Penny – final issue – 5 April 1980

Cover artist: Mario Capaldi

Kay’s Camp Site – final episode (artist Maria Dembilio)

Sad Sal and Smiley Sue – final episode (artist S.D. Duggan)

The House of Arden – adaptation from E. Nesbit (artist Douglas Perry) – final episode

Cherry of Manor Vale – final episode (artist John Armstrong)

Poster – final part

The Blue Island Mystery – final episode (artist Keith Robson)

Tansy of Jubilee Street (artist Ken Houghton)

Snoopa (artist Joe Collins)

Penny Arcade – feature

Kathy’s Convict – final episode (artist Jesus Peña)

Blunder Girl! (artist J. Edward Oliver) 

In our previous entry we profiled the first issue of Penny. Now we take a look at the last issue of Penny to round off our April theme, as both the first and final issues of Penny appeared in April. Talk about bookends, eh? Snoopa honours the April theme with an April Fools story.

Kudos to Penny for saying “Important News for All Readers Inside!” on the cover – well, on the cover at least – to announce the merger. When a merger was announced, it was usually “great news for all readers”, and Penny does call it “great news” later in the comic. However, for many readers it must have been upsetting, not great, as their favourite comic was about to die. As the merger progressed, they must have been even more upset as they watched their favourite comic progressively dissipate and its former features taken over by the merger comic. Indeed, there were comments in the letters pages about how dismayed former Penny, Jinty and Misty readers were at losing their beloved comics this way.

Penny bids farewell on her letters page, and a full page later in the issue (below) informs readers what to expect from the merger next week. Sad Sal and Smiley Sue make it clear they are not carrying on, but they are happy to say they are still best friends. Blunder Girl is not listed as appearing in the merger, which seems a shame. It would have been nice to see Blunder Girl in Jinty. “Seulah the Seal”, the only Penny serial to carry on in the merger, is absent here. Perhaps Seulah was put on hold to give room for the other serials to finish or saved especially for the merger. All of Penny’s other serials end.

What has changed between the first and last issues of Penny? Penny herself has shown passage of time with a longer hair length in her pigtails. She is now printed on the same newsprint as Jinty. Her covers have changed from photo cover girls to Mario Capaldi covers, something that would be taken up later in the Jinty & Penny merger and continue until the final issue of Jinty. Her content and features have remained constant since issue 1. In her last two issues she reprinted Cherry, a School Friend/June character, in “Cherry of Manor Vale”. The boys at Cherry’s school react badly against doing Domestic Science, and it’s getting out of hand. Cherry comes up with “Operation Mums” to make the boys realise there will be a point in their lives where it’s cook or starve. Welcome to bachelor days, laddies. Cherry does feel a nice fit in Penny. She could have stayed there if Penny had lasted longer.

Penny – first issue – 28 April 1979

Snoopa – cartoon strip (artist Joe Collins)

Tales of Katy Jane – first episode (artist Ugolino Cossu)

Blunder Girl! – first episode (artist Edward J. Oliver)

Look Out Secret Seven! – adapted from Enid Blyton (artist John Armstrong)

Ginny and Shep – first episode (artist Osvaldo Torta? Signed “Marck”) 

Tansy of Jubilee Street – first episode (artist Ken Houghton)

Penny Arcade – feature

The Village Clock – first episode (artist Peter Wilkes)

Little Women – adapted from Louisa M. Alcott

Sad Sal and Smiley Sue – first episode (artist S.D. Duggan)

Waifs of the Waterfall – first episode (artist Jesús Peña)

Care for Your Cat – feature 

Penny’s Pet Profile No. 1 – cats 

Continuing with our month of April theme, we present the first issue of Penny, the second title to merge with Jinty, which it did on 12 April 1980. Penny debuted 28 April 1979. The free gift with the first issue was a mouse-in-cheese pendant. The pendant can be viewed at:

http://www.greatnewsforallreaders.com/blog/2016/4/28/on-this-day-28-april-1979-penny

As Penny explains, the mouse in the pendant was none other than her pet mouse Snoopa, who was also the protagonist of the resident Joe Collins cartoon strip. Later, Snoopa went through not one but two mergers, the first with Jinty and the second with Tammy. As Snoopa was drawn by Joe Collins, it was easy to incorporate him into Tammy’s own Joe Collins strip, Edie and Miss T, which thereafter became The Crazyees. 

The first episode of the other cartoon strip, Wonder Woman spoof Blunder Girl!, appears below. Blunder Girl is a lesser-known Edward J. Oliver strip and could do with more attention (at least from Wonder Woman historians). It was a shame she did not carry on in the Jinty merger, which would have given her more exposure, as Jinty was a more well-known title than Penny. After all, Alley Cat had already had three years in Jinty and could have been retired to make way for Blunder Girl. 

Penny’s run started on the same newsprint as Lindy in 1975 and Princess II in 1983, which was similar to the newsprint used with Girl II. Later on, Penny switched to the same newsprint as Jinty and Tammy, and Princess II would follow suit. Penny was also numbered, just as Lindy was, and Princess II would be the same. All three titles were absorbed into mergers within a year, with Penny having the longest run before the end came.

Penny was the second title to merge with Jinty, the first being Lindy in 1975, and proved the more successful of the two mergers. Even when Jinty herself merged with Tammy, there was still something of Penny (Snoopa and Tansy of Jubilee Street) to continue with. 

The Penny fare was aimed at a younger readership than usual for girls’ comics, but definitely not a Twinkle readership. The target readership appeared to be in between Twinkle and Jinty. Pixie, which merged with June, was another such title. Penny herself, the cover girl, and some of the protagonists in her strips look more junior than usual in girls’ comics, and her features and book adaptations of Secret Seven and Little Women also look as if they were intended for a younger readership.

You certainly don’t get the hard edge in Penny that you see in Tammy, Jinty or Misty. The stories were lighter, with animals, friendship and book adaptations. Penny was also high on humorous regular strips, with Snoopa, Blunder Girl!, Sad Sal and Smiley Sue (best friends, polar opposites gag strip) and, above all, Tansy of Jubilee Street.

Tansy was the best Penny strip to carry on in the merger, and she did so right until the final issue of Jinty, plus some Old Friends appearances in the Tammy & Jinty merger. There was so much to make Tansy last so well, including quirky characters, a pesky practical joker, and pain-in-the-neck brother hijinks. Tansy also had the advantage in that, unlike most Penny fare, she was not aimed exclusively at a younger audience. She could be equally enjoyed by an older girls’ readership. Her humour was also zany, which made her a perfect fit in Jinty, who had always indulged in wacky humour strips such as The Jinx from St. Jonah’s and Fran’ll Fix It! Plus she was drawn by the ever-popular Ken Houghton, whose style was the perfect match to bring her to life. 

The first Tansy story is presented below. The final Tansy story in the last issue of Jinty pays homage to this story by revisiting it in flashback when Tansy goes into panic mode from losing her diary – again.  

The greater emphasis on junior fare means there isn’t anything in Penny to throw a scare or chill into her readers. We do get the supernatural with The Village Clock, which has the power to transport a modern girl into earlier times and back again. But there are no narrators of creepy tales or serials filled with ghosts or lurking evil in the shadows. There is nothing in the Penny lineup that should not be read at night. 

However, the more junior fare does not neglect the emotional tear-jerker side of girls’ comics. For example, Ginny and Shep have been inseparable since they were toddler and puppy, but after Shep has an accident, Ginny’s upset that he may be put down. And in Waifs of the Waterfall, Fiona adopts an orphaned fawn, which she names Fingal. Another inseparable pair who look set to face a rocky road to stay together.

The best strip in the lineup could well be Tales of Katy Jane, a doll created by a Victorian gardener for his employer’s spoiled daughter. Katy Jane has been made with such love that she has been infused with emotion and can tell her own story. She is upset when the spoiled rich girl rejects her. She is taken up by another girl who loves her to bits, but is heartbroken again when the girl is forced to leave her behind. And so begins the saga where Katy Jane will pass through time and a string of future owners, some good, some bad, and readers wondering where her wanderings will end.

It’s a surprise to see no ballet story here. A ballet story is almost obligatory in the first issue of a girls’ comic. There’s no horse story either, another staple in a girls’ comic. Still, neither can be far away and will certainly appear after the first ejections from the initial lineup.

Tammy 19 February 1983

Pam of Pond Hill (artist Bob Harvey, writer Jay Over)

E.T. Estate (artist Guy Peeters, writer Jake Adams)

Bella (artist John Armstrong, writer Primrose Cumming)

The Button Box (artist Mario Capaldi, writer Alison Christie)

Into the Fourth at Trebizon (artist Diane Gabbot(t), writer Anne Digby) – text adaptation

Just Like a Child… – complete story, repeated from Strange Stories

Heart to Heart Hints (Mari L’Anson) – Valentine feature

The Crayzees (artist Joe Collins) 

Happy Valentine’s Day (writer Maureen Spurgeon) – quiz 

Nanny Young (artist Phil Gascoine, writer Maureen Spurgeon)

Cuckoo in the Nest (artist Tony Coleman, writer Ian Mennell)

Goodies – Valentine’s Day cookery feature

For Valentine’s Day, here is the Valentine issue from Tammy 1983, an issue that is now 40 years old this year. Happy 40th!

Inside, we have plenty of Valentine features, including a Valentine’s Day story from “The Crazyees”. You would think The Button Box would have joined Valentine’s Day with a love story from the button box, but instead it’s a button story about Elizabeth II’s coronation.

Setting the Valentine theme off is a most beautiful Valentine’s Day cover, one of my favourites, with Tammy’s resident features: Bella, Pam of Pond Hill and The Button Box. It also features what must be the most extraordinary story ever in girls’ comics: “Cuckoo in the Nest”. There are loads of Cinderella stories, slave stories, animal stories, sports stories and SF stories, but you surely won’t find another serial like this in girls’ comics. Love it or hate it, you can never forget it. Why? It has a boy, Leslie Dodds, as the main protagonist, no less. Also, he is masquerading as a girl at a boarding school, would you believe? The reason for it is bit complicated to explain here, but maybe there’ll be an entry on this one at some point. So we have a boy who has to learn hard and fast about the girls’ world to keep up his masquerade, and the girl readership gets a taste of the boys’ world into the bargain. No doubt the closet male readership enjoyed this story too, along with the footy that’s in it. The story is now on its penultimate episode, which ends on the note that the game is now well and truly up for Leslie, and there’s no place to hide.

Still on the subject of masquerades, aliens are taking over “E.T. Estate” (and then Earth, of course) by switching all the people with themselves as doubles. They try to do this with Jenny Holmes, the only girl who knows what they’re up to. However, this time a weakness comes into play, which causes it to fail. But then Jenny discovers her parents have been switched. How? These aliens may be able to duplicate the human beings they replace, but boy, are they lousy actors! Their impostures would make the “Cuckoo in the Nest” look professional by comparison. Another weakness exposed. 

Bella’s current job is gymnastics instructor. There’s nothing new about that, but this time she’s doing it in an Islamic country where teaching oppressed Muslim girls gymnastics gets her caught right up in a modernism versus fundamentalism clash, with an usurper taking advantage to overthrow the Shah Bella works for. Shades of Iran! Right now, Bella’s retelling her pupils the story of how she taught gymnastics in Australia. However, the flashback doesn’t quite square with the original 1978 print. Either there’s something wrong with Bella’s memory or there’s some cavalier editing here. 

In Pam of Pond Hill, Tess Bradshaw has gone crazy over synchro swimming. However, an unfair ban (now lifted) on Pond Hill pupils using the public swimming baths at any time and now a clash of instructors have been causing problems. But that is nothing compared with Tess’s biggest problem: her nonstop yakking and bragging about synchro, which constantly annoys everyone if it doesn’t put them off her.

“Just Like a Child…” (reprinted from Strange Stories, with text boxes replacing the Storyteller) is a cautionary tale not to be too quick to dispose of your old childhood treasures, just because you think you’re past them. You never know, as Andrea Owen finds out when she is a little too zealous to switch from toys to teen stuff, only to find that one toy won’t be got rid of that easily. 

In Nanny Young, there’s a fake ghost called Sir Roger when the residents of rundown Manor Towers play ‘ghost’ to get publicity to save the manor (which backfires). It might be coincidence, but could this be a reference to Sir Roger from “Gaye’s Gloomy Ghost”? 

Tammy 22 December 1979

Cover artist: John Richardson

Daughter of the Desert (artist Mario Capaldi)

Cindy of Swan Lake (artist Ana Rodriguez)

Make Headlines, Hannah! (artist Tony Coleman)

Bessie Bunter (artist Arthur Martin)

Edie the Ed’s Niece (artist Joe Collins)

Part 3 of Your Christmas Collection! – feature

Molly Mills and the Festive Season (artist Douglas Perry, writer Maureen Spurgeon)

My Terrible Twin (artist Juliana Buch)

The Trickling Sand (artist Peter Wilkes) – Strange Story

Boomtown Rats – feature 

Wee Sue (Hugh Thornton-Jones)

Tuck-In with Tammy – feature 

Christmas is coming and Tammy is gearing up for it in the weeks leading up to Christmas. This is part 3 of her Christmas collection feature, which is on making things for Christmas. This was one of the last Christmas-themed covers with the Cover Girls.

The Bessie Bunter story (below) looks like it was originally written to advertise the (very rare) June Comic Annual of Strange Stories where the Storyteller got his own book, judging by all these spooky references to the book in question and Strange Stories. In the reprint here, it’s been bodged to advertise the Tammy annual. The Tammy annual was a common gag on the Cover Girls covers around the Christmas period. Molly also has a Christmas-themed story to tie in with the festive season. It is now on its penultimate episode and will conclude in the Christmas issue. It was reprinted in the 1985 Tammy annual. 

The Wee Sue story this week isn’t tied to the Christmas theme. Instead, it’s a football theme. Meanwhile, the Storyteller takes us on a historical tale in the Highlands. Soldiers sent to seize a Scottish rebel against James II try to force his whereabouts from his daughter, but help comes from – spiders?! We’re told the Storyteller will bring us a Christmas story next week.

Around Christmas time, it was common for some serials to end to make room for new stories in the New Year period. The one about to make way for the New Year lineup is “My Terrible Twin”, now on its penultimate episode. Bella has finished for the year, and as she won’t appear again until the second quarter, there’s more room for serials. 

However, “Cindy of Swan Lake”, now on its second episode, will carry on into the New Year. Feedback in the letters page and Cindy’s appearance in Tammy’s 10th birthday issue indicate it was a very popular story. Cindy Grey has started ballet school, but her jealous rival, Zoe Martin, has come along as well, and now she’s seized her chance to play really dirty. She’s taking advantage of Cindy being constantly worried about her swan friends, who are being poisoned by pollution.

“Make Headlines, Hannah!” (an overshadowed girl is trying to prove herself, but her spiteful sisters keep sabotaging her) and “Daughter of the Desert” (a school is plagued by strange phenomena that are making it revert to a desert pattern) look like they still have some episodes to go yet.

Tammy 10 November 1979

Cover artist: John Richardson

Bella (artist John Armstrong)

Temper, Temper Tina! (artist Giorgio Giorgetti) – final episode

Sarita in Uniform (artist Diane Gabbot(t))

The Fire’s Warning (artist Tony Highmore) – Guy Fawkes Strange Story

Bessie Bunter (artist Arthur Martin)

Molly Mills and the School for Servants – first episode (artist Douglas Perry, Maureen Spurgeon)

Wee Sue (artist Robert MacGillivray)

My Terrible Twin (artist Juliana Buch)

Edie the Ed’s Niece (artist Joe Collins)

Guitar Girl (artist Angeles Felices) – final episode

Spring To It! – Edie’s Hobbyhorse

We now come to the Tammy Guy Fawkes issue for 1979. This was the last Guy Fawkes cover for the Cover Girls. This time the following year, they were gone.

Inside, Bessie, Wee Sue, Edie, the Strange Story and the Tammy Talk page all honour the 5th of November. Even the last episode of Guitar Girl does the same, but in a more frightening way. The spiteful Sabrina tries to burn Jacey’s guitar on the bonfire climaxing the birthday party they are both entertaining at. Jacey nearly gets herself burned alive clambering the bonfire to retrieve it! 

Tina’s story ends, with her learning that trying to conceal her family (in a derelict house?!) was a very foolish, misguided way to keep them from being split up when her mother fell ill, and her actions were only bringing her troubles on herself. Once everyone helps her to handle the problem the right way, everything is far better for her, including the temper that has been her bane since the beginning of the story. 

Sarita in Uniform is evidently nearing its end, for her secret is out! What’s going to happen now? Meanwhile, Bella dodges another close shave in keeping her own secret safe, but here comes another threat to it – blackmail!

Molly Mills starts a new story, “The School for Servants”. What school for servants? So far we haven’t see any school for servants, just some new guests at Stanton Hall – but Molly suspects there’s something odd about them. 

Just when Moira and Lindy have sorted out their misunderstanding, along comes another one – Moira thinks Lindy’s tricked her into a lousy kitchen job on the ship. Oh dear, here we go again – one very angry Moira out to make trouble for Lindy! Is Moira going to be “My Terrible Twin” for Lindy with all these misunderstandings right up until the final episode? It could well be the case.

Tammy 3 November 1979

Cover artist: John Richardson

Bella (artist John Armstrong)

My Terrible Twin (artist Juliana Buch)

Sarita in Uniform (artist Diane Gabbot(t))

Temper, Temper, Tina! (artist Giorgio Giorgetti)

Bessie Bunter (artist Arthur Martin)

Molly Mills and the Gipsy’s Curse – final episode (artist Douglas Perry, Maureen Spurgeon)

The Sea Dragon – Strange Story (artist Julio Bosch)

Wee Sue (artist Robert MacGillivray)

Edie the Ed’s Niece (artist Joe Collins)

Guitar Girl (artist Angeles Felices)

Tuck-In with Tammy – feature 

For Halloween, we profile the Tammy Halloween issue for 1979 (though it is dated Novemer and not October). It is the last time the Cover Girls celebrate Halloween on the cover. This time the following year, they were gone. 

Inside, Wee Sue and Bessie Bunter are going to Halloween parties. Things don’t exactly go without a hitch for either of them, but everything works out in the end. Less so for Edie, who goes to a Halloween party in a cat costume but finds herself being chased by dogs! Molly’s tale, “The Gipsy’s Curse”, has a spooky theme to it, which adds to the Halloween theme. Gipsies have put a spell on Pickering to make him do what they want, but now it’s making him too nice for his own good. Molly decides Pickering has to be returned to normal, bullying and all. 

The Storyteller could have gone with a Halloween theme, but instead he gives a cautionary tale about not meddling with things you don’t understand. Two sisters on the island of Cumba resurrect the costume of the Sea Dragon of Cumba, ignoring warnings that they don’t understand its power or what it is supposed to be used for – which is not exactly for attracting the tourism their father wants.

Guitar Girl Jacey Jones also has a party theme. She has been hired to entertain at a posh girl’s birthday party but soon discovers it’s no party for her. The snobbish mother disapproves of her presence and – horrors! – has hired her nasty arch-rival Sabrina to entertain as well! If that weren’t bad enough, Sabrina pulls a dirty trick on Jacey to make her look a thief and snobby mum’s screaming for the police. How can Jacey prove her innocence? 

Bella has been fostered by a rich couple, but they have a real thing about gymnastics for some reason, which is the mystery of the story. Their disapproval has driven her to go to a gymnastics club behind their backs, under a false name, but this week Bella’s jealous rivals at the club have found her out. Uh-oh, looks like blackmail is about to be added to Bella’s problems.

“Temper, Temper, Tina!”, now on its penultimate episode, and “Sarita in Uniform” also have girls driven to do things in secret. Sarita, a gypsy girl, is going to school behind her gypsy guardians’ backs. They don’t approve of education or even gypsy traditions. Tina, a brilliant athlete with a short fuse, has been dodging school for ages. But why is she doing it, and where has she been in all that time? Everyone’s about to find out in the final episode next week, as things are clearly coming to a head now. 

“My Terrible Twin” is the sequel to an earlier serial by the same name. Moira and Lindy are fraternal twins. In the first story (reprinted by popular demand in 1984), Lindy was the terrible twin. She had served time for shoplifting but had still not reformed or learned responsibility, with the long-suffering Moira trying to keep her on the straight and narrow. But this time the terrible twin is Moira, who accidentally winds up on the ship where Lindy has a job and is playing tricks Lindy because she mistakenly thinks Lindy has developed a snobby attitude over her job. And, as the story carries on, this proves to be only the beginning of a long line of misunderstandings that have Moira making Lindy’s life a misery.

Tammy 20 August 1977

Cover artist: John Richardson

Bella (artist John Armstrong)

Sharon’s Shadow (artist Hugo D’Adderio) – Strange Story serial – first episode

Melanie’s Mob (artist Edmond Ripoll)

Molly Mills – the final episode (artist Tony Thewenetti)

Bessie Bunter (artist Arthur Martin)

Maisie of Mo Town (artist Giorgio Giorgetti)

Shadow of the Fire God (artist Manuel Benet) – Strange Story

Edie the Ed’s Niece (artist Joe Collins)

Wee Sue (artist Mike White)

Daughter of the Regiment (artist Mario Capaldi)

Now we come to 1977 in our August Tammy month round. And there’s another reason to bring out this August issue – it is the issue with the final episode (below) of Molly Mills. Yes, the great Molly Mills debate has finally come to a head. On the letters page (below), ye Editor makes an open call for letters – with monetary incentives of course – on whether or not to bring her back. But really, this would have been a whole lot more fair and representative of readers’ wants if the final episode had ended with a definitive conclusion (Molly sailing off to India with the others). Indeed, if this really was to be Molly’s final bow, they should have done that. Instead, it’s a tantalising cliffhanger (Pickering’s infamous frame-up of Molly at the docks, which makes her a fugitive, on the run from the law). This would surely have skewed the response from readers in favour of Molly’s return, to see how she sorts out her predicament. Indeed, ye Editor later informs us that the response was overwhelmingly in favour of Molly’s return, and return she did, on 31 December 1977. Would the response have been the same if Molly had been given a proper send-off? Incidentally, seeing as Molly returned with a different artist (Douglas Perry), I suspect the clincher for this sudden end of Molly was not the Molly Mills debate – it was Tony Thewenetti no longer able to continue with Molly for some reason. 

Meanwhile, Bella is at a Russian gymnastics school on a scholarship, and it’s good to see she’s getting a lot out of it this time (last time she was at a Russian gymnastics school, she was wrongly expelled before she’d hardly begun). Of course the school not without problems, and boy, does her strict Russian coach have a face to remember! John Armstrong must have had a great time drawing inspiration from gargoyles or something. This week, Bella loses her memory after an accident in the gym and strays from the school. 

Tammy takes us into the world of politics with the new Strange Story serial, “Sharon’s Shadow”. Joe Brown, outraged by the rundown housing conditions in Leechester, which led to the death of his grandfather, is running for MP so he can turn things around. But his chances of election could come under threat when his sister Sharon challenges a witch’s curse at her grave and then has a strange accident there. Never, ever, challenge the supernatural, Sharon. Meanwhile, in the regular Strange Story, the horrors of human sacrifice in pre-Christian days threaten to resurface with an erupting volcano, and superstition and hysteria get the better of people.

In “Maisie in Mo Town”, it’s been a barrel of laughs (though maybe a bit un-PC today) with Maisie pretending to increasingly exasperated kidnappers that she’s a dumb wild girl from Africa who doesn’t know the first thing about civilisation and can only speak pidgin English. But now things take a very serious turn as the kidnappers make plans to smuggle her out of the country. To this end, they lock her in the attic, ready for someone to collect at midnight!

“Daughter of the Regiment” Tessa Mason has recruited a gang of mudlarks to help clear her father, who was shot for cowardice at the Charge of the Light Brigade. But one, Dick, has been bribed to help lead her into a trap! And Melanie has recruited her own gang, “Melanie’s Mob”, to train as athletes. Dad would have a fit if he knew they were the Canal Mob, and now someone has reported something to the police about it.

At a regatta, Stackers is finding a mermaid costume problematic, and it leads to hijinks. In the final panel, Bessie doesn’t think much of mermaid costumes either, as she can’t raid the grub in the one she’s forced to wear.  

Nobody in class believes Miss Bigger when she shoots a big line about how her big WAAF days in World War II helped to win the Battle of Britain. So nobody’s surprised when she comes unstuck at a Battle of Britain exhibition at a flying club: “Bigger? We had a waitress of that name in the mess. Butter-fingers Bigger we used to call her…she was always dropping the crockery.” Miss Bigger’s looking very red, and then she’s green, as she can’t take a flight in a WWII plane without feeling airsick. The real heroics belong to Sue, who scares off robbers at the club with a phoney WWII bomb.

Tammy and Princess 2 June 1984

Cover artists: Trini Tinturé and Juliana Buch

Bella (artist John Armstrong, Primrose Cumming)

No Use to Anyone! (artist Eduardo Feito)

Pride of the Lamports (artist Hugo D’Adderio) – Pony Tale

Pam of Pond Hill (artist Bob Harvey, writer Jay Over)

Shape Up to Summer with Bella (feature)

Stefa’s Heart of Stone (artist Phil Townsend, writer Alison Christie) – final episode

Take the Plunge! (Mari L’Anson) – feature 

The Button Box (artist Mario Capaldi, writer Alison Christie)

I’m Her – She’s Me! (artist Phil Gascoine)

Cora Can’t Lose (artist Juliana Buch)

Sadie in Waiting (artist Joe Collins)

We now come to the end of our Tammy June month round with June 1984. In fact, this was the last month Tammy would ever appear. She was cut off by a strike with the 23rd June issue and was not brought back to finish her stories. Everything was forever left tantalisingly unfinished.

If not for the strike, Tammy would have been cancelled in August for her own merger into Girl (second series). As June progressed, there were signs of Tammy heading for the merger, with some double episodes and the disappearance of the Princess logo on her last published issue. Princess had only merged with Tammy two months earlier, so her logo lasted the shortest of any comic to merge with Tammy. The Tammy logo had also changed with the merger, going from straight colour to an eye-catching rainbow colour. Many of the covers are pretty summer scenes (well, it was summer) and an inset of a story panel.

For the moment, the buildup to the Girl merger has not yet started. Tammy’s still on the Princess (second series) merger. “Stefa’s Heart of Stone”, which came over from Princess (reprinted from Jinty), finishes this week. This was the last story to be completed from Princess. This will give more scope for the buildup to the merge with Girl.

Right now, it’s pretty much business as usual. With the last of the serials from Princess gone, Sadie in Waiting is the only Princess feature remaining. The current serials could be scripted for either Tammy or Princess. The one remembered the most is “Cora Can’t Lose”, which built up to an exciting conclusion, only to be cut off by the strike, to the eternal frustration of readers. The other serials that started in the remaining weeks of Tammy got cut off as well. But it may not be too late, even all these years later. Perhaps Rebellion can do something to redress the matter. 

Tammy and Misty 6 June 1981

Cover artist: Juliana Buch

Sandy – A Girl Like You (artist Juliana Buch)

Olympia Jones (artist Eduardo Feito, writer Anne Digby)

Bella (artist John Armstrong, writer Primrose Cumming)

Wee Sue (artist Hugh Thornton-Jones)

Perfect Pets – feature

The Breaking of Faith (artist Giorgio Giorgetti) – first episode

Tune-In (feature)

Bride of the Devil (artist Hugo D’Adderio) – Strange Story from the Mists

Stella Stirrer (artist Tony Coleman)

Edie and Miss T (artist Joe Collins) – cartoon

Bessie Bunter (artist Arthur Martin)

Linda’s Fox (artist and writer Ron Tiner)

Now we come to 1981 in our Tammy June month round. The Cover Girls have disappeared and we are in the era of the splash panel story covers. Most often, Bella had the spot on this cover, but Sandy has it at the moment. When the cover changed, a new look Tammy logo was introduced (above).

The Misty logo has shrunk on the cover, a clear sign the Misty merger was on its way out in Tammy. Misty was still co-presenter of Strange Stories from the Mists, and this week she tells the legend of Evelyn Carew of Potter Heigham (below), rendered with gorgeous Hugo D’Adderio artwork. The same legend was profiled in the original Misty, on her page of British folklore and legends. Many readers sent in contributions for prize money. 

The team-up of Miss T and Edie was the most durable of the Misty merger. The pair became a trio when Snoopa came over from Jinty to form “The Crayzees”, and it lasted until Princess II merged with Tammy in 1984.

Adding extra delight to Tammy is the “Tune-In” feature, which gives us funny and informative stories and gossip about TV and pop stars. 

Bessie Bunter was relegated from regular appearances to fill-in ones when Misty joined, but this week she does make an appearance. Molly is on break, which gives more room for serials. Hugh Thornton-Jones is doing Wee Sue this week, the strip where his artwork appeared the most often in Tammy. Olympia Jones, the smash-hit story from 1976, is back by popular demand and enjoying an equally popular repeat. “Linda’s Fox” is one of the girls’ serials we know to be both written and drawn by the same person. In this case it is Ron Tiner. This was the only serial Tiner drew for Tammy, along with a couple of Strange Stories.  

Sandy, another popular Tammy character, is on her second story in Tammy (a third followed in 1982). In her original story, Sandy was the first Tammy story about boyfriends and dating, which was a novel thing for Tammy to do at the time. The days when boyfriend serials were commonplace in girls’ serials were still many years ahead, up at DCT. Sandy’s second story still features boyfriends, but it is not a story arc like the original. It is a series of scrapes and troubles of one sort or other. Some of them are new problems, but others stem from Sandy’s still-persisting problems from her first story, particularly her interfering father, and not having found a suitable boyfriend since she lost the one from her first story.  

In her latest story, Bella has run away from the cruel Barlows and fallen in with a circus. She finds circus is not for her, nor is it the best way to keep up her gymnastics. However, she’s stuck with it for the time being, as the circus badly needs her while it is under threat from an enemy. 

Giorgio Giorgetti’s new story is “The Breaking of Faith”. He had been a regular Tammy artist for several years, but he passed over later in 1981, so this was his final year in Tammy. His last Tammy story was “Jump, Jump, Julia”.

“Stella Stirrer” is a revenge on the bullies story, where a new kitchen maid at a posh boarding school uses the kitchen to hit back at the snobs who pick on her. But in revenge stories, things have a nasty habit of getting out of hand. So far this has not happened, but the story is still in its early episodes. The later episodes will tell.

“Bride of the Devil”, Tammy 6 June 1981. Art by Hugo D’Adderio.

“Bride of the Devil”, Tammy 6 June 1981. Art by Hugo D’Adderio.

“Bride of the Devil”, Tammy 6 June 1981. Art by Hugo D’Adderio.

Tammy 10 June 1978

Cover artist: John Richardson

Bella (artist John Armstrong, writer Primrose Cumming)

Prince of the Wild (artist Veronica Weir) – first episode

Betta to Lose (artist Tony Coleman)

A Champion Time for All! – Results of Bella Gymnastics Competition

Down to Earth Blairs (artist José Casanovas)

Bessie Bunter

Molly Mills (artist Douglas Perry)

The Witch Wind (artist Hugo D’Adderio) – Strange Story

Wee Sue (artist Hugh Thornton-Jones)

Circus of the Damned (artist Diane Gabbot(t))

Fun at Your Summer Fete (artist Joe Collins, writer Maureen Spurgeon) – feature 

For the 1978 Tammy issue in our Tammy June month round, here is a June Tammy issue with a cover that is sure to make you smile. 

Tammy posts the results of a Bella-inspired competition. Bella featured in several Tammy competitions, a four-part pull-out poster and even her own book, which showed how powerful she had become. This competition shows she was being used to help aspiring gymnasts as well. 

The new story, “Prince of the Wild”, is Veronica Weir’s first and only serial for Tammy. Her artwork was seen more often in Tammy’s Strange Stories and complete stories. 

“Betta to Lose” has brought Tony Coleman artwork to Tammy, and Coleman was a regular artist on the Tammy team right up until her final year in 1984. 

Douglas Perry has taken over the Molly Mills artwork since Molly’s return in December 1977. Sometimes I wonder if one reason why Molly was put on hiatus in 1977 and her fate put into the hands of readers was her original artist, Tony Thewenetti, no longer continuing with her for some reason. The change in artist does suggest something like this might have happened. 

The structure of the Molly Mills writing has changed completely. The story that sent her on hiatus was a tantalising cliff-hanger where Pickering frames her for theft, forcing her to go on the run from the law. Since her return, it’s been nothing but life as an unjustly wanted fugitive, and her stories are in continuous serial format. Molly’s now back at Stanton Hall, which is now under a new owner who seems to be something of a fugitive herself. An American gangster is on her tail, and now he’s caught up and holding Molly and the other servants hostage! We suspect this is all part of the build-up to the resolution of Molly’s frameup.

Bella’s latest story has taken her to Australia, as a coach to introduce gymnastics to an Australian town. Even before Bella started, things were not off to a good start (the man who hired her regrets his offer, which he made without thinking), and her arrival got delayed as well. Now she’s finally made it, she’s told the job is no longer available. And Bella has a long track record of getting stranded in foreign countries. Is it going to happen again? 

Wee Sue’s latest artist is Hugh Thornton-Jones, and a continuity problem has struck. In earlier years Miss Bigger’s first name was given as Lillian, but this episode says it is Amelia, and it sticks.

Hugh D’Adderio artwork featured strongly in the Tammy Strange Stories, particularly with period settings ranging from ancient Babylon to Victorian England, as well as modern times. This week it is Elizabethan England, with a Strange Story on how witchcraft (indirectly but foretold) defeated the Spanish Armada.

Down to Earth Blairs was obviously inspired by “The Good Life”, and proved so popular that its sequel is now running. No doubt the ever-popular José Casanovas artwork sealed its success. In the original, Betsy Blair had a hard time adapting to self-sufficiency after her father’s redundancy drove the family to it. Now she accepts and enjoys it, and her sequel now follows “The Good Life” format of handling snobby neighbours and coming up with new forms of self-sufficiency and money-making, some of which don’t always go as expected.

“Circus of the Damned” is a welcome return to Tammy’s old days of dark stories laden with misery and cruelty, which now seem to have faded. A whole circus is enslaved by a fanatical circus boss who uses blackmail, animal abuse, kidnapping, and possibly murder to create the greatest show on earth. One of his tactics is forcing trapeze artists to leap over deadly snakes without a safety net.