One of the most fondly remembered covers for a D.C. Thomson humour comic, this Christmas 1970 issue of Sparky eschewed the usual Barney Bulldog strip to present this cosy festive scene with all the characters carol singing. The artwork was by Vic Neill, the Peter Piper artist of the time. (Peter being the one writing the message in the snow with his pipes.)
There were plenty of Christmas strips inside this 24 page issue. I-Spy didn't have a festive theme but I know so many of you liked this strip (as did I) that it'd be remiss of me to avoid it. Brilliant comedy-adventure material of the type we should see more of in British comics. Artwork by Brian Walker.
Mr.Bubbles was a strip I never really cared for. It seemed too young, even when I was 11, but in retrospect this is a nicely told Christmas tale. I think the artist was Pamela Chapeau at this stage but I'm not too familiar with her work. Can anyone confirm this?
The Sparky People was the comic's brilliant sit-com set in the Sparky office. Although the staff were fictionalised it was an enjoyable strip about the behind-the-scenes antics. Art by Jim Petrie.
L-Cars (the name a spoof on TV's Z-Cars) was another great Sparky strip. The thing about Sparky was that it had its own identity and style of humour. When the Odhams comics ended, I jumped to Sparky as one of the closest equivalents. A genuinely funny comic, and L-Cars was one of its best strips. Art by Bill Hill...
The back page featured Puss and Boots by John Geering. Full of comic violence and frantic situations, it became one of the most popular strips in the comic.
We're nearing ever closer to Christmas, but look out for another festive flashback on this blog on Christmas Eve!
Incidentally, the issue of The Beano that came out that same week in 1970 featured a cover that complimented the Sparky one, with its characters carol singing too. You can see my blog post about it from last year here:
https://lewstringer.blogspot.co.uk/2016/12/christmas-comics-beano-1970.html
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.
Sparky No.466, dated 22nd December 1973 kicked off with a marvelous wraparound cover drawn by Bill Ritchie.
Turn the page, and there's The Sparky People, a great strip set in the Sparky office. (Although as far as I know, none of the characters were based on actual people.) Art by Jim Petrie...
Sparky had its own distinct style, often wittier and more modern than The Dandy and The Beano at the time. Here's the Christmas episode of the popular L Cars with art by Bill Hill...
Snip and Snap had a very distinct art style that I liked. It was drawn by Mike Green, who later went on to do Weedy Willy for Oink!...
Ali's Baba made good use of spot colour by having the guardian angel Ali only appear in red line. Art by Malcolm Judge...
By 1973 Puss an' Boots had proven so popular with the readers that they now occupied the full colour centre pages. Not bad for a strip that began as a half pager in black and white. Artwork by the excellent John Geering...
Dreamy Daniel was about a boy with a vivid imagination, very much a forerunner to Les Pretend from The Beano. Art by Gordon Bell...
Where will the Blimey-Timey Time Machine land next? Find out soon!
