Magazine Dates

Most magazines aren't considered important enough to have their launches chronicled in the same manner as comics, and certainly not to the extent of presenting them en mass as here - while this is incomplete, and shouldn't be taken as representative of the numerous titles of interest to collectors of comic strips, there is enough to be getting started with.

Many of the comic strips and pocket cartoons which adorn these titles have never been reproduced, and the only means of indexing them is to use the titles themselves. As the contents are represented in the database (albeit to a limited degree), then the titles themselves are notable. While some are included for rather obvious reasons (various Newsfield and IPC titles, and magazines related directly to comics) the remainder earn notability through featuring creators of note, comic strips, pocket cartoons, illustrations, or other material.

There are, alas, gaps in the information. The listings were not originally intended to anything more than notes I was making as I went along, though the more I considered their place in publishing history, the more I realised that they ought to be given as much respect as books, or other tangential texts. While there is no pressing intention of augmenting this list, additions to the following, with sources, are welcomed.

Beeb (Polystyle) #01 (29 Jan 1985 - 04 Feb 1985) [29 Jan 1985]
Beyond (UNKNOWN PUBLISHER) #01 (1995) [15 Mar 1995]
Big K (IPC Magazines Ltd.) #01 (Apr 1984). [15 Mar 1984]
Buffy the Vampire Slayer (Titan Magazines) #01 (1999) [20 Sep 1999]

Crash (Newsfield Limited) #01 (Feb 1984) [13 Jan 1984]
ComicScene UK (UNKNOWN PUBLISHER) #00 (2018) [01 May 2018]

The Dark Side (Black Cat) Vol.# #1 (1990) [27 Sep 1990]

The Face (UNKNOWN PUBLISHER) #01 (1980) [01 May 1980]
Fear (Newsfield Limited) #01 (Jul - Aug 1988) [16 Jun 1988]
Freestyle BMX (IPC Magazines Ltd.) #01 (1984) [23 Mar 1984]

Game Zone (Dennis Publishing) Vol.1 #1 (Nov 1991) [18 Oct 1991]
Game Zone (Dennis Publishing) Vol.2 #1 (Nov 1992) [23 Oct 1992]
Games Gazette (Games Gazette) #01 (1983) [18 Mar 1983]
Greatest Hits (UNKNOWN PUBLISHER) #01 (Feb - Mar 1981) [15 Jan 1981]

Hammer Horror Collector's Special (Marvel Comics UK Ltd.) #01 (1994) [24 Nov 1994]

LM (Newsfield Limited) #01 (1987) [15 Jan 1987]

Megaton (Skyjack Publishing) #01 (2010) [25 Feb 2010]
Movie - The Video Magazine (Newsfield Ltd.) #01 (1988) [22 Sep 1988]
Multiverse (UNKNOWN PUBLISHER) #01 (### ####) [20 Oct ####]
Music Star (IPC Magazines Ltd.) #01 (1973) [20 Jan 1973]

No.1! (IPC Magazines Ltd.) #01 (### 1983) [05 May 1983]
Now! (Fleetway) #01 (### 1994) [16 Mar 1994]

Primo Club Magazine (Primo) #01 (1965) [08 Feb 1965]

Rage (UNKNOWN PUBLISHER) #1 (24 Oct 1990 - 06 Nov 1990) [24 Oct 1990]

SFX (Future Publishing) #01 (Jun 1995). [25 May 1995]
Stampede (UNKNOWN PUBLISHER) #1 (May 1990) [26 Apr 1990]

Top Soccer (IPC Magazines Ltd.) #01 (Sep 1979). [10 Sep 1979]

Your Comic Heroes! (Future Publishing Ltd.) #01 (Aug 2016). [30 Jun 2016]

Zzap! 64 (Newsfield Limited) #01 (### 1985) [13 Mar 1985]

Zero (Dennis Publishing Ltd. / Felden Productions) #1 (Nov 1989) [12 Oct 1989]

board games

I've focused mainly on the traditional spin-off material here, but a post on Wacky Comics about the Scream Inn board game caught my eye and I decided that it would be a good idea to start indexing the traditional board games which have appeared over the years. To my knowledge there isn't a decent dedicated index of these ephemera kicking around the internet, and it is rather difficult to find out much about some of the releases through my usual methods of researching bygone publications (ransacking yet more catalogs is, for the moment, going to have to wait) but this represents what I have managed to find thus far.

Beano Misfits (Rocket)
Dan Dare merchandise is listed here under Games
Judge Dredd Board Game (Games Workshop, Ltd., 1982)
Rogue Trooper (Games Workshop, Ltd., 1987)
Scream Inn (Denys Fisher, 1970s?)
Starblazer Adventures
Thunderbirds International Rescue Game (which isn't as good as it sounds)

I know it is American, and thus outside of my remit here, but I can't help but bring your attention to the beautiful The Virginian Game: Adventure At Shiloh Ranch - if it is half as entertaining as the WDL comic, then it looks as if it might end up on my list of future purchases... And yes, there are a number of Doctor Who board games, but I'll leave their inclusion for someone who knows more about the individual releases to index.

For a while, I was sure that I had seen - somewhere - a Roger Mellie board game, but my mind may be playing tricks on me.

I'll update as new information becomes available.