Category Archives: Mandy

Little Stranger [1976]

M&J, Mandy, ,
  • Little Stranger – Mandy: #504 (11 September 1976) – #516 (4 December 1976)
  • Reprinted – Mandy: #805 (19 June 1982) – #817 (11 September 11 1982)
  • Reprinted – Mandy #1000 (15 March 1986) – Mandy #1012 (7 June 1986)
  • Reprinted (as Mandy classic) –  M&J: #16 (31 August 1991) – #28 (23 November 1991)
  • Artist: Andrew Wilson

Plot

Betty Demster (named Clare in the reprints) awakes one night and sees a strange light out of her window, she goes to investigate but trips over and is knocked unconscious. When she comes around the light is gone and she goes back to bed. She is shocked in the morning to find a stranger in her house,  a young girl that her parents claim to be her little sister, Darla. Meeting with friends and neighbours it seems Betty is the only one that knows something is wrong, everyone else is convinced that Darla has always been there. Betty sees Darla talking to the sky at night,and mentioning one subject needs to be kept under close surveillance. Betty senses something evil about Darla, but decides to play along as “big sister” until she can find proof. Darla proves to be more powerful than she thought though, when Betty tries to find allies that may not be under Darla’s influences, Darla gets in the way. When Betty asks her aunt to visit from out of town, Darla causes her to have an accident so the aunt ends up in a coma, and the new neighbours have a tree fall on their house so they have to go stay elsewhere.

Betty has to be even more careful while trying to find out what Darla is plotting. Her father brings home sensitive documents from work under Darla’s influence and Betty has to sneak them back. Darla forces the whole town to clear a  hill of stones. Later she returns and Betty sees her go into a spaceship, she overhears that Darla wants to increase take-over power and the mysterious light appears again, but Betty sneaks out so she is not effected. She sees Darla sneak to her father’s office and take pictures, later she hands them off to the local doctor who Betty finds out is an imposter/replica of the real doctor. She manages to hide the film, from them both. Betty decides to try and find help from an author, Erica Vanton, that wrote about aliens. She tells her story and Miss Vanton appears to be an ally. But when she comes to town Betty finds her with Darla and the fake doctor. She manages to escape them, she knows their influence is waning, she finds her mom with a headache, and a fuzzy memory. All traces of Darla has disappeared from house.

The three aliens go to the hill hoping for contact from their home planet Kaza as their powers are fading. As no-one appears they have to get nourishment from somewhere else. Betty who has been watching them follows them to a nuclear power station. Darla knocks out the entrance guard with her powers,  Betty tries to warn people at the station and the Doctor and Miss Vanton aliens are captured.But they don’t believe Betty’s  story. The two aliens have lost all power and they disappear as they can no longer hold the human form, only Darla is left, but the guards can’t believe a little girl is dangerous. Betty manages to delay Darla long enough so she can’t renew her powers. She fights her off until she also disappears. Everyone’s memories of the event start to fade. Only Betty remembers Darla and everything returns to normal.

Thoughts

When it appeared in M&J as a Mandy classic, it says that it was a big success when it was first printed in 1982. Which is partially true, I’m sure it was popular story, but 1982 wasn’t it’s first appearance, as it was first published in 1976.

This is another entry for the secret alien invasion category, the actual alien plan is left a bit vague and we don’t know why Darla’s home planet no longer helps her in the end (did they think the plan was no longer going to work and abandon her?) but it is a fun read. Again we’ve got someone in form of child leading the invasion,though unlike Simon or The Frightening Fours, aliens create a new child rather than taking over a child already there. This way because Betty escaped the initial mind control she knows immediately something is wrong because this sister has appeared from nowhere! To have to pretend to be nice to this mysterious creature while investigating her and having no one to to confide in is tough, but she does well, after initial shock, playing along in order to keep off Darla’s radar.

Andrew Wilson’s art is so expressive, sometimes to story’s detriment as Darla undoubtedly has evil expression on her face, it’s a wonder anyone thinks she is so sweet, it’s also clear from Miss Vanton’s expression she wasn’t going to help Betty! But it is still great art all the same. The story is good, and creepy, but some of the plot points were left very vague, like what was so important about Mr Demster’s documents, and if the aliens could take on the form of actual people (such as the Doctor), why create Darla at all, could they not have just created a duplicate Mr Demster instead to get documents. It feels like a story that they had a good premise for but weren’t too sure where to go after that. Which can often be the case. Still despite some plot-holes, I think the characters, premise and and art has made this a memorable story, which is why it was chosen for multiple reprints.

Susan of Studio ‘B’ [1978]

Mandy, Picture Story Library,

Mandy Picture Story Library No.2 – Susan of Studio ‘B’.

Cover Art: Ian Kennedy, Art: J. Badesa

Plot:

Susan is working as a production assistant at “ICT” Studios. She’s already known as a bit of a klutz, and she has terrible luck – the very first thing she does in this comic is trip over a cable and spill coffee on the handsome young pop star who’s being filmed. His name is Tony Sunshine (later on, he’s referred to as Tony Scott, so it’s probably a stage name). Tony is all set to be the star of the new series ICT is launching. (The programme seems to be some kind of music and variety show, though this is never explained in any great detail.) The production has been plagued by bad luck and minor accidents; so Tony isn’t even mad at Susan – he’s just that used to things going wrong. Still – when Susan accidentally knocks Tony over while she’s trying to wipe the coffee from his shirt, he narrowly avoids being hit by one of the floodlights as it comes crashing down from the ceiling!

Susan spots a black-clad man hurrying off the set but thinks nothing of it; she just assumes he’s one of the lighting engineers.

As the director is telling everyone to go home for the day, since the set has basically been ruined, another TV star shows up. His name is Chas Harding; and he’s been in the business a lot longer than Tony has. The two men first met when Tony guest-starred on Harding’s show. After that, Tony became so popular that he’s now been given his own show to star in. Tony confides in the older man that, with all the accidents and breakages they’ve had, shooting is so far behind that the whole project is on the verge of being shut down. He and the crew have been given just one week to finish shooting.

Harding assures Tony that everything’s going to work out – “You’ll get the series finished, it’ll be a success, then the doors of show-business will be thrown wide open.” That’s when Susan walks in, opening the door right into Harding’s back!

Accidents just keep on happening at Studio B. The next day, as Tony is about to start singing a duet with a pretty young starlet called Cathy, Susan almost knocks Cathy off the stool she’s sitting on. When Tony tries to grab Cathy, they both overbalance on their tall stools and fall off – right out of the path of the heavy camera that’s suddenly rolling towards them! “There are times,” the director says, “When Susan’s clumsiness is a blessing.”

Meanwhile, Susan again spots a dark-clad figure running away. Convinced that this is the same man she saw yesterday after the lighting rig fell, Susan decides to follow him. But, she falls right into the soundstage’s trap door, which the man has left open behind him. By the time Susan has managed to climb out, the mysterious stranger is long gone. That’s when she smells smoke. It’s burning inside one of the store rooms, and as the smoke gets thicker, Susan tries to pull a fire extinguisher off the wall. It appears to be stuck, so she’s got no choice but to run back out on the soundstage for help. Members of the crew finally manage to put the fire out. The director wonders how a fire could have started in there, since the room was only used to store old script copies. Susan counters that she thinks someone set the fire deliberately. She tells him and the crew all about her theory that someone is sabotaging them, but the director doesn’t believe her. He says it’s too hard for anyone to just walk in off the street – you need a special pass to be let inside the studio – and orders them all to get back to work.

When Susan and the rest of the film crew return to the soundstage, however, they see that the set has been smashed up. Susan realizes that the fire was intended as a distraction, a way to clear the studio floor so that the mysterious man in black could smash up the set.  Susan tries the fire extinguisher again, but this time it comes away too easily. She falls backwards and drops the fire extinguisher, spraying the already ruined set with foam.

The crew is forced to reshuffle the filming order, and while Susan is wiping up all the foam they bring in a fog machine to use during Tony and Cathy’s duet. As soon as she’s done, Susan slips away up to what looks like a side gallery for a quick break, only for the man in black to appear behind her and push her off! Susan goes over the railing, bouncing off a large drum, which breaks her fall. She tries to explain that she was pushed, but the director isn’t in the mood to listen. Meanwhile, the smoke machine is producing a lot of smoke, and Susan is starting to feel dizzy. As Tony and Cathy begin to falter in their song before they collapse on the floor, she realizes that something’s up with the fog machine. Then Susan spots him again – the man in black – and, covering her face, she tries to follow him. But, the fog is too thick, and Susan trips over Tony’s lifeless body, knocking over a lever mounted in the floor. This happens to be the lever that opens the main transport doors, so now the toxic smoke quickly evaporates – but the man in black has made his escape.

After Susan has given her statement to the police, everyone is once again sent home for the day. Tony, however, decides to go have a lie-down in his dressing room first. Chas Harding stops by again, saying he’s heard about what happened. He suggests that, since it’s now clear that Tony’s show is being deliberately sabotaged, the safest thing might be for Tony to pull out. But Tony vehemently disagrees; he’s now more determined than ever to see the filming through. Harding praises Tony for his perseverance, but as he’s about to walk out, he turns to say, “I just hope you don’t regret it.”

Meanwhile, Susan is carrying an armful of scripts – she’s going to file them away before she heads home. She drops them just as Harding leaves Tony’s dressing room, causing him to trip over her while she’s picking them up. After being yelled at by Harding; Susan goes to tidy up backstage, and sees that the light is on in the empty costume department – and someone’s left a window open. She runs out when she hears loud noises, which turn out to be coming from Tony’s dressing room. The door is locked, so she runs to the props department and “borrows” their tractor. (Presumably, they use it to move set-pieces around, though this is never explained.)

Susan aims the tractor at the dressing room door, but ends up going through the wall instead. Inside, she finds a menacing figure standing over an unconscious Tony – and whoever this man is; he’s wearing a costume she recognizes, taken from their own costume department. Susan runs out, the mysterious stranger hurries after her, and what follows is a slapstick chase sequence where Susan pushes a tea-trolley at him, smacks him in the head with a door, and throws a microphone boom at him. Her luck appears to run out when Susan’s legs get tangled in some cables on the floor, causing her to trip. However, she lands right next to a lever that controls the backdrop curtain that her pursuer just happens to be standing in front of. That buys Susan just enough time to scramble back on her feet and run up the stairs to the control room. The door is locked, though, and Susan’s idea to blind her pursuer by shining the floodlights mounted outside it right at his eyes backfires, because she pushes the wrong button.

Finally, the man catches up to Susan, and as they struggle up there above the soundstage, she manages to pull the mask off his face. The mysterious stranger turns out to be Chas Harding, who promptly topples over the same railing he pushed Susan over earlier.

Tony shows up, worried about Susan, who assures him that she’s fine, but Harding isn’t. He’s still alive though, and paramedics swiftly arrive to take him away. The director also shows up, to offer an explanation for Harding’s actions: Not only had Tony become too popular, his show had been chosen to replace a series that had been planned for Harding himself. Tony concedes that, “If it hadn’t been for Susan, there wouldn’t have been any series.” The director agrees, saying, that “It sort of makes up for her clumsiness”, right before Susan causes the set-piece she’s leaning against to snap in half.

“Well,” Tony amends, “Almost!”

Thoughts:

The story may be named after her, but Susan barely gets the chance to star in her own comic. For instance, there are two long scenes between Tony and Harding (clearly put there to establish how evil Harding is) where Susan doesn’t appear at all. In fact, other than how clumsy she is, we don’t learn that much about Susan herself either. We get no insight into what she’s thinking except for mundane things intended to set the scene, such as “I’d better go file these scripts away.” She also gets a few thought bubbles during the protracted chase scene; but that’s all reactions to the situation she’s in – “Here he comes,” “I’d better duck”, etc.

The scripting isn’t always consistent; for instance the writer seems to have forgotten that Tony’s surname is “Sunshine” and refers to him as “Tony Scott” a few pages in. Also, the nature of the show they are filming is kept rather nebulous, nor do they ever explain whether Chas Harding is an actor or a singer like Tony, or even both. Also, let’s be honest – the art really isn’t fantastic. Susan’s wide-eyed expression often looks more crazed than innocent, her hair is sometimes different lengths on either side of her face, and the flared jeans Susan wears kind of take on a life of their own sometimes. This artist seems to have had the most trouble with drawing all the slapstick scenes.

This almost balletic moment below has more in common with modern dance than physical comedy!

What could have been a fun, breezy detective story is let down both by the art, and by some rather sloppy writing. Rather unusually for a girls’ comic, Susan is the only female character – aside, of course, from Cathy the starlet. You spend more time getting to know Tony; and there’s a sense that he was intended to be there as Susan’s love interest. She may have spilled coffee on him and knocked him off his stool, but Susan also saved Tony’s life. In other words, this is a perfect setup for Tony to begrudgingly fall in love with Susan, who would most likely remain completely unaware of his affections. In fact, this one-off story almost reads like a tester issue for what ways maybe intended to be a series; maybe in the weekly Mandy comic. Not quite terrible, but not fantastic either.

Mandy Stories for Girls 1992

Mandy, , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The Mandy annual was always very story focused, this is another annual with no features  or articles just text and picture stories. This is also one of the books I had when I was younger and read many times, so these stories have a special place for me, although I think they all hold up well in their own right without the nostalgia attached.

Mandy took advantage of telling longer stories in parts over the annual and the Red Box of Destiny is certainly a memorable one. Most of the stories are one-offs for the annual but there are a few regular characters Valda, Picture-Book Polly, Attractive Angie and of course Mandy & Patch all show up. (For just a list of contents go to the next page)

Picture Stories

The Red Box of Destiny (Pages: 4-12, 49-55, 73-80, 113-125)

A story in 4 parts, the first 3 parts each tell a different story of a girl in trouble who each end up using an old telephone box and in the final part the girls are all enlisted to help in a campaign to save the box and it saves them in the process.

First we have Carrie, an orphan, she lives with her abusive Uncle, Aunt and cousins. When her Aunt Edna allows her to keep a stray puppy, she should have known there was a catch. They only let her have Jasper the puppy as another means of controlling her. Aunt Edna wasn’t happy when Carrie stood up to her cousin about taking her locket but by using Jasper now Carrie is completely powerless. When a new girl joins at school, Carrie knows she can’t give her home number but then she remembers the Red Box’s number and gives her that. Carrie asks Jilly to call when she knows she will be out running errands, she is desperate to hear a friendly voice. The next girl, Kelly, is a promising dancer, her parents take on extra work so she has a chance at a prestigious dance school, but the car crashes on the way to the audition leaving Kelly’s legs permanently damaged. She becomes very bitter about it and blames her parents for it. She stops at the phone box to ring for a lift home and makes her mother feel guilty when she implies Kelly could manage to make it the rest of the small journey home. Finally we have Rama a talented musician but her father wants her to help with the family business, a restaurant, when she leaves school. He believes she shouldn’t spend so much time on music. Rama uses the phone box to ring her teacher and say she will play in a festival behind her father’s back, but then has a dilemma when her father wants Rama to work the same day to help impress a food critic.

In the last part the community start a campaign when red box is to be torn down. When she is approached, Aunt Edna volunteers Carrie  to help. An overworked Carrie collapses on the way home with shopping one day. Once she is inside they start to abuse her, but luckily Jilly and her mother arrive just in time to stop them. They had noticed the number Carrie gave Jilly was the red box number, that along with some other instances made them suspicious to check up on her. They bring Carrie and Jasper to stay in their home. Kelly meanwhile only goes to the campaign talk so she can inconvenience her parents. There she meets David, a boy in wheelchair, he has a bone disease, but he doesn’t feel sorry for himself, he is very enthusiastic and volunteers him and Kelly’s services. He suddenly takes a turn for the worse and dies but Kelly changes her ways and decides to follow his example and not be bitter about how life changed for her. Rama’s father finds out about festival and forbids her from going. They go to meeting and he is fine for Rama to sing to draw attention to the red box. He says he doesn’t mind her singing as hobby he just doesn’t want her taking it seriously. She does well singing for the campaign and people make him realise her talent. He agrees she can go to music school but has to still learn about business if music career doesn’t work out. The last panel of the story has the girls each thanking the box for changing their lives for the better.

It is a heart-wrenching story, Carrie and her dog are cruelly mistreated by her family. Kelly has her dreams shattered and then her new friend dies. Rama doesn’t have it as bad, but still family problems are not easy to cope with and like Kelly, she feels her dreams being taken away. Rama is a bit more sympathetic than Kelly too. Even before the accident she doesn’t seem to appreciate her parents working extra shifts to pay for her school and complains when her dad is running late for the audition. Because she is so worked up, she distracts her father while driving and while I don’t think she is deserving of her fate, her parents definitely don’t deserve her bitterness directed at her. It is nice that David showed her the error of her ways but again sad that he died so young.

Rama and her dad have different viewpoints and story could easily have painted him as the villain but we see that he cares about her. He wants her to work in restaurant but worries when she seems overworked, and he doesn’t ban music completely, he just is cautious of the fickleness of the music business.  He comes to a good compromise in the end so Rama can follow her dream but still have something to fall back on.

Mum’s Secret (Pages: 13-16)

Writer: Alison (Christie) Fitt

When a new neighbour moves in that is known to be a ladies man, and Jane sees her mum going into his house, when she said she was going to the shop, she starts thinking they are having an affair. She thinks her mum will leave the family, but it turns out the man is a painter and mum has being going over to  his to get her portrait painted in secret as a surprise for father’s birthday.

Valda and the Burning of Barthol  (Pages: 17-24)

[Art: Dudley Wynne]

This classic Mandy character appeared in many annuals, here Valda comes across a town of Barthol and burning of effigy of  Richard Bartholomew. It seems a professor of history has reinstated an old village costum of “The Burning of Barthol”. This upsets Richard’s ancestor greatly especially as other villagers have been mean to her saying Richard burnt out villagers because they couldn’t pay rent. Valda sets the history straight about the man, when she leads the villagers to a hidden document. In Richards’ time a plague broke out and with the help of a mysterious girl they crossed ravine to build new settlement. Richard then burnt the village and his castle to stop the plague spreading. With the truth now known Valda leave, though the professor and villagers have many questions about how she knew such things.

Down with Boys (Pages: 25-32)

Writer: Alison (Christie) Fitt, Art: Carmen Barbara

Best friends, Jane and Polly make a pact to not get distracted by boys for Valentines Day, but when Neil starts paying attention to both of them, they end up playing dirty tricks on each other to win his favour. Such as Polly throwing away Jane’s valentine’s card for Neil, and Jane sending lots of cards out in Polly’s name. They eventually find out Neil was using them, so they would help set up a disco for him and he already has a girlfriend. After that they revert back to their original sentiment of down with boys!

Who is Sylvie? (Pages: 35-45)

Art: Andrew Wilson

Rachel thinks there is something mysterious about the new girl, Sylvie.  Although Rachel becomes friends with her she notices somethings she says doesn’t add up, like where she said she went to school previously. Also the teachers seem to let her get away with things other pupils wouldn’t be able to. Despite being a good singer and dancer, Sylvie claims to be stage shy and says she can’t help out in concert to raise money for school pool. Then it turns out her secret is she is a tv star trying to live normal life. Everyone is surprised and even more pleased when a change in her contract means she can now perform in public and help raise money for school.

Picture-Story Polly (Pages: 46-48)

Art: Tom Hurst

Polly tries to copy the picture-stories she reads in her magazine “Candy”. In this story she tries to be like “Olympic Olga” a girl who never gave up and won a gold medal.  Polly tries out some sports but finds out she is better as just a spectator.

The Lucky Locket  (Pages: 56-64)

Art: Guy Peeters

In Victorian times, Charlotte receives a locket on her last day in orphanage, from one of the workers, Harriet. She tells Charlotte it was wrapped in her baby shawl, when she found her on the doorstep.Charlotte then goes to work in a grand house as a scullery maid but the rest of the staff are not kind to her. When one of the other maids spies her pretending to be a lady, they are even more cruel and mocking. She does make one friend, Hugh, the stable-boy,  so when his sister falls ill, she decides to sell her precious locket to help. But one of the other maids follow her and accuses her of theft. Harriet has died so noone can collaborate her story, that the locket belongs to her and she goes to jail. After a few weeks an old French lady arrives and seeing a birthmark confirms that Charlotte is her grandaughter. It seems her mother had run off and got married to man whom they didn’t approve of. They fell on hard times when he died and soon after giving Charlotte up, her mother died too. Her Grandmother helps Hugh’s sister and is to bring her back to France, she no longer has to pretend to be a lady.

Under Her Spell?  (Pages: 65-72)

Art: Wilf Street

Jenny’s mother is researching the family tree and believe they descendants of a witch, Lizzie Blount. Then some things happen that makes Lizzie’s friends think she has witchy qualities. Lizzie embraces it and tries to make a spell to win a writing contest. She does win the contest, then her mum says she has made a mistake they are not related to witch but a writer,, Eliza Blunt. Lizzie isn’t disappointed though, she is happy it is her own talent and not  a spell that let her win.

Come to My Party! (Pages: 83-93)

Writer: Alison (Christie) Fitt, Art: Terry Aspin

Best friends Kim and Laura share the same birthday. They both want to have a special 13th birthday party on the actual day. Neither will back down and they play tricks on each other so friends will come to one of the partys. On the day of  her birthday Kim is upset it seems everyone has chosen Laura’s party. Her parents take her out and she finds out that instead their friends come together with their parents to throw joint surprise party.

Attractive Angie (Pages: 94-96)

Art: Giorgio Letteri

A strange lotion had made Angie Agams magnetic which caused her lots of problems. It is particularly bad when she is feeling bothered, which is the case at the fair, where she attracts coins from the wishing well and accidentally launches a pie at someone. Her powers come in useful when she stops some thieves and she is able to relax and enjoy rest of her day.

Storm Horse (Pages: 99-110)

Art: Veronica Weir

Kylie is out riding with her horse, Heather, when they get caught in a storm and slip down an embankment. A mysterious grey horse appears and leads them to safety, then disappears. Kylie tries and track him down, she finds him and after freeing him from some wire he does grow to trust her but always disappears when someone else is nearby. Then he warns her of the nearby dam breaking and she raises the alarm for the village. She doesn’t see him again but Heather gives birth to foal which Kylie names Storm, proof that the magical horse was real.

Mandy and Patch  (Pages: 126-127)

Art: Claude Berridge

Mandy looks through a book to figure out Patch’s breed. He doesn’t seem to match with any but she doesn’t care as he’s still the best friend a girl can have.

Text Stories

Each of the text stories have a subtitle with the name of person who is telling the story.

Losing Lucy – Carol’s story (Pages: 33-34)

Writer: Alison (Christie) Fitt, Spot Art: Leslie Branton

Carol meets a fortune teller who tells her she will lose her best friend to the water. Carol is horrified by the thought, so she tries to teach her friend Lucy to swim. At first she takes persuading but then she succeeds so well that Lucy becomes a competitive champion and she doesn’t have as much time for friends. Watching her at one of her competitions she realises she did lose Lucy to the water, just not in the terrible way she thought. It’s a nice play on words, the twist of the fortune teller fortune coming true and Carol leads it to come true y trying to prevent it.

In The Bag – Chester’s story (Pages: 81-82)

Writer: Alison (Christie) Fitt

Chester is a monkey who is curious what women carry around in bags. He sees an opportunity to steal one, and is confused by contents and why they are so important. The daughter of the woman he stole the bag from is pleased her mom still carries a picture of her dad as he had left after a falling out. She writes Chester a thank you letter, explaining after seeing that she called her dad, he came around and her family is back together. She also sends Chester a cake as thanks. Chester doesn’t nderstand what that is all about but is very happy with his cake.

Jardine’s in a Tin – Sally’s story (Pages: 97-98)

Writer: Alison (Christie) Fitt, Spot Art: Leslie Branton

Sally and her family live in crowded council house. She is jealous of her friend Tina, an only child, who has a bedroom to herself with all the latest things. Then Tina gets a holiday home and that seems even more unfair. For the holidays the Jardines rent a caravan near where TIna will be. Sally thinks they really are Jardines in a tin, in the caravan, she is eager to visit Tina, but doesn’t know why she is so reluctant. Then Sally discovers it is not a holiday home and that Tina’s parents have separated. Tina didn’t want to admit that she is just spending weekends and holidays at her Dads. Sally realises Tina’s not so lucky after all and appreciates having her family together. Soon after holidays things improve even more for Sally as they get to top of the housing waiting list and get a 4 bed house.

Joining St. John’s – Katy’s story (Pages: 111-112)

While attending a Gilbert and Sullivan show with her mom, Katy gets the idea to join St Johns Ambulance so she can go to theatre for free. She actually finds herself really enjoying the experience and she helps an old woman feel better bu sneaking her cat in for a visit in the hospital. A  friend of the woman, appreciates what Katy has done and gives her a free theatre entry card, but Katy is so busy with St John’s that by the end of the story she still hasn’t had the chance to use it!

 

Final Thoughts

Last year I covered the Judy 1982 annual and noted there was a lot of spooky stories in that book. This book meanwhile concentrates on the more realistic dramas of life and majority of stories are set in contemporary times. Under her Spell? hints at possible supernatural elements, although in the end those are only coincidence and seems to be no magic at work, which leaves only two stories with characters that are not the average girl, Attractive Angie a character with magnetic powers and Valda the long-living character with powers and knowledge. Valda and the Burning of Barthol is a good story, as I’ve mentioned before I like Valda stories that aren’t about her competing in a sport the best. Here we get to see her in past helping a village and in the present restoring the good name of Lord Barthol. There is only one other story that is set in the past, The Lucky Locket, nicely drawn by Guy Peeters and is a classic story of poor girl not realising her rich heritage.

All the other stories are set in contemporary times and majority have themes of friendship or family. A favourite story has to be The Red Box of Destiny, as the big 4 part story it is a strong component of the annual, it brings a lot of drama and heartbreak for the characters and as a reader I certainly hoped that they would each get their happy endings. In the last part where everything comes together, one may expect the characters to interact but instead the stories are resolved separately, although you can see the other protagonists in the backgrounds of some scenes. This actually is more effective as it highlights people that we just pass by, each have their own problems that we may never know about, and also not know that one thing could touch a life in different ways.

Other favourites was Losing Lucy, I like a good twist on a fortune tellers words, and of course it was well written by Alison (Christie) Fitt who wrote many great stories including a number for Mandy Annuals in the early 1990s. Two of her other stories here Come to My Party! and Down With Boys, have similar ideas of friends playing tricks on each other to win the favour of someone but are executed quite differently, so they each have their merits. Carmen Barbara and Terry Aspin respectively each complement the story well, I don’t think if the artists were switched they would have been as effective stories, which shows how important pairings can be. Honourable mentions goes to Picture-Story Polly, just because I enjoy a meta-commentry story and a girl trying to imitate the characters from her “Candy” comic is a lot of fun, and Who is Sylvie? a small sized mystery with lovely art as always by Andrew Wilson.

Pages: 1 2

Driving into Danger [1978]

Mandy, , ,

Mandy Picture Story Library No.1 – Driving into Danger.

Art: Stanley Houghton

Plot:

Sisters Julie and Jane Corby travel to South America to meet their dad, who’s gone there for work. But, when he fails to show up at the airport, the sisters buy a dusty old car they name Joe, and set off to look for him. And they discover that Joe (yes, the car) seems to have a mind of “his” own…

Thoughts:

This very first issue kicks off the Mandy Picture Story Library with a bang, and a genuinely charming story. Sensible Julie is the one who takes charge, and usually gets them out of the many scrapes the sisters manage to land in, which include crocodiles and bandits. Meanwhile, the pretty and delicate Jane relies on her older sister to arrange accommodation, drive the car (Julie is the only one of the two with a license) etc. She may come across as a bit helpless at first, and ends up as the comic relief character more than once – frightened by monkeys, falling into a swamp. And it really doesn’t help matters that someone on the production team made the strange decision that Jane would go through most of her adventures wearing a polo-shirt with her own face on it:

But, when push comes to shove, Jane is still just as brave as her sister. There is a scene, for instance, where the two of them cooperate to save a baby from a hungry puma, and another one where Jane saves Julie from a mugger by chucking a tin can at him. Still, this is very much Julie’s story – she’s our plucky, practical heroine who never gives up on the search for her missing father.

However, the real star of the show is their antique car – Joe. One time, for instance, Joe inexplicably stops working, only for the girls to discover that they’ve narrowly avoided driving over a bridge that would’ve broken under Joe’s weight. There are so many instances where Joe seems to act on “his” own to protect the girls that the reader starts to wonder – is Joe actually “alive”? No doubt this was inspired by how a lot of old cars seem to have developed a personality of their own, and the artist very much builds up under this theory by giving Joe headlamps that look like a pair of big, googly eyes. Along with his bent front bumper and long front grille, these give the car the illusion of a face, peeking curiously up at the two sisters. The art, by the way, is great – this artist was definitely the right person to start a brand new series with.

In the end, Julie and Jane do find their father – in the care of an indigenous tribe high up in the mountains. They have been nursing him after he crashed his plane, and recognize the girls from a photo they had found in his wallet.

Thankfully, the people of the mountain tribe aren’t portrayed as naïve savages, or even noble savages – they’re just lovely, well-meaning people who are happy to look after a sick and injured stranger. They also throw the girls and their dad a reunion party with a bonfire and dancing, and seem to take delight in teaching Jane how to play their huge, hand-made drums when she exclaims how much she likes their rhythm. Some comics from this period might seem dated by how they treat native tribes, but “Driving Into Danger” steers well clear of negative stereotypes. As soon as their father is well enough to travel, the three of them set off towards home – in Joe, of course. Hopefully he doesn’t take offense at their dad calling him a rustbucket!

 

*Thanks to new contributor, Gwen, for the review.

Mandy Annual 1991

Mandy, , , , , , , , , , ,

Picture Stories

  • A Warning for Wendy Who? (Pages: 4-6, 27-32, 65-79, 113-125)
  • The Diary of Angel (Pages: 7-19) [Art: Dudley Wynne]
  • Where’s Tammy? (Pages: 20-22) [Art: Andrew Wilson]
  • I Can’t Stand My Sister! (Pages: 23-26)
  • The Star in the Easts’ (Pages: 35-42) [Writer: Alison Christie, Art: Veronica Weir]
  • May the Best Girl Win! (Pages: 44-48) [Writer: Alison Christie, Art: Carmen Barbara]
  • Daredevil Donna (Pages: 51-57) [Art: Pamela Chapeau]
  • Cry Baby (Pages: 59-63) [Art: Bert Hill]
  • Princess Dinah (Page 80)
  • What the Tea-Leaves Tell (Pages: 83-86)
  • Bookworm Bev (Pages: 88-95) [Writer: Alison Christie, Art: Guy Peeters]
  • Cousin Colin (Pages: 97-101) [Art: Wilf Street]
  • Picture-Story Polly (Pages: 104-107) [Art: Tom Hurst]
  • Too Many Cooks (Pages: 108-112) [Writer: Alison Christie, Art: Eduardo Feito]

Text Stories

  • Growing Up (Pages: 33-34)
  • New Girl (Pages: 49-50) [Art: David Matysiak]
  • Scruffs Find a Home (Page 64)
  • Me and my Big Mouth! (Pages: 81-82) [Writer: Alison Christie]
  • The Bridesmaid’s Dress (Pages: 102-103)

Features

  • Are You Friendly? (Page 43)
  • Do-It-Yourself Fashion (Page 58)
  • Are You Superstitious? (Page 87)
  • Make a Pannier Pony (Page 96)

 

* Thanks to Goof for information and picture

Mandy Annual 1990

Mandy, , , , , , , , , , ,

Picture Stories

  • The Guardian Tree (Pages: 4-12, 33-43, 81-89, 118-127)
  • I Can’t Stand My Sister! (Pages: 13-16)
  • I Hate Humpty! (Pages: 19-26) [Art: Veronica Weir]
  • Meddling Maggie (Pages: 28-31) [Art: George Martin]
  • My Little Green Prince (Pages: 44-48) [Art: Wilf Street]
  • Something to Hide (Pages: 44-56) [[Writer: Alison Christie, Art: “B Jackson”]
  • I Want to Win! (Pages: 49-64) [[Writer: Alison Christie, Art: Bert Hill]
  • The Daffodil Dancer (Pages: 67-74) [[Writer: Alison Christie, Art: Pamela Chapeau]
  • Atlanta’s Tale (Pages: 76-80) [Art: Tom Hurst]
  • The Return of Ted (Pages: 90-96) [Writer: Alison Christie, Art: Andrew Wilson]
  • Princess Dinah (Page 101)
  • The Secret of Cousin Tania (Pages: 102-111) [Art: Carlos Freixas]
  • My Best Friend? (Pages: 113-117) [Art: Leslie Branton]

Text Stories

  • Face the Music (Pages: 17-18) [Writer: Alison Christie, [Art: George Martin]
  • Tidy Your Room! (Page 32) [Writer: Alison Christie]
  • Swing High (Pages: 65-66) [Writer: Alison Christie, Art: Claude Berridge]
  • The Phantom of the 13th Floor (Pages: 98-100)

Features

  • Christmas Puzzles (Page 27)
  • Have a Handy Boyfriend Hanging Around! (Page 57)
  • Best of Breeds (Page 75)
  • Book-End Girls (Page 9)
  • Play the Game! (Page 112)

* Thanks to Goof for information and picture

 

Mandy Annual 1988

Mandy, , , , , , , , , , ,

Picture Stories

  • Watch What You Tell Tina! (Pages: 4-13) [Art: Andrew Wilson]
  • Striker Sue (Pages: 14-18) [Art: Tom Hurst]
  • Once Upon a Time (Pages: 19-23) [Art: Wilf Street]
  • Pie’s Promise (Pages: 24-32)
  • Polly’s Perfect Mum (Pages: 35-39)
  • The Long and Short of It! (Pages: 41-46)
  • Valda and the Way of the Messenger (Pages: 49-61) [Art: Dudley Wynne]
  • A Little Bit of Sunshine (Pages: 65-70) [Art: Norman Lee]
  • I Won’t Spoil Her Wedding! (Pages: 71-80) [Art: Pamela Chapeau]
  • Laura and the Little People (Pages: 81-85) [Art: Robert MacGillivray]
  • Love Thy Neighbour (Pages: 86-90) [Art: Leslie Branton]
  • The Sing-a-Gram Girl (Pages: 92-96) [Art: George Martin]
  • Lucy’s Loving Cake (Pages: 98-102) [Art: Richard Neillands]
  • A Friend for Shining Star (Pages: 104-111) [Art: Tom Hurst]
  • Angel and the Box of Comfort (Pages: 113-127) [Art: Dudley Wynne]

Text Stories

  • To Love and Cherish (Pages: 33-34) [Art: Claude Berridge]
  • Time for Terror! (Pages: 47-48)
  • A Spell of Success (Pages: 62-63) [Art: David Matysiak]
  • The Foundling (Page 97)

Features

  • Tea-cup Tales (Page 40) [Art: Claude Berridge]
  • Make a G-lovely Puppet (Page 48)
  • What’s Cooking? (Page 64)
  • Making Faces with Mandy (Page 91) [Art: Claude Berridge]
  • On the Seashore (Page 103)
  • The Seasons’ Spell (Page 112)

 

* Thanks to Goof for information and picture

Mandy Annual 1985

Mandy, , , , , , , , , , ,

Picture Stories

  • Valda (Pages: 4-15) [Art: Dudley Wynne]
  • Lucky’s Christmas Dinner (Pages: 17-22) [Art: Wilf Street]
  • Home of Last Hopes (Pages: 28-32) [Art: Richard Neillands]
  • Faith, Hope and Charity (Pages: 33-37) [Art: Claude Berridge]
  • Mandy (A Story without Words) (Pages: 38, 96) [Art: Claude Berridge]
  • “You’ll Never Believe This, But…” (Pages: 39-42) [Art: Leslie Branton]
  • Charmette (Pages: 44-48) [Art: Wilf Street]
  • The Portraits (Pages: 49-55) [Art: Jim Eldridge]
  • Mum’s Bargains (Pages: 57-60) [Art: Tom Hurst]
  • The Masked Ballerina (Pages: 66-74) [Art: Andy Tew]
  • The Best of Friends (Pages: 76-79)
  • The Raggedy-Anne Doll (Pages: 81-88) [Art: Andrew Wilson]
  • A Christmas Story (Pages: 90-95) [Art: Stanley Houghton]
  • Who…? (Pages: 97-102) [Art: Ron Lumsden]
  • “My Brother Hates Me!” (Pages: 105-108) [Art: George Martin]
  • Smiley (Pages: 109-112) [Art: Tom Hurst]
  • Angel (Pages: 114-125) [Art: Dudley Wynne]

Text Stories

  • The Secret from the Past (Pages: 23-26)
  • Down Among the Dinosaurs (Pages: 61-64)
  • Emily (Page 75)
  • The Ugly Queen Contest (Pages: 103-104)

Features

  • It’s a Date! (Pages: 16, 27, 43, 56, 65, 80, 89, 113)
  • “What a Nice Girl!” (Pages: 126-127)

 

* Thanks to Goof for information and picture

Mandy Annual 2003

Mandy, , , ,

Picture Stories

  • Penny’s Place [4 parts] (Pages: 5-8, 61-64, 93-96, 122-125) [Art: Peter Wilkes]
  • Valda (Pages: 25-32) [Art: Dudley Wynne]
    • Reprinted from Mandy Annual 1992 (Valda and the Burning of Barthol)
  • Spellbound! (Pages: 36-43) [Art: Wilf Street]
    • Reprinted from Mandy Annual 1992 (Under Her Spell?)
  • Sisters (Pages: 51-58) [Art: Guy Peeters]
    • Reprinted from Mandy Annual 1991 (Bookworm Bev)
  • Best Buds (Pages: 66-70)
  • The Christmas Star (Pages: 82-89) [Art: Veronica Weir]
    • Reprinted from Mandy Annual 1991 (The Star in the Easts’)
  • The Diary of Angel (Pages: 97-109) [Art: Dudley Wynne]
    • Reprinted from Mandy Annual 1991

Text Stories

  • Here Comes Zoe! (Page 50)
  • Diary of a Secret Pet (Pages: 78-79)

Photo Stories

  • Away Days (Pages: 13-18)
  • Cheat! (Pages: 45-49)
  • All for Nothing! (Pages: 72-76)
  • The Outsider (Pages: 113-118)

Features

  • Animal Poster (Pages: 9, 92)
  • Get Set to Party! (Pages: 10-11)
  • Who’s Your Pop Pal? (Page 12)
  • Stars Special:
    • Fire Signs (Page 19)
    • Earth Signs (Page 60)
    • Air Signs (Page 71)
    • Water Signs (Page 112)
  • Things to Do (Pages: 20-21, 120-121)
  • Puzzles (Pages: 22-24, 90-91)
  • Pop Poster (Pages: 33, 65)
  • Fun ‘n’ Funky! (Pages: 34-35)
  • Are You Friendly? (Page 44)
  • Colour Crazy! (Page 59)
  • Hide ‘n’ Seek! Word Search (Page 77)
  • Sparkle ‘n’ Shine! (Pages: 80-81)
  • Party Time! (Pages: 110-111)
  • Are You Superstitious? (Page 119)

 

* Thanks to Goof for information and cover picture

Mandy Annual 2001

Mandy, , , ,

Picture Stories

  • Penny’s Place (Pages: 11-17) [Art: Guy Peeters]
  • Witch Hazel (Pages: 20-25) [Art: Jim Eldridge]
  • Carrie’s Coin [4 parts] (Pages: 30-35, 49-54, 67-72, 97-102) [Art: Guy Peeters]
  • He’s Not For You! (Pages: 41-45) [Art: Eduardo Feito]
  • Girl Chat (Pages: 48, 66) [Art: Norman Lee]
    • Reprinted (with changes) from Judy Annual 1990 (Judy & Co)
  • Lost on the Moor (Pages: 58-61)
    • Reprinted from Judy Annual 1990
  • Dog (Page 62)
  • Beyond the Curtain (Pages: 82-93) [Art: Andy Tew]
    • Reprinted from Bunty Annual 1987 (The Lost World)
  • The Jeans Ad Boy (Pages: 106-110) [Art: Andy Tew]
  • Make a Wish (Pages: 118-123) [Art: Norman Lee]
    • Reprinted from Bunty Annual 1994 (Christmas Wishes)

Text Stories

  • Sweet Dreams (Page 63)
  • Birthday Blues (Page 96)

Photo Stories

  • It’s a Secret (Pages: 6-9)
  • The Boy Next Door (Pages: 36-39)
  • Only an Act! (Pages: 76-79)
  • Starting Over (Pages: 111-115)

Features

  • Plan Your Year 2001 (Pages: 2-3, 126-127)
  • Pop Poster (Pages: 10, 28, 40, 55, 73, 103, 117)
  • Get Puzzling! (Pages: 18-19)
  • Are You a Best Mate? (Pages: 26-27)
  • Sugar ‘n’ Spice (Page 29)
  • My Fave Things! (Pages: 46-47)
  • Starstyle (Pages: 56-57)
  • All About Crimbo! (Pages: 64-65)
    • Reprint (with alterations) of  At Christmas Time from Bunty  Annual 1987
  • Lotsa Labels (Pages: 74-75)
  • Stage Struck! (Pages: 80-81)
  • Does Christmas Drive You Crackers? (Pages: 94-95)
  • What’s Cooking? (Pages: 104-105)
  • Snow in Summer (Page 116)
    • Reprinted from Bunty Annual 1987
  • Screen Test (Pages: 124-125)

 

* Thanks to Goof for information and cover picture