Wednesday, December 04, 2013

Brian Lewis: The Sweeney part 1

Brian Lewis came up in conversation recently, so I've dug out a couple of annuals he illustrated in the late 1970s which you may or may not have seen. They're always worth a look. Look out for some more tomorrow and over the weekend.

 
 
 
 
 
 
(* The Sweeney © Euston Films Ltd. and Ian Kennedy Martin)

3 comments:

  1. I had never seen these, so thanks for posting them, Brian Lewis was a fantastic talent. Funny thing though, after Lewis Collins passed away at the weekend, I got to thinking that it was a shame no one had thought to produce a comic back in the late 70's featuring strips based around the best UK cop shows of the time (The Professional, The Sweeney, The New Avengers, Target etc etc), seeing these pages only confirms to me that such an idea would have been a winner.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Staz, the problem with most of the shows you state is that they were quite adult and aired after 9pm. The main ITV comic magazine, Look-in, wouldn't entertain any strip that aired after this self-imposed watershed. The New Avengers was allegedly considered but never made it. The Professionals did eventually make it as a strip, running through almost all of D C Thomson's TV TOPS in the early 1980s, and Target did have its own short-lived title, from the publishers of TV Comic, which also included Kojak, Charlie's Angels (before it was swiped over to Look-in) and reprints of Cannon from the earlier TV Action.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Wow, this is all new information to me (clearly, by 1979 I was too busy spending my pocket money on Iron Maiden albums instead of comics!!). But it all confirms that I was somewhat on the right track, what with all the strips I mentioned (apart from TNA)getting an airing (if you include this Sweeney annual)even if not in the same mag.That Target comic sounds a beauty, Patrick Mower as a comic strip, what 'Mower' could you want?? Pity it felt the need to boost interest by using strips based on US shows, when my initial comment was implying that a mag based on UK cop shows (which have a particular unique flavour, I feel)would have been an exciting prospect.
    Thanks for the extra info.

    ReplyDelete

BEAR ALLEY BOOKS

BEAR ALLEY BOOKS
Click on the above pic to visit our sister site Bear Alley Books