43 Years in the Third Form

By John Freeman on July 18, 2007

(with thanks to Graeme Neil Reid) via dtbNing): Girls comics? Eh what’s that?

Starting on Monday 23rd July on Radio 4 is a five part dramatization about girls’ comics, the episodes following directly on from Woman’s Hour. Here’s the Radio Times blurb…

43 Years in the Third Form 10.45am and repeated 7.45pm FM Radio 4

If the names Bunty, Jackie and Misty stir a youthful nostalgia then the chances are you are female. These five short dramas celebrate girls’ comics from the 50s through to the 80s using escapism from the harsher realities of teenage life as a common theme, while illustrating how “motivational stories for young ladies” ended up in later years as advice columns on how to snog without dribbling.

Well worth checking out, methinks. If you buy the Radio Times then you can see a nice little illustration on page 129 (part of this above) that accompanies the text, drawn by, well, Graeme!

John Freeman

The founder of downthetubes, which he established in 1998. John works as a comics and magazine editor, writer, and on promotional work for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He is currently editor of Star Trek Explorer, published by Titan – his third tour of duty on the title originally titled Star Trek Magazine.

Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine, Babylon 5 Magazine, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics. He has also edited several comic collections, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”.

He’s the writer of “Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies” for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs” with Dave Hailwood.