HAMISH, BILLY & SKID: THE TRUE STORY

Pitch Publishing is a fantastic imprint.
They do all the great Got, Not Got series
and plenty of other retro sports titles.

James Brown, The Late Tackle, talkSPORT

Pitch Publishing show the way for enterprising
sports book publishers and remains a beacon
of hope for sports authors aspiring or established.

The Sports Bookshelf.com

Pitch Publishing, an outfit whose "pitch perfect"
commissioning of boxing material stands
as a rebuke to more established houses

Boxing Monthly

Pitch capture the real spirit of sport with entertaining
and clever ideas. They work out what the aficionado
would want to read, then deliver it with great verve.

Paul Hayward, The Daily Telegraph

Pitch have enabled me to write in the ways I enjoy most.
Their production support is superb, delivering eye-catching
designs, attentive proof-reading, energetic marketing and helpful advice.

Tim Quelch, Good Old Sussex by the Sea, Orient to the Emirates, Underdog!

Pitch are willing to back out-of-the-blue and innovative
ideas and turn them into viable, entertaining books.
They do so with great presentation and editorial flair.

Justin Parkinson, Then Came Massacre

Pitch saw the potential in my story, used their expertise
to polish it, published it and helped inspire thousands
around the world to get into the sport of triathlon.

Andy Holgate, Can’t Swim, Can’t Ride, Can’t Run & Can't Sleep, Can't Train, Can't Stop

The process of working with Pitch to produce Picking up the Threads
was enjoyable and rewarding, with the final edition surpassing
expectations and becoming a resounding success.

John Chandler, Picking up the Threads

Pitch will take a chance on books that other publishers won't
and realise that interest in football extends beyond the
Premier League and the top 20 countries in the FIFA rankings.

Steve Menary, Outcasts!

Pitch have the vision to look beyond the obvious,
seeking out interesting ideas and subjects and
matching them with the right target audience.

David Tossell, Tony Greig, The Great English Final, Grovel!, Natural

Pitch have been an absolute joy to work with,
contributing their passion, expertise, knowledge
and experience to help produce a brilliant book.

Sam Pilger, Ashes Match of My Life

Pitch took our original concept and further enhanced it,
using their knowledge, experience and expertise, and helped
make Got, Not Got one of the football books of the year for 2011.

Derek Hammond, Got, Not Got series of books

Pitch bought into the concept of development through football,
channeling profits and proceeds from Eleven into helping
some of the most disadvantaged young people in the world.

Steve Fleming, Eleven

In the highly competitive world of sport publishing,
Pitch have consistently demonstrated the happy
knack of spotting, nurturing and promoting winners.

Neil Dunkin, Anfield of Dreams

04 Sep

HAMISH, BILLY & SKID: THE TRUE STORY

Barrie Tomlinson tells behind-the-scenes tales from his days as editor of some of Britain’s most famous comics.

In Comic Book Hero, Barrie tells how Tiger became one of the most popular sporting comics and how the top celebrities of the day queued up to be part of the Tiger scene. The star writers for Tiger read like a who’s who of sport: Trevor Francis, Gordon Banks. Tony Greig, Geoffrey Boycott, Mike Channon, Jackie Charlton, Charlie Nicholas, Ian Botham, Malcolm Macdonald and showbiz stars such as Ernie Wise and Paul Daniels.

There are stories about editing Scream comic and the trouble it caused. How Speed sped on to the scene and disappeared equally fast. How Barrie’s big ambition to relaunch Eagle was fulfilled and how photo-stories caused some problems. How he took Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles to almost a million copies per issue and how he didn’t manage it with Toxic Crusaders!

All the comics’ editorial stories are in the new book, plus the author’s work on annuals and specials and his 22-year stint producing the six-days-a-week Scorer football strip for the Daily Mirror. It’s a book packed with photographs and nostalgia!

Comic Book Hero is the perfect present for dad or grandad, for collectors and nostalgia fans, or anyone who is interested in the history of children’s comics:

In the 1960s, 70s and 80s, children’s comics were a massive part of a young person’s life. Comic Book Hero tells the inside story of how Barrie Tomlinson built up a successful boys’ publishing group at IPC Magazines – now the stuff of legend among nostalgic and modern-day fans of the UK comic scene and its surrounding culture.
Barrie started on Tiger comic as a subeditor, went on to be editor and eventually became head of the Boys’ Sport and Adventure Department, in which capacity he launched Roy of the Rovers comic, the new Eagle, Scream, Speed, Wildcat, Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles and Toxic Crusaders.
The book tells about the Geoff Boycott, Big Daddy and Suzie Dando annuals he produced, and the 22 years he spent writing the daily Scorer picture-strip for the Daily Mirror. Barrie also reveals his dealing with the top stars in sport and showbusiness as they joined Tiger, to make the title one of the most famous comics in Britain.

Click here to read a sample chapter or for more information on Comic Book Hero.

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