Steve Holland article in issue 2

I was just re-reading issue 2 the other day and came across Steve Holland's article 'By then they were known as...' which looks at the history of comics production. What I found really amazing is that I have been an avid comics reader and collector for about 35 years, but never really knew much about their history, particularly their production and owners. Imagine my surprise when I found out that one of the founders of British comics was Harold Harmsworth in 1890. Why is that amazing? Well, I had just got a new job based in London, in Battersea (I'm from Southampton), and in November we moved into new offices just off Fleet Street (Bouverie Street to be precise) and I'm working in Harmsworth House! Since Fleet Street is where most newspapers and comics originated (there is still an office round the corner with a Beano frontage now) it MUST be connected to Harold Harmsworth, surely. My company don't have any history of the building, but they were interested in the article and now have it proudly displayed as part of the history of the company and building! I'm assuming that the building was named after the man, but maybe it was an original office for Harold or one of his companies - Answers Ltd, Pandora Publishing, Geraldine Press or even Amalgamated Press in 1901. I get the feeling that the building is not as old as that, which makes me think it was named after him like many of the streets and buildings in the area, but if anyone knows more about Harmsworth House, please let me know.
By the way, I have searched all the hidden cupboards and haven't yet stumbled across a copy of Comic Cuts from 1890 unfortunately...

Harmsworth publishing (shortly re-named to Amalgameted Press) also published the Halfpenny Marvel in 1893, which became one of the first story-papers with "high-minded" ideals and "pure healthy stories" which dominated the 'comic' market for older readers for around 50 years.

Mind you, Cassel's stole a march on him by releasing Chums in 1892, with the excellent The Iron Pirate serialised in the first volume, and the Boys' Own paper came out in the 1880's but was more "middle class". It was Harmsworth who really set out to attack the "penny dreadful" horror stories that had existed up until then, though.

Interesting! Thanks!