It was a HOOT (1985)

In 1985 IPC were still developing Oink! (which had begun its genesis in 1984). The finished product wouldn't appear until May 1986 but in the meantime, D.C. Thomson launched Hoot No.1 in October 1985. 

It was probably just coincidence but I've often wondered if Thomsons had gotten wind of IPC's plans and had decided to beat them to it with their own wild, cheeky comic. Admittedly, the differences between Hoot and Oink! are like chalk and cheese but Hoot definitely had a more robust edge to its companion comics so there are similarities. Perhaps it was just coincidence and the mood of the times had inspired it, but Hoot did feature a pig hero in Piggles so I dunno. Rivalry between Thomsons and IPC was quite fierce in those days.

The similarities are minimal though, and Hoot deserves credit for its own achievements. It was certainly a very energetic comic, and using Barrie Appleby as cover artist helped in that regard. The cover strip was Cuddles, the naughty baby causing havoc for his poor parents. Later, when Hoot merged into The Dandy, Cuddles would join up with a neighbour; that comic's naughty baby Dimples, and the strip became Cuddles and Dimples. Later, the concept was tweaked and they became brothers, with one set of parents never mentioned again. 

Hoot was a very slim comic for its time; just 16 pages, and costing 20p. Of those 16 pages, 8 were in full colour, 4 in red spot colour, and 4 in black and white. Slapstick and sound effects abounded in the comic. This was a wilder, noisier, less restrained comic than The Beano of that era.

On page 2 every week was a full page illustration by Ken Harrison featuring The Hoot Squad, a modern-day Casey Court, with kids running riot in a different situation every issue. These pages deserve collecting into a book, although subsequent weeks might raise a few eyebrows these days with the boys cheekily admiring mini-skirted teachers.

Hoot made up for being a slim comic by packing in shorter strips to give value, such as this page of mini-strips drawn by George Martin featuring characters from other comics.

The centrespread of Hoot featured Dogsbody, by John Geering, featuring a boy who transformed into a dog.

David Mostyn was quite prolific in humour comics of the 1980s and his work was always a pleasure to see. For Hoot he drew Snackula...

The comic rounded off with Spotted Dick, a kid who seemed permanently stuck in hospital due to being "very spotty". Another opportunity for Barrie Mitchell to illustrate his traditional chaotic scenes to great effect.

Hoot ran for just one year before merging into The Dandy. A shame, as it deserved to last longer, but the 1980s were tough times for British comics. The boom period of the traditional weekly comic had definitely started to decline by then, and the rise of licensed comics and changing frequencies had begun.