Hatch, Match & Dispatch – August 2022

I don’t reckon the “Approved Comic” stamp ever really fooled anyone… I mean, by whom were they supposed to have been approved?

It’s easy to dismiss the black-and-white reprint comics published by Alan Class. In fact, it’s so easy I’ve been known to do it myself, but that’s like shooting fish in a barrel of monkeys. Sure, the comics were very cheaply produced, but it’s unfair and disingenuous to assume that they had little to no value.

In today’s list you’ll see an entry for one of the major Alan Class comics, Creepy Worlds… Folks, it ran for twenty-seven years. That’s eight years longer than the original Eagle. Over twice as long as The Mighty World of Marvel.

Some collectors don’t think that the Alan Class comics count as “real” comics because they were solely reprint titles, published with little regard to continuity of either story or theme: the contents were at times seemingly chosen at random, the print quality was often — to be blunt — atrocious, and they’re hard to collect because they didn’t even have cover-dates.

And why should they have cover-dates? Back in those days (the early sixties), comics were generally regarded as disposable: you bought them, read them, then traded them with your friends for half a roll of pop-gun caps or a job in the merchant navy or something: you weren’t supposed to collect them.

Aside from the lack of cover-dates, and the irregularity of distribution, some titles were re-issued in different editions and with altered contents, some had incorrect issue numbers. Even the publishers themselves apparently had some difficulty maintaining their collection, judging by the “please help!” ads that sometimes appeared on the back covers:

I think it’s worth noting that Alan Class comics very rarely contained any other ads!

While we don’t have specific dates for most issues, wiser researchers than I have managed to pin down some of the comics’ durations, so, roughly — and without any promises of accuracy — here’s a list of the major Alan Class comics:

• Tales of the Underworld (1960, 10 issues)
• Outer Space (1961, 10 issues)
• Weird Planets (1962–1963, 23 issues)
• Creepy Worlds (Aug 1962 to Apr 1989, 249 issues)
• Secrets of the Unknown (Oct 1962 to Mar 1989, 249 issues)
• Out of This World (June 1963 to mid-1960s, 23 issues; 1980s, 10 issues)
• Suspense Stories (May 1963 to Mar 1989, 241 issues)
• Uncanny Tales (May 1963 to 1989, 187 issues)
• Sinister Tales (Jan 1964 to Jan 1989, 227 issues)
• Astounding Stories (Feb 1966 to Apr 1989, 195 issues)
• Journey Into Danger (mid-1960s, 8 issues)

Aside from the four-issue Ally Sloper series (Oct 1976 to Jan 1977) which printed new British comic strips, the comics’ contents came from American publishers like Timely, Altas, Charlton, Archie and Fawcett, and of course Marvel, and thus were the earliest British appearances of many Marvel characters and stories.

And that’s one of the aspects that makes them important: the readers of the time didn’t have reliable access to the original American comics — or even any easy way to learn that such things existed — so Alan Class gave them material that very likely would have rocked their worlds…

This issue of Creepy Worlds (#32, published sometime in 1964), reprints the first appearance of The Fantastic Four, and in fact all of the issue’s contents come from Timely/Marvel comics:

• “The Fantastic Four” (25 pages, from Fantastic Four #1, Nov 1961)
• “The Changeling!” (5 pages, from Journey into Mystery #86, Nov 1962)
• “The Strange Fate of the Statue Maker!” (6 pages, from Tales to Astonish #34, Aug 1962)
• “Somewhere Hides A… Thing!” (5 pages, from Journey into Mystery #84, Sep 1962)
• “The Weatherman” (2 pages, from Strange Tales #49, Aug 1956)
• “The Witching Hour!” (5 pages, from Journey into Mystery #84, Sep 1962)
• “I Was Trapped in the Mad Universe!” (7 pages, from Tales to Astonish #40, Feb 1963)
• “The Ice-Monster Cometh!” (5 pages, from Amazing Adult Fantasy #11, Apr 1962)
• “For the Rest of Your Life!” (5 pages, from Amazing Adult Fantasy #11, Apr 1962)

Sure, they’re not all stone-cold classics, but that’s still a heck of a lot of content for a single issue of a comic: it’s very easy to see a young reader absolutely falling in love with this stuff.

And that’s what comics are, or should be, about: not what a particular issue is worth these days, or arguing over the right kind of acid-free backing-board that costs more than the comic is worth, or which actor who appeared in the movie adaptation was generous enough to only charge you fifty quid to scrawl their name on it… Comics should be about how much fun they deliver to the intended audience. In that regard, Alan Class’s “Approved Comics” were hugely important. And, for what it’s worth, I approve.

I recommend you pop on over to the great blog The Magic Robot for a fascinating look at some of the Alan Class titles and their occasionally-not-confusing publication history!

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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, Dec
2021: Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec
2022: Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul

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25 years ago:

August – Cosmic launched.
Publisher: Bauer Media
From: Aug 1997
To: Feb 1999
Duration: 1 year, six months
Issues: 23
Issue #0 which was presented free with Take a Break magazine. Richard Sheaf explores this odd but fondly-remembered publication in a fascinating article on Down the Tubes.

06 August – Saban’s Masked Rider final issue.
Publisher: Marvel UK
From: 19 Feb 1997
To: 06 Aug 1997
Duration: 6 months
Issues: 7
This is one I know almost nothing about… other than that it was based on an TV show that I’ve never seen but which has some connection with Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers, which I’ve also never seen.
Update: On his excellent Boys Adventure Comics blog, Richard Sheaf has a more in-depth look at Saban’s Masked Rider, including a full cover gallery!

30 years ago:

01 August – Alien³ Movie Special launched.
Publisher: Dark Horse International
From: 01 Aug 1992
To: 01 Sep 1992
Duration: 1 month
Issues: 3
Running concurrently with DHI’s ongoing Aliens title, this limited series featured an adaptation of the movie along with relevant articles, plus a reprint of an Aliens vs. Predator strip.

14 August – Toxic Crusaders final issue.
Publisher: Fleetway
From: 23 May 1992
To: 14 Aug 1992
Duration: 3 months
Issues: 10
A fortnightly comic that I suspect is a reprint of the US Marvel title that ran for eight issues in 1992. It’s based on an animated show that’s a spin-off from the cult movie The Toxic Avenger.
Update: Richard Sheaf of Boys Adventure Comic blog tells me that Fleetway’s Toxic Crusaders consists of mostly original material with very little reprinted from the US version.

35 years ago:

August – Sentinel final issue.
Publisher: Harrier Comics
From: Feb 1987
To: Aug 1987
Duration: 6 months
Issues: 4

August – Shock Therapy final issue.
Publisher: Harrier Comics
From: Dec 1986
To: Aug 1987
Duration: 8 months
Issues: 6

August – Sindy Magazine launched.
Publisher: Marvel UK
From: Aug 1987
To: 21 Jan 1989
Duration: 1 year, 5 months
Issues: 22
A revival of Marvel’s fortnightly Sindy comic. At least 22 issues. Monthly until issue #14, fortnightly thereafter. (Information on this one is pretty scarce!)

15 August – Playhour final issue.
Publisher: Amalgamated Press/Fleetway/IPC
From: 16 Oct 1954
To: 15 Aug 1987
Duration: 32 years, 10 months
Issues: 1700
Originally titled Playhour Pictures until issue #31 (14 May 1955). See also the Playhour Timeline.

29 August – Nipper final issue.
Publisher: IPC
From: 31 Jan 1987
To: 29 Aug 1987
Duration: 7 months
Issues: 16
Absorbed into Buster.
Originally an A5-sized, 48-page comic, it reverted to a more standard size from issue #6. 16 regular issues preceded by an issue 0. Home of the astonishingly good Felix the Pussycat.

45 years ago:

04 August – Read to Me final issue.
Publisher: Polystyle Publications
From: 17 Jan 1977
To: 04 Aug 1977
Duration: 7 months
Issues: 28
Absorbed into Pippin.

31 August – Fury final issue.
Publisher: Marvel UK
From: 16 Mar 1977
To: 31 Aug 1977
Duration: 5 months
Issues: 25
Absorbed into The Mighty World of Marvel (1972).

55 years ago:

04 August – Tarzan World Adventure Library final issue.
Publisher: World Distributors
From: May 1967
To: 04 Aug 1967
Duration: 3 months
Issues: 4

28 August – Huckleberry Hound Weekly final issue.
Publisher: City Magazines/Robert Hayward and Sons
From: 07 Oct 1961
To: 28 Aug 1967
Duration: 5 years, 10 months
Issues: 308
Later issues are titled Huckleberry Hound and Yogi Bear Weekly.

60 years ago:

August – Creepy Worlds launched.
Publisher: Alan Class
From: Aug 1962
To: Apr 1989
Duration: 26 years, 8 months
Issues: 249

65 years ago:

31 August – Romeo launched.
Publisher: DC Thomson
From: 31 Aug 1957
To: 14 Sep 1974
Duration: 17 years, 1 month
Issues: 890

70 years ago:

01 August – Blue Bolt Series launched.
Publisher: Swan
From: 01 Aug 1952
To: 01 May 1954
Duration: 1 year, 9 months
Issues: 22

01 August – Love Story Picture Library launched.
Publisher: Amalgamated Press/Fleetway
From: 01 Aug 1952
To: 01 Jan 1975
Duration: 22 years, 5 months
Issues: 1656
Ran until at least 1975.

90 years ago:

01 August – Racing Novels (1932) final issue.
Publisher: Aldine House
From: 31 May 1932
To: 01 Aug 1932
Duration: 3 months
Issues: 4

20 August – Children’s Sketch final issue.
Publisher: Syndicated Journals
From: 28 May 1931
To: 20 Aug 1932
Duration: 1 year, 3 months
Issues: 41

20 August – Home Novels final issue.
Publisher: Amalgamated Press
From: 01 Nov 1931
To: 20 Aug 1932
Duration: 9 months
Issues: 40