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.
In 1973 D.C. Thomson launched their first new humour weekly since Sparky eight years earlier. Its name was Buzz and it was in the 16 page tabloid format like Topper and Beezer. This seemed unusual at the time, considering that the tabloid size wasn't as popular as it used to be.
Perhaps its size proved to be a disadvantage, as Buzz only lasted for two years before merging into Topper. For today though, let's have a look at a few pages from Buzz No.1, published on Saturday 13th January 1973...
The cover strip, Hop, Skip and Jock, was drawn by Mal Judge, who had been the original artist on Billy Whizz for The Beano. The Buzz cover strip ended with a busy large panel every week in the style of Casey Court in Chips of decades earlier.
Buzz featured no adventure strips and was 100% dedicated to humour. Amongst its contents was Skookum Skool, a typical "naughty classroom" strip, drawn by Ken Harrison...
Like Topper and Beezer, Buzz had 16 pages consisting of 8 in full colour and 8 in red spot colour. The centre pages of the early issues featured The Twitz of the Ritz drawn by Bill Ritchie...
Another strip drawn by Ken Harrison was Jimmy Jinx and what he thinks, featuring a boy struggling with his conscience...
On the back page was Calamity Kate, drawn by George Martin, a master of visual slapstick...
I was 13 when it was launched so I was a bit too old for Buzz but I'm sure it had its followers who enjoyed it. The comic is barely mentioned these days and I suspect some collectors have never heard of it. If you have any thoughts about Buzz, leave a comment below...
The Topper had a very long run, from 1953 to 1990, then was relaunched as The Beezer and Topper from 1990 to 1993. For most of its original run, The Topper was a large format, A3 sized comic, unmissable on the stands.
Here's a few pages from issue No.491, that was on sale this week in 1962. The Mickey the Monkey cover strip is by Dudley Watkins, albeit in quite a loose style for him. (Understandable, considering he was drawing at least half a dozen regular pages a week at this stage.)
In her usual position on page two was Beryl the Peril, drawn by Davy Law. The last panel may seem alarming to modern sensibilities but many strips ended with the child being beaten in those days. The humour came from the inventiveness of the deed but it happened so regularly it sometimes felt like a lazy solution to a story.
The Topper only had 12 pages a week in these (relatively) early issues. (It increased to 16 in 1964.) In the centrespread of this edition was the second chapter of the adventure serial The Last Warriors, drawn by Ron Smith. Stunningly detailed artwork...
One of the comic's most popular strips was Send For Kelly, drawn by the brilliant George Martin. Secret Agents were in vogue in the 1960s and this series was not only a great spoof of the genre but a superb strip in its own right.
For many years, The Topper ran Ernie Bushmiller's Nancy strip in its pages, reprinting the American newspaper strip. In 1962 it was also featuring another U.S. strip from the Sunday papers; The Katzenjammer Kids, renamed The Bustem Boys for British readers...
On the back page of this issue, Dudley Watkins' glorious adaptation of Treasure Island, - but this too was a reprint, as it had previously appeared in The Topper in 1953... and before that in The People's Journal in 1949... as well as being collected in book form in 1950 and 1959. A popular strip! (Source of that info: Topper Tales by Ray Moore.)
The Topper was a great comic, and a favourite of mine in the late sixties. Long gone now, but still fondly remembered by many.
