A British comic is a periodical published in the United Kingdom that contains
comic strip
A comic strip is a sequence of drawings, often cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions. Traditionally, throughout the 20th and into the 21st ...
s. It is generally referred to as a comic or a comic magazine, and historically as a comic paper.
British comics are usually
comics anthologies
A comics anthology collects works in the medium of comics, typically from multiple series, and compiles them into an anthology or magazine. The comics in these anthologies range from comic strips that are too short for standalone publication to co ...
which are typically aimed at children, and are published weekly, although some are also published on a fortnightly or monthly schedule. The two most popular British
comic
a Media (communication), medium used to express ideas with images, often combined with text or other visual information. It typically the form of a sequence of Panel (comics), panels of images. Textual devices such as speech balloons, Glo ...
s, ''
The Beano'' and ''
The Dandy'', were released by
DC Thomson in the 1930s. By 1950 the weekly circulation of both reached two million.
[Armstrong, Stephen]
"Was Pixar's Inside Out inspired by The Beano?"
''The Telegraph''. 27 July 2015 Explaining the enormous popularity of comics in
British popular culture
British culture is influenced by the combined nations' history; its historically Christian religious life, its interaction with the cultures of Europe, the traditions of England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland and the impact of the British Empir ...
during this period, Anita O’Brien, director curator at London's
Cartoon Museum
A cartoon is a type of visual art that is typically drawn, frequently animated, in an unrealistic or semi-realistic style. The specific meaning has evolved over time, but the modern usage usually refers to either: an image or series of images ...
, states: "When comics like ''The Beano'' and ''Dandy'' were invented back in the 1930s – and through really to the 1950s and 60s – these comics were almost the only entertainment available to children."
In 1954, ''
Tiger
The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is the largest living cat species and a member of the genus '' Panthera''. It is most recognisable for its dark vertical stripes on orange fur with a white underside. An apex predator, it primarily preys on u ...
'' comics introduced ''
Roy of the Rovers'', the hugely popular football based strip recounting the life of
Roy Race
''Roy of the Rovers'' is a British comic strip about the life and times of a fictional footballer and later manager named Roy Race, who played for Melchester Rovers. The strip first appeared in the ''Tiger'' in 1954, before giving its name to ...
and the team he played for,
Melchester Rovers
''Roy of the Rovers'' is a British comic strip about the life and times of a fictional footballer and later manager named Roy Race, who played for Melchester Rovers. The strip first appeared in the ''Tiger'' in 1954, before giving its name to a ...
. The stock media phrase "real 'Roy of the Rovers' stuff" is often used by football writers, commentators and fans when describing displays of great skill, or surprising results that go against the odds, in reference to the dramatic storylines that were the strip's trademark. Other comics such as ''
Eagle
Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just ...
'', ''
Valiant
Valiant may refer to:
People
* James Valiant (1884–1917), English cricketer
* The Valiant Brothers, a professional wrestling tag team of storyline brothers
** Jerry Valiant, a ring name of professional wrestler John Hill (1941-2010)
** Jimmy ...
'', ''
Warrior
A warrior is a person specializing in combat or warfare, especially within the context of a tribal or clan-based warrior culture society that recognizes a separate warrior aristocracies, class, or caste.
History
Warriors seem to have been p ...
'', ''
Viz'' and ''
2000 AD'' also flourished. Some comics, such as ''
Judge Dredd'' and other ''2000 AD'' titles, have been published in a
tabloid
Tabloid may refer to:
* Tabloid journalism, a type of journalism
* Tabloid (newspaper format), a newspaper with compact page size
** Chinese tabloid
* Tabloid (paper size), a North American paper size
* Sopwith Tabloid, a biplane aircraft
* ''Ta ...
form. Underground comics and
"small press" titles have also appeared in the UK, notably ''
Oz'' and ''
Escape Magazine''. While the best selling comics in the UK have been British,
American comic book
An American comic book is a thin periodical originating in the United States, on average 32 pages, containing comics. While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publication of ''Action Comics'' ...
s and Japanese
manga
Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...
are popular in the UK.
Overview
The description ''comics'' derived from the names of popular titles such as ''
Comic Cuts
''Comic Cuts'' was a British comic magazine. It was published from 1890 to 1953, lasting for 3006 issues. It was created by the reporter Alfred Harmsworth through his company Amalgamated Press (AP). In its early days, it inspired other publishe ...
'', and from the fact that in the beginning all the titles presented only comical (i.e. humorous) content.
British comics typically differ from the
American comic book
An American comic book is a thin periodical originating in the United States, on average 32 pages, containing comics. While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publication of ''Action Comics'' ...
. Although historically they shared the same format size, based on a sheet of 30 x 22 inch
imperial paper, folded, British comics have moved away from this size, adopting a standard magazine size. Until that point, the British comic was also usually printed on newsprint, with black or a dark red used as the dark colour and the four colour process used on the cover. ''The Beano'' and ''The Dandy'' both switched to an all-colour format in 1993.
Originally aimed at the semi-literate working class (in that it replaced the text-based stories of the
story papers
A story paper is a periodical publication similar to a literary magazine, but featuring illustrations and text stories, and aimed towards children and teenagers. Also known in Britain as "boys' weeklies", story papers were phenomenally popular ...
with picture-based stories, which were less challenging for a poorly educated readership), the comic gradually came to be seen as childish (in part because, due to gradual improvements in public education, children were eventually the only remaining market for a format designed to be unchallenging for the reader). Hence by the mid 20th Century it was being marketed exclusively towards children.
Historically, strips were of one or two pages in length, with a single issue of a comic containing upwards of a dozen separate strips, featuring different characters. In more recent times, strips have become longer and have tended to continue over a number of issues and periods of time.
Whilst some comics contained only strips, other publications such as ''
Jackie'' have had a slightly different focus, providing their girl readers with articles about, and photographs of,
pop stars and
television
Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...
/
film
A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...
actors, plus more general articles about teenage life, whilst throwing in a few comic strips for good measure. For boys there were, historically, similar publications based upon soccer, such as ''
Shoot!'', which featured non-fiction picture articles about popular footballers, league clubs, and general football news, accompanied by a limited range of football-based comic strips.
In British comics history, there are some extremely long-running publications such as ''
The Beano'' and ''
The Dandy'' published by
D. C. Thomson & Co., a newspaper company based in
Dundee
Dundee (; sco, Dundee; gd, Dùn Dè or ) is Scotland's fourth-largest city and the 51st-most-populous built-up area in the United Kingdom. The mid-year population estimate for 2016 was , giving Dundee a population density of 2,478/km2 or ...
, Scotland. ''The Dandy'' began in 1937 and ''The Beano'' in 1938. ''The Beano'' is still going today while ''The Dandy'' ceased print publication in 2012. The ''
Boys' Own Paper
''The Boy's Own Paper'' was a British story paper aimed at young and teenage boys, published from 1879 to 1967.
Publishing history
The idea for the publication was first raised in 1878 by the Religious Tract Society, as a means to encourage yo ...
'', another long-running publication which was aimed at boys in a slightly older age group, lasted from 1879 to 1967.
There has been a continuous tradition, since the 1950s, of black and white comics, published in a smaller page size format, many of them war titles such as ''
Air Ace
A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft during aerial combat. The exact number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ace is varied, but is usually co ...
'', inspiring youngsters with tales of the exploits of the
army
An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...
,
navy
A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and ...
and
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...
, mainly in the two
world war
A world war is an international conflict which involves all or most of the world's major powers. Conventionally, the term is reserved for two major international conflicts that occurred during the first half of the 20th century, World WarI (1914 ...
s. There have also been some
romance titles and some
westerns in this format.
On 19 March 2012, the British postal service, the
Royal Mail
, kw, Postya Riel, ga, An Post Ríoga
, logo = Royal Mail.svg
, logo_size = 250px
, type = Public limited company
, traded_as =
, foundation =
, founder = Henry VIII
, location = London, England, UK
, key_people = * Keith Williams ...
, released a set of stamps depicting characters and series from British comics. The collection featured ''
The Beano,
The Dandy,
Eagle
Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just ...
,
The Topper,
Roy of the Rovers,
Bunty,
Buster
Buster may refer to:
People First name
*Buster Drayton (born 1952), American boxer
*Buster Glosson, retired U.S. Air Force lieutenant general
*Buster Mathis (1943–1995), American heavyweight boxer
*Buster Mathis Jr. (born 1970), American heavyw ...
,
Valiant
Valiant may refer to:
People
* James Valiant (1884–1917), English cricketer
* The Valiant Brothers, a professional wrestling tag team of storyline brothers
** Jerry Valiant, a ring name of professional wrestler John Hill (1941-2010)
** Jimmy ...
,
Twinkle
Twinkle may refer to:
* Twinkling, the variation of brightness of distant objects
People
* Twinkle (singer) (1948–2015), born Lynn Annette Ripley, English singer-songwriter
* Twinkle Khanna, Indian movie actress
* Twinkle Bajpai, female conte ...
'' and ''
2000 AD''.
History
19th century
In the 19th century, story papers (containing illustrated text stories), known as "
penny dreadfuls" from their cover price, served as entertainment for British children. Full of close-printed text with few illustrations, they were essentially no different from a book, except that they were somewhat shorter and that typically the story was serialised over many weekly issues in order to maintain sales.
These serial stories could run to hundreds of instalments if they were popular. And to pad out a successful series, writers would insert quite extraneous material such as the geography of the country in which the action was occurring, so that the story would extend into more issues. Plagiarism was rife, with magazines profiting from competitors' successes under a few cosmetic name changes. Apart from action and historical stories, there was also a fashion for horror and the supernatural, with epics like ''Varney the Vampire'' running for years. Horror, in particular, contributed to the epithet "penny dreadful". Stories featuring criminals such as 'Spring-Heeled Jack', pirates, highwaymen (especially Dick Turpin), and detectives (including Sexton Blake) dominated decades of the Victorian and early 20th-century weeklies.
Comic strips—stories told primarily in strip cartoon form, rather than as a written narrative with illustrations—emerged only slowly. Scottish-born newspaper proprietor
James Henderson began publishing ''
Funny Folks
''Funny Folks'' was a British periodical published between 1874 and 1894. It was published in London by Scottish newspaper proprietor James Henderson. It has been called "the first English 'comic' paper", and "the model for all later British comi ...
'' in 1874. Writer
Denis Gifford considered ''Funny Folks'' to be the first British
comic
a Media (communication), medium used to express ideas with images, often combined with text or other visual information. It typically the form of a sequence of Panel (comics), panels of images. Textual devices such as speech balloons, Glo ...
,
[ James Chapman, ''British Comics: A Cultural History'', Reaktion Books, 2011, p.]
/ref> though at first it tackled topical and political subjects along the same lines as ''Punch
Punch commonly refers to:
* Punch (combat), a strike made using the hand closed into a fist
* Punch (drink), a wide assortment of drinks, non-alcoholic or alcoholic, generally containing fruit or fruit juice
Punch may also refer to:
Places
* Pun ...
''. The magazine was heavily illustrated, with cartoons by John Proctor, known as Puck, among others,[ John Adcock, "Funny Folks", ''Yesterday's Papers'', 29 September 2009]
Retrieved 22 November 2020 and benefitted from innovations in the use of cheap paper and photographic printing.
Retrieved 22 November 2020 ''Ally Sloper's Half Holiday
''Ally Sloper's Half Holiday'' was a British comics magazine, first published on 3 May 1884. It is regarded to be the first comic strip magazine to feature a recurring character. Star Ally Sloper, a blustery, lazy schemer often found "sloping" th ...
'' (1884) is regarded as the first comic strip magazine to feature a recurring character (Ally Sloper). This strip cost one penny and was designed for adults. Ally, the recurring character, was a working-class fellow who got up to various forms of mischief and often suffered for it.
In 1890 two more comic magazines debuted before the British public, ''Comic Cuts'' and ''Illustrated Chips'', both published by Amalgamated Press. These magazines notoriously reprinted British and American material, previously published in newspapers and magazines, without permission. The success of these comics was such that Amalgamated's owner, Alfred Harmsworth, was able to launch the ''Daily Mirror
The ''Daily Mirror'' is a British national daily tabloid. Founded in 1903, it is owned by parent company Reach plc. From 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the title on its masthead was simply ''The Mirror''. It had an average daily print ...
'' and the ''Daily Mail
The ''Daily Mail'' is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper and news websitePeter Wilb"Paul Dacre of the Daily Mail: The man who hates liberal Britain", ''New Statesman'', 19 December 2013 (online version: 2 January 2014) publish ...
'' newspapers on the profits.
Comics were also published as accompaniments to women's magazines at the end of the century. ''Jungle Jinks,'' which held the honor of being the longest running British comic until 1954, first appeared in 1898 as a supplement to ''Home Chat;'' drawn by Mabel F. Taylor
Mabel Francis Taylor (1866 in Kingswood – 1947 in Surrey; also M. F. Taylor) was an English cartoonist most well known for illustrating the comic strip "Jungle Jinks," which was the longest-running British comic series until 1954.
Biography
...
, it was the first anthropomorphic animal British comic.
20th century
Over the next thirty years or so, comic publishers saw the juvenile market as the most profitable, and thus geared their publications accordingly, so that by 1914 most comics were standalone booklets aimed at eight- to twelve-year-olds.
The interwar period
In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days), the end of the World War I, First World War to the beginning of the World War II, Second World War. The in ...
is notable mainly for the publication of annuals by Eagle Press, and also the emergence of D. C. Thomson & Co. Ltd. D. C. Thomson launched both '' The Beano'' and '' The Dandy'' in the late 1930s, which thrived during the Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. Their successful mix of irreverence and slapstick led to many similar titles, notably ''Buster
Buster may refer to:
People First name
*Buster Drayton (born 1952), American boxer
*Buster Glosson, retired U.S. Air Force lieutenant general
*Buster Mathis (1943–1995), American heavyweight boxer
*Buster Mathis Jr. (born 1970), American heavyw ...
'', '' Topper'' and '' Beezer''. However the originators of this format have outlasted all rivals, and ''The Beano'' is still published today.
In the early 1950s, "lurid American 'crime' and 'horror comics' reached Britain", prompting what in retrospect has been characterised as a moral panic
A moral panic is a widespread feeling of fear, often an irrational one, that some evil person or thing threatens the values, interests, or well-being of a community or society. It is "the process of arousing social concern over an issue", usua ...
. Copies of ''Tales from the Crypt
Tales from the Crypt may refer to:
* ''Tales from the Crypt'' (album), by American rapper C-Bo
* ''Tales from the Crypt'' (comics), published by EC Comics during the 1950s
** ''Tales from the Crypt'' (film), a 1972 Amicus film starring Ralph Ric ...
'' and '' The Vault of Horror'', which arrived as ballast in ships from the United States, were first only available in the "environs of the great ports of Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
, Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
, Belfast
Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...
and London", but by "using blocks made from imported American matrices", British versions of ''Tales from the Crypt'' and ''The Vault of Horror'' were printed in London and Leicester
Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands.
The city l ...
(by companies like Arnold Book Company
Arnold Book Company (ABC) was a British publisher of comic books that operated in the late 1940s and 1950s, most actively from 1950 to 1954. ABC published original titles like the war comic ''Ace Malloy of the Special Squadron'' and the science ...
) and sold in "small back-street newsagents." The ensuing outcry was heard in Parliament
In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
, and at the urging of the Most Reverend Geoffrey Fisher
Geoffrey Francis Fisher, Baron Fisher of Lambeth, (5 May 1887 – 15 September 1972) was an English Anglican priest, and 99th Archbishop of Canterbury, serving from 1945 to 1961.
From a long line of parish priests, Fisher was educated at Marlb ...
, the Archbishop of Canterbury
The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. The current archbishop is Justi ...
, Major Gwilym Lloyd George
Gwilym Lloyd George, 1st Viscount Tenby, (4 December 1894 – 14 February 1967) was a Welsh politician and cabinet minister. The younger son of David Lloyd George, he served as Home Secretary from 1954 to 1957.
Background, education and milit ...
, the Home Secretary
The secretary of state for the Home Department, otherwise known as the home secretary, is a senior minister of the Crown in the Government of the United Kingdom. The home secretary leads the Home Office, and is responsible for all national ...
and Minister of Welsh Affairs, and the National Union of Teachers, Parliament passed the Children and Young Persons (Harmful Publications) Act 1955
The Children and Young Persons (Harmful Publications) Act 1955 (c.28) is an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom Parliament that prohibited comics that were thought to be harmful to children. The Act was introduced by the Home Secretary, Gwil ...
. The act prohibited "any book, magazine or other like work which is of a kind likely to fall into the hands of children or young persons and consists wholly or mainly of stories told in pictures (with or without the addition of written matter), being stories portraying (a) the commission of crimes; or (b) acts of violence or cruelty; or (c) incidents of a repulsive or horrible nature; in such a way that the work as a whole would tend to corrupt a child or young person into whose hands it might fall." Although the act had a sunset clause, in 1969 the Act was made permanent, and continues to be in force today, represented, for example, in the Royal Mail
, kw, Postya Riel, ga, An Post Ríoga
, logo = Royal Mail.svg
, logo_size = 250px
, type = Public limited company
, traded_as =
, foundation =
, founder = Henry VIII
, location = London, England, UK
, key_people = * Keith Williams ...
prohibition against mailing horror comics and the matrices used to print them.
During the 1950s and 1960s, the most popular comic for older age-group boys was ''Eagle
Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just ...
'' published by Hulton Press. ''Eagle'' was published in a more expensive format, and was a gravure-printed weekly. This format was used originally by '' Mickey Mouse Weekly'' during the 1930s. ''Eagle'''s success saw a number of comics launched in a similar format — '' TV Century 21'', '' Look and Learn'' and '' TV Comic'' being notable examples. Comics published in this format were known in the trade as "slicks." At the end of the 1960s, these comics moved away from gravure printing, preferring offset litho
Offset printing is a common printing technique in which the inked image is transferred (or "offset") from a plate to a rubber blanket and then to the printing surface. When used in combination with the lithographic process, which is based on ...
due to cost considerations arising from decreasing readership.
However, the boys' adventure comic was still popular, and titles such as ''Valiant
Valiant may refer to:
People
* James Valiant (1884–1917), English cricketer
* The Valiant Brothers, a professional wrestling tag team of storyline brothers
** Jerry Valiant, a ring name of professional wrestler John Hill (1941-2010)
** Jimmy ...
'' and ''Tiger
The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is the largest living cat species and a member of the genus '' Panthera''. It is most recognisable for its dark vertical stripes on orange fur with a white underside. An apex predator, it primarily preys on u ...
'', published by IPC Magazines, saw new adventure heroes become stars, including '' Roy of the Rovers'' who would eventually gain his own title. Odhams Press was a company that mainly printed (adventure-oriented) new material; it also reprinted American Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...
material in its Power Comics
Power Comics was an imprint (trade name), imprint of the British comics publisher Odhams Press (itself a division of IPC Magazines) that was particularly notable for its use of material reprinted from American Marvel Comics. Appearing chiefly du ...
line, which included the titles '' Smash!'' and ''Fantastic
The fantastic (french: le fantastique) is a subgenre of literary works characterized by the ambiguous presentation of seemingly supernatural forces.
Bulgarian-French structuralist literary critic Tzvetan Todorov originated the concept, characte ...
''.
By 1970 the British comics market was in a long-term decline, as comics lost popularity in the face of the rise of other popular pastimes for children. Initially, the challenge was the rising popularity of television
Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...
, a trend which the introduction of colour television to Britain during 1969 set in stone. In an effort to counter the trend, many publishers switched the focus of their comics to television-related characters. The television shows of Gerry Anderson, such as '' Thunderbirds'' and '' Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons'', had begun this in the mid-1960s with the launch of tie-in comics such as '' TV Century 21'' and ''Lady Penelope
Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward is a fictional character introduced in the British 1960s Supermarionation television series '' Thunderbirds'', which was produced by AP Films (APF) for ITC Entertainment. The character also appears in the film seque ...
'', which included strips related to Anderson's TV shows (as well as other popular programs of the era). Polystyle Publications
Polystyle Publications Ltd was a British publisher of Children's literature, children's comics and books that operated from 1960 to 1997, publishing such titles as ''TV Comic'', ''I-Spy'', ''Pippin (comics), Pippin'', ''Countdown (Polystyle Publi ...
already published a TV-related comic for young children called '' TV Comic'', and in 1971 moved into the older market with ''Countdown
A countdown is a sequence of backward counting to indicate the time remaining before an event is scheduled to occur. NASA commonly employs the terms "L-minus" and "T-minus" during the preparation for and anticipation of a rocket launch, and eve ...
'' (later retitled ''TV Action''). The teenage market saw ''Look-in
''Look-in'' was a children's magazine centred on ITV's television programmes in the United Kingdom, and subtitled "The Junior ''TVTimes''". It ran from 9 January 1971 to 12 March 1994.association football
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
(a sport as popular as television amongst boys), with titles such as '' Shoot'' and ''Scorcher and Score''. Those comics that didn't compete with the popularity of television began to close down, merging with the few survivors.
In the 1970s very few boys' comics in the "slick" format were launched, although Polystyle's ''Countdown'' was one exception, launching in 1971 with content similar to '' TV21'' (which had disappeared by then) and ''TV Comic''. ''Vulcan
Vulcan may refer to:
Mythology
* Vulcan (mythology), the god of fire, volcanoes, metalworking, and the forge in Roman mythology
Arts, entertainment and media Film and television
* Vulcan (''Star Trek''), name of a fictional race and their home p ...
'', a reprint title, was another, in 1976. Girls' titles which had launched in the slick format in the 1960s continued in that format into the 1970s; and others, such as ''Diana'' and '' Judy'', changed to become slicks. They found themselves in the same market as teenage titles for girls such as '' Boyfriend'' and ''Blue Jeans'', which had changed their content and were featuring mainly product-related articles and photo comics
Photo comics are a form of sequential storytelling that uses photographs rather than illustrations for the images, along with the usual comics conventions of narrative text and word balloons containing dialogue. They are sometimes referred to ...
.
In 1972
Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, me ...
, Marvel set up a publishing arm in the UK, Marvel UK, reprinting American superhero strips. These proved extremely popular, and a range of weekly titles was being published by 1975. So much so that in 1976 the parent company briefly published a minimal amount of new material specifically for the UK market in '' Captain Britain''. The American reprint material proved to be more successful and continued to appear into the 1980s, at which stage Marvel UK also began diversifying into home-produced original material, both UK-originated strips featuring American created characters such as Captain Britain, the Hulk
The Hulk is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in the debut issue of ''The Incredible Hulk (comic book), The Incredible Hulk' ...
and the Black Knight, and wholly original strips like ''Night Raven
Night Raven is a fictional superhero appearing primarily in Marvel UK Comics, a division of Marvel Comics.
Night Raven first appeared in ''Hulk Comic'' #1 (March 7, 1979 in comics, 1979).
Publication history
Originally created by editors Dez Ski ...
''. They also began producing television-based material, initially with '' Doctor Who Weekly'', launched in 1979.
In the late 1960s and into the 1970s, the underground comics
Underground comix are small press or self-published comic books that are often socially relevant or satirical in nature. They differ from mainstream comics in depicting content forbidden to mainstream publications by the Comics Code Authority, ...
movement inspired two new comics in the UK: '' Oz'' and ''Nasty Tales
Nasty may refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media Music
* ''Nasty'' (album), a 1996 album by Cameo
* ''Nasty'' (mixtape), a 2018 mixtape by Rico Nasty
* ''Nasty'', a 1981 album by Ronald Shannon Jackson
* "Nasty" (Bandit Gang Marco song), ...
'' were launched with the underground premise of counter-culture rebellion. ''Oz'' notoriously featured the children's character '' Rupert the Bear'' performing sexual acts.["Sex-crazed Rupert the Bear and other stories... The obscenity trial that brought down ''Oz'' magazine"]
by Mick Brown, ''The Daily Telegraph
''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally.
It was fo ...
'', London, 28 July 2017 Both magazines were tried at the Old Bailey
The Central Criminal Court of England and Wales, commonly referred to as the Old Bailey after the street on which it stands, is a criminal court building in central London, one of several that house the Crown Court of England and Wales. The s ...
under the Obscene Publications Act because of their content. The ''Oz'' defendants were convicted, although the conviction was overturned on appeal. The ''Nasty Tales'' defendants were cautioned. However, both these comics ceased publication soon after their trial, as much due to the social changes at the end of the counter-culture movement as any effect of the court cases. These were always adult magazines, not aimed at the mainstream children's market.
In the mid-1970s, British comics became more action-oriented. The first such title to be launched was ''Warlord
A warlord is a person who exercises military, economic, and political control over a region in a country without a strong national government; largely because of coercive control over the armed forces. Warlords have existed throughout much of h ...
'' in 1974
Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; f ...
. Published by DC Thomson, it proved to be a success, and led to its then-rival, IPC Magazines Ltd, producing ''Battle Picture Weekly
''Battle Picture Weekly'', at various times also known as ''Battle Action'', ''Battle Action Force'', ''Battle'' and ''Battle with Storm Force'', was a British war comic book magazine published by IPC Magazines from (issues dates) 8 March 1975 ...
'', a comic notably grimmer in style than its competitor. ''Battle's'' success led to IPC launching another, similarly styled title, '' Action'', which became a success too but also became controversial, due to its violent content, such as a front cover illustration which appeared to show armed children beating up a helpless police officer. Complaints about its tone eventually led to questions being asked in the House of Commons. As a result, and despite the comics' popularity, IPC decided to drastically tone down the content after 36 issues, and issue 37 was pulped. When it returned to newsstands it was far less violent, which neutered the comic's appeal. The title quickly declined and was merged with ''Battle''.
''Action's'' position as the UK's most popular title was taken over by '' 2000 AD'', a science-fiction comic launched in 1977
Events January
* January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group.
* January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democratic R ...
by IPC. Created as a comic for older boys, it also held appeal for teenage and even adult readers. In the 1960s IPC began to source comic art from Spain, mainly for financial reasons. This trend was continued through to the launch of ''2000 AD''. Carlos Ezquerra is the most notable Spanish artist to have worked in British comics, having worked on both ''Battle'' and ''2000 AD'', and is credited with the creation of the look of Judge Dredd.
''Star Wars Weekly'', published by Marvel UK, launched in 1977, lasted until 1986. In 1982 in comics, 1982 ''Eagle
Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just ...
'' was relaunched, this time including photo comics, but still with ''Dan Dare'' as the lead story. The comic moved it from the front page to the centre pages to allow a more magazine-style cover.
In 1978 ''The Adventures of Luther Arkwright'' by Bryan Talbot began serialisation in ''Near Myths'' (and continued in other comics after that title folded). ''Luther Arkwright'' was later collected as a graphic novel, and has been called the first British graphic novel.
In 1982 Dez Skinn launched ''Warrior
A warrior is a person specializing in combat or warfare, especially within the context of a tribal or clan-based warrior culture society that recognizes a separate warrior aristocracies, class, or caste.
History
Warriors seem to have been p ...
'', possibly the most notable comic of the period, as it contained both the ''Miracleman, Marvelman'' and ''V for Vendetta'' strips, by Alan Moore. ''Warrior'' was a British equivalent of ''Heavy Metal (magazine), Heavy Metal'' magazine. Marvelman was a Captain Marvel (DC Comics), Captain Marvel clone that Skinn acquired, although the legality of that acquisition has been questioned. In Moore's hands, the strip became an "adult" style superhero, and was later reprinted, with the story continued, in an American full-color comic, with the name changed from "Marvelman" to "Miracleman" to avoid any lawsuits that Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...
may have considered. Eventually, ''Warrior'' succumbed to copyright issues.
Adult comics also witnessed a slight resurgence with ''psst!'', an attempt to market a French-style monthly Franco-Belgian comics, bande dessinée, and ''Escape (magazine), Escape'' magazine, published by Paul Gravett, former ''psst!'' promotions man. ''Escape'' featured early work from Eddie Campbell and Paul Grist (comics), Paul Grist, amongst others. Neither comic managed to survive in the vagaries of the comics market, ''Escape'' beset by lack of publisher interest.
During this period a number of smaller publishers were formed to provide inventive publications appealing to niche markets. Congress Press was one of these companies, releasing titles such as ''Birthrite'', ''Heaven & Hell'' and a graphic novel, ''Spookhouse''. Other small publishers of the era included Harrier Comics (1984–1989) and Acme Press (1986–1995).
Most of the surviving titles published by IPC, Fleetway, and DC Thomson were merged into each other in the late 1980s and early 1990s, as the popularity of comics waned further in response to a surge in the popularity of television (a popularity which received another major boost from the late 1970s onward as domestic videocassette recorders became available), and due to the popularity of video games (as inexpensive home computers such as the ZX Spectrum, mainly used for gaming, became available from 1980). Although new comics titles were launched in this period, none seemed to find a sustainable audience.
Notable comics of the period included ''Deadline (magazine), Deadline'', ''Toxic!'', ''Crisis (comic), Crisis'', and ''Revolver (Fleetway comics), Revolver''. ''Deadline'' was conceived by Steve Dillon and Brett Ewins, and mixed original strips with reprints of U.S. strips, notably ''Love and Rockets (comics), Love & Rockets'', and articles and interviews on the British independent music scene of the time. ''Tank Girl'' was its most notable strip. ''Crisis'' was published by Fleetway, Fleetway Publications, a company formed from IPC Media, IPC's comics holdings. It was aimed at readers who had outgrown ''2000 AD'', and featured first works by Garth Ennis and Sean Phillips amongst others.
One publication of that period did find an audience. '' Viz'' began life in 1979 in comics, 1979 as a fanzine style publication, before, in 1989, becoming the biggest selling comic in the country. Based upon bad taste, crude language, crude sexual innuendo, and the parodying of strips from '' The Dandy'' (among them ''Black Bag, Black Bag – the Faithful Border Bin Liner'', a parody of ''The Dandy's'' ''Black Bob (comics), Black Bob'' series about a Border Collie), the popularity of ''Viz'' depended entirely upon a variant of Sixties counter-culture; and it promptly inspired similarly themed titles, including ''Smut (comics), Smut'', ''Spit! (comic), Spit!'', ''Talking Turkey'', ''Elephant Parts (comic), Elephant Parts'', ''Gas (comic), Gas'', ''Brain Damage (comic), Brain Damage'', ''Poot! (comics), Poot!'', ''UT (comic), UT'' and ''Zit (comics), Zit'', all of which failed to achieve ''Vizs longevity and folded, while ''Viz'' remained one of the United Kingdom's top-selling magazines.
21st century
Beginning in 2000, the British market arrested its long decline. However, there is no sign of any great growth in circulation for the few remaining titles, and no sign of any new launches from mainstream publishers into the comics arena. An ever-increasing number of British small press comics, small press and fanzine titles are being produced, such as ''Solar Wind (comic), Solar Wind'' or ''FutureQuake'', aided by the cheapness and increasingly professional appearance of desktop publishing programs. It is from this scene that the UK's new talents now tend to emerge (e.g. Al Ewing, Henry Flint or Simon Spurrier).
After they were purchased by Rebellion Developments, both '' 2000 AD'' and the ''Judge Dredd Megazine'' have seen the release of more adaptations and trade paperback (comics), trade paperbacks, including complete reprint collections of the entire runs of '' Judge Dredd'', ''Strontium Dog'' and ''Nemesis the Warlock''. Starting in 2006 the ''Megazine'' began a regular small press section which usually features an article on a title by Matthew Badham or David Baillie and a small press story.
While British companies and creators have helped create the market for trade paperback (comics), collected volumes there have, with a few exceptions like Raymond Briggs, been very few British graphic novels, original graphic novels published.[More than words: Britain embraces the graphic novel]
''International Herald Tribune'', 22 August 2007 Briggs himself has said "On the Continent, graphic novels have been as accepted as films or books for many years, but England has had a snobby attitude towards them. They've always been seen as something just for children". However, thanks to the strong sales for Briggs' ''Ethel and Ernest'', and ''Jimmy Corrigan'' winning ''The Guardians best first novel award, publishers have started expanding into this area. Random House UK's imprint Jonathan Cape has tripled its graphic novel output and Random House has also established Tanoshimi to publish manga. Other publishers have also been increasing their output, which, as well as producing original works like ''Alice in Sunderland'', have also been included adaptations of works of literature. There are a number of new publishers who are specifically targeting this area, including Classical Comics and Self Made Hero, the latter having an imprint focused on manga
Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...
adaptations of the works of Shakespeare.
This highlights another recent change, as there has been an increase in British original English-language manga. Self Made Hero's 'Manga Shakespeare' imprint draws on talent discovered in Tokyopop's UK/Irish version of ''Rising Stars of Manga'', including members of the UK collective Sweatdrop Studios, who have also contributed to other British-based efforts like ILYA's ''Mammoth Book of Best New Manga'' and ''MangaQuake''. Creators involved in those collections who have gone on to do several manga style graphic novels include British based Japanese creators such as Chie Kutsuwada and Michiru Morikawa, as well as, conversely, a British writer based in Japan, Sean Michael Wilson.
Released at the start of the 21st century was ''Toxic (magazine), Toxic'', a comic which mixed comic strips alongside Video game journalism, game reviews and other articles. Beginning in 2002, this comic proved very successful and is still running. Its influence can be felt on other comics as well most notably when '' The Dandy'', Britain's longest-running comic at the time, became the ''Dandy Xtreme'' in August 2007; it borrowed many of the features prevalent in ''Toxic'', mixing articles alongside comic strips. However, ''The Dandy'' eventually moved away with this strategy in October 2010, when the comic was revamped, and published its final issue on its 75th anniversary in 2012. The ''BeanoMAX'' (which also started in 2007) also borrowed some of ''Toxics features. That title was then replaced by ''The 100% Official Dennis the Menace and Gnasher Megazine'', which was later renamed ''Epic''.
''The DFC'' launched at the end of May 2008 in comics, 2008 drawing together creators from the small press and manga, as well as figures from mainstream British comics and other fields,[Interview with David Fickling, saviour of the great British comic]
''The Times'', 10 May 2008 including author Philip Pullman. As it transpired, it didn't make it to its first birthday, ending with issue 43. A new comic, however, ''The Phoenix (comics), The Phoenix'', began in January 2012, a successor to ''The DFC''.
Reprint market for US comics
After World War II, the UK was intent on promoting homegrown publishers, and thus banned the direct importation of United States, American periodicals, including comic books.[Chibnall, Steve. "The Sign of the Tee Pee: The Story of Thorpe & Porter," ''Paperback, Pulp and Comic Collector'' Vol. 1: "SF Crime Horror Westerns & Comics" (Wilts, UK: Zeon Publishing / Zardoz Books, 1993), pp. 16–29]
Archived
at Box.com. Retrieved 28 December 2020. As a result, U.S. comic books typically arrived in the UK as ballast on ships. Although the comics-reading public in the UK was not always able to get reliable supplies of American comics, it has always enjoyed the different approach to comics writing from the other side of the Atlantic (ocean), Atlantic.
''Sheena, Queen of the Jungle'' — a female version of Tarzan (with an element of H. Rider Haggard's ''"She: A History of Adventure, She who must be obeyed"'' – She... Na!) — was licensed from the Eisner & Iger studio for a British/Australasian Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid, ''Wags (tabloid), Wags'', in 1937.[Sheena, Queen of the Jungle]
at Don Markstein's Toonopedia
Archived
from the original 10 November 2011. The success of this character led to the Sheena stories being repackaged for publication in the United States for Fiction House's ''Jumbo Comics'', thus exporting the character back to her country of origin.
Beginning in the 1940s, the available American comics were supplemented by a variety of black-and-white reprints of Fawcett Comics, Fawcett's Captain Marvel (DC Comics), Captain Marvel, characters such as Sheena, Mandrake the Magician, The Phantom, and Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...
' 1950s monster comics. Several reprint companies were involved in this repackaging American material for the British market, notably L. Miller & Son, the Arnold Book Company
Arnold Book Company (ABC) was a British publisher of comic books that operated in the late 1940s and 1950s, most actively from 1950 to 1954. ABC published original titles like the war comic ''Ace Malloy of the Special Squadron'' and the science ...
, Alan Class Comics, and the importer/distributor/publisher Thorpe & Porter.
Thorpe & Porter began by publishing Dell Comics, Dell's ''Four Color'' series and ''Classics Illustrated'' in the UK. They also republished similar formatted titles under various names. Thorpe & Porter' Stratos imprint published a long-running Western comics series, ''Kid Colt, Outlaw'', which contained black-and-white reprints from both Atlas Comics (1950s), Atlas Comics and DC Comics, DC. T & P also published some material never published in the US.
When Captain Marvel (DC Comics), Captain Marvel ceased publication in the United States because of a National Comics Publications, Inc. v. Fawcett Publications, Inc., lawsuit, L. Miller & Son copied the entire Captain Marvel idea in every detail, and began publishing their own knock-off under the names Marvelman and Young Marvelman, taking advantage of different copyright laws.[(French) Depelley, Jean]
"Miller & Son : première partie,"
BDZoom.com (11 March 2014). These clone versions, created by British writer/artist Mick Anglo, continued for a few years and, as seen above, were revived years later in ''Warrior
A warrior is a person specializing in combat or warfare, especially within the context of a tribal or clan-based warrior culture society that recognizes a separate warrior aristocracies, class, or caste.
History
Warriors seem to have been p ...
''. The British publishers reprinted many other American series, including the early 1950s ''Eerie'' and ''Black Magic (comics), Black Magic'' in black-and-white format. These usually contained the American stories related to the cover but also additional backup stories to fill up the 64 pages.
In 1959, the UK ban on direct importation was lifted. Thorpe & Porter became the sole UK distributor of both DC Comics, DC and Marvel comics. The comics were printed on American printing presses — along with a special cover giving the British price instead of the price in cents — and shipped across the Atlantic. Thus it was that brand-new American-printed copies of ''Fantastic Four'' #1, ''Amazing Fantasy'' #15, and countless others appeared in the UK.
Thorpe & Porter went bankrupt in 1966 and was purchased by the distribution arm of DC Comics, then known as Independent News Distributors, IND. As a result, T & P's output became almost exclusively reprints of DC titles. Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...
superhero reprints appeared in Odhams Press' Power Comics
Power Comics was an imprint (trade name), imprint of the British comics publisher Odhams Press (itself a division of IPC Magazines) that was particularly notable for its use of material reprinted from American Marvel Comics. Appearing chiefly du ...
line in 1966–1969, overlapping for a period with Alan Class Comics' reprinting of some of Marvel's superhero characters. Marvel reprints also appeared in City Magazines' ''TV21 (magazine), TV21'' in 1970–1971. And in 1972 Marvel launched Marvel UK, cornering the market on Marvel reprints; key titles included ''The Mighty World of Marvel'' and ''Spider-Man Comics Weekly''. The importation of Marvel's American comics continued to be erratic due to Marvel UK's promotion of their own reprints, which meant some titles were not offered for periods — ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' being a prime example.
The reprint market really took off in the 1980s with Titan Books releasing collections of British material, as well as signing deals with DC Comics to release that company's titles in the UK. Igor Goldkind was Titan's (and Forbidden Planet (bookstore), Forbidden Planet's, which was owned by the same company) marketing consultant at the time; he helped popularise the term "graphic novel" for the trade paperback (comics), trade paperbacks they were releasing, which generated a lot of attention from the mainstream press.
Panini Comics took over in 1994, reprinting many of Marvel Comics, Marvel's titles, as well as Marvel UK reprints. Panini's titles include ''Ultimate Spider-Man'' (originally holding two issues of either ''Ultimate Spider-Man'' or ''Ultimate Marvel Team-Up'', now existing as a double feature with ''Ultimate X-Men'') and also a special edition, Collector's Edition line of comics, featuring a cardboard cover, three stories and a Comic book letter column, letters page on the inside back cover. Other titles include ''Astonishing Spider-Man'', ''Essential X-Men'', and ''Mighty World of Marvel'', which reprints a variety of Marvel Comics. Beginning in 2003, Panini also published one DC comic, ''Batman Legends'', reprinting various ''Batman'' adventures (e.g. two parts of a multi-title crossover and an issue of ''Batman: Year One)''; this title is now published by Titan Magazines.
Reprints of Japanese and European comics
Since 2005, a small selection of American translations of the most popular manga, Japanese comics have been reprinted in the UK by major publishers such as Random House (through their Tanoshimi imprint) and the Orion Publishing Group. Both no longer publish British versions of Japanese comics; Random House abandoned all Japanese comics translations in early 2009, while Orion switched to publishing the original American versions.
Simultaneously, the very small press Fanfare/Ponent Man published a few UK-exclusive English-language editions of alternative Japanese manga and French bande dessinée.[Griepp, Milton]
"This Publisher Has Almost Half As Many Eisner Noms As Graphic Novel Releases,"
''ICv2'' (31 August 2016).
List of British comics
There have been hundreds of comics in the UK over the years, including:
See also
*List of British comic strips
*List of DC Thomson publications
*List of comic creators#United Kingdom, List of comic creators in the UK
*British small press comics
*British Invasion (comics), The British Invasion of American comics, that took place during the late eighties
*''Comics Britannia'', BBC Four documentary series on the history of British comics presented by Jonathan Ross
*Welsh comics
Notes
References
*
*
*
*
*
External links
Help for Researchers: British Comics Collection
from the British Library
Comics UK
History of British Comics
from britishcomics.com
downthetubes.net
(British comics news, interviews, and other features)
IndieReview
(UK indie comics news and reviews)
''British Comics Top-10 Issue-Count Chart – 2021b edition!''
by Michael Carroll (author), Michael Carroll, 19 September 2021. A list of the 10 longest-lasting British comics. (Retrieved 20 September 2021.)
''The Eaglution of British Comics'' (part 1)
by Michael Carroll, 26 May 2018. Article featuring a chart showing which comics (published by IPC/Fleetway) were merged with which, with the dates they were founded and merged. (Retrieved 27 May 2018.)
''DC Thomson Comics Timeline''
by Michael Carroll, 25 August 2018, about comics published by DC Thomson. (Retrieved 24 September 2018.)
BBC Cult presents: 2000AD and British Comics
from BBC Online (last updated September 2005)
British Comics Free Gifts Database
(Detailed descriptions and images of free gifts given away with classic British comics)
{{Comics
British comics,
British children's literature, Comics
Cultural history of the United Kingdom, Comic