SPLODGE, LAST OF THE GOBLINS...

Copyright D.C. Thomson & Co., Ltd

I couldn't say with absolute certainty when I first bought #924 of The TOPPER, because a comic's cover date can be confusing.  Some comics were dated the week after they went on sale (to give them a longer shelf-life), some maybe only 3 or 4 days - or were they?  Some, like The Topper, might say 'every Thursday' on the cover, but (though I don't know in regard to The Topper itself) come out before then, so being absolutely sure of precisely what day a periodical hit the shops can be a bit of a problem so many decades after the fact.

Presumably, the SPLODGE, LAST Of The GOBLINS glow mask was intended for Hallowe'en, but it was a bit early.  Or maybe it wasn't meant for All Hallow's Eve at all, and the mask and the celebration were just coincidental, though it seems to me unlikely.  Looking back, I at first thought, in memory, that I was yet a primary school pupil when I bought this comic, but I'd actually been attending secondary school for around a couple of months - certainly several weeks.

I wonder if I was off school that day due to some minor ailment, because I remember lying in bed after purchasing the comic, fascinated by Splodge's luminous goblin features.  I'd have been across to the shops over the road for just after 8 a.m. to buy The TOPPER (so I must've known about the free gift in advance), unless, despite saying every Thursday on the cover, it actually went on sale on a Saturday.  (Anyone know for sure?)  Or maybe I was buying another comic and spotted it by chance.  I don't suppose it matters, and I know you probably don't care, but I would've once been able to recall every detail.  Age, alas.

Anyway, the comic and mask were up for auction recently, but I was outbid (with some relief it has to be said, as I'd have been living on beans for a fortnight had I won), but I'd like to again own these items from my youth before I get much older.  If anyone's got the mask and would be prepared to sell it to me, let me know in the comments section.  I'll pick up the comic on eBay somewhere down the line, though if you've got that too and would be prepared to part with it, I'm give you a fair price for it/them.  I'd also be prepared to pay for an actual-size photocopy of the mask, if anyone can oblige.

Splodge was a great wee strip, drawn by CHARLES GRIGG originally, and then later by KEN H. HARRISON.  I suspect I didn't read The HOBBIT until after this issue came out (though it could've been before), because I always imagined BILBO BAGGINS as looking a lot like Splodge (despite TOLKIEN's illustrations), but perhaps that was a retroactive impression.  I wish The BEANO would reprint the strips, 'cos I'd buy it if they did.  Talking of which, I got the Christmas issue and will be doing a mini-review before too much longer.

Ah, Splodge - how have you been all these years?  Good to have you back.

(Update: I now have the comic and the mask - hooray!!!) 

This is from a different ish, but still a belter