Hatch, Match & Dispatch – September 2022

Welcome to the very thirty-sixth episode of HMampersandD — this magic number means we’ve now been running for three of your Earth years! No, there’s no need to thank me, folks, just send your presents — or, if it’s more convenient, great big piles of money — to the usual address!

Now… Sometimes even the most diligent research comes up with nought but an empty zilch when there is every reason to expect a bountiful supply of plenty, and today we have a great example of that. All the evidence I can dig up suggests that Marvel UK’s Cartoon Time comic — based on the more popular Hanna-Barbera cartoons of the time — came to an end with #63 in September 1992. And when I say “All the evidence” what I mean is “an ad that appeared in final issue of The Real Ghostbusters” (#193, Sep 1992).

I’ve not actually seen a copy of Cartoon Time #63, so it’s possible that it never made it to print. However, it’s also possible that Cartoon Time kept going long after that issue… but I’ve not encountered even anecdotal evidence of its continued existence.

Cartoon Time is one of a large number of comics for which I routinely search on Ebay and other auction sites, always with the hope that I’ll find a copy with a more recent cover date than the “most recent so far” in my database, and sometimes that does pay off, but as with any kind of collecting, positive results generally owe more to diligence and patience than skill or knowledge.

One day, someone who owns a copy of Marvel UK’s Cartoon Time #63 –or even #64, or beyond — will decide to part with their collection. Until then… I will continue to wait in the shadows, forever watchful, forever vigilant. Eternally poised to strike!

(And by “strike” I mean “right-click and select ‘Save Image As…'” because, y’know, I’m not gonna buy most of these things. I just want to know that they exist.)

As always, I’m happy to have any or all of my data corrected so please get in touch if you can help (though of course I’d much prefer actual evidence rather than the vague but well-meaning “I’m not sure, but I reckon…” opinions that a couple of regular readers like to supply!).

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Update: Thanks to Richard Sheaf of the brilliant and informative Boys Adventure Comic blog for clearing up the fate of Marvel UK’s Popples, which didn’t come to an end in September 1987 after all, but two months later! (I’ve now removed Popples from this list!)

Richard’s also helpfully and kindly provided confirmation on the details of London Editions’ Donald Duck title!

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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, Aug

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30 years ago:

01 September – Alien3 Movie Special final issue.
Publisher: Dark Horse International
From: 01 Aug 1992
To: 01 Sep 1992
Duration: 1 month
Issues: 3
See last month’s HM&D for more info.

01 September – Cartoon Time final issue.
Publisher: Marvel UK
From: 15 Apr 1989
To: Sep 1992 maybe
Duration: 3 years, 5 months or thereabouts
Issues: 63 (at least: see above!)
Initially fortnightly, but changed frequency to monthly around #42 (Dec 1990). It’s arguable that this one was a relaunch of The Flintstones and Friends (7 May 1988 to 25 March 1989, 24 issues) as they had very similar contents and the dates line up, but I’ve not yet been able to confirm that.

01 September – The Complete Spider-Man final issue.
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.

01 September – The Real Ghostbusters final issue.
Publisher: Marvel UK
From: 26 Mar 1988
To: 01 Sep 1992
Duration: 4 years, 6 months
Issues: 193

17 September – Duck Tales final issue.
Publisher: Fleetway
From: 30 Apr 1992
To: 17 Sep 1992
Duration: 5 months
Issues: 11

35 years ago:

September – All-Action Monthly final issue.
Publisher: IPC
From: Feb 1987
To: Sep 1987
Duration: 7 months
Issues: 8

September – Donald Duck (1987) launched.
Publisher: London Editions
From: Sep 1987
To: Sep 1990
Duration: 3 months
Issues: 24ish
Initially monthly, changed frequency to bimonthly from #16 (May/Jun 1989; renamed Donald Duck Comic at the same time). (Again, thanks to Richard Sheaf for clarification!)

September – The Best of Playhour Monthly launched.
Publisher:
From: Sep 1987
To: Unknown
Duration: Unknown
Issues: Unknown
The title of this recent discovery is self-explanatory, but I’ve not been able to find out anything about it other than that at least one issue was published.

40 years ago:

10 September – Suzy launched.
Publisher: DC Thomson
From: 10 Sep 1982
To: 13 Jun 1987
Duration: 4 years, 9 months
Issues: 249

18 September – Look Alive launched.
Publisher: IPC
From: 18 Sep 1982
To: 16 Oct 1982
Duration: 1 month
Issues: 5
See also: In Shallow Profile: Look Alive Magazine

29 September – The Incredible Hulk final issue.
Publisher: Marvel UK
From: 31 Mar 1982
To: 29 Sep 1982
Duration: 6 months
Issues: 27
Absorbed into Spider-Man Comics Weekly.

45 years ago:

24 September – Plug launched.
Publisher: DC Thomson
From: 24 Sep 1977
To: 24 Feb 1979
Duration: 1 year, 5 months
Issues: 75
A spin-off from The Bash Street Kids strip in The Beano, this was quite a silly comic — but not quite as much fun as its closest rival Cheeky Weekly, which was launched a month later.

28 September – The Complete Fantastic Four launched.
Publisher: Marvel UK
From: 28 Sep 1977
To: 07 Jun 1978
Duration: 9 months
Issues: 37

50 years ago:

30 September – Dracula (1972) launched.
Publisher: New English Library
From: 30 Sep 1972
To: 24 Feb 1973
Duration: 5 months
Issues: 12

55 years ago:

16 September – Princess (1960) final issue.
Publisher: Amalgamated Press/Fleetway
From: 30 Jan 1960
To: 16 Sep 1967
Duration: 7 years, 8 months
Issues: 346
Relaunched as Princess Tina. Pam and Peter was a modernised version of Tough Tod and Happy Annie from The Knock-Out Comic.

16 September – Solo final issue.
Publisher: City Magazines
From: 01 Feb 1967
To: 16 Sep 1967
Duration: 7 months
Issues: 31
Absorbed into TV Tornado.

16 September – Tina final issue.
Publisher: Fleetway
From: 25 Feb 1967
To: 16 Sep 1967
Duration: 7 months
Issues: 30
Relaunched as Princess Tina.

23 September – Princess Tina launched.
Publisher: IPC
From: 23 Sep 1967
To: 29 Dec 1973
Duration: 6 years, 3 months
Issues: 227
A relaunch/merger of Tina and Princess.

60 years ago:

September – Cowboy Comics final issue.
Publisher: Amalgamated Press/Fleetway
From: Apr 1950
To: Sep 1962
Duration: 12 years, 5 months
Issues: 468
Renamed Cowboy Picture Library from #205 (March 1957)

08 September – Film Fun final issue.
Publisher: Amalgamated Press
From: 17 Jan 1920
To: 08 Sep 1962
Duration: 42 years, 8 months
Issues: 2225
Absorbed into Buster.
Renamed Film Fun and Thrills from #2151 (08 Apr 1961)

22 September – Serenade launched.
Publisher: Fleetway
From: 22 Sep 1962
To: 09 Feb 1963
Duration: 5 months
Issues: 25

90 years ago:

24 September – Boys’ Pocket Library final issue.
Publisher: Aldine House
From: 30 Sep 1931
To: 24 Sep 1932
Duration: 1 year
Issues: 24

24 September – Secrets (1) launched.
Publisher:
From: 24 Sep 1932
To: 29 Oct 1932
Duration: 1 month
Issues: 6
This was apparently a short test-run for the very long-lived story-paper of the same name which followed in November 1932 and ran for almost sixty years.

95 years ago:

03 September – The Briton final issue.
Publisher: Peele
From: 04 Jun 1927
To: 03 Sep 1927
Duration: 3 months
Issues: 14

Source: Gifford

100 years ago:

23 September – The Monster Comic launched.
Publisher: Amalgamated Press
From: 23 Sep 1922
To: 25 Jan 1930
Duration: 7 years, 4 months
Issues: 383
Possibly only 303 issues, according to Denis Gifford’s timeline.

23 September – The Wizard (1922) launched.
Publisher: DC Thomson
From: 23 Sep 1922
To: 16 Nov 1963
Duration: 41 years, 2 months
Issues: 1970

30 September – Little Sparks final issue.
Publisher: Amalgamated Press
From: 24 Apr 1920
To: 30 Sep 1922
Duration: 2 years, 5 months
Issues: 128
Absorbed into Sunbeam (1922).
Relaunched as Sunbeam (1922)

130 years ago:

14 September – Chums launched.
Publisher: Cassell & Company/Amalgamated Press
From: 14 Sep 1892
To: 02 Jul 1932
Duration: 39 years, 10 months
Issues: 2101
Story-paper. Weekly until #2077 (1 Jul 1932, monthly thereafter). After it was absorbed into The Modern Boy (1928) it appeared as monthly compilations from 1932 to 1943, annual compilations thereafter.

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