#7 The Beezer
DC Thomson produced some of the most famous humour comics including The Beano (still going strong today) and The Dandy which are amongst the most famous of their publications. I read both (preferred The Beano) but also dipped into their other humour comics like Sparky (which would horrify the "woke" today, for once rightly so.) and The Topper but for me it was the "tabloid size Beezer that was my overall favourite.
With Ginger on the front page and Pop, Dick & Harry on the rear page there was also Colonel Blink, The Numskulls (who carry on today in the pages of The Beano and so many other humorous strips. Who can forget Baby Crockett or The Bad Ladds? I only read this comic in the sixties but remember it well.
The Beezer ran from 1956 until 1993 merging with other "tabloid" Topper in 1990 for the last three years.
#6 Cor!
Next up is Cor! a comic I do recall buying the first issue of and sitting on a bench on a quiet part of Dorking reading before I went home and attempted to make the free drink which came with it. Just add water and yuch..throw away. The comic however became a firm favourite and was regularly picked up though it wasn't until adulthood that I picked up either summer specials or annuals. There were limits to my pocket money and other interests began to kick in.
Characters included Gus The Gorilla, The Gaswork Gang, Tomboy, Tricky Dicky and Wacky amongst others. Cor! ran from 1970 to 1974 when it merged with Buster.
I still have a copy of the first issue albeit not the one I purchased from WHSmith's that afternoon. It cost me a lot more when I picked it up a few years ago though it didn't come with the free gift which would frankly have probably been poisonous by now! Copies with it still attached have gone for ridiculous prices on e-bay. Not for me. The comic alone will do!
Buster & Cor! have been jointly revived by Rebellion their new owners in a couple of specials. personally I prefer the old fashioned artwork but that's just me. I hope new generations will come to enjoy the anarchic adventures of Buster, Gus and their friends in the future.
Return tomorrow for the the next two entries in my Top Ten of British Comics.
The tabloid Beezer was a firm favourite of mine as a kid especially Ginger and the Banana Bunch, so it would be in my top 10. Liked Cor! as well but don't think I bought it regularly.
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