The final issue of Speed before its merger with Tiger. 25th October. 1980.
Speed was launched on 23rd February 1980, edited by David Hunt, and published each Monday by IPC magazines. Aimed at boys, the comic featured strips about sports, daredevils, racers, and included articles and profiles on high performance vehicles of land, sea, and in the air.
Some of Speed’s regular comic strip characters. 1980.
F-15 A Eagle. Speed 20th September. 1980.
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- Christopher Cockerell. Speed 20th September. 1980.
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- Peter Twiss. Speed 6th September. 1980.
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- Reginald Joseph Mitchell. Speed 25th October. 1980.
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- Yuri Gagarin. Speed 27th September. 1980.
USS John F. Kennedy. Art: John Cooper. Speed 27th September. 1980.
Final covers leading up to the merger with Tiger comic
The artwork in Speed is a pleasure to behold, with a striking look for its covers, profiles, and the chosen strips rendered in colour. In the eight issues I have there are no credits given for the artists or writers – save for John Cooper who put his name to the centrespread art for the USS John F. Kennedy carrier featured in the 27th September issue. John Cooper has an impressive and long list of art credits including Agent 21, Thunderbirds, Captain Scarlet, Grange Hill, Wurzel Gummidge, Judge Dredd, Doctor Who, Knight Rider, The A-Team, and many more.
An online search found only a handful of credits made for British artists Ron Smith, Ron Turner, and Mike Western, along with Spanish artist, Vanyo. If any readers know of additional artists and writers please let me know in the comments.
Speed. 13th September. 1980.
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- Speed. 6th September. 1980.
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- Speed. 20th September. 1980.
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- Speed. 27th September. 1980.
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- Speed. 4th October. 1980.
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- Speed. 11th October. 1980.
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- Speed. 18th October. 1980.
The end of a very short era
Below is the 25th September announcement of the merger of Speed with Tiger. This would take place the following week. Speed only lasted as a standalone for 31 issues.
Tiger and Speed merger. Speed 25th October. 1980.
A short-lived comic, but enough time for an annual?
Yes! Speed managed to squeeze one annual onto an impressive list of British comics which appeared as hardbacks. 1981 it was, and although I never owned a single copy of Speed, I did have the annual 🙂
Speed Annual. 1981. Image from Ebay.
Speed Annual advert. Speed 20th September. 1980.
Speed Annual advert.
That’s all for now. Thanks for speeding around with us 🙂
The Vintage Toy Advertiser 
I’m surprised Juri Gagarin – our one and only kosmonaut hero – got featured here?!
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Yes, I think they celebrated a diverse bunch of explorers and pioneers over their 31 issues, and I was lucky to get Gagarin in the eight I picked up.
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Hi TVTA, I too had the 1981 annual and now this image is bugging me! Not your fault, I am just struggling to identify who the rider on that bike is! I know it’s a Yamaha Racing Team rider but the number 4 and the helmet design don’t tally with who was riding for Yamaha in 1981. I’ll work it out though.
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Glad I picked them up out of curiosity. The artwork really pops, and the colours don’t seem to have aged a day since 40 years!
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These pages are wonderful, I wish art like that was still created for published materials.
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Speed wasn’t around long but I do remember it, a great little comic!
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I don’t remember it at all, maybe because of its short run, but I do remember having the 1981 annual.
The eight issues I picked up recently have top quality content along with the articles and profiles on high speed machines. Shame it didn’t run longer. As you say, a great little comic!
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