Ivor Lott and Tony Broke
    
                             
   Ivor Lott (I've a lot) was a filthy rich brat who lived in the 
   luxurious surroundings of Lott Hall. Next door lived Tony
   Broke (Stone broke) in Broke Cottage. Threadbare Tony
   had barely a shilling to his name. Ivor, meanwhile, couldn't
   resist flashing his immense wads of cash around town at
   every opportunity. He was determined to run his "riffraff"
   neighbour and indeed, everyone else in Cortown, in to the
   ground and out of town...

   Tony lapped up life's little pleasures when e'er he could,
   and thanked the stars for small mercies, whilst Ivor would
   simply drive his limo straight through them. Anything Tony
   could do, Ivor could do better - way, way better. 

   But - hey - this is a Fleetway strip we're talking about, so no
   matter how much money Ivor spent, no matter what cash-rich
   scheme he invested in, his plans would backfire spectacularly.
   The mesasage being (of course) that money just can't
   buy happiness after all...

   In the very first Cor!! strip, drawn by Reg Parlett, Tony is
   a rather more bitter character, glum and despairing at the
   antics of Ivor. Young master Lott arrives at school in a stretch
   limo. He has waiters serving him a slap-up school dinner,
   and a butler dressing him for Games. Even when he's caught
   cheating during cross country (he sneaks a lift in his limo)
   Ivor comes up trumps: the wads of pocket money in his back
   pocket protect his backside from a severe caning!

   As the strip developed, Tony grew into a far more likeable
   chap, happier with his - er - "lot" in life. Ivor meanwhile,
   grew ever more outrageously cash-happy. His wild
   schemes often culminated in the utter destruction of
   Lott Hall. And that left him at the mercy of his 
   fuming "Pater".

   
  
   Although Ivor was very-much an onlooker, preferring to pay
   people to carry out his immense endeavours, just occasionally,
   he displayed an extraordinarily violent streak - usually directed
   at poor Tony. Psychologists would surely have a field day here,
   deciphering Ivor's violence as a form of jealously and frustration.
   But the rest of us simply wonder why Tony didn't beat the
   bugger to a pulp and move on!

   

   The little contrasts bewtween the two stars were terrific: Tony's
   uniform was always scuffed and slightly too short for his growing
   limbs. Ivor, meanwhile had a terrific eyes closed haughtiness,
   always sneering down his nose, with his thumbs out of his
   blazer pockets...

   When Cor!! merged with Buster Ivor and Tony jumped titles.
   And there they stayed, a rock-solid fixture in Buster through
   the 70s, 80s and 90s right up until the very last issue of
   of the comic, in January 2000.
 
   These two were Fleetway cover stars too. They took over Cor!!
   duties from Gus the Gorilla in 1977 and maintained their star
   status all the way through to 1986 when the Cor!! annuals
   finished their run. Needless to say, they graced numerous
   Cor!! specials as well. And what's more, alongside the Cor!!
   appearances came regular Buster Annual strips - now that's
   popularity for you!
  
   

   In the first Parlett-drawn strips, Tony and Ivor occasionally had
   competing affections for young Lady Cynthia. But we had to wait
   until 1982 before the duo actually found themselves "girlfriends".
   Milly O'Naire and Penny Less were Jackpot's female take on the
   strip,and they arrived when Jackpot merged with Buster. Together
   the quartet cooked up the longest title ever to have graced a
   Fleetway comic:
  
   "Ivor Lott and Tony  Broke with Milly O'Naire
   and Penny Less"

   The girls hung around until 1987, when Ivor and Tony went
   it alone once more.

   What more can one say about Ivor and Tony? - These two were
   Fleetway icons through-and-through, as recognisable as Frankie
   Stein, Buster, Jackpot and Sweeny Toddler. They were at the
   front of a whole wave of have/have-not creations, like The Upper
   Crusts and Lazy Loafers, Fit Fred and Sick Sid, Tough Nutt and
   Softly Centre - the list goes on. The three core artists, Reg
   Parlett, Crocker and Sid Burgon each added their own little
   twists and variations to the character design, and created
   a classic Fleetway strip to treasure....