''Judy'' was a British satirical humour magazine of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The full name was ''Judy; or the London Serio-Comic Journal''. The magazine's first issue was cover dated May 1, 1867, and the last issue October 23, 1907. The name "Judy" was in reference to

Punch and Judy Punch and Judy is a traditional puppet show featuring Mr. Punch and his wife Judy. The performance consists of a sequence of short scenes, each depicting an interaction between two characters, most typically Mr. Punch and one other character ...

, and alluded directly to its more established rival, ''

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 ...

'' magazine, which had been founded in 1841. In its August 14, 1867, issue, ''Judy'' introduced "

Ally Sloper Alexander "Ally" Sloper is the eponymous fictional character of the British comic strip ''Ally Sloper''. First appearing in 1867, he is considered one of the earliest comic strip characters and he is regarded as the first recurring character in c ...

", who was one of the first – possibly ''the'' first – comic strip characters (the seminal

Yellow Kid The Yellow Kid (Mickey Dugan) is an American comic strip character that appeared from 1895 to 1898 in Joseph Pulitzer's ''New York World'', and later William Randolph Hearst's ''New York Journal''. Created and drawn by Richard F. Outcault in ...

, for instance, was not published until almost three decades later, in 1895). Sloper was later the first comic strip character to get his own regular weekly magazine, ''

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" ...

'', the first issue having a cover date of May 3, 1884. Sloper was heavily merchandised, and may have been the first comic strip character featured in a popular song ("Ally Sloper's Christmas Holidays", 1886) or adapted to film (1898).

Notable contributors

*William H. Boucher, illustrator (Boucher also illustrated Robert Louis Stevenson's ''The Black Arrow'' and ''Kidnapped'' for their first appearances in ''Young Folks''). * Alfred Bryan, illustrator * Adelaide Claxton, illustrator * John Proctor, illustrator *

Charles Henry Ross Charles Henry Ross (1835 – 12 October 1897) was an English writer and cartoonist. Biography Ross created the fictional character Ally Sloper for the British magazine '' Judy'' in 1867, the popular character was spun off into his own comic, '' ...

, editor and writer

References

1867 establishments in the United Kingdom 1907 disestablishments in the United Kingdom Satirical magazines published in the United Kingdom Defunct magazines published in the United Kingdom Magazines established in 1867 Magazines disestablished in 1907 Magazines published in London {{UK-mag-stub