Hoot (comics) explained

Hoot
Publisher:D. C. Thomson & Co. Ltd
Date:26 October 1985 to 25 October 1986
Issues:53

Hoot was a British comic magazine that ran from (issues dates) 26 October 1985 to 25 October 1986, when it merged with The Dandy. Its cover price was 20p, represented by a stylized graphic depiction of a 20p coin. Throughout its run, it billed itself as "Britain's bubbling new comic!", a reference to the title masthead being made up of steam-billowing pipes (hence the title). The comic was the last new humour anthology comic from DC Thomson which mostly featured original characters.

List of Hoot comic strips

Strips throughout its 53 issue run included. Listed in order of appearance. All numbers refer to issues of Hoot.

Strip TitleArtistFirst AppearanceLast AppearanceNotes
CuddlesBarrie Appleby153The cover star.Originally appeared in Nutty

Joined another Dandy strip ("Dimples") and became "Cuddles and Dimples".

The Hoot SquadKen H. Harrison153Reprinted as The Riot Squad in The Beano in 2007
Wanta Job BobSteve Bright153
Polar BlairRobert Nixon152Continued in The Dandy
Sam's Secret DiaryJerry Swaffield148
L Plated EllaRobert Nixon153
DogsbodyJohn Geering153
PigglesBarrie Appleby153Revised reprints of Piggles appeared in The Dandy for about half a year in 2004.
SnackulaDavid Mostyn153
Super FranSteve Bright151
Spotted DickBarrie Appleby/Jerry Swaffield/John Aldrich152Continued in The Dandy
CharliJim Petrie553
Harry and WilliamGeorge Martin5053Much of the jokes in this strip involved the two title characters being mistaken for Prince Harry and Prince William.
The Old OnesJerry Swaffield5050Strip's title is a play on The Young Ones
WinstonSteve Bright5152An identical-looking character under the name Jim appeared in a Wanta Job Bob strip in issue 8.
Space CopGeorge Martin5353

List of Characters featured in Hoot mini-strips

The comic also featured short, four-frame strips featuring pre-existing DC Thomson characters, but few of these strips seemed to have been drawn by their "proper" artists, hence a rather odd-looking Lord Snooty.[1] Below is a list of these four frame strips. These strips were drawn by George Martin and after Hoots merger with The Dandy they reappeared in The Dandy (still drawn by George Martin) under the title Comic Cuts and this time featured more Dandy characters than in Hoot.

Strip TitleOriginal ComicFirst AppearanceLast AppearanceNotes
Big UggyThe Topper153
Tarzan Stripes150Also appeared as a half page comic strip.
Flip 'n Flop3152
Dennis the MenaceThe Beano953
Big EggoThe Beano4053
Desperate DanThe Dandy153
The Bash Street KidsThe Beano222
Jay RNutty251
Colonel BlinkThe Beezer153
The Three BearsThe Beano230
FoxyThe Topper253
BananamanNutty338
Desert Island DickThe Topper351
The Badd LadsThe Beezer147
Lord SnootyThe Beano149
Roger the DodgerThe Beano2250
Julius CheeserThe Topper4252
Biffo the BearThe Beano4040
King GussieThe Topper4253

See also

Notes and References

  1. Graham Kibble-White's Ultimate Book of British Comics