Yes it seems so and I nearly bought it on ebay for £2.99, but I would really have liked the Topper it was in as well.Digifiend wrote:So the Sparky pull-out started a week BEFORE the first merged issue then.
I. Spy - the `years of decline, Sparky & Champ
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Re: I. Spy - the `years of decline, Sparky & Champ
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Lew Stringer
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Re: I. Spy - the `years of decline, Sparky & Champ
If memory serves me right, Sparky was published on Saturdays then, and Topper was published on Wednesday. Therefore although they'd both feature the same cover date (the following Saturday) Sparky would be in the shops a few days before Topper.Digifiend wrote:So the Sparky pull-out started a week BEFORE the first merged issue then.
My guess is, if this IS a "special" pull-out (and not the first normal pull-out of the merged issues) it was just so there wasn't a week-and-a-half gap between the final Sparky and the first merged issue.
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alanultron5
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Re: I. Spy - the `years of decline, Sparky & Champ
I didn't know about that one! You do get good info on here!
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Re: I. Spy - the `years of decline, Sparky & Champ
The final issue of Sparky and the first issue of Topper & Sparky shared the same cover date i.e 16th July 1977 so the pull-out above appears in the first issue of the combined titles and wasn't a preview of any sort. In fact the final issue of Topper Fun (as the Topper had been titled since 1975 up until the merger with Sparky) had included its own pull-out section for the months previous to the merger featuring old Topper characters from the past.
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alanultron5
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Re: I. Spy - the `years of decline, Sparky & Champ
Ah! `Toxteth O` Grady` has updated me too on those! Yes! I suppose you can get a bit confused!
A Face unclouded by thought.
Re: I. Spy - the `years of decline, Sparky & Champ
It doesn't help that the day of the week the comics came out on doesn't always match what's printed on the cover.
Re: I. Spy - the `years of decline, Sparky & Champ
The person on ebay was wrong what he said then.
The Sparky special was it the only one free in Topper? or did they have a Sparky insert everyweek, and were they called Special?
The Sparky special was it the only one free in Topper? or did they have a Sparky insert everyweek, and were they called Special?
Re: I. Spy - the `years of decline, Sparky & Champ
It was there until they removed the Sparky name from the cover I believe.
Re: I. Spy - the `years of decline, Sparky & Champ
I think the person on ebay was just trying to 'big up' their item for sale. This insert was only the first of several hundred that appeared in the Topper's middle pages titled 'The Sparky Special'.steelclaw wrote:The person on ebay was wrong what he said then.
The Sparky special was it the only one free in Topper? or did they have a Sparky insert everyweek, and were they called Special?
Re: I. Spy - the `years of decline, Sparky & Champ
My memories only stretch back to the late 1970s, but to the best of my knowledge, the tabloid comics made a point of having an A4 pullout. Beezer had it for Plug and Topper had it for Sparky until both went A4.
I'm too young to remember whether Buzz and Sparky also had this!
I'm too young to remember whether Buzz and Sparky also had this!