*Boys’ Adventure & War Comics: In 1968, Fleetway/IPC launched Jag, the third (after Lion and Tiger) of their ‘big cat’ anthologies – and this was the biggest, measuring 12″ by 14″. This awkward size, somewhere between TV 21 and Beezer, meant that it was usually displayed folded even when brand new in newsagents. Despite its imposing size, much of Jag’s content was surprisingly by-the-numbers, and it wasn’t until mid-year that it acquired a ‘star’ feature – ‘Football Family Robinson’ – ably illustrated by Joe Colquhoun, which went on to a much longer life in Tiger. Football strips are of course plentiful, but FFR had the familial angle to engage the readership, and the formidable presence of manager Ma Robinson, a classic battleaxe in the Peggy Mount/Giles tradition, gave the strip its comedy impetus. Jag, owing to its unusual dimensions, hasn’t generally been stored carefully or survived the years well, so we’re delighted to have  decent copies of issues #1 & #3 in stock, each with their respective Free Gift; Issue #1 is VG/FN complete with the ‘Bobby Moore Book of the FA Cup’ in VG/FN, #3 is FN, with ‘Soccer ’68 All the Club Colours’ poster guide (part 2) in VG/FN; both the comics and the free gifts bear marks of having been folded in the past, owing to the storage/display difficulties mentioned earlier, but are otherwise clean and bright.
PICTURED: JAG
#1 4/5/68 VG/FN WITH FREE GIFT VG/FN £70 SOLD
#3 18/5/68 FN WITH FREE GIFT VG/FN £60 SOLD