1980
The Beano celebrates its 2,000th issue.
Nutty is launched. It’s most memorable story, Bananaman quickly moves to the front page.
The first Judge Dredd annual is published. In 2000AD, Judge Death and Judge Anderson both appear as characters in the Dredd strip.
Speed comes and goes, merging into Tiger.
Mergers: Misty merges into Tammy. The Crunch merges into Hotspur. Penny merges into Jinty. Cheeky merges into Whoopee!
Doctor Who Weekly goes monthly
Buddy begins.
Smudge debuts in The Beano.
1981
A new version of Girl is launched.
The TV-themed Tops begins.
Mergers: Scoop merges into Victor. Jinty merges into Tammy. Hotspur merges into Victor.
The Nemesis the Warlock saga begins properly in 2000AD. The war also begins for Rogue Trooper while Judge Dredd battles an outbreak of Blockmania.
1982
High quality monthly Warrior begins. It is not especially war-like and features V For Vendetta, Marvelman (later Miracleman) and Laser Eraser and Pressbutton.
A new version of The Eagle begins. Dan Dare (or rather his great-great-grandson) appears as do the photo stories Doomlord and Joe Soap.
Judge Dredd fights the Apocalypse War.
Wow! begins.
Jackpot merges into Buster. Milly O’Naire and Penny Less merge with Buster’s Ivor Lott and Tony Broke strip (as the duo’s girlfriends) disappearing from the story in the late 1980s.
Cheeky merges into Whoopee!
The first Beano comic libraries (smaller, monthly comics, featuring one extended story) appear. Other comics follow suit.
1983
Nutty’s Bananaman gets his own TV series.
School Fun begins lessons (briefly).
Spike kicks off.
Mergers: Buddy merges into Spike. Wow! merges into Whoopee! (becoming Whoopee! and Wow!). Debbie (est: 1973) merges into Mandy.
Slaine goes into battle in 2000AD. Extra-terrestrial Skizz also debuts.
The galaxy’s greatest computer comic, Load Runner begins and ends after a short run.
What will happen next? Cliff Hanger begins in Buster.
1984
High profile horror comic Scream! begins and ends. It merges into Eagle. The Thirteenth Floor is amongst the stories to move across.
Champ begins.
The Ballad of Halo Jones begins in 2000AD (it ends in 1986). Female-led strips are still a rarity in the Galaxy’s Greatest Comic. Nemesis is joined by the ABC Warriors in The Gothic Empire.
Mergers: TV Comic (est: 1951) switches itself off. Tops merges into Suzy. Tammy (est: 1971) merges into Girl. Spike merges into Champ. School Fun merges into Buster. School Belle is amongst those joining Buster.
Dennis’s pet pig, Rasher gets his own strip in The Beano (until 1988).
1985
Adult comic Viz featuring Roger Mellie the Man on The Telly, Billy The Fish and Sid the Sexist goes nationwide.
Whoopee! (est: 1974) merges into Whizzer and Chips. Warrior gives up the fight. Tiger (est: 1954) merges into The Eagle. Some strips move into Roy of the Rovers. Champ merges into Victor.
Judge Anderson gets a story of her own in 2000AD.
Nutty merges into The Dandy. Bananaman continues on TV until 1986 and continues to thrive in The Dandy. Bananaman appears in several of his own annuals in this decade too.
Ivy the Terrible debuts in The Beano.
Computer Warrior goes into battle in The Eagle.
Captain Britain Monthly, Hoot and Nikki all debut.
Beeb begins (and ends).
1986
The anarchic Oink! launches. ‘Edited’ by Uncle Pigg, stars include Pete and his Pimple, Burp The Smelly Alien From Outer Space and Hector Vector and his Talking T-Shirt.
Diceman, an RPG version of 2000AD runs out of luck quickly and ends.
Hoot merges into The Dandy. Cuddles and Dimples unite in one strip.
Captain Britain Monthly ends.
Warlord (Est: 1974) merges into Victor.
Calamity James begins in The Beano. Gnasher briefly goes missing in a high profile Dennis the Menace storyline. He soon returns with a litter of puppies including Gnipper. Gnasher and Gnipper now replaces Gnasher’s Tale as a story.
1987
Nipper begins then merges into Buster.
Zenith begins in 2000AD. Now ten years’ old, the comic adopts a more ‘mature’ approach.
The Dandy’s 50th birthday.
1988
Crisis, a more political and grown-up sister title to 2000AD begins featuring Third World War and The New Statesmen.
Deadline comic/magazine starring Tank Girl begins.
The Beano’s 50th birthday.
Mergers: Battle (est: 1974) merges into Eagle. Oink! merges into Buster.
1989
Nikki merges into Bunty. It’s Wicked! begins and ends.
The ‘original’ Dan Dare returns to The Eagle.
Fast Forward, a much-publicised TV-themed comic/magazine launches.
Whizzer and Chips (now struggling) celebrates its 20th birthday.
Chris Hallam is a freelance writer. Originally from Peterborough, he now lives in Exeter with his wife. He writes for a number of magazines including Yours Retro, Best of British and Comic Scene – in which he wrote about Judge Death, The Ballad of Halo Jones, Dan Dare, The Eagle and Alan Moore’s Watchmen (amongst other things). He co-wrote the book, Secret Exeter (with Tim Isaac) and wrote A-Z of Exeter – People, Places, History. He was also wrote the 2014 annuals for The Smurfs, Furbys and Star Wars Clone Wars annuals as well as the 2015 Transformers annual.
Chris Hallam's World View 