Eagle v35 n1 (Spring 2022)

A new year brings with it the latest volume of Eagle Times, now in its thirty-fifth year. You would think there are no more nooks or crannies in the old Eagle comic to be explored when you've published [quickly jots some numbers down on the back of a fag packet] over 5,000 pages on the subject, but the editorial team digs deep each year and always comes up with something new and interesting.

The cover story this issue is about the mysterious Chesney MacGuire, whose name appeared just once in Eagle. For Eagle's sixteenth issue, MacGuire penned 'The Strange Affair of Hairy Harry', which was accepted and published, only to have sharp-eyed readers spot that it was a plagiarism of Capt. W. E. Johns' story 'Adventures with a Mammoth' (Boy's Own Paper, December 1942, later reprinted as 'The Adventure of the Musty Mammoth' in Biggles—Charter Pilot, 1943).

MacGuire had previously sold a few stories to Gerald G. Swan, where they appeared in Scramble and Cute Fun, but the name is otherwise unknown. MacGuire (and its alternate spelling McGuire) is not a common surname – only 90 in the 1939 Register – and only one with the occupation of author. Unfortunately, Daniel Paul McGuire, born 3 April 1903, would appear to be Australian, and I have found only a couple of instances when he was in the UK, one when he and his wife (Frances M. McGuire) travelled back to Australia in 1932 (giving his address as c/o Sands & McDougall Ltd.), living at Great Cumberland Place, Marble Arch, Westminster, in 1939, and travelling to Canada in 1946 (address c/o Argus & Australasia Ltd., 23/28 Fleet Street EC4). I can find no connection between McGuire and Chesney MacGuire and the chances are that Daniel McGuire wasn't even in the UK during this period.

In his article, Will Grenham covers some of MacGuire's other stories, compares the MacGuire rip-off with W. E. Johns' original, and reveals how Johns reacted when he heard of the plagiarism. The only thing Will has missed is the apology that Eagle ran in issue 41 (p.11).

It just goes to show you that there is always something new to explore in these old comics.

Elsewhere in this issue, Steve Winders continues to look at the historical reality and how it compares with the Eagle's back cover biography of David Livingstone, David Britton continues (in part 13) to do the same for Charles Chilton's Riders of the Range stories and how they tackled the Indian Wars, and the final pages of the Dan Dare studio's "Ideas Book" are shown.

New features include a look at sportsman Roy Romaine, star of the 1950 'Improve Your Swimming' strip; an update on the Famous Men of Today 16-page booklet that was given to members of the Eagle Club; and the first part of 'The Story of the Train That Went' by David Britton, a follow-up to his 'The Train That Went Nowhere' article from the Summer 2020 issue. There's a new P.C.49 story to enjoy, too.

The quarterly magazine is the journal of the Eagle Society, with membership costing £29 in the UK, £40 (in sterling) overseas. You can send subscriptions to Bob Corn, Wellcroft Cottage, Wellcroft, Ivinghoe, Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire LU7 9EF; subs can also be submitted via PayPal to membership@eagle-society.org.uk. Back issues are available for newcomers to the magazine and they have even issued binders to keep those issues nice and neat.