To celebrate the Holiday Season, let’s take a look at
two pre-Christmas issues of PLAYHOUR that happens to one of my favorite UK
titles. In the end of September 1965 the magazine was given a facelift and got
a new front cover design with a large drawing of Sooty and Sweep all over the page. To make it more fun, a couple
of issues later it increased in size and became a tabloid-size magazine
like the early BUSTER. I am not sure how long it continued like this but here are
front and back covers of the pre-X-mas issue from 1965 with Sooty
and Sweep singing Christmas carols; artwork by Gordon Hutchings, I believe:
Unusually for December issues of PLAYHOUR that used to celebrate X-mas big time throughout the month, this one only had one
or two Christmassy stories inside. The next issue I am going to look at today is
very different in that respect. In PLAYHOUR AND TV TOYLAND cover-dated 21st December,
1968, ALL but one strip were in the X-mas mood! Leo the Friendly Lion was
the only one that was not and that’s because the scene was set in exotic jungle.
This didn’t prevent it from turning Christmassy in the next week’s issue which will
feature in the next blogpost. In the meantime, enjoy these pages from the 1968
pre-Xmas issue of this excellent title:
My parents never bought these kind of comics for me when I was a small boy - not that I can remember anyway. Although, when I was about 12 (and far too old for them)), I bought the first few issues of Little Star for myself (it must just have been the allure of a new comic). They do look great 'though, very well drawn. Anyway, I don't really have any nursery comics that I can immediately recall, but at least I DO have that Corgi Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.
ReplyDeletePlayhour was a very nicely drawn comic but IMHO the pages shown above aren't as good as the quality of art in the late 50s and the early to the mid-60s - my favourite period of the paper.
DeleteNice seeing the Panda Soo in the story at the end..
ReplyDeleteLoved seeing this...interesting nursery comics from the 50's and 60's...thanks Irmantas