Howie's Corner: 2019: The return of British comics?

Saturday, 16 February 2019

2019: The return of British comics?

Last year the publishers of Britain's sole remaining weekly adventure comic 2000AD purchased the right to a huge catalogue of old British comics and character rights. Prior to this Rebellion had already made some purchases allowing it to publish a Scream & Misty Halloween Special that was commercially successful enough to spawn another last year.

Scream was a boys horror comic that lasted a mere 14 issues in 1984 but was fondly remembered by fans from the eighties and two of it's strips subsequently appeared in the pages of the second volume of Eagle itself home to Dan Dare!

Misty was a girls horror comic that ran for 101 issues from 1978 to 1980 and and was well received by some boys as well. Not that one admitted it in those days.

Rebellion have so far published three volumes of stories from Misty and are now well into a programme of reprinting material in their Treasury of British Comics series.

Over the coming year there are going to be no less than seven specials on sale in major newsagents around the UK. Cor!! & Buster Special, 2000 AD Regened, 2000 AD Sci-Fi Special, Tammy & Jinty Special, The Vigilant, Roy of the Rovers 65th Anniversary Special, and Scream & Misty Presents The Thirteenth Floor. Plus a 2000 AD Villains Takeover Special though this one will be in the US comics format.

All these specials will contain all-new material. Buster and Cor! were among my favourites back in the sixties and seventies and like many of my generation hold a special place in my memories. There were lots of other comics such as Lion, Valiant, Victor and the Hotspur!

The latter two reminding me that there is one other publisher still going out there. DC Thomson, a Scottish firm who produce The Beano and those little pocket book comics Commando! You'll find those in most main newsagents. Perhaps the British DC will be persuaded to utilise their enormous back catalogue for this growing market.