Tag Archives: Trini Tinturé

A Very British Affair

This book to give it it’s full title, A Very British Affair The Best of Classic Romance Comics has been out a number of months already, but it is a book that is a joy to take the time to go through each page. Beautiful art throughout makes you pause at panels to take everything in and as we go through 21 years of stories from 1957 to 1978 we can see the evolution of British culture of the time, making it a fascinating read.

David Roach has curated an excellent book, with an impressive 57 stories reproduced here and with original artwork used for the most part, making sure we’re seeing the best quality of printing. The stories come from a variety of romance comics that were so popular in their time, mainly;  Mirabelle, Valentine, Serenade and Mates. To have so many creators credited is also a massive plus and we even get some short biographies for them at the back of the book. While the gorgeous artwork will rightly be a big draw, the stories crafted here have also more to say, than one may think.

With such a large number of stories and such variety, it was hard to pick out a few strips to highlight, but here were some standouts for me:

To start with the first story from 1957 showcases Shirley Bellwood’s work in Dark Secret from Mirabelle, while the story of a blind woman not wanting to burden her sweetheart, and the trope of her blindness being cured by a bump to head, may not be the most revolutionary, it still is worthy of its place in this book, with its beautiful colour first page and as a representation of its time, it is interesting to see this era and how the stories evolve from this to the later ones presented in the book.

As we progress through the decades we get more interesting storylines. A New Kind of Lovin’ from Valentine, 1962, is a 3 part story with a sci-fi twist. In this case the the writer is also known, Jenny Butterworth, she was writer on many of the stories in this book and only one other writer is known to have written some of these stories; Philip Douglas. It seems a bit of an omission then, that she doesn’t get a few lines in the Biographies section at the back which only focuses on the artists. In this story a woman’s cottage is invaded by 3 strange men, who are here on a mission, there is an instant attraction with one o the men, but they are not around here… The art by Victor De La Fuente gets to show off some countryside scenery as well as two would be lovers burgeoning relationship.

Dream Portrait also from 1962 but in Serenade, is where we get this hardbook’s vibrant cover with art by Angel Badia Camps. The story has a woman finding paintings of herself that came to an artist in his dreams but she has trouble living up to his dream expectations, but refreshingly she stands up to him making it clear she is not some dream and he has to accept her for herself.

While these stories were usually told by the women characters, some stories had fun playing around with different perspectives. In Love? Not for Me!, from Serenade 1963 with art by Jordi Lonaron, the story is told by Clive a man who isn’t a mug to be pushed into being engaged… at least not unless he’s crazy about the girl! Then in What Jenny Saw from Mirabelle, 1968, a young girl sees her sister Kate’s romance in jeopardy when her boyfriend has to move away, she doesn’t see the fuss but maybe one day she will. Art in this story by the talented Trini Tinture. In Did Somebody Mention Love? also from Mirabelle, 1970,  Nancy and Chris both tell different versions of how they met. With art by Purita Campos showing off her thick lines and close up character work.

While there are a couple of multi part stories  in the book, the rest are complete stories with The Getaway Girls from Mirabelle 1967 being an exception, so it is worth a mention for being the one serial presented here. It follows four models who come from very different backgrounds, that are brought together by Mr Warren to do shows around Britain. Over 10 episodes we follow the girls adventures written by Phillip Douglas and art by Antonio Bosch Penalva.

These stories weren’t afraid to touch on the supernatural as well with Strange Memory Mirabelle, 1968 with art by Luis Garcia Mozos and Ferry Me Away from Mates, 1975, with art by Jordi Franch.  Both featuring broken-hearted women, Ferry Me Away ends on a more hopeful note,  while Strange Memory has a more sadder ending.

Another unusual story Cave- Man Courtship, from Mates 1976, set in stone age, has a man Tuff, ahead of his time thinking of inventions  like engines, Dawn is very in love with him but all his thinking is very worrisome for the rest of the cave people who think he needs a bash on the head to cure him! Quite a silly story, but fun and with Jordi Badia Romero striking art, it makes this a memorable one.

It doesn’t need to be supernatural or science fiction for stories of love and heartbreak to be found in unusual places. The Quiet Vandal from Mirabelle, 1971, with art by Luis Martinex Roca, has our protagonist, Jo meet  Tim at a football match when a fight begins between some football hooligans. While Tim isn’t rowdy like those other men, Jo finds out he is a different kind of vandal. A really strongly written story as well the great art in the unusual setting. This story probably tops my favourites in the book.

That is just a small selection of what this book offers, it shows even within the one genre of romance, the diversity and creativity that can be achieved. It is clear the amount of work that has gone into choosing and reproducing these strips and captures a period in British history and comics that deserves to be remembered, along with the creators behind the stories. It is a beautiful book that is a must for any comic fan.

Jinty: A Spell of Trouble

Instead of a Misty Halloween offering this year, the Treasury of British Comics have dived into Jinty’s archive, to reprint 2 stories – A Spell of Trouble and Creepy Crawley, the latter getting the cover name. This also gives the opportunity to highlight the wonderful work of Trini Tinturé, with a special hardback cover with original art by Tinturé also offered on the Treasury of British Comics shop website.

Although both stories are about even in length, each taking up half the book, it is strangely only A Spell of Trouble that is highlighted both on the cover and the description on the back, whereas Creepy Crawley gets just a one sentence mention at the bottom of the description. Both stories start with a popular and accomplished girl at school, but after that they diverge completely. In the comedic A Spell of Trouble, Carrie Black has used her witchy powers to stay top of the class, then a distant cousin, Angela White, comes to live with the Blacks and Carrie’s easy life turns into a mess! Angela is full of good intentions but is also clumsy and has no interest in becoming a witch. This becomes a bigger problem when their Witch’s Coven say if she doesn’t become a witch then they will take the Blacks’ powers away. While Carrie and her family have never had to work hard to earn anything, and they do some questionable things to try and get rid of Angela, they are not evil witches, and we can sympathise with their frustrations when Angela keeps messing things up. It’s a very fun story, a highlight for me is the hijinks caused by  a bodyswitching plan, throughout the story there’s lots of laughs to be have, and Tinturé does great job displaying the witciness and comedic elements, so it’s easy to see why this is the  highlighted story for the collection.

In Creepy Crawley, Jean Crawley becomes jealous of new girl Mandy who outdoes her at everything. When she gets an old scarab brooch from a shop closing down, she finds she can use to get rid of her rival. The brooch has a particular power over insects, but when Carrie wants to stop her vendetta, the brooch can’t be gotten rid of and its influence turns her more cruel. Only a timid girl Sheila begins to suspect the truth in time and tries to stop her.  A step further than other evil influence stories, the scarab has a bigger agenda in hand – a complete insect takeover of the world. Again the art and some of the more complex story beats puts this story above other similar stories.

The book itself is only 80 pages, there is no additional features just the two stories back to back. It would have been a nice opportunity to talk more about  Trini Tinturé (like some of the artists in the Misty collection have got), but she gets a short paragraph in the back. While Rebellion do always try to deliver high quality books, it is clear sometimes they are hampered by not always having the original artwork. This means some pages aren’t as clean and crisp as they should be. For the most part this doesn’t take from the story, but there is particular page from Creepy Crawley, that it is more noticeable than others. These are minor complaints though as the book is still of good quality and the stories and art are of a high standard, an excellent read.

It is also reasonably priced, The Treasury of British Comics website offers a few different options for purchase, starting at only £9.99 for digital edition, the paperback is £14.99 and the special edition hard back is £24.99  https://shop.treasuryofbritishcomics.com/catalogue/RCA-G0016

There is also currently a sale on until December so a perfect opportunity to pick up some older releases if you haven’t already, you could pick up other Jinty books like Concrete Surfer for just £4.99 or Fran of the Floods for £7.79 or just look through their growing collection to see what catches your interest.

 

Judy 1972

Picture Stories

  • Petra the Party Maker (Pages: 6-11) [Art: John Higson]
  • Bobby Dazzler (Pages: 16- 18) [Art: Giorgio Letteri]
  • The Hobbies of Holly (Pages: 19-23) [Art: Rodney Sutton]
  • Sandra and the Black Rose (Pages: 26-29) [Art: Paddy Brennan]
  • Cinderella of the Orphange (Pages: 33-37)  [Art: Julio Bosch ]
  • Janie B Quick (Pages: 38)
  • Polly and Her Pram (Pages: 40)
  • Naughty Dottie (Pages: 48)
  • Do It All Debbie (Pages: 49-51)
  • Emergency Emma (Pages: 54-55) [Art: Ian Kennedy]
  • Junior Nanny (Pages: 57-61) [Art: Oliver Passingham]
  • Skinflint School (Pages: 66-69) [Art: Ron Smith]
  • The Old Funniosity Shop (Pages: 74-78) [Art: Sebastia Boada]
  • Lorna’s Leprechaun (Pages: 81-83)
  • The Babysitter Sisters (Pages: 86-89) [Art: Rodney Sutton]
  • Wee Slavey (Pages: 90-91) [Art: John Higson]
  • Flower-Power Fay (Pages: 94-95)
  • Naughty Dottie (Pages: 96)
  • Candy’s Camera (Pages: 101-105) [Art: Ron Smith]
  • Mandy of the Mobile Zoo (Pages: 106-107) [Art: Trini Tinturé]
  • Moira’s Magic Mirror (Pages: 116-117) [Art: Paddy Brennan]
  • Jenny Appleseed (Pages: 119-125) [Art: Ian Kennedy]

Text Stories

  • Saturday Girl (Pages: 41-44)
  • Cindy (Pages: 109-112)

Features

  • The Bee-Line Game (Pages: 2-3)
  • Make Your Own Judy Zoo (Pages: 12-15)
  • Colourful Characters! (Pages: 24-25)
  • Are You Smart? (Pages: 30-31)
  • Flip the Fast Game (Pages: 32)
  • A Letter From Naughty Dottie (Pages: 39)
  • Feed the Birds (Pages: 45-47)
  • Picture Puzzles (Pages: 52-53)
  • The Orchard Game (Pages: 56)
  • Catch! (Pages: 62)
  • Bags of Style (Pages: 63)
  • Smart Set (Pages: 64)
  • Hello, Dolly! (Pages: 65)
  • The Present…and the Future! (Pages: 70-71)
  • Paint Your Own Picture (Pages: 72-73)
  • Judy’s Cut-Out Doll (Pages: 79-80)
  • Shape Up! (Pages: 84-85)
  • All Write Then! (Pages: 92-93)
  • The Story of Shoes… (Pages: 97-99)
  • Cluewords (Pages: 100)
  • PDSA in Action (Pages: 108)
  • The Judy Farm (Pages: 113-115)
  • Click! (Pages: 118)
  • Butterfly Game (Pages: 126-127)

(Click on thumbnails for bigger pictures)

Judy 1968

Picture Stories

  • Deep-Sea Debbie (Pages: 6-11) [Art: Ian Kennedy]
  • Cochrane’s Bonny Grizzy (Pages: 18-23)
  • The Birthday Present (Pages: 24-26)
  • The Accident (Pages: 40-43) [Art: Desmond Walduck]
  • Plain Jane (Pages: 49-53) [Art: Trini Tinturé]
  • The Broken Vase (Pages: 59-61) [Art: Claude Berridge]
  • The Wild One (Pages: 65-68)
  • Colleen and the Last Witch (Pages: 70-73) [Art: Rodney Sutton]
  • Me and My Family (Pages: 76-79)
  • Bobby Dazzler (Pages: 93-95) [Art: Giorgio Letteri]
  • Lornas Leprechaun (Pages: 97-98)
  • The Best Babysitter in Barnley (Pages: 102-103)
  • Sandra and the Ballet of Silver Gulch (Pages: 104-109) [Art: Oliver Passingham]
  • Did it Really Happen? (Pages: 113-116)
  • The Hobbies of Holly (Pages: 122-125) [Art: Rodney Sutton]

Text Stories

  • Morning Magic (Pages: 36-39)
  • Dorothy Joins the Choir (Pages: 62-64)
  • A Place in the Team (Pages: 86-89)

Features

  • Beady-Eyed Billy (Pages: 12)
  • Backstage at the Pantomime (Pages: 13-17)
  • The Making of a Ballet (Pages: 27-31)
  • Figures of Fun (Pages: 32-35)
  • Puzzle Page (Pages: 44-45)
  • The Big Freeze (Pages: 46-47)
  • Heads, You Win! (Pages: 48)
  • A New Life for Lyndall (Pages: 54-57)
  • Togo and the Tiger (Pages: 58)
  • Sweet and Juicy (Pages: 69)
  • Make Your Own Jewellery (Pages: 74-75)
  • Patti Potato (Pages: 80)
  • Oliver! (Pages: 81-85)
  • How to Make Mod Millie (Pages: 90-91)
  • Cartoon (Pages: 92)
  • The Owl and the Pussycat (Pages: 96)
  • All Dolled Up! (Pages: 99-101)
  • Hello, Dollies! (Pages: 110-112)
  • Backstage at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre Stratford-upon-Avon (Pages: 117-121)

(Click on thumbnails for bigger pictures)

Linda of Silver Lake

Plot

Silver Lake wildlife sanctuary is threatened by a wealthy businessman called Hinkson, who wants to convert the sanctuary into a water-skiing playground for his daughter Bonnie.

Linda

Notes

  • Artist: Trini Tinturé
  • Translated into Dutch – Tina # 8/1977-17/1977 and reprinted Tina Dubbeldik Superalbum #2 (1981).

Appeared

  • Linda of Silver Lake –  Debbie: #148 (13 December 1976) – #157 (14 February 1976)

And Mother Came Too

Plot:

Mandy Adams is a promising  young swimmer, and her bossy mother is determined to make her a champion. This has led to many embarrassing moments for Mandy.

and mother came too

Notes:

  • Art: Trini Tinturé
  • Reprinted and translated to Dutch as “En mam komt ook… ” – Debbie Sportstripboek #33 (1983).

Appeared:

  • And Mother Came Too– Judy:   #341 (23 July 1966) –  #351 (1 October 1966)
  • Reprinted – Judy and Emma:   #1031 (13 October 1979) –  #1041 (22 December 1979)

Judy Annual 1969

Picture Stories

  • Sandra and the Captive Ballet (Pages: 88-95) [Art: Oliver Passingham]
  • Fay Farrell- Problem School Nurse (Pages: 6-9) [Art: Emilio Frejo]
  • The Hobbies of Holly (Pages: 13-18) [Art: Rodney Sutton]
  • Topsy on Her Toes (Pages: 22-27) ) [Art: Don Walker]
  • Our Class (Pages: 36-37) [Art: Mike White]
  • Me and My Family (Pages: 38-41) [Art: Roy Newby]
  • Wee Slavey (Pages: 44-45) [Art: John Higson]
  • Fiona of the Fells (Pages: 48-50)
  • Lorna’s Leprechaun (Pages: 52-55)
  • Junior Nanny (Pages: 56-57) [Art: Oliver Passingham]
  • Mandy of the Mobile Zoo (Pages: 60-61) [Art: Trini Tinturé]
  • Polly and her Pram (Pages: 64)
  • The Girl Who Could Do Anything (Pages: 65-70) [Art: Ron Smith]
  • The Dreams of Alwyn (Pages: 74-77) [Art: Rodney Sutton]
  • Annie’s Ark (Pages: 81-82) [Art: Eduardo Feito]
  • Growing Up- Spike Milligan (Pages: 100-103)
  • Bobby Dazzler (Pages: 106-111) [Art: Giorgio Letteri]
  • Skinflint School (Pages: 113-117) [Art: Ron Smith]
  • Bobtail the Beach Rescue (Pages: 120-124) [Art: Ian Kennedy]

Text Stories

  • The Cheat (Pages: 33-35) [Art: Claude Berridge]
  • My Cat George (Pages: 96-99) [Art: Claude Berridge]

Features

  • Models to Make (Jet Sledge/Susie Spillholder/ Daisy Doggy-Bank) (Pages: 10-12)
  • Tricky Teasers (Pages: 19)
  • Judy’s cut-out doll (Pages: 20-21)
  • Flower Game (Pages: 28-29)
  • Just Sew (Pages: 30-32)
  • Winnie the Witch’s Puppet Theatre (Pages: 42-43)
  • On Tour With “My Fair Lady” (Pages: 46-47)
  • Fanfare! (Pages: 51)
  • How Bright are You? (Pages: 58-59)
  • How do you Doodle? (Pages: 62)
  • Poster: Girl and Rabbit (Pages: 63)
  • Weather Lore (Pages: 71-73)
  • Treasure Island (Pages: 78-79)
  • Pot Pourri (Pages: 80)
  • A Flair for Fashion (Pages: 83-84)
  • Car Games (Pages: 85-87)
  • Put Your Best Foot Forward (Pages: 104-105)
  • The Opera comes to Town (Pages: 112)
  • Go to Work on an Egg! (Pages: 118-119)
  • The Story of Sadler’s Well (Pages: 125)

(Click on thumbnails for bigger pictures)