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FLEETWAY ST.
GENTLEMAN
BRIGGS
BUNTY'S BOOTY
CRACKING
COLLECTIBLES
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MISTY
4th Feb 1978 - 12th Jan 1980
101 issues / Fleetway / IPC
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'Filled with chills
from the midnight world!'
'Dare
you read it alone!'
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Misty glided on to UK newsstands
in February 1978. It was a mystery comic
for girls filled with creepy kids,
sinister schoolteachers, mysterious artifacts
threatening strangers, cloaked Victorian
gentlemen, and ghostly goings-on.
Its pages offered readers a good strong
dose of old-fashioned frights, thrills,
and chills. Nothing too squeamish was
on show, the Misty artists always
panned away at the terrible denouement,
but that just made it all the more
tantalizing. The comic was introduced
by the title starlet, a seductive
dark-haired femme fatale in the
Hammer Film mold, who evidently relished
the chilling tales she was about to unleash
upon her readers...
MISTY,where the unusual is usual,
where the unexpected is expected,
where every thrill's a chill. Enjoy your
journey through these pages... and
the strange lands and people
you'll meet.
Your friend,
Misty
There
were no star strips as such, just a succession of sinister tales often
running
for several weeks, with some infinitely more memorable than others,
like 'The Moodstone' with Cathy Salmon,
'Cult Of The Cat' which weaves a tale
around the mystery of Egyptian cat worship,
'The Sentinels' concerning two
crumbling tower blocks in a city suburb
called Birdwood, and more like
'The Body Snatchers' and 'The Frankenstein
Papers'. There were some
terrific titles on offer during Misty's
short run:
Hush, Hush Sweet Rachel
The Doorway To Evil
The Girl Who Knew The
Fairies
The Rise And Fall Of
Anne Hughes
The Salamander Girl
The Secret Of Lan-Shi
Each issue, an individual horror story
like the ones above would be presented
to us as a the weekly 'Nightmare'. Light
relief from all this creepiness came in
the form of 'Miss T' a regular toon strip
about a useless witch and her minions,
drawn by CJ.
Misty's Free Gifts
#1 - Lucky Charm Bracelet
#2 - Lucky Black Cat Ring
#3 - Wheel Of Fortune Booklet
Misty ran for just 101 issues. With
her second birthday in her grasp she
glided off into the mist from whence she
came, merging with stablemate
Tammy. But her legacy lived on through
to 1986 in the form of a regular
Fleetway Annual and a short run of 'Best-Of'
monthly reprints..
At the time, Misty was aimed primarily
at young girls, but it now clearly has a
male fanbase as well. Why? - Well,
come on, girls in peril, schoolgirls in
flimsy nightdresses, or school uniform
being pursued by ghouls and ghosts
and more? - You get the picture! -
The covers were frequently fabulous, and
featured shrieking heroines shying
away from flailing hands, ghastly shadows
and leering beasties. And then there were
the Annuals, with those splendid
covers featuring Ms Misty herself. The
exception being the original 1979
edition (top) which simply depicted a young
girl in peril. Add these factors to
Misty's comparatively short run and,
as a consequence, the secondary market
value for this title is rising dramatically.
Fleetway/IPC delved into the horror market
again, of course, with the
bloodcurdling delights of Scream!
But, personally, if I had to choose, Misty
is the more successful. Scream! is
a hoot, it thrusts its blood-soaked panels
under your nose, keen to show you
its gruesome horrors in all their inky glory.
But Misty holds something back, teases
you, and casts you adrift in the fog.
And in the end your own imagination is
more frightening by far...
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On
the web
Misty
Comic
http://www.mistycomic.co.uk
This is great. A Misty fan site
with strip info, cover scans and more.
100% unofficial, of course,
but very professional anyway. Dare you
visit this site alone...?
26pigs
http://www.26pigs.com/misty/
26pigs features more of Misty, including some fine reminiscences and
a big cover scan of the first issue
cover - smart stuff,eh?
Comics
UK
http://www.comicsuk.co.uk
Comics UK is a great comics
resource. Spin to the annuals gallery
and you'll find all the Misty
Annual covers on display...
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