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The 12½p Buytonic Boy was a British comic strip, created byRobert Nixon, although Brian Walker frequently deputised when Bob was on leave. It debuted as "Half a Dollar Boy" in issue 37 of Monster Fun comic,[1] before becoming a regular feature in the first issue of the magazineKrazy, dated 16 October 1976.
The strip was about a boy called Steve Ford, who, after buying a special tonic from Professor Nutz for 12½ pence, gained special powers.[2] He would later be hired by the Everso Secret Service, using his powers to interfere with the plans of the villainous spies from rival organisation the "NME" (pronouncedenemy). This being the period of theCold War with the Soviet Union, the names of the agents of the NME included Boris and Ivan, and they would occasionally dress asRussians. Part of the joke involved the audience being aware that there was a contemporary British pop-music magazine, theNew Musical Express, which was known in the teenage subculture by the nicknamethe NME.
The character's name, and the title of the strip, spoofedThe Six Million Dollar Man television series, whose main character was called Steve Austin, and was known as the "bionic man". Part of the joke was thatFord andAustin were both names of popular car manufacturers in Britain. Prior to getting his powers, Steve Ford crashes hisGo-kart, much as Steve Austin gets his after crashing an aircraft.[citation needed]
AfterKrazy finished in 1978, he became aWhizzer and Chips Whizz-Kid, and stayed in that comic until early 1986. Around the time thehalf penny ceased being legal tender, in 1981, the strip was retitledThe Buytonic Boy, variously attributing toBB: Buytonic Boy andThe Buytonic Boy starring Steve Ford. It would later be retitled, more permanently, toSuper Steve, and, after that,Super Steve vs NME Nasties, in which readers were invited to write to the NME, care of the comic's Editor, and suggest ways of defeating Steve (which always failed).[3]
He was also known for three weeks in 1984 asW4 during a short-lived spell whenWhizzer and Chips code-number titled its characters in an attempt to attract a teenage audience.[citation needed]
