Pellephant and His Friends Annual [1974]

[1973] Annual. Original price 70p.
80 pages. Colour and tone art.
Brown Watson Ltd.

Cover by UNKNOWN (uncredited).

Contents:

 2 Pellephant and His Friends Annual title page; illustration by UNKNOWN (uncredited).

 4 Fly, Flax and the Balloon Take a Trip to the Moon text story by UNKNOWN (uncredited); illustrated by GIL [Eigil Johansen] (uncredited).

 6 It's Puzzling! puzzle pages; illustrated by UNKNOWN (uncredited).

 8 Susie Susie the Pilot w: UNKNOWN (uncredited); a: Mainow [Jaime Mainou] (uncredited).

15 Fly, Flax and the Balloon In Mexico text story by UNKNOWN (uncredited); illustrated by GIL [Eigil Johansen] (uncredited).

17 Pellephant Pellephant the Ski Champion w: UNKNOWN (uncredited); a: Georges Bess (? uncredited).

25 Susie Susie and the Treasure w: UNKNOWN (uncredited); a: Mainow [Jaime Mainou] (uncredited).

32 Pellephant Pellephant the Musician w: UNKNOWN (uncredited); a: Georges Bess (? uncredited).

44 Susie Susie and the Dragon w: UNKNOWN (uncredited); a: Mainow [Jaime Mainou] (uncredited).

51 Pellephant and the Toy-Shop Gang w: UNKNOWN (uncredited); a: Georges Bess (? uncredited).

59 Pellephant The Snowstorm w: UNKNOWN (uncredited); a: Georges Bess (? uncredited).

67 Fly, Flax and the Balloon And the Flying Mice text story by UNKNOWN (uncredited); illustrated by GIL [Eigil Johansen] (uncredited).

69 Coco the Clown text story by UNKNOWN (uncredited); illustrated by UNKNOWN (uncredited).

72 Puzzles from Pellephant illustrated by UNKNOWN (uncredited).

74 Sammy Salt and the Paper Boat text story by UNKNOWN (uncredited); illustrated by UNKNOWN (uncredited).

76 Fly, Flax and the Balloon And the Tight-Rope Walker text story by UNKNOWN (uncredited); illustrated by GIL [Eigil Johansen] (uncredited).

78 Out With Teacher! picture puzzle; illustrated by UNKNOWN (uncredited).

Note: All the material is (presumably) reprinted from European comics, though specific titles and issues are unknown.

"We need a dramatic cover to attract readers."
"How about Pellephant swinging from a rope?"
"Yeah, but... It needs something extra."
"How about if the rope is attached to a helicopter?"
"Sure. But need something to make the cover really exciting."
"How about having the helicopter fly over water?"
"That's perfect."
"Should we include the Liquorice Goblin, on fire, in the background?"

There is, you should note, not a single "Don't attempt this at home" message in the entire book. I would be the least surprised at learning there is, somewhere in the original comics, a feature on the best table-forks with which to bother electrical outlets. While the stories never actually cross such transgressive lines, they skirt the very edge of what is considered appropriate in a manner which can only be read as deliberate.

King Egbert had won a football pool, so he hired an aeroplane and too the queen, Susie and the dwarfs on a trip...

Firstly, how poorly is the royal purse if the king cannot otherwise afford such a trip? Secondly, how many children of the appropriate age are going to know about football pools? And thirdly, dwarfs? So... We're okay with that, are we?

Turbulence upsets the passengers, and Susie goes to tell the pilot off for the bumpy flight, though faced with criticism the pilot bails out, a parachute strapped to his back. With no pilot, the plane begins to spin out of control until Susie takes the controls. Matters seem well in hand until the plane runs out of fuel, at which point she cajoles a flock of birds to keep the plane in the air. Once safely back on the ground, the king decides to celebrate with lemonade and cakes.

There are a lot of things in Susie which work brilliantly, yet an ever-present sense of things being slightly of-kilter keeps it from being a strip which I would feel comfortable with small children reading on their own. Mainow's art is very lively and loose, with beautiful panels displaying a great sense of style, which takes some of the darkness off the story, but there are so many issues in the narrative which feel purposefully aimed at an older audience.

"Where are we going?" Flax wondered, while he crunched a lump of sugar with his beak.
   "If the Balloon wants to, I thought we might visit the Mexicans," the Professor replied, testing the air with a wet finger. "The wind is blowing in that direction anyway, but we might pass it by, as we can't see anything because of all the clouds."
   "Mexicans? What's that" Flax asked, and sat down on the basket edge. "Can you eat it? Does it taste as nice as sugar?"
   The professor looked at him very learnedly.
   "Mexicans are what we call the people who live in Mexico. You'll recognise them by the large straw hats that they all wear. The sun is very hot there, and as you know, everyone likes to have some shade when it gets too warm. We look for shady places when the sun gets very hot, but the Mexicans carry their shades along with them, just by putting their hats on."

Fly, Flax and the Balloon, doing their bit for international relations, set off for Mexico. Because they land on a cactus, the balloon is injured, and they have to swap some of Flax's sugar for a boy's shirt to mend the tear. As much as I want to go along with the sensibilities of the strip, enjoying it for what it is, I can't help but feel that it would work much better had it included actual facts about the countries the balloon travels to, rather than lazy stereotypes.

Pellephant decides that he is going to enter a skiing competition, the prize for the winner being a hundred bottles of ginger pop. Despite not being able to ski, Pellephant thinks he has a good chance of winning, though on the big day the Liquorice Goblin decides to sprinkle sand behind him as he descends on his run. Pellephant, following behind, soon comes a cropper, and begins rolling down the hill in an ever-growing snowball.

A fairly run-of-the-mill story - by Pellephant standards - sees Pellephant coming through in the end regardless of a lack of talent. There's likely a message in there somewhere, though I dread to think what it is.

The King of Gnomeland had decided he wanted to appoint a treasurer, so he asked Susie if she could help him decide...

If the king has been relying relying on winning money to take his friends out on plane jaunts, then a treasurer is long overdue. Susie decides that each of the candidates should take over the job for a day, the one who increases the treasury taking the appointment.

Ignoring the antics which follow, the idea of increasing the value of the royal treasure in a single day would seem preposterous even to younger children, who ought to be quite aware of the difficulty of such a preposition.

Even the puzzles in this annual require a particular sensibility to properly appreciate:

A dolphin is:
(1) a vegetable   (2) a butterfly   (3) a mammal   (4) a shell-fish   (5) a pair of scales   (6) a lady's hand-bag

While it isn't a perfectly balanced collection of material, with far too much of the page-count taken up with non-Pellephant material. I don't mind the Susie stories, as they have a really weird sensibility which fits alongside the main feature, but the rest of the contents are middling at best, and Fly, Flax and the Balloon is simply infuriating.

[1973]

Pellephant Annual

1975

The Great Grape Ape and Hong Kong Phooey Annual 1978

[1977] Annual. Original price £1.25.
64 pages. Color & tone art.
Brown Watson

Cover by UNKNOWN (uncredited).

Contents:

 4 The Great Grape Ape Frisbee Fun w: UNKNOWN (uncredited); a: UNKNOWN (uncredited).

r: The Great Grape Ape (Charlton) #02 (Nov 1976).

10 Hong Kong Phooey The Giggler w: UNKNOWN (uncredited); a: UNKNOWN (uncredited).

r: Hong Kong Phooey (Charlton) #01 (May 1975).

15 The Great Grape Ape Submarine Sandwich text story by UNKNOWN (uncredited).

r: The Great Grape Ape (Charlton) #02 (Nov 1976).

17 Hong Kong Phooey The Man of 1,000,000 Faces w: UNKNOWN (uncredited); a: UNKNOWN (uncredited).

r: Hong Kong Phooey (Charlton) #02 (Aug 1975).

28 The Great Grape Ape Escape w: UNKNOWN (uncredited); a: UNKNOWN (uncredited).

r: The Great Grape Ape (Charlton) #01 (Sep 1976).

36 First to the City of Gold! board game (snakes & ladders).

38 Hong Kong Phooey Purse Snatchers, Beware! w: UNKNOWN (uncredited); a: UNKNOWN (uncredited).

r: Hong Kong Phooey (Charlton) #01 (May 1975).

41 Hong Kong Phooey "Knock Three Times" w: UNKNOWN (uncredited); a: UNKNOWN (uncredited).

r: Hong Kong Phooey (Charlton) #01 (May 1975).

43 The Great Grape Ape Center of Attention text story by UNKNOWN (uncredited).

r: The Great Grape Ape (Charlton) #01 (Sep 1976).

45 The Great Grape Ape The Great Grape Ape Sees a Ghost w: UNKNOWN (uncredited); a: UNKNOWN (uncredited).

r: The Great Grape Ape (Charlton) #01 (Sep 1976).

49 Hong Kong Phooey Bull's Eye! w: UNKNOWN (uncredited); a: UNKNOWN (uncredited).

r: Hong Kong Phooey (Charlton) #01 (May 1975).

50 The Great Grape Ape The Great Grape Ape Vs. The Snap Dragon w: UNKNOWN (uncredited); a: UNKNOWN (uncredited).

r: The Great Grape Ape (Charlton) #02 (Sep 1976).

58 Grape Ape's Gag Bag jokes.

59 Hong Kong Phooey Rescued! w: UNKNOWN (uncredited); a: UNKNOWN (uncredited).

r: Hong Kong Phooey (Charlton) #01 (May 1975).

60 Hong Kong Phooey Cat Burglar w: UNKNOWN (uncredited); a: UNKNOWN (uncredited).

r: Hong Kong Phooey (Charlton) #01 (May 1975).

The Lone Ranger Annual 1976

[1975] Annual. Original price NA.
54 pages. Full colour contents.
Brown Watson.

Painted cover (uncredited).

Contents:

 2 Photo from television series.

 3 Photo from television series.

 5 The Story of the Lone Ranger w: Paul S. Newman (uncredited). a: Tom Gill (uncredited).

r: The Lone Ranger (Dell) #118 (Apr 1958).

21 The Story of Tonto w: Paul S. Newman (uncredited). a: Tom Gill (uncredited).

r: The Lone Ranger (Dell) #118 (Apr 1958).

23 The Fanned Six-Gun w: (uncredited). a: Tom Gill (uncredited).

r: The Lone Ranger (Dell) #120 (Jun 1958).

27 Ranger Jim's Ordeal w: Paul S. Newman (uncredited). a: Tom Gill (uncredited).

r: The Lone Ranger (Dell) #119 (May 1958).

37 Garland's Grudge w: Paul S. Newman (uncredited). a: Tom Gill (uncredited).

r: The Lone Ranger (Dell) #51 (Sep 1952).

45 The Law Lady w: (uncredited). a: Tom Gill (uncredited).

r: The Lone Ranger (Dell) #52 (Oct 1952).

This is a massive step down in both quality and quantity from the World annuals, with an indifferent (and inappropriate) font used on the front cover, flimsy paper, a meager page count, and a complete lack of newly originated material. It shows the complete absence of care which the character deserves, and is symptomatic of the increasing reliance on name recognition to sell product rather than contents.

I can't even point to the inclusion of tie-in photos as a plus, as they have no context placed on them through text features - so absent is any reference to what those photos represent that it was difficult to work out which series they have been taken from. I'm guessing it is the relaunched television series, but there is nothing to indicate that.

The strips which are reproduced within the annual are, for the better part, adequate representations of the character, though they seem rather insubstantial given that this is, after all, an annual - this is where longer stories should be given room to breathe. The age of the strips are surprising, especially given that there were titles available at the time of publication from which to draw material.

All in all, this has to be one of the biggest disappointments I have come across.

Van Der Valk Annual 1979

[1978] Annual. Original price £1.50.
64 pages. Colour & B&W contents.
Brown Watson

Based on the television series starring Barry Foster.

Photo cover.

Contents:

 2 Photo endpaper.

 4 International Incident w: UNKNOWN (uncredited); a: UNKNOWN (uncredited).

10 Amsterdam text feature by Peter Newark; photographs courtesy of the Netherlands National Tourist Office.

14 Van Der Valk - The Man Behind the Law text feature by UNKNOWN (uncredited).

17 Murder Without Motive? text story by UNKNOWN (uncredited); illustrated by UNKNOWN (uncredited).

22 Inside the Man: Inside Van Der Valk Barry Foster interview.

26 Canal Chase board game.

28 Van Der Valk Profile Nigel Stock - Alia Hof'd Commissaire Samson text feature by UNKNOWN (uncredited).

30 Barry Foster full-color photo pin-up.

31 The Amsterdam Connection text feature by UNKNOWN (uncredited).

35 Barry Foster full-color photo pin-up.

36 Van Der Valk Profile Joanna Dunham is Arlette Van Der Valk text feature by UNKNOWN (uncredited).

38 Beware of the Fortune-Teller text story by UNKNOWN (uncredited); illustrated by UNKNOWN (uncredited).

43 The Squealer w: UNKNOWN (uncredited); a: UNKNOWN (uncredited).

49 The Master Forger text feature by Peter Newark.

52 Barry Foster & Joanna Dunham photo pin-up.

53 Terror Coach text story by UNKNOWN (uncredited); illustrated by UNKNOWN (uncredited).

58 Barry Foster photo pin-up.

59 Diamond City text feature by Peter Newark.

63 Nigel Stock photo pin-up.

Tarzan Annual [1975]

[1974] Annual. Original price 95p.
80 pages. Full colour and tone contents.
Brown Watson Ltd.

Painted cover by UNKNOWN (uncredited).

Contents:

 3 Tarzan Annual title page; [Tarzan and the jungle animals] illustrated by UNKNOWN (uncredited).

 4 The Waters of the Underworld text story by UNKNOWN (uncredited); illustrated by UNKNOWN (uncredited).

10 African Animals Quiz illustrated by UNKNOWN (uncredited).

12 The Iron Warriors text story by UNKNOWN (uncredited); illustrated by UNKNOWN (uncredited).

17 City of Gold w: UNKNOWN (uncredited); a: John Celardo.

r: newspaper strip.

65 Africa fact feature by UNKNOWN (uncredited); illustrated by UNKNOWN (uncredited).

66 The Fires of Kimjaro text story by UNKNOWN (uncredited); illustrated by UNKNOWN (uncredited).

72 Did You Know? fact feature by UNKNOWN (uncredited); illustrated by UNKNOWN (uncredited).

74 The Serpent's Sting text story by UNKNOWN (uncredited); illustrated by UNKNOWN (uncredited).

A far more accomplished cover painting adorns the cover of this edition, though maintaining a link with what has gone before, by utilising another green background, creates a sense of continuity in the series. Even the most devoted of fans are likely to view the hero's celebratory pose - upon killing a gorilla - to be in slightly poor taste, and so the trend for tone-deaf packaging continues. One could suppose, as mere idle speculation, that someone at Brown Watson didn't care for the character, and were deliberately sabotaging the odds of this series success...

Reprinting (the complete?) City of Gold strip from the newspaper run is a step towards the kind of prestige presentation which the character deserves, but the accompanying text stories are predictable, dull, and essentially irrelevant. While there are certainly attractive pieces of art throughout the title, they do not add up to a cohesive or entirely entertaining whole.

It does, however, carry a feature on non-fiction feature on Africa, which is a little nudge towards the kind of treatment I would expect to see.

1974

Tarzan Annual

1976

Tarzan Annual [1974]

[1973] Annual. Original price 70p.
58 pages. Full colour and tone contents.
Brown Watson Ltd.

Painted cover by UNKNOWN (uncredited).

Contents:

 2 UNTITLED [Tarzan Riding Elephant] illustrated by UNKNOWN (uncredited).

 3 Tarzan Annual title page; illustrated by UNKNOWN (uncredited). / Indicia

 4 Tarzan and the Beast of Kemodo text story by UNKNOWN (uncredited); illustrated by UNKNOWN (uncredited).

 9 Jungle Puzzles illustrated by UNKNOWN (uncredited)

10 It's Odd - But True! illustrated feature by UNKNOWN (uncredited).

12 Rogue Ape text story by UNKNOWN (uncredited); illustrated by UNKNOWN (uncredited).

17 Tarzan of the Apes Tarzan and the Demon Elephant w: Gaylord Du Bois (uncredited); p: Paul Norris (uncredited); i: Mike Royer (uncredited).

r: Tarzan (Gold Key) #197 (Dec 1970).

38 The Guardians of the Caves w: Gaylord Du Bois (uncredited). a: Russ Manning (uncredited).

r: Tarzan's Jungle Annual (Dell) #04 (Aug 1955).

30 Tarzan and the Cannibals w: UNKNOWN (uncredited). a: UNKNOWN (uncredited).

r: Tarzan newspaper strip (King Features Syndicate).

45 Tarzan and the Crocodile Men text story by UNKNOWN (uncredited); illustrated by UNKNOWN (uncredited).

50 Safari Quiz illustrated by UNKNOWN (uncredited).

52 The Man-Tamer text story by UNKNOWN (uncredited); illustrated by UNKNOWN (uncredited).

A step-down in appearance, with a cover which is slightly rough and ready when compared to the previous edition. Depicting Tarzan swinging through a burning jungle, there really should be more urgency presented, although artistic choices in composition - and Tarzan's body language - seem to nullify whatever inherent drama the situation might hold. The expression on Cheetah's face doesn't help any.

Interior illustrations are similarly spoiled by inexplicable choices. If they were presented in black and white there would be no issue with their inclusion, though choosing green spot-colour is an awful decision - while it might seem logical to use green to indicate that the characters are in a jungle, the background is left monochrome while Tarzan is coloured green.

A green elephant is not, however well-drawn, going to convince me that there is any care taken with the annual. Is it gangrenous? Is it an alien elephant? Is it so lazy that moss has begun growing on it? The answers are not to be found in this publication.

For many hours the great storm had raged. Before sunset the dark clouds had filled the air with a lurid, gloomy light. The dense African jungle, its shadowy depths green even when the sun shone brightly, was a place of darkness and menace.

Now thunder rolled and crashed over the jungle and the hills, and flash after flash of lightning split the skies, lanced to the ground and sent great trees toppling and thudding to the ground, with sulphurous smoke wisping from their ripped bark.

The writing in the stories isn't up to the standards of the novels, nor have a solid grasp on the world of Tarzan - The Beast of Kemodo, with Kemodo being a mountain, features a creature which is larger than an elephant. Vast, with a spiny back, a head with large, whitish eyes, and horny outcrops which weave to and fro... Yes it is a dragon. Named the "fire dragon of Kemodo" it may be, but no amount of rationalisation can justify its appearance in the jungle. In Pellucidar, sure, but in a location which is so distant from the hunting grounds of such beasts?

The illustrations accompanying Rogue Ape bring to mind Mytek the Mighty, which further removes any sense of realism. It isn't the fault of the story, nor the artist, but the lingering doubts as to the seriousness of the title's intentions cannot be easily dismissed.

There are also problems with the strips, especially noticeable in The Demon Elephant, with loose and cartoonish artwork, often neglecting to provide backgrounds to scenes. Such a slapdash approach to the character doesn't provide the best means with which to tell a dramatic story (in which Jane is kidnapped), and whatever tension is washed away with a clumsily-handled and truncated battle.

The Guardians of the Caves is presented slightly better, though The Cannibals is less attractive. By not picking out outstanding strips to represent the character's best appearances, no sense of importance is imparted to readers. It is difficult to see how this would appeal to an audience which had been exposed to far better representations in other titles, especially as no effort seems to have been made to adhere to consistency.

1973

Tarzan Annual

1975

Tarzan Annual No.1

[1973] Annual. Original price 65p.
80 pages. Colour, tone & B&W.
Brown Watson Ltd.

Cover painting by George Wilson.
r: Tarzan (Gold Key) #144 (Aug 1964).

Contents:

 2 Dennis Miller photo (uncredited).

 3 Title Page illustrated by UNKNOWN (uncredited). / Indicia.

 4 Tarzan and the Golden God of Makulu prose story (uncredited); illustrated by UNKNOWN (uncredited).

 8 Major Disaster Untitled w: (uncredited). a: (uncredited).

10 Safari Quiz illustrated by UNKNOWN (uncredited).

12 Tarzan and the Witch-Doctor prose story (uncredited); illustrated by UNKNOWN (uncredited).

17 Lost in Pellucidar w: Gaylord Du Bois, based on the Edgar Rice Burroughs novel. a: Doug Wildey.

r: Tarzan (Gold Key) #180 (Oct 1968).

38 Turchuk the Mighty w: Gaylord Du Bois. a: Alberto Giolitti.

r: Tarzan (Gold Key) #171 (Sep 1967).

59 The Jungle Pit w: (uncredited). a: (uncredited).

r: UNKNOWN.

67 Tarzan and the Zoo Trappers prose story (uncredited).

74 Jungle Round-Up illustrated feature (uncredited).

Note: Full title given on the cover is Edgar Rice Burrough's Tarzan Annual No.1.

As nice as this is, it doesn't quite live up to the amazing painted cover. The recognition of actors other than Johnny Weissmuller is refreshing, and as we are presented with a photograph - albeit monochrome - of Dennis Miller, hopes that a feature on the lesser actors to have approached the role were understandably raised. Only to be dashed. The continued dismissal of Tarzan history, when publications featuring the character are read in volume, is a sore point that hasn't been rectified.

I want to know how, and why actors were given the roles, the unique challenges each film presented, and if questions were ever raised regarding the oft-leveled accusations of racism. Nowhere in the annuals do we get the sense that more than a moment's though is allocated to Tarzan as a cultural icon (for good or bad), flinging the reader into as many rip-roaring adventures as possible so that uncomfortable thoughts are pushed aside. This exists outside of the separate from the magazines, comics, films, and other appearances, only ever casting the briefest of glances at other representations.

The books, as you might gather, are ignored almost entirely.

Restarting the numbering is a bold move, signifying a change in direction. This is a fresh start, though without the freshness which is promised - it is a slightly cheeky declaration that all which has gone before is, somehow, not as important. It is possible to argue that younger readers might not have been aware of the prior annuals, though it smacks of a haughty attitude to the previous annuals. History, once more, being consigned to irrelevancy.

I'm not sure if Major Disaster is an appropriate strip for a Tarzan annual, containing so slim a skeleton on which to hang a few gags, but at only two pages it isn't too intrusive. It isn't, unfortunately, very funny, which would have gone a long way to making the inclusion make sense. A Safari Quiz suffers greatly from being overwhelmingly pink - possibly from having ran out of green ink - though the illustrations are nice enough.

The illustrations for Tarzan and the Witch Doctor, the second text story in the annual, features illustrations which appear to depict an older Tarzan, which don't quite work as well as they ought to. A certain vitality and aggression in his posing would have helped sell the notion better. It is a very brief story, thankfully, as it doesn't deliver enough of the central elements which makes the character appealing.

Lost in Pellucidar should be amazing. Travelling to the Earth's core (okay, not literally, but to Pellucidar regardless) is an opportunity for some amazing visuals, opening storytelling possibilities which would be limited by his regular hunting grounds. It is, therefore, something of a let-down to have so much back-and-forth on whether Tarzan should be killed, no matter how serious the dialogue. It is fortunate that the monotony is broken by the appearance of a stegosaurus. Yes, you read that right.

There are more dinosaurs to follow, and the turgid pacing which opens the story is replaced by a frenetic sequence which ends with the dramatic moment of... Well, Tarzan saying that he's going home. Really? This is the absolute best strip with which to represent the character? Turchuk the Mighty is little better, with the noble savage looking downright goofy in a parachute. Great toy opportunity there, but for storytelling it falls far short of expectations.

Closing with the rather attractive, though awfully-coloured, Animal Round-Up, the primary feeling this annual presents is one of exhaustion with the character. The short page count doesn't allow for more than a handful of features for a character whose rich history should allow for a wealth of material, and when one feature is a non-fiction wildlife one, there is little that could have been done to save this from utter mediocrity.

I like Tarzan. If you are reading this thinking otherwise, the fault lies entirely with the title. I want to be wowed, but there isn't anything here with a sense of amazement, wonder, or exuberance. I want to know what the jungle smells like, to have the heat represented, to hear what sounds are present, but the narratives are so stilted as to prevent immersion into Tarzan's world.

Aside from the photograph which opens the annual there is no further exploitation of the film incarnations of Tarzan - it is somewhat frustrating to know that there is so much more to the character than we are given, and enough people were alive at the time of publication to make interviews with those involved a very interesting proposition. What we get is less original, solid and competent enough package for those interested in Tarzan or British annuals of the seventies.

A complete let-down for those looking for classic tales though.

[1972]

Tarzan Annual

[1974]

Hanna-Barbera's Big Show No.1

1972. Original price 65p.
80 pages. Colour & tone.
Brown Watson Ltd.

Featuring Boss Cat & Quick Draw McGraw

Cover by UNKNOWN (uncredited).

Contents:

 2 This Book Belongs To; illustrated by UNKNOWN (uncredited).

 3 Hanna-Barbera's Big Show Number One title page; illustrated by UNKNOWN (uncredited).

 4 Quick Draw McGraw The Taming of 'Shorty' Warty text story (uncredited); illustrated by UNKNOWN (uncredited).

 9 Odd But True! UNTITLED [A lake in East Africa / The Archer Fish / The 'Swamp Rabbit' / African Jacana] (half page) feature by UNKNOWN (uncredited); illustrated by UNKNOWN (uncredited).

10 Boss Cat Dogs of War text story (uncredited); illustrated by UNKNOWN (uncredited).

16 Giggles pocket cartoons; a: UNKNOWN (uncredited).

17 Quick Draw McGraw The Boothill Brigade w: Joe Gill; a: George Wildman.

r: Quick Draw McGraw (Charlton) #01 (Nov 1970).

22 Boss Cat The Hopeless Case w: UNKNOWN (uncredited); a: UNKNOWN (uncredited).

r: Top Cat (Charlton) #01 (Nov 1970).

26 Quick Draw McGraw Three Times as Bad! w: Joe Gill; a: George Wildman.

r: Quick Draw McGraw (Charlton) #01 (Nov 1970).

30 Boss Cat Brain Drain w: UNKNOWN (uncredited); a: UNKNOWN (uncredited).

r: Quick Draw McGraw (Charlton) #01 (Nov 1970).

34 Quick Draw McGraw I'll Drink tuh That! w: Joe Gill; a: George Wildman.

r: Quick Draw McGraw (Charlton) #01 (Nov 1970).

38 Boss Cat A Friend in Need w: UNKNOWN (uncredited); a: UNKNOWN (uncredited).

r: Top Cat (Charlton) #01 (Nov 1970).

42 Quick Draw McGraw After You, Ma'am w: UNKNOWN (uncredited); a: UNKNOWN (uncredited).

r: Quick Draw McGraw (Charlton) #01 (Nov 1970).

46 Boss Cat Dibble's Double Duty w: UNKNOWN (uncredited); a: UNKNOWN (uncredited).

r: Top Cat (Charlton) #01 (Nov 1970).

54 Quick Draw McGraw 6 Guns Sam w: Joe Gill; a: George Wildman.

r: Quick Draw McGraw (Charlton) #01 (Nov 1970).

59 Boss Cat Nothin' But the Best w: UNKNOWN (uncredited); a: UNKNOWN (uncredited).

r: Top Cat (Charlton) #01 (Nov 1970).

62 Quick Draw McGraw The Build-Up w: Joe Gill; a: George Wildman.

r: Quick Draw McGraw (Charlton) #01 (Nov 1970).

64 Quick Draw McGraw pin-up; w: Joe Gill; a: George Wildman.

65 Boss Cat All at Sea text story (uncredited); illustrated by UNKNOWN (uncredited).

71 More Giggles pocket cartoons; a: UNKNOWN (uncredited).

72 Draw and Colour connect-the-dots; a: UNKNOWN (uncredited).

73 Quick-Draw McGraw The Jail-Breakers text story (uncredited); illustrated by UNKNOWN (uncredited).

79 It's a Fact... fact-feature [Frigate bird / Hurricane / American Warship Wateree / Cobwebs / Kilauea]; a: UNKNOWN (uncredited).

Reprinting a couple of Charlton's Hanna-Barbera comics in hardback makes more sense than you might, at first, imagine. On better paper, the art is given a chance to really shine.

Heavily-accented western dialogue get very old, very quickly, when done to a great degree, and The Taming of 'Shorty' Warty suffers from relying too much on its replication of Quick Draw's vocabulary is irritating rather than endearing. A half-page fact-feature following this is, bizarrely, almost impossible to read - black text sitting on dark blue tinting making the legibility extremely difficult, though it is a nicely illustrated piece.

Officer Grabb, Dibble's deputy - with police dog in tow - arrives to give Boss Cat's trouble in Dogs of War. Deciding to set Bulldog Drumbo, his worst enemy, on Officer Grabb, Boss Cat sets out to put things right again. As if a new character would be allowed to upset the status quo... While the story is slightly too clean and easy for Boss Cat, there's much to enjoy in seeing his sense of order in the universe being so upset.

Quick Draw faces off against a bunch of ghosts in The Boothill Brigade, though it is far too soft and comedic a tale to elicit any sense of threat to the lawman. Had he been up against some of the spooks from Scooby Doo there might have been a decent story to be made from the idea, but the walking marshmallows are hardly likely to frighten even the youngest of reader.

Dibble has been drafted to the detail watching the Hopeless Diamond at the Metropolitan Museum, and when it goes missing Boss Cat finds himself wanted by the authorities. A nice tale, with a clever ending which actually makes sense - while it is too short to really explore the theft of a priceless diamond, or the media storm which would ensue, it does what it sets out to do well.

Quick Draw McGraw plays host to Snooper, who has tracked a criminal straight to McGraw's town. Or rather, a trio of identical criminals. Refusing to believe that there is a criminal element loose in his city, his mood soon changes when he realises that his badge has been stolen. Capturing one of the trio, he soon draws the others out of hiding to rescue their brother.

I do like stories of identical twins and triplets. So many classic gags ready to be set up.

Unfortunately there is little done with the set-up, and Snooper manages to scare the trio into surrendering immediately, rendering the whole opening sequence rather redundant. Had more classic fake-outs been employed in the middle-section of the story, this could have been a truly great strip rather than merely a fine one. Disappointing.

Brain Drain sees Brain crowned 'King of the Classroom' in a television quiz, and is awarded ten years' supply of beauty cosmetics. He's soon kidnapped, and Boss Cat must set out to rescue him. When they locate where Brain has been taken, he discovers a robot which speaks with Brain's voice, and fears that Brain's brain has been transplanted...

Boss Cat then takes over Dibble's duties, thanks to a lifelike mask and Dibble's uniform, when the officer is too ill to do his route.

The rest of the strips are largely forgettable, though the remainder of the text stories make up for any deficiencies in reprint material. All at Sea sees the cats go fishing, with the usual complications. I wonder how the name of the ship (Naughty Nell) slipped past the editorial staff...

A final fact feature (which is, thankfully, legible) rounds out the issue in style.

Not the greatest example of the form, but an entertaining annual regardless.

Pellephant Annual No1

1973. Price 65p.
80 pages. Colour & tone.
Brown Watson Ltd.

Cover by Rune Andréasson.

Contents:

 2 UNTITLED [The gang love carol singing - and they love playing hunt the thimble, too.] picture puzzle; a: (uncredited). / Indicia

 4 Fly, Flax and the Balloon Saving the Bus text story by UNKNOWN (uncredited); illustrated by GIL [Eigil Johansen] (uncredited).

 6 Susie UNTITLED [Flying to Gnome Land in a Kettle] w: UNKNOWN (uncredited); a: Mainow [Jaime Mainou] (uncredited).

13 Tommy Teaser's Testing Time picture puzzles.

15 Fly, Flax and the Balloon The Wonderful Hatmaker text story by UNKNOWN (uncredited); illustrated by GIL [Eigil Johansen] (uncredited).

17 Pellephant Trouble in the Treetops w: UNKNOWN (uncredited); a: Georges Bess (? uncredited).

25 Pellephant Pellephant and the Runaway Bus w: UNKNOWN (uncredited); a: Georges Bess (? uncredited).

33 Susie UNTITLED [Susie and Twinkle Arrive in Gnome Land] w: UNKNOWN (uncredited); a: Mainow [Jaime Mainou] (uncredited).

40 Pellephant Pellephant Goes to School w: UNKNOWN (uncredited); a: UNKNOWN (uncredited).

48 Susie UNTITLED [Winter in Gnome Land] w: UNKNOWN (uncredited); a: Mainow [Jaime Mainou] (uncredited).

55 Pellephant Fun With a Fancy Dress w: UNKNOWN (uncredited); a: UNKNOWN (uncredited).

61 Susie UNTITLED [Gnome Land Asleep] w: UNKNOWN (uncredited); a: Mainow [Jaime Mainou] (uncredited).

68 Fly, Flax and the Balloon To the Rescue! text story by UNKNOWN (uncredited); illustrated by GIL [Eigil Johansen] (uncredited).

70 Pengy Gets a New Scarf text story by UNKNOWN (uncredited); illustrated by UNKNOWN (uncredited).

73 Berta Beak's Dream Comes True text story by UNKNOWN (uncredited); illustrated by UNKNOWN (uncredited).

76 Fly, Flax and the Balloon The Professor Becomes Invisible text story by UNKNOWN (uncredited); illustrated by GIL [Eigil Johansen] (uncredited).

78 UNTITLED [The Gang have decided to try and earn some extra pocket-money by window-cleaning] picture puzzle; a: (uncredited).

Note: All the material is (presumably) reprinted from European comics, though specific titles and issues are unknown.

The image of the bright blue elephant is lively and suitably seasonal, though the poor placement of the title box, with the hanging blue rectangle obscuring a portion of the image, isn't the classiest move. On the inside covers are attractive picture puzzles, which any child ought to be able to solve without difficulty, which is only muted by the fact there is no indication of who this work is by.

Professor Fly reads about a boy who has eaten the world's largest ice cream, and who got the world's worst tummy ache. Calling Flax, his parrot, he reads the story out - while disinterested in the story, Flax sees a picture of a bullfighter. Fly and Flax ponder how to save the bulls, coming to the conclusion that the Balloon might be able to carry the bulls away to safety.

There's something about parrots which make them unlikeable. Maybe it is their eyes, but I've never liked parrots. You may have guessed that this isn't my favourite series of stories to read, and you would be right - although the tale is told well, and blessed with a few attractive illustrations which should pacify younger, and impatient, readers.

Susie and her fairy doll, Twinkle, are on their way to see their friends in Gnome Land, but the weather is bad for flying...

Susie takes the kettle up above the storm, though the thin air causes her - and Twinkle - to fall asleep, yet the kettle continues until it reaches the kingdom of the weather gods. Mr. Nice introduces himself, as provider of nice weather on Earth, and asks for help with the grouchy Mr. Sour, whose storm had such an effect on Susie's journey. Twinkle is forced to frighten Mr. Sour into stopping his bad weather, upon which they are free to continue on to Gnome Land.

This is really rather good, for what is essentially a story aimed at the youngest of readers, maintaining a decidedly odd view of the world. The mix of myths and fables which are part of the stories' makeup isn't apparent in this installment, but there's enough to suggest that the seres has some very strange ideas. It is refreshing to read a strip which isn't caught up in elaborate world-building, happy to tumble from one incident to the next.

Flix and Flax are in the balloon at the beginning of their next story, and they can see an enormous hat from their vantage point. It is the home of a hatmaker who has designed a hat which covers him right down to the knees when it is raining, and another - which he calls his 'polite hat' - which lifts itself up and says hello.

While I doubt it is intentional, or even noticed by many, there is a distinct tone to the stories which recalls the Mr. Men stories. Seemingly bizarre events are passed off as everyday happenings, and the maddest twist can reveal a surprise for the attentive reader. It is, in truth, a fairly simple and slightly juvenile tale, and only the obvious enthusiasm of its creators keeps things from being too annoying.

That it takes seventeen pages to reach the star attraction is simply poor layout, though when Pellephant eventually turns up he does so in style - charging along at the front of a line of toys, an axe gripped in his trunk, determined to chop down a tree for Christmas. There's no "don't try this at home" warning, nor any adult characters to warn of the dangers, which is both refreshing and slightly disturbing - I wonder how many children, upon reading this, decided that it might have been a good idea to chop down a tree of their own.

Anyway, he falls off the tree, at which point a bear asks "is he dead?" Yeah, try explaining this story to a five-year old. Pellephant is carted away in an ambulance, before returning (clad in bandages) to discover that the Liquorice Goblin has chopped the tree up for firewood. Pellephant then tricks the Goblin into chopping a treetop for his Christmas tree.

Concluding with the Goblin desperately chopping trees into the night, in order to find gold which Pellephant has described, the story takes one dark turn after another. The next Pellephant story has a title dripping with possibility - a runaway bus? This is an annual for small children not easily frightened.

The Liquorice Goblin steals a school bus, and is unable to control it due to his size. Pellephant attempts to help, though accelerates rather than braking, and the bus flies off a cliff - at which point Pellephant uses the Goblin's tail as an anchor to hold the bus up, saving the picnic food. Never mind the bus, or the Goblin, as all the children care about are their stomachs.

At least the story gets children's priorities right.

Susie's next strip finds a mass of dough causing the inhabitants of Gnome Land to flee for their lives. It isn't quite The Blob, but one can't help making the association. In the surrounding woods Susie meets a giant, who offers to eat up all the dough. What isn't stated, though which hangs over the account, is that he now knows where they live, and should he be hungry again the citizens are the perfect size for a snack...

Pellephant attends school, even though he claims to know everything already. He's soon thrown out for causing trouble, though when the school's funds for a trip have been stolen Pellephant claims he can catch the thief. Of course, there is no thief, and it is all Pellephant's fault in the first place.

Winter has come to Gnome Land, and...

Y'know, with Twinkle able to magic away any problem - as she does here - there really isn't any problem which requires solving through other means. When she doesn't lend assistance, it is because she can't be bothered. This makes Twinkle the villain of the piece through inaction in every tale where there is something to be fixed. It is slightly too cheerful a series to read this much into the characterisation, though her menace does seem evident.

Fun With a Fancy Dress begins with more magic, this time from Pellephant.

To teach Slyboots a lesson Pellephant once turned him into a tree stump...

Wishing Slyboots a happy new year he begs Pellephant to turn him back as it is so cold being a tree stump in winter. With a wave of his wand, Pellephant relents. Angered at being a tree stump for six months, Slyboots paces in his castle working out suitable revenge plans. A fancy dress ball sees the elephant pick out an Indian headdress, though Slyboots is there as well - dressed as a clown.

Once more the dark undertones are present, with Pellephant willing to torture his enemies for six months.

Everyone in Gnome Land has mysteriously fallen asleep in the middle of the day. You might think this is bad enough, but the introduction of the Chimney People are far, far more terrifying a prospect than some people having a nap. Slipping out of chimneys to wash their clothes (thankfully not in the blood of the inhabitants of Gnome Land), one has even stolen Twinkle's wand.

How did children sleep in the early seventies, if this is what they were reading?

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