Bunty was a British comic for girls published by D. C. Thomson & Co. from 1958 to 2001.Gibson (2003), p. 91 It consisted of a collection of many small strips, the stories typically being three to five pages long. In contrast to earlier and contemporary comics, it was aimed primarily at working-class readers under the age of 14, and contained mostly fictional stories.Gibson (2003), pp. 91–92 Well-known regular strips from Bunty include The Four Marys, Bunty — A Girl Like You, Moira Kent, Lorna Drake, The Comp, Penny's Place and Luv, Lisa.
Publication history Bunty debuted with the 18 January 1958 issue. Over the course of its history, Bunty absorbed three other DC Thomson girls' comics: Suzy (1987), Nikki for Girls (May 1989), and Mandy & Judy [M & J] (1997).
With the issue of 28 March 1992 (issue #1785), Bunty covers switched from illustrated comics-style imagery to a photograph of a teen model, becoming more evocative of a fashion magazine than a comic book. Bunty went monthly in 2000 before ceasing publication after a further 5 months; altogether the magazine published 2,249 issues.
As well as the weekly comic, Christmas and summer annuals were published. After the weekly comic ended its publication in 2001, the Christmas annuals continued to be published until 2008. Due to a lack of new comic strips to be included, the annuals post-2001 focused more on typical girls' magazine features, like horoscope quizzes and celebrity facts. The annuals ceased their regular publication with the 2009 issue, although several one-off books featuring reprints of the classic Bunty comics have since been released.
Layout and features
The average issue of Bunty contained several short comic-strip stories, broken up by letters pages, competitions, featured readers, puzzle pages, promotions, next-week previews or advertisements. The back page initially featured a cut-out doll and paper clothes, which eventually gave way to a wall poster.
Regular stories
The Four Marys The Four Marys was the longest story the comic ran. It appeared from its creation in 1958 to its end in 2001. When the strip started, public boarding schools like St. Elmo's, the girls' boarding school, were common, but as time went on, they became less accessible to Bunty general audience. It centred on four young teenagers who lived in a girls-only boarding school in Elmbury, and often had problems with studying, being bored, or helping (and being hindered by) the other girls or teachers within the school. Of the four main characters, two were middle class, one was the aristocratic daughter of an Earl, and one was a working-class girl, attending the school on a scholarship. This representation of the working class was a reflection of changing class experiences in the 1950s.Gibson (2003), p. 92
Bunty — A Girl Like You A one-page feature included a short comic strip about the comic's namesake, a blonde girl called Bunty, and her friends Haya and Payal. The strip was so short it usually could not convey more than a quick joke — mostly about normal teenage girl subjects like boys, family, or school.
Moira Kent and Lorna Drake The Dancing Life of Moira Kent, the story of an aspiring ballerina, appeared in the first issue of Bunty, and Moira Kent was a regular feature for many years, the character eventually achieving international stardom. When the Moira Kent storyline was discontinued, it was replaced with Lorna Drake, also about a ballet dancer who attended the Thelma Mayne Dancing School (Thelma having been a ballerina herself before an accident prevented her from dancing ever again). This accident was caused by Lorna's father, also a ballet dancer, who was going blind when he let Thelma Mayne fall during a performance, thus crippling her. However, Moira still appeared in the annuals, where she had opened her own ballet school.
The Comp A comic drawn very much in the same way as The Four Marys, this was set in a mixed-sex comprehensive school. The Comp was originally published in Nikki, and moved to Bunty in 1989 after that comic folded. The Comp finished a short time before Bunty end, the story being that Redvale Comprehensive closed down and the pupils were sent to different schools.
Penny's Place A comic drawn in much the same way as The Comp and The Four Marys, Penny's Place began in the comic M&J (an amalgamation of earlier comics, Mandy and Judy), but was taken up by Bunty in 1997 when M&J ended. The story centered on Penny, whose parents owned a cafe called Penny's Place, and her three best friends, who all lived in the same town and attended the same school. Penny's best friend Donna was from a lower-class family and had several brothers and sisters, and these siblings were often involved in storylines.
The story came to an end in the late 1990s, but due to popular demand Bunty began to publish the story again from the beginning. During this time, both Bunty and Mandy published Penny's Place in their Christmas annuals.
Luv, Lisa This story was written out as a diary, with pictures to accompany it. The pictures took the form of photographs, being the only regular comic to do so (although regularly "one-time" comics also took the form of being shown in photographs). Regularly her stories would consist of her writing about people, boyfriends, and situations she was in with her friends — although sometimes she would have a story set about her, with an adventure such as finding good Christmas cards. Her friends' names changed from issue to issue, the only regular characters being her brother and her mother.
Other strips
A Bed Called Fred: A girl is pushing a four-poster bed named Fred all the way from John O'Groats to Land's End. A Brother for Barbara - When friends of twelve-year-old Barbara Carter's father are killed, their ten-year-old son, Steve, comes to live with the Carters. Barbara has always wanted a brother — but now she is not too sure. A Cure For Scaredy-Cat Pat! – Pat Watkins is terrified of all animals and her father has an idea to cure her. He sends her to stay with her Great Aunt Sophie who runs an animal sanctuary. A Date for Donna – Donna Hill is unaware that her best friend, Denise Ripley, is jealous of her and is out to wreck any date that she makes. A Doll Called Dinkydou – The story of a doll with a defect searching for a home, told from the doll's point of view. A New Life for Lilly – In Victorian times, Polly Bond leaves her sister Lilly on a doorstep to be taken in by a wealthy family. Returning to the household as a servant some years later, Polly is horrified to see her sweet sister is now selfish and spoilt. A Pet For Peggy – Peggy North would love to have a dog of her own and her friend enters her into a competition where she wins a puppy, but the new housing manager is strict on the no pets policy. A Pony Called Punch – The adventures of Punch, a sturdy little Welsh mountain pony owned by the kindly Mike Watson. A Racehorse of Her Own: Shirley Wilson raises Hope, a young racehorse abandoned at birth by her wealthy father. She has to pay for all the expenses as her father believes in working hard for money, so she takes a job with a rag-and-bone man. When Dad demands Hope back later on, she refuses. He agrees to let her keep Hope on condition she still pay for expenses, which are even more costly now. A School for Sophie - Sophie Masters is school mistress at Oxley village in 1840. The school is maintained by a special trust, but there have to be at least three pupils on the roll or it will be closed. Elsa Bradley, the squire's daughter, pretends to be Sophie's friend but is plotting against her. A School Of Her Own – Rona Starr has been expelled from many schools, so to make sure she gets an education her father buys Pinehurst School, where Rona will be the only pupil. A Tale From the Toy Museum – Tamsin Treco goes to stay with her grandmother who runs a toy museum in a Cornish fishing village. In each strip, Tamsin hears the stories behind many of the toys on show. A Twin for Toni – Orphan Toni Downs is happily settled with her foster family when it is discovered she has a twin sister, Tammy. The Morrows foster Tammy as well and Toni is delighted at first, but then things start to go wrong as she finds herself forever blamed for Tammy's mishaps. Abracadabra Academy: Jamara Jones comes from a line of witches. She wants to be an ordinary girl – not least of which because her spells keep going wrong, with hilarious results. But Jamara's mother wants Jamara to follow the family tradition and sends her to Abracadabra Academy, a school for witchcraft. Abracadabra! – Stacy Green's father is a very good stage magician, but when his wife is injured in a trick which went wrong, he stops performing. Stacy and her mother want him to return to the stage and to try to encourage him, Stacy puts together an act herself. Acting Up! – Joanne Cowley and Fay Dawson try out the youth theatre. But is it to do with acting or boys? Alison Of Appletree Farm – Alison Jones is manager of Appletree farm until the young owner Jenny Carr is old enough to take over. Jenny's aunt Myra farms nearby and is determined to get control of Appletree Farm. All about Anna: Julie thinks her new neighbour Anna is a nice, quiet, shy girl until she and her best friend Megan catch a glimpse of her diary. They decide she needs to be kept an eye on. All Change!: Toni Day thinks she does not get enough attention, especially from her sisters and brother. She is determined to change this and get people to notice her more. But so far her attention-seeking tactics are not working out. Amazing Grace, Gymnast of the Future – Circus girl Grace Connor has her heart set on being a gymnast, but her father keeps pushing her into being a trapeze artist, believing that a gymnastics career will not make her money. Can she change his mind? Amber All-Alone: Amber Taylor is all alone after her best friend moves away. Then her classmates mistakenly think her family has won the pools when they move to a bigger house, which is in fact due to Dad's promotion. Amber finds herself the centre of attention and is taking advantage of it. Annie's Orphans – In the wake of the Great Fire of London, Annie Besson rescues seven orphans. They go to live on a barge where Annie is trying to teach them to read and write. They are joined by a mudlark, Jonno, who steals whatever he needs. Annie is trying to cure him of stealing, but Jonno eventually ends up in court. An Athlete She Must Be! – Ellen Perkins tries to turn her guzzling sister into an athlete. And Granny Came Too...: Morag McDonald lives on an island in the Hebrides with her grandmother. She wants to be a gymnast and has had to teach herself from a library book as there are no gymnastics facilities available. When Morag returns a valuable wallet to its owner, he rewards her with a place at his gymnastics school where he is principal. But granny insists on coming too, and this is causing problems at Morag's new school. Anna, the Animals' Friend – Anna Martin loves her job with the Animals' Protection Society. The town where Anna lives are having their biggest argument for years. The River Board has suggested some of the swans on the river should be shot and there has been a storm of protest following the decision. Anne All-Alone – Anne Pryor's happiness is shattered when her parents are killed in a car accident. She begins to settle in an orphanage, when a misunderstanding with the other girls causes them to think she told tales on a girl. Anne Proctor Animal Doctor – Anne Proctor works as an assistant veterinary surgeon to Stamford's circus. Aunt Hard Heart – Cassie Martin is pleased when her aunt, Hazel Grey, a well known children's writer, offers her a home after the sudden death of her parents. But Cassie soon starts to wonder if her aunt is really sincere in her concern for her – or if she actually likes children at all!