The Complete SPARKY #1 From 1965... (Updated)

Copyright D.C. THOMSON & Co., Ltd

It looks a little dated now, and it's difficult to believe it was released in the same week as TV Century 21 (even sharing the same cover-date, except for the latter being dated 2065, not 1965), but Sparky lasted for 12 years as its own comic (compared to the former's 6 year period before it was merged into Valiant in 1971) so it can be rightly considered the more successful of the two titles, at least as far as longevity goes.  (Though I doubt it sold as many weekly copies as its rival, but I couldn't say for sure.)

It's unlikely it would ever be published in today's woke age, given the fact that the 'star' of the comic was a little native black boy, even though he was treated with respect and always usually came out on top of whatever situation he was in.  Sure, he's a caricature, but anyone who's ever seen an issue of National Geographic knows that such natives existed - and probably still do.  (*See photo at foot of post.)  To my way of thinking, unless he was being portrayed in a negative light (which he never was), he's no more offensive a character than Fred Flintstone is as a cartoon representation of a white man.

Your opinion may differ, and that's fine - I'm not here to try and convince you otherwise.  No, my purpose here today is to pull back time's curtain and show you the complete contents of the very first issue of a comic that is still highly regarded in the memories of former readers who collected it avidly every week.  The early issues didn't really hint at the promise of the title it eventually developed into, but it's no less historically important for that little fact, so enjoy the very first issue of the late, lamented Sparky - and then leave a comment if you'd be so kind.

(Click on images to enlarge, then click again for optimum size.)

Oops!  I don't know how, but I inadvertently omitted the Minnie Ha-Ha page and only just noticed.  It was waiting patiently in my file so I've now added it.

*Below, plucked from the Internet, Wadaabe males - related to Sparky perhaps?  They're taking part in some tribal ceremony wherein they wear full makeup and their finest clothes in a traditional mating ritual to attract female partners.  (Full makeup, eh?  That may just be giving off the wrong signals to the wrong gender.  They look happy enough with each other.)