who’d have thought that the world of 70s British humour comics could be so controversial? Launched in June 1970, IPC’s COR!! (note the two exclamation marks, or, in comics parlance, ‘screamers’) was edited by the legendary Bob Paynter, and sub-edited by the even more legendary Dez Skinn. The controversy, such as it is, centred around the comic’s title. “Cor” is a shortened form of “Cor Blimey”, which is a euphemism, or ‘minced oath’, for “God blind me”. I know this because when I was little, about six or seven, my Gran told me so. And from then on, me being a highly-strung sort of kid (You should be highly strung, preferably from a lamp-post!— Ed ), if I ever accidentally said “Blimey!” I’d shut my eyes tight and whisper “Don’t blind me God, don’t blind me God.” Thankfully, He never did. Although I am extremely short-sighted. (But that’s another story.) In fact, Skinn and his artists concocted a dummy cover for issue one, entitled “God!!”, which you can see in his excellent memoir Sez Dez.
Getting back to the point, before this turns into a Ronnie Corbett-style chair monologue, COR!! was an ambitious little comic, containing 27 lively strips, across 32 pages, and marking the sixth new humour title from D.C Thompson’s London-based rival in a year. Originally priced at 7d (seven old pence, then three new pence from February 1971), the comic lasted an impressive 210 issues, with its last one — headlined “Exciting news for all readers inside!”— cover dated 15 June 1974. The surviving characters merged with Buster, but COR!! Christmas annuals continued for a dozen more years.