Thought you'd seen the last of Still Game? Think again

It seems like the most natural union. Taking the passionately Scottish but occasionally surreal adventures of Jack and Victor and the gang in Craiglang on to the pages of a comic book.
The Scottish cultural landscape has been enriched by the sassy seniors of Still Game, the creation of Ford Kiernan and Greg Hemphill, both on screen and on stage. Taking moving pictures to the frames of a comic book however . . . it’s easier said than done.

Ford and Greg, both fans of comic books themselves, have had ambitions to see the illustrated versions of themselves and the Clansman crew, but finding the right publisher was the challenge.

Step in Scunnered Ink, the creation of Gordon Tait. Gordon’s experience in the Scottish comic book is hard to rival. With many years at DC Thomson in Dundee, he has worked closely with the likes of Dennis and Gnasher, but as DC Thomson Heritage Editor, he was entrusted with some of Scotland’s national treasures: Oor Wullie and The Broons.

With a network that includes some of the finest comic book artists and writers, Gordon was perfectly placed to bring together the team that, along with Ford and Greg, have produced the first in what will be a series of Still Game books, the first being He Who Hingeth Aboot Getteth Hee Haw, featuring six comic strips, which not only reimagine but add to the six episodes of the first series.

The results have exceeded anything Ford and Greg imagined. “They have done an incredible job,” says Greg. “Ford and I felt like fans when we were proofreading it. It’s just such a fun thing to see. We have always been looking for different ways to envision Jack and Victor, so this was the perfect thing.”

Ford says he’s already asked to get some of the individual frames blown up. “It’s such a weird thing because we know, we’ve written it but Gordon and the guys have taken it to another level and painted that world in a totally different way. “The postie was here yesterday and he caught me signing some books. He had a look and, honestly, the glee in his face! He was loving recognising that first episode and looking for all his favourite bits. It was great to see.”

(Image: He Who Hingith Aboot Getteth Hee Haw)

The approach that a talented comic writer like Daniel McGachey brought to the comic book scripts and the detail artists brought to each frame are something fans of the great comic books will appreciate.  “That took a bit of getting used to,” says Greg. “How it is when Jack has a thought or Victor has a thought and you can see it. And also the flashbacks – it’s something we didn’t do too much of on TV. There are a lot of surprises in there.”

Gordon and the team had to make decisions about how far they can bring Craiglang into the imaginary comic universe. “That’s been of the great things about it too,” says Ford. “All these additions are absolutely right for Jack and Victor’s heritage. On one frame there are wee love hearts and cupids and it’s exactly how they would have drawn something like that as boys themselves.”. 

Obviously, Ford and Greg know Jack and Victor inside and out. Jack and Victor’s first appeared on a Gilded balloon stage during the 1997 Edinburgh Fringe. 

“It became the shows that all the other comedians came to see,” says Ford. “Then we won the LWT Award and they sat on it for two years. We got Chewin’ the Fat and Jack and Victor were in the first episode. I think we did know that they were special, but we had no idea how far it would go.”

The inspiration came from Ford’s Uncle Barney and Greg’s Irish grandfather Sammy. 

“We would tell stories in their voices,” says Greg. “And there was something about it that made us laugh so much. The writing wasn’t easy – it’s never easy – but it did come quickly. The story ideas came quickly too.

(Image: He Who Hingith Aboot Getteth Hee Haw)

“We discovered very quickly we could get away with a lot because they were widowers, and they were vulnerable. People had sympathy for them, and you know, although they could be mean to each other, they love each other. You know that kind of mischief and irreverence and cruelty friends dish out to one another; it seemed even richer at their age. They needed each other, you know, they needed company. They needed that connection. So, it was fun to write.”

For Gordon Tait, Ford and Greg made Scunnered Ink’s first publication a bit of a dream. He says: “It has been an incredible collaboration. Jack and Victor and the whole of Craiglang are still such an important part of Scottish culture now and Ford and Greg still know there’s more they can do.

“The ambition now is to build the whole cartoon world – a cartoon Craiglang. We’re already working on the next book and we’ve learned so much from the first. It’s just as well with the first series being six episodes and the second being nine!”

From an editor’s perspective, Gordon says that, even though he’s always been a fan, he is amazed that how often Ford and Greg give away the funniest lines to the ensemble of characters around them. 

“There’s a real lack of ego in that.” There’s no doubt that some of the language means it’s more suitable for older members of the family, but Still Game could become as important a part of Christmas Day as the brood from Glebe Street and the spiky-haired bucket boy.  So, in Victor’s immortal words, remember: “He Who Hingeth Aboot Getteth Hee Haw”. 

Still Game Book 1: He Who Hingeth Aboot Getteth Hee Haw is available now. Published by Scunnered Ink.