The Magic Comic
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''The Magic Comic'' was a British comics magazine. It was the ill-fated third comics magazine from
DC Thomson DC Thomson is a media company based in Dundee, Scotland. Founded by David Couper Thomson in 1905, it is best known for publishing ''The Dundee Courier'', '' The Evening Telegraph'' and '' The Sunday Post'' newspapers, and the comics ''Oor W ...
(after ''
The Beano ''The Beano'' (formerly ''The Beano Comic'', also known as ''Beano'') is a British anthology comic magazine created by Scottish publishing company DC Thomson. Its first issue was published on 30 July 1938, and it became the world's longest-run ...
'' and ''
The Dandy ''The Dandy'' was a British children's comic magazine published by the Dundee based publisher DC Thomson. The first issue was printed in December 1937, making it the world's third-longest running comic, after '' Il Giornalino'' (cover dated 1 O ...
''). It was aimed at a younger audience, with more emphasis on picture stories. The first issue was published on 22 July 1939. The comic ran for only 80 issues until 25 January 1941. Paper rationing resulting from the outbreak of the Second World War caused its demise. Its Editor Bill Powrie promised that 'the Magic' would return; however, he was killed in action in 1942. Two annuals, named '' The Magic Fun Book'', were also published in 1941 and 1942. From 1943 to 1949, ''The Magic Comic'' would share its annual with ''The Beano'', under the title, '' The Magic-Beano Book''. The cover star was Koko the Pup who would later team up with Big Eggo in the Magic-Beano Books between 1943 and 1950 in the story named Eggo and Koko. A first issue of ''The Magic comic'' was sold on
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in February 2006 for £1,250 to a collector, and it was one of only 6 copies known to exist. A 'Very Fine' copy was also sold in 1997 for £2,975. On 20 January 2015 the first 24 issues of The Magic Comic were sold for £13,000 (+20% commission; 15,600); it came to £650 per comic. On 31 January 1976
DC Thomson DC Thomson is a media company based in Dundee, Scotland. Founded by David Couper Thomson in 1905, it is best known for publishing ''The Dundee Courier'', '' The Evening Telegraph'' and '' The Sunday Post'' newspapers, and the comics ''Oor W ...
revived the Magic Comic. This incarnation would go on to last until 1979. The new version was aimed at younger audience than ''The Beano'' and ''Dandy'' and was more of a pre-school comic than the original ''Magic'' comic. The comic was loosely concerned with
magic Magic or Magick most commonly refers to: * Magic (supernatural), beliefs and actions employed to influence supernatural beings and forces * Ceremonial magic, encompasses a wide variety of rituals of magic * Magical thinking, the belief that unrela ...
of all kinds. Even though this new comic was considered a revival it contained none of the characters that appeared in the earlier ''Magic''. However it did contain characters from ''The Beano'' with a spinoff of
Biffo the Bear Biffo the Bear is a fictional character from the British comic magazine ''The Beano'' who stars in the comic strip of the same name, created in 1948 by Dudley D. Watkins. He was the mascot of The Beano for several decades. Background Biffo's c ...
involving his niece and nephew, Cuddly and Dudley, appearing in the new comic.


Comic strips featured in the first comic

* Koko the Pup (The comic's cover star featuring an anthropomorphic dog.) * Dolly Dimple, not so simple * Peter Piper (Drawn by Dudley Watkins this comic strip featured a boy with magical pipes that could bring statues to life. It was revived in the Dandy in the 1990s.) * Boy Biffo the Brave * Uncle Dan The Magic man * The Boy with the Golden Goose * Cheeky Mary – The Lord Mayors Daughter * Tell-Tale Tilly * Sam Swell * Little Squirty * The Adventures of Grandfather Clock * The Tickler Twins in Wonderland (About a pair of twins living in a world full of characters from popular fairy tales and nursery rhymes. The Beano character Pansy Potter would later have her own in Wonderland series.) * Pa, Ma and Squeaker * Oompah Pete * Ugly Muggins * Wee Hi Lo * Poor Blind Billy * The Seven-Foot Cowboy * Val in the Magic Forest * The Magic Joke Page * Inky, Binky and Bluff * Sooty Snowball (The main character of this comic strip was a black caricature who was dressed in nothing but a grass skirt. It appeared on the comic's back cover.) * Leave It to Lop Ears * Crusty Crosspatch * The Wolf Boy of Badenoch * Old Pop Pelican * Tootsy McTurk (A comic strip about a man with unusually large feet. A similar strip called Claude Hopper would later appear in the Dandy.) * Sammy's Magic Stone * Herr Paul Fry – The Nasty Spy * Ding-Dong Dally * Little Orphan Andy * Old Father Time * Kipper Feet * Beric the Caveboy * Dizzy Duck * Dick Turpentine the hopeless highway man * Dirty Dick – The Chimney Sweep * Stone-Age Steve * Young Buffalo Bill * Two Wanderers of the War * Softie Sam * Gulliver * Keeper of the Flock * Hiram Scaram – The Stagecoach Driver * Robin Hood * Pete of the Spitfires * Bandy Legs


Comic strips featured in the revived comic

* Witch Wanda * Elfey * Rainbow Road (about children in neighbouring
houses A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...
with each door painted a different
colour Color (American English) or colour (British English) is the visual perceptual property deriving from the spectrum of light interacting with the photoreceptor cells of the eyes. Color categories and physical specifications of color are assoc ...
of the
rainbow A rainbow is a meteorological phenomenon that is caused by reflection, refraction and dispersion of light in water droplets resulting in a spectrum of light appearing in the sky. It takes the form of a multicoloured circular arc. Rainbows c ...
) * Copy Cat * Betsy's Magic Bracelet (a serial about a girl who owned a
bracelet A bracelet is an article of jewellery that is worn around the wrist. Bracelets may serve different uses, such as being worn as an ornament. When worn as ornaments, bracelets may have a supportive function to hold other items of decoration, suc ...
with lucky
charms Charm may refer to: Social science * Charisma, a person or thing's pronounced ability to attract others * Superficial charm, flattery, telling people what they want to hear Science and technology * Charm quark, a type of elementary particle * Ch ...
enchanted by a friendly
witch Witchcraft traditionally means the use of magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually women who were believed to have us ...
) * Flying Flapears (a flying rabbit) * Spaceship Lollipop * Aladdin and his Magic
Lamp Lamp, Lamps or LAMP may refer to: Lighting * Oil lamp, using an oil-based fuel source * Kerosene lamp, using kerosene as a fuel * Electric lamp, or light bulb, a replaceable component that produces light from electricity * Light fixture, or li ...
* The Magic
Club Club may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Club'' (magazine) * Club, a '' Yie Ar Kung-Fu'' character * Clubs (suit), a suit of playing cards * Club music * "Club", by Kelsea Ballerini from the album ''kelsea'' Brands and enterprises ...
(including "Magic
Pictures An image is a visual representation of something. It can be two-dimensional, three-dimensional, or somehow otherwise feed into the visual system to convey information. An image can be an artifact, such as a photograph or other two-dimensiona ...
", "Magic
Mirror A mirror or looking glass is an object that reflects an image. Light that bounces off a mirror will show an image of whatever is in front of it, when focused through the lens of the eye or a camera. Mirrors reverse the direction of the im ...
" and "Magic
Riddles A riddle is a statement, question or phrase having a double or veiled meaning, put forth as a puzzle to be solved. Riddles are of two types: ''enigmas'', which are problems generally expressed in metaphorical or allegorical language that requ ...
") * Cuddly and Dudley (this was a spin-off from ''
The Beano ''The Beano'' (formerly ''The Beano Comic'', also known as ''Beano'') is a British anthology comic magazine created by Scottish publishing company DC Thomson. Its first issue was published on 30 July 1938, and it became the world's longest-run ...
s
Biffo the Bear Biffo the Bear is a fictional character from the British comic magazine ''The Beano'' who stars in the comic strip of the same name, created in 1948 by Dudley D. Watkins. He was the mascot of The Beano for several decades. Background Biffo's c ...
) * Peter Popin and his Magic Popup Book (a boy who could "fly through time and space" into the worlds within his popup book) * Tommy Trix * A Talk with Stubby Pencil * Magic Playtime * Penny and the Prince * The Magic of... (on the back cover, a factual article about the
wonders of the world Various lists of the Wonders of the World have been compiled from antiquity to the present day, in order to catalogue the world's most spectacular natural features and human-built structures. The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World is the o ...
).


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Magic Comic DC Thomson Comics titles Comics magazines published in the United Kingdom Defunct British comics British humour comics 1939 comics debuts 1941 comics endings 1976 comics debuts 1979 comics endings