Only Alf Tupper and Morgyn the Mighty, have appeared in every annual from 1964 through to 1986. (They may well have appeared in the remaining annuals, that I haven't seen so far.) This is an exciting race between these two strong characters. I wonder who crosses the finishing line first, as regards who appeared in the most annuals? (This section is a work in progress).
Artist Ted Rawlings has provided the artwork for more picture and text stories, than any other artist.
The examples below from different annuals provides a good idea of the type of material that appeared in the annuals. (The last text story appeared in the 1977 annual). A blend of factual information, text and picture stories. In addition there would be a quiz and some humorous strips
In the first examples below there should be four pages about the Odd Jobs from World War Two, but sadly, my copy of the 1966 annual only has three of the pages. The fourth page has been ripped out. These pages appeared at the front and back of the 1966 annual.
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Next we have a text story about a small two man truck outfit taking on a larger, rougher trucking company. I never used to read any of the text stories, but I've just started to read them. They are well written and very entertaining, with good characterisation and period description. Plus, they don't take long to read.
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A western next, coloured in green from the 1979 Annual! Luckily, the Editor of The Victor didn't choose this colour for the centre page stories of the weekly comic. I don't think I would have enjoyed the comic as much.
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Finally, one of my favourite stories from the 1971 Annual. Set during the Second World War, it is less about two sides fighting and more about survival in a hot, burning desert. Artwork by another of my favourite Victor artists Josep Marti.
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© Adrian Banfield, 2008.