''Girls' Crystal'' was a British weekly

story paper 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 ...

and then a

comic book A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...

published by

Amalgamated Press The Amalgamated Press (AP) was a British newspaper and magazine publishing company founded by journalist and entrepreneur Alfred Harmsworth (1865–1922) in 1901, gathering his many publishing ventures together under one banner. At one point the ...

(AP) that ran from 1935 to 1963. Along with ''

School Friend ''School Friend'' was the name of two different British weekly publications marketed toward girls, both of which were pioneering in their respective categories. The first ''School Friend'', published from 1919 to 1929, was the first story paper ...

'' and ''

Girl A girl is a young female human, usually a child or an adolescent. When a girl becomes an adult, she is accurately described as a ''woman''. However, the term ''girl'' is also used for other meanings, including ''young woman'',Dictionary ...

'', it was one of the first

British girls' comics British girls' comics flourished in the United Kingdom from the 1950s through the 1970s, before beginning to decline in popularity in the 1980s and 1990s. Publishers known for their girls' comics included DC Thomson and Fleetway/ IPC. Most titles a ...

Publication history

The publication launched on 28 October 1935 as ''The Crystal'', a play off the popular AP boys' story paper ''

The Gem ''The Gem'' (1907–1939) was a story paper published in Great Britain by Amalgamated Press in the early 20th century, predominantly featuring the activities of boys at the fictional school St. Jim's. These stories were all written using the pe ...

''. With issue #10, the publication changed title to ''The Girls' Crystal''."The Girls' Crystal,"
Friardale Website. Retrieved Mar. 15, 2021. In 1940, the fellow AP story paper ''

The Schoolgirl ''The Schoolgirl'' was a British weekly story paper aimed at girls. Published by Amalgamated Press (AP), ''The Schoolgirl'' ran in two series, the first from 1922 to 1923, and the second (essentially continuing a sister publication) from 1929 to 1 ...

'' merged into ''Girls' Crystal'' (ironically, ''The Schoolgirl'' was a continuation of the story paper ''

''; many years later, the ''Girls' Crystal'' comic merged into the ''School Friend'' comic). Stories from ''Girls' Crystal'' were reprinted in '' Schoolgirls' Own Library'' and the ''Girls' Crystal Annual''. With the 21 March 1953 issue (issue #909), ''Girls' Crystal'' converted from story paper to comic book, continuing the numbering.

was acquired in 1959, and the publication of ''Girls' Crystal'' was taken over by Fleetway Publications, continuing until April 1963 when the comic was merged into ''

''.

Story paper

''Girls' Crystal'' featured 4-5 rotating storylines, one of the most notable being Daphne Grayson's ''Merrymakers'' series. Another popular feature was about a detective named Noel Raymond and his niece/assistant June Gaynor. Written by Ronald Fleming as "Peter Langley," the serial was unusual in a girls' magazine that both the main character and the writer pseudonym were male.. These stories lasted until May 1951.Bird, Dennis L. "Some of Our Favorite Authors: This Month: Ronald Fleming," ''Collectors' Digest'' (Jan. 1994)
Archived at the Friardale Website

Controversy

Author Horace E. Boyten wrote some stories under the pseudonym "Enid Boyten." In 1953, lawyers for the popular children's writer

Enid Blyton Enid Mary Blyton (11 August 1897 – 28 November 1968) was an English children's writer, whose books have been worldwide bestsellers since the 1930s, selling more than 600 million copies. Her books are still enormously popular and have be ...

complained to ''Girls' Crystal'' editor Reg Eves that the names were similar enough that the publication was trying to cash in on Blyton's fame. Eves denied the charge, but from then on, Boyten wrote under the name "Hilda Boyten" (later changing it again to "Helen Crawford"). Some years later, text serialization of the Enid Blyton books ''

The Famous Five ''The Famous Five'' is a series of children's Adventure fiction, adventure novels and short stories written by English author Enid Blyton. The first book, ''Five on a Treasure Island'', was published in 1942. The novels feature the adventures ...

'',

The Secret Seven The Secret Seven or Secret Seven Society is a fictional group of child detectives created by Enid Blyton and based on the publisher’s children. They appear in one of several adolescent detective series which Blyton wrote. The Secret Seve ...

, and ''

The Mystery of Banshee Towers ''The Mystery of Banshee Towers'' by Enid Blyton is the last children's novel in a series of fifteen known collectively as '' The Five Find-Outers and Dog''. The series ran for eighteen years, from 1943 to this one, published in 1961.Reprinted b ...

'' appeared in the Amalgamated Press comics ''

Princess Princess is a regal rank and the feminine equivalent of prince (from Latin ''princeps'', meaning principal citizen). Most often, the term has been used for the consort of a prince, or for the daughter of a king or prince. Princess as a subst ...

'', ''

'', and ''

June June is the sixth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars and is the second of four months to have a length of 30 days, and the third of five months to have a length of less than 31 days. June contains the summer solstice in ...

''.

Comic book

The content of the ''Girls' Crystal'' comic was a mix of school stories, girl-next-door stories, romance, mystery, and travel adventure. Skating and ballet were common subjects, as were animals and the circus. A regular text feature was ''Trixie's Diary''. The ''Sally and Dave the Gay Adventurers'' text feature appeared in issues at the end of the run. Another text feature was ''Carol of the Circus''. Many of the text features were written by Elise Probyn. Illustrators for the comic strips included John M. Burns,

Luis Bermejo Luis Bermejo Rojo (12 August 1931 – 12 December 2015) was a Spanish illustrator and comics artist known for his work published in Spain, Italy, Great Britain, and the United States. He has illustrated a number of novels, and worked for a while ...

Tom Kerr Tom Kerr was a British comic strip artist whose work has appeared in comics such as ''Look-in'', the ''Eagle'', '' Valiant'', and '' TV21''. He has also drawn for many annuals of the 1960s and 1970s, including the ''Monkees'' annuals, ''Look-i ...

, and John Armstrong.

Strips

* ''Bruce the Circus Dog'' * ''Ella and the Mississippi Showboat'' * ''The Fourth Form Treasure Seekers'' * ''Friends of the Skating Star'' * ''Hal's Exciting Find'' * ''June and the Jungle Boy'' * ''Lucy's Perilous Mission'' * ''The Make-Believe Princess'' * ''Molly in Morocco'' * ''Mystery at Beacon College'' * ''Naida of the Jungle'' * ''Not-So-Simple Susie'' * ''Peggy at the Rajah's Palace'' * ''The Rebels of Island Castle'' * ''The Secret of Bear Glacier'' * ''Secret Enemy of the Fourth Form Magazine'' * ''Shirley's Detective Schooldays'' * ''The Skating Coach's Amazing Secret'' * ''Star the Sheepdog'' * ''Terry's Forbidden Circus Friend'' * ''That Thrilling Christmas at Crossways'' * ''The TV Quiz Girls'' * ''Val — the Girl Who Helped Mr. Nemo'' * ''Wanda of Bear Park''

References

Sources

External links

''Girls' Crystal'' scans
at Comic Book + {{DEFAULTSORT:Girls' Crystal 1935 establishments in the United Kingdom 1963 disestablishments in the United Kingdom British comics titles British girls' comics Defunct British comics Defunct magazines published in the United Kingdom Magazines established in 1935 Magazines disestablished in 1963 Weekly magazines published in the United Kingdom