Discuss all the girls comics that have appeared over the years. Excellent titles like Bunty, Misty, Spellbound, Tammy and June, amongst many others, can all be remembered here.
Apart from 'Supergirl' DC Thomson also had their own version of Wonder Girl. Rather than being bionically enhanced, however, Sylvie Bishop owed her special abilities to the fact that she was an alien who'd been abandoned on Earth during infancy. The artwork in this example looks as though it was drawn by the excellent Juan González Alacreu.
You'd think they'd be a bit more hesitant on infringing on the copyrights of two of the most recognisable superhero franchises on the planet. I suppose Wonder Girl was less well known, mainly being seen as a member of the Teen Titans in the 1960's, although she did appear in the 1970's Wonder Woman TV show, but Supergirl had been around since 1952 and appeared frequently alongside her slightly more famous cousin, including in British reprints.
The Tammy Project: Documenting the classic British girls' comic, one serial at a time.
Marionette wrote:You'd think they'd be a bit more hesitant on infringing on the copyrights of two of the most recognisable superhero franchises on the planet. I suppose Wonder Girl was less well known, mainly being seen as a member of the Teen Titans in the 1960's, although she did appear in the 1970's Wonder Woman TV show, but Supergirl had been around since 1952 and appeared frequently alongside her slightly more famous cousin, including in British reprints.
Titles are not copyrighted, but you have to be careful to avoid confusion. And don't make it look a blatant ripoff. So as I understand it, it would not violate copyright to use the title "Supergirl", so long as there is no similarity to the DC character of the same name. But it would be advisable to use some variant of it or a different title so there is no confusion.
...Of course, the Atlantic Ocean was so much wider in those days!
Funnily enough DC Thomson liked the names 'Wonder Girl' and 'Supergirl' so much they used them both more than once. In the case of the Supergirl who made her debut in Judy during 1983, while she didn't have any super powers - bionic or otherwise - she did wear a costume that looked suspiciously familiar!
Here's another early variation on the 'alien visitor' theme - the 1964 Bunty series 'The Girl from the Flying Saucer'.
Thanks Ruth, I was wondering who the artist was. I think I prefer this to later examples of his work that I've seen in British comics: his figures have a wonderful sense of movement.
Another alien visitor who made her debut in the pages of Debbie in 1976 was Suzy Smith who came to Earth as a child and was adopted by human parents (rather like Superman). It's been pointed out that DC Thomson had a habit of reworking old plots over and over again, and this story is no exception as it bears some remarkable similarities to the previously-mentioned Diana strip 'Wonder Girl' (note the blurb above the first page!). Here's the first episode:
I love that full-page splash panel - something that was comparatively rare in British comics at the time. Does anybody recognize the artist?
While I'm at it, here's yet another DC Thomson 'Wonder Girl' as she appeared in Mandy during 1969. No super powers to speak of, but the storyline involving a tribe of time-lost cavemen would certainly qualify as Sci-Fi:
Here is an SF story from Guy Peeters. Peeters drew a lot of SF (and non-SF) stories for Jinty, including Land of No Tears, The Human Zoo and (here) Worlds Apart. Yes, this is the Jinty classic where six girls find their dream worlds becoming real (and becoming the stuff of nightmares) after they were knocked out by the gas from the tanker. Peeters also drew E.T. Estate in Tammy.
It's remarkable how 'Worlds Apart' seems to stick in people's memories. I can't help feeling that it would make a brilliant live-action series for children's television!
helsbels wrote:Both Balloon Of Doom and Valda were reprinted as part of the Lucky Charm series of compilations in the late 70s/ early 80s.
Unfortunately I don't own those particular issues of Lucky Charm but here's a black & white advert for 'The Balloon of Doom' in which you can get some idea of Ian Kennedy's beautifully painted cover:
And while I'm at it, here's an episode from Ian's own 1980 Judy series 'Children from the Stars' where we learn that human beings can be far more deadly than any visitors from outer space.
It's a shame Halloween is over and done with for this year - it'd be really tempting to buy a big red balloon and paint one of those faces on it!
Here are three classic Sci-Fi scenarios that were highlighted in Judy & Tracy during 1985. I've always liked comics that featured different series in turn on their covers - it's a shame the girls' titles didn't do it more often.
...It's the strip 'Lost on the Planet of Fear' that was mentioned by Peace 355 near the beginning of this thread. I could be wrong but the art looks like the work of Eduardo Feito.
Here are two separate Judy strips from 1967 and 1968 which involve aliens who visit Earth during antiquity. In 'The Golden Cradle' evil space invaders attack the lost continent of Mu, whereas in 'Diana and the Dawn People' benevolent space-travellers land on Salisbury Plain where they help the locals to construct a giant astro-computer: the great stone circle we now call Stonehenge!
(I think it was in Bunty)
