Text Stories
Circus Pony (Pages: 59-61)
Polly looks after a circus pony Spangles during the months that the circus doesn’t tour. She goes for a ride with him but then is owner comes to collect him early. It turns out the stunt rider Julie, hurt her ankle and they need to train someone new quickly. Polly convinces him to give her a chance. Soon she is the most popular attraction at the circus, but during one of the stunts she begins to fall…and then she wakes up, it was all a dream. She looks for Spangles who wandered away but falls over and hurts her ankle. Luckily Spangles turns up and is able to carry her home.
A Brush With the Law (Pages: 102-103)
This story uses the advantage of not being able to see the characters. A girl Cassie narrates the story, it is implied that she met a homeless boy Ben and brought him home and her family took him in. But now a policeman has come after complaints from the neighbours. The tist is the “boy” is actually a “dog”. Luckily the policeman is a dog lover and lets them off with a warning.
Features
This annual had a lot of varied features. The majority of the features are make and do activities. Interestingly there is only one puzzle page (it has puzzles such as Who Are They?, Crosswords and Mazes). Then there are factual pages dedicated to topics such as types of swans, swans in ballet and the origins of ice-cream. There are also photo features about particular lifestyles, interesting jobs and other topics, like Claire a bridesmaid and Anna that works in a Hawk Conservancy and the National Butterfly Museum.
Make and Do
- Make This Eggshell Cameo (page 22)
- Remember This Summer/Throw a Mood Dice (page 32)
- A Judy Cake for Christmas (page 38-39)
- Pretty Papercraft (page 48)
- Needlework Carry-All (page 58)
- Oo-er! Late for School (page 64)
- Woollen Wonders (page 68)
- Witch in a Bottle (page 77)
- Judy Desk Calender (Pages: 95-96)
- Pool Fun/ Plastic Purse (Page: 106)
- Pony Hanger (Page: 112)
- How to Draw Your Own Farmyard Family (Pages: 118-119)
Puzzles and Jokes
- Lots to Do (pages 26)
- Dottie’s Eating Out Joke Book (page 54)
- Pony Tales (page 112)
Factual
- Swans (pages 45-47)
- Nnnn-Ice! (pages 52-53)
- Pony Clinic/ Pet Problems (page 76)
- Up to Date Ghosts (page 80) (not quite factual but its how its presented, and it doesn’t fit in with any other section)
Photo Features
- Some of her Best Friends Have Feathers! (Pages 10-11)
- Wedding Belle (page 16)
- Appleby Fair (page 81)
- Hotham Park Zootopia (page 86-87)
- House of Beauty (page 94)
12 thoughts on “Judy 1984”
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Ken Houghton drew “The Time Machine”.
I’m feeling very nostalgic at the moment looking back on my innocent childhood in the 60s. I used to race to the local newsagent’s for my weekly issue of Judy. It was simply wonderful. I joined the Judy Club and remember that I got a badge with two scottish terriers – one black and one white. I was so proud to be a member of the Judy Club. Does anyone remember that badge?
Valerie
@Valerie: Susan Brewer’s History of Girls’ Comics has a whole chapter on the freebies and clubs that ran in girls’ comics.
Simple Simon was my first published work, I was 15 when I drew that. The complete first page is on my website…
http://www.seanphillips.co.uk/oldstuff9.htm#Start
Wow, Sean – I have the annual with Simple Simon in it! It’s great to put a name to an artist’s work -there’s quite a bit of your work in those late 80s comics. Also fascinating to hear of the Ken Houghton connections – I love his work too.
The Helpers was drawn by Ian Kennedy. He’s still working, drawing for Commando.
The Theatre was drawn by Russ Nicholson. He was my art teacher at school! He and I went to an evening class about drawing comics run by Ken Houghton in the late 70s.
Interesting to know all these connections! The Theatre was one of my favourite stips in this annual.
does anyone know if these annuals hav any value ?
It really depends if its a particularly sought out annual and how much someone is willing to pay for it. There are usually a lot more annuals available than weekly issues, probably due to the hardcover, so demand is less. I would say on average most go for some where between £3-£10. Misty annuals usually go for more (£15-£25). But again this can all be quite variable.
The artist of “Photo Finish” is Claude Berridge.
Rodney Sutton drew “A Fast Learner”.
Bloodhound Butler is drawn by Georgi Letteri.