost, stolen or damaged, resulting in Billy underperforming and thus being dropped from the school team. In several instances, he turned out for opposing sides such as "Merlin" or "Brand X", scoring against the school first team, thus embarrassing the sports teacher, Mr Harris.

The stories here originally played in Scorcher from 10 th January 1970 to 9 th January 1970. The strip had taken its name from a comedic feature by Frank Purcell that ran in Tiger from 1961-1963. For a fresh new era, it was overhauled by 50-year veteran scripter Fred Baker ( Martin’s Marvellous Mini, Skid Kids, Tommy’s Troubles, Hot-Shot Hamish, and much more in titles including Tiger, Buster, Chips, Radio Fun, Film Fun, Valentine and Roy of the Rovers). Billy's Boots, under the Dutch title De Wondersloffen van Sjakie (The Magic Boots of Sjakie, - Sjakie being Billy) was published in Holland from 1973 to 1975 in the comic Sjors. As you can see below, some changes were necessary for a story where, in Tiger, Billy traveled to Holland on the ferry to play in a cup match. In the Dutch version, Sjakie was already living in Holland of course so UK artist John Gillatt was specially commissioned to draw a new sequence, replacing the ferry trip with Sjakie hitchhiking to the venue in Amsterdam.Join us at the start of a stunning saga which entertained football fans for over twenty years! Buy the hardcover now >> Buy the digital edition now >>

When Billy Dane found an ancient pair of football boots that once belonged to famous professional footballer Dead-Shot Keen, little did he know that they would magically turn him into an incredible player! The first collection of Billy’s Boots is out now! However, despite the boots' obvious importance to him, he would repeatedly lose them or have them stolen. Further confusions and concerns arise as he researches the life of Dead-Shot and realises that he’s often reliving actual events that affected the star and shaped his astounding career. The phenomenon doesn’t let up even after Billy finally meets and befriends his idol… This astoundingly absorbing classic is another perfect example of purely British comics sensibilities: passionate, idealistic and desperately earnest as it follows the path of a working class hero navigating a treacherous path to glory or dismal defeat. This is a welcome reintroduction: inspirational, warm, beautifully rendered and absolutely unforgettable. Another treasure-trove from Rebellion’s ever-expanding Treasury of British Comics, this tale span generations and demands to be in every family bookcase. In the final issue of Sjors in 1975 a completely new ending was devised for the strip. In the UK version Billy's adventures continued indefinitely but in Holland Oberon decided that Sjakie's story should have a definite conclusion. Therefore Billy (or rather Sjakie) signs a contract to become a professional footballer. His hard slog over the years has finally paid off, and the story ends with him giving a toast to the memory of Dead-Shot Keen.The boots fell apart after a few matches due to their age and could not be repaired. Fearing that he would lose his new-found ability and knowing that "Dead Shot" Keen had played for the local club, Amhurst Albion, Billy went to their ground to see if any of Keen's other boots remained there. Having secretly entered the stadium, he found the boot room and discovered another pair of Keen's old boots which, much repaired, he used for the remainder of the story.