DC: 5 Star Super-Hero Spectacular (1977)

5 Star Super-Hero Spectacular (DC)

Various (w) & (a)

One of the most fondly remembered DC formats was the "Dollar Comic" an experiment in producing larger comics with more pages to attract new readers and encourage retailers to give these more of a prominence on the shelves. At the time a "normal" comic would cost 30 cents. It was a bold experiment but one that simple inflation would eventually bring to an end.

This particular issue is of interest as it is a "one off" designed to test the market with compilations of DC's heroes other than Superman, though he was destined to have a "spectacular" the next month.

A solid read this comic features The Flash, Green Lantern, The Atom, Aquaman and Batman.

The Flash feature is a sort of imaginary story that sees another Flash like hero created in the same accident that created both himself and the Kid Flash. Something is different this time and it's dangerous.

The Green Lantern and Atom stories are pretty average fare, but Aquaman faces an Iranian super-villain who wants to recreate the Persian Empire.

It is the last (and longest) story that will be of interest to fans.

Batman faces Kobra in what appears to be an attempt to tie up loose ends from Kobra's failed solo title. Kobra is of course a villain.

Marketed as a "Summer Special", this is a fine addition to anyone's collection.

Other "one off" Dollar Comics from DC.

 

Eagle Holiday Special (1987)

The Eagle is probably Britain's most famous all round boys comic notable for the very British science fiction strip Dan Dare.

The original series was published from 1950 to 1969 when it was merged with the Lion. The second series of which this Holiday Special is from, began publishing in 1982 and ran weekly until May 1991 when it was turned into a monthly and ended in 1994, as British comics started disappearing into the ether of history.

 

The special opens with a cosmic adventure with Doomlord, an exiled alien who had made his home on Earth. Noting that a large number of stars were going supernova he goes off to investigate. Turns out his own people on the planet Nox are responsible as are their mirror equivalents in the Anti-Matter Universe they have been trying to reach.

To save creation he must kill himself or a least a version of himself.

  

Russian cop Comrade Bronski also appears in a very odd story about crime, corruption and the KGB set in what was then still a very communist Russia.

Dan Dare outwits computers and saves universal piece in an untitled adventure which features the Kloprehtans  , half lizard, half machine. Throw in a few space pirates and some fancy flying and a treaty is duly signed..

The other character M.A.C.H.1 (a sort of British "Bionic Man") gets two features, the first in which he fights an "Eastern dictator" from an unknown country and in the second faces the Tibetan Army (no idea, maybe the publishers didn't want to upset the Chinese) who want to melt the Himalayan glaciers and flood India. Nope no idea why they'd want to do that  either.

Add a few text stories and some features and this 64 page special was actually worth seeking out. Not too pricey at just a fiver!

Well it is summer after all!

Whizzer and Chips (1970)

The idea of putting "two comics in one" was a bit of wheeze for IPC when they launched this title in 1969.  Whizzer was on the outside with a "pullout" of Chips inside, though no one I knew ever did that!

Whizzer and Chips was a great title for us kids in the seventies full of fun strips and a couple of adventure stories each week.

The cover of Whizzer featured Sid's Snake who got into (and out of) all sorts of scrapes. With other strips like The Champ, the rather bizarre Oddball, Me and my Shadow, Jimmy Jeckle and Master Hyde, The Mummy's Curse and Slowcoach.  A real treat as they used to say.

 

Whizzer also featured adventure strips like Kings of the Castle and The Perils of Paul White for added excitement... well they are quite quaint by today's standards, but we were entertained at a time when there were just three TV channels, no computers or mobile phones and the most sophisticated children's toys were Tri-ang Trains and Scaletric!

We also had Vesta dried meals... anyone remember eating those. They were disgusting I seem to recall!

There was always a bit of fun rivalry between the two supposedly separate titles.

Chips contained stars like Shiner (who always managed to have a black eye), Space School, Harry's Haunted House, Super Dad (yeah a "superhero parody" of sorts) and the obligatory witches in The Scaries of St Marys'. 

Adventure was provided by Wonder Car and Willie Blink, the latter having "an amazing pair of specs" which he used to help others.

Whizzer and Chips ran until 1990 making it Fleetway's second longest running title. Along the way it absorbed Knockout, Crazy and Whoppee until the inevitable axe dropped and it was merged with Buster.

The annuals lasted until 1994.

Hotspur (1975)

One of the more famous boys comics was DC Thomson's Hotspur. Originally published in 1933 this long running comic went through a number of changes over the years, being relaunched with new numbering in 1959 as The New Hotspur, the "New" being eventually dropped.


First issue 1933

I first came across the Hotspur in the sixties and recall reading a handful of this fairly standard title and wasn't particularly a fan. The Hotspur Book for Boys 1966 did arrive via Santa one year but other than that never made much of an impact on me.

Over the last couple of years my interest in old and sadly defunct British titles has grown so when looking through the back issue bins at 30th Century comics I decided to give a short run of Hotspur from 1975 a go.

What attracted me to these issues was the cover feature Red Star Robinson about a boy and his robot assistant Mr Thrice wandering around the galaxy in a space bus. No really. Amusing enough.



None of the other features were familiar and I straight away skipped over the obligatory football story Limp Along Leslie simply because I never have had any interest in the game.

One Pair of Eyes which followed proved more entertaining as a blind pilot and and young British schoolboy Jinker Stewart (was anyone really called Jinker?) searched for his missing father as the Japanese invaded Malaya. Their only weapon a sub machine gun in a Tiger Moth. British grit and all that. Tally Ho.

Along with Lonely Larry and his pet Toucan Tommy on a Pacific island, a couple of Galloping Ghosts in the wild west, The Knot of Courage set in ancient Japan you did get a world of adventure.



There were the usual humour strips including Dim Dan - The Boobyguard (no smutty schoolboy jokes please)  and an adventure strip Kelly of the Flashers (erm... see previous request) set in the in the 1860's.

Might try some later issues as Hotspur continues for some years absorbing The Hornet and The Crunch until it to disappeared in a merger with the The Victor in 1981.

Sparky (1968)

One of the comics that I used to get as a slightly younger child was Sparky. Published by DC Thompson who also owned The Beano and The Dandy, arguably two of the most famous British comics of all time. However it is very much a produce of it's time as can be seen from the terribly stereo typed Sparky character that appeared on the front page.

Like most kids at the time, I didn't think about who or what Sparky was supposed to represent as such things were not on the agenda in those days. Sometimes when reading old literature in any form (like Uncle Tom's Cabin) one has to realise this was a different world that people lived in.

Of course we all know better now and reprints of this strip are unlikely to appear. Like the Golliwog such things are now seen what they are, simply racist.

Not long after the issue above appeared, Sparky disappeared and was replaced by the far more acceptable Barney Bulldog.



There were a number of fondly remembered features such as Keyhole Kate, Hungry Horace, and Pansy Potter.

Well I remember those strips for some reason.

 

Sparky ran from 1965 to 1977 when it merged with The Topper.



Not sure they'd use a title like Danny's Tranny these days either!

Cor!! (1970)

Cor!! was one of those humour titles that dominated the British comics market for many years, all sadly gone now. This comic was first published in June 1970, just before I began secondary school and one I recall reading not because I liked it but because the free gift that came with it (a powdered fruit drink) turned out to be disgusting or so I remember.

A year or so ago I managed to pick up a copy of the first issue (sans free gift) in "fair" condition for twenty quid. The most I've ever spent on a British comic, but well worth the price of entry. I understand a copy that still had the free gift attached was sold on e-bay for several hundred pounds. Guess they won't be trying it out though, it'll be over 40 years past it's sell by date!

Gus Gorilla was the front page feature of Cor!! for the years I bought it, but The Gasworks Gang, Whacky (see below), Hire a Horror, Andy's Ants and Barney's Brain Box were just some of the features that gave us kids a giggle.



There were also a couple of two-page adventure stories Kid Chameleon and  Four Alone on the Abandoned Island, though it was always the humour strips that were the main attraction.

 

Cor!! appeared in age where the British comics market was beginning to decline and lasted four years and 210 issues, though the Annuals continued to be published way beyond the parent comics demise.

Eventually declining sales led to a merger with Buster with that immortal saying "The best of two great comics inside". I think the long running Buster absorbed more comics than any other title in it's 40 year history.

Fun while it lasted, worth picking up a copy or two. Most issues are quite reasonably priced if you can find them.

Scream! (1984)

Not for the nervous or so we were told when the short lived but fondly remembered comic Scream! was launched in 1984. Like it's American counterparts Scream! had a host: Ghastly a hooded character who you could write to and enter a competition to draw his face which of course you never saw.

Just those shining eyes from the darkness within.....

The opening feature had to be a rendition of Dracula escaping from Communist Roumania to the West, to England via Brize Norton of all places.

For cat lovers there is a story called Terror of the Cats. An odd choice for use as a "monster" but then this is a comic aimed at yer slightly older teenager. I liked it though as I look at my two as I write this I just cannot imagine them attacking me or anyone else.....

Would they?



One long remembered feature was Monster where twelve year old Kenneth Corman tries to look after his much mistreated and misunderstood Uncle Terry he discovers locked in a room. They end up on the run, even changing comics as this was one of two strips that made it to Eagle and Scream when the two titles were merged.

The other story that went to the Eagle was The Thirteenth Floor. A friendly computer called Max looks after his tenants, perhaps a little too well, Thief or debt collector you don't want to upset Max or you'll end up on his 13th Floor, which didn't exist of course. Not that those who ended up in it would have considered that a fact.

Miscreants beware!

 

With short stories like At Deaths Door, Ghastly Tales and a feature Tales from the Grave this was a good all round horror book that should have not only should have lasted a lot longer but in time could have become the companion to IPC's Sci-Fi title 2000AD. Sadly we'll never know.

when the last issue appeared there was non of that "Great news inside pals" that used to appear when comics were merged. In fact there was no sign of the comics demise until it simply didn't appear again.

A casualty of Mary Whitehouse?

No. In fact industrial action was the factor behind the cancellation of Scream!. After a long break IPC were simply unwilling to take a chance on this fledgling comic. It was cancelled and "merged" with the company's better selling Eagle comic.

 

There's also this fun little video which goes through all the covers of Scream!, plus the Summer Specials which I haven't got yet. Like all summer specials they can be a bit pricey but one of these days.....