TV TORNADO ANNUAL 1970 COVER...

Characters copyright relevant and respective owners

Above is the cover to the very first TV TORNADO Annual I ever had (and still have), given to me by an old school pal around 34-35 years ago.  This is the third Annual, issued in 1969 for 1970, and though I've now had it for all this time, I've never actually read it until the early hours of this morning.  Well, actually, I only read the comic strips, the text stories I've left for a rainy day.  Same with the other Annual I received as a gift from another school pal on Wednesday - read the strips, not the stories, but I'll get around to them eventually.

When I was first given this book, I somehow had the impression its previous owner had bought it (or had it bought for him) when it first came out, but I noticed a hand-written price of 10p (it had originally cost 12/6d in 1969) on the inside, so presumably he bought it at a jumble sale two or three years later.  I've now owned it for far longer than he did, but somehow I still associate it with him more than myself - maybe that'll change in another 30-odd years.

I've also just bought the second Annual on ebay (for a price less than the postage), so that only leaves the fourth Annual to add to my collection, then I'll have the full set.  Incidentally, the ridiculous MILE HIGH COMICS (obviously named after their exorbitant prices) is selling the first Annual for £510.92, even though there are several available on ebay for just a few quid.  Even though the Mile High copy is supposed to be in pristine condition, it's worth nowhere near that price.

Did you buy TV Tornado comic back in the day, or any of the Annuals?  Feel free to share your memories of them in our sadly-neglected comments section.

Posted in: Cartoons