D C Thomson free gifts - the 1950's

[Kashgar]

Thanks for showing that Derek. Artwork by Peem Walker. The New Hotspur would do the same thing with 'The Phantom Flyer'.
Hi Alan. I'll be listing all the free gifts for all of Thomson's juvenile titles available in the 1960's in due course.

[philcom55]

Thanks for showing The Girl Of The Islands Phoenix. In some ways that must have been a precursor to Thomson's later Picture Libraries for young girls (though AP had already started their excellent Schoolgirls' Picture Library the previous year).

This is a marvellous thread Kashgar - I'm really looking forward to your coverage of the 1960s free gifts. There was something peculiarly thrilling about finding those gifts inserted into the pages of a comic - often inside a nicely illustrated envelope like a special 'thank you' letter directly from the publisher. I used to feel sorry for readers of American comics who missed out on that sort of thing, and even more so for the poor overseas readers who got the comics without the items advertised on the cover! The only thing that compares from my childhood days was opening a box of breakfast cereal and shaking the sea of Corn Flakes or Sugar Puffs contained within until a plastic toy in a greaseproof packet magically surfaced like a submarine that had blown its tanks. Sometimes, in fact, it really WAS a submarine!

[Phoenix]

Sometimes, in fact, it really WAS a submarine!

They would have been in the Giant Size packs.

[Kashgar]

Thanks for showing The Girl Of The Islands Phoenix. In some ways that must have been a precursor to Thomson's later Picture Libraries for young girls (though AP had already started their excellent Schoolgirls' Picture Library the previous year).

This is a marvellous thread Kashgar - I'm really looking forward to your coverage of the 1960s free gifts. There was something peculiarly thrilling about finding those gifts inserted into the pages of a comic - often inside a nicely illustrated envelope like a special 'thank you' letter directly from the publisher. I used to feel sorry for readers of American comics who missed out on that sort of thing, and even more so for the poor overseas readers who got the comics without the items advertised on the cover! The only thing that compares from my childhood days was opening a box of breakfast cereal and shaking the sea of Corn Flakes or Sugar Puffs contained within until a plastic toy in a greaseproof packet magically surfaced like a submarine that had blown its tanks. Sometimes, in fact, it really WAS a submarine!

The problem with those free gifts in cereal packets was that you could never eat enough cereal during the life of a particular promotion to ever get anywhere near the full set. A couple of Robin Hood's band here and a couple of deep sea divers there and so on and so forth but never the full set of, usually, six.
I remember being particularly aggrieved when Sugar Puffs gave away a series of glow in the dark ghosts. Loved ghosts, hated Sugar Puffs!

[Hen Broon]

Some nice 50s boys comics free gifts.
Can anyone tell me if the New Hotspur jumping frog is same as the Dandy #2 Jumping frog.

[Hen Broon]

Some 50s Girls comic free gifts

[Hen Broon]

More pictures hope you like

[Hen Broon]

Some pictures of less often seen 50s Beezer/Topper free gifts

[Kashgar]

Some fantastic pictures there Hen. I think the Jumping Frog is a slight modification on the Dandy one. BTW Hen which titles were you trying to get full runs of if you don't mind my asking?

[Hen Broon]

I don't mind at all Kashgar in rough order of preference,
Beezer , Topper , Hotspur 50s/New Hotspur , Adventure/Rover/Wizard 50/60s , Buster , Whizzer & Chips , Pow/Smash/Wham , Valiant/Tiger/Lion , Victor , Sparky , Bimbo and Beano/Dandy but not so much, I only got a complete set of New Hotspur and Pow before i decided on the free gift collecting to save space but it has built into quite a collection and has taken up more than it's fare share of cupboards and shelves i might have been better sticking to a couple of titles to complete but i enjoy the hunt and there are a few i am after that i have never seen so fingers crossed.

[Kashgar]

Thanks for the info Hen. I'll not ask which ones you still need but best of luck tracking them down.