Odhams Press

Odhams Press Ltd
Company type	Private
Industry	Publishing
Predecessor	Odhams Limited, Odhams Bros.
Founded	1920
Fate	Taken over by Fleetway Publications in 1961; became part of IPC Magazines in 1963; dissolved in 1968
Headquarters	London, United Kingdom
Products	Magazines, books, children's comics
Number of employees	20 (circa 1892)

Odhams Press Ltd was a publishing firm based in Britain that operated from 1920 until 1968. Initially focusing on magazines, Odhams later broadened its scope to include book publishing and comics for children. The company was taken over by Fleetway Publications in 1961 and subsequently became part of IPC Magazines in 1963. In its later years, Odhams gained recognition for the Power Comics series, which prominently featured reprints of American Marvel Comics superhero stories.

William Odhams and Odhams Bros.

William Odhams moved from Sherborne, Dorset, to London in 1834, where he began his career working for The Morning Post. By 1847, he had formed a partnership with William Biggar at Beaufort Buildings in the Savoy area of London. The enterprise that evolved into William Odhams was established by the 1870s. Initially functioning as a jobbing printer and newspaper publisher, William sold the company to his sons John Lynch Odhams and William James Baird Odhams in 1892. At that time, it was a modest printing operation located on Hart Street with around 20 employees and was renamed Odhams Bros..

Expansion into magazines and books

The firm Odhams Limited was founded in 1898. Julius Elias, who began his career as an office boy at Odhams Bros, eventually ascended to the roles of managing director and chairman. Following a merger with John Bull in 1920, the company adopted the name Odhams Press Ltd. That same year marked the launch of Ideal Home magazine and the acquisition of Horse & Hound.

On 28 January 1918, the Long Acre printing facility was struck by a bomb during a German air raid, resulting in 38 fatalities and injuring 90 individuals.

By 1930, Odhams had secured a controlling 51% interest in the Trades Union Congress’s Daily Herald, which was already publishing The Sunday People. The Daily Herald achieved worldwide distinction by 1933 as the highest-selling daily newspaper, with circulation figures reaching two million copies, positioning it as a rival to conservative newspapers like the Daily Express.

In 1937, Odhams introduced Woman, the first weekly magazine printed in colour, supported by a specialized high-speed printing plant. The company's portfolio expanded into book publishing with notable releases including Winston Churchill's Painting as a Pastime (1965), Rupert Gunnis's Dictionary of British Sculptors 1660–1851 (1953), and a comprehensive edition of William Shakespeare’s works.

In 1954, Odhams constructed Press Hall in Watford, distinguished by an innovative clock tower that incorporated a water tank used for printing processes; this building is now protected as a local heritage site.

During the 1950s, Odhams stood among London's leading trio of magazine publishers alongside Newnes/Pearson and Hulton Press.

Throughout the 1960s, Odhams Books Ltd operated the Companion Book Club (CBC), issuing numerous hardcover novels.

Children’s comics and Fleetway/IPC acquisition

From the 1930s onward, Odhams published Mickey Mouse Weekly, which combined American reprints with original British Disney comics content. After losing rights to Disney characters in 1957, Odhams launched Zip, continuing publication of non-Disney comic strips.

In 1959, Odhams acquired George Newnes Ltd along with its imprint C. Arthur Pearson Ltd, maintaining prominent titles such as romance comics Mirabelle and Marty, as well as series like Picture Stories and Picture Library.

Between 1959 and 1960, Odhams took over Hulton Press, renaming it Longacre Press, thereby adding children's comics such as Eagle, Girl, Swift, and Robin to its lineup.

In 1960, Cecil Harmsworth King, chairman of the Daily Mirror, initiated contact with Odhams on behalf of Fleetway Publications, leading to Fleetway’s acquisition of Odhams in 1961. By 1963, Odhams’ assets were consolidated into the International Publishing Corporation (IPC), operating as an IPC subsidiary from 1964 until its dissolution in 1968.

Odhams’ children’s comic titles competed directly with DC Thomson’s popular offerings such as The Beano, The Dandy, and Commando. Alf Wallace, who had success managing Fleetway’s War Picture Library, was appointed to oversee Odhams' comics division but was unable to reverse declining sales for titles like Eagle and Swift. By early 1964, both Swift and Boys' World were merged into Eagle, which along with Girl, transitioned under IPC management.

To revitalize its comic range, Wallace enlisted veteran cartoonist Leo Baxendale, formerly associated with DC Thomson. Baxendale launched the groundbreaking weekly title Wham! on 20 June 1964. Its innovative comedic approach significantly increased readership, prompting the debut of Smash! in February 1966. Early that year, Odhams obtained licensing rights from Marvel Comics; The Hulk made his UK comic debut in issue #16 of Smash! (May 1966), followed by reprints of the Fantastic Four in Wham!. This success led to the establishment of the Power Comics imprint featuring titles such as Pow!, Fantastic, and Terrific, introducing British audiences to American superhero stories through Marvel reprints.

End of operations

By 1968, Odhams encountered financial strain due to challenging economic circumstances in the UK. To mitigate these issues and align with IPC's strategy to consolidate its publications and eliminate overlapping titles, the comics under Odhams Press were either discontinued or transferred to IPC Magazines Ltd, another division within IPC. This strategy helped contain losses from the Power Comics line but ultimately made Odhams financially unviable. On 1 January 1969, Odhams effectively ended its publishing activities when its final comic, Smash!, was absorbed by IPC. Subsequently, in 1971, Smash! was merged into IPC’s Valiant.

Newspapers

Daily Herald (1930–1964)
The Sunday People (circa 1920–circa 1963)
The Sun (1964–1969)

Magazines

Geographical (1965–1968)
Horse & Hound (since 1920)
Ideal Home (established 1920)
John Bull (1920–1964)
Kinematograph Weekly
Leader Magazine
News Review (circa 1940–1950) — later merged into Illustrated
NME (1962–1968)
The Passing Show (1915–1939)
Picturegoer (since 1921)
Rugby World (since 1960)
The Motion Picture Studio (founded 1921)
Woman (since 1937)

Comics titles

Title	Publication period by Odhams	Outcome	Additional information
Mickey Mouse Weekly	1936–1957	Discontinued	Lost Disney character rights in 1957
Zip	1958–1959	Integrated into Swift	Featured strips originally from Mickey Mouse Weekly
Eagle	1960–1963	Acquired by IPC	Initially launched by Hulton Press in 1950; merged into Lion in 1969
Girl	1960–1964	Absorbed into IPC's Princess	Originally launched by Hulton Press in 1951
Robin	1960–1963	Taken over by IPC	Originally started by Amalgamated Press in 1953; merged into IPC's Playhour in 1969
Swift	1960–1963	Merged into Eagle	Launched by Hulton Press in 1954 as a junior companion to Eagle
Boys' World	1963–1964	Merged into Eagle	Published under the Longacre Press imprint
Wham!	1964–1968	Merged into Pow!
Smash!	1966–1969	Taken over by IPC	Incorporated titles such as Pow!, Wham!, and later Fantastic and Terrific in 1968; merged with Valiant in 1971
Pow!	1967–1968	Merged into Smash!
Fantastic	1967–1968	Merged into Smash!
Terrific	1967–1968	Integrated into Fantastic

External links

Official website of IPC Media
Howard Cox and Simon Mowatt, "Technology and Industrial Change: Transition from Manufacturing to Knowledge-Driven Business in the Magazine Print Publishing Sector", research paper delivered at the 2001 Association of Business Historians Conference (Research Papers in International Business no. 27).