Adam and Eva
   
                             
    Now, even for Fleetway, this was a surprise. Adam and Eva
    was a take on the religious tale of the Garden of Eden, with
    the two leads resembling younger versions of our biblical stars.
    In each strip, the Serpent would attempt to coax them into
    eating apples from the Tree of Knowledge in the hope they
    might eventually consume the apple which would cause their
    downfall. But in fact, all the apples Adam and Eva actually
    consumed worked to their benefit, imparting "bites" of worldly
    wisdom which would invariably help the couple out of their
    various predicaments..

    Er, quite.

    This was a truly radical departure for Fleetway for various
    reasons. First and foremost, the religious leanings therein.
    The strip itself never referred to any christian doctrine directly, 
    but the very concept was steeped in it. The look of the strip
    was also different. Paul Ailey's work featured simple outlined
    characters, scant shading and a minimal amount of
    background detail....

     

    Ah, but, then there were the young stars themselves. See,
    they were absoloutely stark naked, with ne'er a fig leaf
    between them!

    Now admittedly, there was no "nudeness" on display, no
    naughty bits to view. Indeed, Adam and Eva were strangely
    hermaphrodite in design, much like those other two famous
    naked strip stars from "Love Is". Even so, they were clearly
    supposed  to be younger versions of their biblical counterparts.
    Can you imagine a childrens comic strip featuring "naked"
    kids getting past child protection groups today...?

    Of course, we shouldn't get carried away. This was a perfectly
    innocent creation at the time, with ne'er a sugggestion of
    crudity, nudity, or christianity in sight. But still, what a blunder!
   
    It's an intriguing addition to the Big Fleetway Book of Faux Pas.
    And also, a rare oppurtunity to see the talents of artist Paul
    Ailey. Paul was one of the unsung stars of Fleetway, regularly
    "ghosting" for other artists when called upon. He's also a very
    friendly chap who'se been filling in lots of Fleetway detail
    for these pages - Thanks, Paul!