The Happy Days (Sue Day)

Discuss all the girls comics that have appeared over the years. Excellent titles like Bunty, Misty, Spellbound, Tammy and June, amongst many others, can all be remembered here.

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RuthB
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The Happy Days (Sue Day)

Post by RuthB »

I was wondering if all the stories of the Happy Days were done by the same artist, Andrew J. Wilson. I just got a Princess Picture Library and the drawing does not look like his usual one. Also I have the annual and it looks like either his drawing changed over the years or it was done by someone else.
I love the Happy Days, they were very popular in Spain. The names there were changed and they were the Happy Family (Familia Feliz) and Sue was called Gloria, and some of the other characters had different names as well (as she was Gloria Feliz). What they did was effectively change the whole family name, changing Day for Happy alltoguether. So Sue Day was Gloria Feliz. Terrible, I know!

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philcom55
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Re: The Happy Days (Sue Day)

Post by philcom55 »

I can't be sure but I think Andrew Wilson drew all the weekly 'Happy Days' episodes, while appearances in Annuals, etc. were either the work of other artists altogether (e.g. Don Harley and Bill Lacey) or, later on, reformatted reprints. His characters are generally quite distinctive but his style certainly loosened up over time - especially the increasingly dynamic cross-hatching - so that early reprints tend to look rather staid by comparison.

Image
It's a shame he doesn't appear to have provided any original work for the Sue Day Annual as he had a very nice colour technique which can be seen in the 1963 Princess cover seen above (he subsequently adapted 'Lassie Come-Home' in full-colour for Princess Tina while continuing to draw his regular installments of 'The Happy Days').

The creator of the series was, of course, Jenny Butterworth (wife of Mike 'Trigan Empire' Butterworth) who seems to have written all the stories - including those for the Annuals.

- Phil R.

(By the way Ruth, are you aware that 'Patty's World' was also drawn by a different artist for at least one Annual?)

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RuthB
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Re: The Happy Days (Sue Day)

Post by RuthB »

Yes, there are two artists that did Paty for the annuals, because Purita was too busy with her weekly pages plus covers, so in the annuals we can find the works of Tom Hurst and Michael Strand.

Yeap, the Sue day annual looks very different from Wilson drawings. I rather prefer his work than anybody else in the Happy Days, the figures are very proportional.

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philcom55
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Re: The Happy Days (Sue Day)

Post by philcom55 »

RuthB wrote:the Sue day annual looks very different from Wilson drawings. I rather prefer his work than anybody else in the Happy Days, the figures are very proportional.
I agree. Ron Embleton was an excellent artist but his Sue Day was barely recognizable as the same person! However, while I don't think Wilson contributed any new work for the Annual it does reprint some of his episodes from the weekly comic - particularly the introductory story that introduced Sue and her world over the first four issues of Princess in 1960. Unfortunately, as can be seen below, the way in which it was edited and 'colorized' for the reprinted version made Wilson's art seem much cruder than in the original:

Image

Image

(...I just love Edie's sly smirk in that final panel! :) )

- Phil R.

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Digifiend
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Re: The Happy Days (Sue Day)

Post by Digifiend »

Looks like two panels there got completely removed.

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RuthB
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Re: The Happy Days (Sue Day)

Post by RuthB »

So Phil, this story yo posted up in b/w and colour, is this from Wilson or Embleton? I thought this was from Embleton as I can't recognize little sue, :( this is not my sueeeee!!

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philcom55
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Re: The Happy Days (Sue Day)

Post by philcom55 »

I'm 99% sure it's early Wilson; and the Picture Library reprint is likely to have been too. As you suggested in your original post the difference in Sue's appearance is probably a result of gradual changes in his style (though it's also possible that she could have just changed her shampoo! ). On the whole I think she becomes a lot more recognizable after the first year or so.

As for Ron Embleton, his polished version of Sue in 'My 12 Days of Christmas' is very different indeed:

Image

- Phil R.

DavidKW
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Re: The Happy Days (Sue Day)

Post by DavidKW »

Been discovering Sue Day - good storytelling, characters & impressed with artwork.

I learned she spent her final months in the Pixie comic, which later merged into June, but Sue didn't make it there. Shame - could've been under the same roof as Lucky's Living Doll & co. If only...

matrix
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Re: The Happy Days (Sue Day)

Post by matrix »

.
DavidKW wrote:Been discovering Sue Day - good storytelling, characters & impressed with artwork.

I learned she spent her final months in the Pixie comic, which later merged into June, but Sue didn't make it there. Shame - could've been under the same roof as Lucky's Living Doll & co. If only...
Not quite correct, she did make it into two June Summer Specials, June and Pixie 76, and June and Schoolfriend 77, it could be more as i only have five of them.

DavidKW
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Re: The Happy Days (Sue Day)

Post by DavidKW »

Aha I stand corrected.

I've never seen those specials/annuals, but I'd really love to own & am looking for 'em.

I'll re-word that as it's a shame that Sue Day didn't make it to the weekly editions of June.

Just thought of the if onlys relating to the June title...

If only the Sally comic had merged with June with its upbeat action girl strips and not with the depressing Tammy...that Sue Day entered with the Pixie merger & that the "and Pixie" words were removed from June once the other strips had finished their stories (any girl who was the target group would see the word Pixie & think it's babyish & buy a Tammy et al instead), replaced by Sue Day's on page 9 etc..and that June had marketed itself more as the antithesis of Tammy by being upbeat (with some serious strips as token) & that some strips had a minor tweak to update (Lukcy's Living Doll with a bit of ITC/Avengers action adventure in it?).

Sue Day might've been a catalyst in saving June & keeping the Tammy predator off for a few years...

(don't get me wrong Tammy had a lot of relevant (after all, no kids' TV portrayed girls as vile bullies until as far as I know Prue Cuthbert in the series "Kizzy" in 1975, including a brutal attack on the title character, pre-dating "Grange Hill" by 3 years) points, but I read the re-print of the first editions and glanced through an annual or 2 & I felt sooo depressed).

matrix
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Re: The Happy Days (Sue Day)

Post by matrix »

David, I was not looking to correct you in that sense, just letting you know that Happy Days did eventually make it under June. :)
Some may say that specials do not really count i must admit they are a different breed!
They can be confusing with so many strips from different eras, some reprints etc, for instance Bessie Bunter appears in June and Tammy for the same year in 76.

Not sure where you are going with your action in girls comics? You mention bullying on tv, for an in depth look at bullying in girls comics check out Briony's page at this link. http://www.booksmonthly.co.uk/bully.html

Regards Matrix.

DavidKW
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Re: The Happy Days (Sue Day)

Post by DavidKW »

Don't worry, I knew you weren't looking to correct me, I'm just someone who's a stickler for accuracy & like to know my facts right (it's what I do for a living).

Yeah, thanks for the link, I had a look (also saw article that the other comics had been douing "darker" strips before Tammy which was filled with them & got the credit for starting it. Inc. June such as with the one with teacher Mrs Rabbit in 69).

What I was coming from on action girls in comics was that the Sally title was based around being for "active girls", which included the likes of Cat-Girl - I'm meaning action girls like ones who jump out of planes, be secret agents, have a sense of adventure (characters & things we don't get in today's pink princessey appearance obessed girls' comics & media).

Was just thinking if only Sally merged into June & Sue Day continued as a weekly strip in June...Cat Girl, Sue Day, Lucky's Living Doll all under one roof...perhaps might've helped kept predator Tammy off the title a while longer. Maybye.

Did see another site which mentioned Sue in Pixie & said she could've continued in weekly comics - with a few tweaks - for years to come.

Finally, yes annuals/specials were sure different breeds - after all Princess Tina was still in annual form into the late 70s, with Sue Day reprints - and along with appearances in June - she may have been off the weeklies, but she still got around in annuals/as reprints. (will have to hunt for thiose June annuals you mentioned).

matrix
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Re: The Happy Days (Sue Day)

Post by matrix »

Thanks for that David, I do not know anything about Sally. I only discovered the Girls titles quite by accident so my knowledge is fairly limited. Tina Specials kept going until 1980, as did June until the early eighties.

There is a title in Princess Tina called "Super Girl Sandra" although the strip is quite tame compared to the title!
The June comics I mentioned were Specials, not annuals, I do not know anything about the annuals, and good luck trying to track any down, they do come up now and again but bidding can be fierce.

DavidKW
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Re: The Happy Days (Sue Day)

Post by DavidKW »

Got thinking back to what Matrix maentioned:

I recently bought a June & SF holiday special for 1977:

It should've been caklled a Princess Tina:

Had 2 Happy Days plaus other PT associates (such as Milly The Merry Mermaid). Might've been improved with a Jane Bond or two.

No Bessie Bunter or Lucky's Living Doll in sight!

Not complaining as I like Sue too!

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Re: The Happy Days (Sue Day)

Post by Tammyfan »

Does anyone have the ending to a Happy Days story where the eldest daughter falls for a man named Noel who infuriates the family because he is such a big-headed know-all? They are trying to get one up on him but he always seems to outsmart them with his superior knowledge. But Sue says at the end of the penultimate episode that she is going to tell us next week how they did get the better of know-all Noel. I think this story was March-April 1969.

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