Trying to find a proto-Bella story

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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Phoenix
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Re: Trying to find a proto-Bella story

Post by Phoenix »

comixminx wrote:Having said all that, if Briony did want to write a book or two I'm sure many of us would be very interested to know more :)
I'm sure that's true, Jenni, but the main reason why I was asking Briony if she was going to write a book or two is that I am well aware that she does turn her hand to writing articles on girls' comics, and has been doing so for a long time. I have downloaded and printed off a significant number of them over the years so I know full well that she is perfectly capable of writing a book. My question was not remotely gratuitous. The bottom line though as far as I'm concerned is that she still hasn't answered it. :roll:

Tammyfan
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Re: Trying to find a proto-Bella story

Post by Tammyfan »

I do have plans to write a book or two, though not on this topic.

I was pursuing Lindy again because I think she has some part in Bella history, but I couldn’t place where she appeared.

Phoenix
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Re: Trying to find a proto-Bella story

Post by Phoenix »

Tammyfan wrote:I do have plans to write a book or two
Well that's very good news, Briony.
Tammyfan wrote:though not on this topic
Now you are just being a tease. Could you please give us a reasonable idea of the thrust of the proposed books. Needless to say, as one writer to another, I am genuinely interested in your answer.

Tammyfan
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Re: Trying to find a proto-Bella story

Post by Tammyfan »

Phoenix wrote:
Tammyfan wrote:I do have plans to write a book or two
Well that's very good news, Briony.
Tammyfan wrote:though not on this topic
Now you are just being a tease. Could you please give us a reasonable idea of the thrust of the proposed books. Needless to say, as one writer to another, I am genuinely interested in your answer.
One is an sf novel, the other a ghost one. I prefer to give no more details.

Phoenix
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Re: Trying to find a proto-Bella story

Post by Phoenix »

Tammyfan wrote:One is an sf novel, the other a ghost one. I prefer to give no more details.
I have to say, Briony, that your answer was a huge, but fascinating, surprise. Have you written any novels before or will you be breaking new ground with the two you mention? I can't recall doing an eBay search for your publications for a year or more but at the time I don't think there was any fiction mentioned.

big bad bri
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Re: Trying to find a proto-Bella story

Post by big bad bri »

Phoenix wrote:
Tammyfan wrote:One is an sf novel, the other a ghost one. I prefer to give no more details.
I have to say, Briony, that your answer was a huge, but fascinating, surprise. Have you written any novels before or will you be breaking new ground with the two you mention? I can't recall doing an eBay search for your publications for a year or more but at the time I don't think there was any fiction mentioned.
Briony have you actually written a book or 2 if so what are they and are any comic related.

Tammyfan
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Re: Trying to find a proto-Bella story

Post by Tammyfan »

I haven’t written any comic-related books and have no plans to right now.

Goof
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Re: Trying to find a proto-Bella story

Post by Goof »

Here's a little oddity in connection with the Lindy story. The last page of the Tammy issue for 22 June 1974 advertises next week's instalment of Bella at the Bar with a picture of - Lindy! It's part of a panel taken from the Girls' Crystal story. Evidently somebody on Tammy was aware of the resemblance!

Thanks to the Great News for All Readers! website for this little titbit. If you check their entry for this issue of Tammy, you'll see it in the last page scanned.

Tammyfan
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Re: Trying to find a proto-Bella story

Post by Tammyfan »

Goof wrote:Here's a little oddity in connection with the Lindy story. The last page of the Tammy issue for 22 June 1974 advertises next week's instalment of Bella at the Bar with a picture of - Lindy! It's part of a panel taken from the Girls' Crystal story. Evidently somebody on Tammy was aware of the resemblance!

Thanks to the Great News for All Readers! website for this little titbit. If you check their entry for this issue of Tammy, you'll see it in the last page scanned.
Eh? That issue was the 1974 and the Lindy story was in a 1976 annual. How come a panel from the Lindy story appeared two years before then? :?: Did the Lindy story exist already, but they did not publish it until 1976?

Well, thank you for the information anyway. It's quite a surprise. I thought that girl did not look like Bella but I did not realise it was Lindy,

Goof
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Re: Trying to find a proto-Bella story

Post by Goof »

The appearance in the Girls' Crystal annual may have been a reprint. If so, I would have thought it was very unlikely that it originally appeared in the Girls' Crystal weekly - the whole style of the story suggests a later date. One possibility is that it was originally published in June. As the merger with June had only just happened when this Tammy was published, this might explain how the mix-up occurred.

Alternatively, the story might have been intended for June or Tammy but not published, possible spiked at the last minute because of the start of the Bella serial. In that case Lindy may have been a genuine precursor of Bella. This might explain something a little unusual about the ending of the Lindy story. The story ends with Liza Leap revealing her identity to Lindy's foster parents and explaining her intention to train Lindy to be a gymnastics champion. But she doesn't reveal this to Lindy. The final panel shows her passing Lindy practising away in the backyard and thinking that she will "put you on the real bars soon - as a great gym hopeful. But that's a surprise I'll keep for a while.." Was this perhaps originally intended to be the first episode of a serial?

Tammyfan
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Re: Trying to find a proto-Bella story

Post by Tammyfan »

Goof wrote:The appearance in the Girls' Crystal annual may have been a reprint. If so, I would have thought it was very unlikely that it originally appeared in the Girls' Crystal weekly - the whole style of the story suggests a later date. One possibility is that it was originally published in June. As the merger with June had only just happened when this Tammy was published, this might explain how the mix-up occurred.

Alternatively, the story might have been intended for June or Tammy but not published, possible spiked at the last minute because of the start of the Bella serial. In that case Lindy may have been a genuine precursor of Bella. This might explain something a little unusual about the ending of the Lindy story. The story ends with Liza Leap revealing her identity to Lindy's foster parents and explaining her intention to train Lindy to be a gymnastics champion. But she doesn't reveal this to Lindy. The final panel shows her passing Lindy practising away in the backyard and thinking that she will "put you on the real bars soon - as a great gym hopeful. But that's a surprise I'll keep for a while.." Was this perhaps originally intended to be the first episode of a serial?
Yes, I am leaning towards the latter, especially as they used a panel from Lindy to advertise Bella. They could have incorporated elements from Lindy for Bella too.

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