Category Archives: Comic Promos

Christmas, Comic Promos

COMiNG UP: THE OiNK! BOOK 1988 & OiNK! #44

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Way back in the mists of time that was June this year the special edition of OiNK that was given away free with Crash computer gaming magazine teased at a couple of upcoming treats for pig pals. The OiNK 45 record you can check out in its entirety already on the blog. As for the other part of the announcement, I was thrilled to see that plasticine piggy face for the first time in this read through! Fast forward to #36 and we finally got a chance to see the full cover.

This brings me so much joy. That cover represents everything about OiNK to me and I can’t wait to share its review with you in a couple of days. The OiNK! Book 1988 is the best edition of Uncle Pigg‘s comic that was ever produced. How do I know this before the review and before I’ve covered the whole run? Because it’s always been my favourite (with the recent Christmas issue being my fave regular issue) and remains my favourite childhood book to this day. It’s been reread at least once every decade of my life!

You can check out the previous year’s Big Comic Book here

Here it is advertised alongside Fleetway‘s other annuals from 1987. I can remember it standing out so much from all of the other comics annuals on the huge display table in my local newsagent. It was a hugely exciting prospect, but even though it was there in the shop from September, as with all annuals we wouldn’t get our hands on it until Santa brought it to us on Christmas Morning. So that’s when you can expect the review of course!

Promo for #44 in the pages of #43 drawn by Ian Jackson

The very next day, on Boxing Day, you’ll get even more OiNK in the shape of #44, the second Hogmanay issue and the last fortnightly one. It’s the end of my own personal Golden Age of OiNK (not to take away from what follows of course) and it goes out with a bang, like all years do with their fireworks and parties etc. It’s quite the festive celebration this weekend.

So when you’re full to bursting with turkey, stuffing and sprouts you can kick back, let the kids’ play new toys do their job and catch up with The OiNK! Book 1988 on Christmas Day and then see off 1987 all over again with #44 on Boxing Day. Before then there’ll be a quick message from me and Psycho Gran in the evening of Christmas Eve. The holidays are here and so is OiNK, big time!

Comic Promos

COMiNG UP: OiNK! #42

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I was at school in the 80s so wasn’t exactly clued in to the world of fashion but I did have four older siblings so I was a witness to sports jackets, rainbow leggings, jumpsuits and enormous hair. Amongst the geometric shapes and bright-as-the-sun colours was a sense of humour about it all. Fashion wasn’t taken as seriously as it had previous, or since, and OiNK was right there in the thick of things.

On the cover of #42 is a memorable image of a certain late pop sensation and a hilarious rewording of one of his earliest hits inside, a cut-out doll for you to dress up an old lady as Judge Dredd, a greasy new fashion trend ‘pops’ up everywhere and a strip about dental care had a profound impact on me as a kid! Plus, OiNK went all sty-lish itself with a new piece of merchandise that’s probably the most sought after (and rarest) to this day! The next review will be all dressed up and ready for you on Monday 28th November 2022.

Comic Promos, Wildcat

EAGLE PROMO: WiLDCAT WiNTER SPECiAL

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Dan Dare cover by Wildcat‘s Loner artist, David Pugh

On this day back in 1989 the latest issue of Eagle, edited by blog favourite Barrie Tomlinson, hit shelves across the UK. Actually, it was the 400th issue since Barrie had decided to resurrect the classic comic in March of 1982. Not that any fanfare was made of this. In fact, it’s not mentioned at all, but then again it didn’t have issue numbers on its covers, each identified instead by its cover date (the Saturday following release). It had celebrated its 300th but for whatever reason it was no longer keeping track.

So why am I mentioning this issue? Well, as regular readers will know the fantastic Wildcat comic merged into Eagle in April 1989 (#368) and (similarly to when three of OiNK’s characters moved to Buster when it finished) there wasn’t enough of Wildcat in each issue to justify me collecting it. As I mentioned in the review of Wildcat #12 I’ll be covering the remaining adventures of those characters at some point but first I wanted to finish the real time read through, which I’ll be doing six days from now.

The Wildcat Holiday Special had been released a month after the merge, but the name ‘Eagle and Wildcat’ only stayed on the cover of the weekly for three months. However, Loner’s and Joe Alien’s stories continued, with Loner present all the way through until April the following year. Anyone who had moved over to Eagle (or who had collected both comics) would have loved this promo then, even if “a reminder of how the whole adventure began” sounds suspiciously like reprint material.

I’ve been looking forward to finally getting a new issue of one of my most fondly remembered comics to read again and after months of waiting it’s less than a week away. So if like me you’ve been missing Turbo Jones, Kitten Magee, Loner, Joe Alien and the spooky goings on amongst the passengers of humanity’s last hope of survival, join me here on Thursday 17th November 2022 for an in-depth look at the very final Wildcat.