TV Comic

''TV Comic'' was a British weekly comic book published from 9 November 1951 until 29 June 1984. Featuring stories based on television series running at the time of publication, it was the first British comic to be based around TV programmes"British Comics Reference , British TV-related Comic Strips,"
DownTheTubes.net. Retrieved 25 Feb. 2021. and spawned a host of imitators.

Publication history

Originally started by ''News of the World'', ''TV Comic'' was later sold to Beaverbrook Newspapers, and then to TV Publications in 1960 (which became Polystyle Publications in 1968).

The first issue ran to eight pages, with '' Muffin the Mule'' on the front cover. It also featured many other TV favourites of the day, including '' Mr. Pastry'', '' Larry the Lamb'', '' Tom Puss'', ''Prince Valiant'' (Hal Foster reprint), '' Jack & Jill'' and '' Prudence Kitten''.

In common with other British children's comics of the time, ''TV Comic'' absorbed other, less successful titles (including those of its competitors) during its run. These included: ''TV Land'' and '' TV Express'' (City Magazines) in 1962; '' TV Action'' (formerly ''Countdown'') in 1973; '' Tom and Jerry Weekly'' (Spotlight Publications) in 1974, which unusually didn't change the contents of the publication at all, given that Tom and Jerry already featured on the front page of ''TV Comic'' at the time; and the short-lived ''Target'' in 1978.

Editors of ''TV Comic'' included Dick Millington (who also edited '' Pippin'' and created long-running ''TV Comic'' character '' Mighty Moth''), Robin Tucheck, and John Lynott. Artists included Bill Titcombe, John Canning, Neville Main, H. Watts, Gerry Haylock, Mike Lacey, and Steve Maher.

Title changes

* ''TV Comic'' (1951–1973, issues #1–1132)
* ''TV Comic + TV Action'' (1973, issues #1133-1147, after absorbing '' TV Action'')
* ''TV Comic'' (1973–1974, issues #1148-1181)
* ''TV Comic plus Tom & Jerry Weekly'' (1974, issues #1182-1201; after absorbing Spotlight Publications' ''Tom and Jerry Weekly'')"Tom and Jerry Weekly,"
Grand Comics Database. Retrieved 18 Apr. 2021.
* ''TV Comic'' (1974–1976, issues #1202-1291)
* ''Mighty TV Comic'' (1976–1977, issues #1292-1352)
* ''TV Comic'' (1977–1978, issues #1353-1392)
* ''TV Comic with Target'' (1978, issues #1393-1401, after absorbing ''Target'')
* ''TV Comic'' (1978–1984, issues #1402-1697)

Content

For the first decade of its existence, the publication was aimed explicitly at younger children. As well as ''Muffin the Mule'' (which ran for nearly 10 years—as the cover feature until 1955, then later as a half-page in black and white), other favourites from the 1950s that made appearances were ''Sooty'', ''Coco the Clown'', '' Noddy'' and '' Lenny the Lion''. As the decade passed, so the comic began to acquire a slightly more "grown-up" feel, with stories such as ''Treasure Island'', ''The Lone Ranger'' and ''Black Beauty'' all appearing for a time. Text stories also began to be featured, with religious themes such as "Jesus and the Bible".

''TV Comic'' printed ''Doctor Who'' stories from 1964 to 1979 (except for the period between 1971 and 1973, when the strip was instead published in another Polystyle title, '' Countdown/TV Action''). It also featured strip cartoons for the early puppet TV series produced by Gerry Anderson and AP Films—''Four Feather Falls'', ''Supercar'' and ''Fireball XL5''—until Anderson's shows became the focus of a rival publication, '' TV Century 21''.

The issues published in the 1960s are generally considered the most collectable in the comic's history. As well as ''Doctor Who'' and Anderson strips, other highly collectable material included '' Telegoons'' (which ran from 1963 to 1967), '' Space Patrol'' (from 1964 to 1965) and '' The Avengers'' (based on the TV series featuring John Steed; initially from 1965 to 1966 and again from 1968 to 1972).

A number of annuals and holiday specials were also issued over the years, including special editions concentrating on characters such as the Pink Panther and Tom and Jerry.

The only notable, collectable and original strips during ''TV Comics latter years are arguably ''Battle of the Planets'' (drawn by former ''Dan Dare'' artist Keith Watson); these ran from 1981 to 1983.

Format

From the start, ''TV Comic'' featured a mixture of full colour pages (usually the front and back covers and the centre spread) and black-and-white pages, a policy that continued throughout its history.

While generally always a steady seller, ''TV Comic'' endured a somewhat tempestuous latter decade. In 1976 (from issue 1,292) Polystyle relaunched the title as ''New Mighty TV Comic'', switching to a large tabloid format on cheaper paper. However, although the pages were larger, the amount of content in each issue actually reduced, with the frames of many strips simply blown up to fit the new size. (A notable example was that the Doctor Who comic strip, previously two standard pages, became a single page with a significant drop in the number of frames.) The first two editions of the ''New Mighty TV Comic'' were accompanied by a smaller "Mighty Midget" supplement featuring reprints of previously published ''Doctor Who'' and Star Trek strips respectively.

This relaunch clearly failed to attract the sales increases that had been hoped; the comic dropped first "New" and then "Mighty" from the masthead after several months and reverted to a standard size (from issue 1,377) two years later. However, it was still printed very cheaply on newsprint and so appeared a poor offering in contrast to its competitors, especially ''Look-in''. While the overall production quality eventually improved, the comic continued to rely heavily on reprints of older material, or re-using scripts from old strips with new characters.

The publication ultimately closed in 1984, after nearly 33 years, due to declining sales. With no other Polystyle title existing into which it could merge, ''TV Comic'' simply ceased publication without any printed warning of its impending discontinuation. The closest to this was that both ''The A-Team'' and the ''Tales of the Gold Monkey'' strips, which had been running until this point, concluded with frames stating "The End".

Legacy

''TV Comic'' remains the UK's longest-surviving example of an anthology weekly comic featuring licensed strips based on a range of Television properties; it ultimately survived for more than 32 years. Its nearest rival, in terms of longevity, was Look-in