Plug (comics)
Plug was a British comic that ran for 76 issues from 24 September 1977 until 24 February 1979, when it merged with the Beezer. The comic was based around the Bash Street Kids character Plug, from the Beano. His dog (Pug) from The Bash Street Pups, and a new character called Chunkee the Monkey (Plug's pet monkey) accompanied him. Vic Neill mainly drew the title character's strip. The comic also had its own fan club you could join, called 'Plug's Sports and Social Club'.
Other strips in this comic included:
- Gnoo Faces - A strip about "three screwball Gnoos, trying to break into showbiz!" The judging panel was made up of Mickie Musk (the skunk), Lionel Bear, Arthur Aardvark and Tony Scratch (the tiger).
- Sporting Life - Starred Elvis, Plug's little brother, looking at a different football team each week. The first was Arsenal.
- The Bandshees - Honey Monster* like creatures playing in a band, fresh from their successful tour of Mars. Readers were invited to send in funny songs that they had written.
- The Games Gang - "Meltem John, Bee-Bop, Fuzz, Rocky, Modriel, Magnus Spike and Rollerball - they're game for anything."
- Ava Banana - This character was as strong as an ox, gentle as a lamb. Her trainer was Charlton Veston (Their names were plays on Ava Gardiner and Charlton Heston).
- Sea Urchin - An amphibious boy who had underwater adventures with his friend Roger - the flying fish. The main enemy of the strip was Silas Sharke - the underwater rotter.
- Digby the Human Mole - Very odd-looking boy with a large mole like nose, liked digging tunnels and eating.
- First Ada - Always willing to practice her first aid on any unsuspecting passer by. Ada also had a St. Bernard dog as her companion.
- Tony Jackpot
- Hugh's Zoo - The adventures of Hugh and his backyard menagerie.
- Antchester United - The adventures of an insect football team.
- Eebagoom and Uncle Albert - The ancient British settlement of Liverpool invaded by Julius Sneezer [sic] and his Roman legions.
- Lumpy Gibbon - Starred Lumpy Gibbon (a huge gibbon), Colonel Podgy Whiner (a hunter), Little Gibbon and Man Eating Tiger Moth.
* Mascot of cereal called 'Sugar Puffs' in the UK.
Plug was never a big hit. This may be because: 1. At 9 pence it was too expensive, compared to other D.C Thomson comics at the time, which were 5 pence. 2. Its humour was less sophisticated than the Beano, and was more suited to a preschool or infants-school audience. It's initial readership, most likely drawn from The Beano, must have soon tired of its storylines while younger children, who may have appreciated the comic's jokes more, never discovered it. 3. Although Plug himself was a popular character from the Bash Street Kids, he was no more than a front-page mascot in the comic that bore his name.
Related Pages
List of DC Thomson Publications