Hatch, Match & Dispatch – Dec 2020

It’s time once again to take a look at the British comics that are celebrating (or commiserating) an important anniversary…

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!

Previous episodes of Hatch, Match & Dispatch:
2019: Oct, Nov, Dec
2020: Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov

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25 years ago:

December – SuperTed final issue.
Publisher: Marvel UK / Redan
From: 10 Mar 1990
To: Dec 1995
Duration: 5 years, 9 months
Issues: 40
The number of issues of SuperTed is unknown to me, and it’s not for want of trying. I know there were at least forty issues (because I’ve found the cover of issue #40) and it definitely started out on a fortnightly schedule, and if it stuck to that then in its five years and nine months of existence it should have clocked up around 150 issues.
Update: The ever-helpful Richard Sheaf of Boys Adventure Comics blog has informed me that Superted moved to a monthly schedule from issue #21. This would mean that the comic reached issue #80 by Dec 1995, so it’s possible that it switched to a bimonthly schedule at some stage (or the number of issues is incorrect!).

30 years ago:

01 December – The Complete Spider-Man launched.
Publisher: Marvel UK
From: 01 Dec 1990
To: 01 Sep 1992
Duration: 1 year, 9 months
Issues: 24
Each issue reprinted four (fairly recent) US comics, usually from Spider-Man, Amazing Spider-Man, Spectacular Spider-Man and Web of Spider-Man.

December – The Dream Stone launched.
Publisher: London Editions
From: 01 Dec 1990
To: 01 Aug 1991
Duration: 8 months
Issues: 6
Bi-monthly, apparently based on a cartoon (the cover boasts “As Seen on ITV”).

35 years ago:

December – Conqueror final issue.
Publisher: Harrier Comics
From: Aug 1984
To: Dec 1985
Duration: 1 year, 4 months
Issues: 9
Absorbed into Swiftsure.

December – Conqueror Universe launched.
Publisher: Harrier Comics
From: Dec 1985
To: Dec 1985
Duration:
Issues: 2
A two-issue limited series.

14 December – Spider-Man Comics Weekly final issue.
Publisher: Marvel UK
From: 17 Feb 1973
To: 14 Dec 1985
Duration: 12 years, 10 months
Issues: 666
Marvel UK’s most successful title (in terms of issue-count) slings its webs for the last time… See the Branding article for more details!

40 years ago:

December – Walt Disney’s Puzzle Time final issue.
Publisher: IPC
From: Aug 1979
To: Dec 1980
Duration: 1 year, 4 months
Issues: 17
Absorbed into Mickey Magazine.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen a copy so it’s possible that this one might not have had any comic-strip content and therefore is only here because it was absorbed into Mickey Magazine (below).

06 December – Mickey Magazine launched.
Publisher: IPC
From: 06 Dec 1980
To: 28 Mar 1981
Duration: 3 months
Issues: 17
A relaunch of IPC’s long-running Mickey Mouse (see last month’s HM&D). Actually, it’s technically more of a rebranding because the issue numbers carried on from its predecessor, but since it also absorbed Walt Disney’s Puzzle Time I consider this to be effectively a relaunch.

45 years ago:

20 December – Noddy Time final issue.
Publisher: Woman’s Way
From: 10 May 1975
To: 20 Dec 1975
Duration: 7 months
Issues: 33
As mentioned in the May 2020 HM&D, info on this one is a scarce. I know it lasted for at least 33 issues.

55 years ago:

01 December – Giant War Picture Library final issue.
Publisher: Fleetway
From: 01 Jun 1964
To: 01 Dec 1965
Duration: 1 year, 6 months
Issues: 76
These unusually-shaped comics were the same width as a standard digest comic, but more than twice the height. It’s a format that didn’t take off — I don’t think any other British comics adopted it.

60 years ago:

01 December – Confessions Library final issue.
Publisher: Amalgamated Press/Fleetway
From: 01 Feb 1959
To: 01 Dec 1960
Duration: 1 year, 10 months
Issues: 68
Renamed Romantic Confessions Picture Library from #45.

60 years ago:

December – Super Detective Library final issue.
Publisher: Fleetway
From: Mar 1953
To: Dec 1960
Duration: 7 years, 9 months
Issues: 188
Renamed Super Detective Picture Library from #155.

80 years ago:

01 December – Tip Top Comics launched.
Publisher: L. Miller and Son, Ltd.
From: 01 Dec 1940
To: 01 Jan 1941
Duration: 1 month
Issues: 2
Unfortunately I can’t find a cover for this one — it’s a reprint of the US comic of the same name and has no connection with Amalgamated Press’s Tip Top (1934 – 1954, 737 issues)/

110 years ago:

21 December – The Merry-Thought & Scraps final issue.
Publisher: James Henderson
From: 07 May 1910
To: 21 Dec 1910
Duration: 7 months
Issues: 35
This was a relaunch of Scraps, which had run from 29 Aug 1883 to 30 Apr 1910 for 1394 issues. Title reverted to The Merry-Thought from issue #22.