Tammy in the later years - 'kinder'?

[comixminx]

I've dug out my old Tammy issues, which I don't have that many of - I seem to have most of 1982 (Tammy and Jinty) and some of 1983. My particular interest in re-reading it has been to pay attention to the credits which it started running in 1982 - even the crafts pieces and fashion pages were credited in this period (to Chris Lloyd and Mari L'Anson respectively), and most of the complete stories but not all of them. I wonder whether some of the complete stories were reprints that they perhaps didn't even know the original creators for? If so that is a pretty astounding indictment of their record-keeping (but I wouldn't put it past IPC / Fleetway).

At the same time though I noticed that the feel of Tammy at this point seemed different. There are spooky stories, either with a Misty-esque ending where not even the innocent necessarily escape, or a more Gypsy Rose / Storyteller vibe as the protagonist escapes in some lucky fashion. But apart from Bella and her cruel Uncle and Aunt, there doesn't seem to be half as much downright cruelty and suffering in the stories. And there are several pretty upbeat stories - Nanny Young, who always manages to sort out the lives of her charges; Little Sisters; The Button Box, which is Pollyannaish by its very nature. Do others who know Tammy better agree?

[Tammyfan]

By the late 1970s the elements of cruelty (Cinderella stories, slave stories) that Tammy had pioneered with in 1971 had disappeared. Bella was the last remnant of those times and the only story left to have Cinderella elements. Pickering, from Molly Mills, had been toned down as well. He was still a bullying slave driver, but he stopped beating Molly, tying her up, and throwing her in the lake, dungeons and the stocks. The resident catty maids, Betty and Kitty, were also toned down. Pat Mills reckons it was a counter-revolution to his revolutionary Tammy. The editorship had also changed, just as it had with Jinty. Ironically, the Cinderella and slave story themes remained strong in DCT titles, and it was not until the 1990s that they began to fade.

The early Jinty also had slave stories and Cinderella stories like Tammy. But by the late 1970s these had also disappeared.

[Tammyfan]

Yes, a lot of the complete stories during Tammy's credits run were reprints. They were old Strange Stories that replaced the Storyteller with text. The writer would not have been known, but they didn't credit the artists either, though they would have been known. They didn't have credits for the serials they reprinted either, such as "Glenda's Glossy Pages".

[comixminx]

By the late 1970s the elements of cruelty (Cinderella stories, slave stories) that Tammy had pioneered with in 1971 had disappeared. .... Pat Mills reckons it was a counter-revolution to his revolutionary Tammy. The editorship had also changed, just as it had with Jinty. Ironically, the Cinderella and slave story themes remained strong in DCT titles, and it was not until the 1990s that they began to fade.

The early Jinty also had slave stories and Cinderella stories like Tammy. But by the late 1970s these had also disappeared.

Come to think of it, you have made this point before now, but it's striking how much you feel it when reading that era!

[comixminx]

Yes, a lot of the complete stories during Tammy's credits run were reprints. They were old Strange Stories that replaced the Storyteller with text. The writer would not have been known, but they didn't credit the artists either, though they would have been known. They didn't have credits for the serials they reprinted either, such as "Glenda's Glossy Pages".

Bang goes any hope of ever getting records from the publishers then, if they couldn't even credit stuff they'd published only a few years earlier. Not that I was at all hopeful anyway, following phoning Egmont up one time and finding that there was only one person who knew anything about that bit of their history!

[Tammyfan]

Yes, a lot of the complete stories during Tammy's credits run were reprints. They were old Strange Stories that replaced the Storyteller with text. The writer would not have been known, but they didn't credit the artists either, though they would have been known. They didn't have credits for the serials they reprinted either, such as "Glenda's Glossy Pages".

Bang goes any hope of ever getting records from the publishers then, if they couldn't even credit stuff they'd published only a few years earlier. Not that I was at all hopeful anyway, following phoning Egmont up one time and finding that there was only one person who knew anything about that bit of their history!

You could still try. You never know. Maybe they didn't run credits on the reprints because they couldn't be bothered. They would have known who the artists were if not the writers. Or maybe there were legal problems about crediting them.

[Phoenix]

I have just tried a few times without success to access Marionette's The Tammy Project. As this may be caused by the same problem that is preventing me from accessing the 2015 section of Girls Comics Of Yesterday, could a couple of members who got into peace355's 2015 section please try to access The Tammy Project, and let me know how you get on, as I suspect that Ken's Halewood Council duties will prevent him from coming over for a few days yet.

[comixminx]

I have just tried a few times without success to access Marionette's The Tammy Project. As this may be caused by the same problem that is preventing me from accessing the 2015 section of Girls Comics Of Yesterday, could a couple of members who got into peace355's 2015 section please try to access The Tammy Project, and let me know how you get on, as I suspect that Ken's Halewood Council duties will prevent him from coming over for a few days yet.

I can confirm that I am also getting errors in accessing her site so that may indeed be a problem with her site not with your browser. I will try again tonight from home.

[Tammyfan]

I tried it too last night and couldn't access.

[comixminx]

Just tried it now from home and yes, it's not working.

[marckie73]

It seems to have been taken off the net. When I look at a cached copy of the Tammy Project, the last entry is from July 11, 2014, in which she states she is having troubles with the internet. After that: nothing.

You can still get access to the former blog: http://tammycomic.blogspot.nl/

[marckie73]

The later Tammys are a bit, ehm, dull. All those Tony Coleman stories... There doesn't seem to be an issue without a story by him. I don't know if he also wrote the stories or that he worked with the same writer, but I don't like any of these stories. Towards the end Tammy became a bit of a 'nothing' comic. I'm not very surprised Tammy was cancelled (but of course it shouldn't have ended like it did). When I read the older comics, they seem to be aimed at an older public than the later ones.

[comixminx]

The later Tammys are a bit, ehm, dull. All those Tony Coleman stories... There doesn't seem to be an issue without a story by him. I don't know if he also wrote the stories or that he worked with the same writer, but I don't like any of these stories. Towards the end Tammy became a bit of a 'nothing' comic. I'm not very surprised Tammy was cancelled (but of course it shouldn't have ended like it did). When I read the older comics, they seem to be aimed at an older public than the later ones.

I liked "Cuckoo In The Nest" myself. The batch of Tammys I was reading (around issues 560 - 620) were quite enjoyable and as I say quite 'nice', perhaps a bit too much so of course. I was quite interested that it had more stories about boyfriends etc though I can't say I particularly liked the story with Sandy Rawlings.