The Christmas TAMMY (1971)

Tammy was launched in early 1971 so this was its first Christmas issue. The comic was the first of a new style of IPC comics that were more streetwise, and more likely to feature working class heroes. Its success led to comics such as Action, Battle, and 2000AD. Although where those three comics usually focused on action and gritty conflict, Tammy was more about the emotional punch, and it certainly delivered, especially in its early days. More about Tammy next week, if I have time.

This Christmas issue didn't feature a lot of festive material, so I'll just focus on the pages that did. The cover was by John Armstrong, featuring his Beattie Brown character from the serial Beattie Beats 'Em All. 

The sole humour strip Lulu had a nice clean style to its artwork. Does anyone know who illustrated it? It looks like Colin Wyatt's work to me...

The serial No Tears For Molly was a very popular series that ran for years. I understand it was written by Maureen Spurgeon and drawn by Tony Thewenetti according to the Jinty blog. You'll see what I mean about the comic playing on the emotions. The stories often featured heroic resilience against cruel, even sadistic, adults. Real gripping stuff...

...and on the back page, here's an outfit you can make for Christmas. Party like it's 1971! 

There'll be another dip into the time stream to pull out another Christmas classic soon!

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John Armstrong

News has been announced this evening by Rebellion Publishing that the artist John Armstrong has passed away. 

Known mainly for his work illustrating the long-running Bella serial for Tammy in the 1970s and early '80s, John had also worked on Girls' Crystal in the early 1960s where he drew a serial called Cherry and the Children. 

Another memorable strip was the supernatural thriller Moonchild, which John illustrated for Misty in 1978. He later drew a Grange Hill strip for Beeb magazine. 

John Armstrong's delicate brush strokes, combined with a realistic style for expressions and figure work, made him a perfect artist for girls' comics, where characterisation was paramount for readers to relate to the stories. 

Only a few months ago, Rebellion released Bella at the Bar Volume 1, collecting the earliest Bella strips that John had illustrated. The book was warmly welcomed by fans of the character and, hopefully, by a new generation of readers.  

My condolences to Mr.Armstrong's family and friends for their loss. 

Preview: BELLA AT THE BAR Vol.1

July's release from The Treasury of British Comics will be Bella at the Bar Volume 1, a collection of the first year of Bella stories that first appeared in Tammy weekly from 1974 to 1975. (There's also a back up strip reprinting a Bella story, That Barlow Kid, from a Tammy Annual.) A favourite amongst many collectors who read it at the time, this softback book is sure to be a winner. 

Here's the PR from Rebellion, along with a preview of the first episode...

• CREATIVE TEAM: Jenny McDade (w) John Armstrong (a)
• REGIONS: worldwide & digital
• RELEASE DATE: 12th July 2018
• PAPERBACK, 114 pages
• PRICE: £10.99 (UK)
• ISBN: 9781781086254
• DIAMOND: MAY183143

Bella’s gymtastic adventure begins here! Bella Barlow is a young orphan with ambitions to be a world class gymnastic. She has the talent, but is hampered by her cruel Uncle Jed and Aunt Gert who constantly exploit her for their own selfish gains. While out cleaning windows for her uncle’s business, Bella comes across an exclusive school with a great gymnastics programme. A kind teacher named Miss Mortimer would happily accept her, but the young athlete faces great opposition from her guardians and the horrible snobbery of the school’s headmistress.

Available in print from: book stores, Amazon, and comic book stores via Diamond Available in digital from: 2000 AD webshop, 2000 AD iPad app, 2000 AD Android app, 2000 AD Windows 10 app

Available to pre-order now directly from the publishers:
https://treasuryofbritishcomics.com/catalogue/RCA-G0005

This week in 1962: GIRLS' CRYSTAL

I've rarely featured girls' comics on this blog, mainly because I naturally didn't read them as a boy so I knew very little about them. However, over the years I've learnt that most of them did contain some great artwork and they're certainly on a par with any boys' comic. Different in story tone, with an emphasis more on character and emotional tension rather than action and violence, but equally as entertaining for their intended audience. 

Let's start rectifying things a bit with a look at an issue of Girls' Crystal that was published 52 years ago this week. Running for ten years from 1953 to 1963, Girls' Crystal was published by The Amalgamated Press, which by this time had become Fleetway Publications.

Comic historian Steve Holland tells me that the cover strip of this issue Tessa - She's a Tomboy, was drawn by Cecil Orr. A very nice lighthearted style, ideal for it. Incidentally, pogo-sticks and hula-hoops were indeed very popular in the early sixties. I remember the older local kids playing with them in the street. 

The 20 page comic carried a mixture of comic strips and prose stories, plus a page spotlighting the latest schoolgirl crush (in this case, Troy Donahue). This issue also carried an ad for the latest Princess pocket libraries...

Inevitably, there was a strip about nursing, a noble profession for anyone but very much encouraged for girls at the time. I Want to be a Nurse has some good line work but I'm not sure who illustrated it. (Update thanks to David Roach: The art was by someone named Ann Simmons or G. Simmons.)

Cherry and the Children was illustrated by John Armstrong, years before he drew the popular Bella strip in Tammy of course.

Only one humour strip in the comic; Little Angel. Again, I don't know who the artist was but it's a good, crisp style.

Ghost Village has a great spooky and atmospheric feel to it. Illustrated by Tom Kerr who, as most of you will know, drew many strips for various Fleetway boys' comics.

As with boys' British comics of the time, girls' titles of 50 years ago were aimed at a slightly older reader than they are today. Tastes and society have changed and it's unlikely girls of 8 to 13 years old would be interested in anything like Girls' Crystal now. Having said that, Manga was very popular with that age group a few years ago so there's always hope. Perhaps a modern version might work, but the expense of launching such a new title is a risk that most publishers would not dare venture into. It seems it's far safer now to launch a comic on the back of a brand (such as the new Lego Friends girls' comic) and aim it at the very young. 

The Blimey! Christmas Selection

  
Like a variety tin of biscuits, here's a bumper selection of Christmas stories from over the years, starting above with Dudley Watkins' cover to The Christmas Beano for 1967. 

Next, also from 1967, Kicks has a bit of bother writing a letter to Santa. (Pow! No.50, 30th December 1967.) Art by Graham Allen.

Heading further back in time, here's Tilly of the Tea Shop dealing with an amorous waiter from Comic Cuts No.2.380 (December 28th 1935).

A nice festive centrespread for Basil Brush, with art by Chas Sinclair, from TV Comic No.993 (26th December 1970)...

Time for adventure with The Black Sapper from The Beezer No.258 (December 24th 1960). Art by Jack Glass...

Over to a popular comic for girls and Bella doing a good Christmas deed from Tammy in 1980. Art by John Armstrong...

Leo Baxendale's Clever Dick teaches his cousin Basil a lesson in this page from Buster and Jet, 25th December 1971...

Back to 1953 with Abbott and Costello from Film Fun No.1,771. Artwork by Walter Bell.

 
Fuss Pot kicks up a fuss as usual from Knockout 25th December 1971. Art by Norman Mainsbridge...

From Lion dated 29th December 1973, Adam Eterno brings festive respite to No Man's Land. Art by Solano Lopez...

The Sparky People meet Puss and Boots in this back page strip from Sparky No.258 (December 27th 1969). Art by John Geering...

It's Tom Thug's second Christmas in this strip from Oink! in 1987 drawn by me.

Also from that same issue of Oink! it's Regurgitating Robbie by Charlie Brooker (yes, him who's now a telly star). Underneath is a Snowman mini-strip by Davy Francis...

Which brings us back to that issue of The Beano seen at the top of this post. Here's the back page from that 1967 Christmas issue with Dennis the Menace in his pre-Gnasher days, drawn by Davey Law...

I hope that gives you plenty of yuletide reading over the holidays. All that remains is for me to wish you all a Merry Christmas! More blogging soon.