Jinty 24 October 1981

Cover artist: Mario Capaldi

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

The Eternal Flame (artist Richard Neillands, writer Alison Christie) – Gypsy Rose story

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

Full Circle (artist Mario Capaldi) – text story

Wednesday’s Child is Full of Woe… (artist “B. Jackson”)

Tansy of Jubilee Street (artist Peter Wilkes)

Man’s Best Friend: Curious Dogs (feature)

Winning Ways – Badminton (writer Benita Brown)

The Warning Windbells (artist Christine Ellingham) – Gypsy Rose story

Badgered Belinda (artist Phil Gascoine)

The Bow Street Runner (artist Phil Townsend, writer Alison Christie)

This is the fifth-to-last issue of Jinty. The repeats to fill the dying comic are really telling now – we get not one but two reprints of old Gypsy Rose stories. The repeat of the 7-part “Monday’s Child” and so forth strip continues with “Wednesday’s Child”, who’s full of woe. In this case it’s a girl who is always grumbling, but she eventually realises how selfish and petty it is, and the final panel shows her becoming more positive. 

In “Pam of Pond Hill”, Tessie Bradshaw has run off to the canal in search of the girl she drove off with her bullying. Tessie has an accident there and is hospitalised. The story is really realistic about bullying when it reveals the reasons why Tessie bullies: jealousy, sensivity about her weight, too much responsibility at home, absent mother and overtime father. Dad decides to remarry in the hope it will help, but Tessie isn’t reacting well to it. And she’s also worried her classmates won’t forgive her for bullying although it put her life in danger. 

Tansy tries being a newshound, but when she tries to report news on Jubilee Street she comes up empty and decides nothing ever happens there. She completely fails to notice the things that get reported in the local newspaper later on. 

Sir Roger has a dream that Gaye will be hit by a car. As ghost dreams always come true, he is going to all sorts of lengths to protect her, which is causing all sorts of hijinks. In the end, Gaye does get hit by a car – but it’s only a pedal car.

The text story discusses how fashions go in cycles. But things go a bit far when a fashion designer from the future takes a trip to the present for ideas on how to reinvent 20th century fashions for her own time. Sadly, the time period she came from is one that never came to pass: the Queen Diana period. Perhaps it did in an alternate timeline.

The last remaining Jinty serials “The Bow Street Runner” and “Badgered Belinda” continue. In the former, tricks from nasty Louise mess Beth up on cross-country. At least Beth realises it was Louise who was reponsible and will be on the lookout for her in future. In the latter, Squire Blackmore brings some old hunting prints to the school and nobody seems upset by them except Belinda – especially at the one showing badger digging. The squire’s also having the school setting up vermin traps, which is another concern for Belinda in minding the badgers. What’s more, looking after those badgers is causing Belinda to lose sleep and it’s taking its toll. 

Jinty 13 May 1978

• Concrete Surfer (writer Pat Mills, artist unknown)
• Sue’s Fantastic Fun-Bag! (artist Hugh Thornton-Jones)
• Slave of the Swan (artist Guy Peeters)
• Alley Cat (artist Rob Lee)
• Wednesday’s Child – Gypsy Rose story (artist Hugo D’Adderio)
• The Zodiac Prince (artist Trini Tinturé)
• The Birds – final episode (artist Keith Robson, writer Len Wenn)
• The Cinderella Story of Sneh Gupta– Feature
• Shadow on the Fen – final episode (artist Douglas Perry)
• Rinty ‘n’ Jinty
• Cathy’s Casebook (artist Terry Aspin)
• Make a Sunflower Shoulder Bag – Feature

Gypsy Rose is back this week, but she’s clearly being used as a filler. Her run in Jinty was nowhere as regular or as solid as the Storyteller’s in June/ Tammy. Her story features a kid brother who strikes up an unusual friendship with what turns out to be the ghost of another boy who was starved to death by his aunt.

Next week “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” starts, and its announcement is unusual. It’s on the letters page, in response to one reader who wrote in to say that “Stefa’s Heart of Stone” was her all-time favourite Jinty story (perhaps she was one of the many readers in Pam’s Poll who voted for its reprint). The editor informs the reader that “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” is penned by the same author as Stefa (now that’s quite a lead-in) and “it’s making us all have a lovely cry at the office!”

Jinty also announces that “Clancy on Trial” starts next week as well. So this week we see the final episodes of “The Birds” and “Shadow on the Fen”. The ending of “The Birds” is grim, with the parents plummeting to their deaths in the car because of those crazy birds and that chemical factory that has driven them crazy. In “Shadow on the Fen”, the Witchfinder is reduced to just bones and then dust after being struck by… well, it’s not quite clear if it is the power of the holy cross or the falling wishing tree that lands on top of him. But it is quite reminiscent of how a vampire is destroyed.

Jean almost walks out on the skateboarding club but changes her mind. And she’s beginning to understand that her cousin Carol can’t stand being on the losing side and being second best. She always has to be the winner and centre of attention. So Jean’s quite pleased there’s going to be a skateboarding competition where she can settle things with Carol once and for all.

Katrina Vale, “The Slave of the Swan”, overhears the story of how the Swan got crippled: the story goes that a friend got jealous of her final triumph in “The Swan” role and injured her deliberately. We realise they can only mean Katrina’s mother. But from our brief glimpse of Mrs Vale as a sympathetic character way back in part one, can we really believe she would do such a thing? Meanwhile, the police are finally on the trail of the missing Katrina. Will they be able to rescue her from the Swan?

Sue calls upon Henrietta’s help to cook a meal for her friends, but finds she would have been better off doing it herself.

The Zodiac Prince sets out to help a girl who’s got circus in her blood, but her snooty aunt is keeping her away from it.

Being a doctor’s daughter pays off dividends for Cathy – she gets to see her favourite pop star in person when he needs a doctor. Cathy also finds a way to cheer up sourpuss Tom while he’s in hospital, though it flouts hospital rules.

Jinty 26 April 1975

Stories in this issue

• The Jinx from St Jonah’s (artist Mario Capaldi)
• Tricia’s Tragedy (artist Ana Rodriguez)
• Jinty Makes It: Table mats – Feature
• Merry at Misery House (unknown artist – Merry; writer Terence Magee)
• Dora Dogsbody (artist José Casanovas)
• Do-It-Yourself Dot (artist Alf Saporito)
• Wednesday’s Child is Full of Woe… – complete story (unknown artist – Merry)
• Cinderella Smith (artist Trini Tinturé)
• Bet Gets the Bird! (artist Phil Gascoine)
• Face the Music, Flo! (artist Jim Baikie)
• Daddy’s Darling (artist Philip Townsend, writer Alison Christie)
• Jinty’s Favourite Spooky Stories – The Fair Rosaleen (text story)

Katie helps the local greengrocer out with deliveries, and finds out what goes on behind the doors of a health farm. Eating a huge serving of lovely greasy fish and chips in front of a bunch of people trying to lose weight isn’t a great idea though! Shame about the stereotypical fat people all running after her trying to nab the food off her – amusing though it will have been at the time.

Tricia is being followed in town by her cousin Diana. But how can Diana find her way round so effectively, if she’s blind? Her horrible cousin and family are tricking her – nowadays we call that emotional abuse and gaslighting. Trisha has made her mind up to stand her ground, even though she hasn’t yet realised what lies they’re telling her.

On a craft page, Jinty shows you how to make a set of table mats out of stout card and string. They look like the sort of thing that might well come out looking rather effective.

Merry has recovered her memory, but evil butler Haig is trying to blackmail her as he also knows her secret. Merry has no choice but to run away so that the blackmail doesn’t work. The same unknown artist who drew Merry is also drawing “Wednesday’s Child” in this issue – a complete story based around the rhyme. Moira is always grumbling, but she doesn’t realise that her mother really has something to worry about – the father of the family is on a fishing boat that is well overdue on its return. Moira snaps out of her grumbling and is able to be some help for once.

The cousins are after Cindy Smith, who is trying to post a plea for help to her father. They stop her from sending it, beat her, tie her up, and deprive her of food and water until she signs away her money to them.

In “Face the Music, Flo!”, the twins are at loggerheads. Greg is trying out his act on stage and doing well, but Flo thinks it is bound to all end unhappily and wants to prevent him from breaking his heart seeking the unobtainable. Greg’s manager is happy to keep them apart, too. Greg is still trying to please his sister, but somehow I don’t think that’s going to last for long.

“Daddy’s Darling” Lee is still trying to defend her friends Joe and Maggie from her uncaring father. Maggie has won a school prize for writing a great essay; will this change the heartless father’s mind about the two evacuees?

There is a spooky prose story this issue: I suspect it is an Irish folk or traditional tale, retold. The Fair Rosaleen has a hard-hearted father; as she lay dying she asked him to make sure he looked after the poor people nearby, so that she can rest peacefully. Of course he breaks his vow and the ghost returns to remind him of his promise – which he then keeps faithfully thereafter.

Hugo D’Adderio

Sample Images

Hugo D’Adderio is one of Jinty’s oddest artists in that he never drew a single serial for her. His artwork appeared in the Gypsy Rose stories. Some of them were recycled Strange Stories (substituting Rose for the Storyteller), but others, such as “Call from the Heart” (above) were completely original.

D’Adderio’s artwork also appeared in Tammy and Misty, but he never drew a serial for them either. D’Adderio drew only one complete Misty story, “Song of Petina”. In the case of Tammy, he drew Strange Stories such as “Farah’s Three Wishes” and “The Samaritan”. There was one mini Storyteller serial that D’Adderio drew as well – this was “Sharon’s Shadow”. After the Storyteller disappeared from Tammy, D’Adderio’s artwork continued to appear in Tammy with complete stories, which were either recycled Strange Stories (replacing the Storyteller with text) or new stories, such as “The Moon Maiden” and “The Lady of Ranoch Water”. During 1982-1984, D’Adderio received credits for his new stories in Tammy, as this was the period when Tammy ran them. D’Adderio’s artwork also appeared in Debbie, where he did draw serials, including “To Tessa, a Sister” and “Hetty with the Healing Hand”.

D’Adderio’s artwork has a sumptuous, visceral style that has a baroque feel to it and even a dash of romance, which makes it best suited to period stories. In fact, just about every single D’Adderio story I have seen has a period theme. Themes have ranged from ancient Babylon to the 1950s, but most often they are set in the 16^th-19^th centuries. D’Adderio is also brilliant at drawing stories that have a nautical theme and his depiction of the sea itself is breathtaking. A sample is below.

De Verstekeling (The Stowaway) (from Dutch magazine Tina, 1986)

 

More information on Hugo D’Adderio can be found at https://www.lambiek.net/artists/d/d-adderio_hugo.htm

Hugo D’Adderio Gypsy Rose stories in Jinty

• A Window on the Past
• Wednesday’s Child
• Farah’s Three Wishes (recycled from Strange Stories)
• No Expectations
• Kathie, Come Home! (recycled from Strange Stories)
• Ancient Remedy
• Call from the Heart
• Message in a Bottle (Tammy & Jinty merger)
• Dance of Death (Tammy & Jinty merger)

Hugo D’Adderio Strange Stories in Tammy

Farah’s Three Wishes 5/3/77

The Caliph’s Jewels 11/6/77

Eye of the Beholder 24/9/77

The Lady Celestine 10/12/77

The Master of the Birds 14/1/78

Veronica’s Visions 25/2/78

The Samaritan 20/5/78

The Witch Wind 10/6/78

Purse of Gold 26/8/78

Last Voyage 23/9/78

Voyage in Time 17/11/79