Comics UK

In your travels from kid to adulthood, were there any No.1 issues that particularly stood out?

Edit: Have changed "mid to adulthood" to "kid to adulthood". Stupid keyboard.

Crisis and Revolver. That much Carlos Ezquerra art in one issue was just insanely great value. And Revolver was just so out there, you had to love it.

The original 50s EAGLE . I collected the 1st volume comics each week which sadly were eventually got rid of..After the first impact the comic went into decline,but I will always remember having that number 1 issue.

abacus wrote:The original 50s EAGLE

Is that from mid to adulthood?

Actually what do you mean by mid? I'm assuming about 20 to old git? But I've really no idea.

The one that I remember the most is Fantastic number 1. I had been buying Pow! each week and saw the adverts for Fantastic 1 and I remember showing my stick-on scars off in the school playground. After that it would be Countdown as I had been buying TV 21 since 1965 and it was a natural successor. I was born in 1956 just to give readers an indication of my age at the time.

As a kid, I found most No.1s exciting but specifically the following:

Mickey Mouse - When Donald and Mickey was cancelled for Donald Duck and Mickey Mouse comics, my brother went for the former but I got the better deal.

Cracker - My first No.1 and, after reading the first issue, it had replaced The Beano as my second favourite comic after The Dandy.

Krazy Comic - The most zany comic I have read at the time. Brilliant!

2000AD - a new Dan Dare, a story about time travel & dinosaurs, an alien editor, etc... The most exciting No.1 I ever read.

The Crunch - In my book, the most exciting comic from DCT and I loved the fist.

And the most recent: Strip Magazine.

starscape wrote: Is that from mid to adulthood?

Actually what do you mean by mid? I'm assuming about 20 to old git? But I've really no idea.

Stupid keyboard. I meant "kid". I have corrected the opening post.

As a kid/teen its Scream or Crisis, great opening issues, but the best number one I have read is Starlord number one, one that got away, and did. IMO. ensure the survival of 2000ad.

Even though there were other comics I liked better, I think I'd nominate Fantastic #1 as well - it's the only #1 I can remember buying from the stands. (The stick-on scars and mystic third eye were in #2, the first issue had a plastic "Fantastic" pennant.) I also had Ranger #1, but that was a hand-down rather than a pocket-money choice. Looking at it now, I'm impressed by how good it was, and it's a shame it only ran 40 issues. Perhaps the the era of the high-quality boy's magazine had already passed by 1965. And one shilling was a relatively high price. You could buy four Beanos for that! I remember Whizzer and Chips as a milestone new comic, but it that case I missed #1 and started with #2.

I must admit, Sue, that is how I feel about 2000AD. I remember the excitement when I saw it being advertised on the telly and seeing the four-page advert. Then when I got the first programme....

The only other comic that had a similar impact was Cracker. But it was the first comic I ever got from the first issue. All the other comics before that were established before I started reading them.

First issues were always an exciting venture into new territory and characters but I suppose the one that made the biggest impact with me would be TV Century 21 back in January 1965. I was five years old and although I had Dandy and Beano regularly by then, TV21 was the first adventure comic I'd seen. The fact that it was such a high quality comic and it featured my favourite TV shows was a bonus.

SHIVER and SHAKE [1973]


MONSTER FUN [1975]


-----And, believe it or not-----



WARLORD [1974]


Dammit, I even remember enthusing about my wee sisters' TWINKLE debut issue, with it's free Nurse Nancy outfit!!!

As a youngster Warlord had a really impressive set of medals, so that interested me. The free gifts for 2000AD and Bullet were better in subsequent issuesbut not really #1. Although, the excitment for Dan Dare returning (not that I ever read any of his stories in Eagle but the name was still spoken about by 'oldies') was probably the greatest. Still remember that great advert.

Captain Britain was one that I really looked forward to, given the hype and my interest in super-heroes. I still think some of those early stories against Dr Synne and Hurricane are far better than they're given credit for.

Krazy I got from first but can't quite remember if I was looking for it. Presumably. Same with Cheeky Weekly. I bought quite a few other #1s then...Spike, The Crunch, Plug, Captain America etc... but I can't say the build up was as intense as 2000AD or Cap B. Maybe Team-Up from Marvel UK was closest.

I would rate Crisis and Revolver as two of my favourite comics but by then, I was more checking them out to see if they were up to standard. They were. But I wasn't especially excited. More cautious.

In more recent times, both Mighty World of Marvel from Panini and Strip Magazine got me going. MWoM I got until I moved abroad but wasn't that big a fan of the mix after a few issues. Strip wasn't what I was hoping for. I wanted really a Warlord/Bullet style comic but it didn't quite hit the mark with stories about god's dog and a beatifully illustrated piece by John Ridgway that didn't really go anywhere. Maybe in time though...

yes, starscape, I was never especially a 'boys' adventure' comics fan at the time, but that first few issues of WARLORD was something very new at the time: much glossier and film-like than the too-formulaic VICTOR and others.

WARLORD never gets a great deal of credit in comics history, but it's success paved the way for BATTLE, and in turn ACTION and 2000 ad.

Warlord was a game-changer, I even noticed it at the time.

ISPYSHHHGUY wrote:WARLORD never gets a great deal of credit in comics history, but it's success paved the way for BATTLE, and in turn ACTION and 2000 ad.

Warlord was a game-changer, I even noticed it at the time.

I won't argue there, ISPY. But I would have kept quiet about Twinkle.