Sir Boldasbrass part 1

The news of John Ryan's death on July 22nd set me thinking about some of the comic strip work he had done early in his career before he became better known for his animated children's TV shows. Although best-remembered in comics' circles for Captain Pugwash and Harris Tweed, both originally drawn for Eagle, there was another strip that Ryan created for the early issues of Swift in 1954. Nowadays almost completely forgotten, "Sir Boldasbrass" was nicely drawn in colour and aimed at a younger audience of 7 to 12-year-olds. It doesn't offer many belly laughs, being gently amusing rather than rip-roaringly funny, but it certainly deserves to be rescued from obscurity... and that's what we'll be doing here over the next week or so.

Tomorrow will be a mid-week treat: Sir Baldasbrass and Captain Pugwash.

(* Sir Boldasbrass © Look and Learn Ltd. Reprinted by permission.)