Sparky; Stereotyping and The Power of Marketing and Advertising!

This advert for the new Sparky comic appeared in my weekly copy of The Victor in January 1965.

There is an interesting mix of stereotyping-the assumption that it was only boys who read The Victor-or perhaps DC Thomson was aware that comics such as The Victor; The Hornet; The Bunty; or Judy were effectively ruling out half the potential market in one swoop and with the introduction of Sparky for Boys and Girls was a move away from previous approaches? That said, comics such as The Dandy and The Beano were probably for both boys and girls.

Although there were some good strips in the comic-the best was Peter's Pipes-a boy with magic pipes which could bring inanimate objects or characters in adverts to life-very handy whenever he was in a scrape; two good creations were Keyhole Kate and Hungry Horace who could eat for Scotland-by the way there weren't many Horaces in Oxgangs! The comic was initially targeted at readers younger than those who read The Dandy and The Beano. Even though I was nine years old when it came out, I must have been aware of this-The Sparky didn't quite capture my imagination-I much preferred comics with good story lines that ran from issue to issue.

At 6/2 we bought The Sparky only intermittently-particularly if there was a free gift with it-I of course got my Whizz-Bang! with the first issue-shades of me being captured by the power of marketing, advertising and of course salesmen with interesting suitcases!

Judy-A Comic With Punch!

I mentioned how Judy was one of the bundles of comics which I used to receive from the Blades'. It was a sister comic to Bunty and although not quite as good, it was always a solid read. Indeed, it must have been because the comic ran for over thirty years from 1961 to 1992.

I recall Wee Slavey; Sandra Wilson stories; and there was always a girl from a deprived background trying to achieve her dream despite having to face tough obstacles. Indeed the themes in both boys and girls' comics were common and probably had a powerful socialisation effect on millions of boys and girls who grew up during the 1960s-themes of courage; resilience and fortitude; friendship; selflessness; kindness; a sense of fair play and so forth.




Because these comics were very much a British thing reflecting our culture I wonder how they may have impacted on us and how it may have made us different to other countries-and of course with their demise and the influence of computer games that are played by young people throughout the world whether that will result in a greater homogenisation? I came across this interesting little snippet:
I don't know where you are located, but I thought I might be the only girl who read 'Judy' who lived in the U.S. I lived in the farm region of Illinois, south of Chicago, and I got my Judy magazines from an English pen friend. She used to bundle up several months of her issues and wrap them in brown paper and string and send them by boat. They took weeks to arrive and when they came to my small country post office it was indeed a red letter day for me. I loved them and would sort them into the right order and read and read and read. I loved all the stories and there was just nothing like them in the states. - Sharon Williams

Sandra and the Stranded Ballet Sandra Wilson, now a member of the corps de ballet of the famous Imperial Ballet Company, is in New York, where the company is about to finish it's American tour. Sandra and the other dancers are wondering where the company will do it's next tour.