View source for Princess Tina

{{distinguish|Princess Tina Khan}}
{{Short description|British weekly girls' comic}}
{{EngvarB|date=September 2023}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2023}}
{{Infobox comic book title
<!--Wikipedia:WikiProject Comics-->
|image               = PrincessTina070871.jpg
|imagesize           = 250
|caption             = The cover of ''Princess Tina'', dated 7 August 1971. Art by [[Purita Campos]].
|schedule            = Weekly (Mondays)
|ongoing             = y
|publisher           = [[Fleetway Publications]]<br><small>1967 to 1969</small><br>[[IPC Magazines]]<br><small>1969 to 1973</small>
|startmo             = 23 September
|startyr             = 1967
|endmo               = 12 January
|endyr               = 1974
|issues              = 328 ''or'' 330
|main_char_team      = 
|writers             = Jenny Butterworth<br>Phillip Douglas
|artists             = Bill Baker<br>[[Purita Campos]]<br>Leo Davy<br>Michael Hubbard<br>Hugh McNeill<br>Colin Merrett<br>[[Edmond Fernández Ripoll]]<br>Andrew Wilson
|pencillers          =
|inkers              =
|letterers           =
|colorists           =
|editors             = John Sanders<br>Desmond Pride<br>[[John Wagner]]
|creative_team_month =
|creative_team_year  =
|creators            = 
|TPB                 = 
|ISBN                = 
|TPB#                =
|ISBN#               =
|subcat              = Fleetway and IPC Comics
|altcat              =
|sort                = Princess Tina
|addpubcat#          =
|nonUS               = y
}}
'''''Princess Tina''''' (also known as '''''Princess Tina and Penelope''''' and '''''Tina''''' at various points) was a [[British comics|British]] weekly [[British girls' comics|girls' comic]] [[anthology]] published by [[Fleetway Publications]] and [[IPC Magazines]] from 23 September 1967 to 12 January 1974.{{efn|British comics of the time featured their off-sale date on the cover.}} The comic was created by combining two underperforming Fleetway titles — ''[[Princess (comics)|Princess]]'' and ''[[Tina (comics)|Tina]]'' — into a third, new comic. Notable strips included the long-running family drama "The Happy Days" and "Patty's World". The latter would outlive ''Princess Tina'', continuing after the comic was merged into ''[[Pink (comics)|Pink]]''.

==Creation==
''Princess Tina'' was a novel solution to problems being faced by two Fleetway girls' comics. ''[[Princess (comics)|Princess]]'' had launched strongly in 1960 but falling sales had seen it lose its magazine-style [[photogravure]] printing, and with it much of its aspirational middle-class readership. ''[[Tina (comics)|Tina]]'' meanwhile had been launched as an action-orientated comic made for European syndication but some of Fleetway's partners had dropped out, and the British sales of the comic were not enough to prop it up — though it remained a bestseller in the [[Netherlands]].<ref name="MumsOwn">{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UzbhjgEACAAJ | isbn=9781853862830 | title=Mum's Own Annual: Presenting the Comics of Her Girlhood Days | date=1993 | publisher=Fleetway Editions Limited }}</ref>

British girls had not warmed to the action heroines of ''Tina'' — audience research used terms such as "too macho" and "too masculine" to describe them — and so a plan was made by John Sanders, editor of ''Tina'' and protégé of Director of Juvenile Publications [[Leonard Matthews]], to effectively combine them with the most popular elements of ''Princess''. This would it was hoped result in a publication palatable to both British and continental readers, and see Fleetway replace two struggling comics with a single strong seller — halving the high production costs of the titles into the bargain.<ref name="MumsOwn"/><ref name="BCC">{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mteTzgEACAAJ | isbn=9789020048957 | title=The British Comic Catalogue, 1874-1974 | last1=Gifford | first1=Denis | publisher=Mansell }}</ref><ref name=LoftsAdley>{{cite book|title=Old Boys Books — A Complete Catalogue|last1=Lofts|last2=Adley|first1=W.O.G.|first2=D.J.|date=December 1969|publisher=D.J. Adley & W.O.G. Lofts|location=[[York]]|author-link1=W. O. G. Lofts}}</ref>

Readers of both titles were prepared extensively for the merge; ''Princess stories'' "[[List of Princess Tina stories#The Happy Days|The Happy Days]]" and "[[List of Princess Tina stories#Alona — The Wild One|Alona — The Wild One]]" appeared in ''Tina'', while "[[Jane Bond - Secret Agent]]" and "[[List of Princess Tina stories#The Trolls|The Trolls]]" featured in ''Princess''. Alongside these an adaptation of ''[[The Wonderful Wizard of Oz|The Wizard of Oz]]'' was printed in both simultaneously, to be continued in ''Princess Tina''. Due to the need to appease Fleetway's European partners (particularly Dutch publishers Spaarnestad, who were printing 100,000 copies of ''Tina'' a week as the title became the Netherlands' best selling comic) the merge was asymmetrical. From the pages of ''Tina'' came "[[List of Princess Tina stories#Barbie — The Model Girl|Barbie the Model Girl]]", "[[List of Princess Tina stories#Here Come the Space Girls|Here Come the Space Girls]]", "[[List of Princess Tina stories#Jackie and the Wild Boys|Jackie and the Wild Boys]]", "Jane Bond — Secret Agent", "[[List of Princess Tina stories#Moira, Slave Girl of Rome|Moira, Slave Girl of Rome]]", "[[List of Princess Tina stories#My Chum Yum-Yum|My Chum Yum-Yum]]", "The Trolls", "[[List of Princess Tina stories#Westward the Wagons|Westward the Wagons]]" and "[[List of Princess Tina stories#Willy the Wily Wolf|Willy the Wily Wolf]]". By comparison, ''Princess'' only contributed "Alona — The Wild One" and "The Happy Days"; instead it would be more strongly felt in the new comic's features, which continued Mike Davies' ballet photography in "Princess Tina Ballet".<ref name="BCC"/> The result was that to international partners the comic looked like ''Tina'' with a couple of new additions.<ref name="MumsOwn"/>

==Publishing history==
===''Princess Tina''===
The first issue of ''Princess Tina'' was 32 pages, and cost 8[[Penny (British pre-decimal coin)|d]]. The comic retained the high production values of its forebears, with [[web offset printing]], a painted colour cover, eight pages of interior colour and two further pages with a colour overlay. In addition to the ballet pages, the comic contained two other prestige features — "Famous Royal Daughters" detailed the likes of [[Helen of Troy]] and [[Letizia Bonaparte]] with painted illustrations by [[John Millar Watt]], while Eric Tansley regaled readers with information on "Nature's Oddities".<ref name="BCC"/> Covers were contributed by the likes of Audrey Fawley, Walter Lambert and [[Manfred Sommer]].<ref name="auto">{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=D7fNDwAAQBAJ | isbn=9781783408733 | title=The History of Girls' Comics | date=12 July 2011 | publisher=Casemate Publishers |first=Susan|last=Brewer}}</ref>

The end of October 1967 saw "Here Come the Space Girls" end; it was replaced by "[[List of Princess Tina stories#Life with Tina|Life with Tina]]", a good-natured slice-of-life story fronted by the magazine's fictional host and editor Tina. After the conclusion of "[[List of Princess Tina stories#The Wizard of Oz|The Wizard of Oz]]" further adaptations followed, including ''[[The Secret Garden]]'' and ''[[Lassie Come-Home]]''. The standard churn saw a makeover as the comic approached six months and reader feedback began to filter in; "Dawn of the Islands" finished and was replaced by the girl tycoon "[[List of Princess Tina stories#Chairman Cherry|Chairman Cherry]]" while "[[List of Princess Tina stories#Milly the Merry Mermaid|Milly the Merry Mermaid]]" joined Willy in the humour department. "Famous Royal Daughters" meanwhile was replaced by "Stories That Live Forever", which saw Watt illustrate famous scenes from classic literature.<ref name="BCC"/>

With continuing good business overseas, ''Princess Tina'' was in better health than its forebears, though to keep costs down in May 1968 "[[List of Princess Tina stories#Anna at the Court of Siam|Anna at the Court of Siam]]" began a series of reprints from the archives of ''[[Girl (comics)|Girl]]''. June 1968 introduced "[[List of Princess Tina stories#Nita Nobody|Nita Nobody]]", about an orphan hunting for her mother; the character proved popular enough that even after she found her mother (who turned out to be a glamorous film star) in 1969 she would return for a second arc in 1970.<ref name="BCC"/> Later in the year the comic also debuted "Cooking with Cookie", where the namesake character dispensed recipes for French [[cheese pudding]], raspberry surprise, stuffed savoury eggs and other culinary delights.<ref name="MumsOwn"/><ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jl8ZAAAAMAAJ | isbn=9780900641039 | title=Periodicals for Schools: An Annotated List | date=1969 | publisher=School Library Association }}</ref>

1969 saw "Moira, Slave Girl of Rome" finally escape from captivity and ''Princess Tina'', instead being replaced by [[Mercury (planet)|Mercurian]] "[[List of Princess Tina stories#Super-Girl Sandra|Super-Girl Sandra]]".<ref name="BCC"/> While sales were still robust, Fleetway were growing aware of the rise of the so-called 'tweeny-bopper' as readers stopped waiting for their teens before becoming obsessed with pop music. In the 3 May 1969 edition Scots singer [[Lulu (singer)|Lulu]] would be the subject of the first "Pops with Tina", which would go on to feature such greats of the age as [[Harmony Grass]], [[The Marmalade]], [[The Family Dogg]] and [[Edison Lighthouse]].<ref name="MumsOwn"/>

===''Princess Tina and Penelope''===
Behind the scenes, the owners of Fleetway were gradually trying to streamline the multiple publishers it owned into what would become [[IPC Magazines]], and the end of the year saw ''Princess Tina'' merge with ''Penelope'' — formerly ''[[Lady Penelope (comic)|Lady Penelope]]'', one of [[City Magazines]]' [[Gerry Anderson]]-based titles. With the twin flops of ''[[Joe 90]]'' and ''[[The Secret Service]]'' signalling the end of the sixties puppet craze there was little of the comic left to be incorporated, and only strip "[[List of Princess Tina stories#Penny on Her Own|Penny on Her Own]]" would continue into what would be named ''Princess Tina and Penelope'' until May 1970.<ref name="BCC"/>
===''Princess Tina''===
By the time the title returned to ''Princess Tina'', "Jane Bond — Secret Agent" and "Alona — The Wild One" had also finished. The latter was replaced by the judgemental interference of "[[List of Princess Tina stories#Ross, Student Nurse|Ross, Student Nurse]]", though better news would come when "My Chum Yum-Yum" finally stopped in July 1970. It was replaced by the unusual territory of a football-related strip, "[[List of Princess Tina stories#Sister to a Soccer Star|Sister to a Soccer Star]]". Autumn saw another move towards magazine territory with the addition of "Meet the Stars", a succession of features on glitterati including [[Susan Hampshire]], [[Derren Nesbitt]], [[Eric Flynn]], [[Judas Jump]] and [[Blue Mink]].<ref name="BCC"/> 

In July 1971 the long-running "Jackie and the Wild Boys" concluded, to be replaced by "[[List of Princess Tina stories#Patty's World|Patty's World]]". The freckled 13-year old Patty — forever in the shadow of good-looking best friend Sharon, squabbling with date-crazy big sister Carol and failing to land a date with crush Johnny Vowden — struck a cord with readers for her candid, down-to-earth personality. Wittily written by Phillip Douglas and illustrated by [[Purita Campos]] (a talented artist who painted many of ''Princess Tina''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s covers), "Patty's World" rapidly overhauled "The Happy Days" as a reader favourite.<ref name="MumsOwn"/> The strip was also a hugely popular export, notably in Campos' native Spain where Patty was renamed Esther. As well as "Patty's World" and the covers, Campos would also illustrate clothes column "Fashion Conscious" (written by Linda Semark) when it joined ''Princess Tina'' in November 1971.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://downthetubes.net/in-memoriam-tributes-paid-to-top-spanish-comic-artist-purita-campos/ | title=In Memoriam: Tributes paid to top Spanish Comic Artist Purita Campos | date=22 November 2019 }}</ref> At the same time "Life with Tina" was overhauled as the more modern "Tina Aims for the Top!" as Tina finished working for her father's employment agency and started a more independent career.<ref name="MumsOwn"/>

The following month the long-running ''[[Barbie]]'' strip finished. Change was by now sweeping through IPC's girls' comic division under the auspices of John Purdy, who brought in new writers — notably the prolific former [[DC Thomson]] writers [[Pat Mills]] and [[John Wagner]]. To fit in better with the likes of ''[[Tammy (comics)|Tammy]]'' and ''[[Sandie (comics)|Sandie]]'', ''Princess Tina'' was given a shake-up in March 1972. "The Trolls" was retired; Patty, Sue Day and still-learning Janet Ross continued but were joined by a more contemporary group of characters — including fashion designer Briony Andrews, modern school drama "[[List of Princess Tina stories#No Swimming Allowed!|No Swimming Allowed!]]", historical domestic misery "[[List of Princess Tina stories#Jinny Below Stairs|Jinny Below Stairs]]" and pigtailed monster "Catherine Arrogant". The cover also saw the 'Princess' part of the title shrink considerably. The last survivor of the ''Tina'' intake — "Willy the Wily Wolf" — ended in May 1972, to be replaced by "Just Jenny", while a succession of plucky heroines and domestic dramas joined the comic — including "[[List of Princess Tina stories#Doomed Village|Doomed Village]]", "[[List of Princess Tina stories#Candy's No Lady!|Candy's No Lady!]]", "[[List of Princess Tina stories#Five Uncles for Fiona|Five Uncles for Fiona]]" and "[[List of Princess Tina stories#Tessa and the Time People|Tessa and the Time People]]".<ref name="BCC"/>

===''Tina''===
January 1973 saw the title officially reduced to simply ''Tina''; later in the year, two of the longest-running features came to an end, with "Tina Aims for the Top!" finishing in March, with "The Happy Days" finishing its 13-year run in June. By now the comic was caught between the likes of ''Tammy'' and ''Sandie'', and the growing success of magazine-comic hybrids like ''[[Pink (comics)|Pink]]'', ''[[Mirabelle (comics)|Mirabelle]]'' and [[DC Thomson]]'s ''[[Jackie (magazine)|Jackie]]''.<ref name="MumsOwn"/> In July, ''Tina'' made a pitch for the latter market with the number of comic strips scaled back, and the painted front cover was replaced by photographs of popstars. The move was not a success, and after the 12 January 1974 edition it was incorporated into ''Pink''. Wagner had risen to edit the title by this stage along with ''Sandie'', and both were cancelled at around the same time, something the writer would wryly joke about in later interviews,<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.2000ad.nu/classof79/jw_interview.htm |title=2000ad.nu |access-date=28 February 2021 |archive-date=18 May 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060518064701/http://www.2000ad.nu/classof79/jw_interview.htm |url-status=bot: unknown }}</ref> noting about ''Princess Tina'' that "I really did mess that one right up."<ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=x-_OEAAAQBAJ | isbn=9781786189837 | title=Comic Book Punks: How a Generation of Brits Reinvented Pop Culture | date=21 November 2023 | publisher=Rebellion Publishing }}</ref>

==Legacy==
"Patty's World" would outlive not only ''Princess Tina'' but also ''Pink'' and its next home ''[[Mates (comic)|Mates]]'', and appear in ''[[Girl (1981 comic)|Girl]]'' until 1988.<ref name="MumsOwn"/><ref name="auto"/><ref name=Ultimate>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=os8bAQAAIAAJ | isbn=9780749082116 | title=The Ultimate Book of British Comics | date=2005 | publisher=Allison & Busby }}</ref>

As of 2018, the material created for ''Princess Tina'' has been owned by [[Rebellion Publishing]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://bleedingcool.com/comics/rebellion-buys-fleetway-archive-roy-of-the-rovers-oink-tammy-battle-whizzer-and-chips-and-more/|title=Rebellion Buys Fleetway Archive — Roy Of The Rovers, Oink, Tammy, Battle, Whizzer And Chips And More|date=25 August 2016|website=bleedingcool.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-oxfordshire-45645553 | title='Billy Bunter' deal sees Oxford publisher amass huge comic collection | work=BBC News | date=28 September 2018 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://downthetubes.net/british-comic-heroes-under-one-roof-rebellion-snaps-up-t1-medias-classic-comics-catalogue/|title=British Comic Heroes under one roof! Rebellion snaps up TI Media's classic comics catalogue|first=John|last=Freeman|author-link=|date=28 September 2018|website=downthetubes.net}}</ref> In 2023 they issued ''The Best of Jane Bond'', a compilation featuring some of the character's appearances in ''Princess Tina'', on their [[Treasury of British Comics]] label.<ref name=Comicon>{{cite web | url=https://www.comicon.com/2023/03/10/the-names-bond-jane-bond-previewing-camp-superspy-thrills-in-the-best-of-jane-bond/ | title=The Name's Bond, Jane Bond: Previewing Camp Superspy Thrills in 'The Best of Jane Bond' | date=10 March 2023 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://comicscene.org/2022/06/25/jane-bond-comes-to-the-treasury/ | title=Jane Bond comes to the Treasury | date=25 June 2022 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.comicbooknews.co.uk/article/jane-bond-is-coming-to-the-treasury-of-british-comics.html | title=Jane Bond from Princess Tina is Coming to the Treasury of British Comics }}</ref>

==Stories==
{{main|List of Princess Tina stories}}

==Titles==
*''Princess Tina'' (23 September 1967 to 13 December 1969)
*''Princess Tina and Penelope'' (20 December 1969 to 30 May 1970)
*''Princess Tina'' (6 June 1970 to 30 December 1972)
*''Tina'' (6 January 1973 to 12 January 1974)
==Spin-offs==
*''Princess Tina Annual'' (13 editions, 1969 to 1981){{efn|British annuals were typically issued in the autumn of the year preceding that on the cover.}}
*''Princess Tina Ballet Book'' (9 editions, 1969 to 1977)
*''Princess Tina Pony Book'' (13 editions, 1969 to 1981)
*''Princess Tina Summer Extra'' (4 editions, 1969 to 1972)
*''Tina Summer Special'' (1 edition, 1973)

==Collected editions==
{| class="wikitable" width="100%"
|-
!width=14%| Title
!width=10%| ISBN
!width=15%| Publisher
!width=10%| Release date
!width=40%| Contents
|-
| ''The Best of Jane Bond''
| {{ISBNT|9781786188021}}
|[[Rebellion Developments]]
|12 April 2023
|Material from ''[[Tina (comics)|Tina]]'' 25 February to 16 September 1967, ''Princess Tina'' 2 March 1968 to 6 April 1969 and 6 December 1969 to 28 February 1970.
|}

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*{{gcdb series|id=70795|title=Princess Tina}}

{{Buster}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Princess Tina}}
[[Category:1967 comics debuts]]
[[Category:Children's magazines published in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:British comics titles]]
[[Category:British girls' comics]]
[[Category:Weekly magazines published in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Comics anthologies]]
[[Category:Defunct British comics]]
[[Category:Defunct magazines published in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Fleetway and IPC Comics titles]]
[[Category:Magazines established in 1967]]
[[Category:Magazines disestablished in 1974]]