Comics UK

Went to WHS to buy Doctor Who comic and, despite not wanting to open it just yet - I like to build up a bit of anticipation - I read Digifiend's post about the Giant Size Summer Special. Quite happy with that as it gives me more Who
The American version of the summer event will be a 5 part weekly set of comics with the first cover featuring the Ninth Doctor. I'm curious to know how the British comic will deliver the event. Exciting, isn't it?
I also bought a copy of the Titan Batman Superman comic. 2 reasons, the first being the presence of Power Girl and The Huntress. A bit disappointed there as the art didn't appeal much and, I'm happy to admit it, the depictions of the 2 heroines were a lot less "pulchritudinous" than I'm used to and prefer. But the 2nd. reason was the mention of the lack of thought balloons in modern comics. This comic has thought blocks, as opposed to balloons with a tapering point to the thinker, mainly as the thought are from characters off-panel. More research needed.

I picked up the new Broons book and Oor Wullie & The Broons Family History today Shall give it a wee read later.

Very surprised to see they've broke with tradition and published a new Oor Wullie book this year too. A special thing for the 80th anniversary?

My birthday yesterday, so got a few bits...

-The Big Book of Pudsy (collected works of the late Paddy Morris, of International Times, Oz, cOZmic and Northern Lightz fame)
-The Collected John G. Miller, 1980-1989
-The Collected John G. Miller, 1990-1999
-Issue 8 of the Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers, signed by Gilbert Shelton and Paul Mavrides!
-Fanny No.1 (all-female anthology comic from 1991, with an anti-war theme)
-Khaki Shorts - The Khream of Issue 1-28 (Scottish small-press anthology thing)
-Star Trudge Extra Franchise (collecting the entirety of the Star Trudge comics from Khaki Shorts)
-Atomic Society of Justice by John Miller, Rob Miller and Adam Smith
-I'll Be Your Mirror No.1 - an autobiographical comic by Keith McDougall and Una Baines, former girlfriend of Mark E. Smith

Got some reading to do

MadGaz wrote:I picked up the new Broons book and Oor Wullie & The Broons Family History today Shall give it a wee read later.

Very surprised to see they've broke with tradition and published a new Oor Wullie book this year too. A special thing for the 80th anniversary?

Seems that way, yes.

paw broon wrote:Went to WHS to buy Doctor Who comic and, despite not wanting to open it just yet - I like to build up a bit of anticipation - I read Digifiend's post about the Giant Size Summer Special. Quite happy with that as it gives me more Who
The American version of the summer event will be a 5 part weekly set of comics with the first cover featuring the Ninth Doctor. I'm curious to know how the British comic will deliver the event. Exciting, isn't it?

The Four Doctors and the Ninth Doctor cover you refer to are two different things. The Four Doctors features War, not Nine. The pic of Nine you saw would be part 1 of his mini-series, which also has five issues and came out in the US a few months ago.

Thanks Digifiend. You're correct. Confusing, isn't it? Well, it is to me. But as I wrote above, it's all the more Who for me and everyone else

On Thursday I received three copies of The Skipper from ebay for only £5. 221 24.11.1934, 273 23.11.1935 and 478 28.10.1939, 273 was a Christmas issue so very pleased with that. Superb condition too. I'll send the Christmas issue to the gallery.

Obviously not one of the better years for deliveries, Steve, as one of his Santa helpers doesn't have any more luck inside issue 273. See below.

Christmas Number? Shouldn't that have been issue 277? November 23rd is a whole month early!

Digifiend wrote:Christmas Number? Shouldn't that have been issue 277? November 23rd is a whole month early!

No, I'm afraid not, Digi. Thomsons were in the business of making a profit, and they realised that if they were to bring out all the Christmas numbers of The Big Five at the same time, not enough children would have enough money to buy them all at once so they spread them out. It's called pragmatism.

Digifiend wrote:Christmas Number

That year, 1935, as we have seen, the Christmas issue of The Skipper came out on 23 November, Adventure followed on 30 November, then The Hotspur on 7 December, The Wizard on 14 December, and The Rover on 21 December.

Phoenix wrote:

Digifiend wrote:Christmas Number

That year, 1935, as we have seen, the Christmas issue of The Skipper came out on 23 November, Adventure followed on 30 November, then The Hotspur on 7 December, The Wizard on 14 December, and The Rover on 21 December.

That is a sensible business practice as publishing companies are there to make money, not just to feed our inner geek. Do you know why this idea was discontinued?

colcool007 wrote:Do you know why this idea was discontinued?

Yes. Essentially it was due to the war. The last year the Christmas issues of all The Big Five came out on separate weeks was 1936 when The Skipper came out on 21 November. Adventure on 28 November, The Wizard on 5 December, The Rover on 12 December, and The Hotspur on 19 December. In 1937 both The Skipper and The Wizard came out on 27 November, The Hotspur and Adventure on 4 December, with The Rover on 11 December. In 1938 and 1939 four of the five came out on separate weeks, the other on the same week as one of the other four. In 1938 Adventure and The Hotspur both came out in the week ending 24 December, The Skipper having started the proceedings on 3 December followed by The Wizard on 10 December and The Rover on 17 December. In 1939 The Skipper and The Rover started the ball rolling on 9 December, and trailing in their wake came The Hotspur on 16 December, The Wizard on 23 December and Adventure on 30 December. In 1940 Thomsons all but abandoned the idea. The Hotspur, The Rover, The Skipper and The Wizard were all published in the week ending 21 December. The only reason Adventure was held over until 28 December is because that week's issue was number 1000. It is also worth bearing in mind that only six more issues of The Skipper would be published before it became a discontinued casualty of the paper shortage.

Recieved a fair few BUZZ comix: my first viewing of this comic since '73-'74!


It's pretty good, if very conservative [small 'c'].

Great to see it again, Twitz of the Ritz by Bill Ritchie is a joy.

Some later CRACKER strips began here, which I totally forgot about: SPOOKUM SCHOOL/SKOOKUM SCHOOL by Ken Harrison---some are in full-colour in BUZZ and benefit further from the larger page format.


Well worth a delve!

Spreading out the seasonal issues is a great idea. I'm sure I'd have loved to be reminded that Christmas was just around the corner after trudging home from school on a bleak day in late November.