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For a number of years now, I've owned The DAILY MIRROR BOOK Of GARTH for 1975 (issued at the end of '74), but I've only very recently gotten around to reading it. I enjoyed it so much, I bought the follow-up for 1976 from eBay, which arrived yesterday (Saturday). The second book is smaller, height-wise, and only accommodates two strips per page (reprints of the newspaper strip from The Daily Mirror), whereas the first book has four strips per page. Both have 128 pages and cost 60p, so the second gives you only half your money's worth than the first. (Swizz.)
I saw the first book in a local (long-gone) shop by the name of W. & R. HOLMES back in either '74 or '75. It could've been both years, because they sometimes sold old stock from the year before that hadn't shifted. I recall seeing the 1972 TV21 Annual (issued in '71) on a table of books in '72 or/and '73, though I didn't purchase it at the time. (It was around 11 or 12 years later that I picked one up from another source.)
So I associate those two publications with Holmes (as we called it), along with the SUPERMAN and BATMAN volumes From The '30s To The '70s, and the MARVEL Annual for 1973 (and other books). I'm sure I also saw the 1973 TV21 Annual there, but again, didn't buy it at the time. It was because I remembered seeing the Garth book in the shop that I eventually bought it decades later, mainly because it reminded me of one of my very favourite shops from my childhood and teenage years.
But that's enough about me (you'll be glad to know) - let's talk about Garth. He was co-created by STEVE DOWLING and GORDON BOSHELL and first appeared in The Daily Mirror on July 24th 1943 and ran until March 22nd 1997, making it the longest-running UK action-adventure strip in newspaper history. After 59 adventures, JOHN ALLARD, who had worked on the strip from the beginning, took over the art chores from Dowling until 1971, whereupon the esteemed FRANK BELLAMY became the artist, with Dowling writing the scripts, followed later by other writers. Almost every basic Garth plot had been established by DON FREEMAN.
However, let's not get bogged down in detail. For those who want to read more, jump over to this link and soak up the strip's history to your heart's content. In the meantime, enjoy looking at the very first Garth strip and the covers to the two Daily Mirror books.
Are you a fan of Garth? Tell your fellow Crivvies what the character means to you in our ever-lovin' comments section.
However, let's not get bogged down in detail. For those who want to read more, jump over to this link and soak up the strip's history to your heart's content. In the meantime, enjoy looking at the very first Garth strip and the covers to the two Daily Mirror books.
Are you a fan of Garth? Tell your fellow Crivvies what the character means to you in our ever-lovin' comments section.
Okay, I'll start us off seeing as how you all seem to be a bit shy...
ReplyDeleteI like Garth because he's super-strong like me, and all women adore him - again, just like me.
Your turn.
I have the first edition, but never saw the second unfortunately.
ReplyDeleteFor me Garth by Bellamy is IT!!!!!...no finer comic art has ever left a drawing board.
By the way Titan published two collected editions in the '80s, but, to my knowledge, the whole tome of Bellamy's sublime work on Garth has yet to be reprinted.
Spirit of '64
The Daily Mirror started reprinting Garth strips in colour around 2011, S64, but those Titan editions you mention are the only UK collected editions (along with the two Daily Mirror books) that I've seen so far. I only learned of the second book relatively recently, so I'm glad to have it.
ReplyDeleteI love Britisd comics but I didn't know this one. I guess I've always been more of a 2000 AD kinda guy. By the way, I have a new comic book available now on Comixology:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.comixology.com/Dead-Wrong-1/digital-comic/832312
If you could review it like you did with my previous one that'd be awesome!
I'm more a fan of Bellamy's art than Garth as such and used to cut them out of whatever paper printed them here back in the day, so there are gaps. I have the 1975 collection though the date does not appear on the cover so I'm guessing that the print run that my copy came from may have been a local one at a later date.
ReplyDeleteI have never been able to get hold of the other volumes but I gave up searching for these a while back when they consistently came up as too expensive in the search results. Maybe I should put them back on my regular searches again.
Tell you what, A, readers can use your link to take a look at your new comic and review it for themselves. No one ever pays attention to anything I say anyway.
ReplyDelete******
IPC/Fleetway, once the regular run for annuals had been printed, removed the date for overseas sales, PC. It's likely that both versions were printed at more or less the same time (one after the other obviously) to keep costs down. No doubt the date was removed for overseas copies because of the time it took to ship them, etc., and to give them a longer shelf-life. I only recently found out that Marvel UK did the same with their annuals. Sellers tend to ask for silly prices for those Daily Mirror books, sometimes with no regard for the condition of them, which can often be well-worn.
Hi Kid
ReplyDeleteWell done for highlighting these. Getting bogged down in detail is one of my things - but sometimes not enough - so I should correct one thing:
"with Dowling writing the scripts based on DON FREEMAN's plots." wasn't actually true by the time Bellamy started. Jim Edgar, a fellow Kettering man, was the author from mid-1966 onwards and through Bellamy's run. I wish I knew a lot more about him, but if any of your readers do...
Carry on the good work
Thanks for the correction, NB. I was just parroting (in my own words) what Wikipedia seemed to be saying, but I felt it was a bit ambiguous in a couple of places. That's why I included the link, so that readers could make up their own minds about it. I doubt that many (if any) people will know more than you on the subject, but hopefully someone can supply you the info you want. Cheers.
ReplyDeleteNB, I've now amended the text to hopefully better resemble what the Wikipedia entry was saying in regard to Don Freeman. Could you give it the once-over and tell me if it meets with your approval? Ta much.
ReplyDeleteI know you, you did it deliberately to get more comments, didn't you?
ReplyDelete(All dates hereafter are publication dates) Steve Dowling ***wrote*** the first episode with Don Freeman and Freeman then wrote them all until 1952. Hugh McClelland did one then Peter O'Donnell took over until the April 1966 story ended. Jim Edgar took over then until mid-1980s when he or Angus Allan wrote them (and others). Edgar's last appears to be December 1992.
Dowling as artist with assistance from Allard ran from 1943 to July 1968. Allard then drew it alone until the mish-mash of Bellamy with insertions by Allard (more to follow on my blog soon-ish) and then Martin Asbury took over until the strips end 22 March 1997
For more go to Downthetubes
I know you, you did it deliberately to get more comments, didn't you?
ReplyDelete(All dates hereafter are publication dates) Steve Dowling ***wrote*** the first episode with Don Freeman and Freeman then wrote them all until 1952. Hugh McClelland did one then Peter O'Donnell took over until the April 1966 story ended. Jim Edgar took over then until mid-1980s when he or Angus Allan wrote them (and others). Edgar's last appears to be December 1992.
Dowling as artist with assistance from Allard ran from 1943 to July 1968. Allard then drew it alone until the mish-mash of Bellamy with insertions by Allard (more to follow on my blog soon-ish) and then Martin Asbury took over until the strips end 22 March 1997.
I wish I was that smart, NB - maybe next time. Thanks for the info, and to anyone wanting to know more about Garth or Frank Bellamy, visit Norman's blog via my bloglist. (I can't seem to do click on links in my comments, otherwise I would.)
ReplyDeleteGarth...yes I haven't seen him in years . In fact he's a strip I well forgot about. Your right though he got all the women.
ReplyDeleteObviously modelled after me, LH. (Cough!)
ReplyDelete