Here come I SPY and THE SPARKY PEOPLE (1969)

Fifty years ago Sparky comic was undergoing some changes that had seen it gradually evolve from a kind of sweet title that bridged the gap between nursery comics and The Beano into a more off the wall comic that appealed to all ages. Intentionally or not, it had slowly matured with its readership, so that the six year olds who enjoyed it in 1965 could still get a kick out of it in 1969 when they were slightly older. 

Two of its best remembered strips debuted in Sparky No.211, dated February 1st 1969. They were I Spy, drawn by Les Barton, and We Are The Sparky People, drawn by Jim Petrie. 

I always felt that I Spy was D.C. Thomson's answer to Mike Higgs' The Cloak which was running in Smash! at the time, with a dash of the Black Spy from Mad's Spy vs Spy thrown into the design element. Whatever the inspiration, I Spy was a great strip in its own right and I hope that D.C. Thomson's Heritage Comics imprint do a collection one day. 

I'm showing the first episodes of I Spy and We Are The Sparky People strips here. Hope you enjoy them! 

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