What comics did you buy today?

[Lew Stringer]

I bought a copy of the Film Fun Annual 1960 from eBay recently and I've noticed that most, if not all, of the humour strips seem to be doctored reprints. They look like older strips (from the 1940s or earlier) with the original celebrities replaced by drawings of more contemporary stars. Am I right?

Not complaining, just curious.

Lew

[Phoenix]

Just bought 'Golden Age Classic Stories Bunty For Girls - For Girls Like You'

In all the excitement and the subsequent discussion about Football's Comic Book Heroes, I had forgotten until last night, Kashgar, that I did actually buy the above at the same time. I suppose it's OK although I knew all the information anyway, but as a historical survey, Adam Riches's book knocks spots off it. At least you got a brief look at Melody-Lee Roberts who, so you once told me, certainly had to suffer for her art.

[Kashgar]

Yes Lew, a good number of the strips in the later Film Fun annuals (excepting the last in 1961 which had strips that were all new) were doctored reprints of earlier stuff sometimes from earlier annuals or from the weekly comic. If from the weekly comic you'll often find two original strips fused together to make one in an annual.

[Lew Stringer]

Yes Lew, a good number of the strips in the later Film Fun annuals (excepting the last in 1961 which had strips that were all new) were doctored reprints of earlier stuff sometimes from earlier annuals or from the weekly comic. If from the weekly comic you'll often find two original strips fused together to make one in an annual.

Thanks Ray. I thought as much. The paste up job was un-noticeable in most respects (but obvious in a couple of panels) but the environments looked so old fashioned for 1959 that I guessed they were reprints. (And the 1940s lettering style was a clue too.) I can only imagine what the kids of the time thought of such dated looking strips!

Knowing what little value publishers back then put on original art I'm assuming they sent the originals to an artist to update, rather than patch up a copy?

Lew

[philcom55]

Just bought two Beanos, one Dandy and a School Friend for £3, all from 1955 (which just happens to be the year I was born). Terrible condition but complete, and it's fascinating to see old fashioned characters like The Wee Black Scallywag rubbing shoulders with modern favourites like Little Plum and the Bash Street Kids ( or 'When The Bell Rings' as it then was). I also got a 1950s Robin Hood Annual for £1, in very nice condition.

In fact I've done really well this week altogether, stumbling across lots of interesting stuff...!

- Phil Rushton

[stevezodiac]

Went to the comic mart in London yesterday, picked up several copies of Bubbles from the 1930s plus a Sparkler and a Butterfly. Also got several Mad magazines from around issue 170 (still good then). Also got four of those cd roms with complete comic runs scanned onto them. titles were Adventure, Batman, Worlds Finest and tales of Suspense. It says all titles start from the first issue, haven't looked at them yet though.

[Lew Stringer]

Went to the comic mart in London yesterday, picked up several copies of Bubbles from the 1930s plus a Sparkler and a Butterfly.

Well done on that. I've only seen Sparkler and Butterfly as reprints. Where in London was the mart?

Lew

[stevezodiac]

Yes I think its my first Sparkler, it was £10 (the others were £5 each apart from the Mads 30 bob apiece). The marts are always at the Royal National hotel in Bloomsbury. The next one, on November 1st, is the one with the combined US/UK comics fair so lots of British comics on sale. I'll put the flyer on the appropriate forum.

Very pleased with those cd roms (now i've worked out how to make them fit the page) for a fiver each you get (in the case of Adventure) issues 1-250 with every page reproduced including ads. Suspense gives all 99 issues. I looked at the first issue and the first story is by Al Williamson followed by Heck and Ditko. Obviously I prefer the actual comics but will never own them even if i had millions to spend. There are dozens of titles available and the sellers are always at the comic marts in London. They have very strong Brummie accents so probably do Midlands conventions too.

[colcool007]

Steve, thanks for the update on the show. Look forward to seeing you at the next one.

[Raven]

I've just got:

The Buster 2nd January 1982 New Year's Eve issue: sad to see The Leopard From Lime Street not drawn by Mike Western; the art's much less thrilling, but it's still hard not to like the strip a lot. Lively stuff includes a double-page S.O.S. Squad (Jimmy Hansen art?), a Brian Walker Boxatricks, a fast-moving Strawbelly double-pager from Ian Knox, and a good Ken Reid Faceache with a fair few fearsome fissogs.
Disappointing to see a Barry and Boing reprint from Knockout as this adventure serial was never that strong.

and:

the final issue - 'great news for all readers inside!' of Score 'n' Roar from 26th June 1971, bidding a sad farewell (till all the annuals) to Peter the Cat, also Cannonball Craig and a few others.

A full page ad for Knockout no. 3 (with free cut-out voucher worth 2½p to exchange for a chocolate covered "scrumptious" Super-Mousse - hmm, I wonder how many grumpy 1971 newsagents agreed to that) follows Craig's finale.

[SID]

I have started collecting Cracker comic and bought a few off eBay recently.

I also bought Number Ones of

Cracker
Donald Duck
Whoopee!
Thunderbirds

[stevezodiac]

If you get the Cracker with the Hector the Collector story where he is collecting boxes that is my script. My only professional work (to date).

I went to the postcard/collectors fair on Sunday and got 13 issues of Mad. They were around issues 110 to 180 (but a couple of US editions so a good find) The seller also had a 30s Playbox and a 30s Merry & Bright so i got the lot for £20. Also picke up 1971 and 1972 Bunty books for a pound each - with dust jackets (although with some tears). There was a pile of Donald & Mickey from about 1971 for 50p each, I pondered for awhile but left them as not a big fan of Disney. Ephemera fair this Sunday so maybe some more finds.

[Lew Stringer]

If you get the Cracker with the Hector the Collector story where he is collecting boxes that is my script. My only professional work (to date).

I went to the postcard/collectors fair on Sunday and got 13 issues of Mad. They were around issues 110 to 180 (but a couple of US editions so a good find) The seller also had a 30s Playbox and a 30s Merry & Bright so i got the lot for £20. Also picke up 1971 and 1972 Bunty books for a pound each - with dust jackets (although with some tears). There was a pile of Donald & Mickey from about 1971 for 50p each, I pondered for awhile but left them as not a big fan of Disney. Ephemera fair this Sunday so maybe some more finds.

Those Donald & Mickey comics do feature British art amongst the Gold Key reprint though, - adaptations of Disney movies such as Bedknobs & Broomsticks and Love Bug if I remember correctly. Although they'd hardly appeal to most UK collectors admittedly.

Lew

[stevezodiac]

Yes that's why I pondered them for a while, there were two serious strips in each and looked like UK artists. But as I'm trying to downsize my collection I had to walk away.

[Raven]

A couple of Donald and Mickey serial credits I know are: PINOCCHO: script - Angus Allan (who wrote most of Look-In's serials in the '70s), art - Rex Archer; and THE LOVE BUG: script - Tom Tully (ace IPC serial scripter: Raven on the Wing, The Leopard from Lime Street, Look out For Lefty, etc.), art - Stanley Houghton (Girl, Look and Learn illustrator).

One especially nice Donald and Mickey serial was The Adventures of Captain Nemo, from the earliest issues. I'm not sure of the credits.