Misty | |
---|---|
Publication information | |
Publisher | Fleetway |
Schedule | Weekly |
Format | Newsprint magazine |
Genre | |
Publication date | 4 February 1978 – 12 January 1980 |
No. of issues | 101 |
Creative team | |
Written by | Pat Mills, Malcolm Shaw, Barry Clements |
Artist(s) | Shirley Bellwood, John Armstrong, Joe Collins, Brian Delaney, John Richardson, Badia, Jesus Redondo, Ken Houghton, Peter Wilkes, Eduardo Feito, Bob Harvey, Honiera Romeu, María Barrera Castell (Gesalí), Mario Capaldi |
Editor(s) | Malcolm Shaw |
Collected editions | |
Misty vol. 1 | ISBN 978-1781084526 |
Misty vol. 2 | ISBN 978-1781086001 |
Misty vol. 3: Wolf Girl & Other Stories | ISBN 978-1781086513 |
Misty was a weekly British comic magazine targeted at girls and published by Fleetway in the late 1970s. Focusing on horror stories, it was one of the few British girls' comics that was also popular with boys. [1] Although Misty lasted less than two years it is remembered and admired to this day. [2] [3]
Misty #1 was published on 4 February 1978. The final issue, #101, came out on 12 January 1980. The following week, Misty merged with Fleetway stablemate Tammy, [1] which then adopted the title Tammy and Misty until September 1981.
Summer and holiday specials were published between 1978 and 1980, [4] as well as eight annuals from 1979 until 1986, long after the weekly Misty had ceased to exist. [5]
Misty was a collection of serial and one-off stories. Both types — complete stories and story instalments — were usually four pages long. [6]
While Misty had similarities with its Fleetway stablemates Tammy and Jinty , each magazine had its own focus. Consultant editor Pat Mills' vision for Misty imagined it as a "female 2000 AD." He saw Carrie and Audrey Rose as models, which would be "modified for a younger audience." [7]
Misty concentrated on supernatural and horror stories, featuring plots such as "pacts with the devil, schoolgirl sacrifice, the ghosts of hanged girls, sinister cults, evil scientists experimenting on the innocent and terrifying parallel worlds where the Nazis won the second world war." [8] One-off stories often had troublemaking protagonists being punished in fantastic fashion. [9]
The taglines for the first three covers emphasized a connection with the mystery genre. Subsequently the horror appeal became prominent, with taglines such as "Stories NOT to be read at night!" [10] and "Dare you read it alone?" [11]
There were no regular characters except for host Misty and the comic strip witch Miss T. Misty, whose appearance was designed by Shirley Bellwood, [12] always welcomed the reader on the editorial page, and occasionally appeared on the cover. [13] Miss T, meanwhile, attracted debate among readers as to whether its comic relief weakened or complemented the dark tones of Misty. [9] After the merger with Tammy, Miss T joined the Tammy's Edie strip, which eventually became The Crayzees when Snoopa joined in the Tammy and Jinty merger on 28 November 1981. The strip continued until the Tammy and Princess merger on 7 April 1984.[ citation needed ]
The Cult of the Cat and The Black Widow were the only Misty stories to have sequels. The former continued in The Nine Lives of Nicola, the latter in Spider Woman (by then Misty had become part of Tammy).[ citation needed ]
Misty, following the tradition of British girls' comics, also published short text stories. Those were not present in every issue.[ citation needed ]
Artists featured in the pages of Misty included John Armstrong (best known for drawing Bella at the Bar for Tammy), María Barrera, [14] Brian Delaney, John Richardson, Jordi Badía Romero, Jesus Redondo, Ken Houghton, Peter Wilkes, Eduardo Feito, Bob Harvey, Honiera Romeu, and Mario Capaldi. Illustrator Shirley Bellwood did many covers for the weekly magazine as well as a number of Misty annuals and specials. Bellwood's ethereal art is a notable aspect of Misty. [15] Joe Collins drew the Miss T strips.
The moon and bat cover logo was devised by Jack Cunningham. [16]
Writers featured included Pat Mills, Malcolm Shaw, Wilf Prigmore, and (possibly) Barry Clements. Mills is credited with Moonchild and Hush, Hush, Sweet Rachel, and Shaw with The Sentinels.
Unlike the comics, text stories seem to have mostly been written by women, with Kitty Punchard and Anita Davies among them. [17]
The Misty back catalogue is now owned by Rebellion Developments, which has reprinted Misty stories in the following volumes:
Since 2017 Rebellion has also published all-new Misty and Scream! & Misty specials. [21]
In 2018 French publisher Delirium released Anthologie Misty. [22] [23] The comics included in the volume were the serials Moonchild, The Four Faces of Eve, and The Sentinels, and the one-off stories "Roots" and "Shadow of a Doubt."
Patrick Eamon Mills is an English comics writer and editor who, along with John Wagner, revitalised British boys' comics in the 1970s, and has remained a leading light in British comics ever since. He has been called "the godfather of British comics".
John Wagner is an American-born British comics writer. Alongside Pat Mills, he helped revitalise British comics in the 1970s, and continues to be active in the British comics industry, occasionally also working in American comics. He is the co-creator, with artist Carlos Ezquerra, of the character Judge Dredd.
Crisis was a British comic anthology published by Fleetway Publications from 17 September 1988 to October 1991, initially fortnightly and later monthly. Designed to appeal to older readers than other Fleetway titles in order to take advantage of a boom in interest in 'adult' comics, Crisis featured overtly political and complex stories; one issue was even produced in conjunction with Amnesty International.
Gerry Finley-Day is a Scottish comics writer, prolific from the 1960s to the 1980s, best known as the creator of "Rogue Trooper".
Battle Picture Weekly was a British weekly boys' war comic published by IPC Magazines from 8 March 1975 to 23 January 1988, when it merged with the new incarnation of Eagle after 644 issues. Most stories were set in World War II, with some based on other conflicts, while factual features also focused on warfare.
Action was a British weekly boys' comic published by IPC Magazines from 14 February 1976 to 5 November 1977, when it merged with war comic Battle after 86 issues. The comic was created by Pat Mills and Geoff Kemp.
Scream! was a weekly British comics periodical published by IPC Magazines from 24 March to 30 June 1984. A horror comic anthology comic, the title lasted for 15 editions before being merged with another title, Eagle.
Trina Robbins was an American cartoonist. She was an early participant in the underground comix movement, and one of the first women in the movement. She co-produced the 1970 underground comic It Ain't Me, Babe, which was the first comic book entirely created by women. She co-founded the Wimmen's Comix collective, wrote for Wonder Woman, and produced adaptations of Dope and The Silver Metal Lover. She was inducted into the Will Eisner Hall of Fame in 2013 and received Eisner Awards in 2017 and 2021.
Tammy was a weekly British comic for girls published by Fleetway in London from 1971 to 1984. Tammy was closely linked editorially with the fellow Fleetway titles Misty and Jinty. At its height, Tammy sold 250,000 copies per week, more than popular IPC Magazines titles like 2000 AD.
John Armstrong was a British comics artist, best known for his work in Misty and Tammy, for which he drew the long-running strip Bella. Other strips he has drawn include The Secret Gymnast in Bunty.
Girl was the name of two weekly comics magazines for girls in the United Kingdom.
Sandie was a British girls' comic, published by Fleetway, which lasted for 89 weekly issues between 12 February 1972 and 20 October 1973 before being merged into Tammy. The editor of Sandie was John Wagner.
Princess Tina was a British weekly girls' comic anthology published by Fleetway Publications and IPC Magazines from 23 September 1967 to 12 January 1974. The comic was created by combining two underperforming Fleetway titles — Princess and Tina — into a third, new comic. Notable strips included the long-running family drama "The Happy Days" and "Patty's World". The latter would outlive Princess Tina, continuing after the comic was merged into Pink.
Judy was a British pre-teen and teen girl's magazine, primarily in comic book form. Judy was extant from 1960 to 1991. From 1991 to 1997 it was combined with another title in Mandy and Judy magazine. Judy was published by DC Thomson.
Malcolm Campbell Shaw was a British comics writer and editor, involved in many girls' comics such as Jinty, New Mirabelle, and Misty.
British girls' comics flourished in the United Kingdom from the 1950s through the 1970s, before beginning to decline in popularity in the 1980s and 1990s. Publishers known for their girls' comics included DC Thomson and Fleetway/IPC. Most titles appeared weekly, with the content primarily in picture-story format. The majority of the stories were serialized, with two or three pages per issue, over eight to twelve issues. They were marketed toward young teen girls.
Princess was a British weekly girls' comic anthology published by Fleetway Publications and, later, IPC Magazines. The first version was published between 30 January 1960 and 16 September 1967, and featured a mix of comic strips, text stories and a large proportion of features; it was merged with Tina to form a new title - Princess Tina - after 399 issues.
June was a British weekly girls' comic anthology published by Fleetway Publications and IPC Magazines from 18 March 1961 to 15 June 1974. Designed as a response to DC Thomson's hit Bunty, June never quite eclipsed its Scottish rival but was nevertheless a success on its own terms, reaching 631 issues before being merged into Tammy in 1974.
The Cat Girl is a British comic character who has appeared in eponymous strips published by IPC Magazines and Rebellion Developments. The character, a girl called Cathy Carter who finds a suit that gives her the attributes of a cat and becomes a crimefighter, first appeared in the launch issue of weekly girls' comic Sally on 14 June 1969.
"End of the Line..." is a British comic strip published by IPC Magazines in the girls' comic anthology title Misty between 12 August and 18 November 1978. Written by Malcolm Shaw with art by John Richardson, the story revolves around Ann Summerton, who begins seeing visions of her dead father while travelling on the London Underground. Like many of the stories featured in Misty, the serial had strong supernatural elements.