Bad Taste no. 65: the red flag

The scan: sc-n133-feb-07-1980.pdf (PDF, Marxists Internet Archive, opens at this page)

This text was corrected by hand against the scan: the strip at the head of page 14, which the machine reading did not see; image taken from the scan and its lettering transcribed (18 Oct 2026). Number 65 of Cormac's weekly Bad Taste strip: the red flag.

page 14 of the scan

Five-panel cartoon strip: a Labour leader boasts of the party's honourable tradition — hysteria about the Soviets, kissing the Yankees' backside, torture in Ireland, stabbing workers in the back — and calls for a witch-hunt on the left, while a small creature sings a parody of "The Red Flag". — Cormac, "Bad Taste" no. 65, Socialist Challenge no. 133, 7 February 1980, page 14. From the Marxists Internet Archive scan.

The strip, panel by panel

1. BAD TASTE — Cormac #65.

2. "... And I tell you, my friends, we in the British Labour Party have an honourable tradition to maintain!" (A small creature sings:) "Our party's flag is slightly pink ... ♪"

3. "Getting hysterical about the Soviets while kissing the backside of the Yankees — condoning or (given the chance) ordering torture in Ireland —" "But not as pink as some folk think ...."

4. "— Stabbing workers in the back — the list, my friends, is well-nigh endless! But we will surely fail in our tasks if we do not revive our favourite pastime!" "For though our leaders whine and bellow —"

5. "So let's get out there — and do a witch-hunt on the left!!" "The rag, to me, looks dirty and yellow!"