The "PLUS+" comic paper series
PLUS+ was launched in January 1966 as a children's paper of comic strips, puzzles, stories, and "good news... about the extra life you were meant to have" by Christian Publicity Organisation (CPO) in the UK.
The late Alan Bird created, edited and wrote most of the first 240 issues. Contibuting artists over the years have included Steve Carroll, Flix Gillett, Beano artist Jim Glen, and Christian Comics Pioneer Bob Bond.
In addition to Bird, other editors for PLUS+ have included Donald Banks, Danny Cloke, and Ginny Symonds.
Perhaps the paper's most energetic and enthusiastic editor was Andrew Wooding, who oversaw the publication from 1993 to 1997. Wooding's dream was to turn PLUS+ into "the Christian Beano."
PLUS+ began as 8 pages in 2 colors, published bimonthly, and at some point it dropped to 4 pages. In 1994, under Wooding's editorship, it returned to 8 pages, increased the number of comics features, and was printed in 3 colors on a bimonthly schedule. In 2000 it merged with Eagles Wings and became a 12-page, full-color publication, released monthly except for the summer.
PLUS+ and Eagles Wings is still in print today, published by Hayes Press, as an 8-page, 10-issues-a-year color paper.
Although it has had the longest issue run of any Christian comic paper in the United Kingdom (and probably the third longest run of any known Christian comic publication in the world after Sunday PIX in the USA and Tournesol in France) sadly PLUS+ and Eagles Wings has cut back on the number of comics pages in each issue to the point where it is no longer a comics-driven vehicle primarily.
Some "PLUS+" series covers:
Issue No. 322, Jul/Aug 1994
[There is a copy of this publication in the COMIX35 library]
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Issue No. 331, Jan/Feb 1996
[There is a copy of this publication in the COMIX35 library]
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Issue No. 0511,(month unknown) 2007
[Cover Image only in the COMIX35 files]
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