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Fit
Fred and Sick Sid

Fred
was a super-fit, barrel-chested athlete who was
constantly putting his weasly pal Sid through his paces
and getting him involved in various sports and fitness
regimes - much to Sid's reluctance. By the end
of each strip, however, the tables would be turned and
Fred would fall victim to his own brash ways and
methods...
Every Fleetway comic had a pair like these two, at odds
with each other. A rich one and a poor one, a fat one
and
a thin one - the blueprint was simply passed on
to the
next comic. In particular, sporty Fred and weedy Sid
were painfully similar to Tough
Nutt and Softly Centre,
from Shiver & Shake...
Fred and Sid didn't have an "origin" story,
as such. They were
simply introduced en route to a local sports event, with
Fred
bragging about how he was going to make Sid just as fit as
himself. Feeble Sid fumbles the sack race, the spoon and
potato race, and the wheelbarrow race. But when he collapses
during the latter event Fred ends up driving the poor lad's
face
through the ground like a plough so that - what do you know?
- Sid digs up a lost diamond ring...
Were Fred and Sid actually friends? Fred seemed like
Sid's
worst enemy, so why are they always together?
And another thing, why did Fred always have to come
out
as the loser? If you want to read way too much in to
this,
you could suggest Fleetway were condemming success
and the up-and-at-'em spirit. What's wrong with a chap
showing a bit of confidence once in a while?
Oh, but let's not get too serious. Those Fleetway folk
were
just having fun, weren't they, and we really shouldn't be
reading too much into these strips...
Er, should we?
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