The first issue of Adventures of Boss Beat. Note the different appearance of Boss Beat to that featured inside. The cover was actually drawn by Walsh Snr's stablemate, Phil Cornell, and inked in the style of Walsh. Cornell, who would go on to illustrate the acclaimed Sherlock Holmes Illustrated Tales, was unfamiliar at the time with the appearance of Boss Beat and drew him from the publisher's description. Riding on the Rock 'n' Roll craze that was only just hitting these shores, the band featured heavily in the first year. The "RayGuns" became more of a background element with the introduction of Hepcat in issue 12 ('And there Shall Come a Hero...'). Walsh Snr had delayed the inevitable origin story for a year, saving it for BB's first anniversary issue. Reader response to Hepcat (who made only a minor appearance) was so great, that Walsh Snr took the opportunity to create a dynamic foil for Boss Beat's gruff temperament. Hepcat's beatnik style and alternative views led prime minister Robert Menzies to describe Boss Beat Adventures as, "communist filth, peddled to those innocent minds most prone to suggestion and corruption". Walsh Snr was unrepentant, merely repeating the mantra, "my work speaks for itself".