Comic Cuts - 28 February 2014

I'm finally back to work on the Countdown/TV Action index, having taken a rather longer break than I had intended to complete The Man Who Searched For Fear and getting some material up onto Kindle. The index section was pieced together last November and I started writing the introduction around the same time. As we approached Christmas I had about 7,000 words written but I must admit I wasn't completely happy with it.

Some bits I liked, but it was taking too long to introduce some of the main protagonists – the editorial staff hadn't been introduced and I was already writing about the strips that appeared in the early issues. Nor had I written anything about the publisher . . . and there was a rather clumsy link between two areas that I was trying to cover. If I have any talent at all – and thats a debatable point! – it's that there's usually an underlying structure to my work that leads you through the history of these old comics in a way that's easy to follow. Sometimes that means breaking away from a straightforward and chronological account and darting off down some side road to explain a bit of history. I think I'm pretty good at leading people through the main narrative without getting them lost.

Picking up the threads of the introduction meant spending time moving around some bits of the story already written and inserting new bits so that it all made sense. I'm now far happier with the way it is going and at the last count we were up to 9,000 words, which isn't a huge increase but this has been a week of quality control rather than quantity.

I've only posted one feature to Kindle since last week, and a rather short one entitled "Let Me Die In Drag": The Crime Fiction of Edward D. Wood, Jr. (you should be able to click through to your local Amazon via that link). Only 3,500 words, hence the £1.00 price tag. This one concerns the king of terrible movie-making, Edward D. Wood, who wrote, directed and produced such classics as Plan 9 From Outer Space, Glen or Glenda? and Bride of the Monster. Not so well known is that he also did a couple of juvenile delinquent films and wrote a slew of porn novels. The article takes a look at a couple of his books: Black Lace Drag and Let Me Die In Drag . . . drag being a particular concern of Wood as he was a transvestite.

The cover can be seen above left. It wasn't the first one I came up with: my first  attempt (above right) used a picture of Wood and his then girlfriend Dolores Fuller in a scene from Glen or Glenda?, but although prints of the film seem to have been issued by a variety of people, I wasn't sure what the copyright situation was with the photo. Although it's the stronger cover, I thought I'd err on the side of caution . . . so this is the only place you'll see it!

Hibernia Comics have stealthily published another book containing one of the finest strips from the early days of the New Eagle, launched in 1982. I haven't seen a copy yet, but if it's anything like their other titles it'll be an excellent little production. It's available via Comicsy at a very reasonable £7.00. Here's what they have to say:

From the New Eagle comes the classic story by Alan (Meltdown Man) Hebden and Jose (13th Floor) Ortiz. The Tower King tells the tale of Mick Tempest and his struggles to survive in a London plunged into Medieval anarchy by the complete loss of electricity. Brilliantly written by Alan Hebden, and the artwork by Ortiz is among his best.
    76 pages plus cover, soft cover, saddle stitched A4. B&W/greyscale, and artwork is at the size as original publication. This is the first time this story has ever been reprinted, and this first print is limited to 200 individually numbered copies.

Today's random scans are related to one of the features I put up on Kindle last week. The first pic is the cover for the paperback edition of Paul Renin's Sinners in the Sun, published by Beacon as part of their exclusive deal with author Richard Goyne. The almost photo-realistic cover reminds me of one of the Ben Sarto covers I used last week, Dames For Hire, also published by Beacon. Same artist? Probably.

The Renin and the following Ben Sarto covers are rather poor because they're taken, for the most part, from tiny scans/photos intended for eBay rather than reasonable sized scans. I would love to have replacements for any of these and I'm more than happy to receive scans of any old British paperbacks – I have broad tastes and enjoy seeing them and, eventually, I might even find time to clean them up for a cover gallery or a gathering of random scans.

The three Sarto titles date from 1948 – Dames Can Be Poison with a cover by H. W. Perl – and 1953 – both Gorilla's Moll and Gangsters' Lady, both of which have covers by Leonard Potts. Rather poor quality scans, for which I apologise. I've done the best I can.

 

 

I have a couple of cover galleries set up for the weekend inspired by comments. Firstly, a mystery artist who signed his work 'Curtis' . . . but who he was I don't know. And on Sunday an extension to the China Mieville gallery published a couple of weeks back. And coming soon, a little celebration of Spitting Image.

Commando issues 4683-4686

Commando issues on sale 27th February 2014

Commando No 4683 – The Cold War

As World War Two draws to a close, a British special forces unit engage in a secret mission far to the snowy north, aimed at halting German progress on new devastating weapons and bringing the war to a swift conclusion.
   But the mission brings a bitter taste. As they compete to snatch a Nazi scientist, ally turns against ally as they battle in
The Cold War

Story: C. B. Harvey
Art: Vila
Cover: Janek Matysiak

Commando No 4684 – Green For Danger

From one German sentry to another went the whisper, “Achtung! Danger…Danger…Commando raid!”
   But who can stop the men in the green berets?

Introduction

   Commando heroes have always been “everyman” heroes — without capes and superpowers. But, if you’d read the bares bones of what it’s proposed that our two Commandos will achieve, you’d be forgiven for thinking that it would take the efforts of two supermen (with a small s) to pull it off. Yet, such is the skill of the story-telling everything seems very plausible and believable. Frantic and breathless, perhaps, but very credible.
   The plot is helped by some very accomplished black and whites. There are lots of small stylistic touches that add depth and movement. In some places they even give Ken Barr’s cover work a run for its money…and he’s got the advantage of colour.

Calum Laird, Commando Editor

Story: Redbridge
Art: Roux
Cover: Ken Barr
Originally published as Commando 145 (Dec 1964) and 735 (Apr 1973)

, 

Commando No 4685 – Soldier Pilots

In battle, a few seconds can be the difference between life and death. For ground attack pilots operating over combat zones, those few seconds can mean the difference between destroying his enemy…or his own side.
   That was why pilot Flight Lieutenant Rudy Pendleton found himself on the ground, deep in the jungle. He was directing Allied aircraft on to Japanese targets, with split-second accuracy. And the stakes couldn’t have been higher — success was the only option. Failure would lead to the annihilation of Allied forces in the Far East.
 
Story: Alan Hebden   
Art: Rezzonico
Cover: Ian Kennedy

Commando No 4686 – Beware The Traitor

Secret agents, hush-hush flights to Occupied France…as one of the pilots involved, Danny Cooper knew that too often the reception committee waiting for them was German. Someone on the British side was spilling the beans.
   Years after the war was over, Danny was to be offered the opportunity to settle these old scores – far away from Britain or France…in the jungles of South America.

Introduction

…but here the flashbacks are handled well and used sparingly.
[Five minutes previously]
   This cracking yarn has a compelling mystery at its core – and expertly flits between a post-World War II setting and a wartime espionage-tinged flashback.
   Normally, I’m not a huge fan of flashbacks. If done badly they can interrupt the flow of the story and even cause confusion for the reader...
[Back in the present]
…but here the flashbacks are handled well and used sparingly.
   See what I mean?

Scott Montgomery, Deputy Editor

Story: R.A. Montague
Art: Denis Mcloughlin
Cover: Ian Kennedy
Originally published as Commando 2269 (Apr 1989) and 3780 (Jan 2005)

Stuart Tresilian

Of all the artists who contributed to Swift Annual, Stuart Tresilian is probably one of the best known. Apart from illustrating editions of Rudyard Kipling's Animal Stories and All the Mowgli Stories in the 1930s, he was the illustrator of Enid Blyton's hugely popular Adventure series of novels which went through many editions with Tresilian's illustrations intact.

Stuart Tresilian's birth was registered as Cecil Stewart Hazell Tresilian in Barton Regis, Gloucestershire, on 12 July 1891 (although usually given as Bristol) but he was baptized Cecil Stuart Hazell Tresilian at St Thomas, Eastville, on 23 March 1892. He was the son of Cecil Pascoe Tresilian (1867-1924) and Alice Maria Tresilian, and had five younger siblings—Frances Margaret, Percy, Winifred Maud, Richard William and Olive Maria. The family moved to 67 Oakley Road, Islington, London, where Stuart's father worked as a Colliery Clerk. He later became a professional vocalist before serving with the Army Audit Department.

Stuart Tresilian studied at the Regent Street Polytechnic School of Art and the Royal College of Art. He subsequently became an art class teacher at Regent Street Polytechnic whilst still living with his parents at 14 Market Parade, High Road, East Finchley.

Tresilian served as a 2nd Lieutenant with the 5th London Regiment during the Great War. Wounded, he was captured by the Germans on 28 March 1918 and held at Rastatt, Baden, where he continued to draw throughout his incarceration. He was repatriated on 13 December 1918 and some of his drawings are now held by the Imperial War Museum, an example of which can be found here.

He was married to Sybil Alfreda Mayer at St Mary, Kilburn, on 11 March 1919. They lived at 8 Union Road, Islington [fl.1921], 414b Camden Road, Islington [fl.1922-25], 10 Mowbray Road, Willesden [fl.1946], 213 Goldhurst Terrace, Hampstead [fl.1948-60].

Following his release, he returned to the Regent Street Polytechnic as a teacher, his students including Charles Keeping. During the 1930s and 1940s he was also a very prolific illustrator for books and magazines, his work appearing in The Wide World Magazine, Nash’s Pall Mall Magazine, Zoo, The Passing Show, The Wide World Magazine and Britannia and Eve. He also co-wrote a text book for art students, Human Anatomy for Art Students (1961).

Tresilian was a member of the Art Workers' Guild (Master, 1960) and of the SGA (President, 1962-65). After retiring, he moved to Winslow, Buckinghamshire. Tresilian died in the summer of 1974 (not 1976 as I've seen on one art auction web site), his death registered in North Bucks (as Cecil Stuart P. Tresilian).

Some examples of Tresilian's artwork, including unused illustrations produced for J. M. Dent & Sons, can be found here. Some examples of Blyton covers and others can be found at Heather's Blyton Pages where some of the above biographical material is taken from.

Books
Human Anatomy for Art Students, with Herbert J. Williams. London, Chapman & Hall, 1961.

Illustrated Books
Animal Stories from Rudyard Kipling. London, Macmillan & Co., 1932.
All the Mowgli Stories by Rudyard Kipling. London, Macmillan & Co., 1933.
The Jumping Lions of Borneo by John William Dunne. London, Faber & Faber, 1937.
Elephants in Africa by Frank Hulme Melland. London, Country Life, 1938; New York, C. Scribner's Sons, 1938.
The Sacred Bullock, and other stories of animals by Mazo de la Roche. London, Macmillan & Co., 1939.
Beavers. Pages from the writings of Grey Owl, ed. E. E. Reynolds. Cambridge, University Press, 1940.
Behind the Ranges. Tales of explorers, pioneers and travellers by E. E. Reynolds. Cambridge, University Press, 1940.
On the Trail. Pages from the writings of Grey Owl, ed. E. E. Raynolds. Cambridge, University Press, 1940.
Unknown Ways. More tales of explorers, pioneers and travellers, by E. E. Reynolds. Cambridge, University Press, 1940.
We Couldn't Leave Dinah by Mary Treadgold. London, Jonathan Cape, 1941.
Challenge to Adventure by M. E. Atkinson. London, John Lane, 1942.
Sinister Service. The adventures of Lance Lovell by Capt. W. E. Johns. London, Oxford University Press, 1942.
Biggles in Borneo by W. E. Johns. London, Oxford University Press, Jul 1943.
The Monster of Widgeon Weir by M. E. Atkinson. London, John Lane, 1943.
M.T.B. Captain by Rowland Walker. London, A. & C. Black, 1943.
Sam Does His Stuff by Dorothy Ann Lovell. London, Jonathan Cape, 1943.
The Island of Adventure by Enid Blyton. London, Macmillan & Co., 1944.
The Nest fo the Scarecrow by M. E. Atkinson. London, John Lane, 1944.
Spitfires Over Malta by Rowland Walker. London, A. & C. Black, 1944.
High Holiday by Elizabeth Yates. London, A. & C. Black, 1945.
Problem Party by M. E. Atkinson. London, John Lane, 1945.
The Castle of Adventure by Enid Blyton. London, Macmillan & Co., 1946.
The Valley of Adventure by Enid Blyton. London, Macmillan & Co., 1947.
Bhimsa, the Dancing Bear by Christine Weston. London, Macmillan & Co., 1948.
Minky the Kitten by Rebe Taylor. London, George G. Harrap & Co., 1948.
The Sea of Adventure by Enid Blyton. London, Macmillan & Co., 1948.
Midsummer Magic by Eilis Dillon. London, Macmillan & Co., 1949.
The Mountain of Adventure by Enid Blyton. London, Macmillan & Co., 1949. 
The Ship of Adventure by Enid Blyton. London, Macmillan & Co., 1950.
Challenge to Adventure by M. E. Atkinson. London, The Bodley Head, 1950.
Wild Life in the Ice and Snow by C. Bernard Rutley. London, Macmillan & Co., 1950.
Biggles in the Baltic by Capt. W. E. Johns. London, Oxford University Press, 1952.
The Circus of Adventure by Enid Blyton. London, Macmillan & Co., 1952.
Prince Curly by Anthony A. Nye. London, Macmillan & Co., 1952.
Rich Inheritance. A story of Catholic Elizabethan England by Winefride Nolan. London, Macmillan & Co., 1952.
Sons of the Tiger by Patricia Case. London, Macmillan & Co., 1952.
Wild Life in the Bush and Jungle by C. Bernard Rutley. London, Macmillan & Co., 1954.
Young Farmers in Denmark by Nancy Martin. London, Macmillan & Co., 1954.
Boys, Bears and Blizzards by Lydia Eliott. London, Macmillan & Co., 1955.
Exiles Come Home by Winefride Nolan. London, Macmillan & Co., 1955.
Jeremy "Down Under" by K. Maclure. London, Thomas Nelson & Sons, 1955.
The River of Adventure by Enid Blyton. London, Macmillan & Co., 1955.
Chokra by John Michael. London, Macmillan & Co., 1957.
Dark Amazon by Martin Gregg. London, Macmillan & Co., 1957.
The Spotted Deer by James Howard Williams. London, Rupert Hart-Davis, 1957.
Kim by Rudyard Kipling. London, Macmillan & Co., 1958.
Land in Peril by Olwen Lawton. London, Macmillan & Co., 1958.
Amat's Elephant by S. C. George. London, Macmillan & Co., 1959.
Antarctic Adventure. The Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition 1955-58 by Sir Vivian Fuchs. London, Cassell, 1959.
Sweet Witch by Richard Llewellyn. London, Longmans, Green & Co., 1959.
The Talisman by Sir Walter Scott; simplified by C. Kingley Williams. London, Longmans, 1959.
In Quest of a Mermaid by James Howard Williams. London, Rupert Hart-Davis, 1960.
Journey to the Amazon by M. L. Emslie. London & Edinburgh, W. & R. Chambers, 1960.
Petrus, Dog of the Hill Country by Joseph E. Chipperfield. London, Heinemann, 1960.
The Quest of Ati Manu by Mary Elwyn Patchett. London, Lutterworth Press, 1960.
Three in the Andes by M. L. Emslie. London & Edinburgh, W. & R. Chambers, 1960.
The Boys of Glen Morroch by Allan Mackinnon. Leicester, Brockhampton Press, 1961.
Come Home Brumby by Mary Elwyn Patchett. London, Lutterworth Press, 1961.
The Grey Dog from Galtymore by Joseph E. Chipperfield. London, Heinemann, 1961.
Jesus of Nazareth by H. K. Luce. London, Adam & Charles Black, 1961.
The Roan Runner by Jane Annixter. London, Heinemann, 1961.
Wild and Free. Stories of Canadian animals by H. Mortimer Batten. London & Glasgow, Blackie, 1961.
Circus Brumby by Mary Elwyn Patchett. London, Lutterworth Press, 1962.
Lapland Journey by M. L. Emslie. London & Edinburgh, W. & R. Chambers, 1962.
Spitsbergen Adventure by M. L. Emslie. London & Edinburgh, W. & R. Chambers, 1962.
Yugoslav Mystery by Arthur Catherall. London, Dent & Sons, 1962.
Brim's Boat by Michael Gaunt. London, Jonathan Cape, 1964.
Down the Big River by G. W. Abbott. London, Macmillan & Co., 1964.
The Strange Invader by Arthur Catherall. London, J. M. Dent & Sons, 1964.
Stranger in the Herd by Mary Elwyn Patchett. London, Lutterworth Press, 1964.
Two Stories from Africa by Bridget Akwada. London, Macmillan & Co., 1964.
Antarctic Secret by Michael John Barrett. London, J. M. Dent & Sons, 1965.
Hounds of the King, with two radio plays by the author by Henry Treece. London, Longmans, 1965.
Poachers in the Serengeti by Audrey Lousada. London, Constable Young Books, 1965.
Brim Sails Out by Michael Gaunt. London, Jonathan Cape, 1966.
Animal Orphanage by Ric Garvey. London, Rupert Hart-Davis, 1967.
Sade and Her Friends by Anne Akpabot. London, Nelson, 1967.
Hamid and the Fisherman by Geraldine Kaye. London, Oxford University Press, 1968.
The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling. London, Piccolo Books, 1986.
The Second Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling. London, Piccolo Books, 1986.
Stories of Adventure by Enid Blyton (contains The Island of Adventure, Castle of Adventure, Valley of Adventure). London, Macmillan Children's, 1987.

(* Originally published 3 February 2007; this version updated 25 February 2014)

Andrea Camilleri Cover Gallery

Andrea Camilleri is the author of the Inspector Montalbano mysteries, originally published in Italy from 1994 and turned into a series of hugely popular TV movies from 1999. The novels were already being translated before the films began broadcasting on BBC4 in February 2012 and had already found an audience who probably (as I do) appreciate the change of pace from British crime dramas. Montalbano is an honest, decent detective but an imperfect man—he can be grumpy and sometimes thoughtless as he navigates through life. A loose cannon as far as his bosses are concerned, he walks a fine line through the shady world of the Mafia and Sicilian politics, and an even finer line in his personal life.

The Shape of Water [La forma dell'acqua, 1994]
Picador 0330-49286-1, 2004, 248pp, £6.99. Cover photo by Millennium Images
Picador 978-0330-49286-x, n.d., 248pp, £6.99. Cover by Jeff Fisher

The Terracotta Dog [Il cane di terracotta, 1996]
Picador 0330-49291-8, 2004, 342pp, £6.99. Cover photo by Millennium Images
Picador 978-0330-49291-1 [21st imp.] n.d., 342pp, £7.99. Cover by Jeff Fisher

The Snack Thief [Il ladro di merendine, 1996]
Picador 978-0330-49297-3, 2005, 297pp, £7.99. Cover by Jeff Fisher

The Voice of the Violin [La voce del violino, 1997]
Picador 978-0330-49299-7, 2006, 264pp, £7.99. Cover by Jeff Fisher

Excursion to Tindari [La gita a Tindari, 2000]
Picador 0330-49303-5, 2006, 312pp, £6.99. Cover by Jeff Fisher

The Scent of the Night [L'odore della notte, 2001]
Picador 978-0330-44218-3, 2007, 233pp, £6.99. Cover by Jeff Fisher

Rounding the Mark [Il giro di boa, 2003]
Picador 978-0330-44220-6, 2008, 282pp, £7.99. Cover by Jeff Fisher

The Patience of the Spider [La pazienza del ragno, 2004]
Picador 978-0330-44224-4, 2008, 280pp, £7.99. Cover by Jeff Fisher

The Paper Moon [La luna di carta, 2005]
Picador 978-0330-45728-6, 2009, 322pp, £7.99. Cover by Jeff Fisher

August Heat [La vampa d'agosto, 2006]
Picardor 978-0330-45730-9, 2009, 280pp, £7.99. Cover by Jeff Fisher
---- [12th imp.], n.d., 280pp, £7.99
Picador 978-1447-24148-5, 2013, 280pp, £2.99. Cover photos by Nikki Smith/Arcangel Images

The Wings of the Sphinx [Le ali della sfinge, 2006]

The Track of Sand [La pista di sabbia, 2007]
Picador 978-0330-50767-7, 2012, 296pp, £7.99. Cover by Jeff Fisher

The Potter's Field [Il campo del vasaio, 2008]
Picador 978-1447-20330-8, 2012, 311pp, £7.99. Cover by Jeff Fisher

The Age of Doubt [L'età del dubbio, 2008]
Picador 978-1447-20332-2, 2013, 307pp, £7.99. Cover photos by Luigi Masella/Arcangel Images

The Dance of the Seagull [La danza del gabbiano, 2009]

The Treasure Hunt [La caccia al tesoro, 2010]
Picador 978-1447-22881-3, 2014, 297pp, £7.99. Cover photos by Nick Baylis/Alamy

Angelica's Smile [Il sorriso di Angelica, 2010]
Picador 978-1447-24915-3, 2015, 297pp, £7.99. Cover by Jeff Fisher

Game of Mirrors [Il gioco degli specchi, 2011]
Picador 978-1447-24921-4, 2015, 281pp, £7.99. Cover by Jeff Fisher

Blade of Light [Una lama di luce, 2012]
Picador 978-1447-26451-4, 2016, 294pp, £7.99. Cover by Jeff Fisher
Picador 978-1409-85401-9, 2017, 294pp, £7.99. Cover by Tom Clohosy Cole

Montalbano's First Case and Other Stories [Racconti di Montalbano, 2008]
Picador 978-1447-29840-3, 2016, 555pp, £8.99. Cover by Jeff Fisher
Contains: Montalbano's First Case; Fifty Pairs of Hobnailed Boots; Neck and Neck; Fellow Traveller; Dress Rehearsal; Amore; Montalbano's Rice Balls; As Alice Did; The Pact; Mortally Wounded; Catarella Solves a Case; Being Here...; Seven Mondays; Judicial Review; Pessoa Maintains; The Cat and the Goldfinch; Montalbano Says No; A Kidnapping; Montalbano Afraid; Better the Darkness.

A Voice in the Night [Una voce di notte, 2012]

A Nest of Vipers [Un covo di vipere, 2013]
Picador 978-1447-26602-0, 2018, 273pp, £8.99. Cover by Tom Clohosy Cole

The Pyramid of Mud [La piramide di fango, 2014]
Picador 978-1447-29836-6, 2018,  272pp, £8.99. Cover by Tom Clohosy Cole

The Overnight Kidnapper [La giostra degli scambi, 2015]
Picador 978-1509-84083-0, 2019, 263pp, £8.99. Cover by Tom Clohosy Cole

The Other End of the Line [L'altro capo del filo, 2016]

The Safety Net [La rete di prtezione, 2017]

The Sicilian Mehtod [Il metodo Catalanotti, 2018]

The Cook of the Halcyon [Il cuoco dell'Alcyon, 2019]

Riccardino [Riccardino, 2020]
Picador 978-1529-07334-8, 2022, 293pp, £8.99. Cover photo by Frauke Schumann/plainpicture

OTHERS

The Brewer of Preston [Il birraio di Preston, 1995]
Picador

Hunting Season [La stagione della cacia, 1992]
Picador 978-1447-2594-8, 2015, 184pp, £7.99. Cover design Anne Glenn (images by Corbis Images)

The Sect of Angels [La setta degli angeli, 2011]
English translation, 2019

The Odhams Reference Books of L. Ashwell Wood

The Odhams Reference Books of L. Ashwell Wood

by Jeremy Briggs

Eagle cutaway artist Leslie Ashwell Wood began his career in publishing with Amalgamated Press in the late 1920s and by the 1930s he was providing diagrammatic and cutaway illustrations to a selection of AP’s weekly titles including weekly part-works like The World Of Wonder and The Romance Of The Nation which were later compiled and published as books. By 1937 he then moved to Odhams with the Look and Learn style weekly magazine Modern Wonder (which was renamed Modern Wonders and then Modern World later in its run). Modern World (as it was then) was cancelled due to the wartime paper shortages of early 1941 which also forced DC Thomson to cancel their humour comic The Magic and boy’s adventure comic The Skipper. However during the war, as well as providing artwork for the Ministry Of Information, L Ashwell Wood also provided illustrations for Odhams books, work which continued throughout the rest of the decade and only seems to have come to an end when he became the main cutaway artist for Hulton's new weekly comic, Eagle, in 1950, and which, ten years later, would become an Odhams title.

The original list of these books dates back to an early issue of the Eagle Society’s Eagle Times fanzine when Barry King listed the majority of the black and white reference books along with the numbers of Wood cutaways in each - some have many, others have only a few. Without Barry's initial article there would have been no starting place for this list and, while Steve Holland here on Bear Alley and myself in Eagle Times have updated that initial list over the years as more information was come to light, this version of the listing is the most complete yet.

These Odhams books can be hard to define as they cover such a wide range of topics. The majority are the little black and white adult reference books that include Britain’s Merchant Navy which regularly turns up in eBay or ABE searches for Wood as it is the only one of these to credit him on its title page. It is worth pointing out that Wood is not the only cutaway artist in most of the books as work by artists such as L. G. Goodwin and R. Barnard Way appears in them as well. However recent research shows that he also worked on a set of junior books, the annual-size Children’s Wonder Book In Colour series, which combined fictional text stories and comic strips with factual information in a highly illustrated format. Wood provided all the illustrations for one chapter on a technological theme for each of these books some in painted black and white colour and some, as the book titles suggest, in colour.

All these books originally had illustrated dust wrappers, few of which have survived intact down the years. The dust wrapper illustrations included here are of highly variable quality as they have been culled from many different sources. For those books that I have not yet found images of the dustwrapers, I have included an image of the title page.

This list deliberately does not include the Eagle spin-off books published by Odhams that include Wood’s work as these were normally black and white reprints of the cutaways published in the weekly comic. However it is quite possible that there were more non-Eagle books published by Odhams that feature Wood than are included in this list, so if you know of any Odhams books with his artwork in them that are not included here then please leave a comment.

(The photo of L Ashwell Wood at the head of this feature is from Eagle Volume 11 Number 7, dated 13 February 1960, and shows him at the wheel of the tugboat Stackgarth which he illustrated as the cutaway in Volume 11 Number 20, dated 14 May 1960, under the title 'Tugs For Milford Haven'.)

Britain's Wonderful Fighting Forces by Captain Ellison Hawks RA
"The book that will give you confidence in Victory"
London, Odhams Press, 1940

Advert for Britain's Wonderful Fighting Forces in Armchair Science magazine vol. 13 no. 1, June 1940, published by Odhams Press. "This month Armchair Science invites every reader to accept the greatest and most marvelous War Book the world has ever known."

Britain's Modern Army
“An authoritative account of the daily life of a modern soldier and of the work, weapons and machines of the Army”
London, Odhams Press, 1942

Britain's Wonderful Air Force, edited by Air Commodore P F M Fellowes DSO
Foreward by Air Chief Marshall Sir Charles Portal KCB, DSO, MC
London, Odhams Press, 1942. 

Britain's Glorious Navy, edited by Admiral Sir Reginald H S Bacon KCB, KCVO, DSO
Foreword by Admiral Sir Edward R G R Evans KCB, DSO, LLD
London, Odhams Press, 1943

Britain's Merchant Nav, edited by Sir Archibald Hurd
“With more than forty explanatory drawings specially prepared by L Ashwell Wood”
London, Odhams Press, 1944

The Secrets of Other People's Jobs
“The story of Great Britain's industries and the workers who man the machines”
London, Odhams Press, 1944.

Warfare Today
“How modern battles are planned and fought on land, at sea and in the air”
Joint Editors:
Admiral Sir Reginald Bacon KCB, KCVO, DSO
Major-General J F C Fuller CB, CBE, DSO
Air Marshal Sir Patrick Playfair KBE, CB, CVO, MC
London, Odhams Press, 1944

Railways, Ships And Aeroplanes Illustrated
“Their construction and working fully described in words and pictures”
Railways by Cecil J. Allen MInstT, AILocoE, FRSA
Ships by J V Stone (with the assistance of the editor of Shipbuilding And Shiping Record)
Aeroplanes by Captain Norman Macmillan MC, AFC, AFRAeS, FSRA
London, Odhams Press, 1945.

Miracles Of Invention And Discovery
“What modern life owes to progress in science and engineering. The story of invention and discovery vividly described and illustrated.”
London, Odhams Press, 1945

The Children’s Wonder Book In Colour
London, Odhams Press, 1946

The World's Railways And How They Work
“illustrated with numerous photographs and specially drawn maps and piuctures”
London, Odhams Press, 1947

Physical Science: Man’s Conquest Of Matter And Space (The New Educational Library)
“A general course in astronomy, chemistry, heat, light, sound, mechanics, electricity, wireless and television”
The New Educational Library advisory editor Lord Gorell CBE, MC, MA
London, Odhams Press, 1948

The Children’s Wonder Book In Colour Number 2
London, Odhams Press, 1948

The Children’s Wonder Book In Colour Number 3
London, Odhams Press, 1949

The Complete Book Of Motor-cars, Railways, Ships and Aeroplanes
“The fully illustrated story of power and speed in modern transport”
London, Odhams Press, 1949

The World's Airways and How They Work
Forward by Sir William P Hildred CB, OBE, MA (Director General, International Air Transport Association)
Editorial Advisers Captain J W G James OBE (Flight manager and Chief Pilot, British European Airways Corporation) and John Stroud
London, Odhams Press, 1950

Odhams History of the Second World War
Editor H. C. O'Neill
London, Odhams Press, 2 volumes, 1951

(* Originally published  16 September 2013; updated 22 February 2014)