Phoenix's Future Plans

[Phoenix]

A nice little run of JUDY arrived this morning from 30th Century, numbers 306 (Nov. 20 1965) - 310 (Dec. 18 1965). 306 contains the first episode of Colleen And The Last Witch, 307 has the first episode of the fascinating and very unusual Air-Raid Annie, and 309 features the first episode of Kirsty And The Coal Imp. It is always helpful to have the first episode of any serial of course.

[Phoenix]

I may be moving in the near future. My sister and I will be combining our savings to buy a house in Kent.

Steve Mitchell in Kent? Does not compute! Does not Compute!! Does Not Compute!!! Can the threat to property in the vicinity of Millwall F.C. be a lot worse than even I thought it was?

Only kidding, Steve. I really wish you well for the move, and when you remember that Putney High Street is the most polluted street in the country, just think how much cleaner the air will be there when you no longer have to go down it or even across it, on your way to 30th Century Comics on Lower Richmond Road. If you still need comics, or even need to sell some when you discover just how many duplicates you already have in your storage unit, just do what I usually do, pick up the phone. In fact, I'm sure 30th Century will go to you if they think it's worth their while.

[stevezodiac]

The first thing I bought when I started work in the mid seventies was a Prinz telescope which I still have. It occurred to me yesterday that when I do move I can go back to some stargazing which was always difficult from a council flat. In Cornwall I expect you can see the Milky Way in its full splendour.

Re comics. There is no way I we would take dealers' prices. I'll put them on eBay.

[Phoenix]

In Cornwall I expect you can see the Milky Way in its full splendour

Well, my good friend, you envied me on December 28th last year, when you believed that because I was in Cornwall I would be able to see the Milky Way 'in all its glory', and I couldn't because of all the cloud cover. Now you are merely expectant. I will promise you this. When I have finally blown Lancashire's dust off my shoes, and settled into the house that I have bought in Hayle, which will hopefully be in the next two or three weeks, I will regularly keep an eye on the heavens, and report back from time to time. How's that for a plan?

[Kashgar]

A nice little run of JUDY arrived this morning from 30th Century, numbers 306 (Nov. 20 1965) - 310 (Dec. 18 1965). 306 contains the first episode of Colleen And The Last Witch, 307 has the first episode of the fascinating and very unusual Air-Raid Annie, and 309 features the first episode of Kirsty And The Coal Imp. It is always helpful to have the first episode of any serial of course.

Hi Derek, Just to clarify 'Colleen and the Last Witch' began in Judy No56 in Feb 1961just in case people might think that the later series you mentioned above was the strips first outing. Lovely artwork by George Ramsbottom.

[Phoenix]

Hi Derek, Just to clarify 'Colleen and the Last Witch' began in Judy No 56 in Feb 1961 just in case people might think that the later series you mentioned above was the strips first outing.

Yes, I'm sorry for creating confusion there, Ray. I certainly didn't wish to imply that issue 306 contained Colleen's first ever appearance because I am well aware that it wasn't. I do have complete lists, with starting and finishing issues and dates for virtually every serial that appeared in all eleven DCT titles for girls aged between 8/9 to 12/13, due to several visits to the British Library in order to consult those issues that I don't own. I have to say 'virtually' because a handful of issues that I haven't got in my collection are not in the B.L. either. In fact the only issues of JUDY that I don't have between issue 1 in 1960 and the end of 1971 are 304 (1965) and 329 (1966). Their absence from my collection, though probably temporary anyway, will clearly not prevent me from writing accurate three-line synopses of the serials they contain, or of any other serials that have instalments in issues missing from my collection and/or the B.L.'s, for inclusion in BUNTY AND HER SISTERS. I'm very comfortable with my reference material, and with any future need to pop down to London again if I need to check anything. The book has to be accurate otherwise how could I expect anyone to trust my work, past, present, or future?

[Phoenix]

I had an hour-long chat last night with Ray Moore about my plans for what I think will be my final two books. Needless to say, he is very supportive, and as he did for THIS WAS THE WIZARD, he has agreed to let me have the names of the artists who drew the heading block illustrations for the first instalment of every serial that will be featured in ADVENTURE AND HIS BROTHERS. However, as he is considerably less familiar with the work of the artists who drew the equivalent illustrations for the girls' papers, and I wouldn't recognise the work of an artist if I fell over them, that feature will not appear in BUNTY AND HER SISTERS. In all other respects they will be companion volumes, the total number of serials getting three-line summaries in each book being 3500.

[Tammyfan]

I had an hour-long chat last night with Ray Moore about my plans for what I think will be my final two books. Needless to say, he is very supportive, and as he did for THIS WAS THE WIZARD, he has agreed to let me have the names of the artists who drew the heading block illustrations for the first instalment of every serial that will be featured in ADVENTURE AND HIS BROTHERS. However, as he is considerably less familiar with the work of the artists who drew the equivalent illustrations for the girls' papers, and I wouldn't recognise the work of an artist if I fell over them, that feature will not appear in BUNTY AND HER SISTERS. In all other respects they will be companion volumes, the total number of serials getting three-line summaries in each book being 3500.

Why don't you ask David Roach for help? He's the expert on girls comics artists.

[Phoenix]

Why don't you ask David Roach for help? He's the expert on girls comics artists.

Yes, I know he is, Briony, and of course he did kindly send me a complete list of the artists for BUNTY a couple of years ago when my plan was just to write about that one comic. Now however we are looking at ten other titles as well because in my opinion all the necessary information can be contained in just one book, and as far as paying for it to be published is concerned, it would have to be just the one because the cost of having just 100 printed and bound would certainly be in excess of £2000, and that would have to come out of my teacher's pension. I think it is too big an ask anyway because all David would get in exchange for his information would be his name on the front cover and the spine, and a few free copies of the book.

The subsidiary title The Great Stories is intended to indicate clearly that a selection based on my assessment of quality and/or originality has been made from the total available. Just to put that in context, assuming that I have added the numbers up correctly, there are 5974 serials in the full runs of the eleven comics. My intention is to select 3500 of them, the ones that I consider to be the most worthy of inclusion. At thirteen summaries to a page, that would require 270 pages, roughly the same length as THIS WAS THE WIZARD, which I wrote in 2014, with Ray Moore providing the information about the artists. The new book will inevitably be longer than that because of the additional material that will be included such as an Introduction, a list of Acknowledgements, a Bibliography of Works Consulted, all the 2"wide heading block illustrations at 21 to a page, flyers, free gifts, pages of colour covers etcetera. It may even be necessary to reduce the total number of serials from 3500 to 3000, just to get everything in at a manageable cost.

Needless to say, I would appreciate advice and other observations on the above from any interested members.

[big bad bri]

Derek have you ever asked anyone at DCT for artist info etc as surely they would have kept records.or would they want in on the action with your books if you did ask.

[Phoenix]

Derek have you ever asked anyone at DCT for artist info etc as surely they would have kept records.or would they want in on the action with your books if you did ask

The answer to both questions, Bri, is 'No'. However, when I was compiling my FREE GIFTS IN THE BIG FIVE, I did get help from Calum Laird when I was trying to figure out the actual distribution of the three sets of Famous Footballers produced for THE ROVER in 1922. The essential problem surfaced when I was buying as many of these cards as I could find at North West Card Fairs over a longish period of time because some were issued only in England, others only in Scotland, and some in both countries. The photos ran from issue 1 (March 4th 1922) to issue 47 (January 20th 1923). Calum very kindly resolved the matter for me. In fact, to be honest I asked him all sorts of questions, which he answered willingly and promptly. I got the impression that he was as interested in my project as I was. He certainly arranged for Thomsons to print it for me, and for Hay Binders in Newcastle upon Tyne to glue and bind it, and then deliver the finished product to me. I had my second book THIS WAS THE WIZARD printed and bound by Deanprint in Stockport but I still sent Thomsons copies for their library. I suspect that the two books I've just started work on will also go to Stockport. Needless to say, Thomsons are aware that I am writing a book on their fiction for girls because during my last contact with the company they asked me what I was going to write next. I told them that it would be a book on their fiction for girls, and they were very pleased to learn that. I am of course sure that the company could produce something themselves on their girls' papers if they so wished, but given that they know that I am engaged on just such a project, that Ray Moore will be involved too, and that I will send them a couple of copies for their company's library, anything they may choose to produce in the meantime will not be treading on my toes, just as I won't be treading on theirs. My book, which as you already know is to be called BUNTY AND HER SISTERS, will probably take nine months to write, and although I am doing a lot of the preliminary work here, I definitely won't start writing it until I have settled into the house I've bought in Hayle. According to my solicitors that will be within the next six weeks.

[Kashgar]

Derek have you ever asked anyone at DCT for artist info etc as surely they would have kept records.or would they want in on the action with your books if you did ask.

Once the editorial staff have gone bri, and most of them are long gone, the only resource left to check are the financial accounts of who was paid what, for what, at the time. If these accounts still exist, and I very much doubt that they do, they are certainly not readily accessible. In any case, as a lot of artists worked through agencies, it would often be the agency that would be referenced in the accounts rather than any individual artist.
When I was talking to Derek about the artist identification problem I suggested that we could maybe 'employ' a Brains Trust of interested and knowledgeable parties and see if we could get anywhere close to a success rate for identification of anything above 75% and that this perhaps would be enough to allow for the inclusion of artists names as a feature in the finished book. Whether that success rate could be achieved is obviously open to question as is the fact that Derek would consider it anywhere near enough of a success rate in the final analysis in a book that would be so concise in all other respects.
I only wish that, back in the day, when I was busy asking questions of comic editors and boys picture paper editors I'd had the foresight, or the time, to ask the girls picture paper editors similar questions.

[stevezodiac]

Quite by chance this amazing picture was in the Daily Star last week.

[DJDogfart]

I grew up on Portland and now live in Weymouth, less than 7 miles away. I have to say that the night sky is amazing at times here, but nothing has compared to the Arizona desert when I visited some 20 years ago. The sheer amount of stars blew me away there, and has stayed with me still all these years later.

[Phoenix]

My book, which as you already know is to be called BUNTY AND HER SISTERS, will probably take nine months to write, and although I am doing a lot of the preliminary work here, I definitely won't start writing it until I have settled into the house I've bought in Hayle. According to my solicitors that will be within the next six weeks.

Just for the record, the completion date is to be Tuesday 29 May. Some guy from the Britannia Packing Company will be coming here next Tuesday at 2.30 to assess the job. I think that may be a euphemism for to see how much money they can screw out of me to transport all my goods and chattels 300 or so miles.