downthetubes: When did you join DC Thomson?

Bill McLoughlin: September 12 1966

downthetubes: What comics or story papers did you enjoy as a child?

Bill: Topper, Beezer and Victor.

downthetubes: Which DCT titles did you work on and when?

Bill: I started in The Rover, dealing with text stories for editor Tim Cunningham. In 1969 I was moved to a new project... the reintroduction of The Wizard to the comic market, this time as a picture story magazine edited by Harry Boylan.

In 1973 it was on to The Beezer as a script writer for editor Bill Swinton, then in 1975 I moved to the Sparky, also as a script writer. The Sparky editor was Ian Chisholm, a comic genius, and we worked on science fiction fantasy material for a potential publication. When Sparky ended I moved to the Topper which was edited by Doug Johnston. Chis told me to keep my head down and just wait, there was something in the pipeline.

In early 1978, out of the blue, I was approached about a science fiction magazine and spoke to the bloke whose baby it was, Jack Smith. We got on really well and that was the beginning of Starblazer. Jack was editor of a series of pocket book women's stories and he did these as well as Starblazer. When Jack retired in 1985 I moved lock, stock and barrel to work with Bill Graham on Starblazer as well as a new project involving pony stories for girls. Starblazer folded in 1991 and from then until 2006 I worked with Bill on the Wendy pony series, while we both briefly did the Football Libraries until they folded in 2003.

Since 2006, I've been in the Syndication department which is concerned with copyright issues, permission to use material and processing orders for foreign publishers, and working on nostalgia books.

downthetubes: Rover was the second of DC Thomson's story papers dating from March 1922 and it had absorbed its older brother Adventure in 1961. What type of stories did Rover publish?

Bill: Rover had a mixture of war, wild west and football... period war stories as well.

downthetubes: Who were some of the writers of the text stories and did they write picture strip stories for other publications?

Private Soldier from Wizard. Click here for a larger image

Bill: There were a few outstanding writers who wrote for both genres. Alan Hemus wrote such stories as He Was Only A Private Soldier for Rover and went on to write picture stories as well. WG Ede was another great writer I had the pleasure of working with.

downthetubes: By the late 1960's, was Rover's text story format seen as old fashioned considering that the other DC Thomson boy's papers of the time were Victor, Hornet and the picture story version of Hotspur?

Bill: I suppose the text story had reached the end of the road and a decision was made to bring out a new boys magazine with a more contemporary feel... and that was the revamped Wizard.

downthetubes: The first issue of the picture story version of Wizard was dated 14 February 1970, almost six and a half years after the text story version of Wizard had been amalgamated into Rover. When did you begin working on the project and how many people worked on it before its publication?

Bill: I started in 1969 just shortly after the project had been set up and along with other younger staff members prepared things for the launch. There was an editor and a chief sub editor followed by four others.

The third issue of Wizard, published in early 1970

Panels from Slave of the Ring, as featured in Wizard Issue 14. Click here for a larger image

downthetubes: Why was the Wizard title resurrected for this new comic rather than a new title chosen?

Bill: I'm not sure, but the Wizard was probably the best remembered title from the heyday of boy's comics and it may have been thought a good idea to continue the line.

downthetubes: The new version of Wizard included some text stories and humorous stories. How did Wizard differ from the other boy's titles of the time and how did the amalgamation of Rover with it in 1973 affect the mix of stories?

Bill: I can't really say how the mix was affected post amalgamation because I had moved on, but The Wizard differed because it was created by a new generation, for a new generation. The stories were created and handled by guys in their early 20s and most of the stories were less "fantastic" than their predecessors in other publications.

One story, Slave Of The Ring, about boxing was brilliantly drawn and had a strong, hard spine of a storyline. A lot of the football stories were more real in terms of content. Some of the heroes didn't win things and for the first time stories became character driven rather that incident driven.

Interview Continues: Sparky's "Sir" Revealed!
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All images © DC Thomson and Co Ltd. Image research by Jeremy Briggs