The Four Marys

 List of Appearances: 

  • The Four Marys–  Bunty: #01 (18 January 1958) –  #2249 (17 February 2001)

Other Appearances:

  • Bunty Annuals:  1960-2009
  • Snowbound School – Bunty Picture Story Library #20
  • The Girl in the Bell Tower –  Bunty Picture Story Library #45
  • Four Against the School – Bunty Picture Story Library #291
  • The New Girl’s Secret – Bunty Picture Story Library #312
  • The Diary – Bunty Picture Story Library #318
  • The Curse on St. Elmos – Bunty Picture Story Library #322
  • The Five Marys – Bunty Picture Story Library #328
  • The Four Marys – Sabotage at St. Elmos – Bunty Picture Story  #345
  • The Four Marys at Sea – Bunty Picture Story Library #361
  • The Secret Servant – Bunty Picture Story Library #365
  • Wedding Belles – Bunty Picture Story Library #369
  • The Four Marys in Four Great Stories! – Bunty Picture Story Library #372
  • The Four Marys- Break Up – Bunty Picture Story Library #381
  • The Four Marys- Boy, Oh Boy! – Bunty Picture Story Library #391
  • The Four Marys – Bunty Picture Story Library #407
  • The Painting – Bunty Picture Story Library #431
  • Silent Illness – Bunty Picture Story Library #439
  • Double Trouble – Bunty Picture Story Library #449
  • Reunion at St. Elmos – Bunty Picture Story Library #454

Quick Links:

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43 thoughts on “The Four Marys

  1. Towards the 2000s we started getting a lot of Marys reprints from the 1990s. One was where the first years had resurrected an old secret society that specialised in pranks, especially for revenge on unpopular girls. But it all backfires when a prank puts Veronica in danger on a remote island (the Marys rescue her, of course). Miss Creef bans their society.

    The 2000s was a time for a lot of reprints in Bunty in general, some under revised titles. But for me, these reprints were a bad sign, as they were a strong indication that Bunty was declining. And when they finished “The Comp”, it was the ultimate sign that the end of Bunty wasn’t far off.

  2. i loved reading Bunty as a child in the 80s. i’d love to have some of the stories from it in a hard back book.

  3. No mysteries … But lots of strange weirdness … Like lessons in how to drink champagne without burping and how to get out of a sports car without showing your knickers! Seriously, and the usual weekly rankings on Sunday evenings in ‘drawing room’ for deportment, manners and conversation. Bizarre 🙂

  4. My sister and I used to have comics bought for us as kids, I had Beano & Dandy and my sister got the Bunty…..I preferred reading the Bunty. I loved the four Marys.

  5. A little poem I wrote based on my memories of Christmas in the 1950’s/60’s.

    CHRISTMAS MORN
    Christmas morn, up at Dawn
    All is sparkly and shiny and red,
    Stocking at end of the bed,
    A tangerine and a thru penny bit
    ‘Beano’ and ‘Dandy’s’ comic wit –
    ‘The Four Marys’ always a hit.
    Down the stairs it’s all rush and bustle
    Mother’s chivvying, adults hustle
    Loops of green and gold and red
    Paper bells and stars on thread
    Tables laid and toasts are said
    Merry Christmas!
    Carole Trenaman

  6. Like another bloke on here – My sister used to get Bunty, Judy etc – whilst I had Beano and Dandy. Much preferred my sisters magazines. The four Marys in the Bunty being the coolest one of the lot!
    Ahh Happy days!!!

  7. Was Bunty , the first comic for girls , first one I remember
    was School Friend ! And the Silent 3 ..

    1. Bunty was not the first comic for girls but it was the last one running from 1958 until 2001. The “School Friend” name appeared first as a more text based magazine in 1919. The more familiar picture story comic School Friend first issue is dated 20 May 1950 and contained the first appearance of The Silent Three – Betty, Peggy & Joan and their adventures at St. Kitts’ boarding school.

      1. You are obviously perfectly correct, lorrsadmin, when stating that Bunty was not the first comic/story paper for girls, but I think it’s worth pointing out that it was the first one to be produced by D C Thomsons, as well as being the last one.

  8. Andy Tew drew a Four Marys story, about the 1740-1750 mark or thereabouts. And the Aunty Hard Heart artist filled in at one point, about the time he or she was drawing “Move Over, Maria”.

  9. My goodness me! The Four Mary’s were the best, especially the 50’s/60’s ones: Dr Gull & Miss Creef sure hand a handful sometimes-couldn’t wait to get my older Sis to finish the comic!

  10. I liked reading comics in the late 50s, early 60s. My favourite characters were Red Rory, Olac the Gladiator and the Four Marys. More subtlety in them than the cheap bang-bang Westerns with the good cowboys and bad injuns(Glad my instincts were right). Don’t know the comic but I liked Katy Somers and her friends Mary and Jennifer (only a shadow of the Marys though). Might I add that DC Thompson bound up the entire Red Rory, the Summer Specials of the Marys, Innocent Angela and other pieces for me.. for a reasonable price. Also I used the British Library. They were happy days!!

      1. If you are associating ‘happy days’ with the days when your favourite comics appeared in your local newsagent’s , Mistyfan, then I can understand your frustration. However, that view does seem rather negative, would you not agree? After all you do have a decent collection of girls comics that you can always dip into whenever you have enough spare time, and you can buy more when you have enough money to lay out on them, as I know you have done from 30th Century Comics from time to time. Another idea is to buy, or even better, borrow from a local library, novels written specifically for girls. I assume you have a system over there that is similar to our Inter-Library Loan one. Over the last three years I have acquired 364 such novels, two still to arrive, about eighty still to read. In my house at the moment all days are ‘happy days’ I’m pleased to say.

  11. I liked reading the Four Marys stories in both the annuals and the comics but don’t remember the fifth Mary and wondered in which story she was and if it was possible to get hold of the booklet stories today?

    1. The Five Marys was only a one off story, I don’t have that book, so not sure how it concluded. Here’s a picture of the cover: http://www.comics.org/issue/1137146/cover/4/ the fifth Mary was called Mary Priest.

      There are other stories where a new Mary joined the gang such as in “Silent Illness” but things quickly revert back to the status quo.

      Ebay, Amazon and 30th Century comics (http://30thcenturycomics.co.uk/catalogue-index/girls-picture-libraries/) all sell the picture story library books, although none seem to have that particular issue at the moment.

  12. With the box-office success of Wonder Woman and hit TV shows like Jessica Jones & Supergirl, I think now’s the time for a movie adaptation of the Bunty comic book series

      1. It wouldn’t have to be US produced, but those successes do show female comic characters can be popular. I always thought Valda would make a good film/TV series. There’s also Riverdale which shows soap stories like The Comp could work. I’m sure there’s plenty that could be adapted if they wanted.

          1. Beano Studios would be the people to call, Quiet Storm. It’s DC Thomson’s children’s multimedia department, named of course for their one surviving kids’ comic.

  13. I’m far too busy currently to look through my collection of BUNTY, but from memory I am as certain as I can be that Mabel Lentham’s friend Veronica’s surname was Laverly, not Lavery.

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  15. Delighted to read reminiscences of the 4 Marys. We recalled 3 surnames and there you were! Such fun! My husband loved them as much as me growing up but for different reasons! His ‘first crush’! Love to all on Memory Lane.

  16. Some weeks ago, the artist Keith Robson left a post on the Girls Comics UK Facebook page, identifying a DCT staff artist called Jim Lorimer as the Four Marys artist for the “ late sixties /early seventies”. This was no end of a surprise to me, as I had thought it was definitely known that James Walker was the Four Marys artist from May 1958 until around 1981, when Selby Donnison took over.

    I’m not sure what to think about this. Keith Robson’s comment was backed by contemporary personal reminiscences – he was a member of the DCT art department at the time – and recalls the “rather old-fashioned style” of the art, which is a fair description of it for the late 60’s and 70s. Also, the one or two examples of Walker’s other art that I’ve been able to find do look different in style to the Marys – more spontaneous and dramatic.

    On the other hand, David Roach, Ray Moore and “Sleuth” of Lastdodo have all previously identified Walker as the artist.

    I did wonder whether there might have been two separate artists involved over this period, but having pored over the examples which I have, I can’t see a definite difference. The overall style does change – the figures in particular become stiffer and rather doll-like after the first few years – but it still looks to me broadly like the work of the same person.

    So I’m not sure that we can regard the identification of Lorimer as definitely proven. In the circumstances, I suggest it probably isn’t worth altering the dozens of references to Walker on this site at the moment, but I think it would be worth making a note on this post that the artist from 1958 to 1981 was either Jim Lorimer or James “Peem” Walker.

    1. Hmm a bit of mystery, it could be a possibility of one imitating the style of the other, or perhaps similar to the 90s artist for years was identified by people as Barrie Mitchell, until Jim Eldridge confirmed it was actually him.

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