Tammy (comics)
Tammy was a weekly British comic for girls published by Fleetway in London from 1971 to 1984. "Tammy" was closely linked editorially with the fellow Fleetway titles "Misty" and "Jinty" (eventually absorbing both of them). At its height, "Tammy" sold 250,000 copies per week, more than popular IPC Magazines titles like "2000 AD". "Tammy"<nowiki>'</nowiki>s first editor was Gerry Finley-Day, followed by Wilf Prigmore. Publication history. "Tammy" published 689 issues from 6 February 1971 to 23 June 1984, at which point it merged with "Girl" volume 2. Other titles which had merged with "Tammy" before then  include "Sally", "June", "Sandie", "Jinty", "Misty", and "Princess" (vol. 2). As well as the weekly comic, Christmas annuals were also published. Content. The publication consisted of a collection of many small strips, with the stories themselves normally being three or four pages long. While there were similarities with its Fleetway stablemates "Jinty" and "Misty", each comic had its own focus, with "Tammy" concentrating on sadder "Cinderella"-themed stories and dark tales of tortured heroines, most notoriously in "Slaves of War Orphan Farm" and "No Tears for Molly". Many stories were full of cruelty and adversity, based on research showing that girls  wanted stories that made them cry. One serial that stood out to a number of reviewers was "The Loneliest Girl in the World", with artwork by Jaume Rumeu. "Tammy"<nowiki>'</nowiki>s respective merges with "Misty" brought darker, horror tones, and the merge with "Jinty" brought more science-fiction. Despite these, changes in editorship brought "Tammy" to a more traditional mold in storytelling during the 1980s. The dark, cruel streaks that made "Tammy" so revolutionary in the 1970s had disappeared, except for "Bella Barlow". "Tammy" had more long-running regulars than most girls' comics due to the comic's respective merges . The "Tammy" and "Sandie" merger brought "Wee Sue" and "Jeannie and her Uncle "Meanie"" in 1973. The "Tammy" and "June" merger brought Bessie Bunter, "Mam'selle X", and the Storyteller with "The Strangest Stories Ever Told" in 1974. The "Tammy" and "Misty" merger brought "Miss T" and Misty herself to join the Storyteller, in 1980. The "Tammy" and "Jinty" merger brought "Pam of Pond Hill" in 1981. Creators. Attribution. Artists and writers were credited in the last few years of "Tammy", in a move unusual for girls' comics ("2000 AD", in contrast, had included credits from issue #36, 29 October 1977 ). Artists. Artists featured in the pages of "Tammy" included John Armstrong, who drew the long-running character Bella Barlow. Others included Mario Capaldi, Jose Casanovas, Tony Coleman, Diane Gabbott, Douglas Perry, Eduardo Feito, Giorgio Giorgetti ("Belinda Bookworm"; "The Cat Girl"; "Jump, Jump, Julia"; "Sister in the Shadows"; "Star Struck Sister"; "Witch Hazel"), Juliana Buch, and Miguel Quesada. Writers. Writers featured included Jenny McDade, who wrote "Star Struck Sister", the first Bella Barlow story and "Come Back, Bindi"; Benita Brown, who wrote the science fiction story "Tomorrow Town"; Gerry Finley-Day, who wrote "The Camp on Candy Island; "Maureen Spurgeon, who  wrote the Molly Mills stories; Pat Mills, who wrote "Granny's Town," "Thursday's Child" and "Glenda's Glossy Pages"; Malcolm Shaw, who wrote "E.T. Estate"; Ian Mennell, who wrote "Namby Pamby" and "Cuckoo in the Nest"; Alison Christie, who specialised in heart-tugging stories such as "A Gran for the Gregorys" and "Cassie's Coach"; Jay Over, who wrote "Slave of the Clock" and "Pam of Pond Hill" from the "Jinty" merger; Primrose Cumming, who wrote the later "Bella Barlow" stories; and Anne Digby, who wrote "Olympia Jones"; Terence Magee, who wrote "The Four Friends at Spartan School", "The  Witch of Widecombe Wold" and "Sally In A Shell".