On this day, 15 June 1974: June and Pixie — GREAT NEWS FOR ALL READERS!

Jun 15

Jun 15 On this day, 15 June 1974: June and Pixie

Cover artwork: Robert McGillivray (artist)

There's an odd symmetry between June and Tammy, the comic into which June was merged after this final issue. June ran from March 1961 to June 1974, a brand leader in the Sixties before losing ground in the new scene of the early Seventies; Tammy ran from February 1971 to June 1984, a brand leader in the Seventies before losing ground in the new scene of the early Eighties. June subsumed a number of other girls' titles during its run (Poppet, School Friend and Pixie);Tammy subsumed a number of other girls' titles during its run (Sally, Sandie, June, Misty, Jinty and Princess).

And both comics ended with nary a whimper. June lost readers and impetus during the turbulent British spring and summer of 1974, and struggled to cope with the pressures of the three-day working week. This, its final issue, made no mention of the forthcoming merge with Tammy on its front cover (an uninspiring cover enlivened only by the horror of an Oxford comma). Tammy itself disappeared from circulation because of a printer's strike, and never reappeared, despite several of its stories being in mid-run.

June at least was able to bring its stories to a proper close, and endings are the principal theme of this week's issue. Six serials (including Robert McGillivray's Lucky's Living Doll, and Wedding in the Family, the first episode of which I featured on the blog a few weeks ago) finish with a 'The End' caption in this issue. Arthur Martin's Bessie Bunter and the one-off weekly tales of The Storyteller are the only strips to make it into next week's new Tammy and June.

Incidentally, the cover date of this June is the same as that of the final issue of Cor!!, featured elsewhere on the blog.