On this day, 12 February 1983: Wow!
Cover artwork: Rovert Nixon (Spare-part Kit), Mike Lacey (Shipwreck School)
On this day, 12 February 1983 … Wow! was one of the last few humour comics to be launched by IPC in the 1980s, running from June 1982 to June 1983. I’m assuming that its short life was down to the market for juvenile comics not being as strong as it had been in the 1970s, and/or it was only ever intended to attract new readers ahead of a pre-planned merger (it was taken over by Whoopee!). It’s a shame that it didn’t last longer because I think it’s a comic of exceptional quality. For me, it has the feel of a new Jackpot (which ended in 1982), but cleaner and more accomplished.
Cover stars Shipwreck School presented the great concept of a class and their bedraggled teacher stranded on a desert island. Creepy Comix followed the exploits of a boy who is lucky enough to have found a complete run of haunted comics (I like to think that Creepy Comix was actually Scream! in disguise). Boy Boss was a two-part Frank McDiarmid character who could easily have walked in from the pages of Cheeky, while other strips such as Team Mates, The Upper Crusts and the Lazy Loafers and Barney’s Badges were very good takes on highly familiar templates (The Krazy Gang, The Toffs and the Toughs, Odd Ball respectively spring to mind for each of these three, but there are many more examples).
Ossie: Robert Nixon (artist)
Here is the News: Ed McHenry
Creepy Comix: Reg Parlett (artist)
Boy Boss: Frank McDiarmid (artist)
Penny Dreadful: Michael Green? (artist)
Team Mates: Tom Paterson or possibly an imitator (artist)
TV Quiz Kids: Jack Edward Oliver (artist)
KBR Kids’ Band Radio: David Mostyn (artist)
Family Trees: Robert Nixon (artist)
Kid Comic: Martin Baxendale (artist)
The Upper Crusts and the Lazy Loafers: Reg Parlett (artist)
Spare-part Kit: Robert Nixon (artist)
Barney’s Badges: Terry Bave (artist)
