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Recommended Reading...

Great British Comics by Paul GravettGreat British Comics: Celebrating A Century Of Ripping Yarns & Wizard Wheezes
by Paul Gravett and Peter Stanbury
Designed by Peter Stanbury
Read our review by Lew Stringer

Great British Comics transports you through more than 100 years of Britain's bizarre weekly comics, newspaper strips, magazines and graphic novels from their secret origins to today's cutting edge.
• Order from Amazon.co.uk: Click Here
• Order from Amazon.com: Click Here

 

British Comics - Titles
Information welcome!


Jump to • Advice on Buying Comics and Auction SitesBritish Comics History and General Reference Fleetway Comics ReferenceIPCMarvel UK Reference

Jump to: Specific Comics Titles including: 2000AD Action!Action ForceBattleThe BeanoBusterCommando Picture LibraryCountdownCrisisThe DandyEagleGirlHornetJackie Chan AdventuresJintyLionLook and LearnLook-InMad Magazine (UK)MistyOinkScreamSmashSonic the ComicSpeed and PowerSpikeStarblazerStarlordStrikerTOXICTriffikTV ComicTV21VictorVizWarhammerWizard

Also below: Comics Continuity
• Visit this page for British Comics Characters from ABC Warriors - James Bond
• Visit this page for British Comics Characters from Jeff Hawke to Wicked Wanda

Buying Comics Advice
Please note: any "buying advice" posted below relating to individual comicsis intended as a rough guide only, posted in repsonse to queries from fans interested in buying comics via ebay or elsewhere: it is not definitive and may be outdated.
• E-Bay has several guides to buying comics online: search.reviews.ebay.com/buying-comics-online

Dedicated Comics Auction Sites

26 Pigs Auction Room: www.26pigs.com/auctionroom

Comic Book Postal Auctions: www.compalcomics.com

Auctions of British and US comics, artwork, and comic book ephemera. This site includes Market Reports with information on recent sales

Vault Auctions: www.vaultauctions.com

London-based comics auction site selling both US and UK comics

• Please do not ask me for info on grading comics, I am not a vaulation expert.

RECOMMENDED READING

Great British Comics: Celebrating A Century Of Ripping Yarns & Wizard Wheezes
by Paul Gravett and Peter Stanbury
Designed by Peter Stanbury
Read our review by Lew Stringer

Great British Comics by Paul GravettGreat British Comics transports you through more than 100 years of Britain's bizarre weekly comics, newspaper strips, magazines and graphic novels from their secret origins to today's cutting edge. Revel in the rural wonderlands of Rupert Bear and the blasted outback of Tank Girl, experience the glistening spaceships of Dan Dare and the Mega-City mean streets of Judge Dredd, and marvel at the knobbly knees of Dennis the Menace and the tight black leather of Modesty Blaise.

• Order from Amazon.co.uk: Click Here
• Order from Amazon.com: Click Here

British Comics History

For an overview of the history of British comics, check out the ComicsUK.co.uk site. It is attempting to list and detail as many British comics that have been published since Funny Folks (the first British comic) hit the shops, back in 1874.
There's also another site, recently updated, called simply British Comics (www.britishcomics.20m.com) which deals mainly with the adventure comics of the 1950s, 1960s & 1970s especially The Hotspur, The Rover, The Wizard and British Pocket Libraries. Another site, Retro World colinspace.future.easyspace.com/index2.html) is also a mine of comics information

• The BBC has its own comics web site (www.bbc.co.uk/cult/comics), which in addition to interviews with comics creators, audio comics from Big Finish and its own online strip, Work Experience by Simon Spurrier and Steve Roberts, includes articles on British humour comics by Lew Stringer, Girls Comics by Jac Rayner and recent science fiction and boys Comics by former 2000AD editor David Bishop
This site is no longer being updated.

• Bear Alley
Link: bearalley.blogspot.com

Steve Holland's brilliant blog about old British comics, packed with profiels of artists, snippets of current comics news and more. Definitely one worth bookmarking.

• The Gerry Anderson Complete Comic History
Link: www.technodelic.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk

This incredibly detailed site charts the entire history of Gerry Anderson's shows in comic strip, show by show, from his earliest ventures right through to the present day. It's a beautifully constructed site with plenty of well-researched features, interviews and plenty more.
This is simply one of the best themed comic strip sites on the web and if you're a Gerry Anderson fan, it should not be missed. Congratulations to all involved -- this is a true labour of love.

Nigel's Gallery of Childrens' Annuals is a great stopping off point for a snapshot of these perennial publications down the years.

Terry Hooper
Official: www.hooperart.4t.com

Terry Hooper has been writing, drawing, and self-publishing comic books in England for -- well years, with some titles running forover 50 or 60 separate issues. He has also been a key figure in recording British comics history, interviewing comics artists and writers from older as well as newer, and quite well-known British comics titles, as well as maintaining several news groups deciated to different comics and genres.

• Tony's Trading (www.tonystrading.co.uk) is an incredible site: not only featuring photographs of a collector's many and varied collections -- from bottles to cereal box figures -- but a wonderful gallery of British comic annual covers spanning over four decades.

Jim Croasdale's British Comics Art Site
A website to show off the work of British comic artists. At the moment it's quite small with work by Joe Colquhoun, Mike McMahon, Geoff Campion and Mike Western, but Jim would eventually like to add work by Brian Lewis and Ron Embleton, among others.

• The British Cartoon Archive
Web: library.kent.ac.uk/cartoons/

CartoonHub, hosted by the website of the British Cartoon Archive. The British Cartoon Archive was established in 1973 at the University of Kent, Canterbury, United Kingdom, to collect and preserve British cartoons of social and political comment, and make them freely available for study.
The British Cartoon Archive has a library, archive, gallery, and is a registered museum dedicated to the history of British cartooning over the last 200 years. CartoonHub describes the Centre's holdings, but is also a guide to the holdings of other archives and galleries, including the partners in the RSLP CartoonHub Project.
CartoonHub is also the world's largest electronic archive of cartoons, with a catalogued database of over 90,000 images. The majority of these come from the British Cartoon Archive's collections, but the database also incorporates significant cartoon collections from the National Library of Wales, the Library of the London School of Economics, and the John Rylands University Library of Manchester.
The images on CartoonHub are under copyright, and may only be reproduced with the permission of the copyright owners. The British Cartoon Archive maintains contact with the owners of copyright in all its collections, and is happy to put researchers in touch with them.

• The British Library Newspaper Library holds a number of comics. Find out more at: www.bl.uk/collections/comlist.html
Land Address: The British Library, Newspaper Library, Colindale Avenue, London NW9 5HE
General Enquiries: Tel: +44 (0)20 7412 7353  Fax: +44 (0)20 7412 7379
Email: newspaper@bl.uk

• Comics in the National Art Library
Link: www.nal.vam.ac.uk/nalcomic.html

Until the mid-1980s, the National Art Library's coverage of comics and comic art was uneven and spasmodic. In the 19th century, illustrated books and children's books were actively collected (as they are today) and some of the classic precursors of 20th century comics found their way into the collections: books such as Rodolphe Töpffer's L'histoire véritable de Monsieur Crépin (Paris, 1837), Adolf Schrödter's Herrn Piepmeyer (Frankfurt, 1848), several 19th century editions of Heinrich Hoffmann's Struwwelpeter and Wilhelm Busch's Max und Moritz. Individual items continued to be acquired in the 20th century, but the Library's holdings have been significantly enhanced by the acquisition of a number of major collections in recent years.

• British Juvenile Story Papers and Pocket Libraries Index
Link: contento.best.vwh.net/paper

Compiled by Steve Holland, the purpose of the site is to eventually index all British children's papers, comics and annuals, although the index that follows is very much a work in progress. It is a huge project, with many tens of thousands of individual issues to be checklisted... but Steve says all projects have to start somewhere!

• The Cartoon Art Trust (CAT)
Link: http://www.cartooncentre.com/

Dedicated to preserving and promoting the best of British cartoon art and caricature and establishing a museum of cartoon art with gallery, archives and reference library.

• Peter Gray's Cartoons and Comics
Link: petergraycartoonsandcomics.blogspot.com

Freelance cartoonist Peter Gray not only shows off his new cartoons but also looks at British comics. More visual than wordy.

• Yesterday's Papers Blog
Link: yesterdays-papers.blogspot.com

Blog by John Adcock about newspaper strips and cartoons, including British strips

• Yesrterday's Papers
Link: yesterdayspapers.150m.com

Page by page, this web site guides you through the fiction that appeared in newspapers and magazines down the years, from the nineteenth century to

Fleetway Comics Reference Sites
Sites devoted to individual Fleetway characters feature on this site, see links above

Egmont owns the rights to the following Fleetway comics and characters:
Action:
Roy of the Rovers, Action, All Action Monthly (reprint), Battle Picture Weekly, Jet, Scorcher, Score 'n' Roar, Scream, Starlord, Tornado, Hot Shot, Wildcat
Humour: Big Comic Fortnightly, Buster (the characters published in 1970 and intrioduced afterwards in that title, see Andrew Sumner's interview), Cheeky, Cor , Jackpot Knockout, Krazy, Monster Fun, Nipper, Oink, School Fun, Whizzer & Chips, Whoopee, Toxic*, Wow
Girls: Daisy*, Go Girl*, Jinty, Katy, Lindy, Misty, Penny, Pixie, Princess*, Sally, Sandie, Tammy
Nursery: Bonnie, Chips, Fun to Do, Fun to Know, Pixie, Playbox, Playgroup, Robin, Teddy Bears Playtime
* Indicates still published

Gus the Gorilla
Gus Gorilla from the masthead of Cor!!, drawn by either by Mike Lacey or Jimmy Hansen, who designed the character and drew the first one or two Gus strips.

Fleetway Street
Link: www.toonhound.com/fleetway.htm

A fascinating guide to those fun British comics Whoopee!, Krazy, Buster, Shiver & Shake, Cheeky, Cor!!, Whizzer & Chips, Monster Fun, Knockout, Wow, Jackpot, and School Fun. The site editor says they'll all be here eventually, as part of a complete database of all the strips from all the comics and annuals....

• The Fleetway Companion by Steve Holland. CJ Publication.
This is an extensive index of the comics published by Fleetway. Titles included amongst many others are BUSTER, HURRICANE, LION, ROY OF THE ROVERS, TIGER, 2000 AD, VALIANT, etc. plus the Picture Libraries. All titles are fully illustrated and give details of publication dates, characters, stories, articles, strips, free gifts etc. This is a most comprehensive guide and a must for any collector of any of the Fleetway Titles. 385 pages. Soft Cover Black & White 6" x 8" (15cm x 20cm) Recommended.
• £30.00 ($54.00) from Book Palace: www.bookpalace.com/acatalog/Home_Guides_34.html

IPC
IPC Media owns many comics titles and characters published before 1970. An agreement was brokered with Egmont Fleetway which establishes who owns what, which IPC's Andrew Sumner explains in this interview on Comics World News

Sites devoted to individual IPC characters feature on this site, see links above

Marvel UK
Sites devoted to individual Marvel characters feature on this site, see links above

• MightyWorld of Marvel UK
Link : www.mightyworldofmarvel.co.uk

A celebration of the British end of the House of Ideas.

Marvel UK Yahoo group (you have to aply to join this)

Marvel UK on Wikipedia: General Feature
Marvel UK on Wikipedia: Titles

SuperBrits
Link: www.superbrits.co.uk

This site features detailed guides to many British heroes including Electroman, Captain Miracle, Captain Valiant, Dan Dare, Jack Flash, Masterman, Marvelman, Space Kingley and others.


Specific Comics Sites
Information welcome!
Jump to: Specific Comics Titles including: 2000AD Action!Action ForceBattleThe BeanoBusterCommando Picture LibraryCountdownCrisisThe DandyEagleGirlHornetJackie Chan AdventuresJintyLionLook and LearnLook-InMad Magazine (UK)MistyOinkScreamSmashSonic the ComicSpeed and PowerSpikeStarblazerStarlordStrikerTOXICTriffikTV ComicTV21VictorVizWarhammerWizard

Also below: Comics Continuity
• Visit this page for British Comics Characters from ABC Warriors - James Bond
• Visit this page for British Comics Characters from Jeff Hawke to Wicked Wanda


2000AD2000AD
Official web site: www.2000adonline.com

Launched: 26 February 1997
Number of issues published: Ongoing - see current titles list
Publisher: Rebellion
Mergers: Starlord, Tornado
Official site: www.2000ADonline.com
Britain's only surviving boy's adventure comic, still pumping out thrill power every week.

The 2000AD Artwork Gallery
Link: www.2000ad.org/artwork

If you're interested in buying art from 2000AD check out artdroids.co.uk, run by Rufus Dayglo.

The 2000AD Links Project
Link: www.2000ad.nu/linksproject

You want 2000AD links, this site's got 'em!

Toothwatch
Link: www.toothwatch.co.uk

A guide to creator web sites -- where did they go from appearing in 2000AD? Find out more here.

Zarjaz
Link: www.zarjaz.blogspot.com

The 2000AD fanzine, back in publication as of May 2005 after almost two years without an issue. Ace stuff.

2000AD Review
Link: www.2000adreview.co.uk

Excellent fan news site devoted to 2000AD and the Megazine.

Class of 79
Link: www.2000ad.nu/classof79

This online 2000AD fanzine includes creator interviews and strips

Action #1Action
Launched: 14 February 1976 - 12 November 1977
Number of issues published: 36 before ban; 50 post ban
Publisher: Now owned by Egmont-Fleetway, but published by IPC
Mergers: Merged with Battle
Link: www.sevenpennynightmare.co.uk
This is a brilliant site devoted to the controversial 1970s comic first published by IPC, which featured strisp such as Hookjaw and Kids Rule. Right wing moral outrage over the comic's content lead to its suspension and subsequent much-diluted relaunch before the title finally emerged with Battle. The brainchild of Pat Mills, the comic is largely credited as being the direct forerunner of 2000AD.
• Spitfire Comics are to publish a Hookjaw collection in 2006. Click here for further information

Action Force
A brief overview of the Marvel UK title: Go, part of the Yo Joe! site

BATTLE: RECOMMENDED READING

Titan Books are publishing collections of Charley's War:

• Charley's War: 2 June - 1 August 1916
by Pat Mills and Joe Colquhoun (Hardcover)
Buy it from Amazon.comBuy it from Amazon.co.uk

Beginning the powerful, moving and sometimes archly funny series concerning the adventures of Charley Bourne, a naive and not too bright 16-year old Cockney lad, who lies about his age to join the army who arrives in France a few weeks before the first day on the Somme. This volume contains the opening episodes in a series that ran to nearly 300 episodes and rarely dropped the pace or the story-telling power.

Charley's War
• Charley's War: 1 August - 17 October 1916
by Pat Mills and Joe Colquhoun (Hardcover)
Buy it from Amazon.comBuy it from Amazon.co.uk

Late summer, 1916. Although Charley has survived the early days of the Somme, with treachery on both sides of the wire and a dangerous new commanding officer, triumph and tragedy lie in store as he desperately tries to survive...

• Charley's War: 17 October, 1916 - 21 February, 1917
by Pat Mills and Joe Colquhoun (Hardcover - Published 20 Oct 2006)
Order it from Amazon.comOrder it from Amazon.co.uk

As the winter of 1916 approaches, Charley is caught in a desperate fight for survival against the 'Judgment Troopers'. Injured in battle, he returns home to convalesce...only to discover that the Germans have brought the war to the streets of London!

Battle
Fan Site: Colonel Marbles
Fan site devoted to the 1970s British comic featuring characters such as Johnny Red, Darkie's Mob, Major Eazy other war-torn strips.

Fan Site: Charley's War
Neil Emery's site is the definitive online site for this Battle strip created by Pat Mills and drawn by the late Joe Colquhoun.
Charley's War, the tale of a young soldier in the First World War, remains one of Britain's benchmark comic strips and is the only Battle strip to have been re-published as a graphic novel.


Beano
The Official Site: www.beano.co.uk

Paul Morris' History Site
Link: www.paulmorris.co.uk/beano

The Beano #1 with free giftFeatures a detailed guide to the strips of the title, including art and writer credits where known. Fascinating.

Martin Grayling's Beano Site
Link: www2.prestel.co.uk/grayling/beano/beano.html

This site also includes a chronology of the comic, including first appearances, some nice images and a guide to prices for early issues, first published in The Comic Book Guide, way back in 1996.

Fine and Dandy
Link: www.fineanddandy.co.uk
Tel:+44(0)1382 778989 Fax:+44(0)1382 778989
Fine and Dandy stock one of the largest up to date selections of Beano and Dandy memorabilia available in Scotland and further afield.
Merchandise includes Dennis The Menace T and Beano T shirts and recently produced sets of Beano/Dandy fridge magnets, comic kits, Beano/Dandy tea towels and other novelty items devoted to Dennis the Menace and Gnasher -- not forgetting of course Dennis the Menace's many friends from the Beano and Dandy Comic Books such as Desperate Dan, Minnie the Minx and Beryl the
Peril.
The store also has a fine selection of Scottish Gifts.

Buster
Buster fan website: www.bustercomic.co.uk
Matt Bowen's site is totally dedicated to Fleetway's first comic release since it took over from Amalgamated Press, Buster. The comic ran for 40 years from 1960 to 2000 and the site details history of the World's Greatest Comic and its many varied characters -- plus find out about the comics that spun off and merged with Buster.

Commando Picture Library

COMMANDO COLLECTIONS
Dirty DozenThe Dirty Dozen

True Brit• True Brit - a collection of Commando's toughest ever Second World War stories
Anzacs at War• Commando For Action and Adventure: ANZACS TO WAR
The Best 12 Anzac War Stories Ever
Editted by George Low


Buy it from Amazon.co.uk: Go
Buy it from from Amazon.com: Go

Rumble in the JungleRumble in the Jungle
Features the 12 best jungle fighting episodes of Commando ever.

"Stories set in the jungles of Malay and Burma are, like all other Commando comics, packed with action and adventure," Carlton announces via Amazon.co.uk. "But there is something about these plots that really get the writers in top gear and they pull out all the stops. Who couldn't get enthusiastic about ambushes, impenetrable undergrowth, mysterious caves, deep river gorges flooded by monsoons, samurai swords, slithering snakes, fiendish fevers, strange cries in the night, menacing idols, dangerous insects and animals added to the usual threats from bullets and bombs?

Featuring such stories as "Jungle Madness", "Grudge Fight", "The Black Pagoda", "Halt - or Die!", "Danger Everywhere!" and "Jungle Sniper", this carefully selected anthology will transport you into a world of sweat, swamps...where our ever invincible allied heroes battle bravely and honourably to victory."

Buy Rumble in the Jungle from Amazon.co.uk: Go
Buy Rumble in the Jungle from Amazon.com: Go

War stories published in pocket editions by DC Thomson, which began in 1961. Still published today.
Subscription details at www.dcthomson.co.uk/subscriptions.You can also write to: DC Thomson and Co Ltd, Subscriber’s Department, 80 Kingsway East, Dundee DD4 8SL, Scotland.

Fanzine: There's an irregular Commando fanzine, Achtung! Commando, available from Stiletto Books, 7 Bowman's Drive, Battle, East Sussex TN33 0LT. Send sae for price and subs info.

Carlton Books have published Commando: The Dirty Dozen: The Best 12 "Commando" Books of All Time and Commando: True Brit --

• British Pocket Library
Link: www.britishcomics.20m.com/pocket.htm

Perhaps the most informative site about these titles I've found so far. Includes info on the Fleetway War Library.

• Commando Comics UK
Link: http://users.tinyonline.co.uk/vic2/
www26255/home.htm.htm

A detailed site devoted to these titles -- largely a listing of every issue but no artist or writer details. Writing credits are very hard to find for any DC Thomson title.

• Commando
Link: www.barelyhangingon.co.uk/commando

Disney and Commando Comics
A strange mix but features a potted history and some images -- not a lot here as of 25/9/02.

Read an interview with Commando editor Calum Laird

Countdown
A predominantly Gerry Anderson-series led comic, this title also featured some beautifully drawn Doctor Who strips by Gerry Haylock and later in the short-lived run, strips like The Persuaders. It eventually merged with TV Action.
The comic strip rights to all material published in Countdown and TV Action are owned by London and North Surrey Newspapers, now part of the Trinity Mirror Southern group.

UFO Strips have been published online at: http://shadolibrary.org/library/comics/

Crisis
A fortnightly comic with a political edge from the creators of 2000AD. Contributors included Pat Mills, Garth Ennis, John McCrea and many more.

• Tom Allen's tribute site
Link: www.fortunecity.com/tatooine/sputnik/53/crisis.htm


Dandy (now Dandy Extreme)
The Official site: www.dandy.com

Dandy: Tie In Books

• The "Dandy" Monster Comic
Facsimile Edition of the First Ever Dandy Annual (Facsimile Annual) (Hardcover)

Dandy Annual 1941Launched in 1937, "The Dandy" is still one of the most popular children's comics and annuals with a readership covering all generations. "The Dandy" annual sells over 400,000 copies each year. This is a slip-cased facsimile of the first ever "Dandy" annual published in 1941 after the comic had launched in 1937.

As such, be aware that the humour of the time is dated and may offeend. The Times reported on 15/11/06 that DC Thomson was asked to withdraw copies of this facsimilie reprint by anti-racist campaigners, concerned by racist language in its Smarty Grandpa strip. DC Thomson countered that the facsimile annual was "of its time and was not something they felt had to be edited"

• Order from Amazon.co.uk: Click Here
• Order from Amazon.com: Click Here

Desperate Dan still reigns supreme, complete with cow pies and super strength, but the comic has had a total makeover (see news story), featuring many new characters.

DFC #1David Fickling Comic
Official: www.thedfc.co.uk

Publishers of the subscription-only weekly comic The DFC featuring strips by Philip Pullman, the Etherington Brothers, James Turner and many more. Read the downthetubes review of the first issue

Eagle
See also Dan Dare character links, below

Official: www.dandare.co.uk
The Dan Dare Corporation Limited owns the global media rights to The Eagle comic and the comic strip "Dan Dare". The company also owns the rights to several other comic strips published in The Eagle, e.g. "Ghost Squad", "Computer Warrior", "Doomlord", "Manix", "Storm Force" and "Ultimate Warrior".

The Eagle Society are dedicated to the original Eagle comic. For more information write to thier membership secretary at the address below: Keith Howard, 25a Station Road, Middlesex England HA1 2UA. The Society has a blog devoted to its magazine, The Eagle Times at: eagle-times.blogspot.com

The Eagle Comic Archive
This site is dedicated to Eagle Comic which was published in the UK from 1950 to 1969 and from 1982 to 1993.

Best of GirlGirl
Girl was the sister publication to Eagle and the 'older' sister publication to Swift and Robin.
For a teenage girl growing up in 1950s' Britain, Girl was essential reading. Each week there'd be another gripping instalment of Susan of St Brides: Nurse of the Year; advice column 'Mother Tells You How' would provide wise words on how to care for goldfish; 'Concerning You' would reveal how to choose spectacles that suit your face and the Girl picture gallery of lovely paintings to cut out and keep would feature pin-ups of the day such as Humphrey Littleton, Princess Margaret and various garden birds.
Carlton Books is publishing The Best of Girl in October 2006: described as a fascinating window on this hilariously wholesome bygone age of fine upstanding virtue for those too young to remember it, and a completely compulsive nostalgia trip for those who aren't.

Hornet #4Hornet
Fan: www.victorhornetcomics.co.uk
Web site devoted to two of DC Thomson's classic boys titles, the other being Victor. The site offers a brief history of the both of the comics, and they're working on biographies of some of the artists, writers and (and hopefully) editorial staff.

Jackie Chan: The Magazine
www.jackie-chan-magazine.co.uk
As of September 2003, new magazine based on the kung fu star including comic strip. Good to see a magazine with comic strip being advertised on prime time TV!

Jinty
www.comixminx.net/Jinty_Come_Back.html
Jenni Scott's essay on the ace girls' comic of the 1970s. See also the Jinty characters page on 26 Pigs: www.26pigs.com/jinty/characters.htm

Lion
The comic strip rights to Lion are held by IPC Media.

Lion was originally conceived to be a rival for Hulton's massive success, the Eagle. It even featured on its front cover, Captain Condor, whose space adventures were obviously meant to mimic those of Eagle's hugely popular Dan Dare.

Fan: www.comicsuk.co.uk/ComicInformationPages/LionPages/SteveLaming1.htm
An article by Steve Lamming on the history of the long-running comic. There's a version of it here, too.

Fan: Great British Comics - The Lion by Alan Notton
Link: www.gatewaymonthly.com/1004lionc.html

Look and Learn
Official site: www.lookandlearn.com

Owned by Look and Learn Magazine Company Ltd. Excluding the rights to certain comic strips (notably The Rise and Fall of the Trigan Empire) which have been retained by IPC Media Ltd, this company now owns the rights to the following magazines, listed here in chronological order: The Children's Newspaper (1919-65), Robin (1953-69), Swift (1954-63), Jack and Jill (1954-85), Playhour (1954-87), Harold Hare (1959-64), Look and Learn (1962-82), Treasure (1963-71), Teddy Bear (1963-73), The Bible Story (1964), Ranger (1965-66), Once Upon a Time (1969-73), Speed and Power (1974-75), and World of Knowledge (1980-81). Look and Learn also owns the rights to the annuals and other books associated with these magazines, and the annuals and books for the magazines Tell Me Why and World of Wonder.

Look and Learn cover #1002
Above: Original artwork used for cover of Look and Learn #1002 (23 May 1981), where the title was added "A Hundred Journeys into Space". Just one of hundreds of images from Look and Learn now available to view on lookandlearn.com. The artwork lent to Look and Learn for scanning by The Gallery of Illustration.

Anyone who grew up in the 1960s and 1970s will remember this educational weekly, home to Don Lawrence's Trigan Empire comic strip, now being re-published by the Don Lawrence Collection. Look and Learn was the biggest-selling title of its kind for many years and was able to attract some of the best artists of the era to its pages, everyone from Ron Embleton to John Millar Watt.
Illustrations and comic strips aside, the magazine featured an extraordinary range of features on history, geography, wildlife and science.
In 2004, publisher Laurence Heyworth was looking for a title of similar excellence for his young son but could not find anything on today's newsstands that remotely approached the Look and Learn's quality. He approached the title's owners, IPC Media and, with the exception of a few comic strips (including Trigan Empire), bought the rights to Look and Learn and a number of related magazines (Ranger, Treasure, The Children's Newspaper and others).
With a small team of enthusiastic co-workers, Heyworth has set up an official site -- www.lookandlearn.com.
The site features almost 10,000 images from the various magazines and a full history of Look and Learn and its companions.
The site also reveals Heyworht's plans for a limited revival of the paper.
If you're a fan of the art of Don Lawrence, Ron Embleton, John Millar Watt, C. L. Doughty or dozens of other top artists this site will be a welcome arrival as a quarter of the artwork available has been photographed from the original boards.
"Although we are pleased to have found some of the larger collections of surviving artwork, we are always on the look out for more," says contributor Steve Holland.
If you have any boards you would be willing to loan for photographing or scanning, please get in touch via the website or you can contact Steve Holland directly at archivist@lookandlearn.com

Look-In
The comic strip rights to Look-In are held by IPC Media, although the rights to publishing the strips would also require the agreement of the media comapies that own the TV series featured.

The Look-In Archive launched 1 May 2004. It's attempting to display every page of every issue of the Junior TV Times which at its peak included stunning strips by John M. Burns, Mike Noble and many talented others. Strip titles included The Tomorrow People, Sapphire and Steel (drawn by Arthur Ranson), Catweazle, The Bionic Woman (drawn by John Bolton) and many others. Killed by idiot editors who thought readers only liked strips drawn in square boxes..
The site owners have taken on a massive undertaking, and one which they are asking for help with. So "Scan when you can", and help make this site the best one there is about
Look-In. The site is co-produced by John Stewart, the chap responsible for the Look-Out website.
• There's also this great site dedicated to
Sapphire and Steel -- www.sapphireandsteel.co.uk --which features all the Look-In comic strips.

Mad Magazine UK
• British Covers: www.collectmad.com/britishcovers/

Misty
mistycomic.co.uk
Complete guide to one of the best girls' comics ever, pubished in the 1970s. In February 2006 Egmont threatened legal action to protect its rights regarding the use of copyright material (the site featured full scans of almost every issue of the comic) and its owner removed much of the material in compliance. It remains, however, a terrific resource about the comic whose contributors included 2000AD co-creator Pat Mills.
Attempts to seek a license to publish the material are ongoing.

Oink!
Fan: www.oinkcomic.co.uk
May 3rd 1986 saw the creation of Oink!, a real breath of fresh air for comic loving children and adults until its sad demise, 68 issues later, in 1988. Oink! was devised and created by Mark Rodgers, Patrick Gallagher and Tony Husband because of a frustration of churning out the same tired old comic strips week after week for the likes of Whizzer and the Beano etc.
This site features a history of the comic, strips and more, compiled with the help of some of the comics creators.

Red Dagger
downthetubes feature: Graphic Novels by Any Other Name
First posted on downthetubes 15 Red DaggerJuly 2007: Jeremy Briggs probes the mystery of DC Thomson's little known title Red Dagger, and wonders why the company isn't publishing something similar today...

Rocket
Launched: 21 April 1956
Number of issues published: 32
Publisher: The News of the World
Not to be confused with: Rocket Comics (Dark Horse - US)
Launched by the News of the World as a competitor to Eagle, this glossy magazine failed in its mission. Great name for a comic, though.

Scream
Fan: www.backfromthedepths.co.uk
On 24 March 1984 Scream! hit the shelves of newsagents around the world. The fantastic stories within its pages fans claim had kids shaking in their shoes in a way no other comic has ever achieved. Then, after only 15 issues, Scream! mysteriously ended. Rumours of strikes at IPC Magazines, the comic's creators, could have been the cause. Declining comic sales in the UK another. Possibly the grizzly nature of Scream! caused hordes of desperate mothers to get the comic banned. Who knows? Maybe a darker mystery is at the heart of this puzzle, a bizarre twist that no one has the answer to. Whatever did happen the fact remains the Scream! was an awesome comic, nearly forgotten forever… nearly, but not anymore.

Smash
26 Pigs Guide: www.26pigs.com/smash

Sonic the Comic
Fan: www.stconline.co.uk
Published in the 1990s, Sonic the Comic still has a loyal following. Sonic the Comic is copyright © Egmont Magazines Ltd.

Speed and Power
(With thanks to Jeremy Briggs): Speed and Power ran from Issue 1 March 22-29 1974 to Issue 87
November 14-21 1975 after which it merged with Look and Learn. It covered "Cars, Planes, Ships, Space, Science Fiction" so it was a more technically minded version of Look and Learn and was published by IPC Transport Press.
The only comic strip throughout the entire run of the title was "SOS International" which began in Issue 57 April 18-25 1975 and ran to the end, drawn by Oliver Frey. Four different stores which ran sequentially: The Death Of A Traitor Issues 57-61; Dam of Terror Issues 62-72; Space Race Issues 73-82; and Black Gold Issues 81-87. Space Race was reprinted in Action annual 1984.

Spike
downthetubes Comic Companion: Spike
By the earlier 1980s, when Spike was launched, the number of boys weekly titles published by D C Thomson was on the wane. Jeremy Briggs delivers this overview of the title, and a guide to its stories...

Starblazer
DTB Feature: Blazing Through the Secrecy

The secrets of Starblazer by Jeremy Briggs
DTB Feature: Behind the Lines
Script writer Ray Aspden reveals the secret workings of creating DC Thomson's fondly-remembered science fiction title, Starblazer...
DTB Feature: Starblazer Checklist
A complte list of the DC Thomson SF title, including some covers and creator credits
Starblazer on Wikipedia
Starblazer fan Douglas Nicol began this article on the internet's contributor-based encyclopedia

Starlord
Watch the Stars
www.watchthestars.sevenpennynightmare.co.uk

The comic that launched Strontium Dog and Ro-Busters -- but lasted just five months. This site includes covers and scans of some of the comic's strips.

Striker
Striker 3D
The all-new weekly football comic strip appearing in The Sun.

The latest TOXICTOXIC
Official Site: www.toxicmag.co.uk

TOXIC launched in November 2002 as a monthly kids mag by Egmont, and included Team TOXIC as comic strip that ran across the bottom of its four news pages. The strip was written and drawn by Jon Rushby, as were the main character illos. From issue #5 they were bumped up to their current two-page status and Lew Stringer took over the creative chores as of issue #14.
Pig Brother was added as a three-frame strip in news in issue #12, which Mervyn Johnston continues to write and draw today. Next up was Time Toilet by Jaspre Barke and Mark Daniels in issue #16, Rex by John A. Short and Alex Paterson in issue #17 and Nanas & Custard by Stu Taylor and Paul J Holden in issue #18.
Although some of these strips were more successful than others, the editorial team have recently added two new originated strips to the mag: Chester Chimp by Jaspre Bark and Paul Palmer in issue #70 and Grott the Mighty by Nigel Kitching in issue #71.

Triffik
Published by Creative Communications Ltd.
Launched, finally, after several dummies, in 1992, this title was billed as a new Beano and Dandy for the 1990s but lasted just 12 issues. Artist Tim Perkins contributed several strips to the title, working with James Hill, now editor in chief at Toontastic. There is an article on Triffik on Tim's website.

TV Comic
Polystyle's long-running title, featuring original humour strips such as Mighty Moth, humour strips based on tv shows such as Telegoons, and adventure strips based on TV action adventure such as The Avengers, Adam Adamant Lives! and, of course, Doctor Who.
The comic strip rights to all material published in TV Comic are owned by London and North Surrey Newspapers, now part of the Trinity Mirror Southern group.

• The Avengers Comics Strips
Link: wingedavenger.theavengers.tv

Terrific site about The Avengers comics. Works best in Explorer on a PC and Opera on a Mac (OSX)

• Dad's Army
Link: home.btconnect.com/howejam/dadsarmy/comicstrips/da_comics.htm

A guide to the Dad's Army comic strip, drawn by Bill Titcombe. Part of a much bigger site about Dad's Army from Andy Howe.

• The Telegoons
The Telegoons, an animated show based on The Goon Show featured in TV Comic, drawn by TV Comic stalwart Bill Titcombe, who also drew many other strips for the title including Tom and Jerry, Dad's Army and others. This exhaustive Telegoons site includes information on the Telegoons strip and the part it played in promoting the show. This link goes firect to that item: www.telegoons.org/FAQ.htm#N. This link goes to the home page of the wonderful Telegoons site: www.telegoons.org.
(Speaking personally, I can't stand the creepy looking Telegoons -- but I loved the Goons radio show)

TV21
Buying Advice (See notes on this, above)
As of June 2006: Condition of the comics can determine the price a lot. #1 has sold for about £300 on eBay in VG+ condition but a complete poor tatty version will only scrape about £50.
Issues are easier to come by with the advent of the internet but still sought after. Prices vary from £5-£10 an issue, which the newspaper style ones up to issue 154 usually get in F/Ex condition.
A complete set - issues 1-242 plus specials and some gifts - was offered on eBay for £3,500 and no-one bought at that price, even after it was reduced from about £5,000. (Thanks to Shaqui at The Gerry Anderson Complete Comic History)

• The Gerry Anderson Complete Comic History
Link: www.technodelic.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk

This incredibly detailed site charts the entire history of Gerry Anderson's shows in comic strip, show by show, from his earliest ventures right through to the present day. It's a beautifully constructed site with plenty of well-researched features, interviews and plenty more.
This is simply one of the best themed comic strip sites on the web and if you're a Gerry Anderson fan, it should not be missed. Congratulations to all involved -- this is a true labour of love.

TV Century 21 Guide
General comics and magazines site with a page devoted to this title based on the Gerry Anderson puppet shows which at its hgeight was selling one million copies per week.

Dalek Chronicles - Marvel UK, 1994• Dalek Mania
Link: www.dalek-mania.co.uk

In addition to being a great site about Daleks, Mick Hall's site includes thumbnails of original art from The Daleks strip, which appeared in TV21, drawn by artists such as Richard Jennings and Ron Turner.
The entire run of the strip was most recently published by Marvel UK in 1994 as a Dalek special, The Dalek Chronicles.

Not TV21
Sun-styled parody comic.

TV21uk
10 Thomas Street, Northern Quarter, Manchester M4 1DH
Tel: 0161 839 5021 - email: stephen@tv21uk.com
Nothing to do with the comic at all, but heck, we'll give it a plug just for sheer cheek. TV21uk is a television, film and arts themed venue specifically designed to compliment Manchester's revitalised Northern Quarter.

Victor
Fan: www.victorhornetcomics.co.uk
Web site devoted to two of DC Thomson's classic boys titles, the other being Hornet. The site offers a brief history of the both of the comics, and they're working on biographies of some of the artists, writers and (and hopefully) editorial staff.

Viz
Official: www.viz.co.uk

Warhammer Monthly
Official: www.blacklibrary.com

Probably the biggest-selling SF comic in the UK, at one time claiming 50,000 sales per month via Games Worshop stores. Sadly, Warhammer ended with Issue 86 in December 2004

Wizard
Link: wizardcomics1970-1974.blogspot.com

A bog devoted to DC Thomson's Great comic The Wizard (Mark ll) published between February 14th 1970 and December 28th 1974: the stories, the covers,the dates,the numbers, the Ads.


Comics Continuity
Information welcome!
For US Comics and Characters Click Here
For other Comics and Characters Click Here


Michael Norwitz
Official: www.blaklion.best.vwh.net/time_links.html

This guy has taken comics continuity to unscaled height and there's a terrific links section too. Well worth checking out.

Click here for sites dedicated to specific British Comics Characters

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