The Topper Beezer Top 100

Formerly known as Classics from the Comics, this forum covers all of DCT's retired titles, like Beezer, Topper, Victor, Nutty and Sparky!

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Re: The Topper Beezer Top 100

Post by AndyB »

I know Little Mo was drawn by Jim Petrie at the end, and I'm just trying to remember if Bob Dewar drew her immediately after Bob McGrath retired.

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Re: The Topper Beezer Top 100

Post by Digifiend »

Beryl survived by moving to The Dandy, and though she took a few breaks was still there when it finally bit the dust four years ago. She must've had nearly 3000 episodes overall. The Numskulls, having moved to The Beano, must also be past 2500 by now.

None of the top 10 are surprising, though I didn't realise Baby Crockett wasn't in every issue of the Beezer (he only missed 33, which is seven months worth).

There were 153 issues of the merged comic, so Ginger was in every issue of Beezer but didn't survive the merger, right? Though he did appear in the annuals and summer specials still - eventually drawn by Nick Brennan (who was also Blinky's artist once that strip moved to the Dandy).

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Re: The Topper Beezer Top 100

Post by Kashgar »

Thanks for the extra info Andy. I should have checked this myself.
Yes Digi, Ginger made it all the way through the original run of Beezer but still failed to make the cut when it amalgamated with Topper.

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Re: The Topper Beezer Top 100

Post by alanultron5 »

Has the `Spacewhacker` series had a mention yet?
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Re: The Topper Beezer Top 100

Post by dishes »

alanultron5 wrote:Has the `Spacewhacker` series had a mention yet?
number 56.

Thanks very much for the data, Kashgar!
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Re: The Topper Beezer Top 100

Post by alanultron5 »

Thanks Dishes!

I didn't get many Toppers or Beezers as storing them (Due to their broadsheet dimensions) was a problem. Hence I don't recall too much of them! I think that there was a strip called "Boko the Wizard" (A fun strip) where the portly magician encountered many strange creatures that he collected for a Zoo! Can anyone tell me if i'm recalling this anywhere near accurate please?
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Re: The Topper Beezer Top 100

Post by ISPYSHHHGUY »

I think you more than likely mean BIG FAT BOKO, Alan: which was brilliantly drawn for Topper I reckon, by Ken Hunter, of course.

Ken's contributions were always a true highlight of these comics for me personally.

Incidentally, has anyone else seen the intruiging, and very unusual one-page 'how-to-draw' specials seen in the 60s girls' comic DIANA, all drawn and presented by Mr Hunter, and which features a photo of Ken himself, no less?!

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Re: The Topper Beezer Top 100

Post by ISPYSHHHGUY »

Better still, here we go:



Ken doesn't exactly look young going by his photo here, [but maybe it's just his choice of appearence] and remember, this was way back in the 60s: I think he passed away around 2008, aged 93 or so.


Image

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Re: The Topper Beezer Top 100

Post by alanultron5 »

Apologies for Belated reply- but the shortest lived `Sparky` Logo is the first that ran from issue 1 to no 34. The cover that Rab highlighted ran from issue 403 to 446 (43 issues) then came that `block` title affair from No 447 to 499 ((42 issues)

Longest running, was the logo from issue 211 to 402. Aesthetically, I always favour the Logo from issue 140 to 210.

I wonder what equivalent `Topper` and `Beezer` logo's (Shortest and longest lived) would be?
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Re: The Topper Beezer Top 100

Post by Digifiend »

Looking at Comic Vine, lets see if we can figure this out (multiple years means that enough covers are missing that it can't be identified, but this will at least narrow it down).

Beezer:
Logo 1: 1956 to 1964/5
Logo 2: 1964/5 to 1971
Logo 3: 1971 to 1973/4
Logo 4: 1973/4 to 1975
Logo 5: 1975 to 1978/9
Logo 6: 1978/9 to 1981
Logo 7: 1981 to 1987
Logo 8: 1987 to 1989/90
Logo 9: 1989/90 to 1993
So Beezer's longest running logo is it's first, with at least an eight year run. The shortest lived is logo 4, because logo 9 carried over to the merged Beezer and Topper.

Topper:
Logo 1: 1953 to 1964/5
Logo 2: 1964/5 to 1966
Logo 3: 1966 to 1967
Logo 4: 1967 to 1970/1
Logo 5: 1970/1 to 1973
Logo 6: 1973 to 1975
Logo 7: January 11, 1975 to some point between July and December 1975 (this logo was replaced when Danny's Tranny replaced Send For Kelly as the cover strip)
Logo 8: 1975 to 1979/80
Logo 9: 1979/80 to 1983
Logo 10: 1983 to 1984/5
Logo 11: 1984/5 to 1986
Logo 12: 1986 to sometime before 1989
Final logo: 1989 to 1993
Topper's longest lasting logo is the first one, while the shortest lasting is the seventh, which didn't even last long enough to be used on a Christmas issue.

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Re: The Topper Beezer Top 100

Post by toxteth o'grady »

Kashgar wrote: And finally the only two strips that made it into every issue of their respective title and then every issue of the combined Beezer and Topper.

2 The Banana Bunch (B) (1962) Leo Baxendale/Bill Hill/Robert Nixon/Barrie Appleby/Tom Paterson
1 Beryl The Peril (T) (2116) Davey Law/Bob McGrath/John Dallas/Robert Nixon
At the risk of being labelled a pedant, I make it that only Beryl the Peril "made it into every issue of their respective title and then every issue of the combined Beezer and Topper".

I make it that The Banana Bunch did not appear in Beezer issue nos:-
269 (tabloid),1732,1746,1773,1779,1780,1786,1787,1793,1795,1796,1803,1804 (1989/1990 A4 size) and
did not appear in issue nos. 2,12,14,19,24,33,35,38,50,52,59,62,65,68,69,72,77,79,82,84,91,98,103,116 and 127 in 'Beezer and Topper'
(appearances for 'Beezer and Topper' may be disputed on what constitutes an appearance there)

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Re: The Topper Beezer Top 100

Post by Kashgar »

Hi Toxteth. It's not pedantry to point out an error even if it was one of mine. Apologies and thanks for the rectification.

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Re: The Topper Beezer Top 100

Post by alanultron5 »

Interesting in that the Longest lasting Topper & Beezer Logo's were the initial ones and with Sparky, the initial logo was its shortest!

I wonder what the shortest duration Adventure and Fun strips were in Topper & Beezer?
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