Girl with the Power

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.

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Tammyfan
Posts: 1981
Joined: 23 Aug 2012, 10:41

Girl with the Power

Post by Tammyfan »

I am trying to find the publication dates and more plot details for "Girl with the Power". It appeared in either Tracy or Debbie and was drawn by Carmona. It was about a girl who is taken in by a horrible family who make her a drudge after her father is wrongly imprisoned. Then a laboratory accident gives her her power of telekinesis, which makes things easier. And if anyone could provide any scans, that would be great. Many thanks in advance for any help.

Phoenix
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Re: Girl with the Power

Post by Phoenix »

The serial The Girl With The Power that you requested details about, Briony, ran in Tracy 31 (May 3 1980) - 41 (July 12 1980). However, I'm afraid that you will have to wait for a summary, however brief, unless someone else has those issues and feels willing to step into the breach, because having just spent over eight hours driving back from a week's holiday in Cornwall where I had some quality time with absolutely all of my grandchildren, I am exhausted. Furthermore, in the next few days appointments have been made with a number of local estate agents who are scheduled to bring round viewers, or to put it another way, potential purchasers, to inspect my house inside and out, which will also impinge on my current energy levels. Of course, assuming that I do manage to sell the Marsden family pile, I will have to expend a whole load more energy looking for a replacement in Hayle. Actually, to be fair, I think my daughter-in-law will do the necessary legwork initially and make any recommendations if she finds anything suitable. She is naturally well aware of the need for wall space for the box files housing my comic collections. All my duplicates are destined for the relevant Media Studies Departments at Liverpool John Moores University. Furthermore I have decided that I will not be buying a season ticket this year for Bolton Wanderers because it will be a waste of money from the point I toddle off to Hayle, and almost certainly equally so even if I had chosen not to go.

Tammyfan
Posts: 1981
Joined: 23 Aug 2012, 10:41

Re: Girl with the Power

Post by Tammyfan »

Well, it's a start. Thank you Phoenix.

Update: Oh goody, 30th Century Comics has some of the issues. I'll see if I can order them.

Phoenix
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Re: Girl with the Power

Post by Phoenix »

Tammyfan wrote:Well, it's a start.
That comment sounds almost dismissive. I had assumed that you would consider it a very good and promising start. Nevertheless, after you receive the consignment of issues of Tracy that you are going to order from 30th Century Comics let me know if you still need any help with the plot, and I'll do what I can.

Tammyfan
Posts: 1981
Joined: 23 Aug 2012, 10:41

Re: Girl with the Power

Post by Tammyfan »

Phoenix wrote: After you receive the consignment of issues of Tracy that you are going to order from 30th Century Comics let me know if you still need any help with the plot, and I'll do what I can.
Thank you again for the publication dates, Phoenix. They have enabled me to secure #'s 34, 36, 37, 38, and 40 from 30th Century Comics. I need the early episodes, or synopses in order to determine just how the father's false imprisonment (though I suspect the full details were not revealed until the final episode), the girl's slavery under her guardians, and acquisition of her powers were developed. And the last two episodes, to see if anything in the penultimate episode had any bearing on the final one.

Many thanks for any help.

Phoenix
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Re: The Girl with the Power

Post by Phoenix »

Here are the summaries, Briony, of the six issues you don't have. The introductory comments are for anybody else who may be interested.

Karen Chandler works like a slave in the restaurant run by Sam Lee and his wife, Nadine. Karen's mother is dead. Her father had been a partner in the business but is currently in jail, having been convicted of buying stolen goods and almost killing the lorry driver who allegedly was in the scheme with him. Apparently the police had found him standing over the driver with an iron bar in his hand.

31 (May 3 1980):- Karen is exhausted, having been washing up all the dirty crockery and cutlery from the restaurant since she got back from school. She isn't that happy at school either as the girls there are in the habit of making reference to her father being in prison. Her fortunes are about to change though when her Biology teacher sends the class out to search for the plants and flowers that she has listed. She sees one of the listed items on the other side of a fence identified as an Energy Research Unit. She doesn't see a KEEP OUT sign and goes in. She hears a loud bang and is affected by heat and fumes, her head spinning like a top. The evening paper carries a report of the explosion which it claims was not serious. When she gets to the restaurant Nadine orders her to bring a sack of potatoes up from the cellar. When Karen tries to pick the heavy sack up she wishes she didn't have to carry it up all the stairs. The sack then moved by itself to the top of the cellar stairs, at which point she realises that she can move things by thought alone, and instantly realises that her quality of life is about to improve significantly.

32 (May 10 1980):- Karen is determined not to tell the Lees about her power as they would find ways of using it to their own advantage. As Mr Lee makes his way up to bed he orders Karen to clear up the restaurant before she finishes her work. When he hears her going up to her attic bedroom he accuses her of lying and insists on her going down with him to see for himself. He is amazed but Karen can get a decent night's sleep for a change. When she gets to school the following morning the girls, egged on by one called Lydia, start baiting her again so she uses her power to turn the window cleaner's bucket of water upside down and soaks them all. Karen later has to rescue a younger pupil from the bullying Lydia. A few days later a teacher tells Karen that her work is improving immensely. The following day after school Karen goes into the woods to try and find out just how strong her power is. She tries to will a tree trunk to rise from the ground. At first she is unsuccessful but after a week she can lift it several feet off the ground.

33 (May 17 1980):- Karen is in the wood again, this time trying to move a tree. The tree topples over and lands on Lydia Welch. With her power she lifts the tree off the girl but as Lydia has struck her head on a stone when she falls and is knocked out, Karen has to go back to school for help. The caretaker gets a neighbouring doctor to help Lydia. When the doctor asks Karen how she got Lydia from under the tree she tells him that it is amazing what you can do in an emergency. That night in the restaurant she has to deal with a couple of awkward customers but gets her own back by moving meat off their plates, which causes an argument between them that very nearly leads to a fight.

35 (May 31 1980):- Karen sees in a newspaper that a circus is in town. She wants to go as she had done often with her mother and father. Mrs Lee agrees and even says she will pay for her if she does all the chores beforehand. On the day Mr Lee is extremely awkward but somehow Karen gets through her work. Some naughty boys set fire to the Big Top, which is soon engulfed in flames. During the rapid exit Karen hears a trapped child crying out in a caravan for her mother. She has to use her power to move a blazing tent pole in order to rescue the little boy but then has to use her power to make a vase break a window.

39 (June 28 1980):- Sam finds out that Alex Egan from the Daily Globe will be in town the following day, and tells Karen that a mention from him in the Globe would lead to more business. He is therefore very angry when the chef's wife rings to say that he won't be in for a few days due to flu. Then Nadine tells Karen that she has flu too. Karen is clearly in for a busy night!! Unfortunately for the Lees they assume that Alex Egan is male. When a lady tells them as she leaves that she certainly did not enjoy her meal due to the slow service, although she does add that it wasn't the waitress's fault as she had done her best to cope while everybody else's attention was on just one male diner, she adds that she will not be mentioning the restaurant in her weekly 'Good Restaurant' column.

41 (July 12 1980):- One day the police arrive at the restaurant wanting to talk to Mr and Mrs Lee. They ask them to accompany them to the police station. It turns out that the lorry driver who had been coshed in the restaurant's car park has come out of his coma and given the police some vital information. Sam takes a knife to Karen's throat, and after telling the police not to follow he bundles her into his car. Karen then uses her power to instruct the car door to slam on Sam's arm so that he drops the knife, then instructs a heavy box to hit him on the back of his head. The police take him into custody. Karen is very dizzy and is put to bed. The doctor sees that she is exhausted and promises to return the following day. When Karen comes round she discovers that her father is with her. He has been released from prison because the lorry driver had been supplying Sam with the stolen goods, not Karen's father. It was actually Sam who had hit the lorry driver with the iron bar during an argument. Karen's father had come along at an inopportune moment and picked up the iron bar. The policeman had thus assumed that Karen's father had struck the lorry driver, and so had the jury. The lorry driver had only recovered the previous day, but when the police had heard his story they immediately released Karen's father. When Karen decided to display her power for her father to see it in action she discovered that the power had left her as suddenly as it had arrived.

big bad bri
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Re: Girl with the Power

Post by big bad bri »

Derek i applaud and admire the fact that you always take the time to always try and help people and answer whatever questions you can no matter that you have your own stuff to be getting on with as i see how stressful moving house is in my brother this will be his 2nd in just over a year and he is near breaking point.you should write a book or 2 :wink: :lol: as it would give you more time to enjoy retirement and people could use your books /ref guides for any and all questions they have. :D 8) :lol:

Tammyfan
Posts: 1981
Joined: 23 Aug 2012, 10:41

Re: Girl with the Power

Post by Tammyfan »

Thank you very much for those thorough episode summaries, Phoenix! :D

The other episodes from 30th Century Comics are on their way now, by the way.
Last edited by Tammyfan on 17 Aug 2017, 03:01, edited 1 time in total.

Phoenix
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Re: Girl with the Power

Post by Phoenix »

big bad bri wrote:Derek i applaud and admire the fact that you always take the time to always try and help people and answer whatever questions you can no matter that you have your own stuff to be getting on with
Thank you for those kind words, Bri. All I really need to say in response is that I do it because I can, but there are lots of members who make similar contributions to help other members. That in essence is a major function of of this site and naturally of Lorraine's Girls Comics Of Yesterday site as well.
big bad bri wrote:you should write a book or 2 :wink: :lol: as it would give you more time to enjoy retirement and people could use your books /ref guides for any and all questions they have.
Well I've already been fully retired for nine years, Bri, but I still seem to have the same enthusiasm for the fiction from Thomsons that I acquired when I was nine. Books of course take quite a long time to write and while I do expect to write a major one on Bunty even starting it may well have to wait until I am settled in Cornwall. If I were to restrict all future books to just a listing of the serials, each with a three-line summary and the heading block illustration as I did within This Was The Wizard, I could start that tomorrow for any of the other members of The Big Five and indeed all the company's titles for girls if people feel that would be enough. I've certainly been thinking recently that that may be the appropriate approach. It would be a time saver, and each volume could act as a source book for future historians to build on. All sensible suggestions gratefully received!!!!!

Tammyfan
Posts: 1981
Joined: 23 Aug 2012, 10:41

Re: Girl with the Power

Post by Tammyfan »

big bad bri wrote:you should write a book or 2 :wink: :lol: as it would give you more time to enjoy retirement and people could use your books /ref guides for any and all questions they have.
Well I've already been fully retired for nine years, Bri, but I still seem to have the same enthusiasm for the fiction from Thomsons that I acquired when I was nine. Books of course take quite a long time to write and while I do expect to write a major one on Bunty even starting it may well have to wait until I am settled in Cornwall. If I were to restrict all future books to just a listing of the serials, each with a three-line summary and the heading block illustration as I did within This Was The Wizard, I could start that tomorrow for any of the other members of The Big Five and indeed all the company's titles for girls if people feel that would be enough. I've certainly been thinking recently that that may be the appropriate approach. It would be a time saver, and each volume could act as a source book for future historians to build on. All sensible suggestions gratefully received!!!!![/quote]

I've never lost my enthusiasm for girls' comics either. I have soft spots for Tammy and Jinty but will pretty much read anything in that line.

Tammyfan
Posts: 1981
Joined: 23 Aug 2012, 10:41

Re: Girl with the Power

Post by Tammyfan »

The Tracys with the other episodes of this story came today! :)

Tammyfan
Posts: 1981
Joined: 23 Aug 2012, 10:41

Re: Girl with the Power

Post by Tammyfan »

Does anyone have the ending to "The House That Jackie Bought", please? It ended in Tracy #41 or #42.

Thank you for any help.

Phoenix
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Re: Girl with the Power

Post by Phoenix »

Tammyfan wrote:Does anyone have the ending to "The House That Jackie Bought", please? It ended in Tracy #41 or #42.
Jackie Stanton has won £2000 in an essay competition and bought her family's council house. Local feeling is antagonistic.

42:- Local hoodlums plan to break into some of Jackie's neighbours' houses feeling sure that she will get the blame for the thefts. Steve Bristow, an old schoolfriend of Jackie's, throws a brick with a note wrapped round it through one of Jackie's windows. She recognises his handwriting and threatens to haul him off to the local police station. He tries to excuse himself by claiming he was only copying the big boys, the sister of one of whom had got Jackie accused of shoplifting a few weeks earlier. When Jackie begins to suspect that her house will be targeted that night she persuades her mother to let her have a party that same night, to which she will invite all her neighbours. Inevitably the neighbours' empty houses are targeted by the hoodlums but Jackie has invited a local policeman as a special guest. Jackie takes the policeman to her room so that he can see the thieves in action, and then gets him and her other guests to surround the thieves. In the aftermath the local antagonism disappears as suddenly as it had been born.

Personally speaking, I do not agree that any council house should ever be sold.

Tammyfan
Posts: 1981
Joined: 23 Aug 2012, 10:41

Re: Girl with the Power

Post by Tammyfan »

Phoenix wrote:
Tammyfan wrote:Does anyone have the ending to "The House That Jackie Bought", please? It ended in Tracy #41 or #42.
Jackie Stanton has won £2000 in an essay competition and bought her family's council house. Local feeling is antagonistic.

42:- Local hoodlums plan to break into some of Jackie's neighbours' houses feeling sure that she will get the blame for the thefts. Steve Bristow, an old schoolfriend of Jackie's, throws a brick with a note wrapped round it through one of Jackie's windows. She recognises his handwriting and threatens to haul him off to the local police station. He tries to excuse himself by claiming he was only copying the big boys, the sister of one of whom had got Jackie accused of shoplifting a few weeks earlier. When Jackie begins to suspect that her house will be targeted that night she persuades her mother to let her have a party that same night, to which she will invite all her neighbours. Inevitably the neighbours' empty houses are targeted by the hoodlums but Jackie has invited a local policeman as a special guest. Jackie takes the policeman to her room so that he can see the thieves in action, and then gets him and her other guests to surround the thieves. In the aftermath the local antagonism disappears as suddenly as it had been born.

Personally speaking, I do not agree that any council house should ever be sold.
Thank you, Phoenix.

The story sure makes a point that selling a council house is not a good idea. Not that it merited Jackie and her family the harassment they got, of course.
Last edited by Tammyfan on 07 Sep 2017, 22:49, edited 1 time in total.

Phoenix
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Re: Girl with the Power

Post by Phoenix »

Phoenix wrote:If I were to restrict all future books to just a listing of the serials, each with a three-line summary and the heading block illustration as I did within This Was The Wizard, I could start that tomorrow for any of the other members of The Big Five and indeed all the company's titles for girls if people feel that would be enough.
This comment was inviting reactions from members but so far nobody has responded. Does this mean that I should just carry on regardless or does nobody care either way?

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