On this day, 5 April 1975: Valiant
Cover artwork: Mike Western
On this day, 5 April 1975 … Having run since 1962, Valiant would end its days as a standalone comic in October 1976, having been usurped in the affections of 1970s boys by the likes of Battle and Action, so this issue comes as it was starting to lose ground. We’ve seen a fair bit of Captain Hurricane, Adam Eterno and Kid Pharaoh, as well as humour strips Billy Bunter and Challenge Charlie!, in previous posts on the blog, but there are a few stories here that are new to me: The Potters of Poole Street, Sergeant Strong and The Test Match Terrors, each a good-looking adventure stripwith strong storytelling and excellent art. It seems a shame that they didn’t have much of a future as they’re not from the Paddy McGinty’s Goat school of stale whimsy that Pat Mills tells us the new wave of punkier comics was reacting against, but I guess they are all still a bit clean cut and and old school.
Captain Hurricane: Charles Roylance (artist)
Challenge Charlie!: Frank McDiarmid (artist)
The Potters of Poole Street: Jack Pamby (artist)
Sergeant Strong: Eric Bradbury (artist)
Billy Bunter: Reg Parlett (artist)
The Test Match Terrors: Mike Western (artist)
Adam Eterno: Solano Lopez (artist)
Kid Pharaoh: Solano Lopez studio (artist)
