History of the British comic: Encyclopedia II - History of the British comic - History

History of the British comic - History

History of the British comic - 19th Century

In the 19th century, story papers, also known as "penny dreadfuls", served as entertainment for British children. Comic strips began to emerge slowly. Ally Sloper's Half Holiday, (1884), is reputed to be the first comic strip magazine to feature a recurring character, and the first British comic as would be recognised today.

In 1890 two more comic magazines debuted to the British public, Comic Cuts and Illustrated Chips, both published by Amalgamated Press. These magazines notoriously republished British and American material, previously published in newspapers and magazine, without permission. The success of these comics was such that Amalgamated's owner Alfred Harmsworth was able to launch both The Daily Mirror and The Daily Mail newspapers with the profits.

History of the British comic - 20th century

Over the next thirty years or so comic publishers saw the juvenile market as the most profitable, and thus geared their publications accordingly, so that by 1914 most comics were aimed at eight to twelve year olds.

The period between the two wars is notable mainly for the publication of annuals by Amalgamated Press, and also the emergence of DC Thomson, launching both The Beano and The Dandy in the late 1930s, as previously noted. It is these two titles, more than any other, that have come to define a comic in the British public's mind. Their successful mix of irreverence and slapstick led to many imitators, notably Topper and Beezer. However the originators of this format have outlasted all rivals, and are still published today.

During the 1950s and 1960s the most popular comic magazine for older age-group boys was The Eagle published by Hulton Press. The Eagle was published in a more expensive format, and was a gravure-printed weekly. This format was one used originally by Mickey Mouse Weekly during the 1930s. The Eagle's success saw a number of comics launched in a similar format, TV Century 21, Look & Learn & TV Comic being notable examples. Comics published in this format were known as "slicks". At the end of the 1960s these comics moved away from gravure printing, preferring offset litho for cost considerations due to decreasing readership.

However the boys adventure comic was still popular and titles such as Valiant and Tiger published by IPC say new adventure heroes become stars, including Roy of the Rovers who would eventually gain his own title. Odhams Press was a company which mainly printed new material which was adventure orientated, though it was the first to reprint American Marvel Comics material in titles such as Smash.

The late 1960s and 1970s saw the underground comics movement inspiring two new comics in Britain. Oz and Nasty Tales were launched with the Underground premise of counter culture rebellion, and Oz notably featured the character Rupert the Bear performing sexual acts. The content of both magazines saw them tried at the Old Bailey under the Obscene Publications Act, with the Oz defendants convicted, a conviction overturned on appeal, and the Nasty Tales defendants cautioned. However, both these comics ceased publication soon after their trials, as much due to the social changes which saw the end of the counter culture as any effect of the court cases.

In the 1970s, few comics in the "slick" format were launched, Countdown was one, a publication similar in content to TV 21 and TV Comic. Vulcan, a reprint title, was another. Girl's titles which launched in the "slick" format in the 1960's, continued in that format, but others changed such as Diana and Judy continued into the 1970's as slicks but found themselves competing with titles such as Boyfriend and Blue Jeans, which had changed content and now featured mainly product related articles and photo-strips.

The 1970s also saw comics became more action oriented. The first such title to launch was Warlord, in 1974. Published by DC Thomson, it proved to be a success, and led to its then rival comics publisher IPC Magazines Ltd producing Battle Picture Weekly, a comic noted to be grimmer in style than its competitor. Battle's success led to IPC launching another, similarly styled title, Action. Action became a success, but also became controversial due to its content. Complaints about the comics tone eventually led to questions being asked in the House of Commons. Whilst an extremely popular title, its publishers IPC decided nonetheless to change the content, neutering the books appeal, and the title was eventually merged with Battle.

Action's position of popularity was eventually taken over by 2000 AD, launched in 1977. Created as a comic for older boys and girls, it also held appeal for teenage or even grown-up readers, and was again published by IPC. It was at this time that comics began to source artists from Spain, mainly for financial considerations. This trend was initially confined to the slicks, but continued through to the launch of 2000AD. Carlos Ezquerra is the most notable Spanish artist to have worked in British comics, having worked on both Battle and 2000 AD, and credited with the creation of the look of Judge Dredd. Judge Dredd and other 2000 AD titles have been published in a tabloid form known as a "programme", or "prog" for short.

1972 saw Marvel set up a publishing arm in the UK, which mixed reprinted strips with new material. The Daredevils and Captain Britain are the two most notable names, although the licensed material proved to be the more successful, with the Star Wars magazine lasting into the late 1980s, although changing its name in line with the latest movie release.

In 1982 The Eagle was relaunched, this time including photo-strips, but still with Dan Dare as the lead story, although the comic moved him from the front page to the centre pages to allow a more magazine styled cover.

Dez Skinn also launched Warrior, possibly the most notable comic of the period, as it contained both the Marvelman and V for Vendetta strips, by Alan Moore. Warrior was a sort of British equivalent of Heavy Metal magazine. Marvelman was a Captain Marvel clone that Skinn acquired, although the legality of that acquisition has been questioned. In Moore's hands the strip became an "adult" style superhero, and was later reprinted, with the story continued, in an American full-colour comic, with the name changed from "Marvelman" to "Miracleman" to avoid any lawsuits which Marvel Comics may have considered.

Adult comics also witnessed a slight resurgence first with psst!, an attempt to market a French style monthly bande dessinée, and then with Escape Magazine, published by Paul Gravett, former psst! promotions man. Escape is the other notable comic from this period, featuring early work from Eddie Campbell and Paul Grist, amongst others. Sadly, neither comic managed to survive the vagaries of the comics market, Warrior beset by copyright issues and Escape by lack of publisher interest.

Most titles were eventually merged into each other through the late 1980s and early 1990s, as the popularity of comics waned, and although new titles were launched in this period, none seemed to find any sustainable audience. Notable comics from this period include Viz, Deadline, Toxic!, Crisis and Revolver.

Viz began life in 1979 as a fanzine style publication, before, in 1989, becoming the biggest selling magazine in the country. Based upon crude parodying of strips from The Dandy, amongst them Black Bag - the Fearless Border Collie Bin Liner, a parody of The Dandy's Black Bob text story series about a Border Collie, Viz's popularity inspired similar themed titles, amongst them Oink!, Smut and Zit, although they failed to achieve Viz's longevity and have subsequently folded. Whilst Viz no longer sells as well as it did at the height of its popularity, it is still one of the United Kingdom's top selling magazines.

Deadline was conceived by Steve Dillon and Brett Ewins, and mixed original strips with reprints of U.S. strips, notably Love & Rockets and articles and interviews on the British independent music scene of the time. Tank Girl was the most notable strip. Crisis was published by Fleetway Publications, the company formed from IPC's comics holdings, and then owned by Robert Maxwell. The comic was aimed at readers who had outgrown 2000 AD. It featured first works by Garth Ennis and Sean Phillips amongst others.

History of the British comic - 21st century

Since the year 2000, the British market appears to have arrested its slow decline. However, there is no sign of any great growth in circulation for the few remaining titles, and certainly no sign of any new launches from mainstream publishers into the comics arena (see Life on the Island, Ninth Art article). An ever-increasing number of small press and fanzine titles are being produced, such as Solar Wind or FutureQuake, aided by the cheapness and increasingly professional appearance of desk top publishing programs. It is from this scene that the UK's new talents now tend to emerge (e.g. Al Ewing, Henry Flint or Simon Spurrier).

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "History", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki