Tag Archives: Trini Tinturé

Tammy 31 December 1983

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Cover artist: Trini Tinturé

Queen Rider (artist Eduardo Feito, writer A. D. Langholm)

Christmas Chuckles

Bethlehem’s Come to Us (artist Maria Dembilio but credited as “Julian”, writer Alison Christie)

The Button Box (artist Mario Capaldi, writer Alison Christie)

Christmas Chuckles

A Christmas Mystery (artist John Johnston, writer Maureen Spurgeon) – Quiz

First Term at Trebizon (artist Phil Gascoine, writer Anne Digby)

Ralph Roisterham’s “Tiger” – a Pony Tale (artist Veronica Weir, writer Chris Harris)

Pam of Pond Hill (artist Bob Harvey, writer Jay Over)

Room for Rosie (artist Santiago Hernandez, writer Alison Christie)

The Crayzees (artist Joe Collins)

For the Christmas season we present the last Christmas issue of Tammy ever published. Inside, we have “Christmas Chuckles”; a Christmas story from the Crayzees where Miss T saves Christmas by helping to cure Santa of a cold; a special Christmas story from “Room for Rosie” (scans here), which ye Editor put on hiatus but informed us would return at Christmas; a Christmas story from Pam of Pond Hill in which we have morals about being organised for Christmas, but don’t be a power-driver over it; a Christmas quiz; and one of my favourite Tammy stories, “Bethlehem’s Come to Us…”, which is reproduced below. What can the Christmas spirit do for a family who are constantly quarrelling and back-biting because of the stress over Dad’s redundancy? So far, not much, and now it’s Christmas Eve. Is there hope yet? As Tammy would say – read on and see.

The Button Box does not have a Christmas story as it did in Tammy’s 1982 Christmas issue, but it has a story about the value of kindness, which is related to Christmas. It is the only Button story to have a foreshadowing, in which the button itself was shown in an earlier story but its story was not told at the time. Instead, its story is revealed at Christmas. 

An interesting note about Tammy artist John Johnston is that whenever he does spot illustrations for Tammy’s quizzes he uses a style based on Mad artist Paul Coker Jr., even using Coker panels from Mad as templates for some of the spot illustrations. One appears in the aforementioned Christmas quiz.

Tammy was big on adaptations, and it is currently running two: “Queen Rider” by A. D. Langholm and “First Term at Trebizon” by Anne Digby. There is evidence that “Queen Rider” was another book to start life as a girls’ serial, as “Bad Bella” from Tammy annual 1976 has a very similar plot (no, not Bella Barlow, whose title in the same annual has been changed to the once-only “That Barlow Kid” to avoid confusion). “Bad Bella” is no doubt a reprint from somewhere. Update: we have received information that “Bad Bella” is reprinted from Sally.

This week’s Pony Tale has a decidedly feminist slant to it, where Jane Dunnet disguises herself a boy to take over her brother’s “Tiger” job to an aristocrat, as the family badly need the wages. Of course she is discovered in the end, but she has conducted herself so incredibly well that everyone is all the more impressed at her being a girl. 

Jinty and Lindy 26 February 1977

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Haunted Ballerina – Gypsy Rose tale (artist Christine Ellingham)

Sue’s Fantastic Fun-Bag! (artist Hugh Thornton-Jones)

Tell Us – problem page

Sceptre of the Toltecs (artist Cándido Ruiz Pueyo/Emilia Prieto)

Love this Ladybird! – feature

Made-Up Mandy (artist Audrey Fawley)

Freda, False Friend (artist Phil Gascoine)

The Big Cat (artist Ana Rodriguez)

Just Joking – feature 

Star Scene Spotlights Superguy: Gareth Hunt

The Mystery of Martine (artist Trini Tinturé) – final episode

Mark of the Witch! (artist Phil Townsend)

Alley Cat (Rob Lee)

The issue contains the first appearance of Christine Ellingham artwork for Jinty, the Gypsy Rose story “Haunted Ballerina” (below). A panel from the story is the most striking of the three on the cover, a terrifying teaser as to what awaits inside, and it’s the first to hit us in the leading spot. The story itself is a cautionary tale to be careful about second-hand goods, as you never know what might be attached to them. Deanna Blunt discovers this the hard way when she picks up a mirror and ballet shoes at a jumble sale for her ballet practice – only to find herself terrorised by the embittered spirit of a ballerina who lost her career.

“The Mystery of Martine” concludes. The reason why Martine started behaving just like the obsessed woman she played in a theatrical drama remains as obscure as ever. But at least they found the solution – change the ending of the play to one where the crazed woman reforms, after which Martine somehow returned to normal. Starting next week is another Jim Baikie story, “Spell of the Spinning Wheel”. 

In “Mark of the Witch!”, being driven out of her own home is the last straw for Emma Fielding, who is constantly treated like an outcast, called a witch, and branded a bad sort by the backward villagers of Kettleby who just won’t give her a chance. It’s time for payback, and she’s going to do it by being the terror of the village. She starts with breaking and entering to steal food, but she soon has her eyes on an even bigger vengeance, one that will shape the climax and resolution of the story.

Spotty pulls a trick with clockwork cat full of dynamite on Alley Cat, but it backfires on him before Alley Cat even plots his revenge. Things backfire on Sue this week as well. She is so paranoid about her fun-bag Henrietta pulling tricks that she gets herself into so many scrapes trying to stop them – and then finds Henrietta wasn’t even doing anything. 

As if things weren’t bad enough for Malincha because of her evil sorcerer uncle, this week she has another enemy – jealous Clare, who is spreading rumours that Malincha is some kind of witch.

“Made-Up Mandy” gets into all sorts of scrapes with her disguises, but this one has to be the wackiest by far – she finds herself in charge of taking a sea lion to the zoo, and she has to carry it all across London!

“Freda, False Friend” isn’t actually a false friend. It’s just that she has the unenviable task of pretending to befriend Gail in order to spy on her family for her policeman father. This week, Freda saves Gail from drowning, but when they are picked up by a police launch, it could blow Freda’s secret.

In “The Big Cat”, things look up for runaway Ruth and her cheetah when she finds a job with Mrs White. Unfortunately, the blurb for next week says that just when things are finally going right for Ruth, something is about to go very wrong.   

Jinty 5 February 1977

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Cover artist: Phil Gascoine

  • The Silver Fox (artist Phil Gascoine) – Gypsy Rose story
  • Sue’s Fantastic Fun-Bag! (artist Hugh Thornton-Jones)
  • Sceptre of the Toltecs (artist Cándido Ruiz Pueyo)
  • 25 David Soul Albums to be Won – Free! (competition)
  • Made-Up Mandy (artist Audrey Fawley)
  • Freda, False Friend (artist Phil Gascoine)
  • How the Stars Say “Thanks” – feature 
  • The Big Cat (artist Ana Rodriguez)
  • The Mystery of Martine (artist Trini Tinturé)
  • Alley Cat (artist Rob Lee)
  • Nature’s Wonderful Ways – feature 
  • Mark of the Witch! (artist Phil Townsend)
  • Beautify Your Boots! – feature 

It’s February, so it’s time for some February issues.

Phil Gascoine artwork takes the cover spot in this February issue, in a panel from the Gypsy Rose story, “The Silver Fox”. It was rare for Gascoine to draw a Gypsy Rose story, probably because he was frequently busy with Jinty serials. However, this week’s Gypsy Rose tale is an exception. In the story, Cassie Roper finds herself terrorised by a mysterious silver fox when her family want to convert an empty cottage. Is someone or something trying to drive them away from it?

In addition to the Gypsy Rose story, Gascoine continues to draw “Freda, False Friend”. Talk about double duty. In the story, poor Freda Barlow is forced to befriend Gail Grand as part of an undercover police operation her father is running, but she feels guilty as hell about it because she likes Gail. Her guilt grows this week as Gail becomes more convinced than ever that Freda is her friend. 

Meanwhile, in “Mark of the Witch!”, Alice Durrant is a true friend to Black Emma, who is branded an outcast and a witch by the backward villagers of Kettleby. This week Alice makes some progress in convincing Emma of her good faith – until Emma’s embittered father sticks his oar in. Now Emma thinks she has been taken for a ride. 

Ruth Lee is also taken for a witch by backward country folk in “The Big Cat”. She and her cheetah Ayesha have to risk a bog to get away from the mob, who are so stupid they don’t even know a cheetah when they see one.

Witchcraft whispers are also brewing in “Sceptre of the Toltecs”. Jenny and Malincha again stop the evil Prince Telqotl from getting his hands on the sceptre, but their classmates are whispering about weird things happening and getting scared of Malincha. And now Telqotl’s trying to make an ally out of one of them, the jealous Clare. 

The nightmare of “The Mystery of Martine” intensifies for Tessa as her sister Martine’s strange behaviour grows even more dangerous. Despite it all, Tessa can still manage to keep up her ballet, but now a jealous rival is out for blackmail.

Mandy gets into all sorts of scrapes because of her disguises, but this is one of the most dangerous – face to face with an escaped lion at a safari park! Still, that’s nothing on the next peril – Mandy’s hated employer Miss Agate offering to give her a touch-up makeup job for the cameras, which threatens her secret. 

A lion is nothing on three horrors Sue’s mum is lumbered with in “Sue’s Fantastic Fun-Bag!”. In seconds they’re trashing the place. Sue hopes some sweets will help matters – and with a little magic from Henrietta, they do. Henrietta’s “sweet” punishment soon gets rid of the little demons, never to return.

Spotty’s mansion is chosen for a film shoot, and he doesn’t want Alley Cat around for it. He should have left well alone, because his trick to get rid of Alley Cat backfires so badly that the shoot is called off and he gets a spanking.  

Jinty 27 May 1978

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  • Concrete Surfer (artist Christine Ellingham, writer Pat Mills)
  • Alley Cat – (artist Rob Lee)
  • Winning Birthday Girls! – Competition results (artist Christine Ellingham)
  • Somewhere Over the Rainbow (artist Phil Townsend, writer Alison Christie) 
  • Knight and Day
  • Your A-to-Z of Things to Do! – part 2
  • Clancy on Trial (artist Ron Lumsden)
  • Talking to the Star from “Robin’s Nest” – Tessa Wyatt
  • Rinty ‘n’ Jinty
  • The Zodiac Prince (artist Trini Tinturé)
  • Slave of the Swan (artist Guy Peeters) 
  • Cathy’s Casebook (artist Terry Aspin)
  • Snow in Summer – feature 

Concrete Surfer is set for a face-off against her spiteful cousin Carol in a skateboarding contest. Carol has stolen her skateboard, and in the contest she shows what a brilliant skateboarder she has become. She’ll be very hard to beat. 

Alley Cat is seeing red after being painted with it by an angry artist. But he and the artist sort things out in the end and enjoy a nosh-up together.

In “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”, the dreaded grey telegram informing the Peters family that Dad’s been killed in action puts a damper on their enjoying the upcoming VE Day celebrations. What’s more, Mum is now the family breadwinner and has to find a job. Her new job as cleaner at a theatre looks set to advance the plot considerably.

Pat Day’s natural mother, now Mrs Knight, hence the “Knight and Day” title, is suddenly demanding her back after four years of abandonment. What’s brought this on? Pat soon finds out it was just so she and her family would qualify for a council flat. Surprise, surprise. Added to that, stepsister Janet’s a bully, and we doubt the parents are much better. 

The Swan’s tricks to ensnare her Slave, the amnesiac Katrina Vale, grow worse and worse. This week she spins a lie that Katrina is a delinquent who burned down an orphanage, which is why she lost her memory, and the Swan’s the only one who will have her. Oh, no! If Katrina and her only helper Sarah fall for this, Katrina will not only be even more ensnared but lose her avenue of help as well.

Clancy on Trial is having a real trial all right, and it’s not just learning to walk again after an accident. No sooner has she arrived at grandfather’s place when she discovers how demanding he is in how he is testing her. At least she is rising to the occasion so far.

In “Cathy’s Casebook”, the demands on Cathy’s doctor father remain as unrelenting as ever, which means the demands on her to help relieve his workload are too. Naturally, new troubles crop up this week, and, as usual, it’s up to Cathy to find a way to sort them out. No peace for the wicked.

The Zodiac Prince sorts out a circus act, but it’s not long before another candidate for his astral gifts appears. This time it’s a girl who’s being cruel to a donkey.

Jinty 20 May 1978

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  • Somewhere Over the Rainbow (artist Phil Townsend, writer Alison Christie) – first episode
  • Get in the Swim! – Competition
  • Concrete Surfer (artist Christine Ellingham, writer Pat Mills)
  • Knight and Day – first episode
  • Your A-to-Z of Things to Do! – part 1
  • Clancy on Trial (artist Ron Lumsden) – first episode
  • The Zodiac Prince (artist Trini Tinturé)
  • Slave of the Swan (artist Guy Peeters) 
  • Cathy’s Casebook (artist Terry Aspin)
  • Snow in Summer – feature 

This issue is an exciting one, for two reasons. First, we have a competition and part 1 of a new pull-out on A-Z of of things to do, so Alley Cat and “Sue’s Fantastic Fun-Bag!” get bumped to make room for them. Second, three new stories start.

The first new story is a real attention-grabber for using a four-page spread instead of the usual three. It’s “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”, which went on to become one of Jinty’s longest-running serials. It has already proved what a powerful story it’s going to be, as it has knocked “Concrete Surfer” off first spot in the issue, a spot “Concrete Surfer” has enjoyed since its run began. It reunites the Alison Christie/Phil Townsend team from “Stefa’s Heart of Stone” and “Save Old Smokey!” with another emotional serial to warm your heart and make you cry. Dorrie and Max Peters are excited that World War II is about to end, but then comes the dreaded grey telegram, which means their father has been killed in action. And that’s only the first episode. What more could be in store for these kids? 

In the second new story, “Knight and Day”, Pat Day’s mother suddenly wants her back after four years of abandonment and nothing to do with her. Change of heart and wanting to make things up? We’ll be surprised. Unfortunately, social welfare doesn’t see it that way; they’re forcing Pat to go back to her mother when she was so happy with her foster parents. 

The third new story, “Clancy on Trial”, went on to become one of Jinty’s most popular stories, and it’s drawn by Ron Lumsden, which is a bonus. Grandfather has a change of heart about disowning Clancy’s mother over her marriage. For the first time in Clancy’s life, her grandfather is going to have something to do with her and is impressed at how Clancy is determined to walk again after an accident. But it doesn’t look like Clancy’s relationship with her grandfather is going to be an easy one. 

There’s a major development in “Concrete Surfer”, which tells us the story will reach its conclusion soon. After weeks of not being 100% sure whether her cousin Carol really is a smarmy schemer, Jean finally catches her out. But proving the truth about Carol to others is not going to be easy. Also, there’s the matter of Carol stealing Jean’s skateboard to stop her entering a competition.  

The Zodiac Prince reunites a girl with her father, who works as a clown at the circus, and gives her an astral gift to make her a circus star. But this has upset another circus worker, and we’re warned this will lead to big trouble next week.

Investigators come sniffing around in search of Katrina Vale in “Slave of the Swan”, and the Swan is pulling tricks to keep her Slave in her power. It looks like the Swan wins again, but bits of memory are filtering through Katrina’s amnesia. Will it be her key to freedom?

Dad has to defend himself against a charge of neglecting a patient. Or rather, Cathy does the defending for him as he hasn’t got the spirit to fight. She gets Dad off, and the board agrees to help delegate his workload. But of course fresh trouble isn’t far off, and here it is in the last panel – a runaway horse. 

Jinty and Lindy 3 April 1976

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Miss No-Name (artist Jim Baikie)

The Jinx from St. Jonah’s (artist Mario Capaldi)

For Peter’s Sake! (artist Ana Rodriguez, writer Alison Christie)

Fran of the Floods (artist Phil Gascoine, writer Alan Davidson)

Alley Cat (artist Rob Lee) – first episode

The Slave of Form 3B (artist Trini Tinturé)

Friends of the Forest (artist “B. Jackson”)

Bound for Botany Bay (artist Roy Newby)

Save Old Smokey! (artist Phil Townsend, writer Alison Christie)

Make a Scarf Wardrobe – feature 

It’s April Fools Day this issue, and who better to do the honours than our resident jinx? Katie the Jinx is determined not to be April fooled, but her attempts at foiling April Fool traps only get herself jinxed and in big trouble. Then she finds out she had the date wrong and it’s not April Fool’s Day yet. She’s made an utter fool of herself before the real fooling’s even begun!

Stacey, the evil manipulator in “The Slave of Form 3B”, also makes a fool of herself this week. Her scheme to hypnotise Tania into obtaining the answers for a maths test was only partially successful because a loud noise broke Tania’s trance before she could complete the job. So Stacey’s paper ends up half right (copied answers), half wrong (answers Tania failed to copy, and lazy Stacey hadn’t revised a thing) – giggle! It’s not as foolproof as you thought, eh, Stacey?

The issue also marks the debut of Alley Cat, the street-wise moggy, and the hijinks he has with his rich snooty neighbours, the Muchloots. His first episode appears below. The Alley Cat cartoon strip kept Jinty readers entertained for an impressive 163 episodes. He certainly was a greater success than Penny Crayon, the cartoon strip from the Lindy merger.

It looks like some other new strips are on the horizon as well. This week is the penultimate episode of “Friends of the Forest”, and there’s a hint “Save Old Smokey!” is approaching its resolution. 

Sadly, in “Fran of the Floods”, still nothing on the horizon but that infernal rain and one threat after another because of it. This time it’s a vigilante/cult outfit called Black Circle. 

In both “Miss No-Name” and “Bound for Botany Bay”, our protagonists have run away from their cruel abusers and fallen in with some helpers, but the heat is really on with the pursuit behind them. 

There’s a sad plot turn in “For Peter’s Sake!”. Gran dies, and her last words to Corrie are that there’s something important in the parlour. Now, what’s the important thing Gran has left for Corrie, who’s now all alone in Scotland?

Jinty 1 April 1978

1978, Issues, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
  • Concrete Surfer (artist Christine Ellingham, writer Pat Mills)
  • Sue’s Fantastic Fun-Bag! (artist Hugh Thornton-Jones)
  • Slave of the Swan (artist Guy Peeters) – first episode
  • Waking Nightmare (artist Phil Townsend)
  • The Zodiac Prince (artist Trini Tinturé)
  • Paula’s Puppets (artist Julian Vivas)
  • Rinty ‘n’ Jinty – cartoon
  • Shadow on the Fen (artist Douglas Perry)
  • Impossible Dreams! (competition story, writer Katy Buxey, spot illustration artist unknown)
  • Darling Clementine (artist Richard Neillands, writer Alison Christie) – final episode
  • Grabby Bag – Feature

Now we are in April, so here is Jinty’s 1 April issue for 1978. Strangely, despite the date, there’s no April fooling in it. Not even from Alley Cat, who doesn’t appear at all this week. And instead of having fun on April Fool’s Day, Henrietta the Fun-Bag shows Minnie the Moaner that the good old days are not all they’re cracked up to be, and she should appreciate modern times more. A session in the stocks in the 18th century (as shown on the cover) certainly teaches Minnie that!

However, in Jinty’s new ballet story, “Slave of the Swan”, we have a girl who’s about to be fooled all right, but in a most terrible way. Katrina Vale goes to seek help from Mum’s old friend Rosa Kachinsky after Mum is hospitalised. But she contracts amnesia along the way, and Kachinsky, who has gone from being Mum’s friend to her worst enemy, is all set to take advantage of this when she sees it. 

It’s the final episode of “Darling Clementine”. It’s nice to see it doesn’t end on the cliché of the heroine miraculously rising from her sickbed to win the waterskiing contest and the prize money her dad so badly needs for a country cottage. Instead, she’s not sufficiently recovered from her hospitalisation to be on top form and is placed third, and then it’s the power of the press and human interest stories to the rescue. 

Concrete Surfer Jean’s annoyed that there’s no skateboard park around and wants to do something about it. She’s also trying a lot harder to get along with her relatives, but as she doesn’t trust her cousin Carol, it’s not going to be easy.

Poor Paula! She has seen how the destruction of her father’s factory has made Marnie and her family suffer and is finally learning to look beyond herself. She tries to do something nice for Marnie, but it blows up in her face and makes her enemies worse. And here’s another development – Dad has escaped from prison. 

In “Waking Nightmare”, Phil finally reads what has been in the newspapers about their escape – she’s actually busted a mentally ill girl out of an institution where she was receiving medical treatment. What does she do about it? She and Carol carry straight on, to where Carol’s gran lives – only to find gran isn’t there and the people who are don’t look very nice.

For once, Dad has praise for the Zodiac Prince when he helps a girl to prove herself as a mechanic. 

In “Shadow on the Fen”, our heroines get a nasty shock when the Witchfinder shows up at school as the new archaeology teacher! What’s his game now? Is it connected with the apothecary’s shop being unearthed at the archaeological dig?

Jinty 18 March 1978

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  • Concrete Surfer (artist Christine Ellingham, writer Pat Mills)
  • Sue’s Fantastic Fun-Bag! (artist Hugh Thornton-Jones)
  • Two Mothers for Maggie (artist Jim Baikie)
  • Alley Cat (artist Rob Lee)
  • Waking Nightmare (artist Phil Townsend)
  • The Zodiac Prince (artist Trini Tinturé)
  • The Cat ‘n’ Mouse Story – feature
  • Cliff Richard – feature 
  • Paula’s Puppets (artist Julian Vivas)
  • Shadow on the Fen (artist Douglas Perry)
  • Shooting Stars! – feature 
  • A Day I Won’t Forget! (competition story, writer Alison Owens, spot illustration artist unknown)
  • Darling Clementine (artist Richard Neillands, writer Alison Christie)
  • Just Joking
  • Rinty ‘n’ Jinty – cartoon
  • Pick Up a Potato! – Feature

“I need air!” Jean thinks at how her aunt and uncle are fawning and fussing over her smarmy cousin when she dresses up for the theatre. Barf bags might be in order too. Blechh! 

Spotty Muchloot’s put in charge of minding his dad’s prize sunflowers, but he prefers to mess with Alley Cat. The results are the sunflowers coming a cropper and Spotty being kicked out of the house. Now wishing you’d stuck to the sunflowers, Spotty?

In “Waking Nightmare”, Phil plunges even deeper into the nightmare when Carol takes another strange turn, causing her to take a nasty plunge over some hills. What’s more, Carol’s conduct has caused Phil to lose her suitcase and most of her money on a bus. That would be a vital clue to anyone looking for them.

Can “Paula’s Puppets” be used for good when they’ve only been used for revenge so far? This week, Paula puts it to the test. She uses their power to see if it gets Lindy, who’s in a coma because of it, to recover. But Paula doesn’t realise that while she’s doing it, one of her enemies is spying on her.

Meanwhile, Ella succeeds in bringing Clem out of her coma despite Val Lester’s tricks to stop her. Will she finally be able to prove it was Val and not her who was responsible for Clem’s accident?

Sue wishes she and her friends are on Cloud 9. Oh dear, watch what you wish for when your fun-bag’s around, Sue! 

“Two Mothers for Maggie” reaches its penultimate episode. Maggie goes all out to help Miss Keyes make a go of the rundown theatre she’s bought over, and the results are promising. But what’s Mum, who’s never liked Miss Keyes, going to say about her return? And so the stage is set for the final episode.

In “Shadow on the Fen”, our protagonists clash with hoons, and things get worse when the Witchfinder recruits their help to destroy the witch ball, which is their protection against him. He fails this time, but he’ll try again, of course.

The Zodiac Prince and Shrimp decide to move – only it looks like they’re moving on straight into more trouble. The Zodiac Prince looks like he’s about to run someone over!

Jinty 11 March 1978

1978, Issues, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Concrete Surfer (artist Christine Ellingham, writer Pat Mills)

Sue’s Fantastic Fun-Bag! (artist Hugh Thornton-Jones)

Two Mothers for Maggie (artist Jim Baikie)

Alley Cat (artist Rob Lee)

Waking Nightmare (artist Phil Townsend)

The Zodiac Prince (artist Trini Tinturé)

Feature – Say “Please” to the Pleasers!

Paula’s Puppets (artist Julian Vivas)

Shadow on the Fen (artist Douglas Perry)

Just Joking

The Church Mice (competition story, writer Rosalind Savage, spot illustration artist Paul White)

Darling Clementine (artist Richard Neillands, writer Alison Christie)

Get It Taped! – Feature

For this March issue we’ve got a fun cover, with fun with skateboarding and fun with juggling. And inside, Sue’s Fantastic Fun-Bag uses a spell to teach a stuffy man about fun.

Concrete Surfer Jean writes an essay on skateboarding, and is surprised to find teach liked it better than smarmy cousin Carol’s. Jean’s delighted to have triumphed over her sneaky cousin at last. Or has she? We know all too well that Carol will pull a fast one to stay top dog if her nose gets put out of joint. 

In “Darling Clementine”, it’s now well and truly the end of Ella trying to win the waterskiing competition on Clem’s behalf. She turns to getting Clem out of the coma, but Val Lester, the girl responsible for Clem’s condition, is pulling dirty tricks to stop her. 

Phil continues to protect Carol in “Waking Nightmare”, but it’s marred by Carol having strange mood swings between hysterics and happiness. A headline, which says a sick girl is missing, could explain things, but Phil fails to notice it. 

The Zodiac Prince uses the power of the Zodiac wheel to give hopeless girls new talents, but soon finds it wasn’t the way to help them. They’ve gotten cocky and carried away with their new gifts, which has led to trouble. Can the Zodiac Prince find a way to put things right?

In “Two Mothers for Maggie”, Maggie tracks down Miss Keyes after she disappeared in the previous issue, but is shocked to find her cleaning in a rundown theatre. 

A man throws a cricket ball at Alley Cat for disturbing his sleep when poor Alley Cat wasn’t even doing it. It all rebounds on the man when the ball goes his neighbour’s way instead. 

Speaking of balls, in “Shadow on the Fen”, the girls find a witch ball can ward off the Witchfinder. Now that’s a funny twist – weren’t witch balls supposed to ward off witches? 

After the power of the puppets causes an accident, Paula vows never to use them again. But she soon finds that the temptation to use them is hard to resist, not only because so many people are against her but also because the puppets won’t be destroyed.

Jinty 4 March 1978

1978, Issues, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Concrete Surfer (artist Christine Ellingham, writer Pat Mills)

Sue’s Fantastic Fun-Bag! (artist Hugh Thornton-Jones)

Two Mothers for Maggie (artist Jim Baikie)

Alley Cat (artist Rob Lee)

Waking Nightmare (artist Phil Townsend)

The Zodiac Prince (artist Trini Tinturé)

Feature – Lewis Collins…a British “Hutch”?

Rinty ‘n’ Jinty – cartoon

Paula’s Puppets (artist Julian Vivas)

Shadow on the Fen (artist Douglas Perry)

Just Joking

Leonora (competition prize story, writer Christine Foreman, spot illustration Terry Aspin)

Darling Clementine (artist Richard Neillands, writer Alison Christie)

For Mum…On Her Day! – Feature

It’s now March, so we present some March issues from Jinty. Mother’s Day (UK) is coming up, and in this issue, Jinty gives instructions on how to make a gift for her. 

In Concrete Surfer, Jean’s trouble with her smarmy cousin Carol worsens. Jean has overheard Carol telling her parents something she didn’t want Jean to know about, but Jean couldn’t pick up what. There can be no doubt this is a gun in Scene 1 that is set to go off in Scene 3, and when it does, it will spell more trouble for Jean. Later, Jean’s hopes are raised that smarmy Carol will be caught out at last, but we wouldn’t bank on it. Not until the final episode, Jean, and that’s not for some episodes yet. 

Concrete Surfer must have started a skateboarding craze. Alley Cat’s arch-enemy Spotty Muchloot has caught the bug, and his skateboarding is making him even more of a pest than usual for Alley Cat. But of course Alley Cat turns the tables on him and his skateboard in the end. 

In a fit of pique, Sue tells her fun-bag she’ll have better luck without her around. Now that really is asking for a spell of bad luck – literally. 

In “Two Mothers for Maggie” Maggie finds that one of her mothers, Miss Keyes, has put up her house for sale. Is it just one mother for her now?

Phil continues to hide Carol from the authorities although something’s now telling her that she should be checking things out more. As the two continue to travel together, it’s not only instinct that makes Phil uneasy – it’s Carol’s strange conduct as well. 

The Zodiac Prince learns a few lessons about Earth food this week – like bath soap is not a food. Fortunately, he’s stopped before he gets a mouthful of soap, and later it’s his astral power to the rescue in cooking up a feast. 

Paula uses the power of the puppets to get revenge on the people who are bullying her because of her jailed father. But the inevitable happens – it goes too far and now a girl’s injured because of it. This looks like the shock Paula badly needs to snap her out of her selfishness and set her on the path to redemption that is also part of the narrative. 

The Witchfinder in “Shadow on the Fen” also causes a nasty accident, at an archaeological dig, which has unearthed a 17th century apothecary’s shop. A clear sign that our heroines are sniffing too close to something.

In “Darling Clementine”, Ella sprains her ankle, which puts paid to her entering the water-skiing heats on Clem’s behalf. She’s braving it all the same, but is her ankle up to it?