Ranger (magazine) facts for kids
Ranger was a popular British comic magazine. It was published by a company called Fleetway Publications. The magazine came out every week for a short time, from September 1965 to June 1966. There were 40 issues in total.
After Ranger stopped being published on its own, its stories and features became part of another magazine called Look and Learn. This happened in June 1966.
The idea for Ranger came from Leonard Matthews. The main editor was John Sanders. Ken Roscoe helped as assistant editor, and Colin Parker was in charge of the artwork. Terry Magee was the sub-editor.
Contents
What Was Inside Ranger?
Ranger magazine was made for boys aged 12-15. It had a mix of different things to read and look at. You could find interesting factual articles about real-world topics. There were also photo features with lots of pictures. And, of course, it had exciting comic strips!
The Trigan Empire: A Famous Comic Strip
One of the most famous comic strips that started in Ranger was The Rise and Fall of the Trigan Empire. This was a science fiction story. It was drawn by a talented artist named Don Lawrence. This comic strip was so popular that it continued to run for many years. It appeared in every issue of Ranger and then moved to Look and Learn. It finally ended in 1982 when Look and Learn stopped publishing.
Other Exciting Comics in Ranger
Ranger featured many other comic strips that readers enjoyed. Here are some of them:
- Rob Riley: This was a school story drawn by Jesus Blasco. It was set in a place called Westhaven-on-Sea.
- Dan Dakota: An exciting Western story drawn by Arturo Del Castillo.
- Britons Never Never Never Shall Be Slaves: This comic strip used artwork from the French Asterix comics. In this version, Asterix was renamed Beric, and the story took place in Great Britain. Obelix became the son of Boadicea.
- Treasure Island: This comic was based on the famous novel by Robert Louis Stevenson. It was drawn by John Millar Watt.
- Space Cadet: A thrilling space adventure comic drawn by Geoff Campion.
- King Solomon's Mines: This comic was based on the adventure novel by H. Rider Haggard. Michael Hubbard drew it.
- Blood on the Prairie: Another Western comic, this one was based on a novel by Paul Wellman. Alberto Giolitti was the artist.
- Moby-Dick: This comic strip brought the classic novel by Herman Melville to life. It was drawn by Franco Caprioli.
- Allan Quatermain: Another comic based on a novel by H. Rider Haggard, drawn by Michael Hubbard.
- Rodney Stone: This comic was based on a novel by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Carlos V. Roume drew the pictures.
Stories You Could Read in Ranger
Besides comic strips, Ranger also published longer stories that appeared in parts over several issues. These were called serial stories.
- Sea Change: This was a story by Richard Armstrong. It had won a special award called the Carnegie Medal.
- Champion of the Spanish Main: This story was originally published in another magazine called Modern Boy. It was written by Captain W. E. Johns.
Captain Johns also wrote a series of articles about pirates for Ranger. These articles were taken from his book, The Biggles Book of Treasure Hunting.
What Happened to Ranger Later?
Many years later, in November 2004, most of the content from Ranger magazine was bought by a company called Look and Learn Magazines Ltd. This means that the stories and artwork from Ranger are still preserved and can be enjoyed by new generations.
