José Casanovas

Catalan artist José Casanovas (1934 – 2009) was well-known and well-loved by lots of readers, appearing as he did in many British comics over a number of decades. His detailed, stylish, and above all fun art was distinctive and he was credited in various publications, so it is easy to pull together quite a long list of his work (though no doubt still incomplete). Many British readers think of him as a 2000AD artist – that is how I first came across his name myself – and therefore perhaps as an SF artist primarily. If you count up the stories he drew and the titles he appeared in, though, by far the majority of his work seems to be for the girls’ comics market.

The list below has been pulled together with much reference to the Catawiki database in order to fill out the non-Jinty stories, so many thanks to the contributors to that site. (I have included the numbers of episodes listed for each story as per Catawiki, to emphasize how prolific he was. I am fairly sure the records on that site are not complete but it gives a good impression of his work. Of course, please do send in further information if you have it!)

• Tammy
  • Cinderella Spiteful (1971-72) – 20 episodes
  • Two-Faced Teesha (1973-74) – 10 episodes
  • Ella on Easy Street (1974) – 8 episodes
  • The Town Without Telly (1974) – 12 episodes
  • Wars of the Roses (1975-76) – 11 episodes
  • Babe at St Woods (1976-77) – 39 episodes (you can see some sample pages here)
  • Down To Earth Blairs (1977-78) – 25 episodes
  • Running Rosie Lee (1980) – 10 episodes
  • Tomorrow Town (1982) – 10 episodes from 11 Sept 1982 – 13 Nov 1982.
• Sandie
  • The Nine Lives of Nat the Cat (1972-73) – 38 episodes
• Princess Tina & Penelope
  • Have-A-Go Jo (1970) – 25 episodes
• Jinty
  • Dora Dogsbody (1974-76) – 94 episodes
  • Snobby Shirl the Shoeshine Girl (1976) – 13 episodes
  • Her Ugly Duckling – reprinted story in Jinty Annual 1976
  • The Darkening Journey (1977) – 20 episodes
  • Sue’s Daily Dozen (1980-81) – 14 episodes
  • Spot of Trouble (28 March 1981) – complete story
• Lindy
  • Sophie’s Secret Squeezy (1975) – 7 episodes
• Penny
  • Pickle, Where Are You? (1979) – 10 episodes

Mistyfan has recently done a post about “Sue’s Daily Dozen” in which she made the point that Casanovas is known for science fiction. There is one science fiction story done by him in a girls’ comic, namely Tammy‘s “Tomorrow Town”, which I take the opportunity to reprint here as being a piece of art that would otherwise not be likely to get a showing on this Jinty-specific blog.

click thru

click thru

Following Casanovas’ death in 2009, Steve Holland wrote an obituary Bear Alley post here, drawing also on the Spanish-language blog Tebeosfera’s post here. (Do follow this last link to see some lovely artwork from an adaptation of Pollyanna done for the local market.) There was also an interesting comment on 2000AD fan blog the Prog Slog about Casanovas’ work in the boys’ science fiction comics market. He drew well-liked characters Max Normal (some Max Normal art by Casanovas can be seen here) and Sam Slade Robo-Hunter (after Ian Gibson had stopped drawing this latter character). He also drew a number of one-off stories in 2000AD, and a story in Starlord, and people characterise him as a 2000AD artist therefore. The Prog Slog comment here clarifies that: “Casanovas early work for 2000AD, Starlord etc. was sporadic. First appearance was a ‘Future Shock’ in Prog 70 (24 June 1978) a 1.5 pager called ‘Many Hands’. “Good morning Sheldon, I love you” was his next, a six page future shock style one-off written by John Wagner in Starlord 11 (22 July 1978). He drew another one-off Wagner [story] in Starlord 16. There’s a gap then until Progs 148 & 149 (January 1980) where he does a 2-part Ro-Jaws Robo-Tale. He then draws the 11 page Mugger’s Mile by Alan Grant, the first ever Max Normal strip (“The Pinstripe Freak (He’s Dredd’s informer)”) in the first Judge Dredd annual (1981). He goes on to draw more Future Shocks in Prog 220, 241 and 245, another Max Normal in the 1982 JD annual, and again in JD 1983 annual. In the 1982 Sci-Fi Special he draws his first Dredd proper, a 10 pager by Wagner – The Tower of Babel. His first Dredd in the weekly is the excellent “Game Show Show” 2 parter in 278/279, August 1982, Wagner again. He did the second ever ‘Time Twister’ in Prog 295, a 4 pager called Ultimate Video. And that’s as far as my data goes for now, by Prog 300 he’d done 77.5 pages: 32.5 in the weeklies, 10 in specials, 23 in annuals and 12 in Starlord. According to ‘Barney’ online (http://www.2000ad.org) his last work was in Prog 822 (Feb 1993), Robo-Hunter”. The tally of his pages for 2000AD and the like must therefore surely be far outnumbered by the 90+ episodes of his run on Dora Dogsbody in Jinty alone!

Stories translated into Dutch

Following up on the previous post on European Translations, Sleuth from Catawiki has kindly sent me a list she has prepared of Jinty stories which were translated into Dutch. (See also some comments from her in that post, about Dutch translations.) They were mostly published in the weekly comic Tina and/or in the reprint album format Tina Topstrip. The list below shows the original title, followed by the title in the Dutch translation, with a literal translation in [square brackets] where appropriate, and then the details of the publication that the translation appeared in. It is ordered by date of original publication.

• Gwen’s Stolen Glory (1974): De droom van een ander [Someone else’s dream] (in: Tina Club 1975-2)
• Dora Dogsbody (1974-76): Hilda Hondemoppie (in: Tina 1974)
• Gail’s Indian Necklace (1974): Anak-Har-Li [the name of the Indian deity on the necklace] (in: Tina Club 1975-01)
• Always Together (1974): Voor altijd samen (in: Tina 1985/86)
• Wild Horse Summer (1974): De zomer van het witte paard [White Horse Summer] (in: Tina 1976, Tina Topstrip 15 (1980))
• Left-Out Linda (1974): Linda (in: Tina 1975/76)
• Wenna the Witch (1974): Wenna de heks (in: Tina 1976, Tina Topstrip 34, 1981)
• Slave of the Mirror (1975): De spiegel met de slangen [The Snakes Mirror] (in: Tina 1976)
• The Kat and Mouse Game (1975): Als kat en muis [Like cat and mouse] (in: Tina 1985)
• Tricia’s Tragedy (1975): Tineke – Strijd om de Lankman-trofee [Tineke – Fighting for the Lankman Trophy] (in: Tina 1975/76, Tina Topstrip 18 (1980)).
• The Valley of the Shining Mist (1975): Het dal van de glanzende nevel (in: Tina 1977)
• Barracuda Bay (1975): Susan Stevens – Barracudabaai (in: Tina 1971); reprint from June & School Friend 1970.
• The Haunting of Hazel: Hazel en haar berggeest [Hazel and her Mountain Ghost] (in: Tina 1976/77, Tina Topstrip 27 (1981))
• For Peter’s Sake! (1976): De opdracht van Josefien [Josephine’s Assignment] (in: Tina Boelboek 5 (1985))
• The Slave of Form 3B (1976): In de ban van Isabel [Under Isabel’s Spell] (in: Groot Tina Zomerboek 1984-2)
• Then there were 3 … (1976): Toen waren er nog maar drie (in: Groot Tina Lenteboek 1982-1
• Horse from the Sea (1976): De legende van het witte paard [The Legend of the White Horse] (in: Tina 1985)
• Snobby Shirl the Shoeshine Girl! (1976): Freule Frederique [Lady Frederique] (in: Tina 1979)
• Stefa’s Heart of Stone (1976): Steffie’s hart van steen (in: Tina 1986). Reprint in Tammy 1984
• Girl in a Bubble (1976): Gevangen in een luchtbel [Prisoner in a Bubble] (in: Tina 1977, Tina Topstrip 29, 1981).
• Sceptre of the Toltecs (1977): De scepter van de Tolteken (in: Tina 1978; Tina Topstrip 44, 1982)
• The Mystery of Martine (1976-77): De dubbelrol van Martine [Martine’s Double Role] (in: Tina 1978).
• Mark of the Witch! (1977): Het teken van de heks (in: Tina 1982/83)
• Freda, False Friend (1977): Frieda, de valse vriendin (in: Tina 1978/79)
• Spell of the Spinning Wheel (1977): De betovering van het spinnewiel (in: Tina 1978; Tina Topstrip 42, 1982)
• The Darkening Journey (1977): Samen door het duister [Through the Darkness Together] (in: Tina 1981/82)
• Creepy Crawley (1977): In de macht/ban van een broche [Under the Spell of a Brooch] (In: Tina 1979; Tina Topstrip 60, 1984)
• Kerry in the Clouds (1977): Klaartje in de wolken (in: Tina 1978)
• The Robot Who Cried (1977): Robot L4A ontsnapt! [Robot Elvira Gets Away] (in: Tina 1985/86).
• Curtain of Silence (1977): Achter het stille gordijn [Behind the Silent Curtain] (in: Tina 1978/79, Tina Topstrip 52, 1983)
• Fran’ll Fix it! (1977; 1978-79): short story 3/4; Annabel versiert ‘t wel [Annabel will fix it]; episodes in Tina from 1983 till 1994; there were also “Dutch” episodes written by Bas van der Horst and drawn by Comos, and there is an episode in 1994 written by Ian Mennell and drawn by Comos.
• Who’s That in My Mirror? (1977): Het spookbeeld in de spiegel [The Ghost in the Mirror] (in: Tina 1980)
• Cursed to be a Coward! (1977): Zoals de waarzegster voorspelde [Like the Fortune-Teller Predicted] (in: Tina 1979, Tina Topstrip 49, 1983)
• Destiny Brown (1977): De vreemde visioenen van Seventa Smit [Seventa Smit’s Strange Visions] (in: Tina 1980)
• The Goose Girl (1977): not translated directly but the storyline was probably used for Maartje, het ganzenmeisje [Marge, the Goose Girl] in Tina 1979, art by Piet Wijn; Tina Topstrip 40, 1982).
• Stage Fright! (1977): De gevangene van Valckensteyn [Prisoner of Valckensteyn/Falconstone] (in: Tina 1981)
• Guardian of White Horse Hill (1977): Epona, wachter van de paardenvallei [Epona, Guardian of the Horse Valley] (in: Tina 1978; Tina Topstrip 37, 1982)
• Land of No Tears (1977-78): Wereld zonder tranen [World of No Tears] (in: Groot Tina Lenteboek 1983-1)
• Come into My Parlour (1977-78): Kom maar in mijn web [Just Come into My Web] (in: Groot Tina Boek 1981-3)
• Race for a Fortune (1977-78): Om het fortuin van oom Archibald [Race for Uncle Archibald’s Fortune] (in: Tina 1980)
• Concrete Surfer (1977-78): Ik heb altijd m’n skateboard nog! [At least I’ve still got my skateboard] (in: Tina 1980)
• Paula’s Puppets (1978): De poppen van Petra [Petra’s Puppets] (in: Tina 1979, Tina Topstrip 54, 1983). Perhaps they changed the name because there was a Stewardess Paula strip in Tina at the time.
• Slave of the Swan (1978): De wraak van de Zwaan [Revenge of the Swan] (in: Tina 1980)
• The Birds (1978): De vogels (in: Groot Tina Boek 1978 winter).
• Clancy on Trial (1978): Nancy op proef [Nancy on Trial – the name Clancy is highly unusual in the Netherlands] (in: Tina 1979)
• Wild Rose (1978): Waar hoor ik thuis? [Where do I belong?] (in: Tina 1980)
• 7 Steps to the Sisterhood (1978): Gevaar loert op Lansdael [Danger at Lansdael] (in: Tina 1980)
• The Human Zoo (1978): Als beesten in een kooi [Like Animals in a Cage] (in: Tina 1986). Reprint in Tammy 1982.
• No Cheers for Cherry (1978): Geen applaus voor Sandra [No Applause for Sandra] (in: Groot Tina Zomerboek 1983-2)
• The Girl Who Never Was (1979): De verbanning van Irma Ijsinga [Irma Ijsinga’s Banishment] (in: Tina 1981)
• Sea-Sister (1979): Gevangene van de zee [Prisoner of the Sea] (in: Tina 1989)
• The Forbidden Garden (1979): De verboden tuin (in: Tina 1982/83). Reprint in Tammy 1984
• Bizzie Bet and the Easies (1979): Dina Doe douwt door [Dinah Do Pushes Through] (just one episode, in: Groot Tina Lenteboek 1982-1).
• Almost Human (1979): De verloren planeet [The Lost Planet] (in: Tina 1984)
• Village of Fame (1979): Het dorp waar nooit ‘ns iets gebeurde [The Village Where Nothing Ever Happened] (in: Tina 1982)
• Combing Her Golden Hair (1979): Kirsten, kam je gouden lokken [Kirsten, Comb Your Golden Locks] (in: Tina 1981, Tina Topstrip 64, 1985: Kam je gouden lokken)
• Waves of Fear (1979): In een golf van angst [In a Wave of Fear] (in: Tina 1983)
• White Water (1979-80): Wild Water [Wild Water] (in: Tina 1984)
• When Statues Walk… (1979-80): De wachters van Thor [Thor’s Guardians] (in: Tina 1981/82, Tina Topstrip 71, 1985)
• The Venetian Looking Glass (1980): Het gezicht in de spiegel [The Face in the Mirror] (in: Tina 1983)
• Seulah the Seal (1979-80): Sjoela de zeehond (in: Tina 1980/81, little booklets in black and white that came as a free gift, stapled in the middle of a Tina).
• A Spell of Trouble (1980): Anne Tanne Toverheks [Anne Tanne Sorceress, a sort of nursery rhyme name] (in: Tina 1984/85)
• Girl the World Forgot (1980): Door iedereen vergeten [Forgotten by everyone] (in: Tina 1987)
• The Ghost Dancer (1981): Dansen in het maanlicht [Dancing in the Moonlight] (in: Tina 1983)
• Holiday Hideaway (1981): Wie niet weg is, is gezien [If you’re not gone, you’re seen – a sentence children use in hide-and-seek] (in: Tina 1982)
• Freda’s Fortune (1981): Could be: Fortuin voor Floortje [A Fortune for Florrie] (in: Groot Tina Herfstboek 1983-3)
• Airgirl Emma’s Adventure (reprint from June 1969, in Jinty Holiday Special 1975): Short story 16; Emma zoekt het hogerop [Emma takes it higher up] (in: Tina 1970)

Various of the stories translated in Tina were also reprinted in the Indonesian title Nina (of course Indonesia is a former Dutch colony, making for a clear link). These will be listed on a new reference page for Translations into Indonesian.

—

This long list enables us to see how very popular some creators were – for instance, a large number of Jim Baikie and Phil Gascoine stories are included (though not all, by any means). Of course, these were also the most prolific of Jinty artists too.

Many stories were translated very shortly after initial publication, and then reprinted in album form some time later. There was also a ‘second round’ of translation work done after Jinty ceased publication, to go back and pick some of the earlier stories that had not been selected earlier. This was the case with “Always Together” and “The Kat and Mouse Game”, for instance.

Many but by no means all of the story titles were translated fairly literally or exactly, though the main character’s name was almost invariably exchanged for another one. Some titles ended up particularly poetical or neat in translation: “A Spell of Trouble” and “Holiday Hideaway” perhaps benefit most from their translated titles. Of course, there are also some losers: I think “The Human Zoo” and “The Girl Who Never Was” ended up with less resonant titles through the process.

A wide range of stories were translated: spooky stories, humour stories, science fiction, adventure, sports stories. There are some omissions that I’m surprised by, though of course the editors had to pick and choose from so much that was available. “Fran of the Floods” was probably too long (see Marc’s comment about the length of stories selected for translation). No Gypsy Rose stories were selected – maybe they didn’t want a storyteller, ‘grab-bag’ approach? I am however quite surprised at the omission of the excellent “Children of Edenford” (1979). Could it have been too subversive a story, with its underlying theme of adults undermining their position of trust by hypnotizing children in order to control their moral development? The similarly-themed “Prisoner of the Bell” was also not translated. Of course this is rather a guess! At the end of the day I’m sure there were just more stories to choose from than there were spaces for publication.

—

For reference, I also include a complete list of stories published in the album format Tina Topstrip (71 albums in total). This gives us a view of how many of the reprinted stories deemed worthy of collection came from which original title. Note that some of the stories in this album format were themselves originally written in Dutch as they are credited to a Dutch writer. (NB I will add this to the new page created for Translations into Dutch)

1. Becky Never Saw The Ball
2. Twinkle, Twinkle, Daisy Star
3. Wee Sue
4. Het geheim van oom Robert (original story in Dutch)
5. Kimmy op de modetoer (original title unknown)
6. Marcella het circuskind (original title unknown)
7. Moses and Me
8. Peggy en Jeroen (Patty’s World story)
9. Anja – Dorp in gevaar (original title unknown)
10. Het lied van de rivier (Patty and the Big Silver Bull Band story, original in Dutch)
11. Sonja en de mysterieuze zwemcoach (I suspect this is a translation as no writer is given)
12. De man in het koetshuis (original story in Dutch)
13. Linda’s verdriet (original title unknown, from Tammy)
14. Het circus komt (original story in Dutch)
15. Wild Horse Summer
16. Noortje (original story in Dutch)
17. Ruzie om Jeroen (Patty’s World story)
18. Tricia’s Tragedy
19. Het lied van de angst (Patty and the Big Silver Bull Band story, original in Dutch)
20. Silver Is A Star (from Sandie)

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 and Lindy 10 July 1976

“Willa on Wheels” and “Bridey Below the Breadline” are the two ‘new’ stories here that have not been included in earlier posts about individual issues. In the first of these two stories, Willa was a student nurse who bravely saved lives in an accident but was herself left in a wheelchair as a result. In this episode, she leaves hospital and goes to stay with the family of the children she saved; she is depressed and bitter about her disability and unwilling to battle for improvement. The mother of the family tries ‘tough love’ to get her to snap out of it, but (not surprisingly perhaps) is not immediately successful. Of course, this being a girls’ comic story, she does eventually stir herself and decide to fight her situation.

“Bridey Below The Breadline” is one of Ken Houghton’s historical stories. Her challenge is to get her father well again and to avoid capture by the many people who think she and her father, as bakers, caused the Great Fire of London.

This is the first episode of “Champion In Hiding” and by the end of it the poor protagonist has lost her father, her home, and nearly her mother too (who is in hospital very ill); the aunt who takes her in is clearly a bad lot and only thinks of selling off the champion dog who is her only consolation. These first episodes drawn by Mario Capaldi are really beautiful, but sadly he didn’t stay the course as the story’s artist. The other first episode in the issue, “Snobby Shirl”, is also drawn by a classic artist – José Casanovas – though it’s not one of the top stories he worked on.

Stories in this issue:

• Willa On Wheels (artist Jim Baikie)
• The Jinx From St Jonah’s (artist Mario Capaldi)
• For Peter’s Sake! (artist Ana Rodriguez)
• Fran of the Floods (artist Phil Gascoine)
• Champion In Hiding (artist Mario Capaldi)
• The Slave of Form 3B (artist Trini Tinturé)
• Horse From The Sea (artist Rodrigo Comos)
• Snobby Shirl the Shoeshine Girl! (artist José Casanovas)
• Bridey Below The Breadline (artist Ken Houghton)

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.