Spellbound

[Marionette]

It's fairly obvious that Misty was a response to DCT's Spellbound, but I'm wondering what prompted DC Thomson to publish a comic full of SF and supernatural stories for girls in the first place? Anyone have a clue?

[helsbels]

I don't actually know the reason, but I wonder if it was because Diana comic ended around that time (1976), as sister comic Debbie suddenly seemed to acquire ex - Diana stories such as Up - To - Date Kate and Mary Brown's Schooldays at around the same time.

When Spellbound started (in 1976) Damian Darke was a permanent fixture and he was very similar to The Man In Black storyteller from Diana. The Supercats also previously featured in Diana but were called The Fabulous Four. Both Debbie and Spellbound inherited strips from Diana and when Spellbound folded it was merged with Debbie where the Supercats ran for a while and Damian Darke managed to survive until Debbie finished and even into the Mandy & Debbie merger for some time.

All I can think of is that D C Thomson was experimenting with girl's comics - Jinty was running at the time and was developing the more adventurous sci-fi/ mystery based stories it became best known for; Tammy had enveloped June by now and was carrying regular "Strange Stories" and also ran the fantastic "Secret of The Skulls" serial around that time. I just think mystery and generally "spooky" stories were becoming more popular in the mid 1970's - not just in comics, but in film, TV, etc.

[philcom55]

Also, it's worth remembering that titles such as Battle, Spellbound, 2000AD and Misty followed on from the relatively new concept of 'themed' comics that DC Thomson introduced with their highly successful Warlord in 1974 (though, of course, there had previously been a number of comics which concentrated on Sport, TV and Romance).

- Phil Rushton

[Marionette]

I'm trying to think if there was much of a supernatural revival in pop culture generally around that time, but IIRC Hammer was winding down in the seventies. I know there was a horror revival in US comics as the Comics Code was relaxed to allow vampires and the like, so Marvel was full of Tomb of Dracula, Werewolf by Night, and Frankenstein, but I wouldn't expect that to have much effect here.

Of course Star Wars was 1976, which accounts for the SF side of things...

[stevezodiac]

There was a boom in horror titles in the US in the early seventies with DC and Charlton putting out about eight titles each. Charlton even published Haunted Love a romance/horror title.

[philcom55]

I'm not sure when the 'Goth' subculture emerged but my first awareness of the gothic revival in popular fiction was certainly via US comics of the early 1970s such as Sinister House of Secret Love - which themselves seemed to be heavily influenced by the Dark Shadows TV series.

- Phil Rushton

[Marionette]

Goth dates specifically to August 1979 and the release of Bauhaus' Bela Lugosi's Dead.

Even protoGoth styles don't appear much before that, as a dark offshoot of punk, so it's unlikely to be much of an influence in 1976 for Spellbound or even 1978 for Misty.

[philcom55]

That's interesting. I didn't know about the Bauhaus connection, but given that one of their later incarnations took the name of the Hernandez brothers' Love & Rockets comic book I can't help wondering whether they were aware of and influenced by Misty during their formative period.

Besides which, influences are often cumulative and can work both ways. I think a case could be made for certain comics - those that strike just the right chord with an especially receptive fanbase at any rate - acting as uniquely sensitive indicators of the nation's zeitgeist. Action, for example, might not have predated Punk when it was launched in February 1976, but it certainly managed get on board at a critically early moment in the movement's development.

- Phil R.

[Digifiend]

Of course Star Wars was 1976, which accounts for the SF side of things...

No it doesn't, because Star Wars came out in 1977.

[felneymike]

Didn't it come out significantly earlier in the US, though? I know 2000AD was started "in response" to Star Wars, despite the fact it was still quite a way off being released in Britain. IPC knew how big it had been across the pond and wanted to ride the crest of the wave.
Of course, these days the film ends up on the Internet about 5 minutes after it comes out, so they now have near-simultaneous worldwide releases. I can still remember The Phantom Menace coming out in the US several months before the UK, though. "Lucky"* was the kid going on an American holiday at a suitable time to catch it.

* Well, at least until they saw it.

[DavidKW]

I think there was in the 70s a big interest amongst kids for the supernatural, sci-fi and horror, even if the likes of Hammer were winding down.

A good example of this is through the Smith's crisps Horror Bags series & KP Outer Spacers (both were gorgeous!), showing how horror/sci-fi sells.

Also iced lollies such as the haunted house series.

And kids' tv shows were taking that in a subtle direction, such as in the "Shadows" anthology series and serials such as "Ace OIf Wands" and "The Tomorrow People".

[ISPYSHHHGUY]

Star Wars was big news even before it came out, during 1976--the anticipation of this film definitely influenced the likes of 2000 AD, Starlord and other publications. 2000 AD launched in March 1977, by which time Star Wars was already a household-name phenomenon......