Comics UK

On an American comics forum they're arguing over the first comic to be relaunched later in its run with a new "first issue." The debate is over reboots in 1984 and 1986, but I can't help wondering if some British comic was relaunched long before that?

Would the new eagle relaunched in 1982 count although it hadn't been in shops for a number of yeras before returning.

On the same logic, Magic. Folded due to paper rationing 1941. Revived in the 1970s. That's an even bigger gap than Eagle.

Several of the story papers count as well, such as The Wizard, which reset it's numbering when it switched from primarily prose to picture stories.

The Wizard sounds like exactly what I'm looking for. Thanks! The other two are good as well, but Wizard fits the bill.

The Boys Friend - launched 1895, new series started in 1901
Union Jack - launched 1894, new series started 1903, became Detective Weekly in 1933
Halfpenny Marvel - Renamed The Marvel circa 1897 (with continued numbering), new series in 1904.
The Hotspur also started again as The New Hotspur in 1959 (i think). I beleive the re-launch was only a week later whereas The Wizard took a break in between.

Last week someone was advertising issues 1-40 of Smash on ebay but they were the IPC issues which had the Warriors of the World on the cover. It was a relaunch I suppose but was not strictly a new first issue. At around the same time TV21 did go back to number 1 but the new TV21 was a shadow of its former self although quite good compared with anything else on the market until the Marvel reprints crept in.

tolworthy wrote:The Wizard sounds like exactly what I'm looking for. Thanks! The other two are good as well, but Wizard fits the bill.

Just to clarify Digi's point, tolworthy. The Wizard (text version) bit the dust with issue 1970 on November 16th 1963. The picture version did not start until February 14th 1970. It did renumber from 1, but only until issue 153 on January 13th 1973 when it annexed The Rover. The merged paper, Wizard and Rover only used dates from January 20th onwards.

The Hotspur was relaunched as the New Hotspur on 24 October 1959 and reverted to number 1.

Ah, got it! That 1970 thing is confusing. but I was only 2 years old at the time Thanks for the other examples!

tolworthy wrote:That 1970 thing is confusing.

In what way can it possibly be confusing? One is a year, pronounced nineteen seventy, the other is an issue number, pronounced one nine seven O.

Phoenix wrote:

tolworthy wrote:The Wizard sounds like exactly what I'm looking for. Thanks! The other two are good as well, but Wizard fits the bill.

Just to clarify Digi's point, tolworthy. The Wizard (text version) bit the dust with issue 1970 on November 16th 1963. The picture version did not start until February 14th 1970. It did renumber from 1, but only until issue 153 on January 13th 1973 when it annexed The Rover. The merged paper, Wizard and Rover only used dates from January 20th onwards.

Ah, so it's a much smaller gap than Eagle or Magic, but still has a gap. I'm sure at least one of the story papers converted without a gap though. Comics UK may be back online, but the Family Tree isn't. That feature would sure be handy right now...

I'm sure at least one of the story papers converted without a gap though.

Yeah, the Halfpenny Marvel, Union Jack, Boys Friend and Hotspur!

In fact in the Marvel's case I can do better than just talk about it...




Also The Sexton Blake Library (which was 'so many a month' until the last series) and The Nelson Lee Library (weekly) re-launched with a new issue 1 more than once.

Your recent post is confusing, FM. I'm not critical, merely curious, but it is impossible to tell whether these flyers both refer to one launch or to two completely separate ones, given that neither is dated, and the second could easily be referring to the contents of the first. I'm assuming the latter because in your final sentence you refer specifically to a couple of other papers that relaunched with a new issue 1 more than once, but if that is the case, your earlier post muddies the waters somewhat because you say that when the Halfpenny Marvel was renamed The Marvel the numbering continued, yet here you appear to be presenting two number 1s. Are you referring to another relaunch at some point after 1904 that you didn't mention in your earlier post?

Felneymike, thanks, Hotspur was what I had in mind.

Digifiend wrote:Felneymike, thanks, Hotspur was what I had in mind.

It's not like you, Digi, to take your eye off the ball like that. That information about The Hotspur had been posted by stevezodiac nearly four hours earlier.