Comic Clippings - 14 April 2007

News has filtered through that Massimo Belardinelli, best known for his work in 2000AD (Wikipedia entry), died in March following a long illness.

Born in 1938, Belardinelli's first work in the UK was 'The Steel Claw' for the Fleetway Super Library in 1967, inking and drawing backgrounds for Giorgio Cambiotti whilst working with Studio Rosi. Studio Rosi took over the weekly strip in Valiant in 1968 with Belardinelli continuing to ink in a style reminiscent of the strip's original artist, Jesus Blasco. In 1969-70, he worked on various strips for Lion.

As a member of Giolitti studio in the 1970s, he drew backgrounds for Alberto Giolitti on the Gold Key titles Turok, Son of Stone and Star Trek, also drawing 'Atlan' as a back-up strip in the German comic Perry. He was one of the many artists to contribute to 'Rat Pack' in Battle Picture Weekly before drawing 'Greens Grudge War' and episodes of 'Spinball' in Action. His association with 2000AD began with the revived 'Dan Dare' in the very first issue.

For ten years Belardinelli stamped a very strong style on the pages of 2000AD, one which gradually found less favour until, by 1988, he was relegated to second string stories. A prolific artist of stylish quality, he continued to draw for the UK, later working on Fleetway's Eagle and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

His contact with the UK market ended with the death of his agent, Alberto Giolitti, in 1993. His life was further devastated when his wife committed suicide, leaving him with a young daughter to support. It was often presumed that Belardinelli himself had died, although drawings continued to appear from his home in Rome, some of his work appearing in Japan.

Rumours of Belardinelli's death were only recently (2005) scotched when a UK fan, Rob Cox, contacted the artist and a feature appeared in the June 2006 issue of Italian Ink magazine (as I noted here back in August 2006).

• Leo Baxendale drops a line to the Forbidden Planet blog about the opening of his 'Stroppy Women' exhibition.

• Bryan Talbot is profiled in the Washington Express, 'Through the Looking Glass: Bryan Talbot' by Scott Rosenberg (11 April). Link via Journalista.

• Interview with Neil Gaiman at Wild River Review, 'Myth, Magic, and the Mind of Neil Gaiman' by Tim E. Ogline (11 April). Link via The Pulse which also provides a link to an earlier piece I missed in The Independent, 'Neil Gaiman: The Truth About Sandman' by Tim Martin (8 April).

• Ian Rankin talks about why Sean Connery should return to Scotland... but then talks about his long-held ambition to write comics and his upcoming 6-issue stint on Hellblazer in 'Rebus author calls on Sir Sean to fight for independence on the home front' (The Scotsman, 14 April).

Reg Gray

Reg Gray is a name that crops up as an illustrator in a number of annuals (e.g. Boys' World Annual, Daily Mirror Book for Boys, etc.) and books. A little bit of information came my way recently that Reg was the artist of the globe logo that adorned the covers of Look and Learn magazine for many years.

I've been unable to find out a huge amount about Reginald Stanley Gray. I believe he was born 19 November 1923 and died in 1992, aged 68, having lived most of his life in Essex. A former Able Seaman during the Second World War, he was also a painter and sculptor, an exhibition of his work held at the Collector's Gallery, London, 26 May-10 June 1961.

Catalogue
Reginald Gray: New Paintings, Drawings, Pottery. London, Collector's Gallery, 1961.

Illustrated Books
No Time For Tankers by Richard Armstrong. London, J. M. Dent & Sons, 1958.
High Road Home by William Corbin. London, Methuen, 1962.
My Favourite Animal Stories, ed. Gerald Durrell. London, Lutterworth Press, 1962.
Lizard Island Expedition by John B. Mercer. Edinburgh, Oliver & Boyd, 1965.
A Donkey Called Haryat by Mary Drewery. Edinburgh, Oliver & Boyd, 1967.
Supernatural Stories for Boys. Feltham, Hamlyn, 1968.
A Candle for St. Georgios by Mary Drewey. Edinburgh, Oliver & Boyd, 1969.
Rosanna the Goat by Mary Crockett. London, Chatto, Boyd & Oliver, 1969.
Rüdi et le chamois (abridged) by Robert Recher, ed. C. Wright. Edinburgh, Oliver & Boyd, 1969.
Réseau Clandestin (abridged) by Claude Stokis, ed. Malcolm E. Ridge. Edinburgh, Oliver & Boyd, 1970.
Discovery: Where You Live by Philip A. Sauvain. London, Macmillan, 1970.
Holiday Stories for Girls. Feltham, Hamlyn, 1970.
Sports Stories for Boys. Feltham, Hamlyn, 1970.
Spy Stories for Boys. Feltham, Hamlyn, 1970.
Thrilling Stories from the Past for Girls, ed. Eric Duthie. Feltham, Odhams Books, 1970.
Where the Winds Meet by Mary Drewery. London, Chatto, Boyd & Oliver, 1971.
Invisible Magic by Elisabeth Beresford. London, Hart-Davis, 1974.
Knights of the Cardboard Castle by Elisabeth Beresford. London, Methuen, 1976.
The Clover Club and the House of Mystery by A. D. Langholm. London, W. H. Allen, 1978.
The Runaway by Gillian Cross. London, Methuen Children's Books, 1979.
The Clover Club and the Adventure that Fell from the Sky by A. D. Langholm. London, Methuen Children's, 1980.
More Horse and Pony Stories, ed. Janet Sachs. London, Octopus, 1981.
Favourite Pony Stories (revised ed.). London, Octopus Books, 1987.

Terry Hall (1926-2007)

Terence (Terry) Hall, the creator of Lenny the Lion, died on 4 April. Lenny was something of a trailblazer in children's entertainment as he was one of the first animals to appear as a ventriloquist's sidekick; prior to Lenny's appearance, ventriloquists had used boy puppets, with Peter Brough and Archie Andrews the most popular act at the time.

Lenny was created in 1954 when Hall visited Blackpool Zoo. The original Lenny had a growly voice and teeth which, unfortunately for the entertainer, used to frighten children; he became hugely popular after Anne Shelton suggested that he should be a gentler character and the new Lenny, shy and speaking with a slight lisp, became a huge star. His first TV show debuted in 1957, as did a comic strip in TV Comic drawn by Bill Mevin and starred on the cover between 1958 and 1960, the year the show came to an end. Lenny was also the star of Lenny's Den (1959-61) and Pops With Lenny (1962-63), notable for an early appearance of The Beatles, and, many years later, appeared in educational storybooks which spun off into their own TV show, Reading With Lenny (1977-80).

Obituaries: BBC News (11 April), Daily Telegraph (12 April), The Independent (12 April), The Times (14 April), The Guardian (30 May).

I mentioned another shy, friendly lion recently -- Leo -- in my piece about Bert Felstead which began appearing in Playhour in January 1960. It would be an obvious thing to connect the strip with the success of Lenny on TV. Leo had made his debut some years previously in Playhour Annual 1958 (published in 1957) and might have been inspired by Lenny's earliest TV appearances.

(I grabbed the header picture from the Oxford Collectables website which has a useful guide to TV Comic. Lenny is presumably still © to his estate; Leo the Friendly Lion is © Look and Learn Magazine Ltd.)

Comic Clippings - 12 April 2007

Nothing posted over the weekend because I was working on...

... when I should have been out enjoying the sunshine. I'm 6,000 words into the introductory material but the end is not in sight so the patchy service will probably continue for a couple of weeks because we're doing the 4 volumes as a box set. I should add that the above is a scan of a photocopy and doesn't reflect the quality of the artwork that will appear in the book. (And that Karl the Viking is © IPC Media.)

• Jeremy Briggs (a familiar name to regular readers here) has a very good article about the 'Fight for the Falklands' strip that appeared in Battle back in 1982-83 on Down the Tubes (9 April 2007).

• Garth Ennis interview, 'Ennis brings shock, awe, devilish wit to 'Ghost Rider' and more' by Jeff Johncox (The Norman Transcript, 6 April 2007).

Mervyn Suart

I stumbled across Mervyn Suart yesterday while I was looking at the latest batch of Look and Learn website artwork. The above picture is from the Look and Learn spin-off The Bible Story, which has to be one of the most beautifully illustrated magazines ever put out. You don't have to be religious to appreciate good art.

Tucked away, lower right, was an indecipherable signature (my first guess was Savign Suarf). Then, by coincidence, I was looking for another illustration in Once Upon a Time magazine and stumbled across the same signature, slightly more readable this time.

So... what do we know about Mervyn Suart?

He was born in Walthamstow, London, on 19 April 1908, the son of John William Gilbert Suart, a leather salesman, and his wife Maud Beatrice (nee Baker), who had married at St. Peter's Church, Holborn, on 9 June 1907. Two younger sisters Marjorie (b. 1910) and Evelyn (b.1913) both died in infancy in 1914. Mervyn and his parents were living at 31 Napier Road, Leytonstone, when his father joined the Royal Field Artillery and became part of the Expeditionary Forces sent to France in 1916; he was eventually discharged in 1919.

The family continued to live in East London where a younger son, Brian, was born in 1924. Mervyn married Irene Florence B. Johnson, known as Rene, in 1932 by which time he had possibly already established himself as a commercial artist. By 1938 he was represented by Francis & Mills, one of the leading agencies of the time, and his address given as 7-05 Endsleigh Court, Upper Woburn Place, Euston W.C.1.

The earliest illustrations from this period I've traced are from a 1936 issue of Holly Leaves, a sporting and countryside magazine, and a 1938 illustration in The Tatler; he was still contributing to Holly Leaves in 1950, by which time he had moved to 113 Bulwer Road, Leytonstone E.11. The "His Master's Voice" poster below dates from 1937.

Suart was attached to the Royal Army Medical Corps during World War II, for some time working for the famous plastic surgeon Sir Harold Gillies, who treated burnt and disfigured airmen. Because coloured film was not available, Suart had to paint before and after records of the servicemen's injuries. Private Suart was also attached to an ophthalmic wing during the European campaign, probably in Italy in around 1943-44, where he recorded injuries caused by shellfire and mines.

After the war he continued to work as a commercial artist. One of his most widely displayed paintings was a poster for Butlin's, showing a woman with a large beach ball. The poster was later slightly adapted to become the front cover of the novel The Toff at Butlin's by John Creasey -- one of a number of books Butlin's commissioned to advertise their holiday camps. Suart often used his wife as a model for beautiful women as he did later their daughter Susan.

Suart was briefly a teacher in the 1970s, one of his former students, David Gibbs, recalling, "Going through some junk today I came across a sketch/drawing by Mervyn Suart of me. He was my art teacher at Norlington School, Leytonstone, circa 1974. I got on fairly well with him (a bit too classy for the rif raf he taught in hindsight!), he told me he worked in commercial art (posters, etc.) before giving up to be a teacher."

As well as his commercial artwork, Suart also found time for painting, including oil paintings of Sidmouth in Devon, and producing sketches, some erotic, of the human figure. Examples can be found at the recently (May 2021) launched family website, MervArt.

About 1954 he moved to 6 Wadley Road, Leytonstone, E.11 and there he remained until his death, which was registered in Waltham Forest in 1992, aged 84. Rene had predeceased him, having died in 1982.

Thanks to Mervyn Suart's sister-in-law Wendy, we know something of his brother's career, too. Brian, who died in 1990, was an engineer on the Foreign Service staff of Cable and Wireless, serving in many overseas stations. He eventually became General Manager of the Hong Kong branch, the most senior foreign posting. He then became Director at Head Office in London. Retiring at 55, he took up sculpture and pottery. "I married him in Jesselton, North Borneo," says Wendy Law Suart, an author, professional musician and public speaker. There is a fine portrait of her husband painted by his brother on the occasion of Brian being awarded the OBE.

Wendy, has her own website, and her fourth book, Colonial Swansong: A Mem's Memoirs, which includes a great deal more information about Mervyn and the Suart family, was recently published.

Illustrated Books
On the Road by Donn Byrne. London, Longman, 1965.
Green Island by Anthony Eyre. Harlow, Essex, Longman, 1966.
The Story of Hamad the Diver told by his Grandson. Harlow, Essex, Longman, 1967.

(* My thanks to Wendy Law Suart and David Gibbs for sharing their memories of Mervyn Suart.)

Bert Felstead

I've been meaning to write something about Bert Felstead for a while as I rank him as one of the major discoveries I've made since I began working my way through some of the old Fleetway nursery papers. Philip Mendoza I was aware of , since I knew his earlier work in the boys' comics; I was also aware that artists like Ron Embleton and Jesus Blasco were contributing to the nursery papers because I had some examples of their work.

When Look and Learn bought the rights to Playhour and Jack and Jill last year, seven crates of bound volumes and annuals arrived at the house so, I got rather a concentrated dose of them in one go. Looking through the issues from the late 1950s there were strips that leapt off the page. Flicking past all the episodes of 'Teddy & Cuddly' that High McNeil had drawn, some later episodes caught my eye. The style was more finished and the artist clearly had an eye for animating characters. I'm not talking about the exaggeration of animation which allows Jerry to stretch Tom the length of a house -- I'm talking movement and body language. The characters looked cuter, too, and I'm a sucker for cute.

Whoever this guy was, he had real talent.

The good news was that it didn't take long to put a name to the artist. Bert Felstead. I'll warn you now, this is not one of those stories where I do some digging and, after some surprise breakthrough, everything falls into place. I know a little about his pre-comics career but, as far as biographical information goes, all I know is that he was Herbert Felstead, he was married, had at least one daughter and he died some years ago. I wish I knew more.

The earliest trace of Bert Felstead I've been able to find is as a director at G-B Animation, the studio set up by the Gaumont-British Picture Corporation in 1944. The idea was to rival the huge success of Walt Disney with some home-grown animated films. Based at Moor Hall, Cookham-on-Thames, Berkshire, G-B secured the services of David Hand who had directed some of Disney's most notable cartoons and films in the 1930s, supervising Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and directing Bambi as well as being production supervisor on Pinocchio, Dumbo and Fantasia.

After cutting their teeth on wartime training films, advertising and instructional shorts and, in 1947, releasing their first featurette about the Magna Carta, G-B turned its attention to two popular series of cartoons, 'Animaland' (1947-49) and 'Musical Paintbox' (1948-49). Of these, 'Animaland' has remained in the public eye (if your public eye is looking in the right direction) thanks to video and a number of cartoon channels around the world (the 'Musical Box' series has never been released as far as I'm aware).

Nine 'Animaland' shorts were completed, three of them featuring the character Ginger Nutt, a mischievous squirrel, and his woodland chums. All nine were directed by Bert Felstead. Bob Egby, who runs a very good site about G-B Animation (he worked there himself) recalls that Felstead was an "interesting man and the real driving force behind Dave Hand. He was the man who got the crews working and working on schedule." It's thanks to Bob that we have a photograph of the crew behind the cartoons, including (perched on the table on the far right) Bert Felstead.

G-B Animation folded in 1949 -- the ad valorem tax that was levied against foreign import films to help with the Sterling-Dollar situation was relaxed in 1948 and a huge animation studio suddenly became a financial burden to Gaumont-British in the face of stockpiles of American cartoons that suddenly started to reappear in British cinemas. What animation lost, comics gained. Suddenly, a vast number of trained artists found themselves in need of work and comics was one place for them to find it.

Bert Felstead, using his abbreviated signature 'Fel', was the illustrator for various titles published by Juvenile Productions Ltd., including Listen With Mother, ed. Jean Sutcliffe (1952), Bedtime Nursery Pictures and Stories (1953), Little Robin Hood Annual with stories and songs by P. & G. Briggs (1954), My First ABC (1955) and Pop-Up Pictures ABC (n.d.).

The first sure sign of Bert Felstead I can find in the nursery comics is in Jack and Jill 146, 8 December 1956, when he produced his first 'Teddy & Cuddly' strip. Hugh McNeill had been the main artist for the first two years of the strip but it showed little of the action and movement of his 'Harold Hare' strip which he was drawing at the same time.

The strip is fairly simple, as you would expect for a comic aimed at a very young audience. But don't mistake simplicity for dumbing down. The editors were well aware that the children had to be attracted by the pictures but it was the parents who would be reading them, so the strips were often quite sophisticated. There's a sophistication to the humour of 'Gulliver Guinea-Pig', for instance. Teddy & Cuddly doesn't quite hit that high mark -- the verbal dexterity of Gulliver wasn't called for -- but they're entertaining (and, more importantly, attention-holding) reading for any parent with a five-year-old.

What Bert Felstead brought to the strip and the characters was a joy, a joie de vivre, that they had somehow lacked when McNeill was drawing them. The characters were two baby bears with the curiosity that fills all youngsters. Living in unspoilt woodlands, the little cubs have plenty of scope for adventures. They want to fill every waking hour with fun and everything they stumble across has the potential to be the most exciting thing they've ever found. Felstead's skill as a storyteller can be seen in the strip below, scanned from original artwork... the whole story is still perfectly readable even without the captions explaining the emotions and motivations of the characters. It's all there in the way it's drawn.

This zest for life was also obvious in another of Felstead's long-running strips, 'Leo the Friendly Lion' which he drew for Playhour from 25 February 1961. Anyone looking for the anarchic humour of that other Leo -- Baxendale -- or Ken Reid will have to look elsewhere but I defy anyone to look at a run of Teddy & Cuddly or Leo and not end up with a smile on their face.

Felstead's last major strip was 'Fliptail the Otter', produced in full-colour for Jack and Jill from 15 April 1967. Felstead wasn't the only artist on the strip and episodes were recycled so often (some three times in the same paper) that I have yet to figure out how long he worked on the strip for. Fliptail was drawn in a far more realistic fashion but with the same flair for body language that made his other strips stand out.

Felstead also did fill-in duty on a number of other strips, including 'Wink & Blink, the Playful Puppies' (Playhour, 1959-60), 'Moony from the Moon' and 'Pinky & Perky' (both Harold Hare's Own Paper, 1960), as well as drawing 'Snuggles, the Story of a Little Bear' (Harold Hare's Own Paper, 1962) and 'Pam's Supermarket' (Playhour, 1965). Many of his strips were reprinted in magazines (for instance, 'Leo' in Bonnie) and annuals in the 1970s and 1980s but original material seems to fade out in the early 1970s (again, because of the reprinting policy and the fact that I don't have complete runs of all these papers I can't be absolutely certain).

Bert Felstead, as 'Fel', then became the artist of 'Little Joe', a strip by Ian Gammidge about a dog that I believe appeared in the Daily Mirror in the early/mid 1970s. A single collection was published by Mirror Group Books in 1975. 'Fel' also illustrated My Favourite Nursery Rhymes (Maidenhead, Purnell, 1977) and Time for Play in the A Purnell Fireside Tale series (1977).

Hopefully the images above will pique your interest in Bert Felstead's work. Since these are all characters now owned by Look and Learn, I'm pleased to say that we have a fair amount of Felstead's work up on the website, including a year's worth of 'Teddy & Cuddly' and more examples of 'Fliptail' and other strips. I'll leave you with the strip below because it's just delightful. Happy Easter, everybody.

(* Illustrations from Jack and Jill, Playhour, Harold Hare's Own Paper and annuals are © Look and Learn Magazine Ltd. Ginger Nutt is © David Hand Productions. With thanks to Bob Egby.)

Comic Clippings - 5 April

Not a huge amount of news to link to, although it seems that copies of Bryan Talbot's Alice in Sunderland are starting to reach shops (FP at least) and reviewers. This is news enough to warrant a 'clippings' entry even if Bear Alley hadn't received its first review, care of Joe at the Forbidden Planet blog. (Hey, you think I'd link to it if he didn't say nice things?)

• Bryan Talbot was interviewed by The Observer's Rachel Cooke, 'He were a right bonny lad, that Mad Hatter' (1 April)

Rene Cloke

Since the name of Rene Cloke came up yesterday, and she is also amongst our Robin Annual artists, I thought I'd see what I could find...

Rene Cloke was born Irene Mabel N. Cloke in Plymouth on 8 October 1904. According to the Dictionary of British Book Illustrators, she "works as a postcard and greetings card designer, and as an author and illustrator of stories for very young children ... mainly depicting nursery animals and pixies."

As well as her books, she also produced illustrations for many annuals, including Uncle Oojah's Big Annual, Blackie's Children's Annual, Tiny Tots Annual, Jack and Jill Annual, Playhour Annual and Jack and Jill Harold Hare Book. She also contributed to Sunny Stories.

Rene Cloke lived at 31 Bernard Gardens, Wimbledon S.W19 from at least 1958 onwards. She died on 1 October 1995, aged 91.

Sadly, not a lot of information for someone whose career extended from at least the mid-1930s to the mid-1990s, who had work published in seven different decades and whose work is still (at least as of 2003) being reprinted.

Although the list of books below is fairly extensive, I suspect there are other books that remain unlisted and some books may be retitled or adapted versions of earlier books. I'm also a little shaky about which editions of various Enid Blyton books she illustrated (first editions of later editions?) and I've tried to err on the side of caution. Some images from covers of various Blyton books can be found at Heather's Blyton Pages.

Books (illus. by the author unless noted)
Mr Podge of Oaktree Lodge. Bognor Regis & London, John Crowther, 1943.
Chickweed. Leicester, Edmund Ward, 1947.
Joy Bells Picture and Story Book. London, Juvenile Productions, 1949.
Before We Go To Bed. London, Juvenile Productions, 1953.
The Little Roundabout Horse. London & Glasgow, Blackie & Son, 1954.
Tippety is Snowed Up. London & Glasgow, Blackie & Son, 1954.
Barnaby's Cuckoo Clock. Exeter, Wheaton, 1958.
Merry's New Hat. Exeter, Wheaton, 1958.
Paul Piglet Keeps Shop. London & Glasgow, Blackie, 1960.
Popkyn the Pedlar. London & Glasgow, Blackie, 1960.
Snowy For Sale. London & Glasgow, Blackie, 1961.
Adventure in Acorn Wood. London & Glasgow, Blackie, 1962.
Little Darling Book series. London, Sandle Bros., 4 vols., 1964.
Dragonfly Story Books series:
__The Big Race. Exeter, Wheaton, 1966.
__Filbert Builds a Boat. Exeter, Wheaton, 1966.
__The Letter. Exeter, Wheaton, 1966.
__Roddy in the Rain. Exeter, Wheaton, 1966.
__The Sleepy Visitors. Exeter, Wheaton, 1966.
__The Twins Go to Market. Exeter, Wheaton, 1966.
__The Walking Holiday. Exeter, Wheaton, 1966.
__The Wishing Well. Exeter, Wheaton, 1966.
A Posy of Little Verses, illus. Adolf Zabransky. London, Hamlyn, 1967.
No Dogs Please!. Exeter, Haldon Books, Sep 1967.
The Happy Seasons. Poems for the young, illus. by Adolf Zabransky. London, Hamlyn, 1968.
Music in the Meadow, and other verses, illus. by Adolf Zabransky. London, Hamlyn, 1968.
The Brave Tin Soldier by Hans Andersen, retold by Rene Cloke. London, Dean, 1969.
Woodland Stories. London, Award Publications, 1975.
I Can Read a Rainbow. London, Award Publications, 1976.
ABC Counting Book. London, Award Publications, 1977?
Rene Cloke's Bedtime Book of Fairytales and Rhymes. London, Award Publications, 1978.
Brer Rabbit's Colour Book. London, Award Publications, 1988.
Brer Rabbit's Puzzle Book. London, Award Publications, 1988.
Tales of Hopping Wood series:
__Tufty's Pot of Paint. London, Award, 1988.
__Flipperty's Aeroplane. London, Award, 1988.
__Larry's Caravan. London, Award, 1988.
Tales of Oaktree Wood series:
__Rusty's House. London, Award, 1989.
__Mandy's Umbrella. London, Award, 1990.
__Spindle's Picnic. London, Award, 1990.
__Vicky's New Hat. London, Award, 1990.

Woodland Tales, London, Award Publications, 2003.

Illustrated Books
The Children's Hour. Stories, jigsaws & painting, illus. with others. London, Daily Express Publications, 1935.
Bible Painting Books no. 1-4. Wallington, Religious Education Press, 1941.
Bible Painting Books no. 5-8, ed. E. H. Hayes. Wallington, Religious Education Press, 1942.
Bible Story Picture Books: Jesus Our Friend, ed. Bertha C. Krall. Wallington, Carwal Publications, 1943.
Red Riding Hood Goes to the Teddy Bears' Picnic by Bey Royle. Bognor Regis & London, John Crowther, 1943.
The Ugly Duckling by Hans Christian Andersen. Leicester, Edmund Ward, 1943.
Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll. London, P. R. Gawthorn, 1944.
The Nightingale by Hans Andersen. Leicester, Edmund Ward, 1945.
Amelia Jane Again! by Enid Blyton. London, Dean, 1946.
The Balloon in the Tree; and, The Very Strange Pool by Enid Blyton. London, Sampson Low, 1946.
Favourite Stories from Hans Andersen, with an introduction by Roger Lancelyn Green. Leicester, Edmund Ward, 1947.
Grimms' Fairy Tales. London, P. R. Gawthorn, 1947.
The Sleeping Beauty and other tales, retold by Roger Lacelyn Green, Leicester, Edmund Ward, 1947.
Beauty and the Beast, and other tales, retold by Roger Lancelyn Green. Leicester, Edmund Ward, 1948.
Little Boy Blue Nursery Rhymes and Fairy Tales. London, Juvenile Productions, 1949.
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. London, P. R. Gawthorn, 1949?
Favourite Hymn Painting Book, ed. Ernest H. Hayes. Wallington, Religious Education Press, 1950.
Gospel Stories Painting Book. Wallington, Religious Education Press, 1950.
Three Little Nursery Rhymes. London, Juvenile Productions, 1950.
Through the Looking-Glass and what Alice found by Lewis Carroll. London, 1951.
Punch and Judy Annual. London, Juvenile Productions, c.1951.
Three Little Kittens. Nursery rhymes. London, Juvenile Productions, 1952.
Pantomime Stories. London & Melbourne, Ward, Lock & Co., 1953.
Birds of the River by Mary Kerr. Leicester, Edmund Ward, 1959.
A Play at Pebblings Village by Modwena Sedgwick. London, Burke, 1960.
My First Reading Book of Fairy Stories. London, Kingfisher Colour Books, 1960.
My First Reading Book of Fairy Tales. London, Kingfisher Colour Books, 1960.
Bible Stories from the Old Testament and the Life of Jesus. London, Ward Lock (All Colour Picture Book 8), 1961.
The Lord Jesus. Wallington, Religious Education Press, 1961.
Good News. Wallington, Religious Education Press, 1961.
Jesus, Friend of All. Wallington, Religious Education Press, 1961.
Stories From the Bible. Wallington, Religious Education Press, 1961.
Pat-a-Cake Nursery Rhymes. Paulton, Purnell, 1961.
Little Folks' Book of Nursery Rhymes. London, Frederick Warne & Co., 1962.
Little Folk's Book of Nursery Tales. London, Frederick Warne & Co., 1963.
Little Folk's First Book, ed. Kate Burchell. London, 1964.
The Wild Swans. London & Melbourne, Ward Lock & Co. (Kingfisher Colour Book 14), 1965.
Little Folk's Second Book, ed. Kate Burchell. London, 1966.
Crossword Painting Books. Wallington, Religious Education Press, 1966- .
Fairies and Giants. Three favourite stories for children. London, Collins, 1967.
My Bumper Book of Colour Fairy Stories. London, Warwick Press, 1968.
The Snow Queen by Hans Christian Andersen; retold by Rene Cloke. London, Dean, 1968.
The Adventures of Mr Pink-Whistle by Enid Blyton. London, Dean, 1969.
Fairyland Tales (includes Canterbury Bells by Rene Cloke). London, Collins, 1969.
My Favourite Book of Fairy Stories. London, Ward Lock, 1969.
Naughty Amelia Jane by Enid Blyton. London, Dean, 1969.
Puss in Boots, retold by Rene Cloke. London, Dean, 1969.
The Three Golliwogs by Enid Blyton. London, Dean & Son, 1969.
Weather in Britain by L. G. Humphrys. Oxford, Basil Blackwell, 1969.
Jack and the Beanstalk, retold by Antony Camden. London, Sandle Brothers (Tulip-Colour Books 1), 1969?
Babes in the Wood. London, Sandle Brothers (Tulip-Colour Books 2), 1969?
Red Riding Hood, retold by Antony Camden. London, Sandle Brothers/Ward Lock & Co., 1969?
Aladdin, and other stories, retold by Antony Camden. London, Sandle Brothers/Ward Lock & Co., 1969.
Dick Whittington, retold by Antony Camden. London, Sandle Brothers/Ward Lock & Co. (Tulip-Colour Books 7), 1969.
Jack and the Beanstalk, retold by Rene Cloke. London, Dean, 1970.
Mister Meddle's Mischief by Enid Blyton. London, Dean, 1970.
Mister Meddle's Muddles by Enid Blyton. London, Dean, 1970.
Mr Pink-Whistle Interferes by Enid Blyton. London, Dean, 1970.
My Picture Book of Rhymes. London, Dean, 1970.
Sleeping Beauty. London, Dean, 1970.
Nursery Rhymes. London, Dean, 1972.
Enid Blyton's Everyday Book of Goodnight Stories by Enid Blyton. London, Dean, 1975.
Enid Blyton's Everyday Book of Playtime Stories by Enid Blyton. London, Dean, 1975.
Enid Blyton's Everyday Book of Sleepytime Stories by Enid Blyton. London, Dean, 1975.
Enid Blyton's Everyday Book of Twilight Stories by Enid Blyton. London, Dean, 1975.
Hans Andersen Stories. London, Award, 1975.
My First Picture Book of Tales of Hans Christian Andersen. 1975; as Hans Andersen Fairy Tales, London, Award, 1996.
Nursery Stories. London, Award, 1975.
Toddler's Picture Book. London, Award, 1975.
My First Picture Book of Fairy Tales. 1976; as Favourite Fairy Tales, London, Award, 1996.
My First Picture Book of Nursery Rhymes. London, Award Publications, 1976.
My First Picture Book of Telling the Time. London, Award Publications, 1976.
Enid Blyton's Gift Book of Bedtime Stories (some illus. from Enid Blyton's Everyday Book series). London, Dean, 1978.
Brer Rabbit Stories by Joel Chandler Harris. London, Award, 1982.
More Brer Rabbit Stories by Joel Chandler Harris. London, Award, 1982.
The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse. London, Award, 1982.
My Big Book of Brer Rabbit Stories by Joel Chandler Harris. London, Award, 1983.
Bible Stories for Children. London, Award, 1984.
The Greedy Rabbit and other stories by Enid Blyton. London, Award Publications, 1985.
Kenneth Grahame's The Wind in the Willows, adapted by Michael Bishop. London, Award, 1985; later reissued as a series of sticker books, The Wind in the Willows: The River Bank, The Wind in the Willows: The Wild Wood, London, Award, 1997.
The Little Match Girl and other stories. London, Award, 1985; as Storyland Classics, London, Award, 1998.
Storyland. Classic tales for children, retold by Howard Hall. London, Award, 1985.
What No Cheese!; and, The Lambikin by Enid Blyton. London, Award, 1985?
Classic Fairy Tales. Manchester, Cliveden Press, 1986.
Brer Rabbit Again by Joel Chandler Harris, retold by Enid Blyton. London, Award, 1987.
More Bible Stories, retold by Jane Carruth. London, Award, 1987; revised as More Bible Stories for Children, London, Award, 1995.
Little Treasury of The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame, retold by Tina Rose. Worksop, Award, 1988.
Pipes for Old Puff; and, The Little Down Cushion by Enid Blyton. London, Award, 1988.
Cathy Dresses Up (Dressing Book). London, Award Publications, 1989.
Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland, adapted by Jane Carruth. London, Award Publications, 1990.
Mr Twiddle Stories (contains Hello, Mr Twiddle! and Well, Really, Mr Twiddle!). London, Red Fox, 1990.
Pinocchio. London, Award Publications, 1990.
Cinderella. London, Award Publications, 1991.
Little Red Riding Hood. London, Award Publications, 1991.
Mr Toad Comes Home, from Kenneth Grahame's The Wind in the Willows, adapted by Jane Carruth. London, Award, 1993.
The Conjuring Wizard; and, Snippitty's Shears by Enid Blyton. London, Award, 1994.
The Lucky Green Pea by Enid Blyton. London, Award, 1994.
The Pixies and the Primroses; and, Upadee and the Dragon by Enid Blyton. London, Award, 1994.
The Rude Little Rabbit by Enid Blyton. London, Award, 1994.
The Squirrel and the Pixie; and, Dame Thimble and Her Matches by Enid Blyton. London, Award, 1994.
The Tale of Scissors the Gnome; and, How Derry the Dormouse Lost His Secret by Enid Blyton. London, Award, 1994.
Three Bold Pixies and other stories by Enid Blyton. London, Award, 1994.
The Adventures of Mr Toad from Kenneth Grahame's The Wind in the Willows, adapted by Jane Carruth. London, Award, 1995.
Little Otter is Missing from Kenneth Grahame's The Wind in the Willows, adapted by Jane Carruth. London, Award, 1995.
The Crown of Gold by Enid Blyton. London, Award, 1995.
The Sailor Doll Goes to Sea; and, The Meddlesome Butterfly by Enid Blyton. London, Award Publications, 1996.
Big-Eyes the Enchanter; and, The Squirrel and the Pixie. London, Award, 1998.
Fairyland Classics, retold by Jane Carruth. London, Award, 1998.
The Child Jesus Painting Book. Norwich, n.d.
Jesus the Children's Friend Painting Book. Norwich, n.d.
Children of the Bible Painting Book. Norwich, n.d.
Tales of Jesus Painting Book. Norwich, n.d.
Followers of Jesus Painting Book. Norwich, n.d.
Friends of Jesus Painting Book. Norwich, n.d.
Favourite Bible Stories Painting Book. Norwich, n.d.

Adolf Zábranský

Has anyone spotted a theme in recent posts? I seem to be getting quite a few questions through one way or another -- nothing unusual about that but I'm thinking that answering things in public might generate a little further information, especially on some of the more mysterious (at least to me) authors and artists I get asked about.

So... Virginia asks if I know of any books produced by Adolf Zábranský.

My first thought was... who?

A little digging around reveals that he was a Czecholslovakian illustrator and poster artist (1909-1981) and he's listed at various art-related sites (artnet, askart, findartinfo, etc.) which list auction prices and can easily be found via Google. I have zero knowledge of the Czech language but I believe he was born 29 November 1909 and died 8 September 1981.

There would seem to have been a study of Zábranský's work -- Adolf Zábranský by J.M. Bohác (Praha, Odeon, 1985) and a later 46-page portfolio, Adolf Zábranský : knižní ilustrace by Jan Baleka (Ve Frenštátě pod Radhoštěm, Muzejní a vlastivědná společnost, 1999).

From hereon I'll stick to books that appeared in the UK. Hopefully this is a reasonably complete list. Some, Ring o' Roses, for instance, are translations of books that originally appeared in Czechoslovakia (Ringelreihen, 1956) and it's probably the same book that was translated as Ring-a-Ling. One thing that does have me scratching my head is that he illustrated three books by Rene Cloke, herself a very well known illustrator. Maybe those poems were also adaptations? Anyway, on with the list...

Illustrated Books
Ring o' Roses. A treasury for children, selected by Petr Denk; translated and adapted by Ingeborg Glaser. London, Andrew Dakers, 1958.
Ring-a-Ling, verses adapted from folk songs by Monroe Stearns. Philadelphia, J. B. Lippincott Co., 1959.
Underneath My Apple Tree, verses by Monroe Stearns. Philadelphia & New York, J. B. Lippincott Co., 1960.
The Smiling Sun by Rosemary Garland. London, Paul Hamlyn, 1961.
A Posy of Little Verses by Rene Cloke. London, Paul Hamlyn, 1967.
Music in the Meadows by Rene Cloke. London, Paul Hamlyn, 1968.
The Happy Seasons. Poems for the young by Rene Cloke. London, Paul Hamlyn, 1968.

Anton Lock

Elizabeth O'Reilly has asked for information about Anton Lock. Lock was a painter and illustrator whose work dates back to the 1920s and who has become a collectable painter, his work sold at Christie's in South Kensington in the 1970s.

The British Council offers the briefest of biographies -- "Anton Lock studied at Westminster School of Art where Walter Baynes was Head of School, and exhibited at the Leger Galleries, London in the 1930s." -- and give his dates as 1893-1971.

Another website, The Impressed Image, offers the following: "Painter, illustrator, etcher and wood engraver, he was a pupil of Sickert at the Westminster School of Art (1910-12) and later at the Bolt Court School of Lithography (1912-14) and was a contemporary of Blampied and Nicolson. Like them he features the horse in much of his work. He illustrated several books with pastoral and hunting themes. He lived in London and exhibited widely in the UK and Paris."

An eBay listing -- always tops for hard information -- for one of his paintings gives his dates as 1839-1979 (!) and offers the facts that he studied under Walter Sickert and was influenced at Bolt School in Fleet Street, where he learned the art of etching, by Walter Bayes. "Throughout his life his artwork has been exhibited in various galleries such as the Royal Academy, the Royal Watercolour Society and the Pastel Society to name a few. His passion for recording the draught horse in all its various roles came about during a period when these noble horses because of mechanisation were fast disappearing from the English scene. With his ability to capture the strengths and moods of the horses, he more than fulfilled his self-made task admirably, and this must assure him a place among the best of English artists."

Elsewhere I've seen his year of death given as 1970.

Lock lived at 14 Lancaster Road, Wimbledon S.W.19. He was registered at that address in phone books between 1949-79 and Christie's held a sale entitled Pictures, watercolours, drawings and prints from the studio of the late Anton Lock on 5 December 1979. The sale included artist's materials and furnishings, which sounds pretty much like Lock's studio was emptied that year. Christie's were selling Lock's paintings regularly between 1974-78.

A search of the death records from 1970 onwards completely failed to turn up an Anton Lock.

However, all is not lost. Anton would appear not to have been his real name -- it seems he was born Albert Lock. The reason I make this leap is fairly straightforward: there was an artist named Albert Lock contributing to various Amalgamated Press children's comics in the 1920s and who illustrated a couple of books by Draycot M. Dell around the same time (1919), Dell joined the A.P. about that time and was editor of Young Britain in 1920-21. Denis Gifford lists a number of Albert Lock's comic strips in his British Comic Catalogue and, in the index, lists 'Anton' as an alternate name. The connection is also made in some correspondence between John Jukes and Bill Lofts which I have and which I'll come back to.

Albert Lock's comic strips include: 'Peter & Doffy' (Wonderland Tales, 1920), 'Mother Redwand' (Wonderland Tales, 1920), 'Tony the Orphan Boy' (The Children's Fairy, 1921, and Bubbles and The Children's Fairy, 1921), 'In Red Eagle's Care' (Bubbles and The Children's Fairy, 1925), 'Peggy & Her Piggies' (Playbox, 1925), 'Pansy & Her Kitty Cats' (Playbox, 1928), 'Pat the Pirate' (Tiger Tim's Weekly, 1929), 'Tony & His Garage' (Bubbles and The Children's Fairy, 1934), 'Peter the Paleface Brave' (Bubbles, 1935), 'Playbox Cinema' (Playbox, 1938), 'Tales by Skipper Dan' (Playbox, 1940), 'Diary of Daniel Blane' (Jingles, 1949), 'Sandra the Sailor', (Playbox, 1954), 'Witchery Wood' (Rainbow, 1954), 'Jess & Jack' (Rainbow, 1955), 'Susie Sunshine' (Tiny Tots, 1956). Lock was still contributing at least as late as 1958-59 when various pages appeared in Jack and Jill Annual 1959, Fun in Toyland Annual 1959 and Harold Hare's Own Book 1960. Some examples are dotted around above and below.

The connection between Albert and Anton is further cemented by John Jukes who, writing to Bill Lofts in around 1960, mentioned "If you are going to see [Lock] you might ask him about Langton Townley. L. T. was editor of Chips and Comic Cuts in the early twenties and he rejected a lot of my stuff but always gave a reason for so doing... Lock may also lead you to Harry Lane, the Sexton Blake artists. They may have been buddies; they were of the same period."

Jukes links Anton Lock without question to the A.P. children's papers and to papers that Albert Lock contributed to: "Apart from duplicating [Warwick?] Reynolds, Lock did some good work in Puck and Tiger Tim -- chiefly story illustrations though I think he did a pic. serial or two."

Bill Lofts had tracked down Lock to his Wimbledon home but was wary of visiting him; the reasons are unknown but he admitted as much to Jukes who replied "In the sad circumstances you mention connected with him I think you are very tactful to leave him alone for a time." This was from a letter dated 31 December 1960. As far as I'm aware, Bill never did contact or visit Lock.

All rather sad. It is probably best to remember Lock in his earlier days when, as Jukes said, "he was a very active artist in the good old days of the A.P. and I was one of his most ardent admirers." In those active days in the 1920s, Lock was remembered for being very much the epitome of everyone's idea of an artist. According to Alan Clark, "He frequently wore artist's beret and smock and, in keeping with his appearance, he was also said to have the temperament of an artist in that he could be fiery and temperamental." Clark notes that Lock did the majority of his work for the Tiger Tim family of papers: "Lock's work for the annuals was particularly prominent: he contributed full-page line drawings and signed them with a large 'Lock'."

Update: 8 August 2007: Further research has finally resolved Anton's dates. He was born Albert Henry Lock on 21 January 1893 in Westminster, London, the son of Albert Lock (an inspector of Army clothing) and his wife Matilda. In later life he lived at 14 Lancaster Road, Wimbledon Common, London S.W.19. His death on 11 May 1979 was registered at Hammersmith.

Catalogues
Horses: Exhibition of Paintings, Etchings and Woodcuts by Anton Lock, preface by H. Granville Fell (catalogue of an exhibition held at the Leger Galleries, 28 Jan-21 Feb). London, J. Leger & Son, 1932?
Horses: Exhibition of Paintings, Etchings and Woodcuts by Anton Lock (catalogue of an exhibition held at the Leger Galleries, 8-27 February). London, Leger Galleries, 1933?
Horses by Anton Lock (catalogue of an exhibition held at the Leger Galleries, London, 2-25 October). London, J. Leger & Son, 1935?

Illustrated Books
Carrion Island. A buccaneer romance of the wide seas by Draycot M. Dell. London, Jarrolds, 1919.
The Wicked King. A child's history of the Great War by Draycot M. Dell. London, Jarrolds, 1919.
The Tale of Two Horses by A. F. Tschiffely. London, Hodder & Stoughton, 1943.
Game: Track & Rifle by C. T. Stoneham. Huddersfield, Schofield & Sims, 1947.
Lord of the Jungle. "Bhurgi Bagh". The life story of a notorioius tiger by James Chilton. London, University of London Press, 1947.
The Cannons Roar by Douglas V. Duff. London, Herbert Jenkins, 1949.
Knight of the Woods by C. T. Stoneham. London, Sampson Low, 1949.
Romany Turns Detective by Glyn Evans. London, University of London Press, 1949.
The River That Changed Its Course, ed. John & Alison Tedman. London, Oxford University Press, 1961.

Betty Larom

A bit of clearing the decks...

When I was trying to find information on Neville Main for an earlier post (see here) I scanned these two pages by Betty Larom who was also a contributor to TV Comic as well as producing material for Robin and Robin Annual. Betty Larom was Mrs. Neville Main, born on 5 December 1920 and died 4 December 1972.

I believe Betty May Larom was the daughter of F. G. Larom and his wife May Emma Larom. She had previously married Henry Peter Ryland (son of H. Montague Ryland and Sylvia Ryland [Lady Doughty]) on 17 September 1949 and had a son, born in 1951. Her family may have hailed from Eastbourne but I'm not absolutely certain of that. Nor am I sure when she married Neville Main.

She contributed 'Happy and Butterball' to TV Comic for an undetermined period from 1955, later drawing 'The Story of Dumpy' in Robin in 1958-60. Later still, in 1966, she was the artist for 'Camberwick Green' in Pippin. I'm sure a good dig around the nursery comics will turn up more of her work. Happy (and Butterball) also appeared in a number of other books by Betty Larom, including the one below (illustration nabbed from eBay).

Books (all illus. by the author)
Robin's Visit to Fairyland. London, The Children's Press, 1944.
The Story of Tufty. London, Juvenile Productions, 1950.
Wimsy and Pinky. London, Juvenile Productions, 1950.
The Story of Twinky. London, Juvenile Productions, 1951.
The Story of Baba. London, London, Juvenile Productions, 1952.
Neddy's Little Bedtime Book. London, Juvenile Production, 1953.
1 2 3 Board Book. London & Glasgow, Collins, 1956.
My ABC Board Book. London & Glasgow, Collins, c. 1956?
The Three Little Bears. London & Glasgow, Collins, 1956.
The 'Happy' Book. London & Glasgow, Collins, 1964.
Happy's Holiday. London & Glasgow, Collins, 1964.
My Playtime Book. London & Glasgow, Collins, 1967.

Illustrated Books
Nursery Rhymes and Fairy Tales, illus. with others. Southampton, The Capella Press, 1940?
The Crackerjack ABC and Play Book, illus. with others. London & Glasgow, The Children's Press, 195?.
Toytown Series (credited to Betty Hulme Beaman & S. G. Hulme Beaman):
__9: Larry the Plumber. London, Oldbourne, 1961.
__12: The Conversion of Mr. Growser. London, Oldbourne, 1961.

Comic Clippings - 1 April 2007

Back in September last year I tried to put together some sales figures for Beano and Dandy based on sales and readership figures released by D. C. Thomson. I've just spotted the sales figures for July-December 2006 and they're down again. Although they don't offer the same readership breakdown now -- all figures are combined for the two titles -- we can still take a reasonable stab at what the sales figures are like based on the combined sales figure: 112, 980, down from 128,196 for the same period last year and slightly down on the 116,174 figure for the first half of 2006.

Traditionally, the fall in sales has been uneven across both titles with Dandy slipping slightly more rapidly in the past year or so. However, Beano has accounted for 66% of the combined sales for the past two sets of figures, so if we use that as a guideline, the figures for Jul-Dec 2006 would be: 74,567 for Beano and 37,283 for Dandy. The fall is around 2.3%, far less than the past 18 months. Please remember that these figures are estimates.

The latest figures for the UK's best-selling comics look something like this:

The Simpson's Comic (Titan).................... 134,631 (Jan-Dec 2006)
Doctor Who Adventures (BBC)................. 107,557 (Jul-Dec 2006)
Viz Comic (Dennis Publishing)................... 94,364 (Jan-Dec 2006)
Toybox (BBC)............................................ 90,997 (Jul-Dec 2006)

Of these, The Simpson's Comic actually went up in sales from the Jan-Jun 2006 figure (128,691) and Doctor Who Adventures is a new title. Both Viz and Toybox are down on the earlier figures.

To echo the warnings they used to issue at the end of Crimewatch, I don't want you to worry unnecessarily. A lot of titles are still comfortably profitable and we're not about to see the end of the British comics industry. It's a very different industry from when I was growing up and reading comics in the Sixties and Seventies but it's still alive and kicking. Only recently, Lew Stringer was able to list 13 titles that were primarily new material and a further 7 that contained some new material. (You'll have to scroll down the discussion to get to Lew's list, to which Phil Rushton adds another title in the message below Lew's.) (And I'm not just pointing the discussion out because it starts with a mention of the two IPC war libraries reprint volumes I edited.) (Honest.)

My diary bit: have I mentioned that the Look and Learn Picture Library now has over 15,000 images? Another 500 or so should be appearing during next week. The website is about to have something of a makeover so I hope you'll pay it a regular visit over the next couple of weeks. I can promise you lots of exciting new things to look at.

Thanks to the cold I was suffering, which has just about cleared up after three weeks, I've been running behind on my extra-curricular activities. I see I've not managed to blog as much in March as I managed in January and February. The good news is that the introductory material for the next Trigan Empire book is finished -- approximately 6,000 words in all. This one relates three stories from 'The Rise and Fall of the Trigan Empire' which we've called 'The Puppet Emperor', 'The Five Labours of Trigo' and 'Menace from the Deep'. Long-time comics readers might remember the first of these was the strip that was running in Vulcan when it folded into Valiant and was finished off by condensing 24 pages into 6 horrible black & white pages in the Vulcan Mini-Comic. The other two have never been reprinted.

The next two books I've been involved in are out this month: Storm: The Collection volume 6 and Storm: The Collection volume 7. I've only got small scans of the covers but they should give you some clue as to what they'll look like. I've got to confess that we're now getting into the best period of the Storm series when it took a huge leap in quality. Martin Lodewijk was able to take back the characters he had created and took it in a whole new direction. Don Lawrence leaped to the challenge and produced some of the best artwork of his career. The combination of story and art is truly wonderful.

Next up for me is 'Karl the Viking' and I've got four weeks to finish four volumes. So if I start slacking off on the blog, you'll know why.

Some random news:

• Bryan Talbot is interviewed in 'Artist in Sunderland' by his son, Robyn, at John Freeman's Down the Tubes news site (31 March).

• Only just spotted this series of articles on Alberto Breccia by D'Israeli written back in January.

• Franco Cosimo Panini, founder of the famous Panini publishing house in Italy (and, ultimately, head of comic publisher Panini UK), has died at the age of 76. Report (in Italian) in La Repubblica (30 March), 'Addio al padre delle figurine. E' morto Franco Panini'.

• The long-awaited Hookjaw book from Spitfire now has a release date of 27 April.

• 'Steve White Talks About New U.K. Transformers Comic Book Series' at Seibertron.com (29 March). It's all there in the title. Can't remember if I linked to this before... 'Simon Furman Talks "Transformers Spotlight: Galvatron"' by Arune Singh at Comic Book Resources (18 March).

• 'Supernatural Horror with a Social Conscience: Diggle's "Hellblazer"', interview with Andy Diggle by Emmett Furey at Comic Book Resources (26 March).