- Plug (comics)
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Plug was a British comic that ran for 76 issues from 14 September 1977 until 4 February 1979, when it merged with The Beezer.
A spin-off from The Bash Street Kids comic strip in The Beano, the comic was based around the character Plug who was a distinctive character in the Bash Street Kids strip. His dog (Pug) from Pup Parade, and a new character called Chunkee the Monkey (Plug's pet monkey) accompanied him. Vic Neill mainly drew the title character's strip. The comic also had its own fan club, the Plug Sports and Social Club.
The Plug strip was never a big hit, possibly because, at 9 pence, it was too expensive compared to other D.C. Thomson comics at the time, which were priced at around 5 pence. According to the 2008 book The History of the Beano, for a while there were rumours of a "curse of Plug", fuelled by the fact that a number of celebrities featured in Mad magazine-style caricatures on the comic's cover died soon after, most notably John Wayne.
Other strips in this comic included:
- Antchester United - The adventures of an insect football team. Drawn by John Geering
- Ava Banana - This character was as strong as an ox, gentle as a lamb. Her trainer was Charlton Veston, their names being plays on Ava Gardner and Charlton Heston
- The Bandshees - Creatures playing in a band, "fresh from their successful tour of Mars". Readers were invited to send in funny songs that they had written
- Crazy Horse - "The Nutty Nag". The adventures of a talking horse
- Digby the Human Mole - Very odd-looking boy with a large mole like nose, liked digging tunnels and eating. Drawn by Gordon Bell
- D'ye Ken John Squeal and his Hopeless Hounds - a daft celebration of fox hunting. Its title parodied an eighteenth-century Scottish ballad.
- Eddie Daring - A boy obsessed with rugby league, with Randolph, his pet rat (The Original Dirty Rat). His name was a play on Eddie Waring, a popular TV sports commentator at the time.
- Eebagoom - The ancient British settlement of Liverpool invaded by Julius Sneezer and his Roman legions
- First Ada - Always willing to practice her first aid on any unsuspecting passer-by. Ada also had a St. Bernard dog as her companion. Drawn by Gordon Bell
- The Games Gang - "They're Game for Everything". Starred Meltem John, Bee-Bop, Fuzz, Rocky, Modriel, Magnus Spike and Rollerball, a gang who invented games to play amongst themselves. (Meltem John and Magnus Spike are plays on Elton John and Magnus Pyke.)
- Gnoo Faces - A strip about "three screwball Gnoos, trying to break into showbiz!" The judging panel was made up of Mickie Musk (the skunk), Lionel Bear, Arthur Aardvark and Tony Scratch (the tiger). The name was a play on New Faces, a popular UK talent show at the time
- Gulp - "The Galactic Goon with the GIGANTIC Gullet"
- Hugh's Zoo - The adventures of Hugh and his backyard menagerie. Drawn by Gordon Bell, survived merger with Beezer
- The Invasion of the Plug Bugs - A strip about a group of aliens
- Lumpy Gibbon - Starred Lumpy Gibbon (a huge gibbon), Colonel Podgy Whiner (a hunter), Little Gibbon and Man Eating Tiger Moth. The title was a homage to the 1975 song Funky Gibbon, by The Goodies
- Luncheon Vulture - The adventures of a hungry vulture
- The Nutcase Bookcase - "Guidebooks for Goons". Plug would star in a 'guide' to doing something, usually with disastrous results
- Sea Urchin - An amphibious boy who had underwater adventures with his friend Roger, the flying fish. The main antagonist of the strip was Silas Sharke, the underwater rotter
- Supporting Life - Starred Elvis, Plug's little brother, looking at a different football team each week. The first was Arsenal F.C.. Drawn by Bill Ritchie
- Tony Jackpot - A boy obsessed with golf. Drawn by John Dallas
See also
External links
D. C. Thomson comics Currently Running Comics Adventure Comics Adventure · Bullet · Buddy · Champ · Commando · The Crunch · The Hornet · The Hotspur · The Rover · The Skipper · Spike · Starblazer · The Vanguard · The Victor · Warlord · The WizardGirls Comics Humour Comics The Beano · BeanoMAX · The Beezer · Buzz · Classics from the Comics · Cracker · The Dandy · Fun Size Comics · Hoot · The Magic Comic · Nutty · Plug · Sparky · The TopperPre-School Comics Notable Strips Alf Tupper · Baby Crockett · Bananaman · The Bash Street Kids · Beryl the Peril · Black Bob · Biffo the Bear · The Broons · Calamity James · Cuddles and Dimples · Dennis the Menace · Desperate Dan · Ginger · Gnasher · Ivy the Terrible · Keyhole Kate · Korky the Cat · Little Plum · Lord Snooty · Matt Braddock · Minnie the Minx · The Numskulls · Pansy Potter · Roger the Dodger · Oor Wullie · Wilson the Wonder Athlete · Wolf of KabulComic annuals The Beano Annual · The Beezer Book · The Bimbo Book · The Dandy Annual · The Hotspur Book for Boys · The Sparky Book · The Topper Book · The Victor Book for Boys · Warlord Book for BoysCharacter annuals Bananaman Annual · The Bash Street Kids Annual · Beryl the Peril Annual · Black Bob Book · The Broons Annual · Dennis the Menace Annual · The Desperate Dan Book · Oor Wullie AnnualNotable Artists Leo Baxendale · Gordon Bell · Nick Brennan · Paddy Brennan · Sid Burgon · John Geering · Barry Glennard · Ken H. Harrison · Laura Howell · Malcolm Judge · David Law · Allan Morley · Dave Mostyn · Robert Nixon · Nigel Parkinson · Tom Paterson · Jim Petrie · Ken Reid · Bill Ritchie · David Parkins · David Sutherland · Kev F. Sutherland · Dudley D. Watkins · Wilbur Dawbarn · Karl Dixon · The Etherington Brothers · Wayne Thompson · Andy Fanton · Phil Corbett · Nigel Auchterlounie · Lew Stringer · Alexander Matthews · Jon Rushby · Trevor Metcalfe · Barrie Appleby · Charles Grigg · Tom Williams · Vic Neillhttp://www.kellyscomics.com a site set up to try and include all D.C. Thomson items.
Categories:- DC Thomson Comics titles
- British comics
- Defunct British comics
- The Bash Street Kids
- United Kingdom comics stubs
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