“We’re the Sweeney son, and we haven’t had any dinner!” The Brown Watson Sweeney Annual 1977

Considering that ‘The Sweeney’ was a comparatively violent police show Brown Watson took the slightly strange decision to produce a children’s ‘Sweeney’ annual.

‘The Sweeney’ was a British television police drama featuring Detective Inspector Jack Regan (John Thaw) and Detective Sergeant George Carter (Dennis Waterman), two members of Scotland Yard’s Flying Squad, an elite branch of the British police force, specialising in combating armed robbery and violent crime within the Metropolitan Police area of London.

The programme title derives from Cockney rhyming slang, in which the expression Sweeney Todd rhymes with (and stands for) 'Flying Squad', in the slang used by London's criminal underworld.

The Sweeney Annual has three strips lavishly illustrated by Brian Lewis in his gothic style that is often associated with his time on House of Hammer. At the same time Lewis’ artwork on these three strips wouldn’t look of place in Countdown or Look-In, two other titles that his artwork graced.

The Sweeny Annual [1977] (Brown Watson):
‘The Hyena in London’ 6p [Brian Lewis] - art
‘Boy Wonder’ 6p [Brian Lewis] - art
‘Right Time, Wrong Place’ 4p [Brian Lewis] – art

‘The Hyena in London’ p1 [Brian Lewis] – art

‘Boy Wonder’ p1 [Brian Lewis] – art

‘Right Time, Wrong Place’ 4p [Brian Lewis] – art







Many thanks to my old mate Mark Bromage for lending me this very splendid annual. Any chance of a trade?