chapter XVIII - comics for boys

When I was a child, I spake like a child ..... so says some famous quote. Similarly, as a child I devoured comic books. Comic books with lots of fun characters, characters that did all the things we boys and girls would have loved to have done and got away with. It was great escapism. But they were also great learning tools, because it encourage us to read, we wanted to learn to read so we knew what our favourite characters were up to and saying. 

But as I got older, the more childish comics were set aside for ones more targeted to an older child. One's that featured stories about sport, super heroes or war. 

hotspur

Launched in 1933, by the same company that issued the Beano and Dandy. The first issue apparently came with a black mask as a free gift, and inside the offer of owning your own electric shock machine to trick your friends with! It later relaunched under the title 'the new hotspur'


valiant

Launched in 1962, this was my comic of choice from about 10 years old (though I still loved reading the Beano etc and still do!). Valiant and Hotspur I liked them both. 

There were war stories with characters like Captain Hurricane, detective stories with Sexton Blake along with more comical ones like Billy Bunter (an obese chap who went to a school like Eton) Then there was super hero Tim Kelly's of the strip Kelly's Eye, who possessed the Eye of Zoltec jewel (taken from a Mayan Idol) that made him invulnerable to harm when he wore it around his neck. 

Also the anti hero The Steel Claw, adventures with a baddy who could turn invisible and electrocute his enemies

victor
From 1961, this was a popular comic for us boys. Not only did it have comic strips about war and heroes and villains, but also stories of the same ilk along with factual information sheets.

The latter usually was about things like (all riveting stuff to a ten year old boy of course)

• how someone had won the Victoria Cross Medal or similar
• it might the the tale of how some amazing sportsman had achieved scoring the most goals ever or the most international cricket runs etc
• how Wild Bill Hickok tamed the West etc 

Fictional stories had characters like Alf Tupper, a working northern guy (welder) that was an aspiring olympic athelete who just loved to run (and eating fish and chips). Who always seemed to overcome any adversity in life. A real working class hero. 

lion

First published in 1952 to rival the Eagle comic. While the Hotspur and Victor were based more on war stories (with a little sport) the Lion and the Eagle were more science fiction based.

The Lion introduced me to characters like

• Adam Eterno, who travelled through time and could only be killed by gold
• Captain Condor; the spaceship pilot
• Maroc the Mighty, an English Crusader who returned with an magic amulet
• but on the back cover was always the lighthearted strip about a cat (Mowser) who always managed to out wit James the butler

eagle

A classic comic, that featured that classic comic hero Dan Dare. This comic has the unusual beginnings of having been first started by an Anglican Vicar; Marcus Morris from Lancashire. Originally its aim was not to be religous, but have stories with morales and the characters to have christian values.

As with many things though, the people he found to finance it, eventually took over and published stories against the Morris' original thoughts.

roy of the rovers

This one was purely sports based, and centered around the main character Roy Race, who played football for Melchester Rovers. He started his career in 1950 in another comic Tiger, but was then given his own comic in 1953 and was still playing 43 years later. When in 1993, he lost his left foot in a helicopter crash and his son Rocky took over (mind you at 63 years old he should have retired long before that!)

But in that time, he won every major award, always saved the team from relegation, was usually kidnapped when they did an overseas tour.

The comic often came with free gifts; all football related of course. Usually things like posters, or table charts to keep track of your favourite team etc 

tiger
A sports and adventure comic released in 1950. Who's most famous character was Roy of the Rovers. But also included Johnny Couger a wrestling ace and Fisty Fynn.

Then there was the Football Family Robinson. The latter being a lower division football side that all came from one family; the Robinson's

As with a lot of these comics it later merged with others, in this case Jag and eventually the football magazine; Scorcher


scorcher
Essentially a footbal based comic, with lots of facts and figures along with text stories and comic strips. It started life in 1970 as Scorcher, then merged with Score to become Scorcher and Score in 1971, then merging with Tiger.

As it was soccer based and I wasn't that much into sports, I have to say this was my least favourite of the comics. I think I only ever read them when there was nothing left to read at the doctor's or dentist waiting room.

Even then I would sometimes pick up one of the comics aimed at girls first!