What on Earth is Ogri?
Ogri is a fictional cartoon character created by Paul Sample. Bear with me, I know that most of you won’t ever come across this character, but I like him.
That’s nice, so why do I need to know about him?
Well if you ever go anywhere near the British Motorcycle scene, it pays to know who Ogri is. Ogri, you see, is a biker. And he’s damn cool.
The low-down on Ogri:
Ogri is a biker who lives in London, I can’t tell you what bike he has, as he is constantly crashing or getting new bikes. You have to realise that Ogri is the ultimate biker; he is what all bikers strive to be. He can build bikes, ride any bike with ease, get away with just about anything, and beat the hell out of anyone. Ogri is best summed up in the opening cartoon in Paul Sample’s latest comic book ‘The Ogri Collection No. 2’, it says:
Ogri- The easy-going effluent hero of the stories is this dauntless character Ogri. He’s tough, strong, indefatigable, rough, honest, patient and generous. (Has to be with family like his). He effortlessly rides his thunderous bike like a whirlwind hurricane and never troubles trouble until trouble troubles him. So anyone is fish food if they get the wrong side of him or between him and his bike…
The opprobrious police hate him…
That is Ogri.
I’m assuming that almost none, if any of you have read the comics, so I’ll describe him to you. He is tall and very muscular. He has a broken nose, permanent stubble and short black hair (usually hidden by his trade-mark helmet). His helmet is red, has goggles, which he never uses, and his most distinguishing mark- his helmet has a white wing on either side. He wears a leather jacket with lots of zips. On the shoulder is a yellow star, with ‘OGRI’ written underneath. He wears blue jeans and very, very big boots. In short Ogri is hard, and Ogri is cool, Ogri is a true Biker.
Of course there are other characters in the Ogri comics. The main ones are (in no particular order):
Malcolm: Ogri’s younger and less experienced cousin. Malcolm is how every biker tends to start out: unsure and nervous, one hopes that you will eventually get to be more like Ogri. Malcolm is constantly getting himself into trouble, and usually has to be bailed out by Ogri. He is always crashing his bikes or being beaten up. You’ve got to feel sorry for the guy really. He is usually distinguished by his young, pimply face, or by his helmet, which says MAL on the front.
Mitzi: Ogri’s girlfriend, and every biker’s (and indeed non-biker’s) dream girl. With her curvatious and voluptuous body and her shock of blonde hair, Mitzi is too hot for most to handle, but not Ogri. This feisty lass knows her bikes too, and can handle herself in a fight. In short, Mitzi is one foxy lady.
Kickstart: He reads Plato and Aristotle, is Ogri’s faithful companion, is usually barred from pubs, and manages to upset the police a lot. The thing is, Kickstart is a dog. He is small and white and he sits on the back of Ogri’s bike whenever he goes riding. Sometimes he gets Ogri out of trouble, sometimes he gets him into trouble, such is life. Kickstart usually adds comic value to the strips (not that its already there, he just adds more). He regularly infuriates the Police and Traffic Wardens by covering Ogri’s number plate with his tail and swearing at the speed cameras.
Anyone who has ever read ‘Bike’ magazine in the past will have heard of Ogri, this is where he first appeared, since then he has become a major cult figure in British Motorcycling, everyone wants to be like him. More recently Ogri has been appearing in the Motoring section of the Saturday Telegraph as well. Paul Sample has release two collections of Ogri cartoon strips, the first entirely in Black and White, the second mainly B+W and some colour strips as well. Very recently a short cartoon film (lasting around jus over 45 mins) was also made about Ogri, simply entitled ‘Ogri’. In the film Ogri’s cousin Malcolm is kidnapped and framed for a crime he didn’t commit, and Ogri and Mitzi (and Kickstart) have to save the day and beat up the evil police. Yeay!
If you do ever get the chance to read or buy some of the Ogri strips, then do. They really very amusing, even if you aren’t a biker. They are anti-motorist, but in a good (and often enough, true) way.
If you want to find out a bit more about Ogri, then look him up on the Internet, go to www.ogri.co.uk