Norvic Philatelics - GB New Stamps and Special Postmarks
World of Comics - 20 March 2012
Marking 75 years of the Dandy, this issue
looks at the great British institution of comics, with a set of 10 x 1st
class stamps. Royal Mail said: "The
Comics stamp issue is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate this great
British institution, and some of the quite unique and iconic characters
that have become an integral part of our culture."
If wizard wheezes and tales of derring-do were what you were after, it
was to comics that we turned. For over a century, Britain’s uniquely
eccentric comics have brought cheer to generations of readers.
More importantly it has presented us with a list of characters that, like
the memories of those comics themselves, remain with us throughout our
lives. The Dandy, the UK’s longest running comic will be 75 years old in
2012. The Beano, the UK’s second oldest comic will be also 75 the
following year. The Comics stamp issue is a wonderful opportunity to
celebrate this great British institution, and some of the quite unique and
iconic characters that have become an integral part of our culture.
The
Ten
Stamps
The Dandy and Desperate Dan
The Dandy was first published in the United Kingdom by D. C. Thomson &
Co. Ltd in 1937 and it is the world’s third longest running comic. Wild-west
hero Desperate Dan first appeared in December 1937. The world’s strongest
man, he shaves with a blow torch and eats cow pies complete with the horns.
The Beano and Dennis the Menace
The Beano first appeared on 30 July 1938. The Dennis the Menace strip (now
known as Dennis and Gnasher) first appeared in 1951 and is the longest
running strip in the comic. Other iconic strips include the Bash Street
Kids, Roger the Dodger and Minnie the Minx.
Eagle and Dan Dare
The first issue of Eagle was released in April 1950. Revolutionary in its
presentation and content, it was enormously successful; the first issue sold
about 900,000 copies. Featured in colour on the front cover was Dan Dare,
Pilot of the Future, created by Frank Hampson. Other popular stories
included Riders of the Range and P.C. 49. Eagle also contained news and
sport sections, and educational cutaway diagrams of sophisticated machinery.
The Topper and Beryl the Peril
The Topper was published by D. C. Thomson & Co. Ltd and ran from 1953 to
1990, when it merged with The Beezer. Mickey the Monkey was the original
cover star. Beryl the Peril was created by David Law as a female Dennis the
Menace (also created by Law). The strip ran from the first issue, taking
over the cover in 1986.
Tiger and Roy of the Rovers
Tiger was published from 1954 to 1985, and featured predominantly sporting
strips. Its most popular strip was Roy of the Rovers, recounting the life of
Roy Race and the team he played for, Melchester Rovers. This strip proved so
successful it was spun out of Tiger and into its own comic.
Bunty and the Four Marys
Bunty was published by D. C. Thomson & Co. from 1958 to 2001. It
consisted of a collection of many small strips, typically the stories
themselves being three to five pages long. The Four Marys was the longest
story. The comic ran from its creation in 1958 to its end in 2001. It
centered around four young teenagers who lived in a girls-only boarding
school in Elmbury.
Buster and Buster
Buster ran from 1960 to 2000 and carried a mixture of humour and adventure
strips. The title character, whose strip usually appeared on the front
cover, was Buster. He was originally billed as Buster: Son of Andy Capp, the
lead character of the Daily Mirror newspaper strip, and wore a similar flat
cap to reinforce the connection.
Valiant and the Steel Claw
Valiant was a British boys’ adventure comic that ran from 1962 to 1976. It
was published by IPC Magazines and was one of their major adventure titles
throughout the 1960s and early 1970s. Aside from World War II characters
like Captain Hurricane, Valiant ran innovative science fiction strips like
the Steel Claw, a scientist rendered invisible by his artificial hand.
Twinkle and Nurse Nancy
Twinkle, ‘the picture paper especially for little girls’, was published by
D. C. Thomson & Co. Ltd from 1968 to 1999. It was aimed at young girls
and came out weekly, Nurse Nancy, who ran a toy hospital with her
grandfather, was one of the most popular characters.
2000 AD and Judge Dredd
2000 AD is a weekly British science fiction-oriented comic, first published
in 1977. It is most noted for its Judge Dredd stories, and has been
contributed to by a number of artists and writers who became renowned in the
field internationally, such as Alan Moore, Neil Gaiman and Grant Morrison.
Judge Dredd is a law enforcement officer in a violent city of the future
where uniformed judges combine the powers of police, judge, jury and
executioner
Technical details:
The stamps were designed by The Chase, and are printed by Cartor Security
Printing in lithography. The 35mm square stamps are perf 14.5 in
sheets of 25/50. The stamps in row 1 are in one sheet of 25 (5x5),
the stamps in row 2 are in a second sheet of 25.
Products issued:
Set of 10 stamps (2 strips of 5) -
Strip of 5 from sheet 1 or sheet 2, or vertical strip of 5 of any single
stamp
First day cover - Presentation pack - Stamp cards
Special Postmarks
Postmarks available for the day of issue are shown here. These
postmarks cannot be obtained after the date of issue. Not
to scale.
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Ref FD1215
Philatelic Bureau Official Postmark: "LOOK OUT!"
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Ref FD1216
Dundee Official Postmark "THWACK!"
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Ref FD928NP
Dundee Official non-pictorial Postmark
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Ref M12443
Eagle Croft, Birmingham
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Ref N12446
British Comics Eagle, Lincoln, GBFDC Association
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Ref N12444
Comic Book Alliance Stockport
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Ref N12445 Teh Heh!, Giggleswick, N Yorkshire.
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S12427 Splat, Dundee |
Ref S12450 Dennis the Menace & Gnasher, The Beano, Dundee
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Ref S12456 75th Anniversary of the Dandy, Albert Square, Dundee
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<<< Ref S12457
75th Anniversary of the Dandy
Kingsway East, Dundee
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This page updated 19 March 2012
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