Comics UK

My mum mentioned that she'd seen a load of annuals in the window of a shop in Ely, so I trolled around and had a vada. Got:
- Girl Annual 1962, in pretty good condition, with a good strong binding
- The Big Parade for Girls, owned by the same girl as the above annual. It has a 1960-dated inscription and contains some reprinted material from the Gerald G Swan Schoolgirls' Album 1953. Perhaps it's all reprinted from old Swan annuals then, though is published by "Spring Books". Who later became the South African Rugby team.
-Sally Annual 1971, from a different shop
-And the four Commando books.

Trip to Harrogate yielded:

The Legend of Lord Snooty (regretted not buying this when it came out. Excellent decision in my opinion to have focused almost entirely on the first series 1938-1949. I love forties Dudley Watkins)

Beano and Dandy: Favourites from the Forties

Third ultimate Beano summer special: looks good but cost me more than either of the two hardback books above.

Gladys Peto's "Told in the Gloaming" (1930) not comics but beautiful illustrations.

Went to Deptford flea market (had pie and mash) and picked up Battle Holiday Specials for 1987 and 1988 for 25p each. One stall had a huge box of hundreds of adverts cut from 50s and 60s magazines from which I got an advert for Ranger. Also got a Rip Kirby booklet for a pound - its not dated but is priced at 9d so I would guess early 60s - here's the cover if anyone can give an exact date. Cover was "ripped" so I repaired it with magic tape. Ranger advert is from The Woman's Mirror.

That Rip Kirby comic is older than you thought, Steve. According to Denis Gifford's catalogue, there were five issues published between 1948 and 1956, and Poison and Paradise was the second. So probably 1949 or 1950?

Maybe the full list of stories on the Rip Kirby page at Wikipedia can narrow it down? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rip_Kirby

I have Gifford's British Comics catalogue by my pc but didn't bother looking as I didn't think newspaper strip collections were included. Thanks Lew. (And no I can't explain why I couldn't be bothered to do something that would have taken eight and a half seconds). Its in such clean and white condition I figured it was no older than 1960s.

stevezodiac wrote:I have Gifford's British Comics catalogue by my pc but didn't bother looking as I didn't think newspaper strip collections were included. Thanks Lew. (And no I can't explain why I couldn't be bothered to do something that would have taken eight and a half seconds). Its in such clean and white condition I figured it was no older than 1960s.

No problem Steve. I keep my Gifford catalogue next to my computer as well.

If I kept my Gifford next to my computer, I'd probably fall off my ladder trying to log in.

stevezodiac wrote:

It was just a whimsical comment, Steve. My Gifford is on a highish, narrow shelf in my lounge.

Went to the Greenwich (mainly to get a copy of the Who's Quadrophenia cd seeing as how HMV Oxford Street don't stock it - got one for £8 from second hand record shop then saw one for £6 in the flea market - never mind still a bargain - also got Arthur by the Kinks and the Kinks 60s singles cd). I thought i'd pop into the Junk Shop as I had left hundreds of Rovers and Hotspurs unbought a few months back and came away with another 54 copies of Hotspur and Wizard from the 1950s - all 50p each. They still have a load of Rovers from early 70s in superb condition probably the whole year for 1970 - 50p each - someone here should snap them up. One of my Hotspurs was the last of the old volume and has a nice three page ad for the New Hotspur number 1.

Incidentally that last old Hotspur had a text story about the boyhood of Desperate Dan (he was based in Tombstone as a kid) but I couldn't see any of these stories in the 20 or so other Hotspurs I got - was it a one off? It had one illustration of young Dan getting a haircut.

steve where is this shop with the old hotspurs.wouldnt mind the address please

Sure about that Steve? The Boyhood of Desperate Dan was in Wizard, not Hotspur.

Yes I'm sure because I didn't buy any Wizards.

If you google "The Junk Shop Greenwich" it will be the first result with a google map. The comics are all in drawers - there are some poor condition Rovers (I took all the best ones) and some Hotspurs as well as some Rover and Adventure but plenty of 1970/71 Rovers in almost new condition. Also there are some 40s copies of Punch for a quid each. Its near Greenwich BR station (opposite and in a different road).

Maybe because it was the last old style Hotspur they had to finish off all the stories and perhaps had a page spare which needed filling. Also it had a three page ad for the New Hotspur and it could be they had expected the usual four pages. Who knows.

stevezodiac wrote:Incidentally that last old Hotspur had a text story about the boyhood of Desperate Dan (he was based in Tombstone as a kid) but I couldn't see any of these stories in the 20 or so other Hotspurs I got - was it a one off? It had one illustration of young Dan getting a haircut.

It was a filler, Steve, but it wasn't the only one. There had been one four weeks earlier in 1193 (Sep. 19 1959), which was a modified version of the tale in The Wizard 1508 (Jan. 8 1955). The haircut story from 1197 (Oct. 17 1959) was a repeat of the tale in The Wizard 1494 (Oct. 2 1954).