Childhood Comics and Annuals

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Rob Houghton
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Re: Childhood Comics and Annuals

Post by Rob Houghton »

Moonraker wrote:Mickey the Monkey was on the front of The Topper, and Ginger on The Beezer. At least, that's how I remember it!
By the time I was reading it, Tricky Dicky was on the front of The Topper -- though I do remember Mickey the Monkey too! :wink:
'Oh voice of Spring of Youth
hearts mad delight,
Sing on, sing on, and when the sun is gone
I'll warm me with your echoes
through the night.'

(E. Blyton, Sunday Times, 1951)



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Re: Childhood Comics and Annuals

Post by Moonraker »

I see in 1959 Pop Dick and Harry was on the front page - Ginger appeared later, but I can't find the exact year.

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However, Ginger is on the cover when it was 3d a copy (which must have been prior to 1959) and is on the front in 1971.
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Rob Houghton
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Re: Childhood Comics and Annuals

Post by Rob Houghton »

I used to have Whizzer and Chips around the mid 1980's - roughly about 1986 I stopped having comics altogether.

Image
'Oh voice of Spring of Youth
hearts mad delight,
Sing on, sing on, and when the sun is gone
I'll warm me with your echoes
through the night.'

(E. Blyton, Sunday Times, 1951)



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Billy Farmer
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Re: Childhood Comics and Annuals

Post by Billy Farmer »

Rob Houghton wrote:I had Buster comic for many years! It had a different 'feel' to other similar comics, and was well produced. :-)
Buster, is definitely one of my all time favourite Comics, but I thought Buster, was better, when the Comic, was a mixture of Humour and Adventure, after The Leopard from Lime Street, finished in 1985, there were no more Adventure Strips in Buster Comic, and I then thought Buster, wasn't half as good, does anyone remember the Adventure Strip March of the Mighty Ones (appeared in Buster Comic 1983-84), which were reprints from Monster Fun Comic.

http://kazoop.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/a- ... ch-of.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; http://lewstringer.blogspot.co.uk/2016/ ... c-no1.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
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Rob Houghton
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Re: Childhood Comics and Annuals

Post by Rob Houghton »

I had Buster comic from around 1982 - 1986 (judging by the annuals I have). I only have a few Buster comics, as well as a few Beano, Dandy, Whizzer and Chips, Wow! Beezer, Topper and Whoopee comics, but I have all my annuals, in near fine condition, between about 1980 and 1987.

When I was reading Buster, Leopard of Lime Street was the main 'adventure' offering, along with favourite comic strips such as Master Mind (a comic strip which involved solving various puzzles), Kid Kong, Face-Ache, Deadly Headly, Chalky, X-Ray Specs, Mummy's Boy and Ivor Lott & Tony Broke. :-D
'Oh voice of Spring of Youth
hearts mad delight,
Sing on, sing on, and when the sun is gone
I'll warm me with your echoes
through the night.'

(E. Blyton, Sunday Times, 1951)



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Re: Childhood Comics and Annuals

Post by Billy Farmer »

Rob, I can remember all the Comic strips, which you have mentioned above, I have got lots of Buster Comic's/Annuals, on DVD/DVD-ROMs - http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_odkw= ... _sacat=267" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

After looking on eBay, many times, I finally managed to obtain a copy of the first issue of Buster Comic, which I ever read.
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Anita Bensoussane
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Re: Childhood Comics and Annuals

Post by Anita Bensoussane »

I'm afraid I didn't take much notice of boys' comics as a youngster, but some of those picture strips do sound good. Here are some covers from the Jinty comic I read as a girl (taken from https://jintycomic.files.wordpress.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;). The first one shows 'Alice in a Strange Land' at the top and 'The Forbidden Garden' at the bottom - both excellent science-fiction stories with plenty of atmosphere, action and emotion.

The second shows a story called 'White Water' which I don't remember very well, but it's interesting to note the description of a doll being offered as a prize in 1979 - a "gay gypsy doll".

Image

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"Heyho for a starry night and a heathery bed!" - Jack, The Secret Island.

"There is no bond like the bond of having read and liked the same books."
- E. Nesbit, The Wonderful Garden.


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Re: Childhood Comics and Annuals

Post by Courtenay »

One year when I was in primary school, in the early 1990s, one of the older boys (it was a composite class with two year levels) brought in a bunch of Buster comics, which we had on display for a while — I think he must have been to Britain and bought them there. They seemed quite exotic to me, as we couldn't buy them in Australia, but I don't remember anything much of what was in them!

Most of the comics that were available where we lived when I was little were Disney ones — Winnie-the-Pooh, Chip 'n' Dale, Donald Duck, Uncle Scrooge and so on — and the usual Marvel or DC superhero ones, which I never paid much attention to (and still don't).

Those Jinty comics do look interesting and different, Anita — I can see from the fine print that they were sold in Australia too, but I don't remember anything like them at all. But then, I wasn't much of a comics fan in general.
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It was a nuisance. An adventure was one thing - but an adventure without anything to eat was quite another thing. That wouldn't do at all. (The Valley of Adventure)
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Re: Childhood Comics and Annuals

Post by Anita Bensoussane »

Jinty merged with Tammy in the early 1980s and no longer had as many eerie or unusual stories. Those sorts of comics gradually started using some photo stories and sadly went out of fashion altogether around the 1990s. I don't think it's possible to find anything like that in the shops now.

Do any of the boys' comics still exist, I wonder?
"Heyho for a starry night and a heathery bed!" - Jack, The Secret Island.

"There is no bond like the bond of having read and liked the same books."
- E. Nesbit, The Wonderful Garden.


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Re: Childhood Comics and Annuals

Post by Rob Houghton »

As far as I know, the only 'boys' comic that still exists is The Beano. Even Dandy is no more. :-( Comics aren't what they used to be - and I think we can safelt lay the blame on political correctness. Comics like Dandy and Buster relied on children cheeking adults, getting out of school, cheating, getting (or avoiding!) the cane, laughing at others and generally making fun of everyone! :lol:

I remember Jinty comic well, Anita, as my sister used to have it regularly. It was a very good comic with some great adventurous stories. I don't remember reading any of the Jinty comics, but my sister had Jinty annual for a number of years, and I can remember secretly reading a few of the strips. They were very well written and quite exciting! :-)
'Oh voice of Spring of Youth
hearts mad delight,
Sing on, sing on, and when the sun is gone
I'll warm me with your echoes
through the night.'

(E. Blyton, Sunday Times, 1951)



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Anita Bensoussane
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Re: Childhood Comics and Annuals

Post by Anita Bensoussane »

I bet quite a few boys read Jinty (and similar comics) secretly! If I'd had a brother I'd no doubt have read some of the boys' comics too!

I'm not sure that political correctness had anything to do with the demise of the girls' comics as they moved with the times. In 1980 Jinty published a serial called Life's a Ball for Nadine, about a black girl who had a talent for netball but preferred disco-dancing, while Pam of Pond Hill (which started in 1979) was about a mixed-sex comprehensive school. There were also strips about characters who lived on modern council estates. All of these were good stories with interesting characters.

It's hard to say why the girls' comics fell out of fashion after having been so popular. One reason might have been the introduction of photo stories and photos of pop stars etc., which would have pushed up the price and perhaps prevented children buying the comics out of their pocket money.

Another reason might have been the growing influence of TV, fashion and celebrity culture, meaning that comics/magazines which didn't focus on that kind of thing lost their appeal.
"Heyho for a starry night and a heathery bed!" - Jack, The Secret Island.

"There is no bond like the bond of having read and liked the same books."
- E. Nesbit, The Wonderful Garden.


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Re: Childhood Comics and Annuals

Post by Rob Houghton »

It always seemed to me that comics for both boys and girls became much simpler as I got past the comic buying stage - less substance - glossier paper (I much preferred the 'newspaper' paper to the glossy stuff!) and with girls comics, more emphasis on romance and pop stars and boyfriend trouble and makeup. Comics became thinner and glossier but more expensive.

As a child growing up in the 1970s I always wanted to be a cartoonist when I grew up, and imagined drawing for the likes of Whizzer and Chips and Buster. Looking at these comics, with Leopard from Lime Street and all the Jinty style strips, comics used to employ some real artists with real talent. Just like we see on book covers these days, the artistry has all but disappeared from The Beano - pretty much the only comic of its ilk that's left.
'Oh voice of Spring of Youth
hearts mad delight,
Sing on, sing on, and when the sun is gone
I'll warm me with your echoes
through the night.'

(E. Blyton, Sunday Times, 1951)



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Re: Childhood Comics and Annuals

Post by Anita Bensoussane »

I preferred the "newspaper" paper too, Rob - and drawn strips rather than photos.

I have a few girls' annuals from the 1960s - 80s and some of the best artwork (in my opinion) is to be found in Diana and Misty. The Diana images are too big for the forums so I'm posting links.

Diana spooky/mystery stories illustrated by David Cuzik Matysiak:

http://kb-outofthisworld.blogspot.co.uk ... black.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Diana science-fiction/fantasy story illustrated by Enrique Badia Romero (I wasn't keen on the romance elements of stories like this, but the artwork is great):

http://kb-outofthisworld.blogspot.co.uk ... -1977.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Misty was full of chilling tales, many of which were beautifully illustrated (pictures taken from bleedingcool.net and britishcomics.wikia.com):

Image

Image
"Heyho for a starry night and a heathery bed!" - Jack, The Secret Island.

"There is no bond like the bond of having read and liked the same books."
- E. Nesbit, The Wonderful Garden.


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Re: Childhood Comics and Annuals

Post by Rob Houghton »

Those are great, Anita - that sort of artwork is very nostalgic to me - as I recall it from when I was growing up. I think that's why, when I was about 13, I was attracted to 'Scream' comic - which ran for only 15 issues. I have 11 of them! The artwork was very 'adult' and well drawn, and the stories were dramatic, although most centred around typical 'Horror story' themes.

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a friend of mine had 2000AD comic, but I never did. That was also a well-drawn comic.
'Oh voice of Spring of Youth
hearts mad delight,
Sing on, sing on, and when the sun is gone
I'll warm me with your echoes
through the night.'

(E. Blyton, Sunday Times, 1951)



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Re: Childhood Comics and Annuals

Post by Courtenay »

Just reading the copy for that first page of Moonchild — wow, sounds like Harry Potter of the '70s!! :D

All Rosemary Black wanted to be was just like any other girl. But the girls at school — especially Norma Sykes — tormented her. Then, after a haircut, Rosemary discovered there was a moon mark on her head. And, somehow she believed this was connected with a strange power she had...
a power her mother wouldn't talk about.


Gosh, by the time I was in my early teens, the only magazines aimed at girls my age seemed to be Dolly and Girlfriend — no comics or stories, just all the by-then-usual garbage about clothes and diets and body image and how to be attractive to boys and what to do if one of them likes you (snigger, snigger)... ugh. :x I would have so much preferred magic and mystery and adventure, but I think you're right, Anita — by the 1990s all that had fallen out of fashion.

Actually, "graphic novels" started becoming the in thing a few years ago, including rewrites of classic stories in comic strip form. There are at least a couple of graphic novel versions of Pride and Prejudice about — not exactly to my taste, but I suppose if they appeal to younger readers and get them interested enough that they might try the original book one day...

Not sure I find the style of either of these ones attractive, though! :shock:

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(You'd think they'd have had the good sense to make Darcy look a little more like Colin Firth. :mrgreen: )
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It was a nuisance. An adventure was one thing - but an adventure without anything to eat was quite another thing. That wouldn't do at all. (The Valley of Adventure)
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