Champion

a.k.a.:

Publisher: IPC

Format: Weekly anthology

First Issue: Champion #1 (26th February 1966)

Last Issue: Champion #15 (6th April 1966)

Absorbed: None

Absorbed into: Lion

Strips: Jet Jordan, Return of the Stormtroopers, School for Spacemen, Spider Webb, Phantom Viking, Lofty Lightyear, The Knights of Konigsfield (reprinting Michael Vaillant), War Eagle, Bartok and his Brothers, Cosmic Nick, Whacker, When the Sky Turned Green, The Astounding Adventures of Doctor X, Jinks, Hunters Without Guns, World of Champions, Boy Kidd (reprinting Lucky Luke), The Fighting Fifteenth, The Space Travellers, Battler Britton

Comments: Promoted as "the companion paper to the Valiant", Champion was a boys comic book series launched on 26th February 1966, reusing the name of a previous Amalgamated Press comic. It only lasted 15 issues, the last cover dated April 6th 1966, after which it merged with Lion. Despite this short run it had two annuals.

The comic's cover star was Canadian pilot Jet Jordan, but other notable strips included Eric Bradbury's Return of the Stormtroopers, School for Spacemen, the exceptionally thin boxer Spider Webb, and Phantom Viking, a superhero strip that made the transition to Lion when Champion ended. Many of the strips were translated reprints from European comics.

Bear Alley Books have released an excellent guide to this title, which I highly recommend if British comics are of interest.

Not to be confused with the previous Champion, a story paper published by Amalgamated Press from 28th January 1922 to 19th March 1955, which merged with Tiger.

Back to General UK Comic Book Heroes.

Back to UK Superheroes Main Page.

Home.

All images and characters depicted on this site are copyright their respective holders, and are used for informational purposes only. No infringement is intended and copyrights remain at source.