ANNUAL DEATH MATCH - TEMPLAR V TEMPLAR

In the blue corner we have The Saint Annual 1969 published by World Distibutors and in the green corner we have The Return of the Saint Annual 1979 published by Staford Pemberton . And despite having a more youthful opponent 1969 is looking fit and gets in the first blow early by delivering a much bigger page count and a lower price.

"Foul", cries the REF, since the final points will have to allow for inflation.

And so with 1969 leading 94 pages to 62, 1979 is not going to take this on the chin and delivers a sizzling uppercut by having more picture strips than 69 but 69 raises a quizzical eyebrow and makes a comeback by having twice as many text stories.

And there's the bell - thank God for that; I don't know much much longer I could have kept that up.

The final result is that 1979 limps away with a busted spine and 1969 loses a back cover.

The main difference between these books is just that - a decade apart they show how children's reading had changed over time. Rare was the child in 1979 who would have been pleased with a book that contained nothing but text stories. I don't think I used to even read the text stories as a kid. Some would say it was a dumbing down but in reality it was probably merely a by-product of the comic strip becoming the main form of reading for children. Differences in fashions are also highlighted in the illustrations. Were the Seventies really that bad?....there we were in the middle of a sexual revolution wearing clothes that guaranteed we wouldn't get laid.


Both books are heavy on features and the 1979 book contains a welcome look at Saint creator, Leslie Charteris. A feature that is amusing to read now is The Pop's New Faces article in the 1969 annual. Author uncredited, the piece mentions such names as Jimmy Hendrix and Pink Flloyd. But getting top billing in the pop article is good old Englebert Humperdink

The comic strips in The Return of the Saint Annual don't contain an artist credit but they look very much like the strips in the weekly TV based comic, Look-In and indeed I'd be surprised to discover that the nameless artists did not work for both publications. Any Saint experts know who drew these strips?







The 1968 annual features articles on History, London, Motor Racing and there's even a judo lesson in picture strip form showing some devastating blows. I wonder if any children ever broke a siblings nose on Christmas day after finding this book in their stockings.