On This Day: 22 Apr

The Amazing Spider-Man by Dirk Maggs (BBC Audiobooks Ltd.; 1995) CD

First Appearances:

Jack Duggan (The Wild Colonial Boy) in The Victor (D.C. Thomson & Co., Ltd.) #114 (27 Apr 1963).

Births:

Phil May (1864); Ernest Aris (1882); Brian Bagnall (1921); Edward McLachlan (1940); Ian Churchill (1969); Bryan Hitch (1970)

Deaths:

Denis McLoughlin (2002)

Notable Events:

World première of The Better 'Ole film adaptation, at the Alhambra, Leicester Square, in 1918.
Nostalgia & Comics incorporated in 1980.
Blackhammer Limited incorporated in 1992.
Comics 2000 convention began at Watershed Media Centre, Bristol, in 2000.

On This Day: 14 Mar

Happy Pi Day

Speed & Power (1974)

First Appearances:

Tyranny Rex in 2000 A.D. (Fleetway Publications) Prog 566 (19 Mar 1988)

Births:

Sally Artz (1935); Davy Francis (1958)

Deaths:

Jose Casanovas, Snr. (2009)

Notable Events:

Two illustrations of Old Bill, drawn by Bruce Bairnsfather as part of his lecture tour, were auctioned for charity in 1919.
Toskanex Limited incorporated in 1978, becoming company no. 01357592. The name on the covers of their books is Knockabout.
GlasCAC (Glasgow Comic Art Convention) began at Candleriggs Town Hall, Glasgow, in 1992.

On This Day: 04 Feb

Batman: Gotham Central (Titan Comics) #01 (2016)

First Appearances:

Brigand Doom in 2000 A.D. (Fleetway Publications) Prog 717 (09 Feb 1991).

Births:

Mike Western (1925); Kenneth Mahood (1930); Derek 'Dez' Skinn (1951); Leah Moore (1978)

Deaths:

Sir John Paget Mellor, 1st Baronet (Quiz; 1929); Sydney George Hulme Beaman (1932); Stephen Roth (1967); James Friell (Gabriel; 1997); Dick Millington (2015)

Notable Events:

Bruce Bairnsfather began a tour of his "Old Bill and Me" lecture in 1919, with the first appearance at Hove Town Hall.
Rick Martin newspaper strip began in The Daily Sketch in 1957.
Marvel's Bullpen were present at the comic mart, at the Central Hall, Westminster, in 1984.
The first episode of original superhero sit-com My Hero broadcast on BBC One in 2000.
Neil Tennant was a castaway on Desert Island Discs, on BBC Radio 4, in 2007.
The SWALC micro-arts festival took place, in the Lord Clyde pub, London, in 2012. Bryan and Mary Talbot were in attendance.

On This Day: 29 Jan

Beeb (Polystyle) #01 (29 Jan 1985-04 Feb 1985)

First Appearances:

Dumpy Dan, the Sauce Pan Man in The Victor (D.C. Thomson & Co., Ltd.) #50 (03 Feb 1962).
Sub-Lieutenant Ken Kennedy (Convoy Pilot) in Warlord (D.C. Thomson & Co., Ltd.) #19 (01 Feb 1975).

Births:

Ted Holmes (1916)

Deaths:

Joshua Charles Armitage (Ionicus; 1998)

Notable Events:

Bruce Bairnsfather gave a lecture entitled "Old Bill and Me," at the Queen's Hall, London, in 1919.
Wes Slade newspaper strip began in The Sunday Express in 1961.
Steve Bell appeared on The Today Programme on BBC Radio 4 in 2013.
Revolutionary War: Knights of Pendragon (Marvel) #01 (Jan 2014) released in the US in 2014.
Kingsman: The Secret Service feature film released in the UK in 2015.

On This Day: 16 Jan

Fleetway Super Library: Fantastic Series (Fleetway) #01 (1967).
Fleetway Super Library: Fantastic Series (Fleetway) #02 (1967).
Fleetway Super Library: Front Line Series (Fleetway) #01 (1967).
Fleetway Super Library: Front Line Series (Fleetway) #02 (1967).
Fleetway Super Library: Secret Agent Series (Fleetway) #01 (1967).
Fleetway Super Library: Secret Agent Series (Fleetway) #02 (1967).
June and Pixie (IPC Magazines Ltd.) #[???] (20 Jan 1973).
Star Wars Weekly (Marvel Comics Ltd.) #100 (23 Jan 1980).

First Appearances:

Maddock's Marauders in Fleetway Super Library: Front Line Series
Johnny Nero in Fleetway Super Library: Secret Agent Series
Top-Sergeant Ironside in Fleetway Super Library: Front Line Series

Births:

Albert Edgar Beard (1902); George Thomson (1921); Michael Attwell (Zoke; 1943); Al Davison (1960); Garth Ennis (1970)

Deaths:

Kaye Webb (1996); Kenneth McDonough (2002); Barbara Wace (2003); Alan Hemus (2009)

Notable Events:

The final Bruce Bairnsfather cartoon was published in both Birmingham Weekly Post and Midland Pictorial in 1959.
The Marvel Revolution PHASE 8 (overseen by Dez Skinn) began in 1980: Star Wars celebrated 100 issues, while Incredible Hulk Weekly saw the Beast solo-strip reprints begin, as well as new features added to fill the eight new pages the title acquired.
Fleetway Editions were formally taken over by the Danish publisher Gutenberghus Press in 1992.
Thelwell exhibition began at Mottisfont Abbey in Hampshire in 2016. The first large exhibition near his former home, the exhibition ran until April.

On This Day: 13 Dec

Births:

Hugh McNeill (1910); Frank Benier (1919)

Deaths:

John Millar Watt (1975); R.D. Low (1980); Janet Ahlberg (1994)

Notable Events:

A blue plaque commemorating Bruce Bairnsfather was unveiled in St Yvon, Belgium, in 2003.

On This Day: 08 Dec

Frontline UK (Bear Alley Books) GN (Dec 2014) ISBN-13: 9781907081767

First Appearances:

Lt. Dave Wilson (The Bombhunters) in Warlord (D.C. Thomson & Co., Ltd.) #116 (11 Dec 1976).
Mike Hobson (Hobson's Quest) in Warlord (D.C. Thomson & Co., Ltd.) #429 (11 Dec 1982).
Bad Company in 2000 A.D. (IPC Magazines Ltd.) Prog 500 (13 Dec 1986).

Births:

Tom Browne (1870); George William Smith (Gus; 1915); Les Barton (1923); David Myers (1925); Brett Ewins (1955)

Deaths:

Richard Newton (1798); Oliver Postgate (2008)

Notable Events:

Opening night of Any Old Thing, at the London Pavillion, in 1918. Written by Bruce Bairnsfather.
The feature film Press for Time released in the UK in 1966, based on the novel by Angus McGill.
Derek Fullarton was found dead at his home in Smart's Lane, Epping Forest, Essex, in 1968.
The Sunday Times featured a retrospective of Judge Dredd in the weekend section in 1991.

Fragments from France

1916 - 1919 (9 books)

Fragments from France (1916; 1/)
More Fragments from France (1916; 1/)
Still More Fragments from France (1917; 1/)
Fragments from France No.4 (1917; 1/)
Fragments from France No.5 (1918; 1/6)
Fragments from France No.6 (1918; 1/6)
Fragments from France No.7 (1919; 1/)
Fragments from France No.8 (1919; 1/)
Fragments from France No.9 (1919; 1/)

On This Day: 26 Nov

Warlord - Peter Flint Special (D.C. Thomson & Co., Ltd.) nn [1976].
Rammie (Comic Football) #01 (2009).

EuroTemps Edited by Alex Stewart & Neil Gaiman. (Penguin; 1992)

First Appearances:

The Urnaks are Coming! in The Victor (D.C. Thomson & Co., Ltd.) #93 (01 Dec 1962).

Births:

Angus McGill (1927)

Deaths:

Harold Sidney Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Rothermere (1940)

Notable Events:

London première of The Better 'Ole took place in 1926, starring Syd Chaplin as Old Bill.
Malcolm Muggeridge was a castaway on Desert Island Discs, on BBC Radio 4, in 1956.
Crash magazine ran a sixteen-page feature on the Judge Death computer game, including reprints of the Dredd strip the game was based on, plus a Judge Anderson pin-up by Brett Ewins, in 1987.
Clare in the Community radio series, based on the newspaper strip, began on BBC Radio 4 in 2004.
Borders (UK) Limited announced that they had gone into administration in 2009.
Bryan and Mary Talbot attended a signing event at Forbidden Planet, London, in 2014.
Sheffield Comic & Film Fair began in The Showroom, Paternoster Row, Sheffield, in 2016.

On This Day: 24 Nov

Hammer Horror Collector's Special (Marvel Comics UK Ltd.) #01 (1994).
The Flash: Rebirth (Titan) #01 (2016).

Births:

Dudley Pout (1908); Walter Goetz (1911); Horacio Altuna (1941); Vic Neill (1941); Ian Botham (1955)

Notable Events:

The Bystander magazine published Bruce Bairnsfather's original "Better 'Ole" cartoon in 1915.
Richard Ingrams married his first wife, Mary Morgan, in 1962.
A Michael Cummings cartoon attacking trade unions, published in The Daily Express in 1971, brought a complaint from the printing union.
Barry Humphries was a castaway on Desert Island Discs, on BBC Radio 4, in 1973.

On This Day: 13 Oct

First Appearances:

Varoomshka in The Guardian newspaper strip. (1969)
Simon Studkins (Timespell) in Eagle (IPC Magazines Ltd.) #238 (11 Oct 1986).

Births:

Bert Thomas (1883); Sybil Burr (1909); Michael Heath (1935); Paul Johnson (1958)

Deaths:

Sidney James Webb, 1st Baron Passfield OM PC (1947); H. Louis Diamond (1966); Eric Eden (1983)

Notable Events:

"Ullo!" revue by Bruce Bairnsfather opened at the Hippodrome, Birkenhead, in 1924.
Varoomshka comic strip, by John Kent, began in The Guardian in 1969.
Birmingham International Comics Show began, at Millennium Point, Birmingham, in 2007.
Lakes International Comic Art Festival began, in Kendal, Cumbria, in 2017.