This issue is from Christmas 1965 and features 16 pages for 7d. Relatively poor value you might think, but Robin had top-quality photogravure printing (like Eagle and TV Century 21) and four of its pages in glorious colour. The cover strip featured Andy Pandy, who was still hugely popular in 1965 even though his Watch With Mother TV series was a repeat from the 1950s.
Inside, the brilliant Basil Reynolds, who had illustrated strips for Mickey Mouse Weekly nearly 30 years earlier, was still producing work of the highest quality on The Adventures of Bizzy Beaver. Take note also of the little cartoon running across the bottom of all these interior pages. They show a train picking up characters from each strip, adding more passengers as the comic progresses.
A few pages on, and in the centre pages it's The Funny Adventures of Nutty Noodle. The artwork in Robin is excellent throughout. It was considered paramount that nursery comics should use the best artists as they required illustrators who could tell a story clearly for the benefit of young readers who were naturally discovering something new about the world every day. No artistic shortcuts or awkward layouts were wanted, as that might confuse them.
The Runaway Princess is a great example of John M. Burns' earlier work. Again, top quality work, and John is still working in the business today, - back on 2000AD this week in fact!
The little mini-cartoons at the bottom of the pages reach their destination on the back page, with an excellent full size illustration. I'm not sure of the artist; Basil Reynolds again perhaps, or someone following his style?
I hope you're enjoying these vintage Christmas comics. Post your thoughts in the comments section below. I'll be back with another festive flashback tomorrow.
