The Topper (comics)

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The Topper
The cover of The Topper #1
Publication information
Publisher	D. C. Thomson & Co. Ltd
Schedule	Weekly
Format	Broadsheet
Publication date	7 February 1953 – 15 September 1990
No. of issues	1963
Creative team
Artist(s)	Gordon Bell David Law

The Topper was a UK comic published by D. C. Thomson & Co. Ltd that ran from 7 February 1953 to 15 September 1990, when it merged with The Beezer.

A strip named "Mickey the Monkey" originally appeared on the front cover. In 1973, it was replaced by "Send for Kelly", by "Danny's Tranny" in 1975, briefly by "The Whizzers from Oz" in 1979, and again in 1979 by "Tricky Dicky". "Beryl the Peril" took over on 24 May 1986, and remained there until the merger with The Beezer.

Unlike most other comics at the time, which were half tabloid size, the Topper was for many years full tabloid. It changed to A4 in 1980, one year before The Beezer.

Two comics were merged into The Topper during its run: these were Buzz in 1975 and Sparky in issue 1276 (16 July 1977). In issue 1260 on 26 March 1977, "Big News" was announced on the front cover redirecting the reader to page 7 of the comic. The announcement was that starting from issue number 1261 the comic would include a "Special Pull-out section" that brought back classic Topper Characters such as Splodge and Big Uggy. These lasted until issue 1276, when the pull out section was used for the Sparky comic, creating the "Special Sparky Pull-Out". The Sparky Pull out section was continued until the change to the A4 format.

The Topper also produced an annual collection, The Topper Book.