Favourite Childhood Comics

[Rob McCow]

Based on a question from the QT thread, here's a quick questionnaire on Childhood comics to get you started!

What comics did you read as a kid?

Which ones were your favourites?

Have you ever revisited them?

Have you still got any of them?

[Alex]

What comics did you read as a kid?

I started off as a Beano fan (never did get on with The Dandy, I don't know why) and occasionally got Whizzer and Chips and Buster if it was a long summer holiday and my Mum wanted to shut me up for five minutes. Then I got in to Eagle when it relaunched as a photo comic, 2000AD when I was about 12, and DC and indies at about 14ish...

Which ones were your favourites?

I did used to love The Beano, Dennis and Gnasher especially. I've got a very fond spot for Eagle as well whilst it was photo strip based, but it lost a lot of it's charm when it turned in to a standard comic. 2000AD was the comic that made me passionate about the medium though, I was lucky to be reading it during an era that had some fantastic writers.

Have you ever revisited them?

I picked up some old Eagle's a couple of years ago and was surprised at how enjoyable they were, Doomlord and Sgt. Streetwise especially. There were even a few Alan Moore one off stories in them which amused greatly as well. And I occasionally read classic era 2000AD graphic novels, though not that often.

Have you still got any of them?

Alas not. Everything got donated to charity shops when my Mum moved house in 2003.

Edit: I forgot about Scream!, the short lived horror comic which I really loved, and is partially online here: http://www.backfromthedepths.co.uk/

[SiHart]

I didn't read any really. Just DWM for me- I was only allowed one comic/ magazine.

[Andrew Curnow]

What comics did you read as a kid?
Similar to Alex really, I'm pretty sure I started with the Beano. At one stage, around about 1977/78 I guess, my Uncle was going off travelling so he left me and my brother with a huge pile of Beanos he had collected! To our young eyes they were really old ones, because Dennis the Menace WASN'T on the front cover!!

Then there were the usual suspects - Whizzer & Chips, Topper, particularly Buster (I loved that comic as a kid), Cheeky, etc. And then I moved on to 2000AD in... 1979 I think, mainly lured in by (of all things) a James Bond photocover (to tie in with the release of Moonraker).

I also used to get the 'new' Eagle, and for almost all of its run I collected the Marvel UK Star Wars comic. In fact, it may have been all of its run, certainly went through all three films and out the other side!!


Which ones were your favourites?
As a young kid, Buster; but after that, unquestionably 2000AD - I can still remember the excitement of some mornings getting up before the paper boy had been, and sitting in the porch waiting for it to come through the letter box. And even looking back, I think those were golden years for that sort of comic for my sort of age - Judge Dredd, Rogue Trooper, the ABC Warriors (a real favourite that one), Robohunter. A bit later on, things like Halo Jones which I probably didn't appreciate at the time as much as I should have done; Nemesis; Harry Twenty. Ace Trucking Co of course, and the occasional Abelaard Snazz stories. Oh crikey, and that one which was like a UK version of ET, that was extraordinary - was it Skrizz? Something like that.

Have you ever revisited them?
Yes... though not often. Don't know why, I'm sure in some ways at least, they would stand up well, in storytelling terms at least.

Have you still got any of them?
I've still got all my Eagles, and all my Star Wars comics, but I'm afraid I did sell some of my 2000ADs about 10 years ago - slightly randomly, the person I sold them to would only buy ones where the newsagent hadn't written my address on the front (you remember they used to do that for the paper boy?) so I've still got a random selection upstairs. A bit like the odd mix of 'orphan' Hartnell & Troughton episodes!

[Andrew Curnow]

You know, raving about 2000AD has reminded me just how much I used to love it - although looking back, in fact I only collected it for about 8 years or so, and I stopped about 1987/88 I think.

(Meltdown Man, that was another classic.)

There are some storylines and elements that I remember even now, and perhaps it's because, like me favourite Whos from childhood, they were the ones that were really imaginative, really full of concepts, maybe even made me think. Just one example, there's an early Robohunter story (might even be the second story) where various people are replaced by robot duplicates (bit like in Resurrection of the Daleks!!). At the end of, I think, the first instalment, the mayor (or whoever) presses his front tooth and his face opens up - He is a robot!!!

But what's really mind-blowing about it, and probably why I still sometimes think about it, is that in the story the mayor didn't know he was a robot replacement until he accidentally pressed his tooth. Just think about that - the robot fake is programmed to not remember being sent in to replace his real self. Just... mind-blowing.

Splundig Vur Thrigg chaps.

[Stuart Wallis]

Oh crikey, and that one which was like a UK version of ET, that was extraordinary - was it Skrizz? Something like that.

Skizz. I appreciated it a little more when i was a bit older, but not neccesarily at the time. (Would it be mean to say that I've always hated ET btw?)

I think you were lucky to get out of 2000AD when you did, Andrew - late 80s, it started taking itself a bit too seriously, except for the times it wasn't taking itself seriously enough during the early 90s. There was one strip called Hewligan's Haircut, where a lad was locked up for having a hairstyle which had a hole running right through it, which followede you around the room like the eyes in a painting - wherever you stood it was facing you, and it couldn't be combed out. WTF...? And I gather that after my time they went as far as to do a strip adaption of A Life Less Ordinary. In 200AD. Yeah, right!

Stuff that, what about the Robohunter where someone nobbled the World Cup squad droids, Trev, Kev, Bev and the other Trev? Dredd was imaginative at that time too. Great days.

[Andrew Curnow]

Dredd was extraordinary - it could have easily been some kind of 'tough cop punches bad guy' rubbish, but it's managed to do so many different things, even in the (relatively) short time I was reading it. Comedy, tragedy, romance, a Wizard of Oz take-off...

The one I always remember is the Judge Child saga (maybe sagas?). It's another of those 'moments' from childhood that I occasionally think about - after 26 weeks (or however many it was) of trying to track down this kid who (according to Mega-City's top psychic) will save the world in about 20 years' time, the last instalment shows the kid as pretty nasty... so Dredd judges him unworthy to be Mega-City's last hope, and abandons him - going home to Mega-City empty handed. At the time such a memorable, shocking even, 'twist' ending.

Around 1999, for maybe 6 months or so, Zel bought me 2000AD, mainly because I guess I'd raved about how I'd loved it as a kid - and it happened to be just that time that, in 'real time' the psychic's prediction was due to come true. So I think, from memory at least, one issue was solely devoted to a single story, featuring Dredd - essentially it was set on the day the prediction should have happened, and although I must admit I can't recall what the story actually was, I remember marvelling at the ability of a comic strip to be going so long that it could start to follow up on its own predictions.

And... and, wasn't there also a musical story for Robo Hunter? Aw, just such brilliant times, absolutely brilliant.

[Stuart Wallis]

That was theone where the robots took over. It actually worked on two levels - I read it again a few years ago, and was amazed that they were allowed to publish it! The Prime Minister, a stangely familiar robot, topically called Margaret, tried to get everyone happy by singing everything, so it's all fun with people singing all their dialogue to familiar tunes (I shan't mention Buffy: Once More With Feeling), until... And then, for an adult, it gets creepy, as the Deputy Prime Minister deposes Margaret, declares Britain an android nation and puts the humans in concentration camps - the very words used! And the Deputy's name - Sir Oswald...

The one I always remember is the Judge Child saga (maybe sagas?). It's another of those 'moments' from childhood that I occasionally think about - after 26 weeks (or however many it was) of trying to track down this kid who (according to Mega-City's top psychic) will save the world in about 20 years' time, the last instalment shows the kid as pretty nasty... so Dredd judges him unworthy to be Mega-City's last hope, and abandons him - going home to Mega-City empty handed. At the time such a memorable, shocking even, 'twist' ending.

There was a second Judge Child saga, the upshot of which was that Dredd and Anderson use a time machine to find out if the prediction comes true. It turns out that a clone of the Judge Child caused the disaster, and now controls the city.

Those were the days, eh?

[MacNimon]

Just noticed this...no time to reply just now but will do so early in the week

[MacNimon]

I didn't read any really. Just DWM for me- I was only allowed one comic/ magazine.

Aw, Si... a wasted childhood there!!! You've no idea what you missed out on...

The saddest part is that more than likely, you're never going to actually appreciate that. I don't think that an adult, unused to ever really reading comics, can ever fully appreciate them however much they may want to. It's just one of those things formed in childhood...you can easily come back to it as an adult, able to appreciate the many different kinds of comics available, each on their own merits without simply deriding them as 'kids stuff'. (Not that I mean for a minute that you're like that, Si!) but I often find that people who do deride comics, regarding them as laughable kids stuff, never actually read them themselves as children and are totally unaware of the joy to be found in the pages of many. Coming back to many of these comics as an adult, the 'real' kids stuff - Beezer, Topper, Beano etc really stand the test of time...they're obviously written for kids but are still fun reading for adults. Others which haven't aged so well still always have something worth looking at, though...loads of great artwork saving poor stories. A love of comics is born in childhood...you can maybe grow out of them, it can maybe lie dormant for years, but if you liked them as a kid you'll rediscover them at some point as an adult...it's a lifelong thing!

This has probably been a longer post than simply answering the questions, but hey,it's Saturday night and I've had a few beers...

[Andrew Curnow]

There was a second Judge Child saga, the upshot of which was that Dredd and Anderson use a time machine to find out if the prediction comes true. It turns out that a clone of the Judge Child caused the disaster, and now controls the city.

Oh yes, I'd forgotten that one - was it 'City of the Damned' or something like that?

There was also, in my early 2000AD days, a strip called (I think) 'The VCs' which was about space soldiers fighting against an alien enemy called (again, I think) 'the geek'. But in hindsight, it was clearly inspired by the Vietnam war, which at the time was very recent indeed. I love that sense of not writing down to a child audience, but rather forcing the child audience to 'read up' to that level.

[Alex]

Skizz. I appreciated it a little more when i was a bit older, but not neccesarily at the time. (Would it be mean to say that I've always hated ET btw?)

I reread it recently as I picked up the graphic novel in a charity shop and it's not bad, but considering it was written by the mighty Alan Moore it's lacking in depth a little.

I think you were lucky to get out of 2000AD when you did, Andrew - late 80s, it started taking itself a bit too seriously, except for the times it wasn't taking itself seriously enough during the early 90s. There was one strip called Hewligan's Haircut, where a lad was locked up for having a hairstyle which had a hole running right through it, which followede you around the room like the eyes in a painting - wherever you stood it was facing you, and it couldn't be combed out. WTF...?

Hewligan's Haircut is one of my all time favourite strips! Paul bought it for me as a birthday present a few years back and I enjoyed it even more than I did originally, though it definitely is way out there. I do know what you mean about that period where the comic could be a bit too silly though, I was never particularly fond of "Big Dave" (http://scans-daily.dreamwidth.org/3811545.html) and some of the other strips from that time. But there will still many gems, like Bad Company, and Zenith, especially. Oh yeah, and Durham Red's solo outings. Mmmmmm.

Andrew's post has made me very nostalgic for 2000AD though, I was a big fan of many of the same stories (Nemesis especially, which is really quite deranged stuff) and I loved the epic Dredd strips to pieces, the first Chopper one being very memorable stuff, it's such a shame that the movie flopped at the box office as apparently they were going to incorporate that in to the sequel.

[MacNimon]

What comics did you read as a kid?

Too many to easily mention!

Like everyone else, I started off in the early 70s with the likes of the Beano and the Dandy before graduating to other stuff. Donald & Mickey to begin with, which was my first taste of Disney comics, then I discovered the British Marvel line. Shortly after that I started reading more traditional existing British comics such as Victor, etc and later jumped onboard when new ones such as Battle Picture Weekly, Warlord, Bullet, Action, 2000AD, Starlord, Krazy, Cheeky Weekly, TV Comic and The Crunch all started with varying degrees of success. And later in the decade (1976/77-ish) the American colour Marvel Comics started appearing more regularly too, which added to the choice along with a pretty random selection of DC's (although distribution of those improved greatly around 1979/1980) And I haven't even mentioned the pocketbooks such as Commando or Starblazer...then there were the Alan Class range of monster/sci-fi/horror reprints, and regular Tarzan as well...Of course I didn't read them all at one time, it was a case of mix'n'match as much as pocket money would allow.

Which ones were your favourites?

All of the above! I loved practically everything I read, although as I grew older I became more aware of, and gained an appreciation of, the difference in quality between different creative teams, writers and artists. I would say though, that looking back, it was the range of British Marvel reprints which were my favourites until they started changing style in 1979...it was the introduction of such titles as Doctor Who Weekly/Monthly and Starburst which really got me hooked on the subjects of Cult tv and films at an age when I could easily have just drifted away from them as a casual viewer.

Have you ever revisited them?

Yes. Some obviously stand the test of time better than others. The most disappointing ones I've read was a title which was one of my favourites...DC Thomson's Bullet. I loved it as a boy, but when you start reading it as an adult, you're immediately aware of poor plooting and dialogue. All the same, it's great just to look at the artwork and enjoy the feeling of nostalgia. IPC titles seem to have been of a better quality, and my favourite era of 2000AD was the very early era...that of it's first year or so. I fell away from it after that, simply because there was so much choice around. The humour comics have stood the test of time pretty well too, I think...although I find the likes of Beezer and Topper more enjoyable these days than the better-known Dandy and Beano. Even the more anarchic comedy of Krazy and Cheeky still work well when looked at today.

Have you still got any of them?

A small amount. I kept some favourite issues plus some random ones, but I got rid of about 90% of my collection way back in the early 80s when I gave in to parent pressure. And how I regret it, when I think of all those great issues I once had....I've picked up a few random back issues on eBay, but there's no way I could ever replace the collection I once had.

[Llordllama]

What comics did you read as a kid?
Magic, relaunched Eagle, Starlord, DWM, Starblazers, latterly 2000AD. Once I hit 16 I moved onto the hard stuff and started reading US comics.

Which ones were your favourites?
2000AD (natch), but I loved Eagle for Doomlord and Computer Warrior. I loved the Starblazers, though the writing and art could be...variable.

Have you ever revisited them?
Do you mean this week? No. But yes I have. Often. Man, Computer Warrior is plumb AWFUL in revisiting. Doomlord is still great (yes, even the photostories!). Still buy all the collected Dredds that have come out in recent years as I haven't bought weekly/monthly titles in almost 5 years now. Reread all the Starblazers before I sold them. 90% of them had the same story. A couple almost word for word.

Have you still got any of them?
Yes. All of the 2000ADs are up my roof (make me an offer someone!). Two or three of the Eagles, and I rebought a few of the Starlords years after the day my dad decided to rip up all of mine as a punishment. Bastard. I remain traumatised to this day!

[Stuart Wallis]

(make me an offer someone

There's no answer to that! (Actually yes there is...)

[Rob McCow]

I rebought a few of the Starlords years after the day my dad decided to rip up all of mine as a punishment. Bastard. I remain traumatised to this day!

And on your 30th birthday as well!

What on earth had you done to deserve that kind of treatment? I know my parents were pretty furious with me one day when I couldn't find my homework in the morning before going to school - it turned up later under a copy of White Dwarf. Ooops.