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Topic: Bunty Comic (1958-2001) Post ReplyPost New Topic
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Robbie Parry
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Posted: 18 January 2018 at 7:46am | IP Logged | 1 post reply

BUNTY, a British comic published for girls, went on sale for the first time sixty years ago today, its cover gift being a ladybird ring:





The comic ran from 1958 until 2001. This is worth mentioning because, whilst some US comics have ran for many decades, British comics haven't always had longevity. Sure, the likes of the BEANO (first published in 1938) is still going, but many haven't had the longevity. "My" version of EAGLE ran from 1982 until 1994, at which point it was mainly reprints. Other titles had a good run, but it seems that more UK comics had relatively short runs. 

So 1958-2001, a period of 43 years, was a good run. Doubly impressive for me was that some British comics were going extinct long before 2001 so for BUNTY to last as long as that was an achievement.

I didn't really read it, but as I had three sisters, female-oriented titles were often in my home (one, called MISTY, I did read as it featured horror tales).

To provide some wider context, the UK comics industry isn't that strong nowadays. 2000 AD, first published in 1978, and the JUDGE DREDD MEGAZINE, first published in 1990, are still going strong; Marvel UK's successor, Panini, reprints Marvel titles; and Titan have the licence to reprint DC titles. Of course, the BEANO is still going strong. Other than that, though, the rest are just licensed titles, often here today, gone tomorrow. 

It's very different to the days when we had EAGLE, TIGER, LION, SCREAM!, ROY OF THE ROVERS, etc.

On a final note, in these very different times, would a comic be able to market itself as a "comic for girls" or would that be seen as not being inclusive enough? 
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Bill Collins
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Posted: 18 January 2018 at 7:57am | IP Logged | 2 post reply

Good point,i see Thunderbirds and Frozen comics on sale
which don`t really state what market they`re aimed at
but it`s pretty obvious! Then there`s titles like
Paddington which are unisex.
My sister never really bought comics,but did get the odd
girl`s annual for Christmas,which i often perused!
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Robbie Parry
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Posted: 18 January 2018 at 2:55pm | IP Logged | 3 post reply

It is important to state one advantage that US comics MAY have had over many UK comics from yesteryear: a lot of UK comics were weekly. Many were anthology titles. As we know, US comics were mainly monthly.

A weekly comic, particularly one that featured many stories, probably had a better chance of "burning out" than a monthly comic.

That's a presumption, though, I have no evidence to back that up.


Edited by Robbie Parry on 18 January 2018 at 2:55pm
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Bill Collins
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Posted: 18 January 2018 at 3:09pm | IP Logged | 4 post reply

I`m not sure,with an anthology,if you didn`t like one
story,there were usually another 3 or four you would
like.The U.K. Marvel titles were monthly and anthology!
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Robbie Parry
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Posted: 18 January 2018 at 6:06pm | IP Logged | 5 post reply

I feel an anthology title's biggest strength can also be its biggest weakness!

At times, I drifted away from EAGLE as 50% or more of the strips didn't appeal to me (so I was a lost sale). But when 50% or more of the strips DID interest me, I was a regular reader. It must be hard for an editor to get the balance right in an anthology.

Same with 2000 AD right now. I can't justify buying it solely for Judge Dredd, but in recent months, nothing else is really appealing to me. 
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Robbie Moubert
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Posted: 18 January 2018 at 7:02pm | IP Logged | 6 post reply

I think that's why many UK comics used to have the little coupons for readers to fill in when they wrote to the comic. 




Edited by Robbie Moubert on 18 January 2018 at 7:03pm
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Bill Collins
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Posted: 19 January 2018 at 12:59am | IP Logged | 7 post reply

Yes,you`re right Robbie P,2000AD hasn`t appealed to me
in years.
Robbie M,i`d forgotten about them,although i wonder how
many of us actually filled them in and posted them,as
pocket money was often spent on comics and sweets not
stamps!
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