FOOTBALL COMIC WITH NO BALLS...

Copyright relevant owner

In 1992, new publishing kid on the block, TUNDRA, were developing a fortnightly football comic called GLORY GLORY, which they hoped would be the next big thing in the world of periodicals.  50,000 copies of a dummy issue were printed for promotional purposes, with the launch date of the actual first ish announced for September 9th, 1992.

However, after all the time, effort and money spent on producing the dummy, plans were hastily abandoned and Glory Glory succumbed to an inglorious fate - cancellation before it had even appeared on the newsagents' shelves.  So why was the decision taken to abort the project before fruition?  I'm not quite sure - as a contributor I was probably told at the time, but have long since forgotten the details.  Perhaps reaction to the dummy was less than positive, resulting in Tundra deciding not to risk losing even more money by going ahead with the launch, hence the plug being pulled at the last moment.

Luckily, though, I have one of the 50,000 dummies printed, and have decided to unselfishly share with all you Crivs the cover and a couple of interior pages - just to give you a taste of what might have been.

HAVE A LOOK AT BOB'S BEANO...

Copyright D.C. THOMSON & Co., Ltd

Once upon a time, there were two mighty comic empires in the U.K. which were in constant competition with one another.  Comics were always being developed in each camp to have something ready at a moment's notice to steal the thunder of any new title the opposition might launch.  However, these two rivals were at war not only with each other, but also any other publishers in the same line.

For example, did you know that D.C. Thomson's SPARKY came out the same week as TV CENTURY 21?  This was DCT's way of capitalising on any kid asking his mum to "Get that new comic for me while I'm at school".  Any parent asking for that in a newsagent's was just as likely to be handed The Sparky as TV21, especially if the latter was sold out.  And even if it wasn't, 7d for TV21 may have seemed a bit dear compared to The Sparky's more reasonable 5d - at least from a cost-conscious parent's point of view.

With that in mind, editors kept track of all the titles the opposition produced, often having racks of their rivals' comics on display in their own offices to see what the 'other side' were up to.  And that accounts for The BEANO pictured in this post.  It was IPC's Humour Group editor BOB PAYNTER's personal copy, which he gave me to clear space on the rack along the side of his office wall.  Ol' Bob was good to me in that way, gifting me with a number of comics for my collection, including several FRANKIE STEIN Holiday Specials that he no longer wanted, plus the very last issue of TV COMIC.

So have a read at DENNIS's adventures above - and don't forget to thank Bob for it. 

AND NOW - A LITTLE 'ICE BREAKER'...

Someone once asked me what steps I'd take to dilute any possible negative influence or bad example comics might have on younger readers.  By way of kick-starting suggestions, I pondered the possibility of comics having a little warning on the editorial or letters pages, saying something along the lines of "Remember - Hyperman is indestructible, you are not.  Do not try to imitate him".  (Like Captain Scarlet used to have.)  Obviously, the message would be appropriate to the content.

This was met with scorn by the person who asked the question, saying that it was patronising to children.  I pointed out that many toys carry such advice, so why not something similar with comics?  These days the packaging on toy guns and bows 'n' arrows warns kids about the angers of aiming them at people's eyes, etc., which seems a perfectly sensible precaution to me.  At the very least, it covers the manufacturers if some kid decides to ignore the 'operating instructions'.

I was therefore interested to see the above panel from a copy of The Beano, after an episode in which Dennis and his pals went skating on a frozen pond.  Might've been better having it in the actual issue where the strip appeared, but better late than never.  Obviously, the person who took issue with me must think that it's 'patronising' to exercise a little social responsibility.  Thankfully, DCT are not in accord with his views in this instance.