However, that issue of Wham! went the extra mile and also used the cover strip to promote its new sister paper. Here's Leo Baxendale cramming in loads of gags and detail for The Tiddlers strip which focuses on the Tids playing with their Smash! free gift...
It was things like this which gave those comics a sense of unity. Something Odhams later developed by branding them all as 'Power Comics' and including a News from the Floor of 64 page in each comic promoting the other titles every week. This was inspired by Marvel's Bullpen Bulletin pages of course but it was unique in British comics. (The closest equivalent today would be the Marvel Spotlight page in the Panini comics, but more informal.) No doubt about it; the 'Power Comics' may have only lasted for five years in all but they were great comics to grow up with.
By the way, this issue is one of a bunch of spare Wham! comics I'm currently selling on eBay. Check out my listings if you're interested:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/graphite47/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_from=&_ipg=&_trksid=p3686
that was really heavily promoting it. does the job well through. Wonder how well it really flew..
ReplyDeleteIt was quite effective although it was only being swung around by a piece of string of course. I didn't keep mine for long. I didn't begin saving comics and gifts until the following year.
ReplyDeleteIt was made out of thin card by the way, if you hadn't already guessed. You had to assemble it yourself.
ReplyDeleteyeah ^_^ I guessed the cardbit. it's always nice to hear about the difference at times between what the toy was and how it was advertised.. I don't think the comic lied as such, but it's one of this things to make it seams a lot more 'fantastic' when they often were.
ReplyDelete