Buster

This long-running Fleetway comic was launched on 28 May 1960 and was published weekly until 4 January 2000.

During its 40-year run, Buster absorbed many other comics including Radio Fun (1961), Film Fun (1962), The Big One (1965),  Giggle (1968), Jet (1971), Cor!! (1974), Monster Fun (1976), Jackpot (1982), School Fun (1984), Nipper (1987), Oink (1987) and Whizzer and Chips (1990).

The character of Buster was originally billed as the son of Andy Capp, the Daily Mirror cartoon character (Fleetway was owned by the Mirror Group). All reference to Buster being Andy’s son was soon abandoned, and the strip became ‘Buster’s Diary’ (1960 – 1968 and 1974 – 1985), then ‘Buster’s Dream World’ (1968 – 1974) before the story just became ‘Buster’ in the 1980s.

The comic featured many television-related strips and was printed in colour on its front and back covers only.

Buster went out in style with a final strip that resolved many long-running storylines: Ivor Lott’s father went bankrupt (he had invested all of his money in Buster comic!); Sweet Tooth got tooth decay; Chalky was arrested for vandalism; X-Ray Specs had his special glasses reclaimed by the optician after 25 years; and Vid Kid accidentally switched off the universe.

• Adam Adman
• All Creatures Grunt and Smell
• All Humans Tall And Small
• Andy and Sandy
• Andy’n’Fred
• The Astounding Adventures of Charlie Peace
• Athletes of Lost Island
• Back-Tracker Jack
• Bam, Splat and Blooie
• Barney Bluffer
• Barry & Boing
• Beastenders
• Benny Hill
• Ben the Bad
• Bertie Bumpkin
• Bewitched Belinda
• Big Chief Pow Wow
• Big Daddy
• Big ‘Ead
• The Big One
• Billy Blow
• Blarney Bluffer
• Black Axe the Saxon Avenger
• Bluebottle And Basher
• Bob-A-Job
• Bob Morane and the Towers of Crystal
• Bonehead
• Boris and Shimmy in Dinkle Land
• The Boy Who Knew Too Much
• Brainsly
• Brenda
• Brayne Drayne
• Brett Shane Frontier Scout
• Brian’s Bike
• Bright Hunter
• Bruce Forsyth
• Bruise Brothers
• Buck Rogers
• The Bully Buzzard
• The Bungle Brothers
• Buster’s Bedtime Tale
• Buster’s Diary
• Buster’s Dream World
• Buster’s Good Deeds
• Busters of Bygone Days
• Byrds of Paradise Isle
• Calamity Kate
• Captain Crucial
• Chalky (“He’s quick on the draw”)
• Champion the Wonder Horse
• Charlie Drake
• Class Wars
• Cliff Hanger (gave readers the choice of alternative endings)
• Consternation Street
• Crabbe’s Crusaders
• Cruncher – the tiny Termite with the B-I-G appetite!
• Deadly Hedley
• Dekker
• Delbert the Dynamite Dude
• Dinah Mite
• Disappearing Trix
• Dizzy Dimwitty
• Double Trouble – originally from Nipper
• Dozy Derek
• Dracula Dobbs
• Drifter Long
• The Drowned World
• Elmer – reprinted in Smash! as ‘Wacker’ between 1969 and 1971
• Faceache
• Faulty Towers – The Oldest School In The Land
• Fishboy
• Freddie “Parrot-face” Davies
• Fright School
• Frozen Summer
• Galaxus – The Thing From Outer Space
• George’s Germs
• Good Guy
• Gums (a Jaws parody absorbed from Monster Fun)
• Gus the Gorilla (“You can’t make a monkey out of Gus”)
• The Happy Family
• Ivor Lott and Tony Broke
• Jack Pott (absorbed from Jackpot)
• James Pond (Agent 008½)
• Jelly
• Kid Kong (absorbed from Monster Fun)
• The Kids of Stalag 41
• Laser Eraser
• The Leopard from Lime Street (Billy Farmer had the powers of a big cat after being attacked by a radioactive leopard on a visit to the zoo!)
• Lucy ‘Lastic
• Mag Max
• March Of The Mighty Ones
• Marney The Fox
• Martha’s Monster Makeup – (absorbed from Monster Fun)
• Master Mind
• Masters of the Loonyverse
• Maxwell Hawke
• Melvyn’s Mirror
• Mervyn’s Monsters
• Memory Banks – from Whizzer and Chips
• Mickey Marvel’s Multigun
• Micro Chip
• Mike’s Bike
• Moss
• Mr Crabbe
• Mummy’s Boy
• Nellyphant
• Nightmare on Erm Street
• Nits Of The Round Table
• Odd Ball
• Old Nick
• The Park
• Pete’s Pocket Army
• Pete’s Pop-Up Book
• The Pirates
• Plunk
• Rent-A-Ghost Ltd
• Roboplod
• Rodney and Dez
• Sammy Brewsters Ski Board Squad
• School Belle (whose mortal enemy was Grotty Glenda)
• Scrapham Junction
• The Shrinker
• Sid’s Snake
• Skid Kidd
• Slow Coach
• Smiler
• Smiler and Dimps
• Snooper
• S.O.S. Squad
• Sporty
• Star Wreck
• Strawbelly
• Stupid Street
• Superman
• Sweet Tooth
• Teddy Scare – (absorbed from Monster Fun)
• Tich
• Tin Teacher
• Tomboy
• Toys Of Doom
• Trail of the Twister
• Val’s Vanishing Cream
• Vampire Brats
• Vid Kid (who controlled everything with a magic remote control)
• Von Hoffman’s Invasion
• Wally’s Weirdies
• Watch Out Beagle’s About
• The Winners (absorbed from Jackpot)
• The Wizard of Football
• Wonder Wellies
• World Wide Wheelers
• X-Ray Specs
• Zarga – Man of Mystery