Girls comics nostalgia - Bunty Mandy etc.

[MrsBsDayOff]

I saw the thread on magazines and thought I'd start a thread on these, I loved Bunty and M&J comics in the 90s. They had a letters page, picture stories and photo stories. I remember the Four Marys being a classic picture story, and Luv Lisa. There were lots of Victorian-themed stories about orphans, boarding school stories, horse stories, ballet stories...they were all fairly innocent (parents wouldn't have to worry).

There were Christmas annuals too which I got every year and loved, and "picture stories" which were sort of mini books (longer versions of the typical stories from the comic).

I believe these comics ended in the early 00s, they gave me so many hours of entertainment in the 90s. Does anyone else remember them fondly or remember particular stories? I also had my older aunt's Judy annuals passed onto me which I loved.

(I also loved Twinkle as a younger child which was a comic for young kids - Nurse Nancy!)

 

[Phoenix Lazarus]

Although I was a boy, I remember reading and enjoying edition of Misty, which I believe was aimed at girls and had macabre/ghost/horror-type stories in.

 

[DCICassieStuart]

I loved Bunty, Mandy and Judy.

I know 'The Four Marys' and 'The Comp' were both Bunty.
Fieldy, Raddy, Simpy and Cotty were The Four Marys.
Becky and her twin Hayley in The Comp. Claire who was deaf and her friend Nikki. A blonde girl called Laura I think, 2 guys Hodge and another guy? I remember the two bullies Morag and Pippa. Was 'My mum says' Margaret from The Comp too?

I think 'Miss Angel' was Mandy and which magazine was 'Wee Slavey' about the maid Nellie Perks and her 'ladies' Miss Alice and Miss Flora?

There was Valda, the girl with the magic crystal and I can remember a story about a girl who pretended to be blind, but really wasn't. Was she called Alison or else her sister was Alison?

Was SJ the school bully in 'The Four Marys' or was it a different story?

I can't remember too much from Judy. Anyone remember anything from there?

 

[MrsBsDayOff]

I loved Bunty, Mandy and Judy.

I know 'The Four Marys' and 'The Comp' were both Bunty.
Fieldy, Raddy, Simpy and Cotty were The Four Marys.
Becky and her twin Hayley in The Comp. Claire who was deaf and her friend Nikki. A blonde girl called Laura I think, 2 guys Hodge and another guy? I remember the two bullies Morag and Pippa. Was 'My mum says' Margaret from The Comp too?

I think 'Miss Angel' was Mandy and which magazine was 'Wee Slavey' about the maid Nellie Perks and her 'ladies' Miss Alice and Miss Flora?

There was Valda, the girl with the magic crystal and I can remember a story about a girl who pretended to be blind, but really wasn't. Was she called Alison or else her sister was Alison?

Was SJ the school bully in 'The Four Marys' or was it a different story?

I can't remember too much from Judy. Anyone remember anything from there?

Four Marys - Mabel and Veronica were the bullies. School was St Elmos. One of the Marys was posh (a lady?), one was poor and used to get looked down on.

The Comp - yep I remember this well, it was in M&J I think and then may have moved to Bunty when M&J ended? (Late 90s?). I think Laura's parents owned the cafe, Nikki may have been the one from a "rough" background, she had a strange haircut. Yes I remember "my mum says Margaret" now that you mention her!!

 

[HowlOwl]

I am so amazed to learn that these comics lasted as long as they did! I remember them from the 60s, Bunty and Twinkle. There was usually a cut-out doll figure on the back, with various outfits that you could overlay with little tabs.

 

[DCICassieStuart]

Four Marys - Mabel and Veronica were the bullies. School was St Elmos. One of the Marys was posh (a lady?), one was poor and used to get looked down on.

The Comp - yep I remember this well, it was in M&J I think and then may have moved to Bunty when M&J ended? (Late 90s?). I think Laura's parents owned the cafe, Nikki may have been the one from a "rough" background, she had a strange haircut. Yes I remember "my mum says Margaret" now that you mention her!!

Yes 'Raddy' aka Lady Mary Raleigh was the posh one and I think Simpy aka Mary Simpson was in St Elmos on a scholarship and was sneered at because of this by Mabel and Veronica.

I think Nikki was the quiet girl in The Comp with shoulder length black hair?
I can't remember anyone with a strange haircut.
I think the second guy in The Comp might have been Dave and there was a nice male teacher who was the 'cool' teacher and a female one who they were all terrified of. Grim Gertie or something like that?

 

[klarakluckbag]

Oh gosh, how can you remember the characters so well? They're all a blur to me now!

I was a massive comic fan, my dad used to take me to the newsagent on Saturday mornings from when I was very young (1969-70), I can vaguely remember getting a Disney comic each week. Then one day he bought "Twinkle" for me and I was hooked.
My parents split up when I was 6, and I didn't really see much of my dad after that, but luckily my mum carried on buying comics for me, despite living in, what I now realise was absolute poverty for most of my childhood. She understood the importance of encouraging us to read, so my brother and I both had armfuls of comics each week.
I progressed to Bunty and Mandy, but as a South London kid, boarding schools, lacrosse and gymkhanas were not something that I could really relate to. Tammy and Jinty were next, I think they eventually merged into one comic? Then I was onto the teen mags, Jackie, Pink (my fave for ages), Blue Jeans, My Guy etc etc.

I won a competition in one of the comics, possibly Jinty when it was first published? The prize was a radio, shaped like a ball. I got a letter to say that I'd won, but my radio never did turn up . My mum said that she wrote to them "lots of times" to ask where it was, but looking back, with 3 young kids to look after, I doubt that she had the time or the inclination to write to them at all!
I had a little silver-coloured heart pendant, that was a free gift from one of the teen mags, for years. I only lost it when we got burgled, by then, I was in my 30's, I was heartbroken when I realised that it was gone

 

[Kezza_69]

My friend appeared in I think it was just17 in a short story . . Proper photo shoot and everything

 

[bubbadabut]

I used to read Bunty . My main memory is sending in fashion designs because there was a £10 prize. They featured 3 designs each week, and I was chosen either twice or three times (including the Xmas edition - I was so proud ).

The other thing that sticks in my mind is the photostory "Luv, Lisa", about a secondary school student and all her trials and tribulations.

 

[Petesgirl]

I used to read Twinkle, then moved onto Tracy. I got loads of Judy, Misty, Jinty and Mandy annuals from older cousins which I devoured. I remember a story, I think it was in Tracy, of a girl who pretended that she had a evil twin sister, but it was really her, I think she was called Tara. She had all sorts of wild excuses why Tara never appeared in family photos.

There was another story called the Last Buttercup which is where everything was concreted over apart from a old haunted house where this last buttercup grew.

 

[FunkyMonkey]

I loved all of these!
I also loved my mums Judy, Jackie etc annuals from the early 60s

I actually have a pet theory that the YouTube Brit Crew were like an internet generation version of these magazines. Zoella, for example was like a fun, innocent, aspirational rolling story of a pretty girl slightly older than the intended audience doing things they would like to do.

 

[Kate1970]

Had forgotten about Twinkle magazine, which I bought as a youngster
When I was at primary school, I remember having Look In magazine

 

[Tinkerbell cat]

Oh these are bringing back some serious memories! I wish I still had all my old copies of different magazines. I had this big blue treasure chest thing & always kept magazines in it for some reason but my mum threw them all as she said I was hoarding them and had no intention of ever looking at them again She was probably right but now that I'm older I'd love to have a wee nosey through them for old times sakes.

Mizz, shout & that 17 one (can't remember the name) I absolutely loved too.

 

[Rockin' Robin]

I liked most of the girl's comics already mentioned. There used to be another supernatural comic called Spellbound, with weekly serials like the Supercats - young women in space!
I used to read my Brother's comics, The Dandy, Beano, Whoopee! Krazy, and not forgetting 2000 AD with Judge Dredd as the leading character. I have such fond memories of these comics, one of the best parts of our childhood.

 

[Mrs Moon]

I saw the thread on magazines and thought I'd start a thread on these, I loved Bunty and M&J comics in the 90s. They had a letters page, picture stories and photo stories. I remember the Four Marys being a classic picture story, and Luv Lisa. There were lots of Victorian-themed stories about orphans, boarding school stories, horse stories, ballet stories...they were all fairly innocent (parents wouldn't have to worry).

There were Christmas annuals too which I got every year and loved, and "picture stories" which were sort of mini books (longer versions of the typical stories from the comic).

I believe these comics ended in the early 00s, they gave me so many hours of entertainment in the 90s. Does anyone else remember them fondly or remember particular stories? I also had my older aunt's Judy annuals passed onto me which I loved.

(I also loved Twinkle as a younger child which was a comic for young kids - Nurse Nancy!)

Oh yes I remember the Four Marys and does anyone remember The Secret Ballet from the late 60s?
I also always had the bumper Christmas annuals which I loved.
I think it was Bunty who printed a secret code we learned and my friends and I would write letters to each other in code and send them...yes actually through the post to each others houses. My brother used to go mad trying to decipher them
Those were the days

 

[Mrs Moon]

Oh these are bringing back some serious memories! I wish I still had all my old copies of different magazines. I had this big blue treasure chest thing & always kept magazines in it for some reason but my mum threw them all as she said I was hoarding them and had no intention of ever looking at them again She was probably right but now that I'm older I'd love to have a wee nosey through them for old times sakes.

Mizz, shout & that 17 one (can't remember the name) I absolutely loved too.

Not to mention they would be worth a fortune today
(maybe)

 

[DanaScully]

I subscribed to Sabrina's Secret and collected all the makeup in the special cases.

I remember really enjoying the Twinkle annuals and as I got a bit older I progressed to Shout magazine, and occasionally Mizz. Thinking back, they definitely weren't age appropriate!

 

[Mrs Moon]

I liked most of the girl's comics already mentioned. There used to be another supernatural comic called Spellbound, with weekly serials like the Supercats - young women in space!
I used to read my Brother's comics, The Dandy, Beano, Whoopee! Krazy, and not forgetting 2000 AD with Judge Dredd as the leading character. I have such fond memories of these comics, one of the best parts of our childhood.

Do you remember Pelham Puppets the first time round in the mid 60s? Mum and dad saved up to buy me the gypsy and my brother the cowboy for Christmas.
Roll on 25 years and both of us married and living miles away and mum decides to clear out our rooms and threw the puppets AWAY!!!!
They are worth a fortune today and we had the boxes too Dear mum long gone but she regretted that terribly, we forgave her of course

 

[LucyEyelesbarrow]

I used to love the holiday specials of the magazines. It meant summer had arrived when you found one in the newsagent.

 

[MrsBsDayOff]

I used to love the holiday specials of the magazines. It meant summer had arrived when you found one in the newsagent.

Oh yes, and it usually came with a bigger than usual pop poster...such nice memories...