Hatch, Match & Dispatch – January 2024

I usually post the monthly HM&D on the last Monday of the month, but this one’s a little later than usual because Christmas Day got in the way.

Not much to report that I can think of at the moment, but that’s okay because I’m pretty sure no one reads these bits anyway, so let’s just get into it, shall we?

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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, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec
2023: Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec

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25 years ago:

01 January – Ragdoll and Friends final issue.
Publisher: Marvel UK
From: 23 Oct 1996
To: 01 Jan 1999
Duration: 2 years, 3 months
Issues: 30

30 years ago:

January – Batman Monthly (1993) final issue.
Publisher: London Editions
From: Mar 1993
To: Jan 1994
Duration: 10 months
Issues: 11
Relaunched as Batman & Superman.
Relaunch of Batman Monthly (1988)

January – Dark Guard final issue.
Publisher: Marvel UK
From: Oct 1993
To: Jan 1994
Duration: 3 months
Issues: 4
As mentioned last month, a lot of the Marvel UK (and Marvel Frontier Comics) comics of this era were designed to be limited series — it’s not that they were cancelled!

January – Death Metal vs. Genetix final issue.
Publisher: Marvel UK
From: Dec 1993
To: Jan 1994
Duration: 1 month
Issues: 2

January – Death Metal launched.
Publisher: Marvel UK
From: Jan 1994
To: Apr 1994
Duration: 3 months
Issues: 4

January – Death Wreck launched.
Publisher: Marvel UK
From: Jan 1994
To: Apr 1994
Duration: 3 months
Issues: 4

January – Eagle (1982) final issue.
Publisher: IPC/Fleetway
From: 27 Mar 1982
To: Jan 1994
Duration: 11 years, 10 months
Issues: 505
Having turned monthly in May 1991, Eagle finally turned in its feathers.

January – Gene Dogs final issue.
Publisher: Marvel UK
From: Oct 1993
To: Jan 1994
Duration: 3 months
Issues: 4

January – Mad final issue.
Publisher: Thorpe & Porter
From: Oct 1959
To: Jan 1994
Duration: 34 years, 3 months
Issues: 381
The final issue of the UK edition of Mad, although the US edition continues to be imported.

January – Red Dwarf Smegazine final issue.
Publisher: Fleetway
From: Mar 1992
To: Jan 1994
Duration: 1 year, 10 months
Issues: 23
Initially called Red Dwarf Magazine – title changed with #3

January – Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles Adventures final issue.
Publisher: IPC
From: 27 Jan 1990
To: Jan 1994
Duration: 4 years
Issues: 84
Fortnightly to #72, thereafter monthly.

January – The Adventures of Superman final issue.
Publisher: London Editions
From: 24 Apr 1993
To: Jan 1994
Duration: 9 months
Issues: 15
Relaunched as Batman & Superman.
Relaunch of Superman (1988). Fortnightly at first, then monthly.

January – Total Carnage final issue.
Publisher: Dark Horse International
From: Apr 1993
To: Jan 1994
Duration: 9 months
Issues: 10

35 years ago:

January – Sinister Tales final issue.
Publisher: Alan Class
From: Jan 1964
To: Jan 1989
Duration: 25 years
Issues: 227
Reprinted material from the US Marvel series Tales of Suspense, Marvel Tales, Mystery Tales, Strange Tales, Journey into Mystery, World of Fantasy, War Comics, Spy Thrillers, Battleground, Battle, Marines in Action, and others.

06 January – Patches final issue.
Publisher: DC Thomson
From: 10 Mar 1979
To: 06 Jan 1989
Duration: 9 years, 10 months
Issues: 515
Absorbed into Blue Jeans.
Update: Richard Sheaf of the excellent Boys Adventure Comics blog informs me that this was indeed the final issues of Patches (Richard cites Denis Gifford’s ACE Newsletter volume 7, issue #10).

21 January – Sindy Magazine final issue.
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!)

28 January – Gary Lineker’s Hot-Shot! final issue.
Publisher: Fleetway
From: 13 Aug 1988
To: 28 Jan 1989
Duration: 5 months
Issues: 25
Absorbed into Roy of the Rovers.

40 years ago:

11 January – The Mighty Thor final issue.
Publisher: Marvel UK
From: 20 Apr 1983
To: 11 Jan 1984
Duration: 9 months
Issues: 39
Absorbed into Spider-Man Comics Weekly.
Retitled The Mighty Thor and the X-Men from #20 when it absorbed The Original X-Men, Thor and the X-Men from #25. Lots more info on the Marvel UK 1900s Timeline!

28 January – Tops final issue.
Publisher: DC Thomson
From: 10 Oct 1981
To: 28 Jan 1984
Duration: 2 years, 3 months
Issues: 121
Absorbed into Suzy.
Retitled TV Tops from #28 (17 Apr 1982), then reverted to Tops from #90 (25 Jun 1983).

45 years ago:

20 January – The Crunch launched.
Publisher: DC Thomson
From: 20 Jan 1979
To: 26 Jan 1980
Duration: 1 year
Issues: 54

50 years ago:

12 January – It’s Here! And Now! final issue.
Publisher: IPC
From: 04 Apr 1973
To: 12 Jan 1974
Duration: 9 months
Issues: 40
Absorbed into Music Star.
Weekly music magazine. Really only included in this list because it’s part of the My Guy Timeline.

55 years ago:

18 January – Joe 90 Top Secret launched.
Publisher: City Magazines/Martspress
From: 18 Jan 1969
To: 06 Sep 1969
Duration: 8 months
Issues: 34

25 January – The Robin final issue.
Publisher: Hulton/Longacre/Odhams/IPC
From: 28 Mar 1953
To: 25 Jan 1969
Duration: 15 years, 10 months
Issues: 836
Absorbed into Playhour.

60 years ago:

January – Sinister Tales launched.
Publisher: Alan Class
From: Jan 1964
To: Jan 1989
Duration: 25 years
Issues: 227
See above.

11 January – Jackie launched.
Publisher: DC Thomson
From: 11 Jan 1964
To: 03 Jul 1993
Duration: 29 years, 6 months
Issues: 1534

18 January – Fabulous launched.
Publisher: IPC
From: 18 Jan 1964
To: 03 May 1980
Duration: 16 years, 4 months
Issues: 851
Weekly music magazine. Initially titled Fabulous; retitled Fabulous 208 on 04 Jun 1966, then retitled Fab 208 in 1969. Later relaunched as Fab Hits.

65 years ago:

24 January – Tiny Tots final issue.
Publisher: Amalgamated Press
From: 22 Oct 1927
To: 24 Jan 1959
Duration: 31 years, 3 months
Issues: 1334
Absorbed into Playhour.

24 January – Walt Disney’s Mickey Mouse final issue.
Publisher: Disney-Holding
From: 04 Jan 1958
To: 24 Jan 1959
Duration: 1 year
Issues: 56
Possibly relaunched/rebranded as Walt Disney’s Weekly… I’ve not yet been able to confirm that!

26 January – Walt Disney’s Weekly launched.
Publisher: Disney-Holding
From: 26 Jan 1959
To: 24 Apr 1961
Duration: 2 years, 3 months
Issues: 111
Possibly continued from Walt Disney’s Mickey Mouse (see above).

70 years ago:

January – True Life Library launched.
Publisher: Amalgamated Press/Fleetway
From: Jan 1954
To: 30 Jan 1960
Duration: 6 years
Issues: 790
Dates are probably inaccurate: some sources cite the title starting in 1955, some in 1954. Most seem to agree that it ended in 1967 or 1968. At least 790 issues were published.

27 January – Captain Marvel Adventures (1953) final issue.
Publisher: L. Miller and Son, Ltd.
From: 19 Aug 1953
To: 27 Jan 1954
Duration: 5 months
Issues: 24
In the lead-up to the character’s transformation into Marvelman with issue #25, issue #23 is titled The Captain Marvel Man, #24 is titled The Marvelman Captain Marvel.

27 January – Captain Marvel Jr. (1953) final issue.
Publisher: L. Miller and Son, Ltd.
From: 19 Aug 1953
To: 27 Jan 1954
Duration: 5 months
Issues: 24
Issues #23 and #24 are subtitled The Young Marvelman in advance of the series being relaunched as Young Marvelman with #25.

90 years ago:

02 January – My Pocket Library final issue.
Publisher: Hornsey Journal
From: 1932
To: 02 Jan 1934
Duration: 1 year, 7 months
Issues: 456

13 January – Jingles launched.
Publisher: Amalgamated Press
From: 13 Jan 1934
To: 29 May 1954
Duration: 20 years, 4 months
Issues: 741

20 January – Boys’ Magazine final issue.
Publisher: Hulton/Allied Newspapers
From: 27 Feb 1922
To: 20 Jan 1934
Duration: 11 years, 11 months
Issues: 620
Absorbed into The Champion (1922).
Weekly. Not to be confused with The Boys’ Magazine (published by The Scripture Union Ltd.) or the U.S. publication The Boys’ Magazine published by Scott F. Redfield Co. from 1910 to c. 1925.

20 January – Poppy’s Paper (1924) final issue.
Publisher: Amalgamated Press
From: 02 Feb 1924
To: 20 Jan 1934
Duration: 9 years, 11 months
Issues: 520
Relaunched as Poppy’s Paper (1934).

22 January – Girls’ Mirror final issue.
Publisher: Shurey’s Publications
From: 09 Dec 1915
To: 22 Jan 1934
Duration: 18 years, 1 month
Issues: 948
Relaunched as Romance (1934).
Source: Philsp

27 January – Poppy’s Paper (1934) launched.
Publisher: Amalgamated Press
From: 27 Jan 1934
To: 19 Sep 1936
Duration: 2 years, 8 months
Issues: 139
Relaunch of Poppy’s Paper (1924) — see above.

95 years ago:

26 January – The Boys’ Realm of Sport and Adventure final issue.
Publisher: Amalgamated Press
From: 23 Jul 1927
To: 26 Jan 1929
Duration: 1 year, 6 months
Issues: 80
Relaunched as The Boys’ Realm of Fun and Fiction.

105 years ago:

25 January – The Penny Popular (1919) launched.
Publisher: Amalgamated Press
From: 25 Jan 1919
To: 31 Jan 1931
Duration: 12 years
Issues: 628
A revival – after a gap of almost a year – of The Penny Popular (1912), the name was changed to The Popular on 28 Aug 1920.

110 years ago:

10 January – Chuckles launched.
Publisher: Amalgamated Press
From: 10 Jan 1914
To: 01 Dec 1923
Duration: 9 years, 11 months
Issues: 517
As we saw last month, Chuckles was later relaunched as Jungle Jinks.

17 January – The Big Comic launched.
Publisher: Henderson/Amalgamated Press
From: 17 Jan 1914
To: 19 Apr 1919
Duration: 5 years, 3 months
Issues: 275
Absorbed Sparks (1914) on 5 Jan 1918 and retitled The Big Comic and Sparks. Renamed Sparks and Big Comic on 5 Oct 1918. Relaunched as Sparks on 26 Apr 1919.

120 years ago:

23 January – The Halfpenny Marvel final issue.
Publisher: Amalgamated Press
From: 11 Nov 1893
To: 23 Jan 1904
Duration: 10 years, 2 months
Issues: 533
Relaunched as The Marvel.
Actually called The Halfpenny Marvel Library for the first year. Retitled The Marvel from #228 (19 Mar 1898). Later relaunched under the same name.

30 January – The Marvel launched.
Publisher: Amalgamated Press
From: 30 Jan 1904
To: 22 Apr 1922
Duration: 18 years, 3 months
Issues: 952
Relaunch of The Halfpenny Marvel (see above). Later relaunched as Sport and Adventure.

145 years ago:

19 January – The Boy’s Own Paper launched.
Publisher: Religious Tract Society/Lutterworth Press/Purnell & Sons Ltd/BPC Publishing Ltd
From: 19 Jan 1879
To: 01 Sep 1966
Duration: 87 years, 8 months
Issues: 2511
Story-paper. Weekly to Sep 1913, monthly thereafter.

155 years ago:

01 January – Young Gentleman’s Magazine launched.
Publisher: Routledge & Warne
From: 01 Jan 1869
To: 01 Dec 1873
Duration: 4 years, 11 months
Issues: 60
A relaunch of Routledge’s Magazine for Boys (Jan 1865 to Dec 1873, 48 issues), itself a relaunch of Every Boy’s Magazine (Feb 1862 to Dec 1864, 35 issues). Later relaunched again as original title, Every Boy’s Magazine (Jan 1874 to Sep 1888, 176 issues).