Fleetway fun...

   There are 12 key Fleetway titles in the period this site covers, or intends
   to cover. The first to be published was Buster comic in May 1960, and
   ironically it out-lived all the others, ending its run in reprinted form in
   January 2000.

   Fleetway St. exists to chronicle all the fun strips from these titles, but of
   course each title featured at least one ongoing 'serious' adventure strip too,
   like Monster Fun's pre-Jurassic Park thriller March of the Mighty Ones,
   or The Leopard From Lime Street in Buster. Stay tooned for a side-bar
   on these strips, in time...

   From the early 1980s, more and more strip reprints sneaked into the
   comics and annuals. And by mid-decade there were also monthly Best Of
   compilations running alongside the Big Three surviving fun titles of Buster,
   Whoopee! and Whizzer & Chips. Smaller library-style reprints were
   published too. And then there was Big Comic, which compiled a hotchpotch
   of classic strips from all the past and present titles into one regular volume.
   More reprinting went on in the 90s, with the launch of Big Value Comic,
   and a second compilation called Funny Fortnightly, and like before no
   consideration was given to strip histories, or origins: Anything was up
   for a reprint, in any of the publications, with little or no regard paid to the
   interests of the readership...

   Presumably, the publishers felt that these titles were aimed at a new
   generation of readers who were unfamiliar with the original comics.
   It was foolish thinking, though. Many Fleetway fans can recall older
   brothers or sisters reading the comics before them. We were more
   informed that they thought, weren't we?

   Still this was Fleetway's loss. If they'd indexed all the strips
   and reprints you wouldn't be needing Fleetway St. would you?

   Hope you like the index!

              thehound@toonhound.com

 
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