Comics UK

For what it's worth I'm pretty sure there was a Pat Mills interview in which he singled out 'A Leap in Time' as being particularly memorable for him. It was certainly one of my own favourites - but then I've always been a sucker for time travel!

Maybe at some point it'd be worth submitting a provisional list to Pat himself to see if he has any comments or suggestions?

- Phil R.

philcom55 wrote:For what it's worth I'm pretty sure there was a Pat Mills interview in which he singled out 'A Leap in Time' as being particularly memorable for him. It was certainly one of my own favourites - but then I've always been a sucker for time travel!

Maybe at some point it'd be worth submitting a provisional list to Pat himself to see if he has any comments or suggestions?

- Phil R.

I do have his email (not posting it on the thread for privacy reasons). So yes, I could email the link to him and see what he thinks. The list is still open to more suggestions.

Come to think of it, he might suggest Ella on Easy a Street from Tammy. He holds that one in huge esteem. I'd better put it on the possibles.

Force of Evil was one of the best serials from Suzy. It is one I remember well, so I nominated it. Regrettably, I have no episodes to upload here for you to judge for yourself. If someone has any episodes, I'd be very grateful. I discussed it on another thread, but to recap:

Britain is invaded by the Sin Pact forces and falls under oppressive rule. Mr Potter, the father of our protagonist is their mouthpiece, their spokesperson who broadcasts all their orders and news on television. As a result, the Potter family find themselves the targets of ostracism, harassment, violence, and even attempted murder. But our heroine cannot believe her father is a traitor. She thinks he is being forced and is determined to prove it. But she has to do it in the face of all the harassment, attempted murders, and other ordeals. Along the way she has encounters with many facets of totalitarian rule such as re-education camps and Partisan forces. But the darkest moments have to be when she starts to doubt her father herself and wonder if he really is a traitor. And is he? You're left guessing right up until the final episode.

Now, Phoenix said something about Time after Time. I'll dig out my episodes of that serial.

Oh rats, I only have one episode. Oh well, here it is, to see what you think.




Hmm, I can see the implications of spending your Christmas holiday in Tresby....

I am including Ella on Easy Street (Tammy) in the list of possibles because it is one that Pat Mills could suggest. He has talked about it a great deal and insisted that it be ranked as Number 4 on the list. Here are the comments on Ella on Easy Street from the Tammy Top 10:

Ella on Easy Street
Writer: Charles Herring
Artist: Jose Casanovas

Publication: 16 March 1974 to 8 June 1974

Synopsis: Ella Rutt paints to school friends and teachers a bleak picture of her home life in Easy Street – that she is forced to do all the housework while her parents and sister just lie around idle. As a result, she is excused for her lateness, and has not bothered with homework in an age. The true picture is however very different and, when her struggling parents aspire to better themselves and move house, Ella realises that her indolent, idle existence is at risk.

Significance: This story has been held up as one of the most groundbreaking in the history of Tammy, providing incisive social comment and a controversial subject-matter. Ella purports to be the “Cinderella-type”, but in actuality she is much more complex – despite loving her family, she’s an outright schemer and goes to ever more devious lengths as she struggles to keep things as they are. She schemes both her parents out of more decent jobs, tells a web of lies in order to keep her perfectly healthy sister bedridden and, after inadvertently writing a prize-winning essay, tries to destroy it – leaving her classmates to take the rap. Most controversially, when her sympathetic but inquisitive teacher Miss Mackie gets to close to the truth, she engineers a situation whereby she’s slapped by the teacher in sight of the headmistress – thus getting Miss Mackie suspended. Not, therefore, the ideal role-model for readers of the comic at the time, though certainly an intriguing character. And one who eventually redeems herself by finding her conscience.

Furthermore, the story lent a depth and richness by Spanish artist Jose Casanovas, whose level of background detail and the care in which he develops the facial expressions of his characters are all the more impressive when his considering his massive level of output, both for Tammy and for other comics of the time. Casanovas’ central characters moreover tended to be spirited individuals, and not always the whiter-than-white heroines of many other girls’ tales. Orphan Emma in Cinderella Spiteful (23 October 1971 to 4 March 1972), for example, resents being taken in by her affluent London relatives, and acts against what she sees as the smugness of her kindly cousin Angela with petty acts of spite. And in Two-Faced Teesha (27 October 1973 to 26 January 1974) rich girl, Teesha Tate undertakes every dirty trick in the book (and then some) to destroy the happiness of poor Gail, whose parents work for Teesha’s businessman father, for no other reason than she cannot fathom how someone that poor can be so content.

I also have Secret of the Skulls on the list of possibles. This one made it to the Tammy Top 10. Here are the comments about Secret of the Skulls from the list. It also mentions another possible, Glenda's Glossy Pages, which was written by Pat Mills.


Secret of the Skulls
Writer: Unknown
Artist: Mario Capaldi

Publication: 1 May 1976 to 17 July 1976
Reprint: Girl Annual 1986

Synopsis: Prudence Sylvester and her pastor father reside in a small parish in London. A winter storm unearths a crypt in the graveyard filled with skulls. Israel Quist the parish gravedigger tells Prudence the story of the skulls. They are the skulls of witches executed by the parish witch-finder, and Quist is really Jacob Stave, the witch-finder’s apprentice who buried the skulls in the crypt as an act of remorse. One of the two true witches burned in the witch hunt swore that the people of London would burn as she had. The Sylvesters’ housekeeper Mrs. March is possessed by the spirit of the executed witch and seeks that retribution. The skulls placed all over London cause the Great Fire of London until the skull of the true witch is found and destroyed. But what happened to the skull of the second witch?

Significance: Remembering that girls liked to be scared as much as they liked to cry, supernatural stories made a regular appearance in Tammy. From the first issue, Tammy’s interest in the supernatural started with The Secret of Trebaran (6 February 1971 to 5 June 1971), continued through her merger with Misty in 1980, and Jinty in 1981. Once Tammy merged with June in 1974, each week the Storyteller would produce The Strangest Stories Ever Told. For elements of the supernatural Secret of the Skulls had all the creepy accessories: graveyards, possession, witches, ghosts, and something gruesomely audacious at a time when Misty was still two years in the future – skulls. In Glenda’s Glossy Pages (13 September 1975 to 15 May 1975 and reprinted 1 October 1983 to 10 December 1983), Glenda Slade receives a mysterious mail order catalogue, everything she circles arrives on her doorstep and she never has to pay. Of course everything has a price and Glenda almost pays with her life. Additionally, Crystal Who Came in from the Cold (20 April 1974 to 15 June 1975), Crystal, a girl found frozen in ice in the Arctic, is brought back to Britain and brings unseasonable cold with her. Rona’s Rainstones (14 December 1975 to 15 March 1975) Stones found in a cave on the island of Skegg cause water catastrophes until they are returned to their sacred home. In Drawn to Destiny (24 July 1976 to 28 August 1976), jealous of her twin sister Sylvia’s success, Diana Hudson’s drawings take a sinister turn.

And this is what The Tammy Top 10 has to say about another possible, The Button Box:

The Button Box
Writer(s): Alison Christie; Ian Mennell; Linda Stephenson
Artist: Mario Capaldi

Publication: 20 November 1982 to 23 June 1984

Synopsis: The button box is a Jackson family heirloom, and every single button in the box has a tale to tell. When Beverley “Bev” Jackson becomes confined to a wheelchair after a road accident, Gran gives her the box so Bev can use the stories to occupy her mind and cheer herself up whenever she is feeling down. Bev knows all the stories by heart and every week she dips into the box for a story to tell. The stories have accumulated not only over the years but the centuries as well – and they are still growing as Bev makes her own additions from her assorted holidays, friends, teachers, pen-pals, and even celebrities. Some new additions are being made as the episode unfolds; in which case the narrator is the donor, who narrates the button story of the week before donating the button to the box.


Significance: Anthology “storyteller” stories have been a regular staple of any girls’ comic. Tammy’s best-remembered example was The Strangest Stories Ever Told (22 June 1974 to 10 July 1982). However the Button Box stories were structured far more ingeniously than a storyteller simply telling a story to entertain, frighten, or to teach morals. Here they were framed by a linking story which leads Bev into her button tale of the week; for example, a transgression on someone’s part has Bev dipping into the box and finding a button that teaches a moral about that transgression. In effect, this makes Bev herself central to two stories – the button story and the linking story – so the button stories are far more personal, interesting and open to variation than the typical “storyteller” story.

We generally take buttons for granted, but after we read the Button Box stories we can never look at buttons the same way. We would never think that buttons could tell stories about romance, war, rivalries, animals, cookery, friendship, family relationships, adventure, “rags-to-riches”, careers; teach morals about snobbery, procrastination, stealing, telling lies, being judgemental, selfishness, greed, kindness, courage, and more; even make social commentaries and whip us back in time to bygone days to teach us history lessons. However the Button Box shows that since buttons are so versatile because they come in all walks of life, they can touch on all these subjects and more; and judging by the size of Bev’s collection, hundreds of button stories were sadly left untold when Tammy was cancelled.

I agree with Tammyfan - Ella On Easy Street, Two-Faced Teesha and Cinderella Spiteful were all fantastic stories with a twist on a theme. They should be in that top 100! Secret Of The Skulls is another good contender _ it was memorable in that it was quite different from the usual Tammy story.

Not trying to muddy the waters at this late stage, but there were also a number of excellent historical stories illustrated by Mario Capaldi in Tammy, such as Daughter Of The Regiment (I'd have to look through my Tammys to find the others - can't think of titles at the moment!) - these too, could be worth considering.

helsbels wrote:I agree with Tammyfan - Ella On Easy Street, Two-Faced Teesha and Cinderella Spiteful were all fantastic stories with a twist on a theme. They should be in that top 100! Secret Of The Skulls is another good contender _ it was memorable in that it was quite different from the usual Tammy story.

Not trying to muddy the waters at this late stage, but there were also a number of excellent historical stories illustrated by Mario Capaldi in Tammy, such as Daughter Of The Regiment (I'd have to look through my Tammys to find the others - can't think of titles at the moment!) - these too, could be worth considering.

Thank you. I believe some historical Capaldis were Sarah in the Shadows, Towne in the Country and Waifs of the Wigmaker. John Armstrong did one as well - Katie on Thin Ice.

Has anyone got any thoughts on the possibles and which ones they want to advocate for?

I could add Misty's "When The Lights Go Out" as another possibility - there's a copy of it on the site under my enquiring title "The shop dummy story".

The Strangest Stories ever told had been going well before Tammy in 1974. I think it may have started in Girls' Crystal as I have a 60s GC annual with a a Strangest Stories strip inside in which the artwork looks early 60s-ish.

Of course GC merged with Schoolfriend - though SSET c. 1964 was not in last few Schoolfriends; then Schoolfriend merged with June and SSET re-started a few months into the merger (as it was working through to the finish with existing strips like Diana's Diary (in Australia) and My Friend Sara. There it stayed to JUne's demise then continued into Tammy for many years.

SSET has to be admired for its longevity and variety of artists used.

Greta thing from what I've read about The Button Box was how it took things impressively to the next level.

Sorry When the Lights Go Out is a complete story, and we are looking at serial strips and regular strips here. But you think Strange Stories should advance? And The Button Box? Okay.

I decided to revisit the Jinty Top Ten. Some of the stories there have already been fast-tracked. Others have been put forward as possibilities and others we haven't even mentioned. I am going to put them up to see what you think.

Title: Merry at Misery House
Artist: Unknown
Writer: Unknown (possibly Gerry Finley-Day)

Publication: 11 May 1974 (first issue) to 30 August 1975

Synopsis: In the 1920s Merry Summers is wrongly convicted of theft and sent to a reformatory dubbed “Misery House” for its harshness and sadistic staff. The Warden, Miss Ball the guard, and Adolpha the toady reserve their worst treatment for Merry because she refuses to let the cruelties of Misery House break her spirit or change her chirpy ways – not to mention her plans to escape and expose the cruelties of Misery House. But there is more than just cruelty afoot; Merry eventually discovers that House is running illegal rackets on top of its other evils. When Merry’s rebelliousness puts this at risk, the Warden is prepared to go as far as murder to stop her.

Significance: Tammy may have been the first in a new breed of girls’ comics that revelled in dark stories that tortured their heroines but from her first issue Jinty proved she could torture hers just as cruelly. And not even Tammy tortured a heroine as long as Merry was, as this story ran for over 60 episodes! During this time Merry is beaten, badly fed, chained up in a dripping cell, clapped in the pillory, watched her friends being used as slave labour and a sick girl being worked to the point of death, and a multitude of other tortures too many to list. This story also produced some of the most brilliantly handled villains in the history of girls’ comics. The Warden, Adolpha and Miss Ball are certainly cruel, corrupt and hypocritical, yet they are also treated as parodies of sadistic prison stereotypes which stops their cruelties from being carried to excess – barely.

Other Jinty classics featuring tortured heroines include: No Cheers for Cherry, (2/9/78-2/12/78-13/1/79) where Cherry joins her aunt’s theatre barge seeking stardom but finding drudgery; The Valley of Shining Mist, (31/5/75-1/11/75) where cruelty has turned Debbie Land into a stammerer but she discovers new confidence and a talent for the violin in the mysterious Valley of Shining Mist; Mark of the Witch! (8/1/77-30/4/77) which sees Emma Fielding persecuted as a witch because of the black streak in her hair that has made her family outcasts for generations; and Too Old To Cry! (8/11/75-6/3/76) in which orphan drudge Nell escapes from her cruel orphanage but not the cruel matron so easily.

Title: Stefa’s Heart of Stone
Artist: Phil Townsend
Writer: Unknown
Publication: 7 August 1976 to 11 December 1976.
Reprint: Princess 28 January 1984 and concluded in Tammy & Princess merger 2 June 1984

Synopsis: Stefa Giles and Joy Brett have been the closest of friends since they were toddlers. Then Stefa has her first experience of losing a loved one when Joy succumbs to a terminal illness. The shock, pain and grief are so traumatising for Stefa that she cannot bear the thought of experiencing it again. Taking a cue from a statue in her garden which seems impervious to everything thrown at it, Stefa resolves to turn her heart into stone so she will never again experience such pain. She refuses to love even her parents anymore, snubs all offers of friendship and freezes up all her emotions. In so doing she causes serious problems and pain for her distraught parents and herself, but she refuses to melt her heart of stone over this. Then Stefa finds her heart of stone severely tested when she discovers that one of her new classmates, Ruth Graham, is a near look-alike of Joy – and tested even more against Ruth’s determination to melt it down. Incidentally, it is eventually revealed that Ruth has experienced an even bigger loss than Stefa, but in contrast to Stefa she does not let it stop her from enjoying life and loving.

Significance: Readers of girls’ comics love powerful emotional stories that tug at their heartstrings and reduce them to tears. Stefa’s Heart of Stone stands as Jinty’s most powerful, thought-provoking and gut-wrenching story because it explores what we all dread but inevitably face at some point in our lives – the experience of losing a loved one. Other Jinty stories such as For Peter’s Sake! (13/3/76-31/7/76), I’ll Make up for Mary, (20/1/79-2/6/79) My Heart Belongs to Buttons (6/10/79-13/12/79) and Somewhere over the Rainbow (20/5/78-10/2/79) also feature heroines facing the heartbreak of death and loss, but Stefa not only explores it but offers a salutary lesson in what we may become once we emerge from our loss. Stefa pushes so many buttons because there are so many real-life Stefas who react against grief by becoming bitter, refusing to love again, and only succeed in making their lives even more miserable; and then there are the Ruths who work through their loss, refuse to let it ruin their lives, and come out of it even stronger.

Title: Sue’s Daily Dozen
Artist: Jose Casanovas
Writer: Unknown
Publication: 4 October 1980 to 3 January 1981

Synopsis: Newcomer Sue Barker isn’t fitting into the village of Hillcroft because she is shy and her efforts to help always seem to go wrong. Unbeknownst to Sue, her cottage once belonged to Granny Hayden, a witch who was revered in the community for her “Daily Dozen” which worked magic in helping people. Then Sue finds the Daily Dozen hidden in the chimney and before long “The wondrous DAILY DOZEN within these pages, seek inside, and trace the secrets that I hide for things may not be what they seem, but help I give to all who dream.”

The help of the Daily Dozen includes totties treats which remind stuffy teachers of the fun of childhood, a great big lather for cleaning up scum – namely, two burglars – and miracle remedies that seem to cook up all by themselves in the cauldron for cleaning houses, repairing items, and curing people. However there is one final piece of magic the Daily Dozen must perform at an upcoming wedding and the solution to the riddle is eluding Sue.

Significance: Jinty is remembered for her supernatural stories almost as much as for her science fiction and sports stories. This story has been chosen to represent Jinty’s supernatural stories because it is so different and unconventional for its portrayal of witches as they really were – wise women who helped people in the community with herbal remedies- and being appreciated for it rather than becoming victims of superstition and ignorance. Such a refreshing change from strip stories about witches played as evil sorceresses or for laughs a lá Bewitched. A similar portrayal was touched upon, albeit more seriously, in Shadow on the Fen, (18/2/78-13/5/78) where Matthew Hobley the evil witchfinder (and sorcerer) persecutes white witches, including his own cousin Rebecca, and the chase carries all the way into the 20th century. It is also an unusual story for Casanovas, who seldom got a chance to draw a supernatural strip story because his distinctive art was more suited to animals, school and science fiction, and for Sue herself who is less gutsy and proactive than most of Casanovas’ heroines.

Some fondly-remembered supernatural Jinty stories include: Combing Her Golden Hair (1/9/79-8/12/79 reprinted in Katie) where Tamsin Tregorren is a mermaid’s daughter and her heritage awakens when she finds a mysterious comb; When Statues Walk... (22/12/79-15/3/80), where Viking statues come to life to stop Laura Ashbourne from helping a beautiful woman she can see in a mysterious pendant – but things are not what they seem; Spell of the Spinning Wheel (5/3/77-25/6/77) which sends Rowan Lindsay to sleep when she hears a humming noise; and The Guardian of White Horse Hill (8/10/77-31/12/77) where Janey Summers keeps seeing a white horse that nobody else can. Others are mentioned elsewhere in this article.