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The Hotspur was the last of the ‘Big
Five’ to be published.
The first issue appeared
September 2nd 1933 and ran to 1197 issues.
With the last issue (1197)
October 17th 1959.
The New Hotspur was launched the following
week October 24th 1959 and contained picture stories.
There were several merges with
this publication inc: The Hotspur and Hornet 1976, Victor
and Hotspur 1979,
Hotspur and Crunch 1980, and the final
demise January 24th 1981 with issue 1110, when it was incorporated with The Victor.
The mainstay of this story paper
from the beginning were the Red Circle stories.
I didn’t personally read The Hotspur
but
I must admit that the cover illustrations certainly caught the eye.
Below are some of the characters
featured:
CANNONBALL KID,
CAPTAIN ZOOM, CHARLIE THE KETTLE, GREAT BIG BENN, HOPPY THE HOBO, JOHNNY JETT,
KARGA
LEATHERFACE,
NAPPER TODD, THE CLUTCHER, THE IRON TEACHER, THE SMASHER, THICK-EAR DONOVAN.
And the stories:
RITCHIE-HE
BUILDS FOOTBALLERS!, SAMMY THE FEARLESS FUNK, THE GUN MASTER, THE IRON MEN OF
THE SEA, THE MYSTERY OF THE SLEEPING ATHLETES,
THE SCARLETT
SPADE, THE TERRIBLE QUESTS OF BLIND MCGRAW, TONGUE-TWISTING CHAMPION OF
BRITAIN, TOMMY GUNN AND TRIGGER,
TOO OLD AT
TWENTY.
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A SELECTION OF THE HOTSPUR COVERS |
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342 |
542 |
579 |
612 |
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March
16th 1940 |
May
18th 1946 |
July
12th 1947 |
May
15th 1948 |
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|
|
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636 |
668 |
685 |
725 |
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December
25th 1948 |
August
27th 1949 |
December
24th 1949 |
September
30th 1950 |
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|
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733 |
740 |
744 |
749 |
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November
25th 1950 |
January
13th 1951 |
February
10th 1951 |
March
17th 1951 |
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750 |
788 |
842 |
860 |
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March
24th 1951 |
December
15th 1951 |
December
27th 1952 |
May
2nd 1953 |
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909 |
1040 |
1115 |
1197 |
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April
10th 1954 |
October
13th 1956 |
March
22nd 1958 |
October
17th 1959 |
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#1197 Last Hotspur Issue. The New Hotspur appeared with
#1 October 24th 1959 |
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Following are a selection of stories featured
in THE HOTSPUR:
RED
CIRCLE SCHOOL STORIES:
These stories were the mainstay for The
Hotspur and appeared from the beginning.
Click here to read
‘Japers of the Red Circle’ from the first issue of The
Hotspur September 2nd 1933.
Click here to
read a Red Circle Story.
Click here to
read a double episode of Red Circle.
CHARLIE
THE KETTLE:
Charlie, a small time crook, becomes a British spy.
Click here to
read the first episode of Charlie the Kettle.
THE
FACE IN THE BOX:
The strange story of the face that can save the world from destruction.
Click here to
read the final episode of The Face in the Box.
THE
GUN DOCTOR:
His patients are Colt six-guns, Winchesters, Derringers,
Carbines—Anything that fires hot lead.
This first episode appeared in the Hotspur in 1951.
Click here to
read the first episode of The Gun Doctor.
THE IRON TEACHER:
The Iron Teacher appeared in The Hotspur in
1942.
He was controlled by his inventor, Sim.
Click here to read the first episode of The Iron Teacher.
THE
MARK OF LAUGHING TOM:
The story of Thomas Telford, stone mason.
Click here to read an episode of The Mark of Laughing Tom.
NAPPER TODD:
Napper Todd, football is his game, below read two episodes.
Click here to
read an episode of Napper Todd.
THE
SHIPS THAT WORE FALSE FACES:
A deep sea detective seeks a fleet of stolen ships!
This complete story appeared in the Hotspur in 1956.
Click here to read the first episode of The Ship that wore False
Faces.
THE
This is a complete story and part of the
Norton Leyland Series which appeared in the Hotspur issues 1027 – 1038.
Click here to read this episode.
Vic Whittle 2019
© D. C. Thomson
& Co Ltd
