In 1964, Baxendale began work for Odhams Press to set up and design a new children's comic, "Wham!" and, two years later, its sister comic "Smash!" In its early issues, "Wham!" presented both clear imitations of "Beano" strips, such as a clone of his "The Bash Street Kids" in the shape of "The Tiddlers", and new original strips such as "Eagle-Eye, Junior Spy" and "Georgie's Germs", in which he attempted to break the mould of older strips by the use of bizarre humour, outrageous puns, and surreal plots. (Baxendale earned £8,000 in his first year at Odhams — equivalent to £165,000 in 2020.)