A really obscure ‘help me remember this book’

[TulipTuesday]

I had a dream last night that was about a book or story I definitely read when I was young. I haven’t thought about that story since I read it, but somehow my dream brain brought it back to me.

I’m not sure if it was a book of its own, or maybe a story/cartoon in a bigger reference book or even a bible story. I can only remember a bit of it so going to be near enough impossible. But MNers are great for this kind of thing 😄

All I can remember is a girl who ended up being a slave/imprisoned. It was possibly set in East Asia or maybe Egypt. The bit that I mostly remember is that she had a heavy wooden collar round her neck to stop her escaping. Then at the end she thought she was being executed but the ‘bad guy’ cut through the collar rather than chopping her head off.

Any ideas? It’s so weird that I dreamt about last night.

Tammy had some dark stuff in. Some girl whose dad was a scientist.. I think she was a robot.

OMG this thread! When I read your OP I immediately thought - yes! and the front cover of Mandy 1984 brought it all flooding back! I was 11 that year so bang on the right age. I also remember (but had forgotten) “I am Margaret” and the one with the girl in the wonky mirror. I was a bit scared of Valda but loved Miss Angel. I would have read my Christmas annual again and again throughout the year. Happy days. Mandy was miles better than Bunty, but Bunty seems to be better known.

Someone mentioned “The four Mandys”. I think it was Marys. They were at boarding school, one played tennis.

My great Aunt used to send me little comic booklet stories published by the same people, maybe 15 cm square and a single longer story, does anyone remember those? I built up a huge collection.

@Catnary loved those little books! 49p I think they were in my time. Dh would buy similar ones for the Commando comic!

I remember the little sister Darla who was an alien one. It really appealed to me because there was a girl at my school who I always thought was awful but everyone else thought was wonderful.

@ShirleyHolmes thank you for the summary! I seem to remember the nurse caught a fever from a patient and died.

@MichelleScarn you can still get Commando. They are all reprints but 4 are released each month. WHSmith sell them 🙂

Oo thanks @Needmorelego! DS is of age would love these, and would hopefully distract from the requests for the extortionate kids mags with the plastic junk on them!

There must be an untapped retro market for these to be reprinted.

@frenchnoodle I remember reading once that there's apparently some complex copyright issues over the comics 😕
There are some stories from Tammy/Jinty that were released in book form. Published by Rebellion publishers.

@frenchnoodle also there were some one of 'best of' annuals released a few years back.
You might be able to find them on Abe books or eBay.

I suspect you'd have to track down and get permission to reprint from every artist and writer (or their estate) and re-negotiate fees.

That said it can be done, even if it's only "best ofs" but obviously not worth the effort to do for Thompson's archive material as the market is there but niche.

@frenchnoodle I vaguely remember reading that the DC Thomson comics (Mandy/Bunty etc) it's the artists/writers who have the copyright so like you said it's hard to get permission but the IPC comics (Tammy/Jinty etc) the publisher owns the copyright so that's why there are more reprint books available.
I have no idea if any of that is true or whether I am talking baloney 😂

I actually can't believe @TulipTuesday asked such a random question but not only could people answer it but @Merchdda posted a photo of the actual thing! AND it was an album not even a book.

THIS IS ABSOLUTELY AMAZING

While we are on the subject of Bunty/Mandy type stuff, I am desperate to find a copy of DC Thomson's Lucky Charm Sheena Slave of the Tennis racket which I read years ago and would love to find. Periodically search on ebay. If anyone sees one anywhere please let me know!!! I'd love to find it. although expect it won't live up to memory of how amazing it was!!

comicspriceguide.com/titles/lucky-charm/24/skvxmp

Sounds about right 🤷.

When people ask why childfree/less women post on here, I shall remember this thread. You would not have got this response on a male dominated forum.

@PriamFarrl I don't know. If it was a story from 2000AD, Battle or Eagle comic or a story about Roy of the Rovers they would know within seconds 🙂

@PriamFarrl infact I know several blokes who could win Mastermind with the Specialist Subject of "Characters from Beano and Dandy"

@CalamityClam I was at my parents house this week and pulled out my old annuals from the attic to find this story. Was it this one?

@tothesea no, not that one, but thank you! What great memories!

I love these threads. So many memories. I was more of a Bunty girl than Mandy though; my favourite story was a beautifully drawn one about an Arabian princess and her horse called Star. I think she ran away, or was kidnapped or something. She had long shiny black hair that swirled around, and I was deeply in love with that horse!

Another one that stuck in my mind was about a girl who went to live with an evil aunt. The girl wasn't pretty but had a great figure, so the aunt made masks and wigs for her to wear to be a model, and made her be all these different people with different names, and she had to remember all the different personalities. I think one was called Marji and she was also a tennis player.

Although I might be mixing that up with another tennis one about a girl who was so good at playing they called her ‘the robot’. Yes that’s right. She was tricked into believing she’d caused another tennis player to become blind, so that she’d let her win. But at the last minute she saw the fake blind player shielding her eyes from the sun, so she knew it was a trick and won the match - Wimbledon probably.

Isn’t it amazing how these stories stick! I do think girls today are missing out. I wish there was a modern equivalent for them.

I remember the mask story!