A VALIANT EFFORT FOR TV21...

The front cover of the comic featured in the photos below

While I'm wallowing in the self-indulgent practice of airing old photographs (see two posts back), I thought I'd show a couple from 1965, taken in Port Bannatyne when I was on holiday in Rothesay on The Isle of Bute in Scotland. It was the one and only time we went on holiday with my grandparents, and I can remember it as if it were yesterday. Well...last week at least. (In fact, scratch that - I'm not even sure I can remember either last week OR yesterday - but you know what I mean.)

So...why am I boring you with my old holiday snaps, you may be asking? Simple - take a look at the comic I'm holding - an actual issue of TV CENTURY 21! At the time, it was undoubtedly Britain's best-selling comic, and today's publishers would be ecstatic if their comics could sell even a quarter of the circulation figures of TVC21 at its height.

Sadly, they just don't print comics like that anymore. TV Century 21 (later shortened to just TV21) lasted for four months short of seven years, but by the time its revamped 2nd series (minus any GERRY ANDERSON strips) was merged with VALIANT on September 25th, 1971 (dated October 2nd), it had been a shadow of its former self  for almost half of its lifespan.

It had arrived with a bang - but went out with barely a whimper. After sharing Valiant's masthead as junior partner for around two and a half years, its name appeared for the final time on its host comic on April 13th, 1974. (Issue dated 20th.)

Thus ended the last link to what had once been Britain's best and brightest comic of the sensational '60s.

The back cover of the comic featured in the photos above

Incidentally, photography buffs may be interested to know that the above holiday snaps were taken with an old KODAK BOX BROWNIE, which had to be held at either waist or chest level (depending on one's eyesight) while the 'snapper' looked down into a little viewfinder before taking the picture. That no doubt explains why so many photos from my childhood are lopsided. (Either that, or the person taking them had one leg shorter than the other.)