The Sparky File 1965 to January 1969.
Posted: 18 Apr 2009, 12:05
THE SPARKY FILE.
Hello all! What I will be displaying in this `thread` will be a page-by-page breakdown of `Sparky` comic contents between 1965 and January 1969. This will be done in similar format to I.Shhpyguy, treatment of Sparky issue 225 (May 1969).
My big drawback is I have no scanner! I apologise for this as it does handicap this thread somewhat! However, I aim to compensate by giving as detailed text description as possible! Hope it will garnish comments and other feedback!
SPARKY.
Sparky No 1 entered the market on 23rd January 1965. It had been advertised just after Christmas 1964 on telly with scenes of youngsters playing with the free gift, the “Flying Snorterâ€. This was a yellow balloon with a flattened airhole which let the air out in sort of controlled way to give a rasping sound! You blew it up, and let if go, and there it went, rasping away till all the air inside was depleted.
My Mom bought me the new comic (I was Eight years of age in early 1965) The “Snorter†was great fun indeed! Whish I’d kept it. Anyhow, this was the start of a long and happy association for me with Sparky comic. In fact, I had purchased (and later bought myself) all but four Sparky’s (and kept them) to about June / July 1971. Oh! How I wish I’d kept them.
At the time, I didn’t know Sparky both reprinted old 1940s strip and conceived new adventures using old characters! My Mom wasn’t pleased with the content, but I begged her to please continue buying it as I was quite happy with it.
By 1967 I was buying the comic (and Dandy, Pow & Smash) with my pocket money. Friday’s was Sparky day and after school, I would have my tea, then I would change out of my school clothes and dash to my local newsagents (With my street clothes on of course!) for my Sparky!
My early favourites were “Flubberface†(the friendly monster), “Dreamy Dave and Dozy Dora†(whose dreams led to wonderfully surreal adventures). I also liked the “Jeff Ye Jolly Jester†strip too! In all, I thoroughly enjoyed my Sparky comic each Friday. After reading, I would store my Sparky along with my Dandy’s and other comics in my wall set clothes store! No sunlight got in, so they were in superb condition.
The covers (first & last pages) and the middle colour ones were full colour.
Pages 2, 11, 14 and 23 were always a mix of Red, Black and White. All other pages were in monochrome.
The `Sparky` Logo was curved similar to the `Dandy`. Colours of Logo were the same as Dandy too. The word Sparky was in bright red on a yellow surround. This was complimented by a royal blue background which made it an identical colour scheme to the Dandy.
On with the show! Here now, is a breakdown of page content from Sparky No2.
SPARKY No 2.(30 January 1965, 5d)
Page 1
(Cover) Heading “Free Inside `Big Banger` (it was one of those `Crack-Bang` efforts which the brown paper always split after about three `bangs`
Sparky clears the snow with his Vacuum cleaner, hitting a policeman with a burst of cleared snow. (Full Colour)
Page 2
`Joe Bann and his Big Banjo`. Comic adventures of Cowboy Joe Bann and his all-purpose Banjo! (This page in Red, Black & White)
Page 3
`Keyhole Kate.` I had no idea, that Kate was an old character.
Pages 4 & 5
`The Young Castaways` Story concerned two babies from a shipwreck who were raised by friendly occupants of a South Seas island. Drawn by the artist who would later sketch Invisible Dick`.
Page 6
`Cuckoo In The Clock` Comic adventures of a wooden, but living, Cuckoo.
Page 7
`Hockey Hannah` Comic adventures of a schoolgirl and her hockey stick. This is one strip I have no recollection of at all!
Pages 8 & 9
`Wee Tuskey` Adventure strip, light hearted, which was about a young Elephant and his life in the jungle of south Asia. The Sparky comic had a real taste for animal based stories in its early years.
Page 10
`Hugry Horace` The only strip to be ever present from Sparky No 1, to 652 (final issue). At the time I had no idea he was an old Dandy character.
Page 11
Adverts for next weeks free gift, the `Red Racketty` and for a choice of Ten shilling postal order or a transistor radio if readers wrote to the comic and letter was published. In B/W & Red.
Pages 12 & 13
Dreamy Dave and Dozy Dora` One of my favourites; I loved the early adventures which could get really surreal. Unlike later stories, the early ones did not often turn into nightmares! This issue sets Dave and Dora to rescue the children of Hamlin Town. Full colour.
Page 14.
`Minnie Ha-Ha` Comic adventures of a young Red Indian Squaw, and her pet `talking` Raven; `Running Kick`. In B/W & Red.
Page 15
`Sparky’s puzzles` As it says, a page full of puzzles. Maze, spot the difference, etc.
Pages 16 & 17
`The Kidnapped Kidds`
A very strong (for 1965) story of two children who witness a train robbery and are subsequently held captive by the crooks. This was pretty gutsy stuff for Sparky! Gang leader Gus is not averse to physical violence to children or of holding his gun to their heads. I have no idea; but I would not be surprised if parents complained about this strip.
Pages 18 & 19 and top half of 20.
`The Palace of Secrets` This was a text story, along with a few illustrations, concerning the adventures of young Mary at the palace of Kra. This story is definitely aimed at female readers.
Page 20, bottom half.
The Editor and the rest of the Sparky staff introduce Pansy Potter to the readers, stating she will begin her adventures from next week’s issue.
Page 21
`Jeff Ye Jolly Jester `. The comic adventures of medieval Jester, Jeff!
Page 22
Freddie the Fearless Fly. Another rejuvenated old character. Again, I had no idea he was an old character until my Mother stated so.
Page 23
Top third, `Frosty McNab` A sort of `Jack Frost` character.
Middle third, `Grandma Jolly and her Brolly`
Bottom third, `Black-Jack` Chimney Sweep. You could tell these were old characters as the strips were actual re-prints. Even to me then, they looked terribly old fashioned! It was a stupid move by the staff and `Frosty` and `Black-Jack` departed very quickly.
Page 24
`The Moonsters`. In issue No2 Penny and Peter Pleasant are about to land on the Moon. Last week, Peter pressed a button while he and Sister Penny were exploring at the Rocket Ship exhibition (as you do). They land safely and are greeted by little green `Moonster` people who lay on a big feast for their Earth visitors. Note! One of the Moonsters has pointed `Spock-like` ears. This was not apparent in later adventures.
The final three inches of page 24 consisted of adverts for next weeks new pal `Peter Piper`. Also, the comic asks “Have you written to Sparky Yet?†All page 24 in full colour.
A very varied comic indeed! I had no idea that some strips were updated adventures of old characters. The `Kidnapped Kidds` was very strong stuff indeed! The text story was for girls only in my view! I looked forward to next Friday’s comic.
Hello all! What I will be displaying in this `thread` will be a page-by-page breakdown of `Sparky` comic contents between 1965 and January 1969. This will be done in similar format to I.Shhpyguy, treatment of Sparky issue 225 (May 1969).
My big drawback is I have no scanner! I apologise for this as it does handicap this thread somewhat! However, I aim to compensate by giving as detailed text description as possible! Hope it will garnish comments and other feedback!
SPARKY.
Sparky No 1 entered the market on 23rd January 1965. It had been advertised just after Christmas 1964 on telly with scenes of youngsters playing with the free gift, the “Flying Snorterâ€. This was a yellow balloon with a flattened airhole which let the air out in sort of controlled way to give a rasping sound! You blew it up, and let if go, and there it went, rasping away till all the air inside was depleted.
My Mom bought me the new comic (I was Eight years of age in early 1965) The “Snorter†was great fun indeed! Whish I’d kept it. Anyhow, this was the start of a long and happy association for me with Sparky comic. In fact, I had purchased (and later bought myself) all but four Sparky’s (and kept them) to about June / July 1971. Oh! How I wish I’d kept them.
At the time, I didn’t know Sparky both reprinted old 1940s strip and conceived new adventures using old characters! My Mom wasn’t pleased with the content, but I begged her to please continue buying it as I was quite happy with it.
By 1967 I was buying the comic (and Dandy, Pow & Smash) with my pocket money. Friday’s was Sparky day and after school, I would have my tea, then I would change out of my school clothes and dash to my local newsagents (With my street clothes on of course!) for my Sparky!
My early favourites were “Flubberface†(the friendly monster), “Dreamy Dave and Dozy Dora†(whose dreams led to wonderfully surreal adventures). I also liked the “Jeff Ye Jolly Jester†strip too! In all, I thoroughly enjoyed my Sparky comic each Friday. After reading, I would store my Sparky along with my Dandy’s and other comics in my wall set clothes store! No sunlight got in, so they were in superb condition.
The covers (first & last pages) and the middle colour ones were full colour.
Pages 2, 11, 14 and 23 were always a mix of Red, Black and White. All other pages were in monochrome.
The `Sparky` Logo was curved similar to the `Dandy`. Colours of Logo were the same as Dandy too. The word Sparky was in bright red on a yellow surround. This was complimented by a royal blue background which made it an identical colour scheme to the Dandy.
On with the show! Here now, is a breakdown of page content from Sparky No2.
SPARKY No 2.(30 January 1965, 5d)
Page 1
(Cover) Heading “Free Inside `Big Banger` (it was one of those `Crack-Bang` efforts which the brown paper always split after about three `bangs`
Sparky clears the snow with his Vacuum cleaner, hitting a policeman with a burst of cleared snow. (Full Colour)
Page 2
`Joe Bann and his Big Banjo`. Comic adventures of Cowboy Joe Bann and his all-purpose Banjo! (This page in Red, Black & White)
Page 3
`Keyhole Kate.` I had no idea, that Kate was an old character.
Pages 4 & 5
`The Young Castaways` Story concerned two babies from a shipwreck who were raised by friendly occupants of a South Seas island. Drawn by the artist who would later sketch Invisible Dick`.
Page 6
`Cuckoo In The Clock` Comic adventures of a wooden, but living, Cuckoo.
Page 7
`Hockey Hannah` Comic adventures of a schoolgirl and her hockey stick. This is one strip I have no recollection of at all!
Pages 8 & 9
`Wee Tuskey` Adventure strip, light hearted, which was about a young Elephant and his life in the jungle of south Asia. The Sparky comic had a real taste for animal based stories in its early years.
Page 10
`Hugry Horace` The only strip to be ever present from Sparky No 1, to 652 (final issue). At the time I had no idea he was an old Dandy character.
Page 11
Adverts for next weeks free gift, the `Red Racketty` and for a choice of Ten shilling postal order or a transistor radio if readers wrote to the comic and letter was published. In B/W & Red.
Pages 12 & 13
Dreamy Dave and Dozy Dora` One of my favourites; I loved the early adventures which could get really surreal. Unlike later stories, the early ones did not often turn into nightmares! This issue sets Dave and Dora to rescue the children of Hamlin Town. Full colour.
Page 14.
`Minnie Ha-Ha` Comic adventures of a young Red Indian Squaw, and her pet `talking` Raven; `Running Kick`. In B/W & Red.
Page 15
`Sparky’s puzzles` As it says, a page full of puzzles. Maze, spot the difference, etc.
Pages 16 & 17
`The Kidnapped Kidds`
A very strong (for 1965) story of two children who witness a train robbery and are subsequently held captive by the crooks. This was pretty gutsy stuff for Sparky! Gang leader Gus is not averse to physical violence to children or of holding his gun to their heads. I have no idea; but I would not be surprised if parents complained about this strip.
Pages 18 & 19 and top half of 20.
`The Palace of Secrets` This was a text story, along with a few illustrations, concerning the adventures of young Mary at the palace of Kra. This story is definitely aimed at female readers.
Page 20, bottom half.
The Editor and the rest of the Sparky staff introduce Pansy Potter to the readers, stating she will begin her adventures from next week’s issue.
Page 21
`Jeff Ye Jolly Jester `. The comic adventures of medieval Jester, Jeff!
Page 22
Freddie the Fearless Fly. Another rejuvenated old character. Again, I had no idea he was an old character until my Mother stated so.
Page 23
Top third, `Frosty McNab` A sort of `Jack Frost` character.
Middle third, `Grandma Jolly and her Brolly`
Bottom third, `Black-Jack` Chimney Sweep. You could tell these were old characters as the strips were actual re-prints. Even to me then, they looked terribly old fashioned! It was a stupid move by the staff and `Frosty` and `Black-Jack` departed very quickly.
Page 24
`The Moonsters`. In issue No2 Penny and Peter Pleasant are about to land on the Moon. Last week, Peter pressed a button while he and Sister Penny were exploring at the Rocket Ship exhibition (as you do). They land safely and are greeted by little green `Moonster` people who lay on a big feast for their Earth visitors. Note! One of the Moonsters has pointed `Spock-like` ears. This was not apparent in later adventures.
The final three inches of page 24 consisted of adverts for next weeks new pal `Peter Piper`. Also, the comic asks “Have you written to Sparky Yet?†All page 24 in full colour.
A very varied comic indeed! I had no idea that some strips were updated adventures of old characters. The `Kidnapped Kidds` was very strong stuff indeed! The text story was for girls only in my view! I looked forward to next Friday’s comic.
