Lady Penelope (comic)

Lady Penelope was a British weekly comic for girls which ran from 1966 to 1969.



Background
Before Lady Penelope became an independent comic, a strip featuring the titular character was one of four colour strips to launch the TV Century 21. It was published while Thunderbirds was still being made and the script acted as a prelude to the upcoming Thunderbirds comic.

Publishing History
Following the success of the Lady Penelope strip a Lady Penelope was launched as the sister publication to TV Century 21, marketed as the comic for girls who love television. It ran for 204 issues with the first dated 22 January 1966. The title changed to The New Lady Penelope with issue 53, back to Lady Penelope with issue 63 and then to Penelope from issue 123 onwards. The run ended with issue 204, dated 13 December 1969, after which the title joined with Princess Tina. This merge appears to have been arranged hastily and would have left some of the weekly comic strip serials unfinished, so the endings of these were included in the form of text stories in issue 204.

Despite the combined title, only one comic serial from Penelope survived the merge, albeit with the format and main character's name altered. The title would revert to Princess Tina before the end of 1970.

Notable Comic Strips

 * Lady Penelope - based on the secret agent seen in the television series Thunderbirds.
 * The Angels - stories set around the pilots from Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons.
 * The Monkees - based on the NBC television series.
 * The Beverly Hillbillies - based on the CBS television series.
 * Bewitched - based on the ABC television series.
 * Class Six Sterndorf - about a special class where young girls are trained to become spies. Created by Angus Allan.
 * Creighton Ward - stories about a young nurse, Pat, on a children's hospital ward.
 * Crossroads - based on the ATV series.
 * Daktari - based on the CBS television series.
 * The Man From U.N.C.L.E. - based on the NBC television series.
 * The Girl From U.N.C.L.E. - based on the NBC television series.
 * Jenny Ware - humorous stories about a girl who accidentally discovers a chemical that sends her backward or forward in time.
 * Marina, Girl of the Sea - stories about Marina, the mute undersea girl seen in Stingray.
 * Penny - stories about Lady Penelope when she was a young girl.
 * Perils of Parker - humorous stories based loosely on the character from Thunderbirds.
 * Space Family Robinson - original stories using the characters and technology from the Gold Key Comics title.
 * What Did That Dog Say? - humorous stories about a girl who can understand the language of dogs thanks to a magic ring. Created by Angus Allan, this first appeared in Lady Penelope as a text story. It was popular enough with readers to become a weekly comic strip. Later it would be renamed What Did That Dog (And Cat) Say? when the main character, Cathy, gains the ability to understand cats as well as dogs.