- Somewhere Over the Rainbow (artist Phil Townsend, writer Alison Christie) – first episode
- Get in the Swim! – Competition
- Concrete Surfer (artist Christine Ellingham, writer Pat Mills)
- Knight and Day – first episode
- Your A-to-Z of Things to Do! – part 1
- Clancy on Trial (artist Ron Lumsden) – first episode
- The Zodiac Prince (artist Trini Tinturé)
- Slave of the Swan (artist Guy Peeters)
- Cathy’s Casebook (artist Terry Aspin)
- Snow in Summer – feature
This issue is an exciting one, for two reasons. First, we have a competition and part 1 of a new pull-out on A-Z of of things to do, so Alley Cat and “Sue’s Fantastic Fun-Bag!” get bumped to make room for them. Second, three new stories start.
The first new story is a real attention-grabber for using a four-page spread instead of the usual three. It’s “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”, which went on to become one of Jinty’s longest-running serials. It has already proved what a powerful story it’s going to be, as it has knocked “Concrete Surfer” off first spot in the issue, a spot “Concrete Surfer” has enjoyed since its run began. It reunites the Alison Christie/Phil Townsend team from “Stefa’s Heart of Stone” and “Save Old Smokey!” with another emotional serial to warm your heart and make you cry. Dorrie and Max Peters are excited that World War II is about to end, but then comes the dreaded grey telegram, which means their father has been killed in action. And that’s only the first episode. What more could be in store for these kids?
In the second new story, “Knight and Day”, Pat Day’s mother suddenly wants her back after four years of abandonment and nothing to do with her. Change of heart and wanting to make things up? We’ll be surprised. Unfortunately, social welfare doesn’t see it that way; they’re forcing Pat to go back to her mother when she was so happy with her foster parents.
The third new story, “Clancy on Trial”, went on to become one of Jinty’s most popular stories, and it’s drawn by Ron Lumsden, which is a bonus. Grandfather has a change of heart about disowning Clancy’s mother over her marriage. For the first time in Clancy’s life, her grandfather is going to have something to do with her and is impressed at how Clancy is determined to walk again after an accident. But it doesn’t look like Clancy’s relationship with her grandfather is going to be an easy one.
There’s a major development in “Concrete Surfer”, which tells us the story will reach its conclusion soon. After weeks of not being 100% sure whether her cousin Carol really is a smarmy schemer, Jean finally catches her out. But proving the truth about Carol to others is not going to be easy. Also, there’s the matter of Carol stealing Jean’s skateboard to stop her entering a competition.
The Zodiac Prince reunites a girl with her father, who works as a clown at the circus, and gives her an astral gift to make her a circus star. But this has upset another circus worker, and we’re warned this will lead to big trouble next week.
Investigators come sniffing around in search of Katrina Vale in “Slave of the Swan”, and the Swan is pulling tricks to keep her Slave in her power. It looks like the Swan wins again, but bits of memory are filtering through Katrina’s amnesia. Will it be her key to freedom?
Dad has to defend himself against a charge of neglecting a patient. Or rather, Cathy does the defending for him as he hasn’t got the spirit to fight. She gets Dad off, and the board agrees to help delegate his workload. But of course fresh trouble isn’t far off, and here it is in the last panel – a runaway horse.
A Resource on Jinty: Artists, Writers, Stories 