Hornet (DC Thomson)

The Hornet was a British boys' comic published by D. C. Thomson & Co. for 648 issues^[1] from 14 September 1963^[2][3] to 7 February 1976, after which it was merged with The Hotspur.^[4] The free gift with the first issue was a balsa wood "Kestral Glider".^[4]

Notable strips and characters

• The Blazing Ace of Space - starring Richard Starr, a ruthless World War II fighter pilot
• V for Vengeance (1965–75; 1976–80 The Hotspur) - starring the Deathless Men, masked concentration camp escapees who first appeared in prose format in The Wizard in 1942.^[5]
• William Wilson, first appeared in prose format in The Wizard in 1943, appeared in picture form in The Hornet starting on 12 September 1964.^[6][7]

References

1. Paul Sassienie, The Comic Book: The One Essential Guide for Comic Book Fans Everywhere, Edison, New Jersey: Chartwell, 1994, p. 252.
2. Jeremy Briggs, Calling Warlord Agents!" Interview with Bill Graham, Downthetubes.com: "August 5th, 1963. I remember it like it was yesterday. I was put on the staff of The Hornet on the day the first issue went to press".
3. Roger Sabin, Comics, Comix & Graphic Novels, London: Phaidon, 1996, repr. 2001, ISPN 0-7148-3993-0, p. 49: "DC Thomson hit back [after the launch of Eagle] . . . by launching new titles, the most famous of which were Victor (1961) and Hornet (1963)."
4. The Hornet at 26pigs.com.
5. Mike Conroy, War Stories: A Graphic History, New York: Ilex/Harper, 2009, ISBN 978-0-06-173112-9, p. 116.
6. Graham Kibble-White, The Ultimate Book of British Comics, London: Allison & Busby, 2005, ISBN 0-7490-8211-9, p. 218.
7. Paul Gravett and Peter Stanbury, Great British Comics: Celebrating a Century of Ripping Yarns and Wizard Wheezes, London: Aurum, 2006, ISBN 978-1-84513-170-8, p. 166.

External links

• The Hornet at the Grand Comics Database
• Adrian Banfield, A brief history of The Victor - (1961- 1992, published every Monday), 2008.
• Adrian Banfield, The Hornet Index, April 2010.