Kashgar wrote:my mortal coil still appears to be in working order, at least it was the last time I looked
That is very pleasing to know, Ray, otherwise I will have been on the phone to a spook the other day.
In about half an hour I will be starting on the definitive list of what in my opinion are the standout serials from the eleven story papers for girls from D.C. Thomsons, the 3-line summaries of which will appear in
BUNTY AND HER SISTERS - The Great Stories. My calculator, only a Home Bargains one that cost less than £1 so it might not be all that accurate, informs me that 2000 title summaries at 13 per page, as in my
THIS WAS THE WIZARD, will require 154 pages. The heading block illustrations will require a further 95 pages. There will not be a list of the story titles printed at the end of the book because, as I think I have already mentioned, I will be presenting the summaries in alphabetical order. The INTRODUCTION will be informative but relatively short, and the information above each 3-line summary will present the issue numbers and dates for the first and last instalments, but where in
THIS WAS THE WIZARD I wrote
Artist = Fred Sturrock, or whoever, given that I can't be relied on to recognise an artist's work, in that position I will just put
MANDY or
BUNTY or
SUZY or whatever, to indicate which story paper contains that specific serial. In the interests of my bank balance, all completes, summer specials and annuals will be ignored, especially as I will immediately be starting to write the companion volume, to be called
ADVENTURE AND HIS BROTHERS - The Great Stories. My thinking on this book, while still in its infancy, is tending towards including, in addition to the best serials from the text story papers for boys, the pick of the serials in picture story papers such as
THE VICTOR,
THE NEW HOTSPUR,
BUDDY,
SPIKE,
CHAMP and
BULLET.