Comics UK

It just occurred to me that other Thomson papers from that week might carry an advert mentioning all the alternative clickers. Nothing, however, in Adventure, The Rover or The Wizard, although The Rover did carry an ad for Beryl The Peril, [It's the tomboy from The Topper in her latest super-duper fun book!], and there were ads for The Beano Book and The Dandy Book in the previous week's issues. I think a search of Bunty and Judy for that week might be fruitful. Unfortunately, although I have most issues of Judy for 1960 and about half of the issues of Bunty, I don't have the October 29th issue for either. Can anybody help?

Phoenix wrote:

Raven wrote:But there were four! No sign of the Danny one?

Yes, I should have said that's three accounted for. However, Kashgar thinks the fourth was Biffo. Would that not make more sense, a frontline individual character like Dennis, Minnie and Little Plum, rather than one from within a group?

Looking online I found this from a Phil Shrimpton article in a 'Beano & Dandy Collectors Club' newsletter:


'It was not until twenty years later, in 1960, that free gifts appeared again. In the Beano, these were the Flying Snorter balloon and The Beano Clicketty Clicker. To date, I have never seen an example of the Flying Snorter, although am informed that one was seen at an antiques fair in the Midlands in 2005, so perhaps a lucky collector somewhere has one. I do however know of several clickers, in collections. There were four such clickers, featuring Dennis the Menace, Little Plum, Minnie the Minx and Danny (from the Bash Street Kids), and each came in a small brown paper packet.'

Thank you, Raven, for clearing that up. It just goes to show how memory can let you down. I have all Phil Shrimpton's newsletters, I read them all with interest when they came in the post, but I have no recollection whatever of that nugget of information. I'll be off to Sainsbury's in Southport tomorrow for enough oily fish to fill a drawer in my freezer.

As your prize, I'll force myself to overcome my longstanding procrastination and do my promised post on schoolboy detectives for you by next Monday.

Phoenix wrote: As your prize, I'll force myself to overcome my longstanding procrastination and do my promised post on schoolboy detectives for you by next Monday.

At last! I'll look forward to your findings.

The Topper gave away a metal clicker like those once sometime in the 1960s, albeit hidden inside the handle of a cardboard gun. Press the handle and the gun clicked. The gun wore out but I have the clicker around somewhere. It featured a clown's face, not a Thomson character.

At least I think it was the Topper. Possibly issue No.678 in 1966 with "The Kelly Crackshot Pistol"?

(I'm using Ray Moore's superb Topper Tales as a guide here. Another of Ray's fantastic indexes, published 20 years ago. Leafing through it I'm reminded of how long I read The Topper for because the stories are all very familar now. I must have been a regular reader, more or less, from about 1966 to 1971, but strangely, until today, I'd forgotten how keen I was on the comic, yet other titles like Smash, Dandy, TV21 etc have always remained fresh in my mind.)

Sorry. Just reminiscing. As you were.

Lew Stringer wrote:Sorry. Just reminiscing.

No need to apologise, Lew. I do it all the time. I think it is a tacit admission that regrettably there are more years behind me than there are in front.

Sorry for the confusion re Biffo/Danny on the clickers. Another example of where 'from memory' wasn't good enough.

Phoenix wrote:

Lew Stringer wrote:Sorry. Just reminiscing.

No need to apologise, Lew. I do it all the time. I think it is a tacit admission that regrettably there are more years behind me than there are in front.

Trying not to be too morbid but I've decided to cut back drastically on the comics, books, and DVDs I buy. With boxes full of unread books and unwatched DVD box sets, and less spare time than I had, it occurs to me that if I continued buying them at the same rate that I have been I'd never live long enough to enjoy them all! (Particularly as I often like to re-read my favourite Sixties comics.)

Eee, collecting eh? It's a young man's game.

Hello everyone,i have been a regular viewer of your great site an have just joined this is my first post hope you like.
I have quite a good collection of comic free gifts and club badges.
Heare is my Beano clickers,Hope this works i am no pc wizard.

Hi Lew,is this the one you are thinking of ?

Hen Broon wrote:Hi Lew,is this the one you are thinking of ?

It doesn't ring a bell but if it has a metal clicker inside the handle it's defintely the one. Thanks.

Welcome Hen..
Great seeing all the clickers at last...what an amazing super free gift they were..

So there was a Biffo after all!! Five and counting........... Well remembered, Kashgar.

I have a Danny one. Looking for the other 3 if anyone has them. I Believe they were:
Danny
Billy Whizz
Minnie
Dennis

Gnasher68 wrote: 23 Aug 2021, 22:11 I have a Danny one. Looking for the other 3 if anyone has them. I Believe they were:
Danny
Billy Whizz
Minnie
Dennis

Full list of 5 is actually:
Minnie the Minx
Little Plum
Dennis
Danny [from Bash St Kids]
Biffo