Cracker (comics)
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| Cracker | |
|---|---|
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | D. C. Thomson & Co. Ltd |
| Publication date | 18 January 1975 to 11 September 1976 |
| No. of issues | 87 |
Cracker was a British comic book magazine printed by D. C. Thomson & Co. Ltd that ran from the issues dated 18 January 1975 to 11 September 1976 (a total of 87 issues), when it merged with The Beezer . Some material from Cracker was reprinted in Classics from the Comics .
List of Cracker comic strips
[edit ]These are in alphabetical order and all numbers refer to issues of Cracker.
| Strip Title | Artist | First Appearance | Last Appearance | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Astro-nuts | Alan Rogers | 36 | 78[1] | |
| Big-Head Branny - The Strong-Arm Janny | Barrie Appleby | 1 | 24 | About a surly and vindictive janitor |
| Billy The Kid | Gordon Bell | 1 | 87 | A strip borrowing heavily from "Dennis the Menace and Gnasher", featuring a tearaway with black bushy hair and a mischievous spotted dog called Pongo. Appeared in The Beezer after the merger. |
| Castaways on Planet Doom | Terry Patrick | 1 | 35 | An adventure story |
| Curly's Commandos | Barrie Appleby | 1 | 47 | About a small gang of children organised along army lines. |
| Dunder Ed, The Wonder Blunder Boy | Phil Milar | 1 | 87 | Not in 18, 38, 39, 40, 43 to 48, 55, 56, 64, 69, 70, 73 and 82.[2] |
| Fiends Beans | Gordon Bell | 25 | 87 | |
| Ghastly Geezer's Gallery | Ken Harrison and readers of Cracker. | 1 | 87 | Not in 7, 17, 33, and 42.[3] A readers feature where readers sent in pictures of monsters referred to as Ghastly Geezers. |
| The Head-Hunters of Skookum Skool | Ken Harrison | 1 | 55 | Had previously appeared in Buzz under the name "Skookum Skool". Not in 33 & 49. |
| Hector the Collector | John Aldrich | 1 | 55 | Not in 49.[4] |
| Iron Hand | Paddy Brennan | 1 | 87 | An adventure story about a secret agent with a metal hand, it later moved to The Beezer after the merger. |
| Jimmy Jest, His Shadow's a Pest | Ken Harrison | 38 | 87 | About a boy whose shadow would get him into trouble. |
| Joe Soap | John Dallas | 1 | 87 | A strip involving a boy and magical soap bubbles. Appeared in The Beezer after the merger. |
| Little 'Orror | David Easington | 16 | 87 | Appeared in The Beezer after the merger. |
| Mad Ads | Ken Harrison | 1 | 36 | They had a Mad Ads competition on the back page. Readers would send in an ad for a mad contraption and if it was printed, they would get 1 pound. A similar thing appeared in The Dandy in the 2010s. |
| The Nutters | John Geering | 1 | 87 | Not in 49. Squabbles between a signalman called Percy Potters plus a family of three squirrels (called Pa, Ma and Junior). |
| PC McGraw | Ken Harrison | 70 | 87 | About a policeman who turns into a monkey/gorilla when wet. |
| Rip Van Tinkle | Barrie Appleby | 41 | 87 | |
| Sammy | Ken Harrison | 1 | 87 | The 'Face' of Cracker, he appeared in a number of features (not comic strips) which were "Jest a minute", "Sammy's Special Report" and "Sammy's Wacky Weekly". "Jest a minute" continued after the merger with The Beezer . |
| ScrapJack the wacky wizard | Unknown | 79 | 87 | |
| Scrapper | Tom Lavery | 1 | 85 | About a kid who liked to get into fights. Appeared in The Beezer after the merger. |
| Simple Spyman | Bill Ritchie | 1 | 87 | A spy with a very long beard, dark glasses, and dark-brimmed hat |
| Slojak | Barry Appleby | 25 | 87 | Involves a young bald boy detective. |
| The Snookums | Ken Harrison | 1 | 24 | A misbehaved class whose strip consisted of large 'action' panels containing with numerous gags. |
| Spookie Cookie | Tom Williams | 1 | 24 | A ghost cook in a haunted manor |
| Spookum Skool | Ken Harrison | 1 | 23 | Yet another strip derivative of "The Bash Street Kids", but set in a haunted castle where the children are ghosts. |
| Wonder Wellies | Andrew Christine | 25 | 87 | Not in 36, 53, 59, 68, and 77.[5] A similarly named and themed strip appeared in Buster .[6] |
| Young Foo - The Kung Fu Kid | Brian Platt | 1 | 87 | A Chinese schoolboy martial artist, complete with bare feet as part of his school uniform. Each week he would feud with Bully Basher. Appeared in The Beezer after the merger. |
References
[edit ]- ^ "The ASTRO-NUTS". Archived from the original on 9 July 2012. Retrieved 26 March 2012.
- ^ "Dunder ed". Archived from the original on 8 July 2012. Retrieved 26 March 2012.
- ^ "Ghastly Geezers". Archived from the original on 10 July 2012. Retrieved 26 March 2012.
- ^ "Hector the Collector". Archived from the original on 8 July 2012. Retrieved 26 March 2012.
- ^ "Wonder Wellies". Archived from the original on 10 July 2012. Retrieved 26 March 2012.
- ^ "Toonhound - Cracker (1975–1976)". toonhound.com. Retrieved 13 May 2016.