SALLY - 1969 - 1971

[steelclaw]

Came across my first Sally Comic the other day it's quite a Progressive girls comic for it's day with some really good strips, not the Horsey/ballerina type stories you expected to see in Girls Comics at the time.

Looking at the family tree I see it only ran for 21 months before merging with Tammy.

[Digifiend]

Sallyites? Sounds like they reused the Whizzer & Chips idea of special names for the readers (i.e. Whizz-Kids and Chipites). Part of IPC/Fleetway's character that I suppose.

[colcool007]

Is it me or was the Justice of Justine done by Ron Turner?

[Phoenix]

Sallyites? Sounds like they reused the Whizzer & Chips idea of special names for the readers (i.e. Whizz-Kids and Chipites). Part of IPC/Fleetway's character that I suppose.

Thomsons were doing this at least as early as 1922 because the editor of their story paper for girls, The Blue Bird, addressed his readers as Blue Birdites in the very first issue and continued to do so.

[philcom55]

Is it me or was the Justice of Justine done by Ron Turner?

It's just you Col! That page is actually a very rare example of Mike Noble's work on a newsprint title!

- Phil Rushton

[stevezodiac]

Sally and Sandie are probably my favourite Girl's comics, I had a large run of each but sold them on ebay due to lack of space. They had a liveliness (verve?) about them that DC Thomson titles lacked. Sandie had Mike Brown's Brenda's Brownies and Wendy Witch and they were worth the cover price alone.

[Shaqui]

Is it me or was the Justice of Justine done by Ron Turner?

It's just you Col! That page is actually a very rare example of Mike Noble's work on a newsprint title!

- Phil Rushton

Quite right, and biding time between the end of 'TV21' in September 1969, and 'Look-in' which started in January 1971. Most will be familiar with his stint on the latterday 'TV21' doing 'Star Trek' during the spring/summer of 1970 but he also did the first instalments of 'Four Alone on the Abandoned Island' in 'Cor!' around this time.

[stevezodiac]

Noble stayed with Look-In for a number of years but his non sci fi strips like Follyfoot and Wurzel Gummidge were a waste of his great talent - but I believe he wasn't that fond of Sci-Fi.

[Lew Stringer]

Noble stayed with Look-In for a number of years but his non sci fi strips like Follyfoot and Wurzel Gummidge were a waste of his great talent - but I believe he wasn't that fond of Sci-Fi.

I understand he really enjoyed drawing present-day strips after years on futuristic material. Not really a waste of his talent, just an interesting diversion.

[Lew Stringer]

Sallyites? Sounds like they reused the Whizzer & Chips idea of special names for the readers (i.e. Whizz-Kids and Chipites). Part of IPC/Fleetway's character that I suppose.

I'm pretty sure the original Chips called its readers Chip-ites too.

[Raven]

Noble stayed with Look-In for a number of years but his non sci fi strips .. were a waste of his great talent -

I'd strongly disagree with that. His Follyfoot, Black Beauty and Famous Five strips were absolutely beautiful work - some of Look-In's most outstanding, and some of the best British comic art of the 70s.

[Shaqui]

Noble stayed with Look-In for a number of years but his non sci fi strips .. were a waste of his great talent -

I'd strongly disagree with that. His Follyfoot, Black Beauty and Famous Five strips were absolutely beautiful work - some of Look-In's most outstanding, and some of the best British comic art of the 70s.

Hear hear. I have an original artwork each of 'Follyfoot' and 'Black Beauty', and they are true works of art. I'm more a fan of 'Space:1999' but his work on it, superb though it is, pales by comparison.

Just because you may not like those TV series or strips Steve, don't dismiss them out of hand. I watched an episode of 'Follyfoot' (the series 1 finale) recently, and it was a gut-wrenching tale that knocked 'Space:1999' into a cocked hat...

Havign interviewed him twice, Mike Noble was a true professional, who always sought to do the best artwork he could on a weekly schedule - I've never seen a bad page by him.

[philcom55]

I'm afraid I'm with Raven and Shaqui on this one: in my opinion Follyfoot and Black Beauty featured some of Mike Noble's best ever work for Look In. On the evidence of his Lone Ranger strips I'd never have imagined he could draw such fantastic horses! On the other hand I do agree with Steve that he was wasted on some of his later B&W work for the title - particularly the rather lackluster 'Man From Atlantis' (which, oddly enough, was an SF strip! ).

Incidentally it's interesting to note that Black Beauty-type stories had traditionally been seen as a staple ingredient in the lineup of girls' comics, which shows how Look In steadfastly bucked the trend by catering to readers of both genders.

- Phil Rushton

[Shaqui]

It also has to be considered that, according to Mike Noble himself, he never chose which strips he was given, especially on 'Look-in'. If you analyse the strips, most artists would usually be transferred from an ending strip to its replacement. Admittedly, some had niches, and Bill Titcombe (as an example) would go from comedy strip to comedy strip, while Mike Noble, John Burns and Martin Asbury got the adventure ones. I think it is a measure of Mike Noble's professionalism and, if you've ever met him, his dry sense of humour, that he was able to handle more 'comedic' material like 'Into The Labyrinth' and 'Worzel Gummidge' and do equally well.

[Digifiend]

Incidentally it's interesting to note that Black Beauty-type stories had traditionally been seen as a staple ingredient in the lineup of girls' comics, which shows how Look In steadfastly bucked the trend by catering to readers of both genders.

- Phil Rushton

Yes, that's something even Classics from the Comics never did - they used material from the boys papers latterly, but never the girls titles (no idea why, since Beano and Dandy 60 Years: Funshine and Laughter did use both Victor and Bunty together).