a.k.a.: N.A. Speed
a.k.a.: N.A.
Publisher: I.P.C.
Format: Weekly comic strip anthology
First Issue: 23rd February 1980
Last Issue: 25th October 1980 (31 issues, only the first three numbered)
Absorbed: None
Absorbed into: Tiger
Strips: The
£l,000,000 Challenge, Baker's
Half-Dozen, Death Wish, The
Fastest Footballer On Earth, Hit
and Run, Journey To The Stars,
Quick On The Draw, Speedboy,
Supersmith, Topps
On Two Wheels, Winner!;
(one offs in the ongoing) Low Flight; McCabe of the Pony Express; The
Phoenix 500;
(one-off in annuals/specials) Don't Rile
Rinty O'Reilly; Paddy Ryan Athlete's Unlimited;
The Ragged Racer; The Battling
Birdmen; Paxton's Power House; Triton
Jones, Undersea Adventurer; Sleekswift
the Cheetah
Comments: Speed was launched on 23rd February 1980, a new boys' comic from IPC in an era where many new launches utilised a shared theme behind all of the stories. Common options included sport (sometimes in general, sometimes a single sport such as football (Score)), science fiction (2000A.D. or Starlord), war (Battle), and horror (Scream), but Speed's went for something different, as the title suggested: all things swift moving. The first three issues came with a free; for issue#1 this was a "Speed Plane" (which was sellotaped to the cover, hence why you see very few copies of the first issue that don't have chunks missing from the cover from when the tape was removed).
Set in 1942 and the North African conflict,
Mike Western's Baker's Half Dozen saw the mysterious and
brutal Sergeant Baker rescuing six stranded Allied soldiers from death at
Nazi hands and turning them into a fast moving raiding force while they
tried to return to Allied lines. It's been collected
and
reprinted by Hibernia Comics, and is well worth checking out.
Ron Turner's Journey to the Stars was the saga of the Redford family - astronomer father Sam, his teenage children Gina and Andy, and the family dog Digger - who were all kidnapped by an alien spaceship which then took them across space "at a speed beyond your understanding." Speedboy was Tim Barlow, a secondary school pupil obsessed with high velocity, however it was attained, while Topps on Two Wheels featured stunt bike rider Eddie Topps, and the self-explanatory Fastest Footballer on Earth told the tale of Mickey "Flash" Jordan, an exceptionally swift soccer player who came to the rescue of struggling 4th division team Mudport United.
The Western tale Quick on the Draw told of Native American Johnny Storm's hunt for vengeance against the Morton Gang who had murdered his parents. Aware he lacked the requisite fighting skills to take down the gang, Storm enlisted the reluctant help of aging gunfighter Luke Cassidy to train him. Meanwhile, The £1,000,000 Challenge was an example of one of the more unusual types of British strips, an audience participation series. The strip's star, "Bullet" Slick, was an embittered millionaire whose own quest for thrills had left him in a wheelchair, paralysed from the waist down. Now he offered readers the titular one million pounds if they could come up with a speed-related concept that could impress him - or, as inevitably happened, a more meagre five pounds if he used their idea in the strip but wasn't won over. The final strip of the beginning line-up featured thrill-seeker Blake Edmonds, a handsome celebrity whose life was turned upside down when the small plane he was piloting during a race crashed and burned, leaving him with hideous facial scars. Struggling to adjust, Edmonds began taking on increasingly risky challenges, seemingly having gained a Death Wish. The centre pages of each issue were given over to The Speed Collection, a series of posters featuring pictures or art of fast moving vehicles, each with an accompanying The Speed Article about them, while the back pages featured sportspeople and celebrities "connected with the world of speed."
Baker's Half Dozen, Quick on the Draw and Journey to the Stars eventually concluded, and were replaced by Supersmith, the tale of a podgy tea-boy inadvertently turned into a fast moving superhero, World War II fighter pilot drama Hit and Run, and Winner!, starring top Grand Prix driver Trevor Watson who became involved in a major crash that resulted in several other drivers being killed. Despite advice from doctors that he had suffered brain damage and should never race again, and public opinion that blamed him for the fatal crash, Watson was determined to race again. Hit and Run only lasted seven weeks, and its vacated slot was filled in the title's final three weeks by a run of one-off tales.
Regular features through the entire run were posters, usually in the centre pages (Speed Collection) and back pages (By Special Request). The Speed Collection posters were also commonly accompanied by The Speed Article, giving details about the subject of the poster. As mentioned above, and as was very common with British comics, the first three issues came with free gifts, while later ones included pages that could be removed to form booklets or posters. Additionally, the four issues from 5th July to 26th July showcased a nationwide treasure hunt competition, giving readers across Great Britain (but not Northern Ireland) clues to follow that would lead them to hidden treasure chests.
Speed only lasted 31 unnumbered issues, missing several weeks due to industrial action (there were no issues published between the 17th May and 28th June issues, a gap of 6 weeks) and cancelling on 25th October 1980, to be merged with Tiger a week later. Supersmith and The £1,000,000 Challenge ended, the latter with Bullet Slick regaining his ability to walk thanks to the final reader's challenge. Death Wish and Topps on Two Wheels transferred to Tiger, with the former proving so successful in its new home that it subsequently survived Tiger's merger into Eagle a few years later. Unusually, the remaining strips carried the merger concept even further. Flash Jordan accepted a transfer to First Division Kingsbay, becoming part of the cast in Roy of the Rovers' Marks Brothers strip, while Tim Barlow moved home with his parents, and found himself joining Billy Dane's school and football team in Billy's Boots. As for Trevor Watson, he ended his run in Tiger's File of Fame feature.
There was also a Speed Summer Special released while the weekly was coming out, and there were two Speed Annuals, dated 1981 and 1982. As was very common for such publications, alongside articles, features and new stories based on characters appearing in Speed the page count was padded out with reprints of stories from earlier IPC titles.
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Topps On Two
Wheels appeared in every issue of Speed, as well as the
Summer Special and both Annuals. He survived Speed's merger into
Tiger. |
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The Fastest Footballer on Earth didn't appear in the Speed Summer Special or either Annual. |
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Non-strip content
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The Speed Collection
/ The Speed Article  Most issues of Speed also included a poster and
article about something related to Speed.  |
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Nearly every issue featured a poster, usually on
the back cover, showcasing something related to speed that had
been suggested by a reader. Each reader whose suggestions were
used was sent £3. |
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For two issue, #11 (3rd May 1980) and 13 (17th
May 1980), Speed included one page illustrated articles about
"Milestones in speed" |
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#23 (30th August 1980) included a one off page about Barnstormers, presented by £1,000,000 Challenge star Bullet Slick. |
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Gifts, competitions and giveaways .#1 Free gift: Speed plane. |
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#2 Free gift: Speed slide, "packed with facts and
figures." |
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#3 Free gift: Speed games. No image at present. |
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  #15 through 18 (5th July-26th July 1980) hosted a national competition, spliting Britain into regions as part of a massive treasure hunt. Each issue provided new clues towards finding the locations where each prize had been hidden. The winners were announced in a photo feature in #28 (4th October 1980).  |
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The final four issues (4th- October 1980) included a four part Rocket Missiles poster.  |
As
was normal with British titles, the final issue heralded the cancellation
and merger with Tiger as a positive thing. And thus Speed ended with its
31st issue, barely a footnote in comparison to some of the more enduring
British titles. But speaking personally as one of the kids who bought it
while it was coming out, it was fun while it lasted.
CLARIFICATIONS:
Speed should not be confused with:
First Posted: Circa 19/10/2010
Last updated: 27/05/2023
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The
The
Sleekswift the Cheetah appeared
in Speed Annual 1982; if it was reprinted from elsewhere, I've yet
to find where, and given that the story would have fitted Speed's
remit it may actually have been originally planned for the weekly
comic, but didn't get an opportunity to be used there. IPC still
got its money's worth out of the tale though, as it was later
reprinted in 
By Special Request/Speed Special 
#6 through 9: World of Speed Booklet - to be torn
out and assembled, thus ensuring fewer intact surviving copies of
these issues.
#19
through 22 (2nd August-23rd August 1980) included another pull-out
booklet, Champions of the Air..