Look-In #23/1982
Look-In #23/1982 is a representative snapshot of the magazine at a particular editorial crossroads: just months after its September 1981 redesign swapped painted covers for photographs and introduced a bolder logo, the weekly was simultaneously running strip adaptations of two major American action imports — The Fall Guy and CHiPs — alongside one of British children's television's most beloved homegrown characters, Worzel Gummidge. That combination of transatlantic action-adventure and quintessentially British whimsy on the same newsstand product captures Look-In's unique role as the primary gateway through which ITV's programming reached young British readers in sequential-art form. As the self-styled 'Junior TV Times,' the magazine served a dual function that no American or British mainstream comic replicated: it was simultaneously a TV listings companion and a genuine anthology comic, making each issue a time-stamped record of what ITV considered unmissable children's viewing in a given week.
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Look-In was launched on 9 January 1971 by Independent Television Publications Ltd — the same company behind TV Times — under founding editor Alan Fennell, a veteran of Gerry Anderson productions and the earlier TV Century 21 comic, who assembled a core creative team from that title. Fennell departed in 1975 and was succeeded by art editor Colin Shelbourn, who steered the magazine through its peak years. The strips were written in large part by the prolific Angus Allan, with artists including Mike Noble, John M. Burns, Martin Asbury, and Jim Baikie contributing extensively. By the time issue #23/1982 appeared, the magazine had recently shed its celebrated painted covers — Arnaldo Putzu's acrylic celebrity montages had run from late 1971 through 1981 — replacing them with photographic covers as part of a broader September 1981 relaunch.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Look-In was a weekly British children's magazine subtitled 'Junior TV Times,' published by Independent Television Publications Ltd and running from 9 January 1971 to 12 March 1994.
- Issue #23/1982 falls within the post-September 1981 redesign era, after the magazine adopted a new logo and replaced its celebrated painted covers with photographic ones.
- The CHiPs strip — featuring California Highway Patrol partners Jon Baker (Larry Wilcox) and Frank 'Ponch' Poncherello (Erik Estrada) — was drawn by Jim Baikie for Look-In; the NBC series ran from 1977 to 1983.
- The Fall Guy strip, featuring stuntman-turned-bounty-hunter Colt Seavers (based on Lee Majors's character from the ABC series that premiered November 4, 1981), was also drawn by Jim Baikie for Look-In and ran from 1982 to 1984.
- The Worzel Gummidge strip — based on the Jon Pertwee ITV series that began airing 25 February 1979 — debuted in Look-In in April 1979 and was drawn by Mike Noble; the character was originally created by author Barbara Euphan Todd.
- Mike Noble, who drew the Worzel Gummidge strip, was a Look-In stalwart who had followed founding editor Alan Fennell from TV Century 21 and previously illustrated strips including Timeslip, Follyfoot, and The Adventures of Black Beauty for the magazine.
- Jim Baikie, artist on both the CHiPs and The Fall Guy strips, was one of several significant British comics talents — alongside John M. Burns, Martin Asbury, and Arthur Ranson — who built substantial careers through Look-In work in this era.
- The Worzel Gummidge strip rights subsequently moved from Look-In/IPC to Marvel UK, which launched a standalone Worzel Gummidge comic in March 1983, confirming Look-In still held the strip during the 1982 period.