Jinty and Lindy 13 November 1976

Jassy’s Wand of Power (artist Keith Robson) – final episode

Gertie Grit, the Hateful Brit! (artist Paul White)

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

Nature’s Wonderful Ways (feature)

Rose among the Thornes (artist Jim Baikie)

Alley Cat (artist Rob Lee)

Sisters at War! (artist Trini Tinturé) – final episode

Girl in a Bubble (artist Phil Gascoine, writer Pat Mills)

Is this Your Story? (artist John Richardson)

Daisy Drudge and Milady Maud (artist Ken Houghton)

“Heap big Injun trouble for Gertie Grit” says the cover. Heap big trouble for the Injuns more like, knowing our Gertie. Sure enough, she unwittingly causes another historical catastrophe, which in this case is Custer’s Last Stand. And it’s all because Custer put her on KP duty.

“Jassy’s Wand of Power” and “Sisters at War!” both end this week. The drought breaks when the power plant that’s causing it is shut down. Blimey, it’s been so long since a rainfall that Jassy’s little friend Mark doesn’t even realise what it is when it finally falls! Well, Jassy can retire her water-divining rod now. Story artist Keith Robson moves on to a new serial next week. Meanwhile, the sisters are still at war with constant arguing, but their uncle has decided he wouldn’t have it any other way. 

Another story ended last issue, but nothing new starts this week. Instead, we have a full page informing us that three stories start next week. We just love it when we have a nice big run of several stories starting at once. 

Meanwhile, poor Daisy has to do ironing with a broken bone in her hand (and it doesn’t look like that hand is getting any medical attention – ooh, that horrible household!). But Daisy finds a way to get the ironing done despite her hand and is surprised to be rewarded with a cat brooch. Unfortunately the other servants are still mean to her, and that brooch has made them jealous too. If only Daisy could see what Maud has learned about dealing with nasty types who bully servants – throw water all over them.

In “Is This Your Story?”, Freda has a bad habit of telling lies, but she gets caught out when she tries to pull a fast one over her teacher. She spends a horrible weekend dreading what punishment awaits her on Monday, which could be expulsion. What is teach going to do?

Ouch! Rose gets a faceful of stings while foiling the Thornes’ latest scheme this week. Gran’s herbal remedies sort out the stings, but then the bryony blooms – which is a warning of disaster. Sounds like the story is about to reach its climax.

Groan…not even Stefa’s own birthday softens her “heart of stone”. She throws all the presents she gets in the faces of everyone who gave them to her. Stefa, the day will come when you look back on this birthday with deep regret. Later in the episode, Stefa finds it’s going to be a lot harder to steer clear of Ruth – her parents are inviting Ruth over to their house and going to parents’ night to see her work. Stefa thinks it’s a cheek; she is their daughter, not Ruth. Huh, considering the way you’re carrying on with your folks, you’re the one who’s got a cheek, Stefa!

Helen manages to break free of Miss Vaal and shut her in the bubble for a change. On the advice of her teacher she goes home to tell her parents what’s going on. The very parents who never once visited her while she was in the bubble, come to think of it.

Alley Cat borrows a library book on how to “nab nosh”, but everything backfires and he ends up having to exchange it for a first aid book.

Jinty and Lindy 6 November 1976

Jassy’s Wand of Power (Keith Robson)

Gertie Grit, the Hateful Brit! (artist Paul White)

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

Rose among the Thornes (artist Jim Baikie)

Champion in Hiding (artist Hugh-Thornton Jones) – final episode

Sisters at War! (artist Trini Tinturé)

Alley Cat (artist Rob Lee)

Girl in a Bubble (artist Phil Gascoine, writer Pat Mills)

Is this Your Story? (artist John Richardson)

Daisy Drudge and Milady Maud (Ken Houghton)

In Jinty’s fireworks issue for 1976, Gertie Grit does the honours when her time-travelling gets her caught up in the Gunpowder Plot itself (below). Funny – the biggest fireworks of this historical event seem to come from Druid Caractacus.

Gertie isn’t the only one in the issue getting a taste of the Tower of London. That’s where Jassy is about to be sent to as well. It’s the fate of all those who claim to have psychic ability in this drought-stricken story.

The Thornes’ latest trick is play “ghost” to get their hands on the magistrate’s property, but Rose’s gran turns the tables by scaring the Thornes with the same ruse. Halloween was last week, you Thornes!

Ruth finds out the reason for “Stefa’s Heart of Stone” and starts a “Melt Stefa” campaign with her classmates to soften it. But from the looks of things, not even global warming would “melt Stefa”. However, jealousy is proving more effective; Stefa gets her nose put out of joint when her parents start treating Ruth like their very own daughter. 

Mandy in this week’s “Is This Your Story?” doesn’t want to share her brother with a girlfriend. She breaks them up, but her brother’s reaction isn’t what she expected. Her conscience pricks up and she gets them back together. 

In “Daisy Drudge and Milady Maud”, Maud finds a friend in a servant at the finishing school while Daisy can’t in the cruel household she has ended up in. The household is on holiday in the country and Daisy seizes another chance to escape. Unfortunately they catch up (again), and Daisy breaks a bone in her hand in the process. And nobody, not even the servants, has an ounce of sympathy for her there. Rather, they all laugh at what great sport it’s been chasing her.

“Champion in Hiding” ends this week. It turns out nasty Aunt Shirley and Mrs Blackmoor were in cahoots to stop Mitzi and Firefly from winning the dog championship, but win they do. Mrs Blackmoor’s furious and won’t pay Aunt Shirley because she failed, so Aunt Shirley is punished by ending up with nothing.

Helen’s back in the bubble and the sinister Miss Vaal manages to forestall Helen’s art teacher when she makes enquiries into what’s going on. Then Helen makes a bold move with the black book she stole from Miss Vaal to help her make a rush for freedom. Will it work?

In “Sisters at War!”, Uncle Jason runs away from hospital and camps out in hiding although he’s not well. Mum is furious when she finds out Sue has been helping to hide him though she knows about his condition. 

Spotty Muchloot and Alley Cat have another battle, this time with toffee. Well, we always knew Spotty was stuck-up.

Gertie Grit and the Gunpowder Plot

Gertie Grit and the Gunpowder Plot

Jinty and Lindy 9 October 1976

Girl in a Bubble (artist Phil Gascoine, writer Pat Mills)

Gertie Grit, the Hateful Brit! (artist Paul White) – first episode

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

Alley Cat (artist Rob Lee)

Rose among the Thornes (artist Jim Baikie)

Champion in Hiding (artist Hugh Thornton-Hughes)

Sisters at War! (artist Trini Tinturé)

Jassy’s Wand of Power (artist Keith Robson)

The Jinx from St Jonah’s (artist Hugh Thornton-Jones)

Daisy Drudge and Milady Maud (artist Ken Houghton

Ian Mitchell – feature

We fill another October gap here. As the cover indicates, it is the start of a new serial, “Gertie Grit the Hateful Brit!”, but one thing puzzles me about it: why does the cover show Gertie Grit with long green sleeves when in fact she has bare arms?

Inside, Jinty seems to be paying Halloween some early homage with Alley Cat, who has a dream about a witch turning him into a worm. He gets used as fish bait, but the spell wears off in time for him to catch fish of his own. When he wakes up he really does catch fish, which have fallen off the back of a lorry.

In the first episode of “Gertie Grit, the Hateful Brit!”, Gertie hails from Roman Britain. There’s a definite Flintstones feel about Gertie’s home environment, but we don’t get much chance to see it before she steals a magic time-travel pendant from Druid Caractacus. Off she goes, and her first stop in time is the boudoir of Helen of Troy. Though it hardly looks it, Gertie’s is the face that launches the fabled 1000 ships when she mucks about with Helen’s makeup. Gertie then discovers Caractacus is following her through time to get his pendant back, but she isn’t going to let him do it that easily. And so the pattern is set for the rest of the episodes to follow. We are informed that Gertie meets Nell Gwynn in the next issue. Pity poor Nell…

In “Stefa’s Heart of Stone”, Stefa is trying to turn her heart into stone after losing her best friend Joy, which for everyone is more like “Stefa’s head of stupidity”. Stefa’s now trying to get herself expelled to get away from Ruth Graham, the girl who looks almost like Joy. However, Ruth keeps foiling Stefa’s attempts to do so. You’re not getting rid of Ruth that easily, Stefa!

In Victorian times, Lady Daisy de Vere and a skivvy named Maud have accidentally switched lives. Maud is taking advantage of a posh finishing school (shades of My Fair Lady), and this week she is trying to cover the fact that she’s barely literate by pretending to have an injured hand. Meanwhile, Daisy attempts to run from the horrible downstairs life she has landed in, but she gets recaptured, brutally beaten, and then chained to a kitchen range until she’s finished cleaning it. 

Hugh Thornton-Jones is doing double duty as filler artist for “Champion in Hiding” and “The Jinx from St Jonah’s”. In the former, Firefly foils some sheep rustlers but gets badly hurt, and cruel Aunt Shirley is still a real slavedriver to our protagonist Mitzi. In the latter, Katie attempts to reconcile a quarrelsome couple who keep breaking off their engagement. It succeeds, but in an extremely weird way that leaves us all scratching our heads along with Katie. 

Helen Ryan escapes from the bubble she was kept in for lack of germ resistance and even joins an art class. But then she feels horribly ill. Maybe she should have stayed in the bubble after all? Meanwhile, Miss Vaal discovers Helen has escaped and says “she will have to take the consequences”. Now that sounds very, very ominous…

In “Rose among the Thornes”, motorcycle roughs are raising hell in the village, and Rose discovers the Thornes are behind it in a scheme to shut down a café. She manages to foil that scheme but knows the Thornes will have another brewing soon.

Jassy discovers Mr Danby is taking advantage of her water-dowsing powers to extort payment and goods out of drought-stricken people. Her response is to walk out on Danby, but then she jumps from the frying-pan into the fire. She gets captured by Sir Harmer Jeffreys, the man in charge of the power plant. He’s heard the gossip about her and Danby, and whatever he’s got in mind for her does not sound promising.

Another extortionist threatens Sue, one of the “Sisters at War”. Sue gives in to his demands to meet him, but the blackmailer reckons without Uncle Jason. Uncle manages to deal to the blackmailer but then collapses with a heart condition. He swears Sue to secrecy. Then sister Sylvia jumps to the wrong conclusion about what happened and it’s “sisters at war” again.

Jinty & Lindy 30 October 1976

Stories in this issue:

• Jassy’s Wand of Power (artist Keith Robson)
• Gertie Grit, the Hateful Brit! (artist Paul White)
• Stefa’s Heart of Stone (artist Phil Townsend, writer Alison Christie)
• Rose among the Thornes (artist Jim Baikie)
• Champion in Hiding (artist Hugh Thornton-Jones)
• Alley Cat
• Sisters at War! (artist Trini Tinturé)
• Girl in a Bubble (artist Phil Gascoine, writer Pat Mills)
• The Jinx From St Jonah’s (artist Hugh Thornton-Jones) – last episode
• Daisy Drudge and Milady Maud (artist Ken Houghton)

“Jassy’s Wand of Power” is the lead story on this issue; it takes up the front cover and runs to three and a half pages, oddly enough – but then there are only 3 panels on this front cover so I guess that means it is the equivalent of about three ordinary pages. It’s nice having a page of comics on the cover, really draws you in. In this episode, Jassy is starting to raise people’s awareness of the dangerous industrial process that Sir Harmer Jeffreys has been using. They still have to manage to get further away from him without either getting caught – and at the end of the episode they have to face a hungry and thirsty lion too!

Stefa is continuing in the grip of her grief – she is cooking her own food as her dad has forbidden her mother to cook for her until she comes to her senses. There is nearly a deadly chip pan fire as a result, and it is Stefa’s classmate who saves her. No gratitude results of course as this is the classmate who has an eerie likeness to Stefa’s dead friend.

Hugh Thornton-Jones has two stories in this issue – he has taken on the art duties for “Champion in Hiding” from Mario Capaldi, and he has also drawn the last episode that Katie Jinks appears in. In this story, Katie is chasing a wee black kitten that you’d think woud be a lucky cat – but who brings disaster to all whose path she crosses! Of course in the end the little kitten is given to Katie, who is very happy to have a kitten jinx in her life.

“Girl In A Bubble” has the sinster Miss Vaal finding her experimental subject Helen out of the bubble – but escape is not possible as Helen’s friend Linda is threatened by Miss Vaal unless she returns meekly to the bubble. Of course Linda goes and tells someone in charge, but Miss Vaal has a plan to deal with that without letting Helen escape again…

Jinty & Lindy 31 July 1976

• Willa on Wheels (artist Jim Baikie)
• Alley Cat
• For Peter’s Sake! final episode (artist Ana Rodriguez, writer Alison Christie)
• Fran of the Floods (artist Phil Gascoine)
• Champion in Hiding (artist Mario Capaldi)
• Horse from the Sea (artist Rodrigo Comos)
• Sisters at War! (artist Trini Tinturé)
• Snobby Shirl the Shoeshine Girl! (artist José Casanovas)
• Bridey Below the Breadline (artist Ken Houghton)

The cover brings us promise that snobby Shirl will earn our respect for the first time since her story started. Shirley shoves her shoeshine brush into the face of a snobby classmate for insulting Alice. Such an unladylike but ballsy move raises our hopes that snobby Shirl is becoming more human. But when we learn that Shirley still looks on Alice as a servant, our hopes are dashed. This is one girl who should have lived in Victorian times. It’s the final episode of “For Peter’s Sake!” Peg the pram does not seem to have fulfilled her promise to cure Peter although she has cured every other baby rocked in her. But there is a last minute surprise to ensure a happy ending. Another Alison Christie story, “Stefa’s Heart of Stone“, starts next week. Jinty must have liked to keep her writers as busy as her artists. Bridey finds a man with influence who believes her father is innocent. But fate, in the form of a mob and a gang of thieves, is soon to cut off that avenue of help. David, self appointed king (and loony) of Glasgow, is the latest problem in “Fran of the Floods”. He’s taken Fran and Jill prisoner. All the same, Fran finds herself liking him for some reason. Will this help to sort things out with him? In “Horse from the Sea”, Tracey gets injured when the staircase collapses. But she could have sworn it was sound earlier. And what about those shots somebody fired at her on the moor? Sue is causing more trouble for herself in “Sisters at War!”. And now it looks like she’s going to be blamed for something she hasn’t even done and get into trouble with the police on top of everything else. Mitzi is striking more difficulties in keeping her “Champion in Hiding” fed because of her horrible aunt. Could a paper round be the answer? Willa gets off her wheels to help a surgeon who needs a theatre nurse. Next week we will see if she does prove herself this way.

Jinty & Lindy 2 October 1976

• Girl in a Bubble (artist Phil Gascoine, writer Pat Mills)
• The Jinx from St Jonah’s (artist Hugh Thornton-Jones)
• Stefa’s Heart of Stone (artist Phil Townsend, writer Alison Christie)
• Rose among the Thornes (artist Jim Baikie)
• Champion in Hiding (artist Hugh Thornton-Jones)
• Sisters at War! (artist Trini Tinturé)
• Jassy’s Wand of Power (artist Keith Robson)
• Snobby Shirl the Shoeshine Girl! final episode (artist José Casanovas)
• Daisy Drudge and Milady Maud (artist Ken Hougton)

This is one of the first Jintys I came across when I was younger. The image of Miss Vaal pulling the flower out of Helen’s hair and then punishing her by putting her in total darkness for two days without food really stuck with me, as did the premise of a girl in a bubble. I have just come into another copy of the issue with a collection of new Jintys I have just acquired, so I am familiarising myself with the issue properly. By the way, you will be pleased to know Helen does not suffer two days of hunger and darkness; she escapes again, and this time she plucks up the courage to let herself out of the bubble. The trouble is, Miss Vaal will not like that; she is already trying to discourage Helen from leaving the bubble by breaking her spirit.

Hugh Thornton-Jones has a double chore now because he has taken over from two Mario Capaldi stories, “The Jinx from St Jonah’s” and “Champion in Hiding”. You have to wonder why Capaldi stopped drawing these strips.

This issue sees the final episode of “Snobby Shirl the Shoeshine Girl”. Has Shirl learned not to be so snobby? You would not think so by the way she is enjoying the high life. But maybe her father is in for a surprise.

Stefa’s heart of stone causes even more trouble for her parents, what with causing Dad to lose his job and take a lower paying job, and the family having to move into a cheap council house. This does not move her stony heart, but we can still see there are chinks in it. Stefa is desperate to get away from her school and Ruth Graham, who is a constant reminder that her grief for Joy is unresolved. Stefa cannot bear to be parted from her statue, the closest thing she has to a friend now. And although she expresses no shame or apology at costing her father his “grotty old job”, we suspect she really is covering up a guilty conscience. After all, in the previous episode Stefa was nagged by guilt over how much she was hurting her parents and had a sleepless night.

Jassy is developing her water divining powers, only to discover they mean trouble for her. There is a law against psychics after a one prophesised there would be no drought for many years. Furthermore, there are greedy people out to take advantage of Jassy’s power. Daisy is still too much of a lady to take the skivvy treatment she is getting lying down. She tries to speak out against the treatment she is getting from the other servants, but this only has the servants turn on her for snitching. Now her life is even more unbearable, and even the boot boy despises her. Rose manages to foil the Thornes who try to sabotage her pole vault, but gets damaged hands from having to make do with a rough pole.

Jinty & Lindy 18 September 1976

 

• Girl in a Bubble – first episode (artist Phil Gascoine, writer Pat Mills)
• Alley Cat
• Stefa’s Heart of Stone (artist Phil Townsend, writer Alison Christie)
• Rose among the Thornes (artist Jim Baikie)
• Champion in Hiding (artist Hugh Thornton-Jones)
• Horse from the Sea (artist Rodrigo Comos)
• Sisters at War! (artist Trini Tinturé)
• Snobby Shirl the Shoeshine Girl! (artist José Casanovas)
• Daisy Drudge and Milady Maud (Ken Houghton)

This issue marks the first episode of one of Jinty’s most insidious and disturbing stories, “Girl in a Bubble”. Helen Ryan has been incarcerated in a sterile bubble for four years, under the care of Miss Vaal, after she was diagnosed as having no resistance to germs. But there is something mysterious about all this. In all that time, Helen’s parents have never come to see her. And what’s with that black book Miss Vaal keeps writing in?

It gets even more suspicious when Helen demands to be let out and have some company. Miss Vaal pays off some kids to come and torment Helen in order to put her off company – hmm, now why would she do that? In any case, it backfires when one of the kids, Linda, regrets it and comes back to encourage Helen to come out. But what awaits Helen outside the bubble? And what will Miss Vaal do if she finds out?

Meanwhile, “Horse from the Sea” has reached its penultimate episode. Tracey has discovered she is the true heir to the Penrose estate, but the nasty relatives tie her up, and make plans to kill her and put the blame on her beloved Brightmane. Tracey escapes with the help of Brightmane and Janice. But raising help strikes problems with the phone dead and Janice still not strong enough to walk far.

The reverse situations of “Daisy Drudge and Milady Maud” are now firmly established, what with Maud drugged and on board the ship to the finishing school and Daisy now at Park Square mansion in Maud’s place. Daisy is forced to do work she has no idea how to do or get beaten. At the end of the day, she is furious at all the drudgery and physical abuse she has taken and resolves to make them pay. But she finds that will be harder than she thought when she finds herself locked in the attic room where servants sleep.

In “Sisters at War”, Sue has to put the war on hold. She and Sylvia have been wrongly accused of a crime and she enlists the aid of a reporter to help sort things out. But the true criminal has gotten wind of it and now Mum comes in – all roughed up!

Another mum is having a bad time in this issue too; Stefa’s mum is on the verge of a breakdown because of Stefa’s stony behaviour and takes a short break. Meanwhile, Stefa gets an invitation to Ruth’s party but worms her way out of it by pretending to be ill. Dad falls for it and takes time off work to look after her – something he is going to regret .

Rose foils another plot from the Thornes but falls asleep at the same time because they gave her a drugged drink. Next time, don’t consume anything the Thornes offer! In “Champion in Hiding”, the class launches a campaign to save Firefly, but it strikes problems, including Aunt Shirl making nasty threats against Mitzi. This forces Mitzi and Firefly to go on the run.

Instead of shining shoes and losing her snobbishness, Shirl is soaking up the high life in a sheikh’s palace. But not for long, thanks to Alice’s pea shooter! Soon it is Alice soaking up the high life instead and has a feeling that things are going to happen now that Shirl is a sheikess. And “Alice is too right, as you’ll find out in next week’s hilarious story!”

 

Jinty & Lindy 23 October 1976

 

• Jassy’s Wand of Power (artist Keith Robson)
• Gertie Grit, the Hateful Brit! (artist Paul White)
• Is This Your Story?
• Stefa’s Heart of Stone (artist Phil Townsend, writer Alison Christie)
• Rose among the Thornes (artist Jim Baikie)
• Champion in Hiding (artist Hugh Thornton-Jones)
• Sisters at War! (artist Trini Tinturé)
• Girl in a Bubble (artist Phil Gascoine, writer Pat Mills)
• Daisy Drudge and Milady Maud (artist Ken Houghton)

Human sacrifice on a Jinty cover is disturbing, even though we can see Jassy is striving to save the boy (and succeeds). The boy is blind, which makes it even more horrifying. It makes for a striking cover to feature on this blog. “Jassy’s Wand of Power” would have been better to keep the explanation that it is set in an alternate Britain that is more superstitious so readers who joined the story would know. But it didn’t, so some readers must have been been puzzled as to why Britain is suddenly reverting to human sacrifice, witchcraft and water diviners, even if it is in a drought crisis.

Witchcraft also features in Gertie Grit, where Gertie gets a job with a witch. She ends up causing the Vesuvius eruption and the destruction of Pompeii when she makes a miscalculation with some magic powder. Gertie is forced to make another hasty exit to another time period, and for once she learns a lesson: “You can’t learn magic spells in five minutes!”

This week’s “Is This Your Story?” features Clare who makes herself the centre of attention and the envy of her classmates with her clothes. They don’t realise the clothes are not Clare’s – she helps herself to her sisters’ wardrobes to impress everyone with her appearance. The sisters resort to drastic measures to teach Clare a lesson – they lock up their wardrobes and Clare’s, so the hitherto smartly dressed Clare has to go to school in her mum’s dress! Everyone gets a huge laugh, but Clare takes it in part and sees the funny side too. This is what sees her through her dressing down, so to speak, as well as learning her lesson.

Last week Stefa softened and cried when her mother had a bad accident. But then she regretted it, seeing it as weakness when she should have stayed firm with her stony heart. This week, silly Stefa resolves to harden up even more. So poor Mum is in for a shock when she comes home from the hospital. Dad reaches his limit and decides to give Stefa a taste of her own medicine by telling her she must buy and cook her own food. Stefa welcomes it, as it will widen the rift between them. But in the next issue, Stefa finds it turning into another test for her stony heart as she is a lousy cook! But will this teach her the lesson she so badly needs to learn?

Rose foils another plot from the Thornes, but falls out with her friend Elaine. The girl in the bubble is on the run from Miss Vaal, but she and Linda dodge the police to sneak back and find out what exactly Miss Vaal is up to. They find Miss Vaal’s black book, but what will it reveal? Daisy’s plan to escape by chimney  has to be put on hold when the family go on holiday and take the servants with them. It’s no holiday for Daisy, who still has to cope with hard work and bullying, but she is hopeful for a chance to escape her servitude on holiday. Will she succeed or be forced to go back to her chimney plan? Uncle Jason is in hospital, but this brings no peace between the Sisters at War. In Champion in Hiding, Mitzi’s mother is in hospital too, and nasty Aunt Shirley is taking advantage of it to sabotage Mitzi’s training for the dog championship.

 

Jinty and Lindy 11 September 1976

None of the stories in this issue are missing from the story list, but there is still plenty to comment on. This issue gives us the last episode of the science fiction classic, “Fran of the Floods” – all ends happily for our protagonists, but the creators are careful to show that not everyone came out of the catastrophe unscathed. Elsewhere in the issue, I note that Hugh Thornton-Jones is deputising for Mario Capaldi not once but twice – he has taken over as regular artist on the last few episodes of “Jinx”, and also as the artist on “Champion in Hiding”. José Casanovas gives us humorous character Snobby Shirl who has to work as a shoeshine girl for, er, a number of no doubt very good reasons. And finally, Mistyfan has just written about “Daisy Drudge and Milady Maud” – an unlikely ‘Prince and the pauper’ tale that has real strengths showing through the formula.

Stories in this issue:

• Rose Among The Thornes (artist Jim Baikie)
• The Jinx From St Jonah’s (artist Hugh Thornton-Jones)
• Stefa’s Heart of Stone (artist Phil Townsend, writer Alison Christie)
• Fran of the Floods (artist Phil Gascoine)
• Champion In Hiding (artist Hugh Thornton-Jones)
• Horse From The Sea (artist Rodrigo Comos)
• Sisters At War! (artist Trini Tinturé)
• Snobby Shirl the Shoeshine Girl! (artist José Casanovas)
• Daisy Drudge and Milady Maud (artist Ken Houghton)

Jinty & Lindy 4 September 1976

• Rose among the Thornes – first episode (artist Jim Baikie)
• Alley Cat
• Stefa’s Heart of Stone (artist Phil Townsend, writer Alison Christie)
• Fran of the Floods (Phil Gascoine)
• Champion in Hiding (artist Hugh Thornton-Jones)
• Horse from the Sea (artist Rodrigo Comos)
• Sisters at War! (artist Trini Tinturé)
• Snobby Shirl the Shoeshine Girl! (artist José Casanovas)
• Daisy Drudge and Milady Maud – first episode (artist Ken Houghton)

The Lindy logo is still on the Jinty cover. This is the only thing left from Lindy, which had little to offer to the merger except Penny Crayon. But Penny has gone and Alley Cat is the regular cartoon now.

“Fran of the Floods”, which began in January, is still going. But the floods have abated and we are promised the conclusion with the next issue. That means this story has run for 10 months, which makes it one of Jinty’s longest serials.

“Champion in Hiding” has changed artists. It started with Mario Capaldi but is now being drawn by Hugh Thornton-Jones. Thornton-Jones took over from Capaldi for a while with Katie Jinx too during 1976.

Meanwhile, Stefa discovers her heart is not as stony as she thought when she discovers that there is a girl in her class who is a dead ringer for her late friend Joy! But she still has not woken up to the error of her ways. Neither has Snobby Shirl, who still hasn’t learned humility. However, Shirl is becoming less selfish when she sets out to rescue her friend Alice, who has been taken prisoner by a sheikh. But Shirl discovers that she may be shining shoes at last when the sheikh sets her to clean a row of them that is a mile long!

Another snob starts to learn humility the hard way too, in the new story “Daisy Drudge and Milady Maud”. This story comes from the tradition in girls’ comics of a rich girl and Victorian maid who swop places (and happen to bear a physical resemblance to each other, so the switch goes unnoticed or disbelieved). In this case, the swop occurs by accident rather than voluntarily or through trickery. And Lady Daisy De Vere, a rich, snobby girl who looks down on servants and the other half, is going to find out just how hard their lives are – the hard way. Meanwhile, Maud the servant girl finds herself going to a finishing school in Daisy’s place.

And another new story, “Rose among the Thornes”, we see Rose Smith start her crusade against her greedy relatives, the Thornes, whose development plans threaten people’s homes, including her gran’s. The Thornes have made a good start already, by tricking gran into signing over the cottage to them.