Jinty 2 February 1980

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

Gaye’s Gloomy Ghost (artist Hugh Thornton-Jones)

Spirit of the Lake (artist Phil Townsend, writer Benita Brown?)

The Perfect Princess (artist Trini Tinturé)

House of Ghosts (artist Robert MacGillivray) – Gypsy Rose story

Toni on Trial (artist Terry Aspin)

Sports Pages – featuring Karen Witt

Winning Ways 4 (writer Benita Brown)

White Water (artist Jim Baikie)

When Statues Walk… (artist Phil Gascoine)

Alley Cat (artist Rob Lee)

In this issue, Alley Cat and Gypsy Rose return for 1980. This week’s Gypsy Rose story (recycled from Strange Stories) brings readers some Robert MacGillivray artwork, which has not been seen in Jinty since “Desert Island Daisy”.

It looks like Laura’s task is to liberate a captive Viking princess in “When Statues Walk…” from these walking Viking clay statues. Another one of them gets broken, and Laura is worried a teacher will discover the secret if she puts the pieces together. 

In “The Perfect Princess”, bratty Princess Victoria gets rid of another rival, Isabella. Sally, the remaining rival, is pleased about that, as Isabella was the favourite. But she doesn’t realise Victoria plans to get rid of her next by making it look like she pulled that trick on Isabella.

Dragon hijinks abound in “Gaye’s Gloomy Ghost”. First it’s a dragon teacher, and now Roger’s playing St George with some visitors dressed as a Chinese dragon.

The latest Pam of Pond Hill story adds to the increasing presence of sport in Jinty. Marty Michaels has a big problem: her sister Trina, who goes overboard with crazes, and thinks she either knows it all or can gain it from books. Trina’s latest craze is to become an athlete. Although she eventually realises it’s not for her, it’s the immediate springboard to her next craze: interfering with Marty’s athletics by becoming her self-appointed trainer. Marty thinks this sounds ominous, and she can only be right. We doubt books alone would make anyone a good sports trainer.

In the other sports stories:

Sneaky Cynthia is doing a stakeout to find out what this accelerated learning is that’s turning Karen into a brilliant ice-skater. Of course she can’t see “The Spirit of the Lake”, who’s giving Karen coaching – and as a result, she gets a shock that causes her to have an accident. This could make things awkward for Karen. 

More sabotage for “Toni on Trial” from jealous Julie. This week, she loosens the spikes in Toni’s shoes, and when Toni falls on top of her as a result, she accuses Toni of doing so on purpose. And with so many people thinking badly of Toni because of her mother’s disgrace, it’s all too easy for the accusation to gain traction.

And finally, Bridie has to resort to some “equal rights for women” arguing to get into a canoe club for Boy Scouts. They make their own canoes, which could give her the canoe she needs, but then she discovers there’s a snag – their canoes are for troop use only.

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 4 August 1979

Cover artist: John Richardson

Bella (artist John Armstrong)

The Stand-in (artist Giorgio Giorgetti)

Proud as Punch (artist Tony Coleman)

The Happiest Days (artist Mario Capaldi)

Bessie Bunter (artist Arthur Martin)

Molly Mills and the Charleston Contest (artist Douglas Perry, writer Maureen Spurgeon) – first episode

Pictures from the Past (artist Audrey Fawley) – Strange Story

Wee Sue (artist Robert MacGillivray)

The Wolf at Our Door (artist Bob Harvey)

Edie’s Hobbyhorse: Why Not Make a Shell Collage – feature 

For 1979 in our Tammy August month round, there is a particular reason for profiling this August issue. At times, Tammy made in-jokes about the Tammy team, and the cover makes reference to comic book artist Mario Capaldi coming from a family of ice-cream vendors. Is the ice-cream man on the cover Mario Capaldi? Maybe someone can enlighten us. At any rate, there is a resemblance to Mario the ice-cream man, drawn by Capaldi himself, in a “Life’s a Ball for Nadine” episode. The episode appeared Jinty 27 December 1980.

The cover also brings a seaside flavour to the issue. This ties in with the craft feature on the back cover (making a shell collage) and the Wee Sue story. Miss Bigger informs the class that “an important coastal company have appointed me as their chairman!” Translation: she’s taken an extra job as a deckchair attendant. Too bad for her Wee Sue was taking a holiday at the same beach. Hijinks ensue, of course, but things end happily for them both. Two serials, “Proud as Punch” and “The Stand-in”, also tie in with the seaside/holiday theme. Perhaps they were published for the very purpose.

We mentioned Mario Capaldi a moment ago, and his current Tammy serial is “The Happiest Days”. It’s an evil influence story, except it’s played for laughs instead of scares, which makes it different. A frightful portrait of a school founder casts such a pall over a school it’s the most miserable school in Britain. The school is due to close because of falling numbers, but how to recruit more pupils with that portrait around?

Molly Mills’ new story is actually the second Molly story titled “The Charleston Contest”. The first appeared in the Thewenetti era. In the first, Molly enters a Charleston Contest to win money for her family (with Betty and Kitty playing dirty tricks, but there’s a last minute surprise save from Pickering). This time, Molly’s doing the Charleston Contest for the crippled Miss Claire.

Bessie’s also being a performer this week, in honour of Stackers’ birthday. Her conjuring act is a real performance, with some things not going quite right, but in the end she pulls one out of her hat. Of course her best trick is making food disappear. 

The Bob Harvey story, “A Wolf at Our Door”, now hits its climax. Jenny discovers who is trying to help her with the wolf pack – the aristocratic Rowena Rufley – and why. It’s because of an ancient prophecy. And now it looks like the prophecy is coming true. 

This week’s Strange Story (below) has a modern photographer meet a Victorian one. The artwork is by the ever-popular Audrey Fawley.

Bella is being fostered by the rich Courtney-Pikes, and it’s nice to see her being spoiled and loved for a change. But when they try to turn her into a lady…well, Eliza Doolittle had nothing on Bella, especially as she can’t resist any opportunity to break into gymnastics!

Tammy and June 31 August 1974

Cover artist: John Richardson

Bella at the Bar (artist John Armstrong, writer Jenny McDade)

Swimmer Slave of Mrs. Squall (artist Douglas Perry, writer Gerry Finley-Day?) – final episode

Sadie in the Sticks (artist Juliana Buch)

Wheels of Fate (artist John Armstrong) – Strange Story

Bessie Bunter (artist Arthur Martin)

Jeannie and her Uncle Meanie (artist Robert MacGillivray)

Wee Sue (artist Mario Capaldi)

Cat Stevens – feature

No Tears for Molly (artist Tony Thewenetti, writer Maureen Spurgeon)

Eva’s Evil Eye (artist John Richardson, writer John Wagner) 

In the 1974 issue in our Tammy August month round, three of the four serials (Bella, Sadie and Eva) that began in the Tammy and June merger issue are now on their penultimate episodes, and the fourth (“Swimmer Slave of Mrs. Squall”) finishes. That means readers will soon have a huge lineup of new stories to look forward to. It’s always great to see a big lineup of stories begin in one issue. 

On the cover, one of the Cover Girls is outbouncing kangaroos with her pogo stick. But the cover’s let down a bit by how cardboard the kangaroos look, as if a kid drew them. Surely John Richardson can draw far better kangas than that? 

Ghost stories in the Strange Stories are by no means unusual, but the ghost certainly is – a ghost lorry. It starts haunting Gail Hawkins when she holidays in a village where heavy traffic has been diverted after a fatal lorry accident. But why is it haunting Gail, and why is a voice telling her to get the hell out? 

You would think teachers would have no problem with pupils stopping at a cafe for a coffee on the way home from school, would you? Not when the teacher’s Miss Bigger, who makes a big fuss over such a trivial thing – Sue and Co stopping for some coffee before starting homework, and turns it into yet another weekly round of Miss Bigger trouble for Sue to sort out. 

Molly’s caught up in one of the complex mysteries she’s ever tackled, and the more she probes it, the more questions it raises than answers: a wounded war pilot whose face is bandaged, and he won’t speak or give his name; a community that clams up about him; a strange couple have taken over his old home, Poppy Farm, and try to hold him prisoner, as they have done with his wife Emily for years; a boy says Poppy Farm is cursed; and now nothing’s left of the pilot but his uniform and bandages. Gets weirder by the minute, doesn’t it?

Jeannie and Aunt Martha do something that is long overdue – walk out on Uncle Meanie because of his skinflint ways. Unwisely, they say Uncle Meanie will foot their hotel bills, so he’s on their tail like a shot with more scheming to get them back. He does get them back, but in the end is forced to give in the demands that sent them packing in the first place: fork out the money to replace the dilapidated furnishings he been too mean to replace. 

Bessie Bunter and her class offer to help out the youth orchestra when their van breaks down by bringing the instruments to the hall. But things get horny when Miss “Stackers” Stackpole has them take a shortcut through a field, which for some reason has no “Beware of the Bull” sign on the gate. Someone should have a word with the farmer about that! Bessie, after a bit of trouble with Stackers earlier in the story, gets a happy ending by saving the day. 

Tammy and Sally 14 August 1971

Palomo (artist Douglas Perry)

Little Miss Nothing (artists Miguel Rosello, Luis Bermejo, Miguel Quesada, writer Alan Davidson)

Betina and the Haunted Ballet (artist Dudley Wynne) – first episode

The Cat Girl (artist Giorgio Giorgetti)

Roberta’s Rebels (artist Rodrigo Comos, writer Maureen Spurgeon) – first episode

Our Janie – Little Mum (artist Colin Merrett)

Maisie’s Magic Eye (artist Robert MacGillivray)

A Million Pounds to Give Away! (artist Agustin Navarro, writer Maureen Spurgeon)

Beattie Beats ‘Em All (artist John Armstrong, writer Maureen Spurgeon)

The School on Neville’s Island (artist Douglas Perry)

Glen – A Lonely Dog on a Quest (artist Jim Baikie)

No Tears for Molly (artist Tony Thewenetti, writer Maureen Spurgeon)

It is now August, and to commemorate, we will have an August month Tammy round, with an August issue taken from each Tammy year. Also, selecting covers from this month guarantees a lot of nice, cheery summer covers to brighten us up. We begin at 1971, and with an August issue that starts two new stories.

It has now been seven months since Tammy started and five since Sally merged with her. Three strips from Tammy’s first issue are still going strong: Molly, Glenn, and Janie. Betina, another heroine from the original lineup, now starts her second story in Tammy’s first-ever sequel, “Betina and the Haunted Ballet”. The other story to start this week is “Roberta’s Rebels”. Though set in a boarding school, its premise sounds oddly prescient of “Land of No Tears”. Roberta Russell’s boarding school system is divided into the Supremos, the girls who get all the privileges and best treatment because they are the school sports stars, and the Serfs, who are forced to wait on the Supremos hand and foot and receive lesser treatment from school staff. Outraged, Roberta immediately sets out to stop this unfair school system by training up the Serfs to beat the Supremos. But once she sees the girls she has to train, she finds that’s going to be easier said than done. They look more like Bessie Bunter than Beattie Beats ‘Em All (q.v.).

The Cat Girl and Maisie’s Magic Eye are still going strong from the Sally merger. Both became so well remembered they have recently been given remakes in the rebooted Tammy and Jinty specials, and Cat Girl has just received her own reprint volume. Their presence also adds humour and lightweight fare to Tammy, who initially had no humour to balance the grim, misery-laden fare she was renowned for when she started. 

“A Million Pounds to Give Away!” is another story to show Tammy is finding her feet with her own lightweight fare. Biddy Lenton has to give away her late great uncle’s entire fortune (a million pounds) under the terms of his will, but it’s proving harder than expected and it’s getting Biddy into all sorts of scrapes. Shades of the future Bumpkin Billionaires! 

This week’s episode of Beattie must have given the readers some laughs, what with the antics Beattie gets up to on the racetrack to raise signatures for a petiton to stop some buildings – including her home – being bulldozed for development. She gets the satisfaction of annoying her worst enemies on the track with it as well. The petition ends up full of signatures. Strangely, nobody comments on or corrects Beattie’s spelling mistake – “support” has been spelled with one “p”.

“Little Miss Nothing” was a pivotal story in Tammy, as it set the template for the Cinderella serial in girls’ comics for hundreds of Cinderella serials at IPC and DCT to follow. “Make-Believe Mandy” and “Cinderella Smith” from Jinty were but two who owed their roots to “Little Miss Nothing”. This week, Annabel’s cruel parents kick her out, and they’re not through with her yet. Annabel’s spiteful stepsister Dora is cooking up a really nasty revenge on Annabel for getting her the well-deserved sack. 

Douglas Perry is on double duty with drawing two stories, “The School on Neville’s Island” and “Palomo”. But that’s nothing on Maureen Spurgeon, who’s writing four strips, probably more, in one issue! Incidentally, Palomo was Tammy’s first horse story, and it was so popular it scored an appearance in a Tammy annual. 

Tammy & Sally 5 June 1971

Neville’s Island/The School on Neville’s Island (artist Douglas Perry) – first episode

Glen – A Dog on a Lonely Quest (artist Jim Baikie)

Slaves of “War Orphan Farm” (artist Desmond Walduck, writer Gerry Finley-Day?)

The Cat Girl (artist Giorgio Giorgetti)

The Secret of Trebaran – (artist Giorgio Cambiotti) – final episode

Maisie’s Magic Eye – artist Robert MacGillivray

Little Miss Nothing (artists Miguel Rosello, Luis Bermejo, Miguel Quesada, writer Alan Davidson) – first episode

Betina at Ballet School

Beattie Beats ‘Em All! (artist John Armstrong)

Sara’s Kingdom (artist Bill Mainwaring)

The Girls of Liberty Lodge (artist Dudley Pout)

“Our Janie” – Little Mum (artist Colin Merrett)

No Tears for Molly (artist Tony Thewenetti, writer Maureen Spurgeon)

For the month of June we are having another Tammy round, which will profile a Tammy issue from the month of June for each Tammy year. We begin with the first June issue of Tammy in 1971.

In this issue, it’s the final episode of “The Secret of Trebaran”, one of the first stories from the first Tammy lineup. Its replacement next week is “Gandora the Golden”. Others from the first Tammy lineup, “Slaves of ‘War Orphan Farm’”, “Betina at Ballet School”, “The Girls of Liberty Lodge”, “Glen – A Lonely Dog on a Quest”, “No Tears for Molly”, and “’Our Janie’ – Little Mum” are still going strong, and it’s been four months since they started. Molly went on to become one of the longest-running regulars in Tammy, which showed she was the most powerful of the first lineup. Beattie, who joined later, is still going strong, and is the first Tammy strip drawn by John Armstrong. Cat Girl, “Maisie’s Magic Eye” and “Sara’s Kingdom”, which came over from Sally, are still going happily as well. 

Douglas Perry artwork appears in Tammy for the first time – and on the first page – with the start of Perry’s first Tammy story, “Neville’s Island”. Thirty girls from St Edburgha’s are lured to a mysterious island. And we all know what happens when girls are lured to an island in girls’ comics – it’s a trap! To make things even more mysterious, the plot is being engineered by a ominous-sounding elderly woman in a wheelchair who won’t show her face. Once the unsuspecting girls are in the trap, she says, “Now they shall begin to suffer. All of them.” But why? From the sound of it, it’s revenge for being bullied at the school, but there’s probably more to it than that. It all adds to the mystery that has to be solved if the girls are to escape. 

Also starting this issue is the first episode of “Little Miss Nothing” (written by Alan Davidson, not Pat Davidson aka Anne Digby, as has been sometimes stated). This story is noted for setting the “Cinderella” template that so many Tammy stories were to follow, the most famous of which was Bella Barlow. Update: an entry on this story has now been posted here.

“Little Miss Nothing” Annabel Hayes is regarded by her family as a nobody and they treat her as a drudge. It’s her younger sister Dora who gets the lion’s share in everything. Annabel shines at dressmaking, but her hopes of making a career out of it are dashed when the family move to be closer to Dora’s modelling school. Dad illegally yanks Annabel out of school to slog all day at the family market stall to pay for Dora’s school fees, makes her sleep in an attic, and not a word about her treatment or she’ll suffer. Wow, things are really piled on our Cinderella in the first episode alone. But then Annabel spots something in the attic that could turn things around. 

Tammy 16 February 1974

Cover artist: John Richardson

The Clothes Make Carol – artist John Armstrong

Jeannie and Her Uncle Meanie – artist Robert MacGillivray

Ballerina in Blue Jeans – artist Escandell Torres

The Girls of Grimleys Grammer 

‘Those Jumps Ahead of Jaki’ – artist Eduardo Feito

School for Snobs – artist J. Badesa 

Little Lady Jane

Granny’s Town – artist Douglas Perry, writer Pat Mills

No Tears for Molly – artist Tony Thewenetti, writer Maureen Spurgeon

For Valentine’s Day, we bring you the very first Tammy Cover girls cover that commemorated this event. Ironically, the gag about big sis feeling pissed at little sis getting more Valentines than her would also be used for the last Valentine cover featuring the Cover Girls, which appeared in 1980. They could have used a different colour font for the heading, though. The yellow can be hard to read.

Inside, the Wee Sue story also uses the Valentine theme. Miss Bigger gets a Valentine. Now who the heck in their right mind would admire her? Nobody, of course. It’s Wee Sue trying to put her in a better temper, and also because she feels sorry for her after discovering she has a lonely heart. 

Two stories, “Those Jumps Ahead of Jaki” and “Granny’s Town”, are on their penultimate episodes, the former with a double episode. Jaki has to win an all-important riding trophy to bring her friend Isabel out of a coma – which requires her to beat a near-impossible time set by the favourite. Also, the nasty Miss Stockland does not want Jaki to win and is trying to stop her – but why? Definitely a mystery here. In the latter, Jen Young must be the only young person left in Granny’s Town. Her Ladyship has removed all the other young people by condemning their houses. It’s all in the name of her campaign to turn Granny’s Town into the town where only grannies rule.

The Ballerina in Blue Jeans, rough Cockney kid Jessie Grub, has been spotted as a ballerina and even been taken on as a pupil. Now the Duveen Ballet has spotted Jessie as well. Unfortunately, so have the police. She just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time when some toughs attacked a shop, but the police won’t believe it.

For once, Uncle Meanie’s mind is not fixated on screwy penny-pinching schemes. Instead, he lands the role of MacBeth! How did it happen? It’s all Jeannie’s plan to keep a long-standing feud between the McScrimps and the McScrams, who have moved in for a holiday, away from home and give everyone some peace until the McScrams return home. It’s a pity this was not turned into a two-parter to show us how Uncle Meanie actually performs as MacBeth.

What’s the feud about, anyway? Generations ago, a McScrimp and a McScram accused each other of cheating in a card game. They were probably both cheating, seeing as Uncle Meanie and Mr McScram are as bad as each other at feuding – and playing the bagpipes.

Carol Carter is nicknamed “Scarecrow” because of her scruffy clothes, which she has to wear because her uncle and aunt give all the best to her cousin Sheila. Then Carol is given a magnificent blazer that’s giving her confidence. But spiteful Sheila has noticed and is trying to ruin the blazer, and finally succeeds with a whitewash boobytrap – or has she? There are already hints that there is something odd about that blazer. 

In Molly Mills, bully butler Pickering has gone too far (making a man work until he collapsed). That’s usually when his bullying comes back to bite – for a while, anyway. In this case, Pickering’s being scared shitless by spooky things happening to him, and he’s been hearing stories that if the man dies he will return to haunt. 

In “School for Snobs”, bossy snob Georgina always fancies being headmistress and even goes to the lengths of kicking out the current one. She even does it to Hermione Snoot when she arrives at the School for Snobs for treatment. Has Hermione met her match at last? “Not on your conkers, mate! There’s gonna be a surprise for Lady Muck!” 

Tammy 5 January 1980

Cover artist: John Richardson

Cindy of Swan Lake – artist Ana Rodriguez

Sister in the Shadows (first episode) – artist Giorgio Giorgetti

Daughter of the Desert – artist Mario Capaldi

Edie the Ed’s Niece – artist Joe Collins

Ring the Changes (Strange Story) – artist unknown

Bessie Bunter

Molly Mills and the Promotion (first episode) – artist Douglas Perry, writer Maureen Spurgeon

Wee Sue – artist Robert MacGillivray

Make Headlines, Hannah! – artist Tony Coleman

Turn of the Year (Strange Story) – artist Peter Wilkes

Tuck-In with Tammy – feature 

For New Year we bring you Tammy’s New Year issue from 1980. This is the last New Year issue to use the Cover Girls. If they had known they would be dropped in October that year, we don’t think it would have been a very Happy New Year for them. It was a common in-joke for a Cover Girls cover to show someone holding a Tammy with the same cover or a tie-in cover. In this case, old year 1979 looks like he’s got the Tammy with the cover showing new year 1980 on it.

As it turned out, new year 1980 was a big one for Tammy. Just two weeks after this issue came out, Misty merged with Tammy, and the effect resonated for several years. 

The issue is chock-a-block with New Year-themed stories from the regulars. Wee Sue, Bessie Bunter, Edie, and the Storyteller with a double helping of Strange Stories are all in on the act. So is Molly, with her new story, “The Promotion”. Sadly, it’s not a good start for the New Year for her. Ironically, it’s because of something that should be very happy for her – she is chosen for the staff promotion. But the other servants don’t look happy about it, and neither is Molly. She isn’t one of the gang anymore because of the promotion. 

New Year was a popular time for girls’ comics to start new stories, and two stories start in this issue. The first is Molly’s new story. The other is “Sister in the Shadows”. Wendy Weekes is off to a new start at her new school, but it’s already off to a bad start because everyone expects her to live up to the success of her older sister Stella. As if this weren’t bad enough, it’s also making Wendy unpopular with the other girls and a prime target for bullying.

In the old stories, things are finally looking up for Hannah Hilton, who is trying to become a success after nothing but failure, in the form of her nasty sisters who keep trying to sabotage her. Hannah is about to revive an old attraction at the fair. The mayor, who had been requesting it for years, is all agog, and so are the reporters. Seems nothing can go wrong this time – but then there’s a policeman at the door. Is it Hannah’s sisters again or something far more serious?

In “Cindy of Swan Lake”, Cindy Grey goes on tour. It should be a great experience, but, as usual, she’s lumbered with the company of her jealous rival Zoe Martin, who is also out to sabotage her. Zoe’s sabotage takes the form of head games, playing on Cindy being worried sick about her beloved swans, who are being poisoned by pollution.

And in “Daughter of the Desert”, the mysterious Arab figure who seems connected to a strange series of desert-related incidents at a boarding school, leads our heroines into a trap – of quicksand!

Tammy & June 9 November 1974

Cover artist: John Richardson

Becky Never Saw the Ball – artist John Armstrong, writer Joe Collins

Wee Sue – artist John Richardson

Nell Nobody – artist Miguel Quesada 

A Dog’s Best Friend (Strange Story) – artist Jim Eldrige

Dirty Trix – artist unknown

Jeannie and Her Uncle Meanie (final episode) – artist Robert MacGillivray

Secret Ballet of the Steppes – artist Douglas Perry, writer Gerry Finley-Day?

No Tears for Molly – artist Tony Thewenetti, writer Maureen Spurgeon

Town Without Telly – artist José Casanovas

It’s Guy Fawkes season, so we bring out the first Tammy Cover Girls cover with a Fifth of November theme. Oh dear, looks like a mishap struck the younger Cover Girl this time; usually it’s the older one. Hopefully they will come up with a brainwave to cover those ruined fireworks.

Bessie does not appear this week. Wee Sue could be out celebrating Bonfire Night, but she’s out playing soccer and rugby instead. This keeps striking trouble with Miss Bigger, who is looking for a missing consignment of school blazers.

It’s the final episode of Uncle Meanie – for now, anyway. At long last, he finishes off a world cruise that he’s constantly bedevilled with his penny-pinching tricks. The poor captain of that cruise ship will never be the same again. Home sweet home, all bracing for the return of Uncle Meanie to Tammy later on. 

Many readers kept writing in demanding why the heck Molly doesn’t strike back at that bully butler Pickering. They must have cheered when her double, come to Stanton Hall in her place, finally does the job this week. Pickering is left utterly floored – literally.

This week’s Strange Story is drawn by what looks like a very early Jim Eldridge. So could it be an early Strange Story reprinted from June? Enough time has passed for such reprints to start appearing in Tammy. The story is about the ability of dogs to sense things people can’t.

Dirty Trix senses her cheating at athletics has finally been detected, and eavesdropping on the club coach Miss Wood confirms her fears. “I ain’t finished yet, not by a long chalk!” is her response. Don’t be so sure about that, Trix – the blurb for next week says the evidence against you is going to stack up.

Nell Nobody shows she’s a real trouper by proving this week that when disaster strikes, she can think on her feet and come up with ways to deal with the situation. She figures a way around her horrible uncle smashing the legs of her puppet by incorporating the puppet’s disability into a new act. She also creates a companion puppet (Lola) for him despite the gruelling demands of the hot dog stand she’s forced to slog at to pay for her spoiled cousin’s acting fees. Now an important-looking lady has lined up for the show Nell’s secretly using the hot dog stand for. Is Nell about to get her big break? 

“Secret Ballet of the Steppes” is reaching its climax. Judith manages to get back to the palace, braving wolves, suspicious-looking men who try to drug her, and snowstorms to do so, to avert the upcoming attack against the revolutionaries. Then she discovers there’s more to it than that when she overhears the villainous Berova planning something sneaky. 

Joy and Recepta’s plan to cure Boxless town of TV addiction is to bore viewers stiff with long-winded broadcasts featuring Lady Boxless. So far the results look good – Lady Boxless already has someone throwing a loafer at the screen. 

Elspeth was forcibly separated from Becky after being wrongly accused of driving her too hard at tennis. Becky ran away in search of Elspeth and now she’s at a tennis match promoting ice cream in the hopes of finding her. Sure enough, Elspeth, who runs an ice cream truck, is now arriving at the same event. Will they reunite?