Doctor Who Magazine No.529 preview

The polybag to look out for.

There's a new issue of Doctor Who Magazine in the shops this Thursday (23rd August) and it comes polybagged with a free massive A1 sized double-sided poster of the new Doctor. 

Cover of the magazine itself.

Contents of this 84 page issue have features on the upcoming new series, including an exclusive article by new co-stars Mandip Gill and Tosin Cole on their trip to San Diego Comic Con. 

There are also many other features including interviews and reviews, and of course the regular comic strips. The Clockwise War by Scott Gray, John Ross, and James Offredi reaches part six, and my Daft Dimension focuses on the Daleks!

Don't miss Doctor Who Magazine No.529 this Thursday! Still only £5.99

Minnie the Minx celebrates 65 years

She's the wildest pensioner around, and Minnie the Minx shows no sign of retiring yet! To celebrate 65 years since Minnie first appeared in the Beano, publishers D.C. Thomson are soon to unleash a 68 page bookazine celebrating the strip. Expect to see reprints by Leo Baxendale, Jim Petrie, Ken Harrison, Paul Palmer, Nigel Parkinson and special features on the strip's history!

Here's the official info...

Celebrate 65 years of Minnie the Minx with our 68 page special! We cover everything from the story of her creation in 1953, to the artists who have illustrated her adventures, and finally to her rise to Beano cover star today! With behind the scenes secrets and specially selected reprints from the archive, this is the definitive story of the world's most famous Minx!

You can pre-order it directly from the company now!
https://www.dcthomsonshop.co.uk/minnie-65-years-of-minxing

Cover of Comic Scene No.2 revealed

The publishers of Comic Scene have just revealed the cover to issue 2, on sale next month. This one spotlights The Beano on its 80th anniversary and there are also many other features on humour comics. I was interviewed on my Doctor Who Magazine work for this one. 

You can pre-order it now from their website:
https://comicscene.tictail.com 

Pow! The Esper Commandos return

Rebellion's The Vigilant comic brings back many old characters from the 1970s but the most obscure revival must be The Esper Commandos who make a brief cameo appearance halfway through the story. (See above.)

The Esper Commandos have only ever appeared once before, in Pow! Annual 1971, published in Autumn 1970. This 9 page story drawn by Enric Badia Romero introduced us to a team with super powers. The strip appeared alongside several other British superhero stories in the annual, - but none were ever seen again. 

Rebellion don't own anything from the weekly Pow! comic which ended in 1968, but as the characters in this annual first appeared after January 1970 it appears that they do own the strips from that book. A very interesting development! Does this mean we could soon see the return of Magno, Marksman, and even Norstad, Ruler of the Deep? (It would also be nice to see a reprint of this entire annual for those who don't have it, although I'm guessing it'd have to be renamed as the Pow! title isn't Rebellion's.) 

Time will tell!

Check out The Vigilant No.1, on sale in newsagents and comic shops right now! 

For more info on Pow! Annual 1971, see my old post here:
https://lewstringer.blogspot.com/2010/12/annuals-of-christmas-1970.html                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

Summer's here, and so is the Beano Christmas Special!

Usually published in October in time for the Christmas gift market, this year's Beano Christmas Special is actually on sale now, in mid-August! You'll find it in WH Smith where it should be alongside the latest weekly (not instead of the weekly, as was the case in my local branch. Sigh.). 

The 68 page bookazine is of course packed with seasonal fun, - that's the festive season, not the current summer season. All-new material including a long story featuring Dennis and Gnasher drawn by Nigel Parkinson set in Victorian Beanotown. 

There's also Christmas stories for The Bash Street Kids, Rubi's Screwtop Science, Bananaman, Minnie the Minx, Calamity James, and more. (Nothing in there by me I'm afraid, before you ask.)

There's also lots of activity pages plus an A4 insert of 23 free stickers.

Just to clear up some confusion from some quarters; this is not the annual, nor does it replace the annual. The regular Beano Annual will be in the shops next month (and is already available to buy online).

...and of course the regular weekly Beano is also still running. The latest issue of which came out today. Here's the cover to look out for... 

Beano Christmas Special 2018 - £4.99

Beano No.3948 - £2.75