We’re plunging headlong and blindfolded into the land of uncertainty this time around, folks, with rather too many publications that have as-yet-unverified details. (On that note, a few people have asked how one researches these old comics: where do the details come from, and what constitutes verification? Well, there’s no one specific way: every collector has their own methods… I’m planning an article on how I go about my research — trust me, it’ll either be absolutely fascinating or not.)
Standard disclaimer: unless I decide otherwise, these are only the “big” anniversaries (25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 60, 70, 75, 80, 90 & 100+ years); dates are cover-dates where known; monthly comics with no confirmed day of launch default to the start of the month; and this list is accurate only to the best of my knowledge, so do please let me know of any important errors or omissions! (See also Oct 2019, Nov 2019, Dec 2019, Jan 2020, Feb 2020, Mar 2020, Apr 2020 and May 2020.)
35 years ago:
June – The Best of Whoopee! Monthly launched.
IPC
Jun 1985 to Jan 1991
68 issues.
Another of IPC’s best-of comics that delivered on its title. Before back-issues were relatively easy to acquire these reprint anthologies were a great way to revisit the stories with which we grew up — and to introduce newer or younger readers to some classic strips. Dates and issue-count unconfirmed, unfortunately.
11 June – Beeb final issue.
Polystyle Publications
29 Jan 1985 to 11 Jun 1985
20 issues.
As mentioned in the HM&D column for January, Beeb was a weekly children’s TV mag in the style of Look-In, but with a focus on characters and shows from the BBC rather than the independent channels.
29 June – Jack and Jill final issue.
Amalgamated Press/Fleetway/IPC
27 Feb 1954 to 29 Jun 1985
1640 issues.
Not the first Jack and Jill publication by any means (there was one that ran from March 1885 to June 1887, another that appeared in 1909 and only lasted a handful of issues), but this one made an impact and stuck around for thirty-one years. So theoretically there were people who read the first issue as kids and whose grandchildren read the final issue. Along the way, this one absorbed The Playbox (see below).
29 June – Robin final issue.
IPC
19 Jan 1985 to 29 Jun 1985
20 issues.
Absorbed into Play-Group.
A revival in name only of the old Eagle comic sibling that ran from 28 Mar 1953 to 25 Jan 1969 for 836 issues and was ultimately absorbed into Playhour.
40 years ago:
10 June – Blue Jeans Photo Novel launched.
DC Thomson
10 Jun 1980 to 1992
546 issues.
Regular readers of this blog might recall that DC Thomson’s digest-sized publications didn’t feature cover-dates. They might also recall how infuriating that can be for collectors. Data on this is very sparse but there are indicators that it was published twice monthly until sometime in 1992. Wish I could be more clear than that. I’m not even 100% sure about the issue-count. Sorry!
14 June – Pink final issue.
IPC
24 Mar 1973 to 14 Jun 1980
377 issues.
Absorbed into Mates.
A magazine aimed at girls in their early-to-mid teenage years. In other words… pop music, fashion, horoscopes, multiple-choice quizzes to determine whether you’re an “Autumn” or a “Cheeky Minx”, and countless articles along the lines of “How to Tell if a Boy Likes You.” And some comic-strips and photo-stories in order to make it eligible for this blog.
45 years ago:
14 June – Monster Fun Comic launched.
IPC
14 Jun 1975 to 30 Oct 1976
73 issues.
A great comic that really appealed to young Rusty, who had a love of monster movies and ghost stories as well as humour comics. The comic’s pretend editor was Frankie Stein, whom I already knew from Shiver and Shake. It was many years before I discovered the original strips by the great Ken Reid.
21 June – Lindy launched.
IPC
21 Jun 1975 to 01 Nov 1975
20 issues.
With very few exceptions, girls’ comics have to have girls’ names (or have the word “girl” in the title), but by the middle of 1975 all the real names had been taken so someone in IPC conjured up “Lindy” and pretended that they actually knew someone with that name. As for the comic itself, sadly I’ve not yet seen an issue, but you can find a great in-depth feature on the Great News for All Readers blog, which I highly recommend.
50 years ago:
06 June – Cor!! launched.
IPC
06 Jun 1970 to 15 Jun 1974
211 issues.
I loved this comic! It was one of the first non-nursery comics I really liked. My favourite strip was “Val’s Vanishing Cream” in which young Val owned a jar of cream that could make things invisible. I recall that for a long time I thought Val was a boy — the character was always depicted wearing trousers, plus I have an uncle called Val — but eventually I spotted a panel in which the character was referred to with a feminine pronoun.
13 June – Tom and Jerry Weekly Paper final issue.
Publisher unknown
14 Feb 1970 to 13 Jun 1970
18 issues.
Dates and issue-count unverified. This is one that only popped up on my radar quite recently while I was searching for info on the 1972/74 Tom and Jerry Weekly, and only on one website, which makes me suspect that its distribution wasn’t very wide. If you can provide any more info on it, please let me know!
55 years ago:
June – Secret Service Picture Library launched.
MV Features
Jun 1965 to 1966
28 issues.
Actual dates unknown.
Not one I’ve ever encountered in the physical world, sorry. There’s anecdotal evidence that suggests the contents were not original material but reprints from European or American comics.
60 years ago:
June – Valentine Picture Story Library launched.
IPC
Jun 1960 to Jun 1961
26 issues.
Dates are estimated. This is another one that so far has eluded me. As with Secret Service Picture Library, the title pretty much tells us all we need to know about the contents: love stories in easy-to-digest form, which is why these were called “digest” comics (OK, so I just pulled that out of thin air, but you never know — it could be the reason).
65 years ago:
11 June – The Playbox final issue.
Amalgamated Press
14 Feb 1925 to 11 Jun 1955
1279 issues.
Absorbed into Jack and Jill.
There were several titles called Playbox (or some close variation on that) before this one came along, but their history is muddled and scary. This incarnation began as Chuckles (10 Jan 1914 to 1 Dec 1923, 517 issues), which was relaunched as Jungle Jinks (8 Dec 1923 to 7 Feb 1925, 62 issues). A revival of sorts, Play Box, ran from 3 Apr 1982 to 9 Oct 1982 for 28 issues.
70 years ago:
June – Love Romance final issue.
Amalgamated Press
May 1950 to Jun 1950
2 issues.
As mentioned last month, this is one about which I know almost nothing and can’t even find a cover. Sorry!
80 years ago:
June – The Girls’ Friend Library final issue.
Amalgamated Press
May 1925 to Jun 1940
728 issues.
This was a relaunched version of this story-paper: the first version ran for 578 issues from 25 Nov 1906 to 2 Apr 1925. It absorbed The Violet Magazine (July 1922 to Nov 1939, 309 issues) along the way. It’s listed in some sources as a monthly title, but the issue-count suggests that for most of its life it was weekly.
June – The Boys’ Friend Library final issue.
Amalgamated Press
Jun 1925 to Jun 1940
724 issues.
Another relaunched title, the original running from Sep 1906 to May 1925 for 764 issues (it was actually called The Jack, Sam and Pete Library for the first two issues). This incarnation also suffered from an identity crisis: from #701 (Jan 1940), issues alternated between Bullseye Library and Knockout Library.
June – The Champion Library final issue.
Amalgamated Press
Feb 1929 to Jun 1940
275 issues.
This was actually third Champion Library: the first ran from 8 Oct 1881 to 21 Oct 1882 for 56 issues, and the second had a meagre six-issue run in 1885.
June – Fresh Fun launched.
Swan
Jun 1940 to Jan 1951
32 issues.
Another of Gerald G. Swan’s comics which rose to prominence during the second world war (as mentioned before, by chance Swan had acquired large stockpiles of paper before rationed, thus he was able to launch new comics while his rivals were cancelling theirs).
June – Slick Fun launched.
Swan
Jun 1940 to 1950
88 issues.
This one was retitled Coloured Slick Fun from issue #22, although it only contained full colour from issues #35 to #76. It lasted until at least issue #88, some time in 1951.
85 years ago:
29 June – Boys’ Broadcast final issue.
Amalgamated Press
27 Oct 1934 to 29 Jun 1935
36 issues.
Absorbed into Boy’s Cinema.
Yet another story-paper about which I know very little.
90 years ago:
05 June – The Midget Comic launched.
DC Thomson
05 Jun 1930 to 12 Sep 1930
4 issues.
The Midget Comic was almost certainly DC Thomson‘s first comic-book: it was a series of mini comics given away free with The Wizard story-paper, and as such was a prototype for The Dandy and The Beano.
95 years ago:
01 June – The Boys’ Friend Library launched.
Amalgamated Press
01 Jun 1925 to 01 Jun 1940
724 issues.
If this one sounds familiar, that’s because it appears twice on the same anniversary list! See 80 Years Ago, above.
105 years ago:
05 June – The Boys’ Realm Football and Sports Library final issue.
Amalgamated Press
18 Sep 1909 to 05 Jun 1915
299 issues.
As its title suggests, this was a sports-focussed companion paper to The Boys’ Realm (14 May 1902 to 25 Mar 1916, 721 issues). It absorbed the short-lived The Empire Library along the way.
12 June – The Dreadnought final issue.
Amalgamated Press
01 Jun 1912 to 12 Jun 1915
171 issues.
Absorbed into The Boys’ Friend.
Retitled Dreadnought and War Pictorial from 26 Sep 1914, then Dreadnought Boys’ War Weekly from 7 Nov 1914, then back to Dreadnought from 2 Jan 1915.
12 June – The Nelson Lee Library launched.
Amalgamated Press
12 Jun 1915 to 12 Aug 1933
948 issues.
As mentioned in the Eagle timeline, Nelson Lee was a hugely successful character back in his day: a detective specialising in mysterious crimes that were solved through the application of pluck as much as fisticuffs. Then the publishers realised how successful school-based stories were becoming, so Lee gets posted to a school where he ends up the resident school house-master, and is suddenly no longer dealing with thieves and smugglers, but sixth-formers and cricket matches and half-hols and eagerly-awaited postal orders.
195 years ago:
11 June – The Glasgow Looking Glass launched.
John Watson
11 Jun 1825 to 03 Apr 1826
issues.
Fortnightly. After issue #5, the title was changed to The Northern Looking Glass. Whether this was actually the first ever comic is open to debate, except to those people who are certain that it was, and those who are certain that it wasn’t.
Rusty Staples 
Beeb lasting only six months? Even in the Eighties when the Hatch and dispatch rate was rising six months was a disaster. As for poor old Nelson Lee , you have to wonder did he ever get flashbacks when he became a schoolmaster or “visits” from old “friends” ala Tinker Tailor.
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A shame BEEB didn’t last any longer, though I do remember it feeling very ‘safe’ and positively lukewarm compared to ITV’s Look-In, which was absolutely in it’s pomp back then.
Perhaps it suffered from ‘The Curse of the Tripods’, axed before it’s time! John Burns’ artwork on the Beeb Tripods strip was astonishingly good (you’d expect nothing less from Burns of course) – worth the price of the magazine by itself.
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