GIMME FIVE! - Steve McManus

Again, i'm stunned, chuffed and awed to have someone instrumental in the creation of the comics i loved growing up being on here.
Actually more so than with Pat Mills as, back then, i had no idea who Pat was as i got my weekly comics.
Steve i certainly did, as he welcomed us each issue, regaling us with his exploits of the last week, tales of drunkeness and pranks. In short, the sort of thing we grubby urchins wished we could do.
He was also Action's "Action Man", being sent off on really not very action packed assignements.
All good fun though, which fitted in perfectly with the strips.
So here's Steve. Only four answers, but what great one's they are. And... it's Action Man!

1. WHAT COMICS DID YOU READ WHEN YOU WERE A NIPPER?
I was born a London lad in 1953. I had three elder brothers, the oldest being ten years older than me, so while I didn't read it, I remember as a nipper copies of The Eagle being around. There was also a spectacularly visceral comic book version of the Old Testament which used to keep me quiet and probably sparked my interest in the medium. From there I went on to enjoy the Beano and The Dandy.
2. AND THE FAVOURITE ONE OF THOSE?
By the age of nine I had come across DC Comics in the local tobacconist. Green Lantern, Superman, etc. After reading them I would put them in a drawer...little did I know I was becoming a collector. But, a year later, I received orders to proceed to Devon and at the age of ten I found myself deep in the countryside, the only connection to the outside world being a Saturday trip to the nearest town, Totnes. At the school, two other inmates I knew received a weekly comic through the post. One was Hotspur. The other was Buster. There were no American imports to be found in the newsagent's in Totnes so I chose Valiant because I liked the quirkiness of its characters. Little did I know I was appreciating the unique writing skills of Tom Tully who scripted most of that title. By the time I was twelve though it was 1965, the times they were a'changing and I was fast losing the habit of reading a comic. How odd then that, eight short years later my first job in comics was.......on Valiant!
3. FAVOURITE CHARACTER?
In the Eagle: Harris Tweed.
In the Old Testament: Samson.
In the Dandy: General Jumbo
In the Beano: The Numbskulls.
In the DC Universe (don't laugh) Green Lantern.
In Valiant---extremely difficult, let's review the field:
Captain Hurricane--4/10
Mytek the Mighty--5/10
Kelly's Eye--5/10
Wild Wonders--6/10
Legge's Eleven--6/10
House of Dolman--7/10
Adam Eterno--7/10
Raven on the Wing--7/10
Jason Hyde--8/10
The Steel Claw--9/10!
4. FAVOURITE ARTIST?
On Valiant, a dead heat between Eric Bradbury and Mike Western.