Ludicrously Niche

When I scanned in a full issue of the short-lived School Fun not long ago, I promised a closer look at its great survivor, the Tom Paterson-drawn School Belle -- who continued after the merger with Buster, obviously, outstripped all the other stories in t…

I have rhapsodised at some length about the superhero-themed Fighting Fantasy book, Appointment with F.E.A.R., on several previous occasions: a loving homage to superhero comics, down to the cover art provided by 2000 AD artist Brian Bolland, the book giv…

All strips in this article are taken from the Internet Archive's uploads of Pow!

In October 1983, a new weekly humour comic for children was launched by IPC/Fleetway.

At the moment, BBC Two are repeating the fifth series of Red Dwarf.

On 9 February 2001, BBC Two aired the Simpsons episode "My Sister, My Sitter" for the first time, where Lisa is inspired to start baby-sitting by The Baby-Sitter Twins books.

In the third GrailQuest gamebook, Gateway of Doom, one of the new spells Pip is given in their Second Spell Book is Pip's Amazing Legume Spell, which will give an automatic Friendly Reaction from any attacking vegetable.

In January 1988, the Beano strip chronicling the adventures of Dennis the Menace's pet pig, Rasher, was retired... and since its replacement was being drawn by the same artist, David Sutherland, there was a rather unusual handover, with The Germs and Ill…

This is something that has confused me for quite some time.

The label on the jar has ripped and hangs half off.

Some scans in this article contain racist caricatures.

This is the first of the four maps you use to navigate the Ghastly Kingdom of the Dead in the third GrailQuest gamebook, Gateway of Doom.

In January 1973, D.

The second Lone Wolf gamebook, Fire on the Water, is quite heavy on setting up the series' lore, and features an expansive plot where Lone Wolf must travel halfway across the Lastlands to retrieve the fabled Sommerswerd.

Snip and Snap, D.

This is the very first edition of The Haunted Wood, a strip which appeared in Fleetway's Knockout across its two-year run from June 1971 to June 1973.

This is a very early example of Ali's Baba, a strip which appeared in D.

In March 1983, the very third Fighting Fantasy gamebook, The Forest of Doom, was published in the UK.

One of the newest strips in the weekly Beano, Rubi's Screwtop Science, started life in CBBC's 2016 series Dennis & Gnasher: Unleashed; Rubidium "Rubi" von Screwtop (daughter of Professor von Screwtop, a re-imagining of a mad scientist who originated in Lo…

The author was delighted not only to see a copy of this edition again, but also to learn that the entire series is now on YouTube.

Recently, I have written a few things about editing on the BBC's 2006-09 version of Robin Hood.

A few months ago, I published a history of Ivy the Terrible which went down spectacularly well.

As one door closes, another must open.

Last year, I published one of my favourite things I've ever written -- a history of Cliff Hanger, the part-gamebook part-comic strip that ran in Fleetway Publications' Buster from 1983-87, and was then reprinted from 1992 until near the comic's end in 199…

This is an example of Cannonball Kid (drawn by Rob Lee), a story which appeared in D.

On 29 December 2007, the second series of the BBC's latest adaptation of Robin Hood came to an end with a highly contentious finale where Guy of Gisborne stabbed Marian to death in a jealous rage.

When looking in charity shops I am principally hoping to find another batch of old comics, or maybe some Choose Your Own Adventure books, but I buy other stuff as well.

Shadow on the Sand is the fifth Lone Wolf gamebook, and also the conclusion to the Kai sub-series (also known at that point in publication as the 'basic rules' series, as it marks the point where Lone Wolf goes from initiate to Kai Master, and so unlocks a