Odhams Press

History: Odhams Press was founded in 1890 to publish newspapers, part of the business "Williams Odhams" (named for its owner/founder). In 1892 he sold it to his sons, John Lynch Odhams and William James Baird Odhams, who renamed it Odhams Limited in 1898. In 1920 the company was renamed again to Odhams Press. In 1959 Odhams' purchased George Newnes Ltd (best known for publishing The Strand Magazine, the periodical where many of Sherlock Holmes' stories first saw print), and Hulton Press, who published the Eagle stable of comics (Eagle, Girl, Swift and Robin), which brought Odhams into the comics field; a year later Odhams renamed itself Longacre Press, since their offices occupied a large section of London's Long Acre Street (between 1890 and 1970). In 1961 the Mirror Group of newspapers bought up Odhams/Longacre, on behalf of Fleetway Publications (formerly Amalgamated Press), and in 1963 Fleetway and Odhams were merged to form I.P.C. (Independent Publishing Corporation). However, they initially continued publishing as independent subsidiaries within that group, retaining their existing staff and producing new titles Boys' World, Fantastic, Terrific, Wham!, Smash! and Pow!, the latter five forming sharing the Power Comics banner and reprinting both Marvel and DC comics alongside British fare, with Odhams having won the former license from Alan Class. In 1968 a management changeover prompted all the subsidiaries to be fully absorbed into IPC, ending Odhams' existence.

Publications: Boys' World, Fantastic, Mickey Mouse Weekly, Pow!, Wham!, Smash!, Terrific, Zip

Characters: Don Starr, Eagle-Eye, Frankie Stein, Grimly Feendish, Johnny Future

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