View source for Plug (comics)

{{Short description|British comic magazine (1977–1979)}}
{{about|the publication named after the character|the character himself (in context as part of The Bash Street Kids)|Plug (The Bash Street Kids)}}
{{italic title}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2017}}
{{Use British English|date=March 2017}}
'''''Plug''''' was a British comic magazine that ran for 75 issues from 24 September 1977 until 24 February 1979, when it merged with ''[[The Beezer]]''. It was edited by [[Ian Gray (comics)|Ian Gray]].<ref name="guardian">[[Paul Gravett]], [https://www.theguardian.com/news/2007/sep/20/guardianobituaries.pressandpublishing "Obituary: Ian Gray"], ''[[The Guardian]]'', 20 September 2007</ref>

A [[Spin-off (media)|spin-off]] from ''[[The Bash Street Kids]]'' [[comic strip]] in ''[[The Beano]]'', the comic was based on the character Plug who was a distinctively ugly member of the Bash Street Kids. His dog (Pug) from ''[[Pup Parade]]'', 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, the ''Plug Sports and Social Club''. The comic was inspired in part by ''[[Mad (magazine)|Mad]]''.

The ''Plug'' comic was never a big hit, possibly because, at 9 [[penny|pence]], it was too expensive{{speculation inline|date=August 2015}} compared to other [[D. C. Thomson & Co. Ltd|D. C. Thomson]] comics at the time, which were priced at around 5 pence. According to the 2008 book ''The History of the Beano'', for a while there were rumours of a "curse of ''Plug''", fuelled by the fact that a number of celebrities featured in ''Mad'' magazine-style caricatures on the comic's cover died soon after, most notably [[John Wayne]]. However, the strip's use of gravure painting is still used in comics today.{{Page needed|date=December 2019}}

==List of ''Plug'' comic strips==
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Strip Title
! Artist
! First Appearance <ref name =TUniverse>{{Cite web|url=http://www.topper-universe.co.uk/plug/plug_summary.php?sort=1a|title=Plug Comic Summary|website=www.topper-universe.co.uk}}</ref>
! Last Appearance <ref name = TUniverse/>
! Notes
|-
| Antchester United
| [[John Geering]]
| 1
| 75
| The adventures of an insect football team. Survived merger with the Beezer.
|-
|Ava Banana
|
| 1
| 18
|Ava was a female athlete "strong as an ox, gentle as a lamb". Her trainer was Charlton Veston, their names being plays on [[Ava Gardner]] and [[Charlton Heston]]
|-
|The Bandshees
|
| 1
| 42
|Creatures playing in a band, "''fresh from their successful tour of Mars''". Readers were invited to send in funny songs that they had written
|-
|Bedtime Story
|
| 36
| 50
| Text story
|-
|Crazy Horse - The Nutty Nag
|
| 19
| 75
|The adventures of a talking [[horse]]
|-
|Digby the Human Mole
|[[Gordon Bell (artist)|Gordon Bell]]
| 1
| 75
|A prisoner who constantly failed to escape from jail by digging tunnels. He had a huge mole-like nose and an enormous appetite.
|-
| Doctor Rotcod and Drib
|
| 44
| 75
|
|-
|D'ye Ken John Squeal and his Hopeless Hounds
|
| 44
| 75
|A daft celebration of fox hunting. Its title parodied [[D'ye ken John Peel (song)#Lyrics|an 18th-century Scottish ballad]].
|-
|Eddie Daring
|
| 27
| 43
|A boy obsessed with [[rugby league]], with Randolph, his pet [[rat]] (''The Original Dirty Rat''). His name was a play on [[Eddie Waring]], a popular TV sports commentator at the time.
|-
|Eebagoom
|
| 1
| 75
|The ancient British settlement of Liverpool invaded by Julius Sneezer and his Roman legions. Survived merger with the Beezer.
|-
|First Ada
|Gordon Bell
| 1
| 75
|Always willing to practise her first aid on any unsuspecting passer-by. Ada also had a [[St. Bernard (dog)|St. Bernard dog]] as her companion. Survived merger with the Beezer.
|-
|The Games Gang - They're Game for Everything. 
|
| 1
| 43
|Starred Meltem John, Bee-Bop, Fuzz, Rocky, Mooriel, Magnus Spike and Rollerball, a gang who invented games to play amongst themselves. (Meltem John and Magnus Spike are plays on [[Elton John]] and [[Magnus Pyke]].)
|-
|Gnoo Faces
|
| 1
| 25
|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). The name was a play on [[New Faces]], a popular UK talent show at the time.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Peter |first1=Alex |title=อ่านการ์ตูน |url=https://www.nekopost.co/ |access-date=27 November 2022}}</ref>
|-
|Gulp - The Galactic Goon with the GIGANTIC Gullet
|Joe Austen
| 58
| 75
|Back cover strip to complement Plug front cover, Gulp (Plug backwards) ate everything in the universe.
|-
|Hugh's Zoo
|Gordon Bell
| 1
| 75
|The adventures of Hugh and his backyard menagerie. Survived merger with the Beezer.
|-
|The Invasion of the Plug Bugs
|
| 26
| 75
|A strip about a group of aliens
|-
|Jockey
|
|44
|75
|-
|Lumpy Gibbon
|
| 1
| 25
|Starred Lumpy Gibbon (a huge gibbon), Colonel Podgy Whiner (a hunter), Little Gibbon and Man Eating Tiger Moth. The title was a homage to the 1975 song "[[Funky Gibbon]]", by [[The Goodies]]
|-
|Luncheon Vulture
|
| 26
| 57
|The adventures of a hungry [[vulture]]. The name echoes [[luncheon voucher]]
|-
|The Nutcase Bookcase - Guidebooks for Goons
|
| 19
| 75
|Plug would star in a 'guide' to doing something, usually with disastrous results
|-
|Plug
|
| 1
| 75
| Survived merger with the Beezer.
|-
|Sea Urchin
|
| 1
| 18
|An amphibious boy who had underwater adventures with his friend Roger, the flying fish. The main antagonist of the strip was Silas Sharke, the underwater rotter
|-
|Supporting Life
|[[Bill Ritchie]]
| 1
| 43
|Starred Elvis, Plug's little brother, looking at a different football team each week. The first was [[Arsenal F.C.]]
|-
|Tony Jackpot
|[[John Dallas (comics)|John Dallas]]
| 1
| 74
|A boy obsessed with [[golf]], whose name was a play on that of British golfer (and 1969 British Open winner), [[Tony Jacklin]]. 
|-
|Violent Elizabeth
|
| 44
| 75
| Her name was a play on Violet Elizabeth Bott, a well-known character from the [[Just William]] books by [[Richmal Crompton]].
|}

==See also==
{{Portal|Children's literature}}
* [[List of DC Thomson publications]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.paulmorris.co.uk/beano/plug.htm ''Plug'' (1977-1979)]

{{D. C. Thomson Comics}}
{{DCThomson}}

[[Category:DC Thomson Comics titles]]
[[Category:Comics magazines published in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:1977 comics debuts]]
[[Category:1979 comics endings]]
[[Category:Defunct British comics]]
[[Category:The Bash Street Kids]]
[[Category:British humour comics]]
[[Category:Comics spin-offs]]
[[Category:Magazines established in 1977]]
[[Category:Magazines disestablished in 1979]]