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The Hotspur was the last of the ‘Big Five’ to be published.
The first issue appeared
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
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
TOO OLD AT TWENTY.
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A SELECTION OF THE HOTSPUR COVERS |
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4 |
10 |
39 |
79 |
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September 23rd 1933 |
November 4th 1933 |
May 26th 1934 |
March 2nd 1935 |
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281 |
324 |
336 |
351 |
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January 14th 1939 |
November 11th 1939 |
February 3rd 1940 |
May 18th 1940 |
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423 |
435 |
453 |
471 |
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October 25th 1941 |
April 11th 1942 |
December 19th 1942 |
August 28th 1943 |
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483 |
526 |
542 |
556 |
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February 12th 1944 |
October 6th 1945 |
May 18th 1946 |
November 23rd 1946 |
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669 |
701 |
744 |
788 |
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September 3rd 1949 |
April 15th 1950 |
February 10th 1951 |
December 15th 1951 |
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906 |
973 |
1155 |
1197 (Last issue) |
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March 20th 1954 |
July 2nd 1955 |
December 27th 1958 |
October 17th 1959 |
Following are a selection of stories featured in THE HOTSPUR:
AT SCHOOL IN 1975
This story appeared in the Hotspur in 1936 and gave
readers
a glimpse of what school would be like in 1975.
Taken from the Hotspur issue 164 dated October 17th
1936.
Click here to read the First & Last episode’s.
RED CIRCLE
SCHOOL STORIES:
These stories
were the mainstay for The Hotspur and appeared from the beginning.
Click here to
read ‘Japers of the
Click here to
read a Red Circle Story.
Click here to read
a double episode of
THE BADGE OF THE
BOLD:
A great new
yarn about doctors who had to save their patients from the jungle—and the
Japanese Army!
This first
episode appeared in the Hotspur in 1955.
Click here to
read the first episode of The Badge of the Bold.
CHARLIE THE
KETTLE:
Charlie, a
small time crook, becomes a British spy.
Click here to
read the first episode of Charlie the Kettle.
CUTLASS CARRIES THE MAILS
Storms, Pirates, Fires at sea—All these dangers have
to be faced and
fought by the men of the first Royal Mail ships.
Taken from the Hotspur issue 938 dated October 30th
1954.
Click here to read the First episode.
DANNY DIXON’S LAZY, CRAZY RAILWAY
The man with more grit than the desert railway he
runs!
Taken from the Hotspur issue 1013 dated April 7th
1956.
Click here to read the last episode.
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.
HYSTERICAL
HISTORY:
The first tale
about the Clotwolds, Who Made The King Bathe, the story of King Canute.
Click here to read
the first episode of Hysterical History
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 LAST ROCKET
TO VENUS:
It tells of
the world’s doom 8000 years from now – and mankind’s 60 million mile flight
into space for safety.
This first
episode appeared in the Hotspur in 1939.
Click here to
read the first episode of The Last Rocket to Venus.
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.
Click here to
read the first episode of Ninety-Minute Napper.
The startling
story of the men who flew to a city at the bottom of the
This first
episode appeared in the Hotspur in 1952.
Click here to
read the first episode of
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.
OUR TEACHER’S A
PIRATE:
Every boy
would have like to have sailed the
Here’s the
thrilling story of a class of boys who had to!
This first
episode appeared in the Hotspur in 1953.
Click here to
read the first episode of Our Teacher’s a Pirate.
S.O.S. FROM
PLANET X:
The story of
two
Click here to
read the first episode of S.O.S. From Planet X.
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 2010
© D. C. Thomson & Co
Ltd
