Don’t you just love it when collectors share a British comics rarity? A case in point is this wonderful example of the 1950 Radio Fun Annual, published in 1949, featuring a superb cover featuring comedian Tommy Handley, best known for the BBC radio programme It’s That Man Again (also known as “ITMA”).
Except, here in the UK, for comic fans of the time were, largely, treated instead to a cover featuring actor and radio presenter Wilfred Pickles, who had secured huge fame as the presenter of the BBC radio show Have A Go, appearing in the show with his wife, Mabel.
Collector Peter Hansen – some of his incredible collection again the focus of a massive Excalibur Auction this Saturday – first drew my attention to the “Tommy Handley” variant in a Facebook post back in 2021, although archivist Alan Clark had previously noted its existence in one of his excellent books.
Published from the 1940s until 1960 by Amalgamated Press, a spin-off from the once hugely popular weekly comic of the same name, the change to this particular Radio Fun Annual was made after the hugely popular Tommy Handley – a talent considered as unique in radio comedy as Charlie Chaplin was in silent film – died unexpectedly in January 1949 from a cerebral haemorrhage aged just 57, to the dismay of his millions of fans.
The amazingly talented Roy Wilson was the regular artist on the “Tommy Handley” strip for the weekly Radio Fun comic, that title originally launched back in 1938 (the first issue cover dated 15th October 1938) surviving until 1961, when it became the first out of twelve titles to merge with Buster (the last issue cover dated 18th February 1961).
Variant Annual Covers
The Tommy Handley version of the 1950 Radio Fun Annual was produced towards the beginning of 1949 and, Peter noted, a few of the annuals were actually released to the public for sale for Christmas 1949 using him on the cover, despite Handley’s death. Printing of the annual had begun not long before Handley died.
“Most of the [Handley versions] were shipped to Australia, New Zealand, Canada or South Africa,” Peter explained. “To the best of my knowledge none were actually released in the UK, as the UK was the last to print their annuals using the same timelines. The result being that very few of these annuals survived.”
Even Peter, a dedicated collector, found just one copy of this Radio Fun rarity during his time amassing his incredible archive of British comics, although overseas collectors have had more luck.
“Once Amalgamated Press ran out of sending the annuals overseas, they started printing a new cover with Wilfred Pickles on the new cover,” Peter noted. “In my 55 years of collecting comics this is the only time this kind of issue [an unexpected cover star death] has led to a new comic being annual being printed that I am aware of.”
Except, it turns out AP didn’t just publish a new edition with Wilfred Pickles on the cover: they also recalled at least some of the Tommy Handley editions and stuck the Wilfred Pickles version on them!
Collector Christophe Jupon shared his own discovery of a “double cover” version quite recently, the Handley cover revealed under the Pickles illustration on closer inspection.
It’s the rarest version of this “variant cover”, according to comic archivist and cartoonist Lew Stringer.
Presumably, continuing paper rationing in the UK may have necessitated that, rather than completely initially pulp and then reprint the “Tommy Handley” cover version of the Annual, Amalgamated Press took the decision to recall published editions and add the Wilfred Pickles cover to already printed copies for the UK market.
Later, they did a second print run with the Wilfred Pickles cover alone. (The interiors – featuring strips that also included Arthur Askey, Roy Rogers, Vera Lynn, and Jimmy Durante – apparently unchanged).
Copies of the Tommy Handley version are sometimes found intact, since, as mentioned, the Annual had already been shipped to Commonwealth countries before the star died, and escaped the recall. Collector John Pollock found one, sold by a collector in New Zealand.
Neither version of the Annual sells for huge amounts these days, Radio Fun collectables very much considered niche today; but Christophe Jupon’s “hybrid” copy may be worth more than either edition combined… not that he would ever part with it!
For fans of the brilliant Tommy Handley, the original cover is a reminder of just how popular he was, and What Might Have Been, had the radio star not unexpectedly passed. It’s a joy to see it.
Head downthetubes for…
• downthetubes: The Wonder of Roy Wilson, comic artist, and his meticulous approach to creating comics
• The Comic Book Price Guide: Radio Fun Annuals
• ComicsUK Radio Fun Annual Gallery
• Radio Fun: A podcast Series looking at the history of British radio comedy
- About the Author
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John is the founder of downthetubes, launched in 1998. He is a comics and magazine editor, writer, and Press Officer for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He also runs Crucible Comic Press.
Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine and Overkill for Marvel UK, Babylon 5 Magazine, Star Trek Magazine, and its successor, Star Trek Explorer, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics; and has edited several comic collections and graphic novels, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”, and Hancock: The Lad Himself, by Stephen Walsh and Keith Page.
He’s the writer of comics such as 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.
Categories: British Comics, Comics, Creating Comics, downthetubes Comics News, downthetubes News, Features
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