Differently
from IPC, DC Thomson were never big on the horror comedy genre in their comics
but the first “new look” issue of Topper in 1980 came with a 4-page all-horror THE EERIE
EXTRA middle section. I don’t know how long it continued because it is just one
of the very few issues of the comic that I have.
Note
this is a landmark issue of Topper – the first one in A4 size.
All Images 2015 © DC Thomson,
Ltd. All rights reserved.
I suppose it made sense making The Topper and The Beezer the same size as The Dandy and The Beano, but they never quite seemed the same afterwards. Something was definitely lost in the transition.
ReplyDeleteI like Murray Ball's Ghastly Manor...was in the early Topper 70's has well..
ReplyDeleteThe Eerie Extra masthead and Splursh made their final appearances on 4/4/81; Fearful Fun-Tales and Ghastly Manor continued in their respective positions till at least the end of the year. Fans of John Geering only had to wait till 12/9 before they saw him again – in The Topper that is, what with Gums, Sporty, Bananaman etc. he was to be found in plenty of other places! Aside from the excruciatingly embarrassing title, Battywoman wasn’t among his crowning glories; if you ever get to read a copy you may very well agree with me. They couldn’t all be winners…
ReplyDelete10 years and one week after this issue The Topper ended, on 15/9/90. Even without checking I knew that that final issue was No. 1963 by simply basing my sums on 52 weekly issues × 10 years + two leap weeks (’83 and ’88) + the one. Of course, for a weekly publication that’s precisely the way the figures should work out; however compare that to the patchy runs many other comics had: gaps in Buster that same year, Cheeky Weekly losing the final 3 issues of 1978 – take your pick. Many have said DCt’s output paled in comparison to IPC’S but at least they weren’t plagued by strikes.
ReplyDeleteThat's because they didn't allow unions!
ReplyDelete