[1] Star Ally Sloper, a blustery, lazy schemer often found "sloping" through alleys to avoid his landlord and other creditors, had debuted in 1867 in the satirical magazine Judy – created by writer and fledgling artist Charles Henry Ross and inked and later fully illustrated by his French wife Émilie de Tessier under the pseudonym "Marie Duval"[2] (or "Marie Du Val";[3] sources differ).

Initially launching the paper with proprietor W. J. Sinkins, Dalziel was soon in full control, publishing it from "The Sloperies", 99 Shoe Lane, EC.

[citation needed] It helped establish the financial viability of the medium and codified the British form to an extent visible many years later in publications such as Viz.

Some were in the style of British comic strips from the early 20th century, while others were created by classic artists such as Frank Hampson's "Dawn O'Dare" and Frank Bellamy, who provided Swade, a three-page black-and-white wordless western story, for issue #1 (his last work, as he died before completing the second strip).

Although the Alley Sloper comic magazine was critically acclaimed by the fan press,[12] it suffered from poor distribution and insufficient public interest, and the title disappeared from the market after only four issues.