British Comic Art

Britain in Chains

2011-03-28T06:21:00.000-07:00

Art by Geoff Campion. Lion, 4th July 1964.

The Battlers from the Black Cloud

2011-03-28T06:16:00.000-07:00

Art by CD Bagnall, for the September 11th 1976 edition of Victor. Completely bonkers!

Bruce Kent Invites You

2011-03-28T06:10:00.000-07:00

Art by Pat Nicolle, Lion dated 11th February1961.

Doctor Who

2011-03-13T12:47:00.000-07:00

Art by Frank Bellamy, Radio Times 4th April 1971. I , ahem, 'borrowed' these from Alan Davis' site. Head over there for more examples of Frank Bellamy's art, sketches, roughs, unfinished pieces and much more! Ooo, the excitement! 'Nurse. The screens please. I feel an attack of the knerds coming on!'

Swash and Buckle

2011-03-13T06:00:00.001-07:00

By Cecil Orr, Swift annual 1961.

The Depths of Fear

2011-03-13T05:45:00.000-07:00

Reg Gray illustrates a text story in Boys' World annual 1965.

Heros the Spartan

2011-03-13T05:23:00.000-07:00

Art by Frank Bellamy. Eagle dated 14th September 1963.

Dredger

2011-03-13T05:14:00.000-07:00

By Geoff Campion, Action dated 28th May 1977.

Charley's War

2011-03-07T00:52:00.000-08:00

A Joe Colquhoun original. Not mine unfortunately. More here.

Ian Kenedy art

2011-03-07T00:43:00.000-08:00

A gorgeous piece of original of original art by Ian Kennedy found here.

Winker Watson

2011-03-07T00:37:00.000-08:00

Came across this original while I was searching for info about Eric Roberts. Info about ER here.

Some more ER work here. Go here for more original art.

Keith Watson

2011-03-06T21:35:00.000-08:00

An illustration by Keith Watson that appeared in a Society of Strip Illustration publication in the 1980s. Go here for original posting.

Go here for some examples of KW's 60s Dan Dare work:

Operation Earth-Saver

Operation Fireball

Bill Duggan-Sapper Sergeant

2011-03-06T03:15:00.000-08:00

Text story illustration by Bill Lacey. Lion dated 10th April 1965.

Scribbles

2011-03-06T03:09:00.000-08:00

Ah, here you go dear reader. Like most people (back in the day) I had a hankering to become a comics artist. Here's a link to some of my own work. No sniggering at the back there!

Marney the Fox

2011-03-06T02:55:00.000-08:00

More texture-tastic work from John Stokes. Buster & Cor!!, 28th December 1974.

The Red Knights of Morda

2011-03-06T02:37:00.000-08:00

Insanely detailed pen work by Don Lawrence, Lion dated 10th April 1965.

One Against the Kondors

2011-03-06T02:06:00.000-08:00

Art by Keith Watson. Hotspur and Crunch, February 9th 1980.

Red Star Robinson

2011-03-06T01:36:00.000-08:00

Art by Terry Patrick.

Peg-Leg's Flying Penguins

2011-03-06T00:54:00.000-08:00

Art by Joe Colquhoun. Tiger & Hurricane, 24th February 1968.

Sinbad Simms

2011-03-04T03:49:00.000-08:00

Eric Roberts, Knockout, February 8th 1958.

Sergeant Rayker

2011-03-04T03:29:00.000-08:00

More texture-tastic art from Mike Dory. Warlord, April 9th 1983.

Maxwell Hawke

2011-03-04T03:09:00.000-08:00

Eric Bradbury, 12th May 1962 edition of Buster.

The Ironclad Bushranger

2011-03-04T02:45:00.000-08:00

Text piece illustration by Bill Lacey. Lion dated 19th January 1965.

Hazell

2011-03-04T02:43:00.000-08:00

Harry North provides visuals for the first issue of Target, 14th April 1978.

PC49

2011-02-21T05:17:00.000-08:00

Art by John Worsley. 25th January 1957 edition of Eagle.

The Steel Claw

2011-02-21T05:04:00.000-08:00

Jesus Blasco illustrates this weeks tale from the 30th October 1965 edition of Valiant. A nice hardback collection of Steel Claw is available.

2000Ad Sci-Fi Special

2011-02-21T04:33:00.000-08:00

Cover art by Steve Dillon, 1988.

The Battle of Fort Otahu

2011-02-21T04:08:00.000-08:00

Art by Gerry Embleton, Lion16th October 1965.

Muto Maniac

2011-02-20T02:30:00.000-08:00

Art by Mike McMahon. Toxic dated 18th April 1991.

Kampfgruppe Falken

2011-02-19T04:55:00.000-08:00

Art by Luis Collado Coch. Warlord Special 1980.

The Galloping Gunners

2011-02-19T04:28:00.000-08:00

Prose story illustration by Bill Holroyd, from Adventure, dated April 30th 1960.

Rockfist Rogan

2011-02-19T04:18:00.000-08:00

Illustration for a text story by Geoff Campion. Lion, 28th May 1966.

Top Notch Career Begins at 15

2011-02-19T03:55:00.000-08:00

Taken from an ad for the British army in 1960. Art by John Worsley.

Commando Jim

2011-02-19T03:27:00.000-08:00

Art by Ian Kennedy.

The Unprofessionals

2011-02-19T02:09:00.000-08:00

Ron Tiner. Oink!, 1st to 14th November 1986.

Home is the Sailor

2011-02-18T05:55:00.000-08:00

Wonderful, wonderful art by John Ridgeway. Warrior issue 17, March 1984. I still remember reading this strip and the feeling of shock I felt seeing those last two frames. Such a touching story...

Go here to read another favourite war story of mine.

I wish the complete run of Warrior could be reprinted in it's entirety. It's never going to happen of course, because of the Marvelman/Miracleman debacle. Sigh!

The Bojeffries Saga

2011-02-18T04:46:00.000-08:00

By Steve Parkhouse. Tundra Books 1992. Reprint edition of strips that originally appeared in Warrior between 1983/84. Ah, Warrior.... I loved you so much!

John Brody and the Fire Creatures

2011-02-18T03:48:00.000-08:00

Brian Lewis. Boys' World 21st December 1963.

The Fists of Danny Pyke

2011-02-18T03:13:00.000-08:00

John Burns from Eagle dated 19th November 1983.

Tuff Dawson

2011-02-18T02:37:00.000-08:00

A prose story illustration by Mike Western. From lion dated 6th April 1963.

The Hero

2011-02-12T05:11:00.000-08:00

Some really nice linework by Ian Kennedy. Eagle dated 12th November 1983.
I initially thought that this story was pretty naff, but then, thinking about it I could imagine someone actually attempting to do this from their back garden.

Kid Gloves

2011-02-12T04:41:00.000-08:00

Geoff Campion illustrates this story from the Valiant dated 20th April 1963.
Makes me smile, the cod 'Injun' dialogue with lots of 'Ayee-ahhs!', 'Ayee!'s and 'Ugh!'s. Do I hear a 'Wah! Paleface!'?

Storm

2011-02-12T04:09:00.000-08:00

Art by Cam Kennedy, Tornado, 11th August 1979.

Dez Skinn Dot Com

2011-02-02T16:11:00.000-08:00

You should head over and have a dekko at Dez Skinn's ever-expanding website for an overview of his career in comics/publishing. Head to the House of Hammer section for some lovely examples of Brian Lewis's art. Hey, he's a favourite of mine. AND it's my Blog.

Anyway, moving along....

Lewis's agent approached DS looking for work for his client. DS remembering Lewis's work from the past reckoned it to be old fashioned. BL sent in this page as a reply, and the rest is history.

The House of Hammer

Dan Dare originals

2011-02-02T15:49:00.000-08:00

Okay, let's start the New Year with a little bit of Dan Dare artwork. I was properly introduced to world of Dan Dare via the Dragon's Dream reprints of The Man From Nowhere in the late 70s/early 80s. To me, this is the pinnacle of Frank Hampson's work on Dare. I think that it still stands up pretty well, even today. Anyway, enough gushing or I'll have to go lie down....

Art well and truly nicked from here: http://www.comicartfans.com

Empty your shekel jar and buy yourself a copy:
http://www.amazon.co.uk

(No, still not receiving commission, although a freebie every now and again wouldn't go amiss, thank you very much.... Ahem.)

It's er, a bit quiet here innit?

2011-02-02T11:23:00.000-08:00

I can hear crickets chirping. And look! A tumbleweed has just rolled by...

I assure you, dear reader, that normal service will resume soon.

Lore of the West

2010-10-16T19:57:00.000-07:00

By Gerry Embleton from the Lone Star annual 1962(?).

Julo's Bid to Win

2010-10-16T19:41:00.000-07:00

...The Hunter's Belt. Illustrations by Joe Colquhoun. Lion annual 1961.

Bully Brown

2010-10-14T19:08:00.000-07:00

By Tom Kerr, advertisement 1967.

They Fought a Duel

2010-10-14T18:52:00.000-07:00

...With Railway Engines! Another mouthful of a title. Art by Graham Coton from Lion, dated 19th March 1966.

The Sweeney

2010-10-14T05:49:00.000-07:00

Brian Lewis loveliness, that-is if you can describe The Sweeney as 'lovely'. Well, y'know what I mean-eh Guv? From The Sweeney annual 1978.

The Steel Claw

2010-10-14T05:36:00.000-07:00

Jesus Blasco, Valiant dated 11th November 1967.

Nightmare

2010-10-14T05:04:00.000-07:00

José Ortiz was one of the few artists who had work appear in both the original Eagle of the 1960s and the Mk2 version in the 1980s. This is from the 17th December 1983 issue. More info about JO here.

Tuff Dawson

2010-10-14T04:55:00.000-07:00

Mike Western. Lion, 24th August 1963.

Battle Wagons

2010-10-12T05:31:00.000-07:00

By Ian Kennedy. Warlord annual 1977.

Fury

2010-10-12T05:02:00.001-07:00

Art by Carlos Ezquerra.

Battle

2010-10-12T04:53:00.001-07:00

Cover art by Mike Western.

El Mestizo

2010-10-12T04:31:00.000-07:00

By Carlos Ezquerra. Battle dated 25th June 1977. In an interview conducted a few years ago CS was asked:

Of all the strips you've been part of over the years, which one would you most like to bring back if you could?

I wouldn't mind to bring back El Mestizo, it appeared in Battle with Alan Hebden script, about a black guy caught in the middle of the American civil war, he wasn't very popular (a black hero in the earlier seventies!) but I think it was a nice character.

Joe 90

2010-10-12T04:06:00.000-07:00

Art by Keith Watson, Joe 90 issue one, 18th January 1969.

Elvis The Story

2010-10-12T04:02:00.000-07:00

Art by Arthur Ranson. Look-In, 4th April 1981.

Dan Dare

2010-10-11T05:31:00.000-07:00

A cool pic of the Mekon. The page of original art created by Keith Watson. Go to here to see some nice originals.

Charlie Peace

2010-10-11T05:22:00.000-07:00

Art by Tom Kerr. Buster, 11th December 1965. I love the grin on Charlie's fizzog on frame four of page one. Very Albert Steptoe. 'Aaaarold!'

PC 49

2010-10-11T05:18:00.000-07:00

Some nice line work by John Worsley. More info here. From Eagle dated 25th January 1957.

The Shepard King

2010-10-11T05:13:00.000-07:00

Art by Frank Bellamy. Eagle dated 21st February 1959.

You Know Their Names

2010-10-09T12:31:00.000-07:00

... but..! Did you know what they did? Jeez, that title's a mouthful. Anyway, this week in Lion dated 14th December 1963, it was Samuel Colt. Below is some nice art by Gerry Embleton.

Anyone listen to America: Empire of Liberty on BBC radio? Quite an interesting show, each episode in quite digestible chunks. Anyway, back to the scheduled program:

Tuff Dawson

2010-10-09T04:57:00.000-07:00

Text story illustrated by Mike Western. Lion, 23rd March 1963.

Dan Dare

2010-10-09T04:47:00.000-07:00

An original piece of art by Keith Watson. You'll find it living here.

A nice opening page for this weeks episode. Although, personally, I feel there was something lacking in KW's work on Dan Dare when compared to Hampson and Bellamy. Hampson was the great technician, you could imagine those spaceships really flying. Bellamy made the whole thing so damn dynamic and exciting. To me KW fell inbetween both camps. He could draw the hardware at times, but then there's an emptiness to some of his frames, whereas Hampson would have some wonderful doo-hicky, or some thoughtful piece of architecture in the background. With Bellamy, his characters were caught off-balance and always on the move. KW's people seem to mime the movements. Don't get me wrong, I love Keith Watson's work, but there is something 'missing' in his Dare work. It might just be the simple fact that he didn't have the time to take the time, with pressures of deadlines etc. Although, when you compare this work to some of his contemporaries, this art knocks the ball out of the field. It's all relative innit, Guv?

The House of Dolmann

2010-10-09T04:04:00.000-07:00

More Dolmann oddness supplied by Eric Bradbury. Valiant, 21st October 1967. I love EB's dark Gothic line-work. This is the antithesis of the bright, Pop Art 1960s isn't it? Darkness pervades, even in broad daylight. Very creepy, very unsettling... Brrrr!!

More Dolmann available for viewing here.

2000AD

2010-10-09T03:15:00.000-07:00

Cool cover created by Kevin O'Neil. Who I believe started out as the art editor on 2000AD before going freelance?

Charlie

2010-10-09T03:12:00.000-07:00

Back page poster by Dave Gibbons, 2000AD 5th May 1979. Nice to see Dave Gibbons, Pat Mills and Isaac Asimov making a cameo appearance in the piece.

2000AD

2010-10-09T02:56:00.000-07:00

Cover by Ian Kennedy 1984. Is it me, or does that not look like an 'Ian Kennedy' face? Seems kinda un-Kennedy to me, almost like it's been doctored by someone else.... I seem to remember a Don Trigan Empire) Lawrence cover from the weekly being re-worked and having an image of Dredd being pasted over DL's Dredd.

Below is the cover I'm thinking of. An image of Dredd from a strip has been pasted over the top of DL's Dredd.

Shocking Futures

2010-10-09T01:42:00.000-07:00

Yet another compilation of Alan Moore's 2000AD shorts. Art by Kevin O'Neil, Titan Books 1986.

Marco polo

2010-10-09T01:39:00.001-07:00

By Frank Bellamy, Eagle dated 2nd May 1959.

Race Revell

2010-10-03T03:56:00.000-07:00

Hopefully this series of ads was a nice little earner for Joe Colquhoun? Valiant, 11th November 1967.

Tuff Dawson

2010-10-03T03:40:00.000-07:00

Illustration for a text story by Mike Western. September 14th 1963.

The Night Chalky White Saw Red

2010-10-03T03:27:00.000-07:00

Text story illustration by Bill Holroyd, Rover January 28th 1961.

Y for Yellow Squadron

2010-10-03T03:10:00.000-07:00

Art by Bill Lacey, Battle dated 20th December 1975.

The Silver Colt

2010-10-03T02:52:00.000-07:00

Episode 1 drawn by Ian Kennedy, Lion 22nd May 1965.

Turville's Touchstone

2010-10-03T02:21:00.000-07:00

Hm, haven't had any Geoff Campion for a while. This one's from Lion 8th November 1969.

Rover

2010-10-03T02:00:00.000-07:00

Cover by Ron Smith.

Fighting Mann

2010-10-03T01:33:00.000-07:00

Superlative war art by Cam Kennedy. Battle, 5th September 1981.

Davy Crockett

2010-10-03T01:14:00.000-07:00

Art by Ron Smith. The Hotspur annual 1973. I picked this one mainly because I love the way RS rendered the bear in frame one. I've stripped the colour in the last frame to give a better view of the line-work.

Twisted Times

2010-10-03T00:35:00.000-07:00

Kevin O'Neil, Titan Books 1987. A collection of Alan Moore's short stories from the pages of 2000AD.

2010-10-02T04:27:00.000-07:00

Head over to Between Clark and Hilldale for some little-seen art by Kevin O'Neil, Mike McMahon, Ian Gibson, Alan Davis and Brian Bolland. Ah, I still have fond memories of BEM and Arkensword.

Captain Kronos

2010-10-02T04:13:00.000-07:00

By Ian Gibson from The House of Hammer issue 2, December 1976.

Knights of the Road

2010-10-02T03:43:00.000-07:00

Art by Gerry Haylock. Eagle dated 7th January 1961.

The Missing Link

2010-10-02T03:31:00.000-07:00

Art by Luis Bermejo from Fantastic issue one, 18th February 1967. More info about LB here and The Missing Link here.

Brian Bolland

2010-09-21T18:15:00.000-07:00

'Gaze into the fist of Dredd!' I can still remember reading that line in 2000AD.

Always loved Brian Bolland's work. It's so crisp and clean with a lot of tongue-in-cheek to boot. Check out BB's website, there's a gallery of his work from over the years on view. There are also, interviews and for all you budding artists out there, tutorials explaining how he puts together his digital work.

Starlord

2010-09-19T03:47:00.001-07:00

Cover art by Kevin O'Neill.

Oddball Oates

2010-09-19T03:39:00.000-07:00

'Wonder-Herb'? Riiiiight. Art by Tom Kerr, Lion, 27th June 1970.

The Kicktail Kid

2010-09-19T01:44:00.000-07:00

Art by David Lloyd.TV Comic dated 26th January 1979.

Race Revell

2010-09-19T01:23:00.000-07:00

Art by Joe Colquhoun. Lion, 9th December 1967.

Time Quake

2010-09-18T18:48:00.000-07:00

Art by Ian Kennedy. Starlord dated 13th May 1978.

Sooner Or Later

2010-09-18T02:59:00.000-07:00

Always a guarantee of strangeness from the mind of Brendan McCarthy. This episode is from 2000AD dated 26th July 1986. Original art below is from Brendan McCarthy's blog.

Wildcat

2010-09-16T20:46:00.000-07:00

Art by Ian Kennedy.

4D War

2010-09-16T20:37:00.000-07:00

Art by David lloyd, from issue 51 of Doctor Who Monthly, 1981.

Paynes's Pioneers

2010-09-16T20:11:00.000-07:00

Illustration for a text story by Jeff Bevan. From The Wizard, December 1st 1973.

The Heavy Mob

2010-09-16T19:59:00.000-07:00

Art by Jim Watson. Warlord, 25th January 1975.

Jack O'Justice

2010-09-16T19:38:00.000-07:00

Art by Tom Kerr. Valiant, 15th May 1965. Nice hand-lettering on this one.

The Steel Claw

2010-09-16T19:26:00.000-07:00

Art by Jesus Blasco, Valiant 18th April 1964. More info here. There's a collection still available if you'd like to partake?