Tag Archives: Cinderella story

The Girl with the Power [1980]

Tracy, , , , , ,

Published: Tracy #31 (May 3 1980) – #41 (July 12 1980)

Episodes: 11

Artist: Carmona

Writer: Unknown

Reprints: None known

Special thanks to “Phoenix” for help with some episodes

Plot

Karen Chandler’s father has been jailed for buying stolen goods and attempted murder of an accomplice, the lorry driver, who is now in a coma. The only real evidence against him was the police finding him standing over the driver with an iron bar in his hand. Since then, Dad’s partners in a restaurant, Sam and Nadine Lee, have been turning Karen into a drudge at the restaurant. They lumber her with so much work she doesn’t even get proper sleep.  In addition to the drudgery, there is also bullying at school where the girls constantly tease Karen over her father’s imprisonment. It is no wonder that Karen’s schoolwork is suffering as well.

Karen’s fortunes change on the day the biology teacher sends her class out to collect specimens for a list of plants. Karen unwittingly trespasses into the Energy Research Unit when she fails to see a “Keep Out” sign. There is an explosion at the laboratory, which has Karen’s head spinning. But she doesn’t realise how much the accident has affected her until that evening when Mrs Lee orders her to bring up a heavy sack of potatoes from the cellar. When Karen wishes she didn’t have to lug that heavy sack up the stairs, the sack suddenly moves all the way up there all by itself! Karen realises the accident at the laboratory has somehow given her telekinesis, the power to move objects by thought.

All of a sudden, life has gotten a whole lot easier. It has to be kept secret though, because Karen does not want those slave-driving Lees to exploit her power if they find out about it. Instead, Karen uses her telekinesis for the purpose of secret survival, revenge, and help.

It all begins later that evening, when Mr Lee orders Karen to clean up the restaurant. He is astonished to find the restaurant looks like it has been cleaned up with super-speed or something (with Karen’s telekinesis of course). This enables Karen to get a proper night’s sleep for a change. From then on, the telekinesis helps Karen to get her work done in record time, much to the bafflement of the Lees. For example, when Karen wants to go to the circus, the Lees give her permission and even pay for her ticket – but on condition she gets all her work done first. Of course they deliberately lay even more work her to stop her going, but Karen gets it all done with her telekinesis. So the Lees have to let her go to the circus.

On another occasion Mr Lees lumbers Karen with the job of stripping off the wallpaper for redecorating – and late at night when Karen needs to be in bed – to save him the expense of having the decorator do it. He doesn’t care about Karen staying up half the night doing it, but of course her telekinesis spares her that. Next day, the decorator collapses because he has been working too hard, so Karen does the job for him telekinetically as he needs the money to take his sick wife on holiday. Mr Lee can’t understand why Karen receives a postcard from the decorator expressing gratitude for her help and saying his wife is getting better.

Naturally, Karen starts using her power to secretly strike back at the girls who have been bullying her about her father’s imprisonment. School bully Lydia Welch eggs them on to start baiting Karen, at which she uses her power to turn the window cleaner’s bucket toppling over them and giving them a soaking. Later Karen rescues a younger pupil from Lydia. After a few days, a teacher tells Karen that her schoolwork has improved tremendously. On a school outing to an open zoo, Lydia keeps making snide remarks about Karen’s father. Karen snaps and tips a drink in Lydia’s lap telekinetically.

Karen starts practising in the woods to test the strength of her power. After a week her power gets strong enough to tear trees down. Unfortunately the tree lands on top of Lydia, so Karen has to go get help for her. Yes, Karen definitely has to be careful how she uses that power as it can backfire!

When Lydia comes out of hospital, she is not grateful for the rescue, and continues to plague Karen. When the Welches invite Karen over for tea in order to say thank you, Lydia does not want them to do so again. So she plants her new watch in Karen’s bag to frame her for stealing. Luckily, Karen finds the watch and uses her telekinesis to send the watch back to Lydia’s room upstairs. It’s a challenge as this is the first time Karen has to move something to a destination that is totally out of her sight and without being able to direct it visually, because she can’t move from her seat. Fortunately it pays off, and Lydia is very surprised to find the watch back in her jewellery box!

Karen’s power scores over Lydia again when a temporary pupil, Mandy Clark, makes a friend for Karen against all the bullying. When Lydia tries to put Mandy out of a talent contest, it’s Karen’s power to the rescue. Karen also confronts Lydia with the evidence she carelessly dropped, and Lydia goes off looking very sour-faced.

Karen’s telekinesis enables her to get secret revenge on other people. For example, she strikes back at two rude customers by removing the meat from their plates, and their argument over it nearly comes to blows.

The power also helps Karen on occasions when she gets into real danger. One night, thieves break in to rob the restaurant, and they tie Karen up when she tries to give the alarm. Karen calls 999 telekinetically, and then hits one thief with sauce and the other with flour, which starts a fight between them. As planned, this delays the thieves long enough for the police to arrive. On the aforementioned visit to the zoo, Karen nearly becomes lunch for an escaped lioness and uses her power to stop the lioness mid-air when she tries to pounce.

Of course circumstances arise for Karen to use her power to secretly help other people, such as the exhausted decorator. And at the aforementioned visit to the circus, naughty boys set fire to the Big Top, and it’s a real blaze. Karen uses her power to help a boy who got trapped in the fire. Unfortunately the child sees Karen’s telekinesis and nearly gives her secret away when the circus folk come to reward her. Fortunately they put it down to the boy’s imagination. Karen gets some reward money and her picture in the paper. The Lees ham it up to the reporter about how they treat Karen like their very own daughter (ha, ha!) as they are capitalising on the publicity this will bring for their restaurant.

Sometimes the Lees’ cruelty just explodes in their faces, and Karen does not even need her power for that. On such an occasion, Mr Lee is trying to impress Alex Egan from The Daily Globe, as a mention in Alex’s “Good Restaurant” column will mean more business (and more work for put-upon Karen). Unfortunately for him, he assumes Alex Egan is a man and therefore focuses all attention on the male diner that night. Moreover, the chef and Mrs Lee are laid up with flu, so service slows right down with only Karen in charge and Mr Lee clearly not bothering to get extra help. But it turns out Alex Egan is a woman. She tells them she did not enjoy her meal due to the slow service, though she understands the pressure the waitress was under. So she will not be mentioning them in her column!

Matters come to a head when the police arrive and say the Lees are to accompany them to the police station; the lorry driver has come out of his coma and provided them with vital information. Mr Lee tries a desperate getaway by taking Karen hostage and holding a knife to her throat. Karen uses her power to slam the car door on his arm so he drops the knife, and then she knocks him out with a heavy box. He is arrested.

Karen is suddenly overcome with dizziness and put to bed. The doctor says she is suffering from exhaustion. When she recovers, she finds her father has returned. It turns out Mr Lee committed the crimes Dad was convicted of. An argument erupted between Mr Lee and the lorry driver who had been supplying him with the stolen goods, which resulted in Mr Lee hitting him with the iron bar. Dad came along at the wrong moment and made the cardinal error of picking up the iron bar. This led the police and then the jury to assume he had committed the assault. However, the lorry driver has come out his coma and told the police the truth.

Karen tries to display her telekinetic power in front of her father, but finds she no longer has it. The power has vanished as suddenly and mysteriously as it came. But then, Karen has her father back and is free of the Lees, so she does not need it anymore.

Thoughts

Here we have a protagonist who has not one but three fronts against her at once. The first is the Cinderella theme, where Karen is made the drudge in the restaurant under the Lees who lumber her with all the work and don’t care about her wellbeing at all. They make the excuse of food and board to not pay Karen a penny, and we get plenty of evidence that they are mean, money-grasping sods before the reveal comes at the end that they are criminals as well, and are responsible for Dad’s wrongful conviction. So Karen has been slaving for the very people who caused all her troubles in the first place. Talk about adding insult to injury!

The second is the unjust conviction theme, where the father is wrongly convicted. This has led to her slaving under the Lees, and Karen has to bear the stigma of a jailbird father as well. She cannot believe her father is guilty, which is the only thing she has to help her bear the stigma. Unlike other stories about wrongly accused fathers, clearing him is not the main thrust of the story, although of course it is the only way to resolve it in the final episode.

The third is the bullying theme, where Karen is the target of bullying and ostracism at school because of her father’s disgrace. She has a particularly spiteful enemy in Lydia Welch, who has no redeeming characteristics whatsoever. Throughout the story, Lydia picks on Karen and just loves to rub it in about her unfortunate father.

So it is only fair that Karen is given a particularly powerful weapon to deal with all three fronts. It’s a nice change for a Cinderella character to be given a secret power to help her cope with all the drudgery and misery instead of the more usual talent that she is determined to keep up amid all the abuse against her. Moreover, it is a power that makes life a whole lot easier for Karen. It helps her to get her monstrous workloads done in record time and enable her to get some space for treats, relaxation, and relief. It also helps her to strike back at the bullies at school and other unsavoury types she encounters, and even secretly help other people.

The means by which Karen gets the power in the first place is a bit unbelievable, as is her losing the power with no explanation whatsoever. It just seems to disappear at the most convenient moment – when it is no longer needed. The origin of the power could have been thought out better so it would be more credible to readers. For example, could some third party have given her the power, such as a stranded alien? Or could they have had Karen hit by, say, a bolt of electricity during the laboratory accident?

The power itself is one we all love – the power of telekinesis. We would all love to have telekinesis. It’s the perfect power for the situations Karen faces, including tackling heavy workloads, and does not get her into too many scrapes when things backfire a bit. It is understandable that Karen wants to keep her power a secret because she is afraid of the Lees exploiting it. She is not Carrie, who uses her power openly to strike back at all the abusers when they push her too far. Karen does use her power to strike back, but unlike Carrie she has to do it discreetly. It is also fortunate for Karen that the Lees never seemed to grow suspicious of how she seemed to get her work done so miraculously and keep a discreet eye on her while she worked.

The way in which the father is cleared comes a bit quick in the last episode, but it does not come across as contrived. The setup for the father’s vindication (the unconscious lorry driver recovering and making a statement) had been there from the beginning. It was just waiting for the go-ahead to be developed in the final episode. Until then, there is no pursuing the avenue of clearing him. Karen does no investigating into that line (too much on her plate as it is, even with the power) and there are no clues to make her or the readers suspect the Lees. It is pretty odd that the Lees did not try to kill the lorry driver in hospital; their attack on Karen at the end suggests they could be capable of it. Perhaps they feared it would arouse suspicion?

The Posy Princess 1975)

Mandy, ,

 Posy Princess logo

Published: Mandy: #87 (14 September 1968) – #93 (26 October 1968).

Reprinted:

  • Mandy:  #454 (27 September 1975) – #460 (8 November 1975)
  • Mandy: #970 (17 August 1985) – #976 (28 September 1985) [with new art]

Artist: Unknown

Plot

When Jill Bailey is orphaned, she goes to live with her Uncle Jack, Aunt Betty and cousin Marilyn, who run “The Weeping Willow” Hotel. Jill’s parents did not talk about them and she soon finds out why: they are callous, selfish people who care nothing for her. They tell her that if she is to stay, she will have to work for her keep – which is of course their excuse to use her as unpaid slave labour at the hotel. Jill soon finds her cousin Marilyn is no better. She is a lazy, selfish girl who just uses Jill to wait on her and do all the work.

Jill does have a kind relative, her Aunt Kate. Aunt Kate could take Jill in. The trouble is, Aunt Kate lives in New Zealand.

Posy Princess 1

At least Jill finds friends in Mrs Smith the Cook and Barbara the part-time chambermaid, who are not treated well at the Weeping Willow either. Cook tells Jill about the Posy Princess competition, where contestants win posies at various tests, and the girl who wins the most posies wins. As this year’s Posy Princess competition is the centenary one, there is a special prize of a month’s holiday anywhere in the world.

This prize would enable Jill to get to New Zealand and track down Aunt Kate. However, Jill is initially nervous at such a challenge and does not think she is up to it. Eventually Cook’s encouragement and the chance to escape her horrible relatives spur her on.

However, Marilyn is entering the Posy Princess competition as well. And of course she is doing everything she can to sabotage Jill. But Jill often gets help from Cook and Barbara, who do everything they can to help foil Marilyn’s schemes and make sure Jill wins the heats.

And there are times when Marilyn’s dirty tricks backfire and unwittingly end up helping Jill. For example, in the first test she tries to ruin Jill’s outfit by sending her out in drenching rain to do shopping. But it’s Cook to the rescue with a new outfit and Jill has to do an impromptu speech as she lost the other one with her ruined outfit. But the judges like her appearance and speech so much that they give her more posies than Marilyn. So thanks to Marilyn’s trick, Jill ended up doing better than she anticipated in the first test.

Marilyn’s next trick, in a first aid test, causes Jill to lose a posy for lateness. But Jill passes the test itself with flying colours, so remains equal with Marilyn.

Posy Princess 5

In the third test, for cookery, Marilyn thinks she has been more successful with her dirty tricks. She ruins the sponge cake Jill has made for it and its replacement is not as good as the first. But the sponge cake is only one half of the test, and by the end of the second half (making a difficult trifle with the sponge), Jill remains equal with Marilyn.

The next test is to make a dress. Marilyn tries to sabotage Jill by locking up the sewing machine. When Jill finishes the dress on another machine with Barbara’s help, Marilyn tries to make her miss the event by sending her out on an errand. But Barbara, posing as Jill, foils Marilyn again, and now Jill is one posy ahead of her.

It looks like the fifth test – a beauty contest – has Jill beat because the hotel drudgery is ruining her appearance. But Cook has some remedies (lemon juice to whiten the red hands and oil to soften them). Marilyn lends an unwitting hand in trying to ruin Jill’s hairstyle and dress, which in fact results in Jill going in for replacement styles that are more becoming. So Jill ends up with more posies than Marilyn.

In the next test, Marilyn tries another trick to put Jill out of the way, and this time it is more successful. Jill ends up stranded at Drayford Market with no hope of getting to her test – high tea with the Mayor and Mayoress – on time. She gets a lift back, but the ride is too slow and the driver won’t stop giving her lectures on the history of the area. But it all comes in useful when the mayor gives her a second chance to take the test, which demands good knowledge of the district. Jill, being new to the district, would not have been able to pull that off if it hadn’t been for the driver and Marilyn’s trick. So although Marilyn’s subterfuge did cost Jill a posy, it backfired in the end (again) by helping her pass the test.

So Jill is still in the lead, but only by one posy, and there is just one test to go. This means the last test is going to be tight.

The test is one for “personality, tact and general helpfulness”. A secret judge will be watching the five remaining contestants for this. Marilyn assumes the secret judge is the latest guest at the hotel, and goes out of her way to impress him with out-of-character hard work and good service. Along the way she tries to sabotage Jill again by tripping her up while she is lugging a trolley in order to create a bad impression on the man. She then brags to Jill that she did that to make sure Jill does not win the final round. To make doubly sure, Marilyn tries to make Jill miss the last contest by forcing her to slave in the kitchen all week.

Posy Princess 2

Neither Jill nor Marilyn realise the window cleaner has seen and heard everything. But when Jill makes it to the contest with Cook’s help, she discovers the window cleaner was the secret judge, not the guest. And of course he declares Jill the winner of the Posy Princess competition. Marilyn, who came second, is appointed Jill’s attendant. Marilyn has unwittingly helped Jill to win again, and this time it is the top prize itself!

A month later, Jill is heading for New Zealand to find Aunt Kate. Her horrible relatives can only watch in seething silence as Jill departs. On the plane there is a nice surprise for Jill. Cook is coming too, both as Jill’s chaperone and to escape the hotel as well.

Thoughts

There is no doubt this is a Cinderella story. The emphasis is more on the wicked stepsister than the wicked step-parents – er, uncle and aunt, whom we don’t see much of in the story. But then the main conflict of the story is meant to focus on Marilyn and Jill as they both compete for the Posy Princess competition.

In our brief glimpses of Uncle Jack, we immediately sense that the conflict between Marilyn and Jill mirrors the conflict between Uncle Jack and his late brother Bill (Jill’s father). Jill’s father never spoke of his brother, and Jill soon finds Uncle Jack does not speak of his brother kindly either. When he meets Jill he is not in the least bit overjoyed to see her and says, “You look like [my brother], I must say – good for nothing!” Clearly a case of good brother vs. bad brother, and now the same good vs. bad passes to the next generation in the Posy Princess competition.

Posy Princess 3

Our Cinderella protagonist shows she is human and at first is less proactive than most of her counterparts. Jill only enters the contest out of desperation and Cook’s encouragement. But at the beginning she lacks confidence: “I can’t enter, though. I’m hopeless at tests”. Jill finds the first challenge – speaking in public and being “judged on poise and praise” so daunting. But thanks to Marilyn’s unwitting help and Cook’s genuine help, Jill not only passes the first test but also discovers a whole new skill – thinking on her feet. Her confidence is growing, and along the way she develops in courage, such as where she plucks up enough courage to go apologise to the mayor after she misses his appointment. Jill almost sits out the final judging because she thinks Marilyn has cast her in a bad light with the secret judge, so Cook helps her once again by insisting on taking her there herself. It was just as well because Jill would have missed the grand prize otherwise. Ultimately the newfound strengths in Jill’s character impress the secret judge: “she managed to stay polite and cheerful under the most difficult and trying circumstances”.

During the story Jill always needs support and advice from Cook and Barbara. In so many Cinderella-type stories the protagonist has only herself to depend on because there is nobody else to turn to except a fairy godmother figure who is sympathetic but either does not realise what is going on or is powerless to intervene. But in this case it is different in that the fairy godmother helps throughout. It is also different in that Jill is less proactive than most Cinderella-type protagonists. She is less capable of getting herself out of the scrapes and obstacles that her nasty relatives put in her path. If not for Cook and Barbara she would never have made it through the competition. But it makes a delightful change to see the Cinderella protagonist have help throughout the story for once instead of having to battle on alone. There is no doubt Cook is the Fairy Godmother figure of the serial. The artwork even gives her the semblance of a fairy godmother in her kind, grandmotherly appearance.

Marilyn, the wicked stepsister figure, unwittingly helps Jill to win as well. So many of her tricks end up backfiring and give Jill a helping hand where Jill would have failed. If Marilyn had left things alone, Jill would have fallen behind her without her needing to do anything really dirty. But although Marilyn’s tricks do get Jill docked a couple of posies, Jill never falls behind Marilyn and even gets ahead of her because of so many misfired tricks. It is poetic justice that Marilyn unwittingly helped Jill to win the contest itself as well.

Posy Princess 4

The Posy Princess competition itself lends to the fairy tale elements of the story. In fairy tales heroes and heroines face so many trials before they win through and live happily ever after, and this is paralleled in the tests the contestants face. The parallel is reinforced even more if you count up the tests. There are seven of them, and seven is a magical number that is often found in fairy tales. Seven tests also structures the length of the story, so it is not too long or drawn out. The grand prize turns Jill into a princess, which is what happens to Cinderella herself in the end. The secret judge is clearly the Prince Charming figure. He is even more charming in that he says nothing about Marilyn’s dirty play; instead he says he has chosen Jill because she impressed him the most. Perhaps he felt it would be a more fitting punishment for the cheat to be appointed attendant to the girl she tried to sabotage.

It is fitting that the final test is one for character integrity, because that is the most appropriate one for Marilyn to fail at and for Jill to pass with flying colours. And it reinforces the fairy tale retribution for the wicked stepsister figure and reward for the good stepsister figure.

Come Home, Kathleen / Kathy, Come Home!

Bunty, , ,
  • Come Home, Kathleen –  Bunty: #1030 (8 October 1977) – #1052 (11 March 1978)
  • Reprinted: Bunty: #1626 (11 March 1989) – #1648  (12 August 1989)
  • Reprinted as Kathy, Come Home! – Lucky Charm: #9 (1980)
  • Art: Andy Tew

Plot

It’s the 1930s and Kathleen O’Connell lives in Donegal with her parents and six sisters and seven brothers. Life isn’t easy as they don’t have a lot of money but Kathy is happy with her family. Then her mother’s sister Therese arrives over from England with her daughter Emma. They propose to relieve the O’Connell’s burden a bit by adopting a child as a companion for Emma. As Kathleen is the closest in age to Emma, she is chosen.  When they arrive in London it turns out her Aunt  hasn’t been honest with her. The Laceys are actually struggling to keep their usual lifestyle and they expect Kathleen to work as a servant in return for taking her in. Kathy is very homesick but is unable to afford her fare back to Ireland, so she has to think of some way to get home.

The Laceys are crafty, they try to keep Kathy happy so she will continue to work for by pretending they actually  plan to visit Ireland, in the Summer.  Kathy is also a happy when she makes friends with the next door neighbour an elderly Irish woman, Mrs Keneally. She finds her comforting and understanding of her homesickness.  Even with the Lacey’s servants gone and Kathleen doing all the work, Therese finds they still need more money. Their troubles increase when Britain goes to war. The Laceys have another way of exploiting Kathy as she has a gift for reading tea leaves. Kathy doesn’t like charging people and she is upset by the many bad omens.  Letters from home tell Kathy how much her family miss her and would like her to come home. Not wanting to worry her family she  doesn’t let them know how homesick she is and all the work she is expected to do.

come home kathleen_01

Kathy is delighted when Mrs. Keneally decides to go back to Ireland and plans to sneak Kathy on the ship with her. But not long after departing the ship is hit, the old woman killed and the survivors brought back to England. Back with her Aunt and cousin life is getting more dangerous with the bombings in London, Kathy is very nearly killed in an attack. Kathy, Emma and other girls from their school are evacuated to the country. Kathy and Emma end up with a cruel woman Miss Jardine who works them hard, feeds them little and hits them. When Emma sees Kathy take a beating without crying, she begins to appreciate her cousin more and admires her courage. While Kathy wishes to complain about Miss Jardine to the teachers, Miss Jardine has scared Emma into staying quiet. More bad news arrives for Emma when her mother is killed in a bombing.

come home kathleen_02

While snooping around Emma finds something but before she can tell Kathy about what is is, Jardine catches her.  Jardine threatens her so badly that Emma believes she’ll be cursed if she says anything. When a plane bombs near the school, Emma nearly opens up to Kathy but ends up not saying anything.  Kathy investigates herself and is confronted by a big man and is poisoned and left helpless in bed. Miss Lewis comes home with Emma to check on Kathy and Kathy manages to blink S.O.S. to her. When she leaves Emma plucks up the courage to lock Jardine and the man in a room and help Kathy. The Jardines break out but luckily Miss Lewis had understood Kathy’s message and had gone to get the police.

come home kathleen_03

The Jardines had stolen a golden Egyptian sarcophagus from a museum and planned to sell it on. Miss Jardine had told Emma she had the Mummy’s curse upon her for disturbing it. The girls are relocated and even get a reward for the return of the precious item to the museum. When the war ends a few months later Kathy and Emma head to Ireland. Kathy assures Emma that her family will  welcome her into their home.

Thoughts

This is a good hardship story with things continuously getting more difficult for Kathy, (our upbeat protagonist) and obstacles in her attempts to get home. She is mistreated by relatives, she’s nearly killed several times, and has to deal with homesickness and  the war. While she shows courage and never lets events break her spirit, she can be quite naive at times. While early on she figures the Laceys are using her as a servant, whenever they act kind or promise a trip to Ireland, she believes them. Emma goes from spoilt brat – to losing everything and actually becoming close to Kathy. She is a good contrast to Kathy’s positive, hard working character and I like that her redemption isn’t rushed and she doesn’t change completely.

come home kathleen_04

The story is kept interesting with the changing settings, first Kathy just wants to earn her fare home, then the war makes a bad situation for Kathy worse. When her and Emma end up with Jardine as well as dealing with mistreatment, there is also a bit of a mystery about what Emma saw that goes on for a few issues. The story doesn’t feel rushed, but neither does it drag on too long. One criticism I do have is about how much time has passed. Although this is meant to be set from just before the war to the end, the girls don’t seem to age that much in attitude and physically. I’d maybe believe 2 years has passed but not much more. Other than not ageing, the art is good throughout, Miss Jardine looks appropriately creepy and menacing and the settings from wartime London to the country side are well done.

Sandi’s Secret Services

Mandy, , ,

Plot

Sandi Peters lives with her Aunt Madge, Uncle George, and cousins Bridget and Clara. She is an unpaid servant who is expected to wait on her lazy uncle and spoiled cousins, and slave as a seamstress for her aunt’s clothes business, which the aunt does not run honestly. Sandi discovers a passion for table tennis, but has to find ways to get away from the work her guardians lumber her with in order to practise and compete in secret. This is not always easy.

Sandi

Notes

  • Artist: Veronica Weir

Appeared

  • Sandi’s Secret Services –  Mandy: #1232 (25 August 1990) – #1243 (10 November 1990)

 

Slave to Aunt Sadie! [1990]

Mandy

Plot:

Julie Reid is taken from the children’s home by her Aunt Sadie, but she soon finds Aunt Sadie is a horrible, abusive aunt. Julie does not want to complain about Aunt Sadie to the home because she wants to stay near her lovely friend Emma Wallace, who has been adopted by a nice couple, the Trents. In the end Aunt Sadie is found out and the Trents adopt Julie as well.

Notes:

Appeared:

  • Slave to Aunt Sadie! –  Mandy: #1240 (20 October 1990) – #1249 (22 December 1990)

 

Terry and Her Trumpet

Mandy, , , ,

Plot

Orphan Terry Thompson lives with her brother Gerald and sister-in-law Frances who are cruel to her and make her slave in their cafe, which leaves her too tired for homework. Terry discovers she has a talent for the trumpet, but when her mean relatives won’t let her play, she tries to find ways to practise her trumpet in secret.

Trumpet

Notes

  • Artist: Dudley Wynne

Appeared

  • Terry and Her Trumpet–  Mandy: #987 (14 December 1985) – (?)

 

Caesar and Cleo

Mandy, , ,

Plot:

Before Mrs Amelia Weston dies, she asks her maid Cleo Payne to look after her dog Caesar. Mr Crumleigh the solicitor thinks there is another will, but the only one available divides everything among Mrs Weston’s greedy nieces, Beryl and Dora Weston and Lydia Crool. But to get the money they must live together in Mrs Weston’s house for six months and give Cleo and Caesar a home. If Cleo leaves before that time they inherit immediately, so they are trying to drive her out by making her life miserable.

Caesar 1

Notes:

Appeared:

  • Caesar and Cleo – Mandy: #231 (19 June 1971) –  #242 (4 September 1971)
  • Reprinted – Mandy – #546 (02 July 1977) – #555 (03 September 1977)
  • Reprinted – Mandy:  #945 (23 February 1985) – #954?

 

Patti Must Paint

Mandy, , , ,

Plot

Patti Charlton is a talented artist and wants to go to art school. But when her unscrupulous Uncle Sid adopts her to look after his motherless twins, he forbids her to paint, so she has to find ways of getting to art school in secret. She also has to contend with bullying at school, especially with spiteful Alice.

Patti

Notes

  • Artist: Tony Higham

Appeared

  • Patti Must Paint –  Mandy: #713 (13 September 1980) – #727 (20 December 1980)

 

Her Name in Lights

Mandy, , , ,

Plot:

Stella Martin is living with her Aunt Cynthia, an unscrupulous theatre agent, while her mother is ill and her father works away from home. Stella is a talented actress and wants to go into the theatre. But Aunt Cynthia forces her into starring in TV commercials as a child actress. To this end Aunt Cynthia forces Stella into a childish appearance, deliberately underfeeds her to stunt her growth, keeps her away from school, and Stella has to do housework as well.

Lights

Notes:

  • Artist: Kim Raymond
  • Reprinted and translated to Dutch as “Haar naam in neon” (“Her Name in Neon”) – Mariska Starstrip #1 (circa 1983)

Appeared:

  • Her Name in Lights –  Mandy: #712 (06 September 1980) – #721 (08 November 1980)

 

The Secret of Marion’s Music Box

Mandy, , ,

Plot:

Marion Taylor is being looked after by her Aunt Madge and Uncle Wilf, who are cruel to her. She takes solace in her music box, which is magical. As Marion is the thirteenth girl to own it, she can travel back in time to meet the previous owners of the box.

Marion

Notes:

Appeared:

  • The Secret of Marion’s Music Box –  Mandy:  #474 (14 Feb. 1976) – #487 (15 May 1976)