Comic Cuts — 18 February 2022

I'm ploughing on with the history of Action comic now that my scanning commitments are done. At the last count I'd just hit 46,750 words, all of them the right ones, but not necessarily in the right order.

I've reached the point in the story where Action has just returned in its horribly censored form, turned from the comic I loved for its no-holds-barred storylines into the kind of comic that had made me stop give up buying them two years earlier. I didn't want a typical boys adventure comic... I wanted something with better stories with a bit of realism to them, not the fantasy of winning a Grand Prix or a world heavyweight title. There was a reason I didn't read Tiger, and unless your pursuit of glory risked permanent blindness, I wasn't interested.

With little to report, I thought I'd mention a book that has come my way from the prolific Chris Harte, about the Victorian-era magazine, Fores's Sporting Notes & Sketches. Not my usual cup of tea, although I'm interested in the history of magazines (chiefly story papers) from that era, so the introduction makes interesting reading, as it covers some of the back story of the Fores family as printsellers, with Samuel William Fores dominating the trade alongside the likes of Hannah Humphrey and my near namesake William Holland (no relation as far as I know). Fores also held a huge exhibition of cartoons and prints in 1789.

It was Samuel's grandson, George Philip Byron Fores, who conceived the quarterly Fores's Sporting Notes & Sketches, the first issue dated April 1884. The early reviews were positive, noting the high class writing and excellent illustrations of George Finch-Mason. The magazine's success led to spin-off books in the 1890s, but it trundled along and celebrated its 100th issue in 1908. By this time Finch-Mason had become the mainstay of the magazine, writing under pen-names as well as illustrating; Fores was still the nominal editor, but by the time the magazine folded in 1912 he was in his eighties, and Finch-Mason's health began to give while he was in his sixties.

The book is chiefly a listing of contents of each issue and a name index, both heavily illustrated with examples of illustrations and photos of contributors. Harte has published a number of these volumes, neatly formatted and produced in limited numbers. If you have an interest in old magazines, especially sporting magazines, they're fascinating and with the distinct bonus of not being outrageously expensive to buy.

The book will be available via Amazon shortly (it's officially due out in a couple of weeks) or you can order it direct. Details below.

Fores's Sporting Notes & Sketches by Chris Harte
Sports History Publishing ISBN 978-189801016-6, 24 February 2022, 200pp, £9.95. Available via Amazon or directly from the author, price £10.00 including p&p. Make cheques payable to Chris Harte, Braemar House, St. David's Avenue, Carmarthen, SA31 3DN, Wales. The book is limited to 60 numbered copies.