Bella (artist John Armstrong, writer Primrose Cumming)

The Ancient Ones (artist Veronica Weir) – Strange Story from the Mists

Belinda Bookworm (artist Giorgio Giorgetti)

Push-Along Patti (artist Juliana Buch) – final episode

New for Nights – Feature 

Pop Poster Part 3

Molly Mills at Castle Craygarry (artist Douglas Perry, writer Maureen Spurgeon) – first episode

Bessie Bunter (artist Arthur Martin)

Spirit Rappers (artist Ken Houghton) – Strange Story from the Mists

Edie and Miss T (artist Joe Collins)

The Black and White World of Shirley Grey (artist Diane Gabbot(t), writer Jake Adams?)

Mrs Carne is one of Bella’s more disturbing coaches. She pushes Bella too hard, her mental state is questionable, and she even seems to have a power over her. Bella’s friends have grown so concerned they try to pull her out. When Bella resists, the sheer force causes the balcony they are on to collapse, and they’re all threatening to fall. Oh dear, are we going to see some hospital cases next week?

It’s the final episode of “Push-Along Patti”. After being picked on at school because she only has a push bike while her classmates have flash models, Patti Collins finally settles things with the bullies and decides her push bike is all she wants. Next week we see two new stories: “No Haven for Hayley” and “High-Rise Hazel”. The blurb for Hayley is unusual in that it has a spot panel drawn especially for it, instead of the usual practice of using a panel or a bodged composite panel from the story. The spot panel does such an impressive job of summing up the premise of the story that the blurb is included here.

Bessie makes one of the filler appearances she has been reduced to since the Misty merger. She enters a carving competition, but she soon discovers she is better at eating food than carving it and lands in hot water. Her punishment leaves her feeling all carved up. 

“Belinda Bookworm” finds her secret training to become sporty like the girls who pick on her is beginning to pay off. But now it’s about to face a big test when she falls from the skylight into the school swimming pool. She has been training for diving and swimming, but not in real water. Will her secret training pay off again, or will she find herself in deep water this time?

This week we have a double helping of Strange Stories, both of which feature pranks that take a sinister turn. One of them, “Spirit Rappers”, appears below. If you’ve ever been plagued by pesky kids who keep ringing your doorbell and running off, then this one’s for you. Plus, it is drawn by the ever-popular Ken Houghton.

Molly starts a new story. Stanton Hall is off to Scotland to participate in a film shoot. Sounds exciting? It should be, but they’re off to a bad start when they arrive. They’re spending the night in a power blackout because the power generator has broken down. Next week we find out if things brighten up. 

In the space of only one day, “The Black and White World of Shirley Grey” has grown blacker and blacker for Shirley because she keeps going to extremes about not telling lies after blaming herself for her best friend’s accident. After a long, horrible day of it, she comes home dreading her parents’ reaction when they hear she’s blown it again with the boss’s wife for being too truthful about her attire (“hideous”) and now Dad’s got no promotion. Their reaction is even worse than she expects: Mum goes into hysterics and bawling that she’s going to have a nervous breakdown. What a drama queen. Well, you can’t have seen the worst yet, Mum and Dad. The trouble that’s already started will surely escalate, and Shirley’s extreme truth-telling is bound to cause even more trouble as, despite all your yelling and screaming about it (“Oh, not that again!”), you’re not getting through to her at all. What’s more, you’re too focused on yourselves to even consider where it’s going to all end up for Shirley – which is bound to be something dire before the story gets to its resolution.