April Mason is a constant target for practical jokes and leg-pulls at school because she’ll believe anything! Anything! So when she sees some aliens land in an old quarry no-one believes her.
In a follow-up to Lorrsadmin’s discussion of 15 of her favourite Misty short stories, I am going to discuss 10 of the Misty stories that have really stuck with me. Some of my favourite short stories, “Mr Walenski’s Secret”, “Don’t Look Now!”, “Room for One More”, “Fancy Another Jelly Baby?”, “Prisoner in the Attic” and “The Evil Djinn”, have been omitted here as Lorrsadmin has already discussed them. For this reason, I am not going to discuss the following stories in order of preference.
1: The Girl Who Walked on Water
Misty: #35
Artist: José Canovas
Writer: Barry Clements (?)
Plot
Nancy Pierce has caused her parents so much trouble that they have disowned her and dumped her on Social Services. Social Services are making no headway with Nancy, so they send her to Mrs West, who has an “astonishing” success rate at reforming delinquents. Mrs West keeps photographs of Nancy’s predecessors on the mantelpiece; Nancy attacks photographs when she hears those girls have all reformed. But this does not affect the calm, unruffled Mrs West in the slightest, nor do any other attempts to annoy her.
While walking on the beach, Nancy is amazed to see a girl walking on the water. When Nancy tackles her about how she does it, the girl says to leave her alone. Mrs West denies any knowledge about the girl walking on water.
Nancy keeps an eye out for the girl. When she reappears, Nancy rows up to her, and recognises her as one of Mrs West’s girls from the photographs. The girl warns Nancy not to pursue the question of how she can walk on water, for it is not the good thing it appears to be. But Nancy persists and resorts to force to get what she wants out of her. The girl says it is the shoes, which she forced off another Mrs West girl in the same manner that Nancy is doing now. Still not listening to the girl’s warnings that she will regret it, Nancy makes her remove the shoes.
When Nancy puts on the shoes, she is thrilled to be walking on water. But then she discovers the catch – the shoes do make her walk on water, but they also make her sink on land. And now the shoes will not come off, which means Nancy is now trapped on the water. She will remain so until the next Mrs West girl comes along and, in turn, force her to remove the shoes. When that happens, Nancy will be free and add to Mrs West’s astonishing success rate. As the girl goes up to Mrs West’s house, the lady takes down her photograph and replaces it with Nancy’s.
Thoughts
The story falls into the category of what I call “The Greed Trap”. An unsavoury person is lured by greed to an object, place or power. Too late they discover it is a trap. They become its prisoner until the next unsavoury person arrives (if they ever do) and replaces them by falling into the same trap. The concept has been used in several Misty stories, such as “Full Circle” and “The Final Piece”. But what makes this story so striking is how it turns the whole concept of walking on water inside out. We all know the story of Jesus walking on water, and how the feat has been hailed as a miracle. So it is a real twist here to see the concept walking on water being turned on its head to become a punishment instead of a miracle.
It’s also slightly different from the usual greed trap stories, where the trap catches the person completely unawares. Here Nancy had plenty of warning – from the girl. We also suspect she had a chance to change at Mrs West’s house (everything free and easy, nice place in a beach setting, the lady being kind and not getting wound up by Nancy’s misbehaviour). But Nancy did not heed any of it and so she went on to suffer Mrs West’s special treatment. Still, at least Nancy will one day regain her freedom and start a new life as a reformed girl. This is not the case with the delinquent girl in our next story…
2: The Treatment
Misty: #75
Artist: Mario Capaldi
Plot
Glenda Barton is a problem girl and her parents have sent her to Country Park Corrective School. It is not a bad place; many of the other inmates seem to like it and respond to its therapy. But the school’s methods make no headway with Glenda and she wants to escape. She gets no help from the other girls, but the cook agrees to help her in exchange for money. But in fact Cook let her out on orders on the staff, who have decided she needs “The Treatment”, which the school reserves for incorrigible cases like her. When Glenda enters a wooded area Cook directed her to, The Treatment begins: She undergoes a terrifying transformation into a tree. A strange plant then releases a duplicate of Glenda to the staff. This Glenda is completely different in personality, and she will be the ‘reformed’ Glenda for her parents to take home. The Treatment is the bargain they have made with the plant: send in hopeless cases to be “adopted by the woods” in exchange for good-natured doubles.
Thoughts
Glenda had her chance to reform at the corrective school, as many of the other girls have done, without resorting to “The Treatment”. Indeed, many of Misty’s unpleasant characters are given a chance to change (warnings for example). But like most of them, Glenda persists with her unpleasant ways. So it’s comeuppance Misty style, and there is no mercy or release for the girl this time.
Perhaps the strongest point of this story is its most frightening moment at the climax and the artwork that renders it – Glenda’s transformation into the tree. It begins with her hand, spreads across her body, and she screams for help until she is fully transformed and then there is only silence until the staff come for her double. But the most disturbing part of all is the terrified face that remains on the trunk, in wooden form. We even see what could be beads of sweat on it in the final panel of the story. We are left wondering if that face in the final panel was her last expression before she was fully transformed, or if it is actually looking on in horror and helplessness as her double takes her place. We are never told what happens to her mind after her transformation, and we are left to ponder whether or not it is still functioning, trapped in the tree form. If her mind is still working, could she be finally thinking about changing her ways, but too late? At any rate, there is no release from this trap for problem girls.
3: The Chase
Misty: #40
Artist: Douglas Perry
Plot
Two pet fish, Sammy and Joey, always seem to be chasing each other around the tank as if they are playing tag. One day Sammy is found floating, with a gash in his side. The protagonist (no name is given) feeds Joey while saying she can’t play with him as Sammy could and he must miss Sammy a lot. Then Joey stares at her in an odd, hypnotic manner. She goes all dizzy and then finds herself in the fish tank with Joey. She agrees to play tag, and she will be “he”. But when she suggests they swap, Joey chases her in a killer-fish manner and puts a gash in her leg. The protagonist now realises it isn’t a game of tag; Joey is out to kill her and this was how Sammy went. When Joey corners the protagonist, she throws a stone at him. This stuns Joey and frees the protagonist from his spell. She finds herself back in the living room in a badly shaken state. Her mother thinks she just had a nightmare and she goes out for fresh air to recover. Then she finds the gash in her leg and realises it really happened. Then the protagonist hears her mother making a comment that has her realise that Joey is now staring at her mother in the same hypnotic manner, and she starts screaming after her…
Thoughts
Misty had several stories showing that even animals considered small and harmless (rabbits, snails, tadpoles) can strike horror, terror or revulsion if handled the right way. And here it is the turn of goldfish. Goldfish are supposed to be harmless fish for you admire every time you see a tank full of them. You would never consider them to be dangerous or killers. But this is precisely what happens in this story and shows that a fish does not need to be a shark or piranha to be a killer fish rivalling “Jaws”. Once Joey has the protagonist in the tank, he sure looks like Jaws in the way he bares his teeth when he chases her around the tank and puts the gash in her leg.
4: Sticks and Stones
Artist: John Richardson
Misty: #9
Plot
Joan Cook is a nasty poison pen gossip columnist. All she cares about is making a name for herself with her poison pen and she really enjoys hurting people with the names she calls them. The editor knows this and is concerned, but does not really deal with her despite the trouble her poison pen has caused for him. Meanwhile, Joan’s shelves are groaning with files on all the dirt on people she has collected over the years. Her assistant Carol warns her that the shelves are dangerously overloaded from the files and could collapse at any time. But Joan won’t hear of pruning the collection, saying they are her life’s blood and will make a name for her. They will only go when she does.
A crossed wire enables Joan to overhear a conversation that Dr Garrett, a top scientist, is making with his assistant. The assistant asks how things are coming along with Gert, but Garrett makes a guarded answer. Based on this conversation, Joan writes a smear piece on Garrett, saying he is having an affair with a woman called Gert while his wife is sick in hospital. This makes life hell for Garrett’s daughter Marilyn, who gets targeted by nasty gossips and bullies at school and on the street. Marilyn tries to fall on the old adage “sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me”. But as the bullying continues, she finds it is far from the truth – names can and do hurt. Marilyn’s friend Anne sticks by her, saying there must be a logical explanation. And there is – G.E.R.T. is the acronym for the machine her father has developed for treating her mother, and it proves successful too.
Meanwhile, the adage “names will never hurt me” bites Joan as well. Her groaning shelves finally collapse – right on top of her – and she gets crushed to death under all the files of the names of people she has collected dirt on.
Thoughts
Does this one remind you of the popular cartoon joke where someone defiantly says to a heckler “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me” – and then they get hit by a dictionary? The joke has cropped up in Garfield and Wizard of Id among others. The old adage is a fallacy – words not only hurt as much as sticks and stones but they can also destroy your own name and even your life.
Other word-related adages are played on as well. One is “famous last words”, where Joan says she is staking her life that she got her facts straight on Garrett. She didn’t (as usual) and does lose her life. Another is “eating your words”, where Joan says she will go when her files do – and that is precisely what happens.
Using a gossip columnist for the comeuppance makes a nice change from the usual bullies, problem children, abusers and thieves. And who wouldn’t want a poison pen columnist to get it? The beauty is that Misty shows she can give someone a comeuppance without any supernatural or SF elements at all. Instead, Joan brings about her own destruction by her lack of common sense as much as her nastiness.
5: The Purple Emperor
Misty: #12
Artist: Isidro Mones
Plot
Betty regards butterflies as nothing more than specimens for her butterfly collection and the more rare they are, the greater her triumph. Betty’s kinder sister Sharon is horrified at how cruel she is to butterflies. Betty becomes obsessed at catching a Purple Emperor for her collection. When Sharon saves one from her, Betty further demonstrates her cruelty by slapping Sharon’s face and threatening to tear wings off a Purple Emperor just to spite her. Betty sets out on another attempt to catch a Purple Emperor, but has an accident and hits her head. She then has a terrifying experience (or dream from the blow on her head?) of a giant who is a Purple Emperor. He captures her with a butterfly net and throws her into a killing jar to suffocate and be added to his collection. She starts screaming that she must be imagining it and begs to wake up soon…
Thoughts
The story of the horrible butterfly-collecting girl who becomes a specimen herself and suffocates in a killing jar is one that has struck a cord in fandom. It is still mentioned in many Misty discussions. The artwork certainly helps to bring it off. The splash panel of Betty gloating evilly over a butterfly as she is about to stick a pin in it, and speaking her triumph in a jagged speech balloon rather than a regular one tells it all – the horror, the cruelty, the disregard for the life or beauty of nature, and what sort of comeuppance is in store. This panel takes the cover spot, which must have helped the story to endure in readers’ memory. Printing the story in full colour further enhances it. We can see the beauty of the butterflies in full colour, and the Purple Emperor giant in all his purple glory. He would have been far less effective if it had been in the usual black-and-white pages.
6: The Gravedigger’s Daughter
Misty: #78
Artist: John Armstrong
Plot
In an earlier period, Katey Malden is being bullied because her father is the local gravedigger. The bullying gets so bad that Katey runs off. By the time she is found she has contracted pneumonia, for which there was then no cure. Before she dies, she whispers something to her father.
The whole town turns out for the funeral, with people expressing regret that they did not take action against the bullying. The bullies themselves are remorseful except for the ringleader, Mary Douglas. The other bullies tell Mary go to Katey’s grave, lay down some flowers they give her and beg forgiveness, or they will never speak to her again. Mary goes to the grave and puts the flowers on it, but only to please the other girls. She has no intention of asking forgiveness and that is what she says at the grave. Then a hand shoots out of the grave Carrie-style and strangles Mary. Her body is found the next day. People think she died of fright, but Mr Malden guesses the truth, because the last thing Katey said to him was: “I shall never, never forgive!”
Thoughts
Misty ran a lot of complete stories on the seriousness of bullying, but even she seldom went as far as to touch on the most extreme consequence of bullying – when it leads to the victim’s death. But that is the case here. The victim dies because of the bullying. We hear of it so often in the news, but seldom did it appear in the comics. So this sets the story apart more from Misty’s other stories about bullying.
Misty certainly is not going to allow the chief bully to get away with causing someone’s death, especially as the bully does not feel in the least bit guilty about it. And can the mere laying of flowers on the grave really right the wrong done to the victim or earn forgiveness for the bully? It does not sound likely. On the other hand, would a genuine show of contrition have brought forgiveness, since Katey had vowed with her dying breath never to forgive the bullies? Or would Katey have killed Mary anyway, regardless of her attitude at the grave? With this possibility in mind, it makes a better story to keep the chief bully an unsympathetic character that has no remorse for the death her bullying caused. The arm shooting out of the grave is a bit clichéd, but the artwork of John Armstrong really brings it off in the expression on Mary’s face as the hand throttles her.
7: Vengeance is Green…
Misty: #15
Artist: José Ariza
Plot
Nobody cares for Nina Parker. Girls bully her at school, the teachers don’t listen or intervene, and there is no help from her callous gran either. One day during the bullying, Nina finds an ivy plant that also got damaged from the bullies. She takes it home, pots it up, and starts caring for it as her only friend. Her gran is scornful, but the ivy begins to thrive. Nina finds that talking to the plant makes it grow faster and she pours out her bullied heart to it. One day the bullies overhear her and pounce. Then the ivy attacks the ringleader, Marion, and threatens to choke her. To save Marion, Nina is forced to destroy the ivy, her only friend.
Thoughts
The comeuppance of the ivy attacking the bully is no surprise because of the buildup (talking to the plant, telling it all about the bullying, caring for it, looking for sympathy from it, and the plant thriving under it all). What is a surprise, and also a heart-breaking twist, is that Nina is forced to destroy her only friend with her own hands to save the bully, who would have been killed otherwise. One sure hopes the bully appreciated it and left Nina alone after that.
8: Monster of Greenacres
Misty: #85
Artist: Jacques Goudon
Plot
Greenacres is being terrorised by a strange madman who kills people and police are completely baffled as to his identity. He seemed to start by merely making a nuisance of himself, but once people got more used to it, he stepped up to murder after murder. Nobody is more scared of him than Polly. When she has a narrow escape from him, it drives her and her family out of Greenacres. This starts a stampede where everybody flees Greenacres to get away from the madman and it turns into a ghost town. There is nothing and nobody left in Greenacres but the killer himself – who is the scarecrow on the farm where Polly and her parents lived. The scarecrow did what he did because he just likes to scare and doesn’t know where to stop. But now there is nobody and nothing left for him to scare.
Thoughts
Here Misty portrays an evil that never gets destroyed. How can the police possibly figure out that the murderer is a scarecrow? There is no supernatural force of any sort that comes in and destroys him either. And the irony is that it is the scarecrow on the property where Polly lives – the one who fears him most. And it was his attempt to scare Polly that triggered the stampede that leaves the scarecrow with nobody left to scare. He has become a victim of his own success and presumably stands on the old farm bored stiff because he has left himself with nothing to scare. He has created his own punishment. It is not on the same level as him being destroyed and Greenacres becoming safe to live in again. But in some girls’ stories you can’t always win against evil or score a total victory against it. This is the case here, and it has the story end on a grim, sad note that makes it a better story.
9: The Monkey
Misty: #80
Artist: Mario Capaldi
Plot
Kitty is a bully, and her worst vitriol is reserved for Benny, the organ grinder’s monkey. Every time she passes Benny she teases him, though she is disturbed by the way he looks at her. She does not heed admonishing from her parents or classmates to leave the monkey alone. One day Kitty pushes Benny too far and he bites her; the organ grinder says it is the great law giving her what she deserves. Soon after, Kitty starts acting very strangely. She acts like a monkey and seems to hear the organ grinder’s music out of nowhere. Every time she hears the music she behaves like a monkey. Deciding it must have something to do with the monkey bite, she goes to the organ grinder’s house to sort it out. There she finds Benny, who stares at her with burning eyes that seem “strangely human”. She goes into a strange trance that is full of more organ-grinding music. When she comes out of it, she finds that Benny has somehow switched bodies with her. He escapes in her body. She is condemned to spend the rest of her life in Benny’s body and forced to dance to the hated organ-grinding music while Benny gloats from inside her body.
Thoughts
This story has something that was rare in Misty – humour. It sure is funny, the way Kitty behaves like a monkey: walking like one, climbing trees, eating peanuts. But it’s black comedy of course, and we know the girl is going to be punished for bullying and animal cruelty. And when Kitty becomes trapped in the monkey’s body, she finds that being an organ grinder’s monkey is cruel too. Though the organ grinder is not a cruel person and loves Benny, Misty shows the monkey leads an unpleasant life, dressing up in tutus and other costumes and dance for people’s money and entertainment. We also see the monkey is kept in a cage at home, which is a far cry from his natural habitat and no other monkeys for company. And this story was written in the 1970s, when it was less un-PC than it is now to use organ grinder monkeys or when fewer people gave thought to how unnatural it for exotic animals to be used for entertainment. It was a bit ahead of its time on that score.
10: Danse Macabre
Misty: #52
Artist: Maria Barrera
Plot
It is nearing the end-of-term production by Madame Krepskaya’s dancing academy. She has to choose between Nadia Nerona and Lois Hills for the star role. Nadia manages to cheat her way into the role. After all-day practice for the show the next day, Nadia asks to borrow the ballet shoes Madame wore at the height of her success for luck at the show. Madame refuses, saying luck is immaterial for a professional dancer, and furthermore, the shoes brought her success, but someone like Nadia has no idea of the price.
Scheming Nadia steals the shoes and takes them to the academy stage to try out. She is astonished to find ballet music coming out of nowhere and the shoes have a life of their own and can dance anything beautifully. She realises that the shoes were the secret of Madame’s success. But then comes the snag Madame hinted at – Nadia finds the shoes just won’t stop. They go on dancing and dancing, regardless of how exhausted Nadia is getting or the injuries her feet are taking from the non-stop dancing. Things get even more terrifying when Nadia discovers that the music is coming from the orchestra pit and the musicians are all skeletons! The same goes for the corps de ballet and the danseur who now partners her. And when the ballet turns to “Giselle”, Nadia really panics – the protagonist in that ballet dies and is carried off by the spirits of death (actually, the part about the spirits of death is not correct, which shows lack of proper research there). The ballet dancing with the skeletons gets more and more wild until Nadia finally blacks out on the stage and everything goes quiet. Nadia is found next morning and taken to hospital with badly damaged feet. Lois gets the role after all, and is a “towering success”. Lois also asked Madame if she could borrow the shoes for luck. Madame said an artist like her does not need shoes like that, and in any case, the shoes have been danced to pieces.
Thoughts
When reading this story, one is reminded of the fairy tale of “The Red Shoes” where a vain girl is put through a merciless punishment of being locked into red shoes that will not stop dancing. She has to get her feet amputated by a headsman to break free of the spell. Though the story doesn’t go that far, it is excruciating and more than terrifying enough for the ballerina. Those skeletons would strike terror and nightmares into anyone. But they should not be a surprise to the readers with a title like “Danse Macabre”. For a moment we have to wonder if Nadia was meant to dance until she was a skeleton herself – there was a hint of it when the ballet turned to “Giselle” (which also has spirits forcing people to dance until they die) – but some editorial censorship stepped in. Or maybe it was the coming of dawn, though this is not mentioned. After all, daybreak stops the evil spirits in “Giselle” and the skeleton dance in the orchestral “Danse Macabre”.
Megan Dolwyn owns a small doll shop down a cobbled street. She entertains customers telling them stories about where the dolls come from, some are sad stories, some are mysterious, some have a good moral and some even have a magical element.
When a bored girl on holiday comes into her shop, she tells the story of a doll named Elizabeth. The doll was a birthday present for a girl Meg, who named the doll after a young princess in 1943. Tragedy strikes soon after as her house is struck by a bomb and her mother killed. Meg was taken to a hospital in a weak condition, and with her father a POW and no other family, she doesn’t have a lot to fight for. But then Elizabeth talks to her and convinces her to fight and even helps her to walk again. Her father returns from the war and Dolwyn reveals to the customer she knows all this, because she was the little girl.
In another story a woman comments on an ugly doll. Dolwyn tells her the doll called Martha belonged to a girl named Sandra. Sandra’s father was a lorry driver often away, he mother was loving but quite disorganized. Her mother gives her the doll and a nice tea before leaving the family. Sandra stays with several family relatives until her father remarries a woman named Jane. Jane looks after Sandra well and gives her a new toy to replace Martha. But Sandra doesn’t care if Martha is falling apart and that her mother had faults, she won’t give up the last gift her mother got her. Jane accepts that and brings Martha to be repaired.
Another girl Sally loves dolls so much and spends all her time with them. She has a near life size doll Sarah Jane so when her parents plan to go abroad she switches her place with the doll putting it under blanket in backseat of the car. She thinks while their gone she can have fun playing with her dolls all the time but she soon realises make believe isn’t fun when she’s locked in her playroom with no food or bed. Luckily her parents come back the minute they discover Sarah Jane and Sally gives up playing with dolls after that. Someone else that learns a lesson is Maggie, who wishes for the life of child star Goldie. After returning Goldie’s doll she gets opportunity to see how the other side lives but it turns out not to be all that great and quite boring so she is happy when she is home.
From a picture story library, a more tragic tale is servant girl Mary falls in love with a gypsy but he is accused of thievery and leaves. Mary dies of a broken heart, she doesn’t even see the gypsy doll that was sent to her. Years later a girl living in the house finds the gypsy doll and discovers a note and money that is from the gypsy who traveled to America and wanted Mary to join him. Also is evidence that he was innocent of the theft.
Like I mentioned in a previous post, an advantage of these storyteller serials is that you had some familiarity with the serial and a variety of stories so even if one story didn’t appeal to you another could. The stories were often emotional in tone, and sometimes hinted at supernatural (such as the doll talking to Meg, though it’s not confirmed if this was just imaginary). Although there is some variety, I think having tales just about dolls was a bit restrictive compared to serials like Jade Jenkins Stall or The Button Box had a much wider scope to play around with. There are some memorable stories like the gypsy doll, from a Bunty picture story library, that is one I enjoyed and remember well. I also liked in the Martha Doll’s story, how Sandra was attached to the doll that her mother gave her, even though she had left. It did not matter how nice and more organised, an”ideal mother” that Jane was, it didn’t diminish Sandra’s love for her mother and she wanted to keep onto that reminder.
So while there were some stories I liked, a lot of the others didn’t have much of an impact on me. There are some other appealing points to the serial such as the art is nice, Meg Dolwyn herself is quite memorable, as is the look of the shop. Also the backstory of Meg Dolwyn gives us a good insight into our storyteller and would explain her love of dolls.
Other Appearances:
Annial Appearances
Summer Specials
Picture Story Library
When Kelly Bond’s mother opens a school at Charity Hall, Kelly discovers it is haunted by Shivery Shirley, a kitchen maid who died of the cold in prison after being wrongly accused of theft. Everywhere Shirley goes, cold and icy blasts follow her, hence her nickname.
Other Appearances:
The famous music hall star Madame Nellie Selba seems to be a hard-hearted woman. But this is a front for her secret identity as The Seeker, a mysterious masked woman who helps runaway girls. Her goal is to find her own daughter, who was rendered homeless and turned out on the streets while Nellie was looking for work. When she finally traces her daughter, she discovers she has fallen foul of a racket that sells homeless children into slavery.
Other Appearances
Annual Appearances
Picture Story Library
In Victorian times, Polly Bond and her little sister Lily live in poverty. Polly sees a chance to improve her sister’s life by leaving her on the doorstep of the wealthy Delbert family so she will be adopted by them. After four years in a workhouse, Polly comes to the Delbert household as a scullery maid, telling nobody that she and Lily are sisters. But Polly is shocked to find her sweet little sister is now spoiled and selfish!
At Elmond Road Comp, Mandy Lott is called upon to sort out boyfriend problems because she is considered an expert on the matter, having five brothers.
Liz Ryan tells the story of what happened when there was a thief in the class, and she and her best friend Sally turned detective to find the culprit.
After much detective work the evidence points to Lynne. Following this, a stolen bracelet is found on her. But Sally believes Lynne’s protests of innocence because she found the other stolen property hidden in Liz’s bedroom. Confronted, Liz admits she is the thief. Liz is spared expulsion, but she finds expulsion would have been better than being the school outcast, which she is now. And of course she has lost her best friend.
Lynn Walsh is bitter that everyone in the class has a friend except her because the only two she had have moved away. So she turns to breaking up as many friendships in the class as she can out of spite. She has a lot of fun and success in doing so, but then two of her victims compare notes and realise there is a troublemaker in class breaking up friendships. After investigation they find evidence that points to Lynn, and they set a trap – bait her into framing one of them for vandalism in order to split them up – to see if she is the troublemaker.
The trap is so successful that Lynn is sent to a new school. Lynn intends to start over with a new friend she has found and stop breaking up friendships. But an ex-friend is determined to break them up, so Lynn could get a taste of her own medicine.
This is the first Mandy annual. Although the weekly Mandy issues started in 1967, it took a few years for the release of an annual. It has a colourful dust jacket with Mandy and her dog Patch on the front (a theme that would last up to the 1993 annual). The very clear distinctive picture on the white background and the use of simple primary colours; the yellow on her jacket, headband and the “Mandy” title makes it an eye catching cover. The Mandy comic was a very story focused book and most of it’s annuals, particularly the early ones had very little features. This book has no features at all, just picture and text stories. So there is a lot of reading in the annual, it also has the common theme of having an extended story split up over the annual in this case a 4 part text story (No Time to Dream) and a three part picture story (King Cat). As well as the longer stories there are classic characters, Valda, Mandy and Wonder Girl! Throughout the book there is some high quality artwork. (For just a list of contents click here)
Valda (Pages: 6-10)
Art: Rab Hamilton
A strong start to the annual with a story about popular character, Valda. Usually Valda stories focused on one of two themes, either proving herself the best at a sport or revealing secrets about a lost place. This is a story that focuses on a sport.
Valda arrives at a tennis tournament, where the trophies are to be presented by the undefeated tennis star Jeanne Cartier nee Duval. Jeanne is surprised when she sees Valda, she says her mother must be the Valda that she faced thirty years ago just as the war broke out. Their match was never completed as the appearance of an enemy aircraft put an end to the game. Jeanne introduces Valda to her daughter Michelle and declares she is going to carry on the family tradition and be an undefeated champion. Both Valda and Michelle do well in the tournament, Valda observes that Jeanne pushes her daughter too hard. Valda and Michelle meet in the final round. Valda knows she can defeat her but in the end she lets her win because she knows losing will break her confidence altogether.
Again the mother mentions family tradition of being undefeated. Valda decides she must put a stop to this as Michelle won’t be able to keep this up. Valda confronts Jeanne and shares with her the fire of life to put her at her peak again, so they can continue the game they started years ago. Valda defeats her and Jeanne learns her lesson and realises she shouldn’t put so much pressure on her daughter.
I usually prefer Valda helping out in lost cities than stories focused on sports, but I do like this one. The art is quite pretty and even though it’s not by usual artist Dudley Wynne, it does a good job capturing Valda. It has a ice storyline with Valda choosing to help Michelle rather then winning. It also shows a nice lesson for mother and the matches themselves are well drawn.
Captain of St. Crispin’s (Pages: 11-13)
An unusual regular story of Mandy; Aggie Morton is the captain of St Crispin’s school, this is unusual because she is an oil millionaire, hillbilly granny from America! She is keen for the school to keep up all its old customs and is helped out by her young English relative Gwen. Aggie wants to ring the old school bell which is rung by the school captain on special occasions. Aggie decides to send letters to queens and presidents to visit the school but on inspection the bell is unsafe. Aggie saves a workman, who comes to look at the bell, with a lasso and gets the honour of ringing the new bell.
While the stereotype hillbilly played up for laughs in the story, it gets points for not being ageist. Of course we have Gwen as the young girl point of view, but it’s old Aggie who sets things in motion and saves the day.
A Miracle for Marie (Pages: 14-16)
Art: Pamela Chapeau?
Marie lives with her grandmother in a small attic room in Marseilles. She is very sick but is happy to see a little bird visit her. Her grandmother buys her birdseed even though they really can’t afford it, but she knows Marie hasn’t long left and wants to help her last days happy. When Marie leaves out the seed some of it falls in the gutter and a plant sprouts from it. Some time late the grandmother collapses down town and is brought home by a doctor. The doctor recognises the rare plant by Marie’s window as one from his home county that will be able to cure Marie.
It’s a short story and is quite nice read. Of course filled with coincidences, and is something that is seen again and again with the sudden miracle cure, but when the annual first came out the story was more fresher.
There Was a Young Girl Who Lived in a Shoe (Pages: 21-24)
In Victorian times, Bessie Shepherd lives with five orphans in a house that is shaped like a shoe. Money is tight so when a storm hits up Bessie’s quick to round up their livestock. The next day the house has taken some damage with broken windowsand no money to repair them. This is stressful for Bessie so she gets cross when she discovers a chicken is missing, as she had Jack count them. Jack apologises that he was tired when he counted them. Bessie has an outburst at Jack. He runs away and finds the missing chicken but breaks his leg. Bessie is very sorry for her outburst but can’t get through to Jack. To make it up to him she makes her last nice dress into a kite for him. Jack is sorry he let his pride in the way. While out flying the kite the squire’s son offers money to get kites made for him and his cousins, which will be enough to fix the windows.
King Cat (Pages: 25-28, 57-60 & 97-100)
Art: Claude Berridge
This is a 3 part story told throughout the annual. Judy Pace and her kitten Sam are to stay with her Gran during the holidays. She is surprised when her Gran’s cat Ginger attacks Sam and scratches her. Her Gran tells her to stay away from cats. Later Judy takes a walk down town she notices other people being followed and threatened by cats. She comes to an old unused house but is scared off by several cats. It keeps getting stranger as Judy goes to shops to see cats have wrecked the place and stolen food. The owner doesn’t want to go to police and Judy notices she seems scared that a cat on the windowsill is listening. When she gets home Sam is missing. She figures he must be at the old house. She goes there and sneaks pass the cats only to be bizarrely confronted by a man in a cat suit, calling himself King Cat. It turns out he is a scientist/crook who has built a machine to control all the cats and now he wants to test his machine on Judy. But she manages to smash it and all the cats turn on King Cat, so Judy can go call the police.
The mystery of what’s happening in the town is good and the cats do seem intimidating and threatening, which is shown well by the art. The conclusion is a bit odd, it’s not really clear why King Cat is dressed up in a cat suit, though presumably he has some mental problems. It is also unclear why the people in the village never called the police to check out the old house or at least animal control!
Mandy (Pages: 33 / 87 / 113)
Art: Peter Kay
The title character appears in 3 amusing strips, each with its common theme. The first strip Mandy is fed up of getting wet while waiting at the telephone box, but when they get a phone installed she still stands out around wet as she has to get out of the bath. Then a dog chases her not appreciating she is out collecting money to help animals. Finally visiting a museum Mandy looks at old torture methods and glad she doesn’t live there but it seems her new shoes are just as much as a torture!
Something Borrowed, Something Blue (Pages: 34-40)
Art: Tony Thewenetti
Sally Durrant lives with her mother and her ambition is to become a dress designer. Sally takes some evening art classes but has to work in a shop as she can’t afford to go to college full time. There is an art school ball coming up and she buys cheap material for a dress. It was cheap because it has a stain on it so she takes it to dry cleaners but a mix up ends up with a different dress and no time to change it before the ball. Her mother convinces her to try on the dress it fits so she wears it. Her teacher introduces her to a man Mr Lennox he compliments her dress but she down plays it as she does not want to draw attention to herself. The next day a newspaper article shows Lady Daphne Staite in her dress. Sally is horrified that the dress she wore was an expensive House of Cleve design. She returns the dress, and Lady Daphne offers to get her an interview at the House of Cleve as she was impressed with the dress. Another shock for Sally is when she recognises owner as Mr Lennox but he promises to keep her secret that she wore the dress. and laughs that she’d called it “this old thing” at the dance. She gets a job offer and is delighted. She brings flowers to the dry cleaners to thank them for the mix up.
I like the colours and inking in this story, it also has some funny moments. Again it’s nothing new but it has a nice pace and does its job well.
Jill- Junior Reporter (Pages: 41-43)
Art: Robert MacGillivray
Jill Cooper is a reporter for the Daily Echo and often finds interesting stories by following up adverts in the personal column. In this story the ad is for an expedition to see Sahara cave paintings by truck. When they arrive at the caves Jill is wary of their new guide Hussan who has replaced the other guide due to sickness. She is right to be suspicious of him as he sneaks away while in the caves to steal their stuff. Jill spots him in time and leaves a trail of paper for the others to follow. She manages to stop him which is good the only down side is she is left having to piece her story back together as those were the papers she made her trail with!
This is a fun little adventure story. Jill is a fun resourceful character and it has a good ending, being amusing and not just ending with everything sorted.
Wendy the Winner (Pages: 44-48)
Art: Andy Tew
Wendy Blake’s hobby is entering competitions and winning though it can cause some problems. Her father isn’t happy when she is collecting alphabet soup labels for a competition. Not only is there too much soup in the house but there is other trouble like a display gets knocked over, a can accidentally gets thrown a window and she knocks her dad over running to the post. In the meantime prizes from previous competitions arrive, a barbecue, picnic rugs, windbreak and a vacuum ice bucker. her father suffering from a cold isn’t too happy for what will they do with that in winter. Her father perks up when she wins the soup competition and finds out the prize is central heating and double glazing for the whole house. But the catch again is the workmen have to rip up floorboards and the work will take a few days. Lucky all the summer prizes come in handy after all, as they cosy around the barbecue with blankets and soup.
Baby Went Too! (Pages: 53-56)
Barbara Bunting had special permission to bring her baby brother to school while their mother was in hospital. Baby was making a nuisance of himself trying to help out while the girls decorated the classroom for Christmas. He causes so much problems Miss Powell says Barbara will have to keep him out of the classroom. She is disappointed she can’t help with the decorations. Then after baby’s bubble bath she gets the idea to dress him up as Santa with a sleigh. The class win as best decorated.
This was a regular story in Mandy and one I never really understood. Why would having a young girl bringing a baby to school be a good solution, seems unfair on everyone involved. Also poor Baby Bunting didn’t appear to be deserving of a name, only being referred to as Baby. But I suppose the point was to create some drama or some laughs and not to be grounded in reality.
Friend or Foe? (Pages: 65-71)
Art: Len Potts
Jim Dalton is a huntsman and his best Lakeland terrier died leaving a 4 week old puppy Turk. He gave his daughter Jean the job of raising him. She isn’t to encourage him to be a pet as he has to be tough to hunt foxes. He also has to stay in the barn not the house. Later Jean finds an orphan fox cub and she saves him and names him Amber. She hides him in the barn loft away from Turk but the two orphaned animals find each other and comfort each other. Amber helps Turk kill a big rat that attacks them. Amber is clever enough to hide from strange voices and not to be seen with Turk. When the barn catches on fire, Amber and Turk raise the alarm and the Daltons are able to save the house. Jim says the barn or Turk won’t be saved but Jean smashes a window so they may be able to escape. Both Amber and Turk jump through the window surprising Jim. One of the hunting dogs goes for Amber but Turk holds him back and Amber escapes. Jean is worried her father will put down Turk because he’ll be a useless hunting dog now he doesn’t know foxes are the enemy. But because he saved their lives Jim lets Turk off and gives him to Jean as a pet.
This is a well told story and while Jim Dalton could have come across as cruel and hard, even Jean sees him more as practical and understands why Turk can’t be raised as a pet.
Junkyard Jenny (Pages: 74-76)
Jenny Todd runs her father’s junkyard business while he is in hospital. On one of her pickups she gets an old bike and is fixing it up when she sees a family watching her, in particular the eldest girl. The next day Jenny catches the girl with the bike in the junkyard. Sheila says she was only riding it not stealing it. Jenny isn’t convinced though she feels sorry the girl, when she sees what little money her family have. Sheila arrives to help around the yard to make up for things. Jenny is cynical thinking she is doing it to soften her up and get the bike cheap. She decides to test her by saying she can have the bike for five Bob or a cot, knowing her baby brother sleeps in a drawer. She takes the cot and Jenny gives her the bike as a present, she’s delighted.
I like that Jenny is cynical of Sheila at first. She is not going to be fooled by anyone or get taken advantage of. Sheila does turn out to be a good person but has to learn from mistakes.
Wonder Girl! (Pages: 81-86)
Art: “B Jackson”
Jay Smith was brought up by a scientist Dr Harriet Pugh on a scheme of diet and training designed to make her exceptional both physical and mentally. Jay quickly made a name for herself in athletics. The story starts with Jay practicing yoga, after which Jay and Dr Pugh are on their way to an event. Outside the stadium when they notice an advert for Vigrus the vitamin food and a girl who resemble Jay. The stewards won’t allow Jay to race because of the ad, until they are sure of her amateur status. Jay stills wants to test herself against the other runners so Jay starts at the finish line and is at the starting line before the rest of the girls.
Then Dr Pugh and Jay set out to confront the advertisers. Mr Wilcox the crafty advertiser insist on Jay trying the food first before disregaring it. Although she says reading the ingredients you’d get more vitamins from an orange, when she does go to try some a photographer takes a picture of her with the spoon in her hand. Mr Wilcox then tries to blackmail them saying that they’ll have a hard time proving innocence with that photo, so they can either not interfere with his lookalike ad or come aboard and get paid. Jay agrees his won and tells him to get a picture of her actually eating the food. When she takes a bite She collapses and her breathing and pulse slow down. Jay winks at Dr Pugh and she picks up on it, saying Jay is used to a very strict diet and does Mr Wilcox still want to claim she eats his food. He destroys the photos and signs a statement saying she is no way associated with Vitrus so they can’t sue him. Once it is signed Jay jumps to her feet, leaving Mr Wilcox dumbfounded.
I really like the art in this story, just really nice use of colours and good expressions on the people. Jay Smith has some similarities to Valda, she has above average human abilities and likes to test herself against others in sports, of course her origins are rooted in science rather then the mystical. I like her novel idea of how to compare herself to the other runners when she isn’t allowed race. She also shows her intelligence by finding such solutions and also when she easily outsmarts Mr Wilcox.
Mum on Wheels! (Pages: 88-92)
June Burton is a trained nurse and housekeeper, who travels in a well equipped van to look after children whose parents are absent due to illness or injury. She is meant to be looking after three children and is surprised by their two chimp pets. She doesn’t get off to a good start with the chimps. and they hold a grudge despite her efforts to make friends. When they throw her clothes out the window for a second time, June figures their problem is she is in the parents bedroom and they thinks she’s a permanent replacement. She moves things into the guest bedroom and that seems to solve the problem.
That Imp Angela! (Pages: 93-96)
Art: Richard Neillands
Little Angela Lister won the title of Little Miss Loveliness and was in demand for public appearances. Only her sister Karen knew how mischievous she really was. She is to open the Roselea swimming pool, where Mrs Ponsoby expresses her unhappiness about the pool which is opened just behind her house. Nobody else is pleased either as Mrs Ponsoby has restricted the pool to a 1 hour opening per day. During her speech Angela lets a bar of soap on the ground, so Mrs Ponosby slips into the pool and Angela also throws bubble balls into the pool (although Karen is the only one who knows who is responsible). After this Mrs Ponosby is determined have the pool closed.
While Mrs Ponosby goes to dry off, Angela sees her house on fire. Karen suggests they form a water chain and save the house. It turns out Angela locked Pinsoby in the room she was drying off in, she saw everything and is so grateful she lets the pool be open all the time.
No Good at Games! (Pages: 104-108)
Art: Andy Tew
Violet Timson is no good at games which is unfortunate as she attends Athleet Hall where games are taken very seriously and merits given for good performances each week. (Of course with a name like Athleet Hall what else would they be obsessed with!). The only thing Violet has learned is how to hit the hockey ball into a rabbit hole, so practice has to be stopped. Later at a match she passes out scared of the opposing Welsh team. She come across a teacher putting in the office. Been actually good at it (after her rabbit hole trick) she helps out. She then finds out she’s a famous hockey star and through a misunderstanding, she thinks Violet has been selflessly missing out on her hockey. She awards her merits for the week and presents her with a hockey stick! This is a funny story, my favourite part is Violet being intimidated by the chanting Welsh team, who turn out to be very nice and friendly.
Go, Girl-Go! (Pages: 114-119)
Art: Douglas Perry
14 year old, Vanessa Coombes is keen bout go-karting but her 18 year old brother Terry has strong views on women drivers especially with his kart. He stops every attempt she tries. She decides to take his go-kart one night and ends up crashing. Terry’s mad at first but is happier when he realises there was a part missing on the kart and if he had driven it in a race he could have been seriously injured. A few days later Vanessa sees a poster for a gala with £20 cash prize. Knowing he borrowed money from their father to fix the go-kart she tells Terry about it. But on the way to the race, a dog jumps out in front of the car and Terry crashes. He’s taken to hospital with a cracked rib. Vanessa decides she will win the money for him. Things are a bit more difficult than she thought she runs off the track and is left a lap behind. She doesn’t want that to be the humiliating end to her first race, so she decides she needs to catch up to the other drivers. She doesn’t win the race but does win the money, as the prize was for the fastest lap not who crossed the finish line first.
The art by Douglas Perry is great of course. I really like who the race ends, instead of winning the first time she drives a go-kart, she struggles at the start and it is her determination to at least make a respectable finish that ends with her getting the fastest lap.
Bunch and Judy (Pages: 120-125)
Judy and her horse Bunch are often asked to do comic routines at local horse shows. At one show they have a run in with snobbish Gloria, but impress a film producer Mr Perry who wants them in his film. When they arrive for filming they aren’t too happy to see Gloria there too. Turns out they want Judy and Bunch to do the entertaining part of how riding shouldn’t be done before Gloria shows the correct way. Gloria takes great pleasure in putting them down and Bunch knocks Gloria’s hat off after she hits him. She backs her own horse into a cigar while looking for the hat, which causes the horse to bolt. It is Bunch and Judy that ride after her and clear hedges and walls beautifully and stops Gloria before she goes onto traffic. This is all caught on film and the director is so impressed he uses this as the example of good riding.
