‘Member-berries & General Purpose Nostalgia Thread

Dennis is totally different these days. He’s not even a menace.

And at some point at Bash Street School Fatty became Freddy and Spotty became Scotty. Plug is still Plug.

How about Calamity James? He was always one of my favourites. So many little sight gags in every panel.

Dennis’s dad looking young is quite jarring too. Although making Walter less ‘gay’ is a more positive move.

He always seemed like a smug arsehole to me.

I'm a Jock, so it was the Broons annual for Christmas every year 

I mostly read The Beano out of habit and the fact we already had hundreds of issues around the house. I even remember thinking it was a bit pish but read it regardless.

One of my most vivid memories, however, was when my first gerbil died and how distraught I was, and how reading some issues of The Beano helped lift my mood, to the point where I was laughing at stuff that didn't usually make me laugh. I distinctly remember thinking how weird that was even at the time.

My Nan lived in South Shields and every year I'd get sent down either the Broons or Oor Wullie as a christmas present (they alternated years when I was little, think it's only fairly recently they now release both each year). 

As a southern softie kid I struggled to understand some of the language, but I loved getting them every year. I remember having a discussion with a Scottish colleague years ago about this and he was surprised I'd heard of them let alone read them as a kid.

LOVED the 13th Floor. Charlie's War was also incredible.

My absolute favourite though was Computer Warrior, really amped up my love for video games en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_Warrior

They’ve been publishing collected editions of 13th Floor recently that are really nice. Basically it looks like Rebellion has hoovered up any British comic property from the 90s backward that isn’t part of DC Thomson to publish under the Treasury of British Comic imprint.

I don’t think I read Commando but I did have some Action Force annuals that put fun GI Joe strips alongside really grim realistic WW1 trench warfare nightmare fuel.

I remember liking Computer Warrior and 13th Floor in Eagle too. There were also some titles that used b/w photos for thier strips, like Doomlord (but I always felt they kinda looked pants compared to nice drawn artwork - just guys in masks).

I also really enjoyed the longer format of Commandos and the sci-fi equivalent - Star Blazer (or something similar sounding IIRC). I liked that you got a complete story in those.

Whenever I see a film that includes a scene where characters get into a lift and it stops at a secret level that's either between floors or supposedly nonexistent, I'm always reminded of on the 13th Floor. It must have been the first time that concept was fed to me.

This is a long shot but there was a children's drama where a child wakes up to find everyone else has disappeared. The house, street etc all devoid of people. Anyone remember that one? I think that concept kind of shitted me up as a kid (and still does on summer level). I found it really unnerving. Can't remember much else about the programme though.

That’s just jogged my memory of the long-form stories they had in the Action Force annuals, which were great. Not only that but you had long form stories in the Marvel UK Transformer annuals too, one of which really sticks out in my mind…

I think it was called the Magnificent Seven or something like that, about a team of autobots who get captured and tortured by an insane Decepticon general. He breaks them psychologically to the point where he offers them a gun, grabs one of the team (Stampede) and gives them the chance to stop him from murdering him. None of the other six can bring themselves to pull the trigger, so he rips Stampede’s head off.

Thats some pretty dark stuff for a kids toy annual.

Edit: Looked it up - it's The Magnificent Six! from the 1991 annual. 

tfwiki.net/wiki/The_Magnificent_Six!

A good book on how things were run back at Fleetway during the seventies and eighties, mostly from the perspective one of the longer editors in 2000AD's history (obviously it's really Tharg but he uses a human as a front), The Mighty One is a good read.

www.amazon.co.uk/Mighty-One-Inside-Nerve-Centre/dp/1781084750

Acne - that was one for the naughty kids. Just did a Google and surprised to see that Charlie Brooker was a contributor.

My Grandad worked at a newsagents and would often bring comics back from work for us. There was one which Mum banned him from bringing back - “The Bog Paper” was basically cover to cover toilet jokes. It couldn’t have lasted long, but I remember it having a Ruud Gullitt inspired character called Rude Goolitt who would get sent off for farting and such.

I had to google it just to make sure it actually existed, and was reminded that the best strip by far was a character called Royston Roulette, whose entire schtick was that no matter what happened he would always, always end the adventure by buying a brand new toilet. Just inspired.

I ‘member that. With a lion (I guess from the Times masthead) as a main character?