MONSTER FUN ANNUAL - MINI COVER GALLERY...

Copyright REBELLION

Way back in 1976 and '77, I bought the MONSTER FUN Annuals for '77 & '78, but for some curious reason never bought the one for '79.  I say curious because I always try to buy at least the first three issues of any new comic or Annual, so how the third MF book escaped my clutches I can't quite say.  I recently remedied that when I managed to obtain one 36 years down the line, so here they are in a mini cover gallery, along with the Annual for 1984 for good measure.  Hope you enjoy them.

SMASH! COVER GALLERY - PART ONE...

Copyright REBELLION

In February of 1966, a brand-new weekly periodical landed on newsagents' counters all across the country: SMASH! was a companion comic to WHAM!, LEO BAXENDALE's proposed 'Super BEANO', which at that time was just under two years old.  Both comics were published by ODHAMS PRESS, but by the time 1969 rolled around, Odhams had been subsumed by IPC MAGAZINES Ltd., who then relaunched Smash! (the only surviving POWER COMIC out of five) as a more 'traditional' comic in the style of popular weeklies VALIANT and LION.

The revamped comic, launched in March of 1969, survived for around two years, and if not for a printers strike lasting several weeks in 1970, would doubtless have produced more than the 95 issues actually published.  In fact, it seems likely that the strike was the cause of regular readers drifting away, thereby curtailing the comic's potential lifespan and hastening its 'takeover' by Valiant in April of '71.

Here then, is the first in a series of cover galleries showcasing 'new' Smash! in all its glory. I hope that those who lived through the period will find this tantalising glimpse of a vanished periodical from their past extremely welcome.  If you have any particular memories associated with these issues, feel free to share them in the comments section.

And don't forget to come back for Part Two!