Norman Boyd looks back at a special British comics promotion of the 1960s, some reprints of Gold Key and King Features strips, but others a mystery…

I can’t remember how, in the 1960s, I first encountered the Gold Token comics. But having tokens which could be collected and gifts acquired was not something DC, Marvel, DC Thomson or IPC did (although, admittedly, the latter pair would attach gifts to key issues – Number Ones, amalgamated comics “Great News For All Readers” etc.

The company who produced these gems was Young World Productions Limited, a subsidiary of Thomson Organisation Ltd, whose addresses were 115, Bayham Street and Thomson House, 200 Gray’s Inn Road, London W.C.1. Their UK Distribution was by Vernon Holding and Partners Ltd. There were quite a few people involved in running the company over the years when the company began in May 1963 and was dissolved in March 2016.

The line that caught my childhood imagination was “Send Name and address and 3d stamp for free gift to: GOLD TOKEN BOOKS 115 Bayham Street, London NW1” and “Win a super holiday in Disneyland – Closing date: Monday 20 April 1964”. So exciting in a comic. This also gave me the first date I found for the comic range. 

Then they also stated:

“All Gold Token books (and there are many to choose from) contain valuable tokens which are worth exciting free gifts to you. You will find your token inside the book. SAVE your Gold Tokens – They are fun to collect, and when you have enough you can send for any of the following:

• A quality painting book 12 tokens (and the opportunity to enter exciting painting competitions every month)
• A detective magnifying glass…12 tokens
• A wonder cut-out and games book….16 tokens
• An artist’s all-colour paint box….24 tokens
• A luxury folding bookcase for all your Gold Token books….40 tokens

All you have to do. Just cut out your Gold Token from each book. When you have collected the right number, send them with your name and address together with a stamp (3d.) to help with the postage of the gift to: – GOLD TOKEN BOOKS YOUNG WORLD PRODUCTIONS LTD. 115-123  BAYHAM STREET. LONDON N.W.I

The gifts changed – I suspect – according to the date of the comic, as the one I sent off for is listed below.

You might have guessed by now that these comics appear to be reprints from Gold Key (Western Publishing) in America, who had many TV series adaptations, plus Disney properties. 

Interestingly, Gold Token presented Walt Disney commenting on titles as if he were the Editor. Alongside a photo portrait of Walt himself “he” writes in #5:

One day — as long ago as 1932 — a man who was working in my film studios in Hollywood recited ‘Mary had a Little Lamb’ to me. He was supposed to be giving an impersonation of a little girl, but when I heard him I thought he sounded just like a duck talking! ‘I might use that voice in a film one day,’ I told him. And, sure enough, I did. In fact, out of that voice grew the most famous Duck in the world — Donald. 

So I am very happy to introduce the latest adventure of my fine feathered friend, Donald, in this the first Super-Mag. In fact, both Donald and I are very proud to welcome you and your friends as Super-Mag readers. We know you will enjoy all the many titles which will be coming your way soon. For, with the help of my artists, Super-Mags will take you into the wonderful world of the cinema screen, bringing you complete stories of many of our real-life and cartoon films

SUPERMAGS (1/-) + 2 Tokens

I’ve compiled this list myself, and included any additional information I found which might help spot the publication dates – mostly 1964 and where the original comics appeared. I have never seen evidence of any issues beyond #26 except in #23, where it mentions The Incredible Journey to be published in January 1965, but I’ve never seen one, along with the published Mary Poppins and The Moonspinners.

Some were reprinted in 64 page comic books – see below. I’ve added dates of which I’m certain in the notes together with my guess as to where the stories originally appeared. I’m grateful to Tony of Tony’s Trading for his helping me clarify some of my thinking.

• Gold Token Super Mag 1 The Flight of the White Stallions
Reprinted from: Western: Gold Key: Walt Disney’s The Miracle of the White Stallions, 1963
• Gold Token Super Mag 2 The Sword in the Stone
Reprinted from: Western: Gold Key: Walt Disney’s The Sword in the Stone, 1964

• Gold Token Super Mag 3 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
Reprinted from: Western: Walt Disney’s 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, 1963

• Gold Token Super Mag 4 Pollyana
Reprinted from: Dell: Four Color #1129 Walt Disney’s Pollyanna, 1960

• Gold Token Super Mag 5 Donald Duck – Test Hopper
Western: Gold Key: Walt Disney’s Donald Duck – Test Hopper, 1963

• Gold Token Super Mag 6 Uncle Scrooge
Do you have a copy? Can you identify the source?

• Gold Token Super Mag 7 Big Red
Western: Gold Key: Walt Disney’s Big Red, 1962

• Gold Token Super Mag 8 Parent Trap
Reprinted from: Dell: Four Color #1210 Walt Disney’s The Parent Trap, 1961

• Gold Token Super Mag 9 Treasure Island
Reprinted from: Dell: Four Color #624 – Walt Disney’s Treasure Island, 1955

• Gold Token Super Mag 10 Mickey Mouse and the Giant Air Serpent
Reprinted from: Western: Gold Key: Mickey Mouse – The Monstrous Air Serpent, 1963

• Gold Token Super Mag 11 Terrible Ten (June 1964)
Art by Daphne Rowles

• Gold Token Super Mag 12 Space Patrol – [The Water Bomb?] (June 1964)
Story title mentioned in advert inside #SM18

• Gold Token Super Mag 13 Summer Magic (July 1964)
Reprinted from: Western: Gold Key: Walt Disney’s Summer Magic, 1963
• Gold Token Super Mag 14 Lady and the Tramp (July 1964)
Reprinted from: Dell Four Color #629 – Walt Disney’s Lady and the Tramp with Jock, 1955, or Dell: Four Color #634 – Walt Disney’s Lady and the Tramp Album, 1955
• Gold Token Super Mag 15 Champion the Wonder Horse (August 1964)
With four tokens found. Likely to be one of “Gene Autry’s Champion” series by Dell
• Gold Token Super Mag 16 Black Mask – Secret Revenge (August 1964)
“Black Mask” is Maschera Nera, an Italian western hero created by Max Bunker (Luciano Secchi) in 1962. He was also creator of Kriminal and Satanik

• Gold Token Super Mag 17 A Tiger Walks (September 1964)
Reprinted from: Western: Gold Key: Walt Disney’s A Tiger Walks, 1964

• Gold Token Super Mag 18 The Absent-Minded Professor (September 1964)
Reprinted from: Dell: Four Color #1199 – Walt Disney’s The Absent Minded Professor, 1961
• Gold Token Super Mag 19 Sindy Takes Over (October 1964)
Art by Michael Strand?
• Gold Token Super Mag 20 Dirk of the Legion (October 1964)
Do you have a copy? Can you identify the source?
• Gold Token Super Mag 21 Kidnapped
Reprinted from: Dell: Four Color #1101 – Walt Disney’s Robert Louis Stevenson’s Kidnapped, 1960
• Gold Token Super Mag 22 Dr. Syn
Reprinted from: Western: Gold Key: Walt Disney’s The Scarecrow of Romney Marsh, 1964
• Gold Token Super Mag 23 Terrible Ten – Bush Rescue (December 1964)
Art by Daphne Rowles

• Gold Token Super Mag 24 Space Patrol – The Secret Formula (December 1964)
Art by R. Paul Hoye

• Gold Token Super Mag 25 Mary Poppins (January 1965)
Reprinted from: Western: Gold Key: Walt Disney’s Mary Poppins, 1965
• Gold Token Super Mag 26 The Moonspinners (January 1965)
Western: Gold Key: Walt Disney’s the Moon-Spinners, 1964

Sindy is one the outliers in the series, as she was a British doll – a version of Mattel’s popular American doll, Barbie. She had six novels based on her adventures, plus Gold Token produced other books. The Sindy Museum has details of the books here

Terrible Ten: The Adventures of the Terrible Ten was produced by Pacific Films in Melbourne and first broadcast in 1959-1960. I couldn’t track down the comics’ first appearances. However, Daphne Rowles was a comic artist and children’s book illustrator, mostly known for her comic work in Swift, where she drew “Nicky Nobody”, and the “Ladybird” adverts on the rear cover of Swift.

Space Patrol was a SF TV puppet series written and produced by Roberta Leigh, in association with British commercial broadcaster ABC Weekend TV. Both issues appear to be by the same artist, who signs himself R. Paul Hoye in #24.

Space Patrol also featured in TV Comic, 52 double-page strips forming the centrespread of each issue, from Issue 668 cover dated 3rd October 1964 to 719, cover dated 25th September 1965. They were written by Roberta Leigh herself and illustrated by artist Bill Mevin. Terry Patrick drew a “Space Patrol” strip for DC Thomson’s Beezer, the strip published from from Issue 558, cover dated 24 September 1966 to Issue 583, dated 18th March 1967.

Hoye drew some Enid Blyton “Mary Mouse” books by Brockhampton Press, and some Henry the Helicopter titles for the same publisher, where I see he is credited as R. Paul-Höye. He also drew “Bom”, the little toy drummer’s adventures for Blyton, as well as other books for Blyton. Plus, as Reg Hoye, it appears that he also drew an icon of my childhood, the 1966 World Cup lion mascot, World Cup Willie!

64 PAGES DOUBLE FEATURE COMIC BOOK 

(Price unknown + 4 Gift Tokens)

Combining two stories, the ones I discovered have two comics in each and were the following titles:

• Champion The Wonder Horse and Black Mask
• Mary Poppins and The Moonspinners
• Sindy Takes Over and Dirk of the Legion
• Summer Magic and Lady and the Tramp
• Terrible Ten: Bush Rescue and Space Patrol: Secret Formula

Interestingly, I have discovered an odd one, which reprints two of the first SuperMags – 20,000 Leagues under the sea and The Flight of the White Stallions. It has YWP branding but no Gold Token branding – perhaps a later reprint? 

Tony’s Trading has this latter item – Walt Disney’s 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and Walt Disney’s The Flight of the White Stallions – with the Gold Token branding. It’s likely that these all appeared from mid-1965 onwards, as The Moonspinners was first published in January 1965.

GOLD TOKEN ACTION SERIES (1/3 + 2 Gift tokens)

Gold Token didn’t just produce ‘normal’ American sized comics but also digest comic books, which came from comic strips – supplied by King Features in America and others.

Here are the gifts listed:

• 12 tokens – A detective magnifying glass
• 20 tokens – Two FROG Chuck Gliders Balsa construction. Stunt and fly like a real plane
• 30 tokens – Wonderful book of “Record Breakers” 32 big pages of full colour, showing records ans pictures of land, air and water record breakers
• 40 tokens – A luxury folding book-case for all your GOLDEN TOKEN books

• Gold Token Action Series #1 Secret Agent X9: Jungle Mission and Trail of Gold (July 1964)
• Gold Token Action Series #2 Big Ben Bolt: [Unknown]
• Gold Token Action Series #3 Flash Gordon: Men Against a Robot and The Lone Survivor (July 1964)
• Gold Token Action Series #4 Tim Tyler: Peril of the Painted Path (July 1964)
• Gold Token Action Series #5 Brick Bradford: Adventure in Andromeda and Operation Chaos (August 1964)
• Gold Token Action Series #6 Mandrake [The Magician]:  Master of Magic (August 1964)
• Gold Token Action Series #7 Ripcord [No story title] (August 1964)
• Gold Token Action Series #8 Secret Agent X9: Justice in the Underworld and Highland Caper (August 1964)
  • The price drops to 1/- after this
• Gold Token Action Series #9 Ripcord Adventure: In the Eye of the Typhoon (September 1964)
• Gold Token Action Series #10: Flash Gordon: The Time Pendulum and The Dark Side of the Moon, and The Stars in the Sky (September 1964)
• Gold Token Action Series #11 Ripcord Adventure: Jungle Madness (October 1964)
• Gold Token Action Series #12 Brick Bradford: Journey to Atlantis (October 1964)

Action Series began in July 1964 and two titles were introduced each month according to blurb within. Interestingly the price dropped after issue 8. Although the Grand Comics Database indexes the Action Series there are no reprint credits. Tim Tyler = Tim Tyler’s Luck. Brick Bradford’s “Adventure in Andromeda” was published first 20 May 1963 – 19 October 1963 and “Operation Chaos” from 21 October 1963 – 28 December 1963.

The Flash Gordon certainly looks to me to be drawn by Dan Barry and some of the Agent X9 by Ross Andru, although the credits for this period are Bob Lubbers (story and art) from 1960-1967. This doesn’t rule out assistance by Andru, but I’m happy to be corrected. Issue #7 Ripcord has no internal title, but the narrative tells of the “Red Rocks Gorge Adventure”. Could the last Brick Bradford have been “Journey to Procyon” (26 October 1964 – 23 January 1965)?

GOLD TOKEN GIANT SUPER MAG (2/6d + 5 Gift tokens)

These looked well worth collecting at the time but half a crown (2/6d) was a lot of money for a comic. That was the price I paid for a Famous Monsters of Filmland in August 1965 in the UK!

GOLD TOKEN GIANT SUPER MAG Listing

• Giant Super Mag/1: Donald Duck and His Friends (June 1964)
• Giant Super Mag/2: Donald Duck and Other Stories (September 1964)
• Giant Super Mag/3: Donald Duck’s Album (November 1964)
• Giant Super Mag/4: Li’l Bad Wolf and Other Stories (? 1965)

I hope to share some information on books – not comics – in another article soon.

Norman Boyd

Do you remember this promotion? Can you answer Norman’s questions? If so, do comment below! Thank you!

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Comic archivist and Norman Boyd compiles his “Visual Rants” blog highlighting printed material that grabs his attention and which I’d like to see preserved digitally. “I tend to focus on artists who – seem to me  – to have been forgotten,” he explains. He is also publisher of the indispensable Frank Bellamy Checklist Website and Blog

This article was first published on Visual Rants and is republished on downthetubes with Norman’s kind permission

Head downthetubes for…

• Tony’s Trading: Gold Token Super Mag Comics Gallery

• Comic Vine: Gold Token Gallery

• The Sindy Museum Gold Token Books

• Visual Rants

• Space Patrol, the website (archived on Wayback, 29th June 2011)

A comprehensive guide to the series, including screenshots, episode guide, encyclopaedia of terms, behind-the-scenes information, and links to other Space Patrol websites.

• World Cup Willie

Find out how he became the first official mascot at a sporting event even before the Olympic Games had one

• About the Author
• Latest Posts

downthetubes Guests

One of many guest posts for downthetubes.

• Who Remembers Gold Tokens Super Mag Comics?
• Game On: Why UK Comics is ready for its own "Ally Pally" moment
• Filling the gaps on "From Cents to Pence" – Alan Class comics info sought

Categories: British Comics, Comics, Features, Flashback Corner, US Comics

Tags: Disney Comics, Donald Duck, Flash Gordon, Gold Key Comics, Gold Token Comics, Gold Token Super Mags, Norman Boyd, Sindy, Uncle Scrooge, Young World Productions Limited