Soggy the Sea Monster
    
                             
    Avast! - Here be the soggiest, soft-hearted monster ever to
    have swum through the briney. Soggy was a friendly munster,
    keen to assist waylaid fishermen, castaways, lighthouse
    keepers and seafarers when e'er he could.

    The trouble was, Soggy's helping hand would regularly
    backfire and create even more problems for whoever he was
    assisting. During his Fleetway tenure he wrecked
    lighthouses, bathospheres, a helicopter, and umpteen
    boats, ships, yachts and vessels...

    

    There was an interesting conservational theme to many
    of the strips. Soggy saw off polluting oil tankers and whalers,
    he helped recover and conserve an ancient wreck or two,
    and even took charge of a colony of rare Crested Kipper
    Snatchers - but only after he'd wrecked their last
    remaining islet! (ShSh #43).

    Of course, old Soggy himself was the subject of much
    scientific conjecture. He was pursued by a keen member
    of an Arctic Expedition, several different Professor-types
    and a regular number of Adventurers out to snare this
    rare and special specimen. But what, exactly, were
    they pursuing?

      

    Soggy was a Nessie-beast, with a long tail and four
    big feet. But he wasn't the Loch Ness Monster. This was
    confirmed in his very last Shiver & Shake appearance,
    when he headed to Scotland to visit his Highland chum
    (above, left). Nessie was actually an inky-black version
    of Soggy. Or maybe Soggy was a lighter version
    of Nessie? - The jury's still out on that one.

    Nessie or not, one thing was for certain, Soggy was a
    beautifully executed character and strip. He was designed
    by Robert Nixon who invested much time and effort into some
    fascinating, detailed panelwork. Terry Bave stood in for Mr.
    Nixon on occassion too. It was a classic, simple, fun strip
    with endless possibilities...

     

    Soggy swam in and out of Shiver & Shake during his ten
    month tenure. He departed officially in January 1974, but was
    washed back into its pages one last time in February as a
    hurried replacement for Eagle Eye after a printing mix-up.

    A few years later this super sea-beastie returned in the
    pages of Cheeky Weekly, and its associated Summer
    Specials and Annuals - nice one, Soggy!...