Bunty Stories

This is not a complete list of Bunty serials and will be added to over time.

A

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D

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F

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I

J

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L

M

N

O

P

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R

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T

 

U V

W

X Y Z

122 thoughts on “Bunty Stories

  1. I was born in 1955 and my sister 1956 from the mid sixties I use to purchase VICTOR and HOTSPUR and she use to get BUNTY and JUDY. Being an avid reader I read hers as well not the ballerina stories, or dancing, horse jumping …but the animal stories and there were also some cool science fiction stories and the occasional ghost one which I loved, the boys were good but concentrated on war, football, and sports. I see an early nineties story shown as FRANS FOX’S yet I remember this was done in the mid sixties not sure if BUNTY or JUDY and it was called FREDA’S FOX’s.? Can anyone remember a cool story called GENIUS ISLAND where very brainy girls were abducted to an island in Far East to work on science projects for Japanese? Or one which was a variation on the KING AND I about a young girl who had to look after the emperor’s spoilt royal Pekinese dogs? If anything happened to them she was in serious trouble and something did every week . There is one here listed I vividly remember what happened to Hannah, in the first episode you see her in a trance walk straight through a dormitory wall! I loved that sadly nothing like that happened in the Victor comic.

    1. The one about the girl looking after the Emperor’s Pekinese dogs sounds like Maid of the Lion Dogs from Debbie. If you didn’t read Debbie, maybe it was reprinted in Bunty or something.

      1. I agree with Mistyfan that Maid Of The Lion Dogs is probably the story you remember, John. It ran in Debbie 72 (Jun. 29 1974) – 85 (Sep. 28 1974). The key characters are Hsai, the keeper of the sacred dogs, and her young assistant, Linyi, who is well versed in potions, one or other of which seems to be required in most episodes, and not just for the dogs. There was no episode in issues 81 or 84. I can’t recall any repeat. It certainly didn’t deserve one in my opinion.

        1. Thank you for your help I think it probably was the same story only done earlier. Remember I was born in 1955 and my sister a year later the time period we bought these comics was 1964 to probably 1967 so could I have read an earlier version? I often wondered who wrote these stories as the comics never told you? Where I feel the girls comics were superior to the boys is they covered a wider range of material.. The boys really did stick to war weather in europeor the Far East or football. What I liked about the girls stories is they had a lot of science fiction, mystery stories, and some maybe silly but aimed at the youngest readers that would be about a leprechaun or a magic flute or lamp. I was intrigued yesterday to read about a story someone was asking about called SCHOOL UNDER THE DOME which I gather was about a girls school trapped under a large dome with aliens! I would have loved that and almost half a century before the American TV series the DOME. In my loft I must have fifty or sixty maybe mid sixties comics from this period over Easter I intend getting them down they might refresh my memory.

          1. The story that was the basis of/inspiration for School Under The Dome was the text serial Behind The Invisible Wall, which appeared in The Rover 1219 (Sep. 25 1948) – 1232 (Jan. 22 1949), probably before Stephen King was born. But, of course, there’s no copyright on ideas!

          2. Do you remember a mid sixties story in the very first episode a very brainy girl is abducted in a car and bungled off into a helicopter and taken to an island. Somehow they knew she was very clever, top of the class, and she is trapped on some island with other young girls who are also very smart and they are forced to work on scientific projects. Half way through this stories run we stopped buying the comics so I never found out how it ended, I think it was called GENIUS ISLAND ? I know there is a list of stories for Mandy, Bunty, Judy etc on this site but bearing in mind how long these magazines ran no way can this list be anywhere near complete? I hope you can remember it too, just knowing I am not the only one on the planet who does is something! It must have been either Bunty or Judy possibly 1965 or 1966?

          3. If you and your sister had been born a decade earlier, John, you would inevitably have been reading text story papers like Adventure, The Rover, The Wizard and The Hotspur. In those you certainly had the wider range of settings and themes that you found lacking in The Victor and The Hornet, the two boys’ picture story papers of the sixties. Your sister would probably have been reading mainly School Friend, Girl, and possibly Girls’ Crystal, which were essentially picture story papers at that time, but they did not really provide that same breadth.

        2. Just down from the loft and looking through the comics I have found GENIUS ISLAND from December 1966 Bunty, unfortunately I do not think I will ever know the ending of this one, also found from June 1967 Bunty issue number 493 the start of a new serial called SERVANT OF THE SACRED DOGS and this is exactly how Mr Derek Marsden described it with characters called Linyi and Hsai! Whether this was the first time this story was printed who knows? When you think of it girls probably read this comic over a five year period maximum, so they could repeat the stories to new readers many times!

          1. Genius Island ends in 480 (Mar. 25 1967). I’ll write up the ending for you later today.

          2. Shelley White has got a message through to the police telling them where the girls are hidden. Madame Duval has wired the whole island to explode as soon as the police get there. Undaunted, Shelley decides to put on a show of magic in a final attempt to outwit Madame Duval, assuming that the Commandant will allow it, which she does, secure in her belief that she is in total control. What happens next is an indication of what can happen when you take your eye off the ball.

            When Madame Duval tells the girls that they are leaving the island the following day, and allows the girls to spend the remaining time as they wish as a reward for good behaviour, Shelley embarks on a daring escape plan. She has noticed that rats have been able to burrow through certain areas of the apparently solid rock of the floor of her cell, so she asks Duval for permission to go back into her cell to prove to herself that she has conquered her fear of the creatures. While there she captures a rat.

            For some time she has been aware that there are certain areas of the stone floor that are more crumbly than the rest, and that the rats were using them as tunnels. When she comes out she puts the rat on the floor and the girls wait to see where it will go to burrow out its own escape route. It is by the stove. For the show the stove is moved and a cupboard placed over the deep escape hole that is created in the soft stone.

            Shelley’s first magic trick is to show the audience just how many girls can be packed into a box no bigger than a phone booth, reminding the audience that there are no trap-doors in a stone floor. Madame Duval thinks that all the girls are hiding behind the curtain next to the box. As a piece de resistance Shelley then tells the audience that she is going to bring the girls back after first inspecting her magic box to make sure that everything is in order. She joins the other girls and, as a leaving gift, throws a smoke bomb up into the audience.

            When the girls reach the end of the tunnel the police get them on board their submarine and, responding to Shelley’s urgent plea, dive quickly to avoid being swamped by the huge waves caused when Madame Duval finally blows the island up. She is not that lucky as the resultant waves swamp her own escape ship, and she and her crew beg to be taken on board the police submarine.

            I’m sure that there will have been a whole host of readers who will have felt that there were rather too many aspects of this ending that beggared belief!

          3. Sounds like the story was retitled and reprinted in Debbie. Retitling stories when reprinting them was very common in DCT girls titles.

          4. Servant Of The Sacred Dogs ran in Bunty 484 (Apr. 22 1967) – 495 (Jul. 8 1967), and has therefore the same number of episodes as its repeat as Maid Of The Lion Dogs. You may like to check up on an interesting precursor, John. I’m referring to Keeper of The King’s Cats, which ran in Bunty 449 (Aug. 30 1966) – 457 (Oct. 15 1966). English girl, Katy Wiggins, is appointed Mistress of the Royal Cats at the King of Shanghoi’s Court. Her family are with her.

        3. I can think of a worse one that got reprinted – twice. It was Angela Angel-Face from Sandie; reprinted in Jinty and then Tammy.

          But thanks for the start and end dates to Maid of the Lion Dogs.

          1. Angela Angel Face definately sounds like one of the worst title’s I have EVER heard, it also sounds amusing… Was it a story of a girl with some sort of Jekyll and Hyde personality?

    2. Last of the Pekes from Bunty is another story where a girl is servant to the Emperor’s Royal dogs. She has to protect them when China goes to war with Britain. Doesn’t quite fit what you’re looking for, but it does have the Peke theme.

    3. Freda’s Foxes ran in Bunty 437 (May 28 1966) – 448 (Aug. 13 1966). Please note that there were two issues numbered 437 (28 May and 4 June). The anomaly was corrected after 440 (25 June), with the following week’s issue (2 July) being numbered 442. The company will not have been able to make the correction any earlier as all issues prior to 442 will have been in various stages of readiness for the printer.

      1. Thank you for all that information it is most helpful I will check to see if I have any of those comic numbers, all I can remember about Freda’s foxes was a young girl helping to bring up some abandoned Cubs, I think her biggest worry was that she would be detected, it is interesting to see a much later version with a slightly different name listed in the story index. I am surprised to learn how many stories were regurgitated sometimes with a different title in a sister comic however it only makes sense. I always thought the science fiction/ mystery were the best and looking at them almost 50 years later( I was looking at the whatever happened to Hannah story, about the girl who walked through a solid wall at the end of part one). It somehow takes you back, no doubt if you showed one to a today’s ten year old they would find it very corny. I hope I have not imagined it , and again it was probably formulae driven just like the Pekinese dog story do you remember a very similar one only this time it revolved around a girl looking after Siamese cats! Would not be surprised if it turned out to be the same author!

        1. A propos of your query regarding the Siamese cats story, John, can I direct you to the post I made at 1.57 pm today.

          1. I gave you some incorrect information, sorry about that! this story was in Judy from the same period and it started in April 1966, the stories were so similar in these sister magazines that it was difficult from memory to remember which story was in which magazine! ( well that is my excuse and I am sticking to it). The actual title is What Happened to Hannah? And if you look it up on this excellent site you will find the story details even a couple of actual pictures from the story as well as exact dates it appeared! I have to say the site is impressive and must give a lot of pleasure to fellow comic enthusiasts! I just don’t understand why some are listed…..and some are not! For example Freda’s Foxes is not but Sail away Sindy ( which I thought quite average is. )I might still have the complete story of the Judy Hannah one, I loved it when she walked through the wall and could hardly wait for the next instalment this was right down my street!

          2. Glad you enjoy the site. As for why some stories aren’t listed it’s simply due to gaps in my collection! I do try to add any additional or new information I get. Derek as you’ve probably noticed is full of information and has been helpful particularly for exact dates of serials also Mistyfan as contributor of site has added lots of short summaries.

          3. I’m sure that your favourable comments on the quality of this site, John, will be pleasing to its organiser, Lorraine Nolan. Your puzzlement about why some serials are listed while others are not is easily explained. This is an enthusiasts’ site. Lorraine has had to pay a modest amount to set the site up and maintain it but everybody else can use it for free. As you have obviously found out recently, it is easy to access and straightforward to write for and to post to. Lorraine does have quite a lot of useful organisational help from Mistyfan but the quality and usefulness of the site depends heavily on contributions from other enthusiasts. The vast majority of contributors have decent collections but may not feel willing to do the hard yards like Lorraine and Mistyfan. This means that the information about individual stories, the relatively small number of which, when set against the huge total that could possibly be uploaded, is what I believe you are querying, is only likely to be done by Lorraine and Mistyfan. If you are minded to make contributions of your own please contact Lorraine first. She and Mistyfan started out as enthusiasts, and still are. I’m pretty sure that both also have jobs so they will have fewer hours when they are available for working on the site. It’s a slow task, John. Rome wasn’t built in a day so patience and shuffle the cards.

  2. You are most likely right, I also got DANDY and BEANO my sister JUNE And SCzhOOL FRIEND (that had some great spooky stories in it), I don’t remember the title you mention and the comic Debbie she may have bought on occasions, she also got one called MANDY. Regarding the Pekinese stories what I do remember vaguely were the stories, one week the puppies being ill, next week naughty etc which all could enrage the emperor. I am not convinced it was Debbie as I am pretty sure if she got this comic it was rarely yet I remember this on a weekly basis. To be honest a lot of the stories were very similar so they could have both been done! One of the things that fascinated me was the titles of the stories and the fancy lettering the inkers used on the titles I loved their art work. Like the boys comics there were a few Tenko type tales of girls caught up in wars. They also loved the titles of the stories PENNY’S PUPPETS, SAIL AWAY CINDY always the alliteration. Looking back, maybe I am being nostalgic, were the stories not more innocent and charming then today! Not only were the stories black and white but the message was good is good, bad is bad, and good is triumphant! not a bad message or moral.

    1. Debbie did merge with Mandy, as I recall. Maybe the story was repeated there. You can find the listing of Maid of the Lion Dogs here and see what you think. There is an entry on it.

  3. That is really, really, strange if you read my last e mail you will see that in the last sentence I mention a very similar story line except it was concerning cats. And the title you mention I can remember it now vividly it certainly is a companion piece to the Pekinese dog story, was this one also repeated in other comics at a later date? Not so sure I agree with your last comments on GENIUS ISLAND. I do agree that the ending is far fetched and preposterous to an ADULT. I can assure you ( maybe I was in the minority here) that if I had read that ending as an eleven year old I would not have queried it, I would have thought WOW SUPERB. I do not think I would have thought it ridiculous or analysed in any manner at that age I was like a sponge. Yes, you are right, it is silly beyond words but is that not part of the magic of comics particularly to a young mind? Sorry if I sound churlish because I am actually very grateful to know how it ended, and dare I admit I still enjoyed it! Thank you very much it was kind of you particularly as I am not sure you enjoyed it. I have just been reading DETESTABLE DELLA dare I say I like this too! It is about a girl in a Japanese concentration camp, all the other camp prisoners hate her and think she is a snitch creeping to the Japanese but actually she is trying to help the prisoners undercover!

    1. By the age of 10 I was seriously into fiction whether in book or text story paper form. I think I had outgrown comics like The Dandy and The Beano by that time. However, analysing the serials in the novels or the text story papers went hand in hand with reading them. On the one hand I enjoyed and immersed myself in the stories, while on the other hand I saw any flaws such as information that was different from some that had been given weeks earlier. I didn’t realise that the writers weren’t keeping accurate notes. It was the difference between reading a serial without any involvement, and living it by getting as close to the action being described as it is possible to be. I was to all intents and purposes in the cockpit with Braddock and Bourne, an onlooker in the dressing room when manager Baldy Hogan was giving his last minute instructions to his Burhill United team, and an extra pupil at Red Circle School. I am no different now. My reservations about the last instalment of Genius Island would have been the same when it was first published as they are now had I read it at the time.

    2. The activities of Detestable Della are duplicated reasonably regularly in Thomsons’ serials for girls.

      1. I wonder how Detestable Della ended? Maybe it climaxed with the Commandant finding her out (as happened in the similar Hateful Hattie from Mandy). In one episode he was starting to get suspicious or having second thoughts about her, or something.

  4. I think we just look at them differently…….it does not mean one view is right and one is wrong. Last night I read the first instalment of GENIUS ISLAND as a sixty year old and whilst I enjoyed it I could see the silliness of the plot. The headmistress telling her that she was ear marked as the next victim as she was super intelligent etc and arranging a policeman escort is pretty daft and the two that kidnap her the next day with violence and a gun! The ending you kindly wrote up no doubt is very melodramatic and frankly unbelievable. But you have to remember this is a CHILDS comic, I never doubted it at the time I thought it was magical, wonderful and part of me still loves it! Incidentally I was bowled over that you traced KEEPER OF THE KINGS CATS I did remember it but also got it confused with the Pekinese dog one as they had several similarities. Dare I ask definately printed at the same time as FREDAS FOXES can you remember one running at the same time also in Bunty called PENNY’S POPPETS can you tell me ANYTHING about this one? Sorry for being a pain but I have a distant memory of it..

  5. Penny’s Puppets ran in Bunty 435 (May 14 1966) – 440 (Jun. 25 1966). It consisted of seven instalments because two of the issues containing the serial were numbered 437. Ten-year-old Penny Fairchild is an orphan. She is brought up by Agnes Fairchild, her widowed grandmother, a stern, cold woman who lives in seclusion at Middleton Manor, the home of the Fairchilds for many generations. Penny has a governess, Miss Beale, who comes in each day, but soon Agnes tells Penny that as she can no longer afford Miss Beale’s wages Penny must go to school.

    Penny is delighted but the clothes she is told to wear for school make her look like some kind of antique freak. She feels shy and different, and unwanted by the other boys and girls because of her manners, but her teacher, Miss Jackson, is very understanding, and Penny goes on to get all her sums right that first morning. Later that day Penny asks her grandmother if she can invite some of the children to tea on Saturday. Agnes thinks the girl has taken leave of her senses.

    Penny decides to explore the attics even though she knows that is forbidden. She finds a number of beautiful marionettes, string puppets she calls them, and decides to bring them to life by giving them names and talking to them. Inevitably she is caught by Ellen, Agnes’s housekeeper, but not before getting the puppets back into the trunk. Ellen issues a stern warning and then locks the door to the attic.

    Penny disobeys, and goes to the attic to fetch the puppets, which she hides in the potting shed. She is caught again so Agnes tells Ellen to burn them all. Ellen complies but the fire goes out. Penny takes them out, wraps them up and puts them up the chimney in her bedroom for safekeeping. She cannot resist taking them out though and creating impromptu plays with them in a wood near the Manor, where some handicapped girls from a nearby home are spellbound. The Matron asks Penny to come to the home the following day to perform at a birthday party for one of the girls. She agrees. When she gets back, late, she sees Miss Jackson knock on her door. When she sees how frightened Penny is about what she might say, Miss Jackson tells Ellen that she has called simply to let Agnes Fairchild know that Penny is doing well at school, and is sure to pass her 11+ rather than what she actually wanted to talk about, which was the clothing Penny is made to wear to school.

    The story then develops into a detailed portrayal of the unresolved historical family feud that is making everybody so unhappy. The trigger for the final search for answers is Penny’s discovery of an old poster for the London Palace of Varieties that advertises Roland, the world’s greatest puppeteer and ventriloquist, and a singer called Rose Rossay.

    When Miss Jackson takes Penny to London theatres to investigate they discover that Rose is eighty and in a rest home for retired show business people. She tells Penny and Miss Jackson that Roland was Agnes’s adored brother. The split came when Roland decided to make his living with the puppets. The resulting quarrel led Agnes to refuse ever to see him again. Roland died soon afterwards. As Penny and Miss Jackson are leaving they see a man arriving to visit Rose. Penny is sure he is Roland’s son, also called Roland. The whole family has been devastated ever since Roland senior’s quarrel with Agnes. When Penny persuades Roland junior, with some difficulty it has to be admitted, to visit his grandmother, the meeting is incredibly successful, especially as Agnes admits to Roland junior that she has never forgiven herself for what she did all those years ago.

    1. Thank you Derek very much for your wonderfully detailed account of this particular story. Of course after almost fifty years….well it will be next month(and I only read the story once) I cannot in all honesty say I remembered the latter part of this story at all. I remembered the pathos of the story and in particular the old fashioned clothes she was forced to wear and how the puppets seemed her only friends. On reflection it is a sad story I remember, perhaps that is what resonated with me. Looking at it now I suppose you would describe it as a typical story and not very remarkable I remember finding it a bit creepy as well due to the locations the attic and the woods and I would have been hooked at the time wondering what the mystery was! Also thank you for explaining regarding the incomplete I do now understand. The site as never advertised it self as being complete I just assumed it was! However if you think 52 comics would be printed in one year each carrying maybe ten stories for eight weeks and the magazines ran for years well that is a lot, probably too much for one person even with help! And, of course their own limitations of their own collection. It just makes the ladies efforts more commendable I hope she is proud of her site she should be! And due to your research on this story I see it as now been added to the index! So well done to you as well. I am useless on computers retired December 2015 after 40 years working for a major insurance company and reaching sixty felt enough was enough! Sadly I am a pre computer generation and can just do enough to get by. However, as I am not a collector I do intend contacting the site creator and will post her my 50-60 comics at my expense to her address if she wishes them and perhaps they can help fill a tiny corner for her! One final request, a very general one you will be glad to know, reading about various comics on this excellent site I was most intrigued by a comic I know nothing about SPELLBOUND. Was this a comic aimed at mystery and intrigue stories? The few I have read up on like was it called shop on shudder corner? They seem really spooky and interesting was that its market?

      1. Yes, John, Spellbound directed its mystery stories towards the occult and the unexplained. Its arrival was a real surprise. The experiment didn’t really work, so Thomsons pensioned it off after a mere sixty-nine issues. However, it did serve a purpose because the opposition, IPC/Fleetway, or whatever they were called at the time, brought out Misty, which was more groundbreaking and definitely more successful.

  6. So did MISTY also feature occult/supernatural stories and bring them to the fore? I only query as I always assumed this was another sister magazine to Bunty and Judy just came out a little later and that at that period in time there was an increased demand for this type of comic hence the new title? But are you saying its stories were slightly different?

    1. Misty was produced by IPC and therefore was not a sister comic to Bunty or Judy, which were DCT. She did produce supernatural stories, including a lot of single stories about girls getting just desserts for bullying, stealing, delinquency, tyranny etc. They ended up dying, becoming trapped, being turned into something horrible, becoming deformed, that sort of thing.

      She also produced a lot of memorable serials. These include “The Sentinels”, the only serial I know of that features an alternate reality where Hitler won WW2, “Winner Loses All!” (a Faustian tale), “The Four Faces of Eve” (a Frankenstein story) and “Moonchild” (a Carrie-inspired story). Misty came shortly after Spellbound folded. She lasted two years before merging with Tammy. Her flame still burns, and there have been attempts to revive her one way or other.

      1. While I stick mostly to DC Thomson publications on this site I do have 2 posts on Misty, the first on “The Sentinels” story as mentioned by mistyfan and the other on some of the short stories that appeared in Misty: http://girlscomicsofyesterday.com/2015/05/misty-short-stories/
        There are plans to reprint some of Misty’s story later this year, which is exciting. It was known for being more darker than other girls titles and has quite a cult status.

      2. Misty sounds FANTASTIC I wish I had known of it when it was being published. Remember how I kept banging on about them being SISTER magazines and not quite getting it until you pointed out that there were done by different publishers, well, idiot that I am I was still confused, and then I remembered was there not also one called MANDY did that cone out a year or so after Judy and is that not the similar sister magazine I meant! The names are similar, and I vaguely remember seeing a Mandy comic and it looked the same size and shape as Bunty and Judy!

        1. Just to clarify for you, John, there were ten titles for girls that DC Thomsons aimed at the 8 to 13 demographic. Here they are with their starting and ending issue numbers and dates.

          BUNTY 1 (Jan. 18 1958) – 2249 (Feb. 17 2001). [Discontinued, although there were five 64pp issues of BUNTY MONTHLY that ran from March 2001 to July 2001].
          JUDY 1 (Jan. 16 1960) – 1635 (May 11 1991). [Amalgamated with MANDY as MANDY & JUDY, M&J for short].
          DIANA 1 (Feb. 23 1963) – 720 (Dec. 4 1976). [Amalgamated with JACKIE as JACKIE & DIANA].
          MANDY 1 (Jan. 21 1967) – 1269 (May 11 1991). [Amalgamated with JUDY. See above].
          DEBBIE 1 (Feb. 17 1973) – 518 (Jan. 15 1983). [Amalgamated with MANDY as MANDY & DEBBIE].
          SPELLBOUND 1 (Sep. 25 1976) – 69 (Jan. 14 1978). Amalgamated with DEBBIE as DEBBIE & SPELLBOUND].
          EMMA 1 (Feb. 25 1978) – 81 (Sep. 8 1979). Amalgamated with JUDY as JUDY & EMMA].
          TRACY 1 (Oct. 6 1979) – 277 (Jan. 19 1985). Amalgamated with JUDY as JUDY & TRACY].
          NIKKI 1 (Feb. 23 1985) – 237 (Sep. 2 1989). Amalgamated with BUNTY as BUNTY & NIKKI].
          MANDY & JUDY {M&J} 1 (May 18 1991) – 315 (May 24 1997]. [Amalgamated with BUNTY as BUNTY WITH M&J]. This combined title only lasted for eight weeks.

          Please note that the title that appears second in the amalgamations in the above list was usually dispensed with in next to no time, the exception, apart from M&J obviously, being JUDY &TRACY that was still going strong into their third year.

          Some people feel that SUZY ought to be included in this list because more or less throughout its run it did have a similar type of content to the later issues of DIANA. Personally I am currently sitting on the fence. Here are her details anyway.
          SUZY 1 (Sep. 11 1982) – 249 (Jun. 13 1987). [Amalgamated with BUNTY as BUNTY & SUZY].

  7. Hi I would just like to congratulate on your site I think it is super! And what you have achieved is tremendous these comics ran for such a long time and carried so many different story lines it is incredible you have done so much, so, as a general comic fan who spent a lovely Easter perusing your site THANK YOU. Even for a almost computer illiterate like myself I can manage this one easily, I love the way it tells me you have already posted this is a duplication etc as I do make mistakes. I do have some Buntys and Judys from the sixties, not in great condition as both myself and my sister read them they have been well loved. But if they manage to be one piece on your ten thousand piece jig saw I would be more than happy to give you them, they are not in collector quality but well read. You could extract any useful info from them and then throw them away, I would be happy to pay the postage all I will need is an address to send them too, I also understand if you do not wish them. I was also looking on e bay and see (not sure if this is a copyright infringement) but they offer hundreds of girls comics on a DVD, again, they are ridiculously cheap £10 for a DVD set and they also might have some you do not have, I would be happy to buy these as a contribution to your work and send as well please advise if this is any help. I know I have some parts of GENIUS ISLAND and Derek as already done a full story write up so there is another small jigsaw piece. Whatever you decide you have my best wishes, I would not try to post updates myself on your site, I am not that good with computers sorry

    1. Thanks for your kind words and I’m happy that the site has kept you entertained. As for the comics, if you are sure you want to part with them, I would be happy to take them. I am not bothered about the state of them as I collect for enjoyment, without monetary considerations. I will private message you with address.

  8. Hello

    I was just wondering if anyone could help with a story I remember? It was about a girl with her mum and dad who stop at a little guest house, the owners have children and so they play a game of monopoly. The girl questions whether or not since it’s such a long game but they say it’s ok. The family leaves, on the way back they check into a hotel but the girl goes to visit the guest house family. They welcome her and start up where they left off with the game. At the end it’s revealed it’s a ghost house and she can’t leave, her parents come looking for her and she can see them out the window but they can’t see the house anymore.

    I’ve probably not remembered it exactly but if anyone knows the name or what year’s annual it was from I’d be really grateful!

    Thank you

    1. I remember that story, I think it may have been a Judy annual, I’ll check through my annuals later and try and find it.
      UPDATE: Checked through my annuals but couldn’t find it, I have a feeling it was a text story, but may be mixing it up with a similar story I found where a girl joins a game but it’s an outside game with lots of kids. But still sounds really familiar so I’ll continue to look!

      1. Thank you! It’s one of those stories that has just always really stuck with me and I’d love to be able to find it again!

  9. Could CM give us some idea of the year she would have received the annual and, despite the fact that she has posted the enquiry under ‘Bunty Stories’, whether it is possible that it might have appeared in an annual not produced by Thomsons, such as School Friend or Tammy for instance.

    1. It should have been the 90s that I received it, or possibly late 80s. I feel pretty confident that it was Bunty as it’s the only annual I can remember getting but my memory could be failing me

  10. Hi all,

    I’m so thrilled to find this site. I’ve left some comments under some of the stories. My all-time favourite was ‘The Taming Of Teresa’ which was first out in 1969/70. I have only just learned that it was reprinted in 1979. But I loved it. I tried to recreate it in an old exercise book complete with childish drawings which I’ve still got! I think that must be because we had to throw out our old comics each week, I imagine (or after a few weeks). Anyway, in 1985, at the age of 26, I wanted to read it again so I wrote to Bunty and they sent me a copy as it was one of their Lucky Charm collection – and I still have it to this day! I must read it again sometime, although I had in fact committed large parts of it to memory, and decades later it was the inspiration for one of my novels which also mentions this story!

    Another favourite was Princess Of Sorrow. My sister sent off for it for my 40th birthday and some kind soul photocopied it all for me! So I was able to read that in its entirety again too.

    Another favourites were Ann All Alone. Plus Secondhand Sue (I don’t think that’s mentioned in the list) and Too Many Cookes (not the one mentioned in the list here) this was in the 1960s and featured a girl and her young siblings, one of them a baby in a pram, wandering around in poverty and their house had been condemned. It was probably quite radical for its time!

    Anyway, I’ve just started a Bunty board on Pinterest and another for The Taming Of Teresa.

    Happy memories, folks, and thanks for this site!

    1. Glad you like the site! The Taming of Teresa is a great story, it was nice of DC Thomson to send you on the Lucky Charm reprint.

      1. Indeed! I treasure my copy of The Taming Of Teresa. It’s very browned round the edges now…but until now I’ve never found others who shared my passion for it. The wonders of the internet, eh, and for people like yourself for enabling us to connect with others!

  11. There was also a story called Kay For Courage that was ahead of its time about a girl in a wheelchair who was pulled along by her dogs.

    1. The novel that Kate Rigby is referring to above is called Savage To Savvy. I have recently bought it in a chunky paperback version from Waterstones in Liverpool but I did have to order it first. I haven’t enough time to read it at the moment but it is tempting.

  12. Does anyone remember a story where for some reason a girl has to get to a top of a mountain full of whispering stones. If she looks at the rocks she will turn in to one herself, as that is how all the other stones got there. Anyway, I remember she makes it to the top, but not much else. I just remember that story haunted me for ages!

    1. It would be helpful initially, Michaela, given that Bunty ran for 2249 issues between 1958 and 2001, if you could give us a rough idea of the years during which you were reading Bunty in order to narrow our search area, and also any hints as to a title for the serial. Furthermore is it possible that the story was a complete in a Bunty annual rather than in the weekly story paper?

  13. Hi. I wonder if anyone came help me. I am trying to track down an Annual for my partner. Only information I have is that it was “The Bunty” and featured amongst other things the story of the ballet “Coppelia”. Possibly in another annual was make-up tips from Lesley ashe. Any ideas? we are probably looking at mid-70`s. Tried researching on line but they tend to just talk about price and condition rather than content. Thanks and hope you can help!

    1. I can answer the first query, John. The ballet Coppelia was featured as a double-page spread (pp 68 and 69)in the Bunty annual for 1973.

      1. Where make-up is concerned there is a double-page spread (pp 58 and 59) in the 1975 Bunty annual covering skin, hair, eyes, lips, hands, nails, feet, and posture. However, there is no reference to Leslie Ash so this is probably not what you are looking for unfortunately.

  14. I really enjoyed a story about a town girl who went to stay with her Uncle in (I think) an old farmhouse in the country during the summer holidays. She was bored. So he set her some tasks. A sort of treasure hunt (i.e.) find the grinning face which turned out to be a door knocker after she cleaned it. Or he wanted a meal cooked and there was no food in the house or so she thought, she then found fresh food in the garden by digging up carrots etc… It sounds odd and boring writing it out. But it was sort of a lesson within the story. I am thinking it was a one off story in one of the Christmas annuals. Maybe Bunty. I really cannot remember. Does anyone know that I am talking about? Also what magazine was the Four Marys in?

  15. Some time in the mid to late 1960s I got June and School Friend comic and a friend got Bunty. Every so often our mothers collected a pile of them and swapped them, and I hope Ann enjoyed J&SF as much as I enjoyed B.

    One of the regular illustrated stories in the Bunty was called ‘The Days’ or maybe ‘The Happy Days’, or similar, about a family called (you’ve guessed it) Day. One of the stories concerned the father building a boat in his garage. When it was finished, in the penultimate episode, he went proudly to get it out of the garage. But he couldn’t, because the boat was far bigger than the garage doors. The episode ended there – but the next issue of Bunty was missing!!!

    Honestly, I have had an interesting life and I do get out, but I’ve never forgotten this and so I thought I’d put it to the collective wisdom of GO: Does anyone else remember this story and WHAT HAPPENED NEXT?

    It was in the regular comic, not in one of those little story booklets some comics issued.

  16. Can anyone remember a story from a Bunty Christmas annual about a gypsy girl who discovers she the twin sister of a young girl from a well to do family in Victorian times. What year annual was it?

    1. I’ll double check annuals I have, though nothing springs to mind immediately. Most of my Bunty annuals are from the 90s though, any idea what decade the annual maybe from?

    2. I too am trying to find this particular story! I can’t for the life of me remember what it was called and have spent the best part of an hour trying to find it. It was in one of my mums old books, which have had to be thrown away due to mice!! I really want to read this story to my children as I loved it and it’s the only one that seems to have stayed in my mind all these years!

      1. So I’ve checked all the Bunty annuals I have, but I don’t have a lot of 1960s/70s books. Of course there’s always the chance it was in a different book, like Mandy. But if you could give any more details of what you remember about the story or around what year it would have been, I could ask on the comics forum and see if anyone can help.

        1. So it was the text story “No Time to Dream” from the Mandy 1971 annual, thanks to Goof and all on Comicsuk forum for their efforts looking through their annuals.

    1. It’s not a book I have read myself. I do see 30th century comics have a copy listed for £2. They are based in London and do have a minimum spend (£10 I think) if you want to have it delivered.

    2. BUNTY 182 (July 8 1961)

      The serials

      Lorna Drake – On the lonely road of a ballerina (Lorna’s portrait is finished – and then the excitement begins.)
      One Shall Be Queen – (Podge and Janet arrive at their destination.)
      The Four Marys – (A new store means trouble for the Simpsons.)
      Sue Of Starholme – [text form] (A blind girl is able to “see” Sue with her fingers.)
      Flora The Flower Girl (A runaway horse does a good turn to Flora.)
      The Secret Of The Six Dolls (Betsy wins praise from a famous dress designer – and learns the secret of the mystery dolls.)
      Katy O’Connor – Ship’s Nurse ( A storm at sea – and the Ventura receives a distress signal.)
      Penny Brown – Club Leader (A photography lecture leads Penny to an exciting adventure.) [final instalment : replaced next week by The City Under The Sea.]
      Lisa The Lonely Princess (Danger threatens the dancing princess.)
      Alison Of Appletree Farm (A load of cheap hay lands Alison In Trouble.)
      Captain Shirley [text form] (Shirley enters an art contest, but she’s not too happy with her effort!)

    3. Please note ‘c’ that yesterday I posted below, on this thread, the details about the serials in BUNTY 182 that you requested our help with.

      1. Please note, that the post that I have just mentioned as being below the list of the serials in BUNTY 182 now, for some reason, appears above it!! Perhaps that’s my fault.

  17. I’m being driven slightly dotty by fragments of memory of stories from Bunty or Mandy, probably from issues in the early to mid ’80s….

    The first story I remember is of a girl who was transported to a fantasy-land where she had to find her way home but most of the signposts said the wrong thing, the rocks and the animals all seemed to speak etc….

    Second story, and perhaps this was even more of a cheese-dream, I just remember it was a futuristic world where ‘older people’ were sent off to die. Not much, but surely a strong enough hook for someone to recall it?

    Anyone who can possibly put me out of my misery without spending weeks trying every link on here, please? 😀

    1. The first story is it possibly Prisoners of the Rainbow from Bunty: http://girlscomicsofyesterday.com/2014/04/prisoners-of-the-rainbow/
      EDIT another suggestion Land of Nowhere http://girlscomicsofyesterday.com/2014/12/the-land-of-nowhere/
      The second one does sound familiar too, i’ve made an enquiry on the comicsuk forum to see if anyone can help.
      The Frightening Fours doesn’t have adults sent away but has anyone over the age of 16 fall asleep. http://girlscomicsofyesterday.com/2016/06/the-frightening-fours-2/

  18. Thank you very much.

    Land of Nowhere looks very much like it and now I know which back-issues to try 🙂

    Not sure about the second, I just have this hazy recollection that the older adults (grandparents, maybe) were sent away in that society, with the implication being they were to die. Sounds dark but it was definitely a comic strip and I mainly read Mandy and Bunty back then.

    1. No luck so far on the second story, I had a thought about a story, Cybela (Judy) which had an overpopulated future but they decided to put down animals, so no old people sent away in that case! I will update if I do find something more matching.

  19. The story that still sticks with me was about a girl who got kidnapped and forced into military training. They shaved her head and put her in uniform, and she had to do assault courses and combat training. Nobody would explain what was going on. I think she was a bit of a spoilt girl from a boarding school so all this upset her terribly, but then she decided to knuckle down and learn all the military stuff. Eventually she was able to use what she was being taught to her own advantage. Can’t remember how it all ended though! But I did admire her for turning the tables on her kidnappers. I think it was in Bunty, but could have been June and Schoolfriend as these were the two I read every week. Late 60s to early 70s. Any details much appreciated to put me out of my misery!

    1. Sorry, doesn’t sound familiar to me. It sure sounds intriguing though! I would be interested to know what it is.

    2. Sorry Cassie, we’ve reached a dead end on this one. Nothing has turned up in Bunty, June and School Friend or other titles that matches the description. Is there anything else you can remember about it that might help things along? And are you sure that what you do remember about the story is correct?

  20. I received Bunty as my weekly Comic from 1964 to 1969 and really enjoyed it. The following 20 stories are not on your list:

    The Oakfield Outcasts
    Tilly Take the Blame
    Trixie and the Mad Toy Maker
    The Lollypop Kid
    Stella Who
    Hai of Highwood
    Fiona and the Future
    The Pride of the Priestleys
    The Silver Skis
    The Search for Sister Stella
    The Badge for Bessie
    Her Fabulous Father
    Morag’s Medals
    Slave to the Trumpet
    Trudy the Reluctant Truant
    No one Wants Wendy
    Little Mother Meg
    Hopes Hostel
    Second Hand Sue
    Karen and Kim

    You might like to add them to your list.

    My particular favourites were The Silver Skis, Little Mother Meg and Karen and Kim.

    Do you have any details on The Silver Skis or Karen and Kim?

    As I recall The Silver Skis involved a girl called Sonya Hestle whose parents run a hostel at the top of a ski slope in Switzerland. Sonya loves skiing and whilst out on the slopes meets up with a girl from the village down in the valley, called Margit Bruner. One day whilst out skiing the come to the aid of a lady called Mrs Frobisher who has twisted her ankle, also from the village. Somehow it turns out that Sonya and Margit are in fact sisters and Sonya’s parents are not hers. She eventually goes to live with her real parents and sister down in the village. Can you enlighten me further?

    Karen’s father is a policeman and she is desperately keen to own a police Alsatian dog. He promises one for her 13th birthday. Shortly afterwards her father has a heart attack and dies. Karen’s step mother is against her having the dog who is called Kim and when he is accused of killing some sheep Karen runs away with him travelling in the back of a large van. That’s all I can remember so any help would be much appreciated?

    More information on The Blitz Kids and the Girl with the Dancing Skates, The Search for Sister Stella, Stella Who, and Fiona and the Fortune please? .I think there was a story about a family that run a hot potato stall? Also one called Alona the Wild One?

    Help please from you or anyone else who remembers any of these stories.

    Many thanks, Arminel

    1. The name Sonya Hestle is clearly based on that of the great Norwegian figure skater Sonja Henie, who, if memory serves, won more than one Olympic gold medal in the 1920s/30s.

  21. The only one of these I can help with is the last that you mention, Alona the Wild One. This was not a Bunty series, but was published in Princess and its successor Princess Tina. I don’t know exactly when it started (1965 or earlier), but it ran until March 1970.

    It was a series of action adventure stories, usually set in exotic locations. Alona’s upbringing in the South Seas gave her an exceptional ability in swimming and diving which provided a touch of the superheroine, and her recklessly daring temperament brought an original twist to some of the stories, as it made her as good at getting into trouble as she was at getting out of it. This was less obvious in the later stories, and she became more like other action heroines of the period.

    Quite a few of the stories were reprinted in Princess/Princess Tina Annuals, and there was also a series of reprints in Tina (as Princess Tina was then called) in 1973/74.

  22. Does anybody know when the story “Georgie and Griff” ran in Bunty? I’ve never seen it referred to in discussion, and it’s not in the Bunty story list, but there were appearances in the 1979 and 1981 Annuals. It also appeared in the 1978 Summer Special, where it was referred to as “a Bunty Favourite”. This suggests a range of around 1976 to 1980 for the weekly series. Artist Matias Alonso.

  23. My all time favourite Bunty stories were Beggars’ Academy, The Evil of Emily, Second Best Babs, Wild Rose, Tuesday’s Child and Winnie on Wheels. I have vivid memories of all of these. I could never get into the Four Marys and wasn’t a fan of the comedy stories like the Flights of Floppear.

    1. That could be one of the great things about comics, such variety meant you were sure to like at least some of the stories! I was always drawn to Sci-Fi and Mystery stories first but also liked some drama!

  24. Hello everyone,

    Was hoping to pick the collective memory with a story. In Dutch, it was reprinted in 1979’s Tinas as “De avonturen van Prins Jasper”, meaning “The adventures of Prince Jasper”. It is about an old lady and her prizes winning white cat Prince Jasper the Third. The old lady passes suddenly and leaves all her earthly possessions to her cat, and the cat to the housekeeper’s teen daughter Tillie, because she was the only one kind to the old lady and her cat. The old lady’s nephew plans to kill the cat, as that will cause the inheritance to fall back on him. He tries to poison the cat, chases it onto a busy road, sends a nasty dog after it et cetera.

    Anything ring a bell?

    Regards,
    Ramon

    1. Although I can think of plenty of stories with devious nephews trying to get an inheritance, I can’t think of ones with cats. There was a Mandy picture story library Karen’s Cats with a similar plot, though in that case there was lots of cats and I think it was a niece trying to get inheritance, I just remember one of the cats having to be rescued from a washing machine at one point.

      1. The premise sounds similar to “The Aristocats”. Perhaps it was inspired by that movie. I can imagine the story must have been pretty funny, the way the niece/ nephew’s attempts to kill the cat kept failing.

    2. You may not see this since so much time has passed since you asked about this story. The story you are looking for is “King Cat”. It started in Bunty #1068 (July 1, 1978) and ended in Bunty #1078 (September 9, 1978).

      1. I didn’t mention that the girls name in “King Cat” is Tracy instead of Tillie. The cat is a white Persian named Jasper.

  25. In the #880s, Bunty had a one-pager that was translated into as “Stalen Stien”. It is about a young girl in a western setting that has Desperate Dan-like strength.

    Does this ring a bell for anyone?

    Regards,
    Ramon

    1. I checked “Mighty Mo” and it is a one page story of the strongest girl in Cactus Creek. It has a humorous tone and is in a western setting. It is in Bunty #834 (January 5, 1974) although this is not the beginning of it. It’s still in Bunty #897 (March 22, 1975). I don’t know how many more issues it appeared in.

  26. I believe you are thinking about “Mighty Mo”. It was in Bunty about this time. I don’t know the starting or ending date of it.

  27. I am hoping to find another Bunty story. In Dutch, it translates as “Who Is Tessa?” but I have not found a matching Bunty title similar.

    Teenage orphan Tess had taken care of her grandfather until the day he died. She then inherits his house and fortune, bypassing Tess’ cousin Telma (Thelma?) who only receives a broche. Telma and her mother Helena then plot to replace Tess with Telma, as they look so alike.

    Any takers?

    Regards,
    Ramon

    1. The title you are looking for is “The Truth About Tessa”. The cousin’s name is Tansy and her mother’s name is Helena.

  28. I think Ramon already knows that, Ronnie. Given that he uses the word ‘reprinted’, it seems obvious to me that he is looking for is a prequel. I’m not sure there even is one, but if there is, it certainly doesn’t have that title.

  29. I couldn’t understand why he would would need the title as he knew the issues, but as he wrote “I have not found a matching Bunty title similar”. I thought I would provide the title just in case.

  30. Hi, i am looking for a story that I think was printed in Bunty around 1981-1983 – I don;t think it was later than this as I left for high school in 9184 and didn’t read the comics as much after that. The story was about a Princess (might have been Incan) and her name was Mora, she had long dark hair and a white dress that reminded me of Roman togas? I’ve checked the Princess of the Sun story that Bunty ran in the 70’s, it definately isn’t that. Unfortunately I can’t remember any more details and was hoping someone might remember it. Thanks in advance, Tracy

    1. I looked at “Necklace of the Sun” some more today. It starts with Mora being chosen high priestess. The daughter of the last high priestess is jealous and summons OTYS, mistress of murder (who appears as a black cat) to kill her before she puts on the Necklace of the Sun. She escapes by being sent by the gods to 1982. Her dress does resemble a toga. The story is about Mora trying to find the necklace and escape from OTYS. In the end she puts the necklace on after it is found and returned. She then goes back in time to be high priestess while wearing this white dress. OTYS’s punishment is is to be meek and gentle.

  31. Could the story you are looking for be “Necklace of the Sun”? It started in Bunty: #1250 (December 26, 1981) and ended in Bunty: #1267 (April 24, 1982). It’s about a young girl named Mora from Stonehenge in 2,000 BC who is transported to 1982.

  32. Mora is clearly an extremely experienced time traveller. She was in Stonehenge in 2000 BC, she met Ronnie in 1982, and Tracy has just got back after spending some time with her in 9184. Personally speaking, I know that I would not enjoy being someone like Mora because sometimes my head can be spinning even after a short train journey from Penzance to Hayle (15 minutes). My remedy is to walk down from the station to the White Hart pub, put my bag on one of the tables, get my book out, go to the bar and order a nice cold pint of lager from Mary or Liz. This lunchtime I got there about 12.30pm, and by the time I got to the bar Karen was already pulling my pint. When I pointed out to her that I hadn’t actually placed an order, she said, ” Well, Derek, I simply assumed that you would find this pint of ‘Cornish’ very acceptable given that it’s the only beer we’ve got on at the moment. We ARE expecting a delivery by 3pm but you and your book will already be back by home by then. I was!!!

  33. I need some details on “Miss Popularity” (Bunty) for an entry:

    1: The name of the protagonist
    2: The name of the antagonist (which I think was Anna Brown, but I want to confirm)
    3: Publication dates

    Any help appreciated, thanks!

  34. I have found a story called “Miss Popularity” beginning in Bunty #1858 (August 21, 1993) and ending in Bunty #1871 (November 20, 1993). This may not be the one you are looking for though. In this story Fiona Taylor wins a Miss Popularity contest sponsored by a perfume company. She is to promote a new teen perfume named Popularity. A secret enemy spoils things for her at all the functions she attends and turns her friends against her. It turns out to be her boyfriend, Tom Brown. He was getting revenge for his sister, Amanda Brown who was upset because she didn’t win. Amanda didn’t know her brother was doing this, promised to keep her brother under control and got her classmates to be friends with Fiona again.

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